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# Posted 8:13 AM by Ariel David Adesnik

SMART WOMEN FOR ~~HILLARY~~ OBAMA: The two smartest women in my life -- my mother and my girlfriend -- are also the strongest Hillary supporters I know. I assumed this was no accident. High-achieving women empathize with Hillary's struggle to succeed at the highest levels of law and politics.

But the polls say smart women support Obama. According to a front-pager in today's WaPo,

Clinton is drawing especially strong support from lower-income, lesser-educated women -- voters her campaign strategists describe as "women with needs."...

Clinton drew support from 61 percent of women who had at most a high school degree, compared with 18 percent for Obama. By contrast, female college graduates were more evenly split: 38 percent said they preferred Clinton, and 34 percent backed Obama. (Twelve percent said they supported Edwards.)

A large gap also appeared on the question of which candidate seemed the most honest and trustworthy: Clinton was considered most honest by 42 percent of women who had only a high school education, compared with 16 percent for Obama. But only 19 percent of college-educated women said Clinton is the most honest; 50 percent chose Obama.

You might say that those who read the paper more have a lower opinion of Hillary's honesty.

Labels: Hillary, Obama

(10) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments:

There is still alot of time before the first primary and with Hillary husbamd and potential fundraising capacity, Hillary is on the money. Too many people owe the Clintons and they will collect those I.O.U.s from their friends and the media before February.

Danny L. McDaniel
Lafayette, Indiana

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:09 PM

Think there's the slightest chance of a correlation between having less education and, say, never having heard of Obama? I don't like here either but this could easily be 100% name recognition

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:06 PM

These guys are well on the way. Clinton/Obama would be impossible to beat with the current group of Republicans lining up. Is there no help from an independent? Where is Ross Perot when we need him?

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:37 PM

I wonder if there is any relationship between the less-education issue and the race factor. Or, if you standardize for under-employment -- how many well-paid vs. under-paid women support each?

My mother is a Hillary supporter, and I'm an Obama supporter, but we have different perspectives on feminism. She once asked me if I thought I was a feminist, and I said no, but it's ultimately because I was raised believing in no glass ceiling, and not thinking I had to fight for equality. (Sometimes, to my frustration, I find that I'm too idealistic, or oblivious...)

For many educated women, I think going to or graduating from college was never a question, it was a given. But if you come from a time, place or culture where Hillary's position and success are the ultimate vindication of feminism, and are something to be proud of by proxy, supporting Hillary makes sense. But for me, I don't see Hillary as any great role model, or a particular woman to be proud of. I'd rather the right person, who really "gets it", be elected than vote for someone as a "statement".

We've heard of issue-voters...where one issue like abortion is the only one that matters? This time around, I think Hillary is betting on gender-voters.

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:55 PM

women who read the paper more are more for Obama??

Then for most of the last century, men who read the paper more were Republicans, and uneducated clods were for the Dems????

Thanks for ignoring the reality of class in America.

Obama draws upper middle class "progressives". Hillary despite her New Dem credentials, is more of a Soc Dem type dem, with a focus on tangible pocketbook issues. Its Gene McCarthy vs Bobby, Jack Kennedy vs Stevenson, an old story. Hell, its Gore vs Bradley.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:39 AM

Libhawk, I certainly didn't mean to generalize about the last century of American politics.

My thinking was more in line with Anon 5:06, who observed that more educated voters probably know more about Obama (and I would add, read more anti-Hillary coverage in the press).

My instinct is that the more Democratic primary voters learn about Obama, the more they will support him, regardless of their class or education.

# posted by

Ariel David Adesnik : 12:28 PM

These numbers largely reflect the fact that African-American voters have yet to make their (inevitable) migration to the Obama camp. If all voters vote the way they are currently polling, except for African-Americans going 90-95% to Obama, he wins already.

This move is a foregone conclusion. Obama, by the mere act of being President, will do more for African-Americans, then Hillary or any other candidate on either side of the aisle could ever do by way of policies. An Obama Presidency today would, in 25 years time, be seen as the death blow for racism in America. It would tangibly destroy the glass-ceiling for Blacks in a way that a Hillary Presidency will not do for Women. This is because men and women ARE different and there will always be sexists. But we CAN come to a point where (to paraphrase Bob Marley, quoting Haille Selasse) the color of a man's skin is of no more signifigance than the color of his eyes.

In the end, this primary will come down to whether African American women vote for Obama or Hillary. I've placed my bet.

Unless, that is, AlGore wins the Nobel Peace Prize and jumps into the race come November. In which case, you can just ignore everything I (and everyone else) has said or will say up to that point. If HE gets in, you might not see a nominee until some horse-trading is done at the actual convention next summer, as no one may have enough votes to win and all 3, plus John Edwards may have enough delegates to matter.

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:04 PM

"My thinking was more in line with Anon 5:06, who observed that more educated voters probably know more about Obama (and I would add, read more anti-Hillary coverage in the press)."

and my gut reaction is that political differences between the educated and uneducated have more to do with class than they have to do with the "ignorance" of the uneducated.

Given the clear class differences within the Dem party, and the way Obama appeals to a certain kind of upper class progressive (and its not just me saying this, see Harold Myerson, for ex) occams razor suggests theres no reason to impugn the knowledgeability of the less educated in this instance.

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:26 PM

No males will vote for a candidate just because of he's male..But where in the case of female candidate, most of the females will lend their support to her..It's become universal practice.
Car Breakdown Cover

# posted by

Anonymous : 9:52 AM

Women lose their smarts when emotions get the hold on them. Does it happen? Hell yeah. Your mother and gf may be smart. They may know that Hiliary sucks as compared to Obama but they totally lose it when they see she is a woman and decides to back her just because she is a 'woman'. Women make crap decisions and are crap leaders. Blow me. Menarebetterthanwomen.com

# posted by

Anonymous : 2:12 AM