| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California women flex their political muscle
By Bill Schneider
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Who will decide California? The one constituency that's already demonstrated its clout -- women. If you read the Los Angeles Times, you have seen a disturbing account of alleged unwanted sexual advances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the front-runner in the recall campaign for governor. How did Schwarzenegger become the front-runner? Because of women. According to polls, men have always favored getting rid of Gov. Gray Davis. But a month ago, women opposed recalling the governor. That made the outcome of the recall vote too close to call. As of early this week, however, women had turned against Davis. His recall was beginning to look like a done deal. Who did women favor to replace Davis? A month ago, women made Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante the front-runner. A Field Poll from early September showed Bustamante in the lead with women with 36 percent of the female vote. But last week's poll by, of all publications, the Los Angeles Times showed Schwarzenegger has won over a large segment of the female voting population, leading by 54 percent. With Schwarzenegger now leading among women as well as men, the "Running Man" became the front-runner. The accounts in the Los Angeles Times now threaten Schwarzenegger's standing and may even set off a gender war. One woman at a "Code Pink" protest of Schwarzenegger's candidacy said, "It just makes your stomach turn. I think any woman that would read [the article] would be very, very upset by it." New attacks have already started coming out. Schwarzenegger moved quickly to acknowledge his past behavior and try to repair the damage. In an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, he said, "Women voters should know that I support women." He has both apologized for what he's described as bad behavior and also disputed the accuracy of the allegations. Women made him the front-runner. Now women can take it away. That's clout. It's also the political Play of the Week. Like a number of other states, California allows people to cast early ballots, simply for convenience. More than one and a half million Californians had voted before the Los Angeles Times published its story. How many Californians are wondering whether they voted too early?
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
