McCain puts new focus on voting bloc: women

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Sen. John McCain returned to the campaign trail Wednesday with new emphasis on a domestic agenda that appeared designed in part to address the concerns of white women, a crucial voting bloc that has moved steadily in recent weeks toward his rival, Barack Obama.

After his second debate with Obama on Tuesday night, McCain and running mate Sarah Palin held events in Pennsylvania and Ohio where he stressed health care and homeownership — both issues that women, especially independent white women, have cited as important in their choice of a candidate.

"The dream of owning a home should not be crushed under the weight of a bad mortgage," McCain said at a rally here at Lehigh University, where he began his speech with remarks about a new proposal to bail out homeowners carrying underwater mortgages.

Obama has built up support among women that approaches the level of female support for the last successful Democratic candidate, Bill Clinton, when he won his second term in 1996. In both the presidential races that followed, George W. Bush made inroads among women voters that helped him defeat successive Democratic challengers.

Republican officials now are looking for ways to bolster homeownership — and have recognized the issue's political appeal to women.

"It's a pressing issue for all of us, and especially independent female voters," said Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan. And two McCain aides who were trumpeting the plan, under which the Treasury Department would spend $300 billion to buy up mortgages and renegotiate their terms, volunteered that it was modeled on a similar plan proposed by Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

After remaining silent on the plan during Tuesday's debate, Obama Wednesday came out against McCain's mortgage proposal, claiming it would be too costly to taxpayers. "The biggest beneficiaries of this plan will be the same financial institutions that got us into this mess," policy adviser Jason Furman said in a statement.

Even though healthcare is not directly connected to the financial crisis, both candidates have been speaking about their health proposals in recent days, an issue that aides for both campaigns say resonates particularly strongly with women. The turn was particularly novel for McCain, typically more comfortable talking about fiscal and taxpayer concerns.

"On healthcare, people got a better understanding of how our healthcare plan differs from Senator Obama's, and it's an area of tremendous interest to women," said McCain strategist Charlie Black.

Public and private polling indicates that McCain has lost any gains made among women since late August when he chose running mate Palin, the Alaska governor who now appears more popular among men than women. Much of the initial fascination with Palin, the first female Republican vice presidential nominee, has been overshadowed by economic news.

Recent comments