I thought Dr. Syrett's talk on equal rights for women was very interesting in the context of today's election. At the beginning of his lecture he asked if we can talk about what's best for women as a whole in politics, or does that not exist? At first I thought of course it exists but as the talk continued I realized it would be impossible.
Just because women share the same sex doesn't mean they have a single thing in common. I think today we assume that women politic ans and civilians still vote like women said they would in the 20s; always in favor of the home and the family and against war. I think a lot of women will vote for McCain Palin simply because they are still relying on those stereotypical notions of what women want and assume just because Palin is a woman and a mom that she is anti war and for the family.
During the vice presidential debates on Thursday night Palin would constantly refer to her role as a mother. When asked what she thinks of the economy she responded saying if you went to a park and asked any soccer mom what they thought, she knows they would say they are worried. In response to other questions she would bring her role as a mother and "hockey mom" into the answer. This is because Palin wants women voters to believe that they are all united and all want the same things. It is a smart political move because everyone assumes there is a "right" candidate for women and a "right" candidate for men. However, as I think Dr. Syrett was trying to point out, this simply isn't true. That belief assumes that all women and men agree on the same issues simply because they share the same sex.
Another thing Palin's constant refferal to motherhood did was to try to sway voters to side with the person they identity with instead of the issues they agree with. Palin was trying to establish herself firmly as a mother so other mothers would identity with her and think Palin has the same values as them and will in turn vote for her. However, again just because women have the common job of being a mother doesn't mean they are politically in tune but I think many Americans will fall into that trap and assume like they did in the 20's when they were trying to pass the ERA that women are more moral and responsible voters and politicians which isn't necessarily the case.
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As a rhetorician, I would agree with your sense of Palin's strategy. A term that might be useful here is "ethos"--the sense of character or persona that any given orator or writer projects through the language they use. To say that Palin is projecting this folksy, populist, maternal ethos is probably an understatment, but you've identified an important part of how she is attempting to woo voters to her and McCain.
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