文章基本信息

标题：A man for the ladies
作者：Edwin Chen
期刊名称：The Sunday Herald
印刷版ISSN：1465-8771
出版年度：1999
卷号：Jun 20, 1999
出版社：Newsquest (Herald and Times) Ltd.

A man for the ladies

Edwin Chen

Hillary Rodham Clinton stepped before TV cameras to proclaim Al Gore as her husband's worthiest successor. Polls suggest that the vice-president is not connecting very well with women _ a key voting bloc in next year's election.

So it's no wonder that even as Gore distances himself from one Clinton (Bill), he is embracing another (Hillary) in a sustained bear hug at centre stage during a pep rally staged to trumpet women's support for him.

Analysts believe Gore's tepid backing among women - compared to Republican frontrunners George W Bush and Elizabeth Dole - is due largely to "Clinton fatigue" in general. In a recent Gallup Poll, Bush led Gore 54% to 40% overall - and led among women by 52% to 42%. That means Gore is attracting six points less among men than Clinton did in 1996 (37% to 43%) and 12 points less among women (42% to 54%.) "Al Gore is having a problem with voters generally. But there's no question that he needs to shore up women's support," said Susan Carroll, senior research associate at Rutgers University's Centre for the American Woman and Politics. Gore strategists say his gender gap will dissipate once he successfully introduces himself as a champion of issues important to women. At the rally, Gore pledged his support for abortion rights; pay equity; broader educational opportunities, starting with pre-school; stricter gun controls and cleaner environments - all issues that he said "touch all of our families and all of our lives". Gore further noted that 12 years ago, as a senator from Tennessee, he had co- sponsored a bill that became the Family and Medical Leave Act, the first law that Clinton signed as president. The vice-president vowed to "lead the fight against domestic violence" and added, "women's health will always be at the top of my agenda." His strategists were delighted by Gore's speech, which the vice- president delivered with passion and conviction - qualities he displays only occasionally.