Return of the Gender Gap (If, Indeed, It Ever Went Away)
Zogby poll of 1,012 likely voters, released June 11, 2003 (conducted June 6-10, 2003)
This week brings new polls showing the return of the gender gap to American politics (if indeed it ever went away--see the November 25-29, 2002 Public Opinion Watch). In addition to the yawing gender gap on whether the Iraq war was really worthwhile (see above), the latest Zogby poll shows a substantial gender gap that really should scare Bush and his operatives. In this poll, Bush's typically weak reelect number in a generic Presidential ballot is 44 percent to 37 percent for an unnamed Democratic opponent. But break it down by gender and you get 49 percent to 33 percent for men and 40 percent to 40 percent for women. Even more amazing, in a closely related question, 56 percent of men say Bush deserves reelection, compared to 32 percent who say it is time for someone new. But women, by 44 percent to 43 percent, are more inclined to say it is time for someone new than to say that Bush deserves to be reelected.
Wow. And this is seventeen months before the election. By the time the election actually gets here, women should, as usual, be strongly pro-Democratic.