Coding Messages To Men, Women

By Bill Schneider/CNN

WASHINGTON (June 12) -- Bob Dole and Bill Clinton are targeting the same constituency in this year's presidential race: home-owning, tax-paying, middle-class swing voters. That's why the two candidates often sound alike.

They're both for welfare reform, tax cuts, a balanced budget, free trade and the death penalty. They're both against same-sex marriages and violence in the mass media.

But listen to the language they use and the images they convey, and you'll find coded messages that split the voters along a deep fault line.

Notice the code words in this Dole TV ad: "The principle of work to replace welfare. The principle of accountability to strengthen our criminal justice system. The principle of discipline to end wasteful spending."

Work...accountability...discipline. They are tough, forceful words.

And now consider this Clinton TV spot: "The President passes family leave. Dole, Gingrich vote no. The President stands firm. A balanced budget, protects Medicare, disabled children."

Family leave... Medicare...disabled children. Those are caring, compassionate words.

Those words are heavily gender-coded. It's small wonder that the gender gap in this election has become a gender gulf. But it's not just the words that are gender-coded. It's also the messages.

When asked if they believe government is doing too much, 66 percent of men agree, compared to only 50 percent of women. Men resent big government. Women are more inclined to take the view that government should do more.

When Dole addresses the middle-class economic squeeze, his answer is, cut taxes. In an April speech to the National Association of Realtors, he said: "Our view is that you're better able to spend you money than we are."

Get government out of the way; that's a man's view.

When Clinton addresses the middle-class economic squeeze, he talks about maintaining the safety net. Early last month, at Penn State's commencement, he said: "We cannot, on the one hand, tell the American people, go out and be responsible, and on the other hand, jerk the rug out from under them."

When asked if they believe the government should promote traditional values, 61 percent of women agree, compared to 56 percent of men.

Government should be there to protect you; that's a woman's view. Women also believe that government should be there to promote traditional values, a conservative view. So what happens? The crime issue gets gender-coded.

Clinton talks about promoting good values. "The best way to fight crime is to reach young people before they turn to crime in the first place..." he said at Penn State. (96K WAV sound)

That's female gender code: prevention. Dole talks about punishing bad values.

"Until fairly recently, the debate in America was how to catch and punish wrong-doers, not whether to punish them or whether they were even wrongdoers," Dole has said. "We believe killing is caused by killers, robbing by robbers and drug-dealing by drug dealers." (192K WAV sound)

That's male gender code: enforcement. Ever hear of the book "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus?" Dole is from Mars. Clinton is from Venus. I wonder which planet has more electoral votes?

This analysis originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."

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