Does Clinton Fulfill What Women Voters Want?
ABC's Cokie Roberts asks women whether Clinton is the right woman for the job.
Feb. 1, 2008 — -- Click here for a longer version of Cokie Roberts' interview with wmoen voters.
Cokie Roberts recently asked a group of women from New Jersey, "Did you have any reaction to the fact that a woman was running?"
Josette Simmons, who works as a site coordinator for a nonprofit family success center in Newark, N.J., said, "Well, I think it's great. Because I think women are always kind of in charge in one straight form or fashion. And I think it's wonderful that she would step up and try to be the leader of the free world. I think that's great."
Watch the interview on "World News With Charles Gibson" tonight at 6:30 ET
"I'm pleased about it." Nuala Ryan, a teacher at a Catholic grammar school in Jersey City, N.J., said. "That doesn't necessarily mean I'll vote for her just because she's a woman."
Ryan says she is concerned that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is polarizing and remembers feeling goose bumps when Geraldine Ferraro was running for vice president.
Check out our ABC News/Facebook page for polls and blogs by reporters on the campaign trail.
Mary Hickey, editor of Parents magazine, said, "It's kind of exciting. You know, it will be nice to have a woman president in my lifetime. I guess I feel a little weird that she's, you know, the wife of a former president. It kind of diminishes it just a little bit."
Hickey and her daughter Annie-Rose are from Montclair, N.J. Annie-Rose is a student at George Washington University and has volunteered for both the Clinton and Obama campaigns.
"I think it's important to sort of consider the candidates as candidates," Annie-Rose said, "as opposed to what they are."
Annie-Rose said she was originally planning to vote for Clinton but has since decided to vote for Obama because she thinks he will bring change.
Simmons, on the other hand, seemed to define "change" as having a female in office. "If we can embrace such a change as a change in gender, I think we're absolutely going forward," she said.
Roberts posed another question: "My grandsons said to me the other day, 'What do you mean a woman's never been president?' They, they were horrified. Does the fact that you could change that make a difference?"
Related Stories
ABC News Live