Bush Turns to Women for Help

— -- Starting Wednesday, a rotating cast of the GOP’s best-known women, including George W. Bush’s wife and mother — the former first lady Barbara Bush — will stump on his behalf in a series of pivotal states.

By Gayle TzemachABCNEWS.COM

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 16 — Demonstrating George W. Bush’s desire to bridge the so-called gender gap in the polls, the Republican presidential candidate is rolling out his most ambitious effort yet to grab both the media’s attention and women’s votes in one fell swoop. Starting Wednesday, a rotating cast of the GOP’s best-known women, including the candidate’s wife, Laura Bush, and his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, will stump on his behalf in a series of pivotal states.

Dubbed the “W Stands for Women” tour by the campaign, the group will also include Lynne Cheney, wife of Bush’s running mate, Dick Cheney; Bush’s foreign policy adviser, Condoleezza Rice; and Cindy McCain, wife of Arizona Sen. John McCain, Bush’s main rival in the GOP primaries.

Bush aides say the purpose of the tour is to tout his record as governor of Texas on “key issues for women,” including education, health care, safety for women, and Social Security.

An ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll released earlier this month showed Bush’s Democratic rival, Vice President Al Gore, leading among women, 56 percent to 38 percent. Bush held the lead among men, 53 percent to 40 percent.

Education a Key Theme

The three-day extravaganza — covering Wednesday, Thursday, and next Monday — kicks off Wednesday in Michigan, highlighting education issues, especially the state’s school voucher initiative.

The day’s events should put some of the principals in the tour on familiar ground, as both Laura Bush and Barbara Bush are known literacy advocates, while Lynne Cheney has worked to establish national standards for history instruction in the United States.