Clinton vows to shatter glass ceiling
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Hillary Clinton said Monday women voters could shatter America's "highest glass ceiling" and make her its first female president, in her campaign's most overt bid so far to highlight her gender.
Clinton settled onto the couch of a popular morning television show aimed at women, and addressed a event named after ex-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, launching a week of events showcasing the pivotal 2008 role of female voters.
"America is ready for change -- and I believe women will lead that change," said Clinton in a campaign statement.
"It's up to us to do our part to take back the White House and change this country, and that's exactly what we're going to do.
"I say this nation can shatter the highest glass ceiling -- because that's what Americans have been doing for 200 years.
Clinton's campaign issued a memo saying she was the 2008 presidential candidate best placed to exploit the "pivotal" female voting bloc in 2008.
"Women are and will be a powerful force in American politics this presidential election," the memo said.
"They were the critical swing voters in the last three elections and they promise to again play a pivotal role in this one," Clinton's top strategist Mark Penn wrote in the memo.
Less than three months before first party nominating contests, the memo argued the New York Senator was trouncing her fellow Democrats and potential Republican rivals in the battle for the female vote.
The campaign said its own polling revealed that 94 percent of young women said they would be more likely to show up at the polls if a first female presidential nominee was on the ballot.
The fact Clinton is the first woman candidate with a realistic shot at becoming president has been an underlying theme of the campaign, but has not been as overtly referenced before at a national level -- possibly to avoid alienating unaffiliated male voters.
"As Hillary says, she is not running as a woman candidate -- the only reason to vote for her is that you believe she is the most qualified to be president," Penn's memo said.
At campaign events however, Clinton earns cheers by mentioning the historic potential of her presidential bid.
"If you hear someone saying that America can't elect a woman president ... tell them to come with me," Clinton told a service employees union here in September, saying she hears parents point to her and tell their young daughters 'see, honey, you can do whatever you want to do in life.'"
The most recent poll by ABC News and the Washington Post found a strong 'gender gap' favoring Clinton over her rivals.
Fifty-seven percent of women polled said they backed Clinton in the Democratic race while 15 percent prefered Senator Barack Obama and 13 percent liked John Edwards best.
In a hypothetical match-up for November 2008 against Republican Rudolph Giuliani, who leads national polls, Clinton was up 57 to 39 percent among female voters.
Clinton's Democratic rivals have tried to match her effort to woo female voters.
Obama's wife Michelle has often been an outspoken advocate for her husband's attempt to slash into Clinton's large opinion poll lead.
On Monday, she was in London to drum up media headlines and campaign fundraising cash for her husband from Americans abroad.
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of another Democratic candidate, John Edwards, caused a stir in July by suggesting in an interview with Salon.com that he would be a better advocate for women's issues than Clinton.
Clinton was asked on the ABC television program "The View" whether she would be at a disadvantage as a women president in nations which restrict the rights of women.
"I've never found that to be a problem. I actually think, assuming I'm so fortunate as to be elected, that sends a very strong message to those countries and to those leaders.
"It may take a little adjustment, but it's time the world adjusted."
