CANTON, Ohio – In dueling appeals to working women, President Bush cast himself Friday as a champion of struggling families, and John Kerry called his opponent oblivious to all the middle-class dreams that have died on his watch.
Bush, speaking shortly after the release of a campaign ad that used wolves to represent the danger lurking from terrorism, tried to broaden his message for the few remaining undecided voters by framing the election as a stark choice about “your budget, your quality of life, your retirement and the bedrock values that are so critical to our families and our future.”
“Our economy is growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years,” Bush said as he began his three-state day in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “My opponent has a very different plan for your budget. He intends to take a bigger chunk out of it.”
Kerry, campaigning in Wisconsin, asked, “How dare this administration say this is the best economy of our lifetime?” The Massachusetts senator asserted that “for far too many women, the American Dream seems a million miles away.”
“The simple fact is, this president is just out of touch and out of ideas,” Kerry told an audience of mainly women. “He can spin until he’s dizzy, but at the end of the day, who does he think American women are going to believe – him or their own eyes?”
The overt appeal to women came amid signs of a close and tightening race in which the candidates are looking for any possible advantage in the final 11 days.
Bush advisers said the overture to women and other independents reflects concern in his campaign that he has not gotten any of the breaks he had hoped for in the closing days, notably promising news from Iraq.
And Kerry’s campaign is anxious about solidifying his inconsistent support among women, who historically favor Democrats. Surveys have repeatedly showed that while women trust Kerry more with pocketbook issues such as jobs and health, a majority of the so-called “security moms” see Bush as better able to protect them and their families.
On Friday, both candidates tried to underscore their family-friendly messages visually. Bush appeared onstage at a historic vaudeville theater with first lady Laura Bush and their twin daughters, billed by a campaign announcer as “America’s first family.” Kerry was flanked by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, his sister, Peggy, and his daughter, Vanessa, as he promised in strong language to protect the country.
And both presented themselves as protectors. “Just as I placed a passion on the line for my country (in Vietnam) and hunted down, killed the enemy then,” Kerry said, “I guarantee you that I will leave no stone unturned to protect this country.”
Bush hit hard at his core claim that he will keep America safer than Kerry, which the Democrat’s campaign called an effort to frighten voters. “All progress on every other issue depends on the safety of our citizens,” Bush said. “The enemies who killed thousands of innocent people are still dangerous and determined to strike us again. The outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against terror, and in this war there is no place for confusion and no substitute for victory.”
The preferences of women in the presidential race remain ambiguous. A Pew Research Center Poll taken last weekend, as well as a Marist survey and an AP-Ipsos survey, showed that Kerry had widened his lead over Bush among women by at least 10 points. But the Kerry campaign has him leading among women by six points, and a Washington Post-ABC tracking poll shows Bush with a small lead over Kerry among women.
Al Gore led Bush among women in 2000 by about 11 points. Political analysts believe Kerry cannot win the election unless he wins the support of women because of Bush’s strong lead among men.
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