Richard Fox, professor of political science, teaches and researches in the areas of U.S. Congress, elections, media and politics and gender politics. Most recently he has completed work on a book entitled Tabloid Justice: The Criminal Justice System in the Age of Media Frenzy, 2nd ed.

A key to the outcome of the 2008 election will be the voting patterns of white men. White men, who comprise roughly 35 percent of the electorate, have played a decisive role in recent elections. In the 2004 elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats lost the white male vote by 22 points and the Republicans retained control. In the 2006 elections, Democrats closed the gap to 9 points and retook the House for the first time in fourteen years.

Across the last three decades, the Democrats have been portrayed by their critics as the party of political correctness that works solely on behalf of women and feminists, Blacks and Latinos, and gays and lesbians. Further, in the post 9/11 environment, the Republicans have also done all they can to portray the Democrats as the party that does not support the military and is unpatriotic. In short, the Democrats are seen by many white men as wimps who do not represent them.

The Democrats made strides in the 2006 elections because they adopted the strategy of recruiting men with military backgrounds as candidates. And apparently it worked. White men came back to the party in significant numbers for the first time in years.

The question for 2008 is whether any of the leading Democratic presidential contenders will be able to have broad appeal to white men. At first glance, the Democrats may have real problems in the general election next year. Hillary Clinton is a woman and powerful symbol of feminist power. Barack Obama is black, and white voters, particularly men, are less comfortable voting for candidates of a different race. John Edwards, the one white male of the bunch, is running the most liberal campaign among the frontrunners and his $400 haircuts probably don’t win him many points with traditional male voters.

If the presidential race is close—and at this point there is no reason to believe that it won’t be—white men’s acceptance of the Democratic candidates might be the key to the election. One strategic move any of the candidates can make is to select a tough guy for the VP slot. Former General Wesley Clark or Democratic Senator and former Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb might fit the bill. Otherwise expect whoever the Democratic nominee is, to be talking tough to our enemies, espousing traditional values, and seeming like regular folk as they do everything they can to make themselves acceptable to the white man.