Cougars: Can They Make This Election Swing?

Soccer moms. Nascar Dads. Every election cycle, presidential candidates woo those independent voters who help swing elections. With the presidential election less than two weeks away some polls suggest Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama is pulling away, while others argue the race is tightening. But one thing is clear, both Senator Obama and Republican candidate Senator John McCain are out there trying to make a last pitch to the undecided. The question is: what constituency is going to swing this election?

Our money is on that sexiest of all voting blocs: cougars. Then again, our money's always on cougars. But here us out. We don't like to traffic in gross generalizations (though expert political pundits do it all the time), but this independent-minded group of hot older women is just the kind of voting bloc that determines who serves as our next president and who becomes a spokesman for Viagra. It would be easy to conclude that cougars all bleeding heart liberals. Some of the more famous cougars have thrown their support behind Obama, most notably Demi Moore (and her young hubby Ashton Kutcher, who have been out campaigning for the man for some time. But there are a number of less outspoken hot ladies that lean conservative, including the beautiful Kathy Ireland and  Bo Derek.

Generally speaking, however, cougars are not party people (well, not politically speaking). They are socially liberal, fiscally conservative moderates who, to put it mildly, don't have a party that speaks to their pragmatic political views. They're tough, independent free-thinkers that vote with their hearts and minds rather than blindly following a particular party line. Oh, and they actually vote. They are exactly the kind of people campaigns covet.

So which way will they swing? Will they choose the youthful, but rapidly graying senator from Illinois or give their vote of confidence to the highly experienced, but old as dirt McCain?

One would think that cougars would be drawn to the younger Obama but that's not obviously the case. McCain may seem like a relic, but he's clearly experienced and in many ways the safe choice. Some cougars, too, remain stung that he beat out their preferred candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton. This group even formed a political action committee of sorts, the aptly named P.U.M.A, to oppose Obama and convince fellow female voters (particularly liberal ones) to back McCain. McCain, for his part, welcomed these prospective voters with open arms, even saying a few nice things about Senator Clinton here and there.

Of course, there are probably an equal amount of cougars who loathe Hillary something awful. She has that effect on people. For them (and the Republican Party's Christian Conservative base), McCain went out on a limb and picked little-known Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Not only did she add some much-needed sexiness to the campaign, she also gave women voters hoping to advance the female cause a conservative fundamentalist horse to back. Because let's face it: McCain is only a conservative when compared to Obama. Otherwise, all rhetoric aside, he's really a big-government, socially moderate kind of a guy just like our current dud of a president.

Will the PUMAs and Palin be enough to convince cougar swingers to vote McCain? Not according to the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll which found that white women are backing Obama 49 to 45. But that's close and frankly it could go either way.

So, what else are the campaigns doing to court cougars?

Well, in a particularly shrewd move, Senator Obama will appear on Saturday Night Live this weekend. The musical guest? None other than David Cook, the American Idol contestant who's Cougars for Cook base nearly won him the top prize on the program. Will Obama join Cook in SNL's mildly amusing, horribly stereotypical recurring Cougar Den sketch? Probably not, but you can bet there'll be one.

As for McCain, other than saying "Joe the Plumber" alot and attacking Obama for his desire to "spread the wealth around," he appears to have sent his wife out on the campaign trail alone, something she's rarely done in the past. Now Cindy McCain may not be into younger men, but she's definitely the senator's sugar mama. Plus, from a style perspective, she's a role model for many older women who want to maintain a certain conservative hotness in their later years. Will her hot look and good fashion sense sway less fickle cougars? Or will the prospect of Palin and her hundred thousand dollar Saks shopping sprees draw the envy of similarly hot ladies?

Okay, so neither of these moves seems like the kind of thing that'll persuade sexy, independent-minded cougars. But, it's alot more interesting than endless talk about Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers and just how unqualified (or qualified) Sarah Palin is.

So what's the verdict? Which way will cougars swing? Will they choose the smooth-talking ladies man Obama or the tough-minded, elder statesman McCain?

Our bet? Cougars swing both ways.



But what say you? Who's got your vote? Let us know in the comments!