From The Washington Post

Their biographies exude machismo: James Webb, the Marine firing his M50 antitank rifles in the jungles of Vietnam, and George Allen, the tobacco-chewing cowboy who as governor once stirred GOP delegates with this line about Democrats: "Let's enjoy knocking their soft teeth down their whining throats."

But Webb, the former Navy secretary, and Allen, the first-term Republican senator, are trying to soften their tough-guy personas as they appeal to the 1.9 million women who represent more than half of Virginia voters. The candidates are virtually tied among likely female voters, a recent Washington Post poll shows.

From Alternet

College student Dena Gleason, 24, squints at the address on the blue wooden home with the two-car garage, then strolls resolutely toward the front door, armed with an open smile and a clipboard. The smell of freshly mowed grass clings to the thick evening air of midsummer, and the American flag on the porch droops in the heat.

This neighborhood, with its manicured lawns and tree- lined streets, is fit for a Norman Rockwell painting, but to Gleason, a senior at South Dakota State in Brookings, it's simply the staging ground for the most important social battle she's faced in her lifetime.

She's taken the semester off school and given up two jobs in order to gather tons of signatures and talk to hundreds of people, trying to convince them that a vote No on Referred Law 6 this November is critical for protecting women's rights. In February and March 2006, the state legislature of South Dakota passed, and Gov. Mike Rounds signed, a bill to outlaw abortion in the state.

From Salon

As President Bush's ratings have declined, so have the GOP's -- and, as we noted earlier this month, Republicans are losing approval points especially among self-described political independents. This week it looks like another important voting bloc may be defecting from the GOP: women. According to the EMILY's List Women's Monitor report released yesterday, fewer than one-third of female respondents believe the country is moving in the right direction -- and only a third of women who voted for George W. Bush plan to vote for a Republican congressional candidate.

According to EMILY's list national political director Karen White, "The gender gap is back, and it's growing." The report shows that, although Democrats are leading Republicans among all voters -- 40 percent of respondents said they'd vote for a Democratic congressional candidate, as opposed to 36 percent who planned to vote for a Republican -- the Dems have an even bigger lead among women. Forty-three percent of female respondents planned to vote for Democrats, versus 32 percent who would vote for GOP candidates. And the report found that the Democrats led among women of all age groups. While women in their late 30s to early 40s only slightly preferred Democratic candidates (Democrats led 40 to 39 percent), Democrats had an 18-point lead among women in their late 40s and early 50s. (Democrats also held an eight-point lead among seniors and women under 35.)

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From The Huffington Post

When my pot roast is simmering in the oven and my husband's suits are sufficiently pressed and hung, I occasionally take a break from teaching my children bible verses and the evils of baby killing Democrats to catch a few minutes of Oprah. Sorry, the laughter overtook me there for a minute.

Actually, after I've finished blogging about my fantasies of killing Elmo, whipped up yet another "I don't think this has transfats, but it might have mercury" dinner, and wrestled the remote from the SpongeBob addicted 3-year old, I catch a few minutes of Oprah.

Today's guest: superstar Senator from Illinois Barack Obama. Oprah is talking to Obama about the possibility of him running for President in 2008. And I'm ignoring the cries of "WHERE IS SPONGEBOB!" to hear the answer.

A daytime talk show host is pushing politics on her show...and this mother is not only listening intently, but sitting on the edge of her seat to hear the banter.

Welcome to the new spin on campaigning, and the new breed of Mom voter. Get used to politicians and their wives on Oprah being watched by educated homemakers with tattoos and outspoken opinions. Get used to this making many people uncomfortable.

From Feministin g

Data released Monday by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute show a record 2,431 women are general election candidates for state legislative seats on Nov. 7. That's 56 more female candidates than the prior peak in 1992, when 2,375 women ran.

Obviously this seems like a good thing and it probably is. But I am interested to see a couple of things. How many of these women will actually be elected? Also, just because women are running doesn't mean that their agenda is feminist or progressive (or anti-war), so I think that is another variable to keep in mind. Finally, how many of these women represent women of color or working class people? Or are they mostly white middle class women, usually the first to have access to legislative bodies?

From Category 305

Take suffragette Susan B. Anthony, she of the seemingly quixotic 19th-century quest to get women the vote. Subtract the strong jaw, granny specs, and passion for temperance. Add tight T-shirts, shiny hair, and the foamy taps at Churchill's. You have the Voting Vixens.

Anthony spent her whole life fighting for women’s suffrage only to die nearly 20 years before women were finally granted the right to vote. But does the post-modern female appreciate this? She does not, judging by the fact that more than 22 million women in their 20s and 30s chose not to vote in 2004.

From The Washington Post

The following is a public service announcement.

"I did a lot of research on positions that I liked," says "Law & Order" alumna Angie Harmon in her close- up.

Tyne Daly from "Judging Amy" says, "The first man I had a crush on who wasn't my dad was John F. Kennedy. I really wanted to do it for him."

From The Minnesota Daily

Minnesota has never elected a woman U.S. Senator, and only about 30 percent of state legislators are women.

This year, voters have the chance to make a change, according to some campus organizers. The Office for University Women's "Go Vote Girl 2006" campaign is an attempt to get women interested in voting and someday running for office themselves.