Amid perceived advantage, Obama touts pro-women message

President Barack Obama speaks at the White House Forum on Women and the Economy, Friday, April 6, 2012, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington.

/ women, obama

Amid an ongoing debate over what some Democrats are calling the Republican "war on women," President Obama on Friday touted a distinctly pro-women agenda, delivering a personal message about his commitment to increasing equality and opportunities for women and girls of "all stages of life."

The president, speaking at a White House forum on women and the economy, reflected on recent debates over political issues relating to women and women's health, arguing that "the conversation's been oversimplified."

"Women are not some monolithic bloc. Women are not an interest group," he said. "You shouldn't be treated that way."

The panel comes just days after a new USA Today/Gallup poll showed that women in 12 top battleground states favor the president by 18 points when matched up against Mitt Romney, the man many believe will be his Republican rival for the presidency come November. That's a 7-point boost for the president since the poll was conducted in January and February, and since the explosion of a number of controversial debates surrounding contraception and Planned Parenthood. Among men, the poll showed Romney leading Mr. Obama by one point.

The national data shows a similar gender disparity: According to a Pew poll from March, Obama leads Romney 58 percent to 38 percent among women voters, while the two run about even among men.

Surrounded onstage by a diverse group of accomplished women on Friday, the president talked about gender barriers that women in his own life have struggled to overcome. He pledged that for him, achieving equality is a "personal matter."

"When I think about these efforts, when we put together this Council on Women and Girls, this is personal. That's what is at the heart of all our efforts. These are the experiences -- the prism through which I view these efforts," he said. "That's what we mean when we say that these issues are more than just a matter of policy. And when we talk about these issues that primarily impact women, we've got to realize they are not just women's issues; they are family issues, they are economic issues, they are growth issues, they are issues about American competitiveness, they are issues that impact all of us."

The president cited legislation like the Lily Ledbetter Act for fair pay-- the first bill he signed into law upon taking office -- as well as efforts to help women business owners as evidence of his commitment to women.

Still, he acknowledged, "once [women] get out of college we still have a lot of ground to cover."

"Just 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women," Mr. Obama said. "Fewer than 20 percent of the seats in Congress are occupied by women."

"Is it possible that Congress will get more done if there were more women in Congress?" he joked, laughing. "Is that fair to say, Joe? I think it's fair to say. That is -- that is almost guaranteed."

Romney's relationship with women voters has come under increased scrutiny as he appears increasingly poised to lock up the Republican presidential nomination.

In a recent interview with Newsmax, the former Massachusetts governor seemed to acknowledge the disparity in the polls, responding to a question about the polling data that "I think this will pass as an issue as people understand our real position" on issues like birth control.

He has also referred to his wife Ann as something of an ambassador to women, telling journalists in a speech at the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) earlier this week that his wife had been sending him "reports" about the issues women prioritize.

"My wife has the occasion, as you know, to campaign on her own...She reports to me regularly that the issues women care about most is the economy and getting good jobs for their kids and for themselves. They're concerned about gasoline prices," Romney said. "That's what women care about in this country and my vision is to get America working again, short term and long term."

Democrats have wasted few opportunities to target Republicans over their positions on issues related to women.

In a Friday interview with MSNBC, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz lambasted "Romney and the Republicans" for being "callously indifferent" to women's interests.

"You know, what Mitt Romney and the Republicans have been doing to themselves every single day is showing women in this country day after day that they are callously indifferent to women's health, the priorities of women," she said. "You know, if they're still wondering why there's an 18-point gender gap and President Obama is ahead of Mitt Romney by that many points, then they really -- they really must believe these things that they're saying. Shocking."

[Molly-Pchr]

Abortion and persuading women to alter the natural rhythms of their bodies to keep down population, that's war on women.

[RealWorldNow]

Obama says
"Women are not some monolithic bloc. Women are not an interest group," he said. "You shouldn't be treated that way."

So he uses them as a tool for votes. Classic example of do as I say and not as I do. He's just driving another wedge into society, deeper and deeper.....

[reality_sanity]

The President makes a valid point that if a voter is interested in real issues facing this country there is a difference in the two parties in terms of policies concerning women. Democrats support equal pay and other women's rights issues that have allowed women to be competitive in the modern workplace. The Republicans are advocating returning to the policies that keep women in the home which is pre WWII. How long before the Republicans start advocating pre-20's policy seeking the repeal of women's sufferage? The issue is not only women that are under attack. Mitt Romney claims the president has the power to close legal private businesses in this country by executive fiat. The voiding of legal contracts they choose is another policy Republicans support. Replacing elected officials with ones the Republicans appoint is also a disturbing change. Romney respects and supports actions of CHINESE COMMUNIST REGULATORS; de we need Chinese Communist like regulators in the US. Lastly, Romney says he cannot explain policies he plans to implement as president because the voters will not vote for him. We should agree with candidate Romney and vote AGAINST HIS RADICAL POLICIES that he already knows voters WILL NOT SUPPORT.

[RealWorldNow]

reality, look at the title of the article ! "Obama sees opening", this is not because he cares, it's because he is looking for votes ! There is no war on women, it's a fabricated crisis. There will be bad laws presented in the future by both parties and they will ultimately fail but this is purely political and helps distract from his miserable record of broken promises...

[RobAla]

So, what exactly are the grounds for President Obama to claim that Republicans have a "war on women"? Republicans appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court, President Bush appointed Condi Rice as Secretary of State, and John McCain picked a woman as his running mate for VP. There is no legitimate grounds to claim that Republicans are exercising a "war on women". This is just more of President Obama's divisive political tactics. Since 2008, he has pitted one group of Americans against another - now he is using gender to attempt to divide Americans and focus the attention away from his failed policies.

[reality_sanity]

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski agrees with the stupidity of the Republican's war on women. That's a supporter from the Republican side criticizing their own for the war on women. Is that an acceptable answer from a voice you respect; Rob?

[bassinapple]

Where was our President (and our media) when Mike Tyson talked about "wombshifting" Sarah Palin? Where was our media when Letterman joked about a baseball player raping Willow Palin?

[occupy_cbs]

Yes, there is a Republican war on women voters

From the GOP primary to the conservative airwaves, in state legislatures and in Congress, Republicans are playing politics with women's health and basic liberties, driving a wedge among conservatives and driving women voters toward the Democrats.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/15/yes-there-is-republican-war-on-women-voters/#ixzz1rI3pPPt9

[occupy_cbs]

Murkowski Becomes Third Republican Senator To Criticize GOP's War On Women

The men in the Republican Party may not think they're fighting a "WAR on women," but its female senators certainly do. Yesterday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Kay Bailey Hutchison in criticizing the GOP's push for legislation to restrict access to contraception and other basic health care services:

"It makes no sense to make this attack on women," she said at a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon. "If you don't feel this is an attack, you need to go home and talk to your wife and your daughters."

[occupy_cbs]

I certainly am surprised that you fox/rush parrots didn't see this on the fox political network:


Yes, there is a Republican war on women voters

From the GOP primary to the conservative airwaves, in state legislatures and in Congress, Republicans are playing politics with women's health and basic liberties, driving a wedge among conservatives and driving women voters toward the Democrats.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/15/yes-there-is-republican-war-on-women-voters/#ixzz1rI3pPPt9

[occupy_cbs]

Fast-forward to February 2011 when anti-choice Republicans pushed a rogue measure to cut off all federal funding from Planned Parenthood , even though less than 3% of services provided by Planned Parenthood are abortions, none of which are paid for using federal grant dollars.

Still, Republicans saw an opportunity to fire up their fringe base while undermining a liberal-leaning advocacy organization. And if the five million American women who get affordable health care from Planned Parenthood every year had to be thrown under the bus, so be it. All's fair in politics.

Almost a year later, a Republican operative at the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation pushed for the organization to cut its support of Planned Parenthood. Uproar from women was swift and strong, prompting Komen to reverse the decision and fire the ideologically-driven instigator.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/15/yes-there-is-republican-war-on-women-voters/#ixzz1rI4cWNtY

[occupy_cbs]

But Republicans kept pushing their anti-choice, anti-women's health agenda.

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who has repeatedly reiterated his staunch opposition to contraception, began surging in the polls among conservative voters.

Republicans in Virginia proposed a law that would require women seeking abortions, even those resulting from rape or incest, to first submit to mandatory trans-vaginal ultrasounds -- a further invasion of their bodies.

And Republicans in Texas pushed through a law defunding Planned Parenthood clinics in the state, cutting off at least 60,000 low-income women from their health care providers.

Thursday, the New York Times reports , "Senate Democratic women plan to march to the Senate floor to demand quick action on the extension of the Violence Against Women Act." The Times goes on to say that the act, "once [a piece of ] broadly bipartisan legislation...now faces fierce opposition from conservatives." The article also mentions this point from a female, Republican Senator: "At a closed-door Senate Republican lunch on Tuesday, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska sternly warned her colleagues that the party was at risk of being successfully painted as anti-woman -- with potentially grievous political consequences in the fall."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/15/yes-there-is-republican-war-on-women-voters/#ixzz1rI52Xjjk

[KeepThinking]

Thank God the President of the United States is defending American women and their legal rights. The Republicans' War on Women is so wildly out of control, from blocking the renewal of the laws against domestic violence, to weakening the laws against rape in many of the States, that re-electing the President is the only hope of stopping this Taliban-ization of America -- for women, and for the fathers, bothers, husbands and sons who respect them and do not want their legal rights to be shredded, or to see them vilified or brutalized.

[KPeters_from_UK]

Come on ConSense, try real hard to defend these actions. Do you agree with rapists getting visitation child rights? You are indeed sick. You are screaming about abortions but fine with getting rid of contraception. Nice. Keep the vaigra but get rid of the Pill for women. You find it funny that some idiot wanted to investigate every miscarriage for criminal intent? You are indeed screwed up.

You haven't heard of the over 400 pieces of legislature going through many states that are trying to control women's health, limiting birth control or making legal abortions extremely difficult to obtain? You didn't read about two years ago in Georgia and GOP politician wanted to investigate every miscarriage to determine is a crime was committed?

Here I'll give you 9 examples:
1. In Oklahoma convicted rapists are allowed to have child visitation rights with the child born of the rape.
2. Idaho and Indiana want to make sure that "silly" women don't use a rape loophole for abortion.
3. Mississippi's Governor gleefully openly stated that the new trap law, bill HB1390 will close down the only abortion center in the state.
4. Michigan, Texas and several others are pushing for Personhood bills which in many cases give full rights to fertilized eggs.
5. Arizona wants to limit contraception by allowing employers to act like doctors to approve or disallow birth control even if used for others means.
6. Tennessee will publish private information on patients, such as the woman's county, age, income, race who have abortions. If a woman lives in a sparse county this is intrusive.
7. Georgia will no longer label victims of rape as victims but as accusers.
8. The GOP in Congress wanted to change the definition of rape. I guess there is a difference between forcible rape and ...what? casual rape?
9. For the first time ever in the history of the Violence against Women Act, which always had the support of many GOP and Republican Presidents suddenly is hated by the majority of the GOP and they seek to reject it.

On top of this, why are all the Red States are at the bottom of the pile in regards to quality of health care for women, employment choices for women, education for women, and have the worst wages for women and the highest teenage unwanted pregnancies?

[Ben37221]

KPeters_from_UK , you said it right.

[bjoh249]

Only under the Obama regime has defending religious liberty guaranteed by the constitution become anti-woman. Stalin would love Obama.

[KPeters_from_UK]

Why won't any of you far right tea baggers try to refute any of the examples I provided or try to reason against the facts that Red States constantly fall behind in health, education, employment for women or have the highest rates of unwanted teenage pregnancies? Oh that's right because you guys agree with all of them and still you can't understand why women feel their rights are being attacked.

Ah, never mind. You people are so damn blind. There is no point debating with you people.

[Ben37221]

How hypocratical are you and your lunablicans. You cry religious liberty when it is politically convenient. Have you forgotten the mosque close to ground zero that republicans screamed, danced and lie about. The republicans claim that the mosque was on ground zero when that was not true. What about the religious liberty of those moslim to build whereever the chose? He again, the republicans are crying about religious liberty when infact you and your friends are trying to erode the right of women to healthcare.As a Christian, I am offended by the fact that the so call conservative Christians have become a political tools for the republicans, a vehicle for their hate and irresponsible legislations, While their actions scream out unbelievers, hypocrates.