SandBoxBlogs: SkyHi Daily "William Hamilton: The desperate housewives of the swing states"

William Hamilton:
"Political pollster Dr. Frank Luntz finds the best predictors of how women will vote are: family status and employment status. Of lesser importance in crafting an appeal to women voters are: age, education, and income.

Dr. Luntz says, “Younger women lean heavily toward the Democrats, while older women split their votes more evenly between the two parties. Married women over thirty-five with children at home slightly favor the GOP, while single women, including those who are divorced or widowed, are solidly in the Democratic fold.”

According to USA Today, the outcome of the presidential race will hinge on the swing states of: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In all states, however, Mr. Romney would be well-advised to extol the virtues of motherhood, for both stay-at-home mothers and for working-mothers as well. Any male who has had to take over from his wife learns full-well that being a housewife and mother is not just any job — it is a really difficult and exhausting job. Mr. Romney would be well-advised to seek the votes of older women who are mothers and grandmothers and talk to them about the creation of good, steady jobs and stress how the American family is at the heart of America's greatness. Or, whatever's left of it.

President Obama would be well-advised to go after young women who are single, divorced, or widowed. That demographic cohort is more likely to respond to promises of more social services paid for by someone else. Here, President Obama should have an advantage because, as the president was once described by Vice President Joe Biden: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Rich Galen, the ever-wise political pundit, reminds us the presidential race is not truly a national race but, instead, 50 individual state races for 535 Electoral College votes plus one race for the three Electoral College votes of the District of Columbia for a total of: 538. Get 270 Electoral College votes and you win..."  (Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: LA Times "Swing voters: Diverse, misunderstood and crucial in 2012"

David Lauter, Washington Bureau:
"Over the next eight months, presidential campaigns will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to penetrate the suburban living rooms of people like 33-year-old Sarah Hays.

"I agree with certain parts of the philosophies of both parties," Hays said in a recent interview as two of her three children — ages 6, 4 and 21 months — played within reach at their St. Louis-area home. "I'm a Catholic, and I'm pro-life, and that's very important to me," she said, "but I don't believe that pro-life means only antiabortion.

"I think we should be fiscally conservative, and yet I think we should take care of people."

Hays is that rarest of people in a closely divided and sharply polarized country — a swing voter — dissatisfied with both parties, crucial to either one's hope of success.

Over the last few months, as the Republican primary battle has focused on the most conservative parts of the party's core, several polls have shown President Obama making headway with self-described independents like Hays. As a result, the percentage of voters expressing approval of his performance in office has slowly risen in most recent surveys...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."