Ever since Mitt Romney's 10/3 debate win translated to a lead in the opinion polls, I've been wondering who all those fickle Americans could be.
After all, America has been watching this race for a good long time, and Obama was consistently the favorite. Then one poor debate showing and a significant number of people changes their minds? Huh?
Today I found out. And I'm embarrassed.
Most people believe Obama lost the debate on style, not substance. He lost because he didn't come out swinging. He was too calm, too professorial, too fact-based.
Some pundits will even go on to point out that challengers have the inherent advantage in a first debate, merely because they are being seen, for the first time, as an equal to the leader of the free world. So even a draw would have been a loss for Obama.
But what does Obama's loss and subsequent drop in the polls say about the American electorate?
I thought it meant that we are too interested in seeing a grudge match, too wed to our spectator bloodlust. We don't care about policy; we don't even care about truth. We want to see a brawl! We seem to be a nation that prefers sports to civil liberties, and are more likely to know the name of a championship wrestler than of our own congressperson.
So I was guessing that the folks who swung their votes to Romney after his recent artful litany of lies were the same ones for whom might makes right. The people who respond positively to tough-guy tactics vs. thoughtful approaches. The people for whom "fair fight" is defined by the winner.
Or, I thought, at least Obama's drop in the polls might be an across-the-board phenomenon, not confined to any one social group.
But no. From what I can see in the statistics, the substantial lead Obama had in one key demographic has essentially capsized. Not collapsed, mind you, reversed.
That demographic? Women.
Unless this is a Republican ploy to plant a false news story designed to make Americans believe something is true so much that they make it so, this is a very troubling trend.
Women were the one voting bloc I thought couldn't be fooled. The one voting bloc I thought would recognize and reject a liar, a cheat and a bully. I thought women were the reliable demographic, the one that wouldn't jump ship when the storm came.
Sadly, I misunderestimated American women.
Wake up women of America! Romney wants to roll back your rights. You want family planning? Well, kiss it goodbye under a President Romney. You want affordable health care, or even equality of cost in health insurance? Forget that if you vote for Romney. You want your kids to have decent schools, fair pay, a non-toxic environment or access to health care that doesn't put your family at serious financial risk? You can't even hope for that if Romney wins next month.
Women are always complaining that we are undervalued, not taken seriously, don't have enough power. Well ladies, that big poll shift shows that our votes are valued, and that we certainly do have power! Enough, in fact, to chose the leader of the free world. And that's quite a lot.
A significant number of American women apparently just blew with the prevailing winds right on over to the Romney camp this past week, playing right into the age old stereotype of the flighty, fickle female. Is that who we want to be? Really?
'Cause if so, we have met the enemy, and it is us. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Let's fix this thing. Let's all start a conversation TODAY with every woman we know about how she plans to vote on November 6 and why. Let's find out if she's recently changed her mind, and why. If she plans to vote for Romney, let's do our best to help her rethink what a Romney win will mean for her future.
We owe it to the nation to have these conversations. Because let's face it, if Romney wins the election, American women
will suffer.
And for all you men out there, don't think this isn't about you, too. Because as you well know, if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody's gonna be happy!