Commanding Real Voter Respect: New Survey Shows Commander In Chief Helped Reshape America's Political Landscape

Commanding Real Voter Respect: New Survey Shows Commander In Chief Helped Reshape America's Political Landscape

NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- ABC's White House drama "Commander in Chief" may have been pulled from the network's primetime lineup putting its future in serious question. However, according to a new national survey, "Commander" will likely have a longer term impact on voters and the real-life political landscape.

The survey, as commissioned by the Kaplan Thaler Group, the legendary advertising agency who created national campaigns for Revlon, Aflac insurance, Clairol, and Continental Airlines, shows that of the 76-percent of Americans familiar with "Commander in Chief," an overwhelming 58-percent are now more likely to take seriously the idea of a female presidential candidate. What age group is most receptive to the idea of female candidate for President? 69% of TV viewers aged 35 to 44 years-old are most likely to take seriously the idea, followed by Baby Boomers aged 45 to 54 (58%). On a similar note, women are more receptive to a female leader than males (65% in comparison to 49%).

Despite America's national obsession with appearance, putting a feminine spin on the White House has little to do with the physical beauty that potentially lies therein ... well, at least from a male's perspective. When asked if it is important for a female Presidential candidate to be attractive and slim when compared to a male candidate, an overwhelming 60% of men vowed that it isn't important at all. But their female counterparts don't agree. In fact, when it comes to the importance of beauty, women straddle the fence - 49% agree with the men that being attractive and slim is not at all important while 40% admit that looks do matter at least somewhat when comparing a female candidate to a male.

Other revealing results show that despite being the most powerful woman in the current administration and top dog for foreign affairs as the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice may have a hard time convincing the American TV- viewing public about her ability to handle foreign relations if she becomes a presidential candidate. According to the survey, both men and women agreed that they are least confident in a female candidate when it comes to making a real difference in foreign relations and national security (28% and 24%, respectively).

So where exactly does America's confidence lie? Not so surprisingly, the more stereotypically "female-oriented" policy issues of education and healthcare. More than half of those surveyed have confidence in a female President when it comes to soundly overseeing our country's education and healthcare (26% and 25% respectively). Jobs and economy rounded out the top three issues with 13-percent of the vote. But perhaps most striking about these numbers is that despite the gender divide on the issue of a female candidate's looks, both men and women overwhelmingly agreed on the above issues: 27% of women and 25% of men expressed most confidence in a female candidate's handling of education; 26% of women and 23% of men voted for healthcare; and 14% of women and 12% of men stumped for jobs and economy.

Other interesting findings:

* Do we get more cynical as we age when it comes to appearance? Across
the board -- both men and women -- a majority (54%) felt that it is not
at all important for a female Presidential candidate to be attractive
and slim versus a male Presidential candidate. However, as the voting
audience gets older, 39% of those 65 and older felt that it was
important for a female candidate to be attractive and slim.

* In terms of geography, the South is most receptive to a female contender
with 62% of those surveyed open to the idea. But it was hardly a
landslide: the Northeast came in a close second with 59% of
Northeasterners in favor of a female candidate. The West and North
Central regions followed with 55% and 51% respectively.

* Social security continues to be a hot button issue: Sixteen-percent of
those aged 65 and over are most confident that a female candidate can
make a real difference in social security, ranking just behind
healthcare and education (both 19%). An interesting finding considering
only 4% of those aged 24-34 and 8% of those 18-24 are confident in a
female candidate when it comes to social security.

* Political party affiliation does not impact a male versus female
candidate preference. The survey was evenly broken out among
republicans and democrats (30% versus 32%, respectively); moderates and
conservatives were equally as balanced (26% versus 24%, respectively).

The survey spoke with more than 1,000 American adults comprising of 519 women and 503 men. Of those surveyed, there was an equal amount of Democrats versus Republicans (32% versus 30%, respectively). More than a quarter surveyed (26%) identify themselves as politically moderate.

Source: Kaplan Thaler Group

CONTACT: Jo Flattery, +1-212-981-5228, for Kaplan Thaler Group

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