Equal Pay Is Obama's Women Card

Barack Obama isn't talking about Roe v. Wade much before female audiences these days, Politico reports, focusing rather on a case seen to have undermined women's rights to equal pay. In highlighting Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tires rather than abortion, the Democrat is tapping into economic concerns while steering clear of an issue even pro-choice Americans can find distasteful.

"At a time when people are feeling economically squeezed between rising prices and stagnant income, [income inequality] really rankles both men and women," one Democratic strategist said. "It is not just a women's issue, it is a central part of an economic platform that talks about increasing income." Obama also points to an equal-pay bill he sponsored that died in the Senate—and which John McCain opposed. (More women stories.)