Mitt Romney's Gender Gap Problem?

In 1980, Ronald Reagan won handily over Jimmy Carter by 10 percentage points; 51% to 41%.  This was despite the fact that exit polling showed that women, by a spread of 7 percentage points,  overwhelmingly voted for the loser in that contest. So, decidedly, it was a lopsided men's vote that did Carter in.

Right now, pundits and media are making a lot out of the fact that Mitt Romney is lagging behind Barack Obama when it comes to the women's vote; as if this so-called "Gender Gap" never existed before. The reality is that every Republican candidate for president has had to face the same lack of women voters.  That's because, over the years, Democrats have been successful in catering to women's needs and fears by providing one new social or safety net program after another. This election year is no different with Obama targeting the women's vote with "free" contraception. Yet, in modern times, Republicans have managed to win this nation's top job fifty percent of the time. And, in each case where a Republican won, it was the men  who became the deciding factor.

One thing we know from the Carter/Reagan match-up is that men break late for one candidate or the other. In 1980, right up to the election, most polls had Carter in the lead.  Yet, when was all said and done, Carter lost by a landslide.  That may be because men, with their alpha dog mentality, saw Carter as being the weaker of the two candidates.

I personally think that this year's election will be a repeat of the Carter loss; with men breaking decidedly for Romney on the day of the election.  And, like the 1980 election, the women's vote will be less important than how men view the electoral match-up. Obama is "a" weak, not-able-to-get-things-done leader; just like Carter. The classic male mentality rejects such weakness.  Men don't want hear constant excuses and blame for things not getting done; and, that's all Obama does.  Whereas, Romney has a proven track record of accomplishment.  To me, all this talk of the gender gap is an attempt by Obama-loyalists to psych Americans into believing the Romney can't win because he doesn't have the women's vote.  But, we know from history that's just not true. That's why I think that, barring any major misstep by Romney, Obama is likely to follow in Carter's footsteps as a one-term president.