Women Are "The Deciders"

Hillary Clinton’s inspiring victory in the New Hampshire primary yesterday vindicates not only her message but the power women have to change the world.

  As news reports noted this morning, “The New York senator went from narrowly losing the women's vote in Iowa to Barack Obama to swamping him in New Hampshire among females, 46 percent to 34 percent. Women had been the anchor of her support in national and regional polling for most of the past year, and she had seemed in danger of springing a leak in her major constituency. This was crucial, since females usually comprise more than half those who vote for Democrats across the country.”

I say, why stop at the voting booth? Harnessing their clout in the marketplace, women could become the most influential voice for environmental change in 2008 and beyond.

Women already spend $.85 of every dollar at the check-out counter. Just as they focused their votes in New Hampshire to send Hillary over the top, women who “vote with their dollars” to buy products and services that benefit the environment can create a groundswell of support for manufacturing that goes easy on the earth.

The New Hampshire primary has breathed new life not only into Hillary’s presidential bid. It has also cast a big bright spotlight on the power women have to create the world they want. From the ballot box to the cash register, from the presidency to the planet, women can be "the deciders" in more ways than one.