Insiders' Look at How Women will Vote on Super Tuesday - LIFETIME/Politico Focus...

Insiders' Look at How Women will Vote on Super Tuesday - LIFETIME/Politico
Focus Groups of Undecided Women Tell All After California Debates
- Pollsters Celinda Lake and Kellyanne Conway Report Top Findings from
Democratic and Republican Women's Focus Groups -

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- How will women vote on
Super Tuesday - and WHY? As part of a new partnership between Lifetime
Networks and POLITICO, renowned pollsters Kellyanne Conway of the polling
company(TM) inc., and Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners facilitated focus
groups of undecided women following Wednesday night's Republican Presidential
debate and last night's Democratic Presidential debate. Here's what they
learned:
What the Republican Women Had to Say After the Republican Debate
-- They believed that Huckabee won the debate hands down. His style and
on-camera presence were the deciders, but his stance on the issues was
not fully comprehended, even after watching the debate.
-- Personalities and debating styles were more memorable than positions
on the issues: Women in the focus groups felt that McCain was "rude"
and "inappropriate"; Romney "arrogant" and "almost scarily perfect";
Huckabee, "sincere" and "believable."
-- The Hillary Factor: An historic possibility, but not reason enough to
change parties or values.
-- A matter of faith: Although not concerned about Huckabee's Baptist
roots, they were wary of Romney's Mormonism.
-- As the field thins, the plot thickens. What these candidates say,
especially about the economy, and how they say it, will determine for
whom these women vote.

The Democratic Women's Reactions to the Democratic Debate
-- Women in the group felt the debate was less of a debate and more like
a "polite tea party."
-- Women across the group hold very positive views of both candidates.
The idea of an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket receives
unanimous excitement and support. Overall, they see Obama and Clinton
as presenting a unified set of Democratic ideals that are in stark
contrast to the agenda espoused by President Bush and the Republican
candidates.
-- They are hungry for a change in leadership and strongly feel either
candidate would have the ability to take the country in a new and
positive direction.
-- They are tired of and frustrated with the negativity and mudslinging
of this campaign -- particularly on Bill Clinton's part -- and found
last night's positive debate to be a refreshing change of pace.
-- They see few significant distinctions between Obama and Clinton on
public policy issues. Any differences are primarily in the means they
favor for reaching their common goals on issues like health care,
immigration reform, and Iraq. Some give Obama an edge on Iraq given
his opposition from the beginning. They say their decision is tough
and, in large part, they're making it on gut feelings, style, and
affinity or comfort with one candidate or the other.

The focus groups were a project of a new partnership between Lifetime
Networks, which includes Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network -- the #1 and #2
channels for women -- and POLITICO, which has the largest circulation of any
Capitol Hill newspaper and is a Nielsen NetRatings "Top 30 Newspaper Web
Site."
On both nights, a diverse group of undecided women voters-one voting in
the Republican primary and one voting in the Democratic primary-watched the
debates at a studio in Beverly Hills and responded to the candidates'
performances and positions on key issues.
In both written and video accounts on its website,
www.politico.com, POLITICO is carrying reports on the insights into the
crucial women's vote gleaned from the focus group participants of all ages and
backgrounds. Lifetime is also highlighting the focus groups on its website,
www.myLifetime.com, and providing a forum for visitors online to
discuss their feedback on the debates and the upcoming Super Tuesday
primaries.
The joint effort with POLITICO is part of Lifetime's award-winning Every
Woman Counts campaign, first launched in 1992 and now in its fifth
presidential election cycle, Every Woman Counts is the only public service
campaign dedicated to encouraging women to speak out on the issues they care
about most, vote and run for office. For the first time, the 2008 Every Woman
Counts initiative will leverage the power of the #1 and #2 television
networks' for women -- Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) -- and
include the most extensive on-air programming, digital content and grassroots
efforts to date. To expand the effort and reach women everywhere they live,
work and play, Lifetime launched the first-ever Every Woman Counts media and
advocacy coalition in partnership with REDBOOK, CosmoGIRL!, Marie Claire,
celebrities, experts and hundreds of women's nonprofit organizations
representing more than 15 million women from all sides of the political
spectrum.
LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated
basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is
committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information
programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their
families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and
Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment
Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney
Company.
SOURCE Lifetime

Geralyn Lucas, +1-212-424-7066, lucas@lifetimetv.com, or Nancy Bennett,
800-834-1110, nancy@nancybennett.info, both of Lifetime