Who Will Win the Women's Vote?

Following Hillary Clinton's suspension of her presidential campaign, the question has been asked many times -- for whom will women vote this year, Barack Obama or John McCain?

I've heard and read a lot on this subject in recent weeks, and the two prevailing opinions appear to be:

1. Clinton's supporters will vote for Obama because Obama's record on women's issues is virtually the same as Clinton's. McCain's is not.
2. Clinton's supporters will vote for McCain (because the primary campaign was so bitter) -- or they won't vote at all (because the primary campaign was so bitter).

I think it's probably a little too early for many of Clinton's supporters to decide what they will do in November. Clinton's own campaign only came to an official conclusion a few days ago.

But that doesn't keep many in the media from speculating on what they will do.

And some of the speculation has centered on possible female running mates in both parties, although my personal belief is that Obama, as the first black nominee for president, can't afford to put a woman on the ticket, but McCain can.

Still, both Obama and McCain -- along with their surrogates -- have been courting the women's vote, as Juliet Eilperin reports in the Washington Post.

Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina is going to be speaking for McCain in the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania in the coming days.

And Eilperin says Obama's supporters have been working on leaders of women's groups and their members lately.

"[W]hile the two candidates differ sharply on issues such as abortion rights and family planning, both camps probably will focus on economic issues to appeal to women this fall," Eilperin writes.

Is there any issue that is more gender-neutral than the economy?