As the Republicans persist with their War on Women, President Obama continues his public insistence that, in fact, women are human beings who should be treated with respect. Last week, we saw the release of his campaign's masterful Gloria Steinem ad, and now he's released this statement to supporters of Planned Parenthood to let them know that he's fully on-board with their mission to provide women with preventative healthcare and contraception. It includes this gem:
Let's be clear here: Women are not an interest group. They're mothers and daughters and sisters and wives — they're half of this country. And they're perfectly capable of making their own choices about their health.
Good God. How pathetic it is that a politician saying we're capable of making our own choices is enough to make you swoon? But swoon we do. And here's another smile-inducer from Joe Biden, who got in on the pro-women action this morning on Face the Nation. He called the whole contraception debate that's sprung up, "Totally out of touch with reality." And he said it is,
Out of touch with the independence and the right of women to decide for themselves whether or not they want to use contraception, and I just find it remarkable that the argument is even taking place.
The good news for womenfolk is that new poll numbers are showing Obama widening his lead over Romney among women. A USA Today/Gallup poll of voters in 12 battleground states found that Obama and Romney are nearly tied among male voters, but Obama is leading by 19 points among women voters. That's up from 12 points in January and February. A new poll from Quinnipiac University also shows that the favorability rating for Mittens has gone way down among women. He used to show a positive split (33-30) and now he's gone deep into negative territory (30-45). Oops. It looks like, in fact, women are very much capable of making their own decisions, and we seem to be exercising our right not to support candidates who don't care about us.
As Contraception Fight Takes Center Stage, Women Voters Turning From Romney [TPM]
In battleground Wisconsin, a debate over the gender gap [USA Today]
Obama praises Planned Parenthood in video [USA Today]