Palin's winks and you betchas divide women of Florida

Source: The Guardian

• Republican spirits lifted but polls tell different story
• Vice-presidential candidate survives debate but fails to dazzle

Never before perhaps has such a tiny gesture assumed such electoral importance as Sarah Palin's wink.

Because while, as the cliche has it, the eyes are the window of the soul, Palin's use of her eyes was a window to the views of women in one of the most hotly contested places in this election.

Palin's eyelash batting got under way from the opening moments of Thursday's contest against Joe Biden - and so did the parsing of its significance at a debate-watching party in Florida.

"She is trying to act like a southern belle. She is not acting like someone who could be president of the United States and John McCain is one heart attack away," said Priscilla Glascock, a 26-year-old nurse who is supporting Barack Obama. "The men are going to love it," she sneered.

(snip)

But for the host Kit Pepper, 52, a member of the non-partisan League of Women Voters, Palin's winking was an affront to the years she spent trying to build up her own political consultancy firm in a male-dominated world.
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