Is Bush The Man For Women?
The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the campaign commercials of the presidential hopefuls. Jane Ruvelson offers insight on Bush's recent ad which hopes to lure women voters.
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The Ad: On Wednesday, the Bush campaign launched a radio ad in New York attacking John McCain for his opposition to breast cancer research funding. The 60-second spot, Barish, features Geri Barish, a breast cancer survivor and activist, who is critical of McCain's commitment to women's health issues.
Audio: Geri Barish: Hi. My name is Geri Barish and I'm a breast cancer survivor. For the last 20 years, I have worked hard to find a cure for breast cancer and to make sure those of us with this deadly disease are treated with dignity and respect. Like many, I had thought of supporting John McCain in next week's presidential primary. So I looked into his record...what I discovered was shocking. John McCain opposes many projects dedicated to women's health issues. It's true. McCain opposes funding for vital breast cancer programs right here in New York. He opposes funding for the North-Shore-Long Island Jewish breast cancer program and wants to cut funding for NYU's program in Women's cancer. McCain is even against funding for breast cancer mapping. That's right, John McCain even opposes funding for breast cancer mapping, essential to breast cancer research. John McCain calls these projects, just "garden-variety pork." That's shocking. America deserves better. Next Tuesday, John McCain won't have my vote. We deserve a candidate with a record on women's issues we can trust.
Fact Check: Factual, but misleading. The cancer programs mentioned by Barish are just two of hundreds which McCain opposes because they were slipped into legislation, without being reviewed by a congressional committee. A McCain spokesman explained that McCain opposed the bill because it diverted "hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants to specific research centers. It may very well have been that these research goals could have been more efficiently met at research facilities in the district of a less powerful member of Congress." McCain has supported and co-sponsored other measures calling for increased funding of disease research and treatment, including at least six amendments specifically addressing breast cancer issues. Also, McCain's commitment to women's issues has likely been affected by his sister, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.
The Strategy: With Barish, Bush reaches out to New York's moderate Republicans and women voters. Bush garnered more of the women's vote in all of February's primaries, including Virginia's, where he led McCain among women by 16 points, according to exit polls.
With less than a week before New York's primary, the launch of Barishhave more to do with delegates than with breast cancer. Not long ago, Bush held double-digit leads in polls from delegate-rich New York. However, after the New Hampshire primary, McCain caught up quickly and even surged ahead of Bush. However, the release of Barish may be having an effect -- recent polls indicate McCain's New York support has dipped below Bush's.