Candidates Court Single Women
Socorro Marquez, 53, and Alison James, 30, are both single and being heavily pursued by two men: George W Bush and John Kerry. The problem is, as CBS News Correspondent Mika Brzezinski reports, both women have commitment issues.
"I haven't voted since I was 18," says Marquez. "I've had no reason to."
"I did not vote in the last presidential election," says James.
They are two of the 22 million single women in this country who made the choice not to vote last time. President Bush is turning on the charm with his "W Stands for Women" campaign. Kerry has his own Internet counter-part -- the candidates using Web sites and even their own wives to woo what's long been the unattainable vote.
"It's time that our voices be heard in full and in last,'' said Teresa Heinz Kerry on Aug. 29.
"My husband believes that we all should have an equal opportunity to achieve our dreams," said First Lady Laura Bush on Aug. l8.
While there's been a lot of talk about soccer moms morphing into security moms worried about terrorism, single women say they've heard too much about it.
"There's a disconnect," says Page Gardner, co-director of "Women's Voices. Women Vote." "They are not hearing about the issues that affect their daily lives."
Here are some of the reasons why women say they don't vote:
"Absolutely,'' say the two women.
Asked what the candidates need to focus on that would mean anything to her, Marquez, a single mother of four boys, names health insurance, day care and housing
"Maybe we need a female candidate," says James.
The single women's vote is getting a lot of attention, from headlines to women's magazines like Glamour to Ms. and old-fashioned get-out-the-vote drives.
And for James, voting has worked.
She says she plans to vote.
But not Marquez. Once again, she's not voting. Neither candidate has been able to win her over.