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Working Women Leery of Palin

Female solidarity aside, it's the economy, stupid —and Obama's feeling their pain

By Kate Rockwood, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 7, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

(Newser) – Working-class women may decide who makes it to the White House, and while Sarah Palin piqued the interest of many undecideds, her gender isn’t enough to override their main concerns over soaring food and gas prices, unaffordable health care, and record-high unemployment. The Los Angeles Times takes the pulse of blue-collar women in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

“I wanted Hillary to win so bad, but I saw Sarah, and it just didn't work for me,” said a $10.50-an-hour cook, who worries about sending her daughter to college. "I have no retirement. Obama understands it's the economy. He knows how we live." One waitress dubbed Palin “the perfect candidate,” but decided to vote for whoever addressed gas prices first. “And—I’ll be danged—it was Obama,” she told the LA Times.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

For many working class women voters, everyday concerns like rising food and gas prices and record-high unemployment trump the pull of Palin's gender. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Republicans hope Palin's working class roots will draw in undecided women voters. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

For many working class women, Sarah Palin's jabs at Obama are a turn-off, the LA Times reports. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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We don't need any more fighting in Washington. Women are not for women just because they are women. We are intelligent enough to make a conscious decision. - Patty Tobal, 63, retired nurse in Pennsylvania

I think Palin is a fake. She will run the economy into the ground. I have to kill myself every day at work to earn enough to pay for gas to get there. I think Obama is sincere. I think we need a change. - Jennifer Glisan, 23, EMT in Pennsylvania

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Working Women Leery of Palin