Tim Shipman
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/tim_shipman/blog/2008/08/30/sarah_palin_fails_to_impress_in_hillary_clintons_heartland I'm deep in the heart of Hillaryland, the swinging part of the swinging state of Pennsylvania, where Mr Obama got royally creamed in the primaries by Mrs Clinton.
In a clear indication of his desire to nail down the 18 million voters that eluded him during the primaries, Mr Obama held his first campaign event since accepting the Democratic nomination in Beaver, a small town in the mountain West of the state populated by the kind of blue collar workers who, everyone seems to agree, hold the keys to the White House in their gnarled hands.
John McCain seems to think that picking Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, as his running mate, will automatically hoover up some of these votes.
My experiences with the ladies of Beaver suggests the McCain-Palin axis will have to work hard to make that happen.
Women in the crowd seemed unimpressed with Mr McCain's pick. Jeanne Crisi, a 71 year old hairdresser who originally supported Mrs Clinton but is now a confirmed Obama fan, was typical. She said: "I think he's insulting the Hillary supporters by saying they should vote for her because she's a woman. They must think we've no minds of our own." She also dismissed claims that Mrs Palin's anti-abortion stance could win over Catholic voters, a key constituency in swing states, saying: "I'm Catholic and it doesn't make a difference to me. For me, abortion is a moral issue, not a political issue."
Dee Dee Myers, Bill Clinton's former press secretary, took up the theme: "Unlike Clinton, Palin hasn't been a strong national voice on women's issues. She hasn't been at the barricades, fighting for women's health, equal pay, economic security."
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
