May 11, 2000

Al Gore's Women Problems
By Tom Bevan

Al Gore has got women problems. Not the kind his boss had in 1998, or the kind Rudy is having now. It seems Gore is having trouble connecting with women voters. An LA Times poll this week showed Gore losing to Bush by 2 points among women voters, a core of the Democratic voting bloc and Bill Clinton's secret to success in '92 and '96. So what's causing Al Gore's impotence with women voters?

First, Gore made a critical mistake by allowing Bush to lead the charge to attract women voters with a focus on their main concern: education. By being the first to tout education reform, Bush stole this critical issue from Al Gore and is now seen as a leader on education. Despite the Gore campaign's effort to raise the Veep's visibility on education through orchestrating a series of "school days", Gore remains in Bush's shadow. Furthermore, Gore's attacks on Bush's education proposal - most recently in Michigan last week where Gore said Bush offered nothing but "soothing words" on education - just aren't sticking.

Second, Clinton fatigue seems to finally be taking its toll on Gore. While Gore still holds a strong lead among single women, married women are flocking to Bush and his message of "returning dignity" to the office of the Presidency. But Gore suffers from more than just guilt by association with the President. His well publicized distortions of his record, obfuscations on campaign finance matters, attacks and misrepresentations of both Bradley and Bush, and his recent waffling on issues like Elian Gonzalez continues to reinforce the perception among voters that he will do and say anything to get elected.

The LA Times poll prompted a private "strategy session" yesterday between Gore, top female Clinton administration officials, and the leaders of a number of women activist groups where Gore received counseling on how to connect with women voters. "We told him what he needed to hear" declared Kim Gandy, Executive Vice President of the National Organization for Women.

Unfortunately for Gore, there are no easy answers with women voters. No amount of counseling can change George Bush's proposals on education. No wardrobe of earth tones can undo the damage done to most women's perceptions of Gore's integrity and trustworthiness. Gore's only hope of turning the women's vote around is through demonizing Bush as a right-wing extremist on other important women's issues: gun control and abortion. This strategy worked for Clinton against Dole in '96, but Gore doesn't possess Clinton's charisma or political acumen and Bush cannot easily be painted as an extremist. With less than 6 months until November, Gore will be hard pressed to get rid of his problems with women.


Tom Bevan writes for RealClearPolitics