Targeted Outreach

June 17, 2008— -- In the new ABC News/Washington Post poll, John McCain has a 20-point advantage (56-36) over Barack Obama among married white women. ABC News' George Stephanopoulos said today on Good Morning America that this was a "danger sign" for Obama.

"This is a huge gap that Obama has to close if he's going to do well," Stephanopoulos said, while noting that President Bush won this voting group in 2000 and 2004.

Obama himself pushed back against this polling data point in an interview yesterday with ABC News' Jake Tapper, saying that "on almost every single issue that's important to women, he [McCain] has been on the wrong side."

"You know, he's in favor of judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade. He has opposed equal pay," Obama said, and charged that McCain also fought a program to insure children and to protect women from discrimination, per Tapper.

On Wednesday, Michelle Obama co-hosts The View, perhaps one of the more effective platforms to reach white suburban female voters. Could another appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show be in the near future too?

Tomorrow's chat session could provide an opportunity for Michelle Obama to re-introduce herself to the show's overwhelmingly female audience. Given that the hosts of The View are not a quiet, timid bunch of women, Obama may also be called on to directly address several of the storylines about her that have been buzzing for a few weeks: the fist jab on stage with her husband, the rumors of a tape where she talks about "whitey" and how she felt when she was identified as her husband's "baby mama."

ABC News' John Hendren took a look this weekend at Michelle Obama as the potential First Lady and found that many "compare her arrival on the national stage to Hillary Clinton's after she infuriated conservatives when she said, "I could have stayed home and baked cookies.'"

Notes Hendren: "It's likely to get worse. 'It's going to be very ugly stuff,' Democratic strategist Tad Devine said. 'They're going to try to depict her as someone who is angry, outside the mainstream and not proud to be an American.'"

Cindy McCain co-hosted The View earlier this year. Obama was scheduled to appear on the program during the primary season but cancelled because of the Writers Guild strike.

George Stephanopoulos gives his take in "The Bottom Line. LINK

Interrogation Techniques
The debate over interrogation techniques was renewed today on Capitol Hill. LINK

Obama Defends Gitmo Decision
Senator says detainees could have been put on trial like after first WTC attack. LINK

Gore Endorses Obama
The former vice president throws his support behind Democratic candidate Obama. LINK

Obama's Big Event
Al Gore is the latest politician to endorse the Senator. LINK

Obama Camp Restructured
Staff changes include hiring former Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle. LINK