The Edwards Matrix

Madeline Holler — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:34:00 GMT

Think of it as the grown-up version of picking a prom date.

An Edwards supporter who doesn't know which box to check on her absentee ballot has come up with a cheat sheet to figure out which candidate she will support. She has posted the Edwards Matrix for all to see.

Problem is, the matrix is inconclusive. The mom who designed it gets all the important stuff -- Iraq, healthcare, experience, hair. But the would-be dates are still in a dead heat.

Political Nanny is looking for something definitive -- a gun to her head, marching orders, whatever you got. Clinton, Obama ... Obama, Clinton. To hell with choice. Could somebody help her decide!

Seems like Republicans are less undecided than Democrats, but there are still plenty who are (but with much less consequence, since McCain seems to be far enough ahead of the others). Apparently, we undecideds are not alone. Salon's Rebecca Traister brilliantly describes how millions of Democratic voters are feeling right this very minute. And this minute. And this one too.

Use Your Words: This Election's Label for the Voting Baby Mama

Madeline Holler — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:18:00 GMT

How will campaign strategists and the label-loving media lump together voting mothers this presidential election? Mercifully, “soccer moms” and their white sneakers are no longer the go-to stereotype for all women with kids. (Mrs. Beckham's heels and British passport wrecked that cliche.)

And that trembling “security mom,” who clutched child to breast and gave every dark-skinned air-traveler the once-over, seems also to have exited the stage.

Here’s my guess: this election, candidates will be courting any child-bearing woman with a laptop and an opinion. Send your friend an email detailing the sordid Edwards dream you had last night and they’ll nail you as an online activist or mommy blogger.

Campaign managers will try to understand your interests, leverage your support, get you to be their candidate’s spokesperson for millions and millions of “like-minded mothers!”

Watch for the media’s sweeping generalizations about our fast-paced lives, our willingness to share news analysis alongside vacation photos, our love of shoes, anything pink and the tough talk/hard line/big ideas/forward thinking of INSERT CANDIDATE’S NAME HERE.

But, seriously, what do we all really have in common? Bandwidth?

And Daddies? Don’t expect equal treatment. You'll only get attention if you watch NASCAR. I don’t care what you write in your blog, you’re still just a male voter and, as a father, you will be ignored.

Political Nanny : blogger mom

The Edwards Matrix

Use Your Words: This Election's Label for the Voting Baby Mama