< Clinton's Female Base Wavers Ahead of Pa. Primary

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Heard on Morning Edition

April 16, 2008 - RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.

Finally, the Pennsylvania primary is nearly upon us. It's less than a week away. And Barack Obama appears to be cutting into Hillary Clinton's once imposing lead there. Polls show Obama is even gaining ground with one of Clinton's strongest groups of supporters: younger, middle class women who are rising through the professional ranks, much the way Clinton herself did.

NPR's Linda Wertheimer sat down with a group of women who match that description in a Philadelphia suburb.

LINDA WERTHEIMER: The dozens of prosperous townships that surround Philadelphia are filled with blooming cherry trees and bright tulips right now and a crop of Democrats very involved in the primary. The women we met last night are married professionals. Debbie Bernstein, whose house we visited, is a financial analyst. She started out not really caring which candidate won. She liked them both. Like many women, she leaned toward Clinton, but then…

Ms. DEBBIE BERNSTEIN (Obama Supporter): As time went on, I felt that I identified more with Senator Obama. I felt that he addressed the issues that I was looking for. And I felt that he had the inspiration to move the country forward. And I think that was what motivated me to kind of switch gears.

WERTHEIMER: Olivia Brady is a systems analyst who felt a similar kind of drift away from Clinton - although not entirely because she was attracted to Obama.

Ms. OLIVIA BRADY (Clinton Supporter): There was a time there that I wavered to Obama because I felt the campaign was so negative, and I really was turned off by that. But then as I thought about it and I looked at who I would rather see in the White House, who I would rather see as a leader, I came back to feeling that Clinton would fit that role better.

WERTHEIMER: One woman in our group described her views as evolving in the course of this long campaign. Linda Hee, who's an attorney representing a city agency, studied the candidates.

Ms. LINDA HEE (Attorney): I have both of their books. And I got about halfway through Senator Clinton's book, and I found it really hard to read. I think that she wrote the way that she speaks. When I read Senator Obama's book, I was staying up nights reading his book. I found it very compelling.

WERTHEIMER: Linda Hee says she felt Obama had a spirit that she admired.

But Obama's difficulties in this latter part of the campaign - his defense of his controversial pastor, his description of people left behind by the current economy as bitter - that did make a difference to some of the women in the room.

Caroline Cullman(ph), who is a hospital administrator, said it confirmed her view that Clinton would be a better general election candidate.

Ms. CAROLINE CULLMAN (Clinton Supporter): I have to say I read the quote in the newspaper and my first reaction was, wow, I can't believe he actually said it. It's so insightful and it's accurate. And then I thought, oh, my God. I can't believe he said that. Here it comes. And they took and they spun and he became an elitist.

And that's what I'm a little bit concerned about with Obama. I think his honesty and the fact that he is so forthright, I think it could get him into trouble once we get into a national campaign and the Republicans are just sitting there waiting to pounce.

WERTHEIMER: Collette Scott(ph), who works in standardized testing, appeared to move a little bit back toward the middle position, although still favoring Obama.

Ms. COLLETTE SCOTT (Obama Supporter): I think it's been a very big distraction in the campaign with Obama supporting his reverend, Hillary lying about gunfire under - when she got to Bosnia, and now Obama's comments. What I'm looking for is for the Democratic Party to tell me what will be different in the White House a year from now when they're there.

WERTHEIMER: Collette Scott is not the only one who wanted to hear more. Tracy Simmons is a nurse and a mother. She wants candidates to talk more about policies important to her.

Ms. TRACY SIMMONS: And then for the children, because I do have four, which candidate will allow me to have the programs that I need in school, whether it's gifted programs. If they can help us change those - the testing that they have in the schools.

WERTHEIMER: Candidates talk a lot about international issues, according to Andrea Lawful Trainor(ph), but not enough about rising prices at home. Although she can well afford it, she says, she was still horrified to realize that she spent $400 in one supermarket visit last Sunday.

Ms. ANDREA LAWFUL TRAINOR: I have no idea what we spent. It is now Tuesday and half the food is gone, because I have boys and a husband. So it makes it - it's incredibly difficult. They're like never-ending pits, you know. Then I, you know, mommy, take me there. Mommy take me there. Gas is now $3.51 a gallon, you know, in many places. And I'm constantly seeing people's houses being foreclosed.

And I'm frightened. I'm frightened about what's going to happen to us in the near future. I don't hear enough about it. I really don't. That bothers me.

WERTHEIMER: Is this campaign going on too long? Our hostess, Debbie Bernstein, said maybe, but personally, she is having a wonderful time.

Ms. BERNSTEIN: For Pennsylvania, it's a great thing. Our vote never really mattered before. Truthfully, by the time it got to the primaries everybody's kind of like well those people in Pennsylvania, it doesn't really make any difference. Maybe they just need to move Pennsylvania up a little bit. Maybe right after Iowa.

WERTHEIMER: In fact, the states that tried to move up in the batting order haven't had anything like the influence that Pennsylvania will have on this contest next Tuesday.

Linda Wertheimer, NPR News, Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia.

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