Pennsylvania Women Moving Away From Clinton

It was only a matter of time before women started to see that Hillary Clinton is playing the same old game of slash and burn politics. In Pennsylvania, women have become tired of Clinton’s behavior, lies and poor campaign management. For woman, crashing through the highest glass ceiling has been of paramount importance, unfortunately they realize Hillary Clinton is not who they want through first.

A perfect example of Clinton’s same old politics is her campaigns response to the recent shift; “it’s Obama’s fault.” Interesting statement, which translates as Clinton is not will to take ownership of her campaign but instead, chooses to point fingers at Obama for her failure. The Clinton campaigns plan to reverse the erosion is by emphasizing Hillary’s experience. I find that strategy amazing since Hillary’s lack of experience has been exposed by her first lady papers and continual lies about her political experience.

A Quinnipiac University survey taken April 3-6 in Pennsylvania found that Clinton’s support fell 6 percentage points in a week among white women. Nationally, a Lifetime Networks poll of women found that 26 percent said they liked Clinton less now than in January, while only 15 percent said they liked her more.

“These are Democratic women who waited all their lives for a woman president, but Hillary is not turning them on,” said polling analyst Clay Richards.

The Clinton campaign is aware of the danger, and last week it began dispatching friends of Clinton from New York, Washington and elsewhere to key Pennsylvania communities to have “living room chats” with women.

“We thought this might happen,” senior Clinton adviser Ann Lewis said of the erosion. A key reason, she said, is rival Barack Obama’s ad barrage, notably his gentle but persistent reminders to TV viewers that he’s well-equipped to heal the ailing economy.

“I can’t overcome the media barrage, so we need to go back to talking to people about their personal concerns,” said Lewis, “and emphasizing her experience.“

The most familiar echo among many Pennsylvania women when they discuss Clinton, however, is disappointment. Ask them when they became disillusioned with the woman who would be president, and they can cite almost the exact moment.

For Clare Howard, a meditation teacher from Southhampton, it was the night in January when Bill Clinton suggested that Obama did well in the South Carolina primary because of his race. That went too far, said Howard, 60. “It was like they would do anything to win,” she said.

Joan Schmidt, 60, a school psychologist in Levittown, grew tired of hearing Clinton tout — and exaggerate — her experience.

Jane Dovel, 68, an artist in Doylestown, turned away from Clinton after hearing the New York senator’s reaction to Obama’s comments that Ronald Reagan had been a “transformative political figure.”

Clinton fired back that Republicans hadn’t had better ideas. “I don’t think it’s a better idea to privatize Social Security,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a better idea to eliminate the minimum wage.”

That’s not what Obama had said, recalled Dovel. “What Clinton said was a blatant lie,” she said. “From that moment on, she was history. She was not to be trusted.”

“If elected, I’m sure she’ll do a good job,” said Michele Scarborough, a Quakertown borough councilwoman. “But I just don’t feel she’s one of us.”

“With two weeks to go, Sen. Barack Obama is knocking on the door of a major political upset in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Obama is not only building on his own constituencies, but is taking away voters in Sen. Hillary Clinton’s strongest areas – whites including white women, voters in the key swing Philadelphia suburbs and those who say the economy is the most important issue in the campaign,” said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“The Pennsylvania primary is like a game of horseshoes: Sen. Obama needs only to come close to be considered the winner – taking away, perhaps fatally, Sen. Clinton’s argument she is the candidate best able to defeat Sen. John McCain in critical swing states like Pennsylvania.

“Obama leads 55 – 37 percent among Philadelphia voters and 53 – 42 percent in the Philadelphia suburbs, widening a 49 – 44 percent April 2 lead in this critical area.