FAIRFAX, VA. — Beginning at a breakfast fundraiser with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama devoted his day to appealing to her most loyal supporters: women.
At events in New York and Virginia, he drew a sharp contrast with John McCain, charging that the Republican candidate does not support equal pay or abortion rights.
And, with women worried about the effect of the economy on their families, Obama issued a report on how his economic policies would affect women and emphasized his proposals to increase tax breaks for child care, guarantee paid sick leave and raise the minimum wage.
"When you look at the economic issues that matter most to women, he will not bring change and I will," Obama said.
McCain -- who plans to meet privately today with female business owners in the Hudson, Wis., area and hold a town hall focused on women's issues in Hudson, outside the Twin Cities -- dismissed Obama's approach as "big government." But he said in an interview Wednesday aboard his campaign bus that he was committed to doing whatever he could "to encourage the participation of women in all walks of life and make sure that any barriers to their advancement are eliminated."
In an election that is expected to be tight, undecided women are a crucial voting bloc and one that is increasingly leaning toward Obama. Since May, the Illinois senator has increased his advantage among women voters to 14 percentage points from 5, according to a poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
"This year, both candidates realize they really need the women's vote," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
Obama may have an inherent advantage: Since 1980, women have tended to favor Democrats.
"With Hillary Clinton by your side and with the Democratic Party label next to your name, you've got a much better shot," said Jennifer Lawless, a political science professor at Brown University.
The sour economy could also help Obama. Women are more concerned about economic issues than men, said Barbara Burrell, a political scientist at Northern Illinois University. Obama has made the economy the centerpiece of his campaign, whereas McCain is perceived as more interested in foreign policy.
In the Democratic primaries, women disproportionately favored New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and some of her supporters remain angry at Obama, believing Clinton was held to a different standard.
