Obama Decides What is Important to Women, and Attacks McCain Hypocritically

While fair pay has already been addressed in Equal Pay for Women Promised by Obama Practiced by McCain and Obama's Unrealistic Promise of Equal Pay; it is an issue that needs to be revisited as Senator Obama's has decided to attack Senator McCain on not supporting equal pay for women. The main problem with this attack is that CNS News reported in the article Obama's for Equal Pay, Yet Pays Female Staffers Less Than Males, that not only does Obama pay his female staff less than his male staff, but Senator McCain pays his female staff MORE than his male staff.

The second problem is the Obama campaign's tack. In addressing Clinton's female supporters right after the primaries the NYT reports Senator Obama said, "If women take a moment to realize that on every issue important to women, John McCain is not in their corner, that would help them get over it." 'Every issue important to women' apparently is fair pay and abortion rights. It's hard not to see this as an incredibly condesending remark. Foreign policy, anti-torture legislation, campaign finance reform, immigration, national security, political courage and decency, apparently not of interest to women according to the Obama philosophy. Yet lets address these 'two issues' that Obama believes are important to women. First equal pay; Senator McCain is not taking a stand against fair pay, he's taking a stand for small government. Politically it would be easier to take the simplistic view that promoting lawsuits will actually result in fair pay for women. This is fair pay lip service, the actual number of women in any position to sue their employer is minimal to non-existant. This is just election year politicking. As for choice, this is the issue that the Obama campaign is clinging to in hopes of winning female voters. Senator McCain is pro-life, and the article Yes I'm Female, Pro-Choice and Pro-McCain gives a more detailed rationale for voting McCain.

Again the trouble is how the Obama campaign uses this issue. The Obama camp is quick to point out the politics of fear used by the Bush administration, but a similar strategy is being used to threaten women with the repeal of Roe v Wade if McCain is elected. Supreme court appointments matter, but they aren't guarantees that the court will side one way or another on any particular issue. Since 1975 the presidency has been held by Republicans for 21 years and Roe v. Wade still stands. A woman's vote shouldn't be taken for granted just because a candidate pays lip service to the 'two women's issues.'

Equal Pay for Women Promised by Obama Practiced by McCain

Criticism of Senator Obama's Unrealistic Promise of Equal Pay has taken on a new irony in that CSN News Network has reported that McCain and Clinton pay their female staff better that Senator Obama. To further the irony, Senator McCain actually pays the women on his staff better than the men, while Senator Clinton pays men and women the same. Both McCain and Clinton hired more female staffers than male staffers; not Obama he has more men on staff than women and they are paid less than the men. According to the AP Senator Obama stated, "I'll continue to stand up for equal pay as president — Senator McCain won't, and that's a real difference in this election." There you have it; the difference in this campaign is rhetoric versus action.

"Non-intern female employees did better working on the Senate staffs of John McCain and Hillary Clinton during the latest public reporting period than they did working for Barack Obama, Cybercast News Service determined through an analysis of payroll data published by the Secretary of the Senate.

Both McCain and Clinton also employed more female than male staffers, while Obama employed more males than females. However, Obama's staff was more balanced between male and female staffers than either McCain's or Clinton's.

Also, McCain and Clinton had more female than male staffers making six-figure salaries, while Obama had more male than female staffers making six-figure salaries.

The data were taken from the Report of the Secretary of the Senate, which covered the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2007.

Only in the office of McCain, an Arizona Republican and his party's presumptive presidential nominee, was the average salary for women higher than for men."

Hat Tip to Wake Up America for first reporting on this.

Obama's Unrealistic Promise of Equal Pay

The Obama solution to the pay discrepancy between men and women is lawsuits. His argument that the Supreme Court should not have made it more difficult to sue their employer is fair. However, the idea that there are many women in the position to sue their employer shows a lack of understanding of the real world. First problem, most people need their jobs. Suing an employer will result in a lost job. Even if legislation protects against firings based on litigation, there is reality that is being overlooked. Employers may give another cause for the dismissal, or that job may simply become unbearable. This leaves these sort of lawsuits for only a select few who can afford to be with out a job, and have the time to be tied up with legal matters.