Obama campaign turns feminine

Washington: Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, is to alter the male-dominated image of his campaign and bolster his economic message to appeal to the older white women who supported Senator Hillary Clinton.

"You're going to see more women out front," said a source close to the Obama campaign. "We have a female-friendly message anyway but there'll maybe be a bit less machismo, a subtle change in the optics."

He added that internal polls showed that Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, was "weak" among women.

Linda Douglass, a long-time television journalist, has been recruited as a senior adviser who will travel almost constantly on Obama's plane and act as the main spokesman on the campaign trail.

The aide said that Anita Dunn, a veteran Democratic consultant who served in President Jimmy Carter's White House, and who was recruited as a senior adviser in "strategic communications" in April, is likely to have a more visible role. Penny Pritzker, Obama's finance chief, is also likely to become more prominent. Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's former campaign manager, is expected to be given a job, along with other female Clinton advisers.

During the primary battle, the principal faces of the Obama campaign were Robert Gibbs, the communications director, and David Axelrod, the chief strategist, while Clinton often fielded Ann Lewis, active in Democratic politics since the 1970s, and other women.

A senior Democratic strategist who backed Obama said that the candidate's biography - he was raised by a single mother, is married to a strong woman and has two young daughters - would give him potent appeal with female voters.

First, however, there were bruised feelings among Clinton supporters that needed to be overcome.

"There is a strong sense coming from a lot of Hillary supporters - I won't extend the accusation to her - that it was her turn, she'd earned this and Obama is a usurper."

Details of the shift in emphasis came as Obama met Clinton in secret at the Washington home of Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the former First Lady's leading supporters, to discuss how she could support him against McCain. Clinton only decided to withdraw from the race after Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York, a loyal supporter, said she would damage the party if she continued to prevaricate.

Exit polls showed that Clinton won the female Democratic vote convincingly in most primary states. Older women were a particular problem for Obama. But leading Democrats believe that few of Clinton's supporters will back McCain, not least because of his opposition to abortion rights.

"Married women without a college education were a huge problem for the Democrats in 2004 and will be again this time," said the senior Democratic strategist.

"That is a key group for Obama and he's going to approach them just like the bigger challenge of men. It needs to be an economic message. He has to convince voters he cares about them and has some answers that make sense to those voters.

"That's not been the focus of his campaign to date. It's been about changing Washington, which is a strong message but he's going to have to add an economic message. Female blue collar voters are an even better target for us in the general election than male blue collar voters.

"The females with a college education are not as tough a nut to crack. Men have problems, especially in rural areas and small towns, certain regions of the country, with him on issues like guns and patriotism and the military.

"Women aren't as big a problem but he does have to demonstrate he's a real American, shares people's values and has some answers on the economy. That's what his campaign will be about."