“El Rushbo”

Rush Limbaugh, the uber  radio talker, wants to own a team in the National Football League. Limbaugh is part of a group that is offering to buy the Saint Louis Rams. Limbaugh who has solid roots in Missouri is part of a group that is offering to spend upwards of $700 million to take control of the team.

While Limbaugh is revered by millions of his loyal “ditto heads”, he is reviled by many who feel his brand of conservatism is racist and misogynist. When asked about Limbaugh’s bid to own and NFL team , New York Jets’ star , Bart Scott and New York Giants’ star Mathias Kiwanuka are united in their opposition to Limbaugh’s ownership of an NFL team. Scott said in reference to Limbaugh, ” “I know I wouldn’t want to play for him. He’s a jerk. He’s an —. What he said (about Donovan McNabb) was inappropriate and insensitive, totally off-base. He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn’t play for him. … I wouldn’t play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can’t be bought.”

DeMaurice  Smith ,the executive director of the National Football League Players Association, has joined with Scott and Kiwanuka in opposing Limbaugh’s bid to join the NFL fraternity. Smith is quoted as saying,“‘Sport in America is at its best when it unifies, gives all of us reason to cheer, and when it transcends.  Our sport does exactly that
when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred.” Smith is also urging other NFL players to speak out against Limbaugh’s bid to own the Rams.

If Rush becomes one of the owners of the Saint Louis Rams , it is possible that he might become a very different person. For example, former segregationist Governor George Wallace  threw off his past racist beliefs and became something of an advocate for African Americans in his later years.

In much the same way Rush may have an an epiphany and become an advocate for many of the people he has slammed in the past. Here are some of the innovations Rush might  bring to the NFL:

1. Rush’s team might hire the first female head coach in the NFL . In shedding his “Femi-Nazi” baggage Rush may follow in the footsteps of Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis who hired Art Shell as the first African American head coach in the NFL.

2 Rush might follow the example of the late Boston Celtic Coach Red Auerbach and field the first all African American team in the NFL.  All 22 of Rush’s Rams who start the game would be African American. His team would probably have an Hispanic place kicker.

3. There would be no drug testing of Rush’s Rams. As an admitted and adjudicated drug abuser , Rush would recognize that drug use is a personal issue and not a public issue.

4.Rush’s Rams would have the best  criminal lawyers  money can buy. Rush’s personal experience with the criminal justice system makes him sensitive to the needs  of persons caught up in the web of the American legal system.

5. Viagra would be the primary sponsor of the Limbaugh owned Saint Louis Rams. Rush would not need to slip the little blue pills into the country in his luggage as he once did. Rush would probably get free samples from the Rams’ sponsor.

It is obvious there is the possibility that  Rush Limbaugh might follow the example of Jerry Jones and  become the next transformational owner in the National Football League.

Senator John McCain is in the throes of a losing spiral over the past few months. He lost the presidential election in November and on the first Sunday in February his beloved Arizona Cardinals lost the Super Bowl.

McCain and many of his Republican colleagues are now  “doubling down” by opposing the  President’s “stimulus package”. McCain told CBS television,

“There’s too much spending, too much unnecessary spending, not the right kind of tax cuts and no end game,” McCain said. “In other words,after the economy recovers, we should be on a path to a balanced budget. We’re laying the biggest deficit on future generations of Americans in history.”

McCain also commented on the Cardinal’s Super Bowl loss,

“The old guy, [Kurt] Warner, almost won. For a change, an old guy almost won. I’m proud of him,”

At the same time, President Barack Obama not only bested McCain in
November but the Pittsburgh Steelers whose owner ,coaches and players
campaigned for him “stole” victory  from McCain’s Cardinals in the last
few seconds of the big game.

The President is still riding a hot streak with the people of the nation.The Gallup daily tracking poll found that 66% of Americans approve the President’s performance during the first two weeks of his presidency. At the same time the Diageo/Hotline Poll found that only 26% of Americans approve of the performance Congressional Republicans.

The arithmetic suggests that McCain and his Republican colleagues are engaged in a high risk strategy by challenging the popular new president’s major economic recovery initiative. Just today the President has called on his 13 million former campaign supporters to host house parties across the nation to support for his bill.

In part the Obama administration’s proposal is a classic example of the theory  of  twentieth century economist John Maynard Keynes. The thrust of Keynes’ theory is that the most important action government can take is to distribute money to people and get them to spend it.

“If the Treasury were to fill old bottles with banknotes, bury them at
suitable depths in disused coalmines which are then filled up to the
surface with town rubbish, and leave it to private enterprise on
well-tried principles of laissez faire to dig the notes up again . . .
there need be no more unemployment. . . . It would indeed be more
sensible to build houses and the like; but if there are political and
practical difficulties in the way of this, the above would be better than
nothing.”
(Keynes 1935)

So from the Keynesian perspective spending money on family planning, smoking cessation, the arts, and other programs Republicans are in themselves stimulative.

The Republican opposition gives homage to the free market views of Milton Friedman the late Nobel Laureate.Friedman opposed most government intervention in the economy and in 2001 Owen Ullmann interviewed Friedman and said,

Friedman and John Maynard Keynes are arguably the most influential economists of the Twentieth Century. But as we begin a new millennium, it is Friedman who seems to be winning the debate between the free-market school that he epitomizes and the government-interventionist advocates who see Keynes as their champion

In large measure the challenge by McCain and his fellow Republicans is a battle between competing theories of how to stimulate economic recovery. So when Democrats talk about spending will create jobs , Republicans counter that such spending is wasteful.

In an amazing show of solidarity 36 of the 41 Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted to strip all spending from the stimulus bill and replace it with all tax cuts, the DeMint amendment .

The President and his allies counter that spending and investment are the most effective methods that will jump start a turn around for the economy.

Mike Tomlin- Head Coach – Pittsburgh Steelers

Rod Graves- VP and GM -Arizona Cardinals

When the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals face off in Super Bowl XLIII, the issue of race will not be a major point of discussion among fans and commentators. Less than two weeks after Barack Obama, the United States’ first African American President, took office and a few days after the Republican Party selected an African American, Michael Steele ,as its chairman, there is little discussion of race and its importance to the game.

Black Quarterbacks

Flashback to 1988 and Super Bowl XXII, when the Washington Redskins and faced off against the Denver Broncos, race was front and center in the discussion of the game. Doug Williams was the Washington quarterback and was the center of attention because he was the first African American signal caller to start in a Super Bowl.

Williams got a great deal of attention especially when a member of the media allegedly asked him “How long have you been a black quarterback?” Williams had a record setting performance, led his team to victory and was the Most Valuable Player of the game. Williams’ performance helped to open up opportunities for African Americans to become starting quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL).

Black General Managers

In 2001 at Super Bowl XXXV, the New York Giants faced the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants were a solid offensive team pitted against the Ravens’ great defense. While both teams had a number African American star players, the Ravens’ director of player personnel, Ozzie Newsome, was one of a very few African American executives to run the player selection function of an NFL franchise.

The Ravens won the game and Newsome  was promoted to general manager and joined the ranks of revered executives in the NFL. In 2008 at Super Bowl XLII, another African American, Jerry Reese, the general manager of the New York Giants, built a team that won the big game.

Black Coaches

In 2007 at Super Bowl XLI, the Chicago Bears met the Indianapolis Colts. The issue of race was at the center of discussion regarding the game because both head coaches were African American. Lovie Smith the Bears head coach was a former assistant coach to Tony Dungy, the Colts’ headman. The Colts won the game and Dungy was the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl. This victory cemented Dungy’s legacy as one of the league’s great coaches.

Super Bowl XLIII

Super Bowl XLIII features the Arizona Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Neither of the starting quarterbacks are African American but the Steelers have had three African Americans as backup signal callers during the season. There has been a good deal of talk about the Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin.

Tomlin is the youngest head coach ever to participate in the Super Bowl. There is a great deal of discussion about the fact that Tomlin got the his job when the Steelers’ passed over one of their assistant coaches, the current Arizona Cardinals’ Coach Ken Whisenhunt. Much of the discussion centers on whether Whisenhunt’s knowledge of the Steelers gives the Cardinals an advantage in the game. There is little attention to the fact that Mike Tomlin is African American.

The media has focused on the Cardinals’ star players Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner. Fitzgerald is one of the league’s great receivers and Warner is a veteran quarterback who won a Super Bowl when he played for the Saint Louis Rams in 2000. Few people seem to talk much about the Cardinals’ Rod Graves,the man who put the team together. Graves is the Vice President of Football Operations and changed the culture of a team that had been perennial failure in the NFL for many years. By the way, Graves is also an African American.

Therefore, while America may not be a post racial society after electing an African American President, the National Football League might be on its way.

Phillip Fulmer

Seventeen years ago, I sat in a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee where officials of the University of Tennessee announced that head football coach Johnny Majors had resigned and was being replaced by offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer. Last Monday November 3, 2008,
University of Tennessee officials held a press conference in Knoxville, Tennessee to announce that this would be head football coach Phillip Fulmer’s final year.

In seventeen years at Tennessee, Fulmer won almost 75% of his games and won a national championship in the 1999. In order to fire Fulmer the University will have to pay him more than six million dollars. In addition, the University will have to pay all of Fulmer’s assistant coaches’ salary for a year or two if they are not retained by the new University of Tennessee head coach. So firing Fulmer is a multi-million dollar act on the part of the University.

McCain’s Navy

Almost twenty-five years ago, I attended a luncheon at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, Arizona where a first term United States Senator named John McCain spoke to a group of the city’s African American leaders. McCain assured the group that he was everybody’s senator and vowed to work closely with the small African American population in the state of Arizona.

As a show of his commitment, the senator came with a group of people he called “McCain’s Navy”. These were mostly white professionals who volunteered their services to help improve the lives of a variety of individuals and groups in Arizona. McCain also had syndicated columnist George Will with him. Later, Will, an avowed conservative, wrote a very positive column, which suggested that McCain was a new breed of legislator. More recently, in his columns, Will has been a constant and severe critic of McCain.

On Wednesday November 4, 2008, McCain lost his bid to become the President of the United Sates to Barack Obama, an African American.

‘From Winning to Losing

Both Fulmer and McCain have distinguished careers. Fulmer is one of the most successful coaches in the history of college football. Fulmer is an affable fellow who is revered by his former players. He is a former Tennessee offensive lineman who is very large man. Having participated in golf tournaments where Fulmer was a celebrity participant, I can attest to Fulmer being “a hail fellow well met”.

Despite his past success, the University of Tennessee was willing to part with millions of dollars in order to fire Fulmer. Fulmer had a losing record this season and seemed to be unable to compete with some of the newer and more successful coaches in the Southeastern Conference (S.E.C.). Alabama coach Nick Saban has turned Southern football on its ear .In the week when Fulmer was fired, Saban’s Alabama team was voted the number one team in all of college football.

Fulmer also suffers in comparison to other S.E.C. coaches such as Georgia’s Mark Richt and Florida’s Urban Meyer. The newer S.E.C. coaches are more youthful, more media savvy and have installed offenses that are more dynamic and have become fan favorites. Fulmer’s perennial nemesis South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier was quick to “stick the needle” in after embarrassing the Tennessee Volunteers on the field a few days before Fulmer’s firing.

The New Guy Wins

Like Fulmer, Senator McCain has a distinguished and successful career. A genuine war hero who was imprisoned and tortured by the North Vietnamese, McCain has been a legislative leader. He can point to a number of significant achievements in service in the U.S. Senate. His major strength as retired a Navy officer was national security. When the focus of the election shifted to the economy, McCain was out of his element and seemed never able to gain his footing. Consequently, his campaign became tactical rather than strategic. McCain was short in what George Bush 41 called the “vision thing”.

McCain’s opponent, Senator Obama, is forty-seven years old while McCain is seventy-two. Obama bounds up stairs and glides across stages while McCain has a halting gait in part due to old war injuries. With the overwhelming number of Americans believing that America is on the wrong track, McCain suffered when compared to Obama’s inspirational oratory an seeming unflappability.

For both Fulmer and McCain their past successes are laudable, but the future has been ceded to a new generation of leaders.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the former head of Goldman Sachs, has had a very successful career in business. He has earned hundreds of millions of dollars as a savvy investor and deal maker but he just cannot give a good speech. In the face of the most significant financial crisis since the Great Depression, Paulson could not convince the Congress nor the American public that this crisis required unprecedented governmental intervention into the U.S. economy.

Bernanke Fumbles Also

Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is a brilliant economist, but just like Paulson was unable to mobilize support for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Recovery Plan (TARP). In the midst of crisis, Bernanke’s words failed to persuade. Bernanke is one of the leading experts on the Great Depression. Despite his wisdom, he could not explain why the TARP initiative was the right approach to addressing the current crisis.

Bush Stumbles and Mumbles

President George Bush is also inept in when it comes to explaining the crisis and outlining his solutions. When President Bush has spoken during the times that U.S. financial markets are open, it seems that the stock averages decline in value. While, Bush has never been a great speaker, in the waning days of his presidency he seems disinterested.

Why Words Matter

During the bruising campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton was fond of saying that she had a record and Senator Obama has a speech. Senator Clinton was late in understanding the importance of a good speech. Many commentators say that if she had given the speeches she gave at the end of her campaign earlier, she might have won. Sometimes people need to hear good words.

Especially, in times of rapid change and crisis, people yearn for information, direction, and inspiration. For many people the words used in their religious services help them confront the challenges of daily life. When we graduate from high school or college words in ceremonies send us off to new adventures. When we retire, we get a gold watch and good words, and when we die, good words comfort and console those we leave behind.

Presidents and Good Words

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We often remember and judge U.S. Presidents by the words they have uttered in times of crisis. From Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln to FDR, JFK and most recently Reagan and Clinton the words they used to explain and inspire frame their legacies. Their words were bridges from a troubled present to a more hopeful future.

In the Presidential campaign of 2008, words have been Senator Obama’s best friend and Senator McCain’s difficult acquaintance. Tens of thousands of people continue to endure long lines and metal detectors to hear Senator Obama speak. Until Senator McCain began appearing with his running mate Governor Palin, his audiences were small and polite.

Americans are clamoring for more explanation and more inspiration. In a time when the American economy seems to be spiraling downward people want to be convinced that there are brighter days to come.

In the second Presidential Debate held in Nashville , Senator Obama was able to explain in less than two minutes to why the TARP program was important to average Americans better than Paulson, Bernanke, or Bush have ever been able to do.

Senator Obama’s rising poll numbers are not only due to the economic downtown, but also because the Illinois Senator can explain, inform and inspire.

When John McCain selected Alaska governor, Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, he demonstrated his support for affirmative action in hiring. In July, McCain announced that he was supporting a proposed ballot initiative in his home state of Arizona that would ban the use of race, gender, and ethnicity in giving preferential treatment in any state governmental activity.

Against Affirmative Action Now For It

This proposed initiative, championed by Ward Connerly, would have followed the lead of states such as Michigan and California, which have already banned affirmative action in state and local government programs. For years, McCain has opposed anti affirmative action initiatives as being too divisive. As he tried to distinguish himself from Barack Obama, the first African American presidential nominee of a major party, McCain changed his position and supported the Arizona proposal

The question became moot, when the Arizona Secretary of State determined that the supporters of the Arizona anti affirmative action initiative did not have enough valid signatures to get on the ballot.

Palin’s Qualification

By selecting Palin, McCain has effectively returned to a pro affirmative action position. No matter how McCain tries to justify the selection saying , Palin has the necessary experience and gravitas to be vice president, gender was clearly a very significant factor in the selection process. Cindy McCain strained credulity by saying that Palin did indeed have international experience because Alaska is very close to Russia.

Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton

In the September 2, 2008 Wall Street Journal, Nancy Pfotenhauer, the national spokesperson for the McCain campaign , argues that Governor Palin’s 20 month tenure as governor qualify her for vice president. Pfotenhauer goes on to stress Palin’s leadership in ethics reform and her knowledge of energy issues are reasons for Palin’s selection to the McCain ticket. However, the strongest argument Photenhauer makes:

All women should be proud of Mr. McCain’s selection of Ms. Palin as his running mate, an historic moment that came the week of the 88^th anniversary of women earning the right to vote. Sarah Palin will break through the glass ceiling that as she noted on her first day as the vice presidential nominee, has 18 million cracks thanks to Hillary Clinton.

For the Bridge Before She Was Against It

Whenever Republicans praise Hillary Clinton, there is always a deeper meaning to what is said or written. In Ms. Photenhauer’s piece, it is clear that gender overwhelmed all other factors. Governor Palin’s brief tenure in a state with a large land area but a relatively few people were not comparable to the qualifications of Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty or Tom Ridge to name a few. In addition, Governor Palin is lauded for opposing funding for the “Bridge to Nowhere”, but she was for the bridge before she was against it.

Affirmative Action Has Its Place

While there is nothing wrong with giving opportunity to people with potential, McCain and his campaign and the Republicans who are now fawning over Palin need to admit that affirmative action has a place in hiring. Giving an opportunity to an exciting youthful person who might bring a new approach to government service can be an “out of the box” decision. McCain has demonstrated that affirmative action does have a place in America.

Ward Connerly, Where Are You?

However, I wonder what Ward Connerly and all those who rail against affirmative action think about the choice of Palin.

When Rev. Jesse Jackson said on a Fox News set that Obama was talking down to Black America and he wanted to “cut his nuts off”, it became clear that it is time for Jackson to leave the American political scene. A “hot microphone” picked up Jackson’s comments during a break in the show.

Jackson apologized profusely to Obama but at the same time tried to emphasize that Obama’s achievements are the culmination of the work of a variety of heroes who have made it possible for an African American to be a serious candidate for President of the United States of America. Jackson pointed to the efforts of leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, and of course himself.

Willie Mays Messed Up Also

My son reminded me that Jackson was not the first to “stay to long at the fair”. He reminded me that one of my childhood heroes, Willie Mays continued to play baseball long after his skills had declined. I followed Mays’ career for more than 30 years. As a small child, I saw him play for the New York Giants in the Polo Grounds and later as part of the San Francisco Giants in Candlestick Park.

Mays was one of the greatest baseball players of all times. He could do everything. He could run, hit, hit for power, catch, and throw. At the tail end of his career, Mays left the San Francisco Giants and joined the New York Mets .But as a Met, Mays was a shadow of his former self and he embarrassed himself on a number of occasions by his inability to play the outfield. Rather than praise him for his illustrious career, fans and commentators began to laugh at his present failures.

Jackson Should Have Learned From Mays

Like Mays, Rev. Jackson does not know when to quit. In making his vulgar statement about Obama, Jackson is now the subject of ridicule. He is being psycho analyzed by journalists, bloggers, and pundits. Many say his egomania has gotten the best of him and that he is in a struggle to try to assert his continued relevancy. Others say that Jackson is suffering from “Obama Envy”. Added to his earlier anti-Semitic remarks, Jackson has now alienated another major segment of American progressives.

Obama Strikes Fear in Many African American Leaders

As we have written here before the Obama campaign strikes fear in many traditional African American leaders. Like Jackson , people like Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Andrew Young, and BET founder Bob Johnson will find it difficult to be significant players in “Obama World” should he win the presidency. In addition, a number of elected officials who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton and attacked Sen. Obama will probably not be the high on the White House invitation list.

Remember Willie Mays!

David Stern

Watching NBA Commissioner David Stern respond to the latest salvos from felonious referee Tim Donaghy, I think it is clear that Stern needs to move on. Most fans believe that Donaghy is telling the truth when he says that referees made calls that favored one team over another.

Donaghy Says the Fix Was In

The motive Donaghy says was to extend playoff series in order to generate more revenue or to make sure that large market teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers advanced. Specifically the former referee who was convicted for gambling on NBA games points to a 2002 playoff game between the Lakers and Sacramento Kings. In that game, there were a number of non-calls and phantom calls that helped the Lakers win. Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon among others was highly critical of the referees at the time of the game.

Stern the Lawyer is not Believed

Commissioner Stern is struggling to get fans to believe that NBA referees are not conspiring to fix the outcome of basketball games. I think Sterns problem is he sounds too much like a lawyer defending his client. In fact, Stern is a lawyer and cannot shake off his advocacy training to convince non-lawyers that Donaghy is the only rogue among NBA officials. Lawyer talk does not make the average fan feel comfortable that bad calls by referees are not deliberate attempts to fix the game.

Stern Knows Diversity

The overwhelming majority of players in the National Basketball Association are African American. There is a growing presence of players from countries around the world. Today’s NBA has players from Europe, Asia, and North, South and Central America. Stern has also presided over the birth of the WNBA, a major professional sports league for women. One test of Stern’s success with diversity is, when African American coaches and executives are hired and later fired, race is usually not mentioned.

Stern the Businessman is First Rate

Stern took over an NBA that was struggling financially. NBA championship games were often shown on tape delay on network television. NBA arenas often had many fans cleverly disguised as empty seats. Today the NBA is a major professional sport and business. It still has challenges, but Stern has made professional basketball relevant again. Not only is the NBA Championship series on primetime television, but the NBA is everywhere on cable and satellite television in the United States and around the world.

Stern Knows Globalization

Stern has transformed the NBA into an international phenomenon. Players from around the world are joining NBA teams. More than 200 million people in China watched a game this year between the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks. The game featured two Chinese players Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. Stern has internationalized basketball in a way that few other businesses in America have been able to do. I have personally seen youngsters in Morocco, Spain, France and Israel in recent years playing soccer (football) wearing NBA jerseys.

Stern for Vice President

Whatever you might think about Stern, he is a very smart man. He is a strategic thinker who has made the NBA successful. He understands globalization better than most of America’s corporate executives. Stern is a tough businessperson who knows transformational economics. This is just what the United States needs today. Finally, Stern knows diversity and in the United States today, that is valuable.

Ralph Nader for NBA Commissioner

I heard Ralph Nader on the Dan Patrick Show the other day, complaining about NBA referees. Nader says he wrote Stern a letter after the 2002 playoff game that Donaghy says the referees fixed. Nader said that because NBA fans are consumers they have the right to expect that NBA referees would be like “Caesar’s wife”, completely above reproach.

Ralph Nader

Like Stern, I believe Nader also needs a new job. Becoming NBA commissioner, he would be a strong consumer advocate. The NBA position would also keep Nader from destroying his legacy by putting an end to his “Quixotic” run for President of the United States.

Geraldine Ferraro

Geraldine Ferraro, a former Democratic Party nominee for Vice President of the United States, says that if Barack Obama is her party’s nominee for President she might not vote for him. Ferraro believes that Obama has run a sexist and unfair campaign. She believes that Obama played the “race card “against her when she made a statement, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

Will Clinton Supporters Vote for McCain?

Ferraro is not alone among avid female supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton. Ben Smith in the Politico reports ,an Ohio-based group of Democratic Hillary Clinton supporters say they’ll work actively against Sen. Barack Obama if he becomes the nominee, arguing that Clinton has been the subject of “intense sexism” by party leaders and the media. “

Taylor Marsh a talk show host and avid Clinton supporter says that the anti-Obama sentiment among women who support Clinton has hardened to the point that these women will not vote for Obama under any circumstances The anger at the way some women believe that Senator Clinton has been treated in the campaign is extremely intense. There are active campaigns that call for boycotts of television networks and their sponsors because of the perceived basis against the New York senator.

McCain is Committed to Overturning Roe v. Wade

Traditionally, for most feminists the “litmus test” for candidates they will support concerns the candidate’s commitment to support the principles of the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade. This decision affirmed the right of women to terminate pregnancies without government prohibitions. Republican presidential candidate,
Senator John McCain, has made clear that he not only opposes Roe v. Wade but that he will appoint Justices to United States Supreme Court who will overturn the 1973 Court’s decision. In addition, Senator McCain opposes equal pay for equal work legislation, legislation to allow victims of gender discrimination to have more time to legally protest their situation, and the extension of family leave. For many of the issues that feminists say they are committed to, McCain opposes including ending the war in Iraq, providing universal health care, and helping people facing home foreclosures.

Will Feminists Vote for Senator McCain?

With Senator McCain at odds with most issues that feminists have held dear for so many years, will women support McCain to spite Obama? Will this be the time when women’s issues take a backseat to the anger generated by the rough and tumble primary campaign between Senators Clinton and Obama?