Academic

?? Republican candidates always expect to win white men by a substantial margin, but it is white women that usually decide the race.?

By Ann Bartow

That’s a rather stark and startling quote from this article, which also observes:

In the head-to-head matchup, Obama leads McCain among African Americans (83-7 percent), Hispanics (62-28), women (52-33), Catholics (47-40), independents (41-36) and even blue-collar workers (47-42). Obama is also ahead among those who said they voted for Clinton in the Democratic primaries (61-19).

Yet among white men ? who made up 36 percent of the electorate in the 2004 presidential election ? Obama trails McCain by 20 points, 55-35 percent. ?That is the reason why this election is close,? Hart notes.

And: “While Obama has a six-point advantage over McCain, that lead expands when New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is added as Obama?s running mate, the poll shows.” I’ll vote for Obama with almost any running mate, but I have to admit, I’d love to see him choose Hillary Clinton. Linked article via Echidne.

–Ann Bartow

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on June 19, 2008 (boomark / email).