The poll results illustrate that women believe Sarah Palin received less than fair treatment by the news media:

Two-thirds of respondents to a survey released Wednesday said the news media coverage of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was more negative than that of any other candidate running for office, while eight out of 10 said too much coverage focused on the Republican vice-presidential candidate's wardrobe. Half said there was too little reporting of her serious policy positions.    

Similarly, women found that former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was not treated equally as her male opponents. Thirty-one percent of the women polled said the media treatment of Clinton was too negative, and forty-four percent found the media’s attention to Clinton’s wardrobe distracting and unnecessary.  

While it is understandable that women, especially feminists, want to see women treated equally as men, it is undeniable that men and women are inherently different. Why should this difference not incite different treatment? 

There was, for instance, definitively unique treatment of Sarah Palin during the Vice Presidential debate. Joe Biden offered no jabs, no sarcastic remarks, nor exaggerated sighs. He was pleasant and at times even jovial, practically the perfect gentlemen. Of course, debating Sarah Palin, with her quick wit and good-natured personality, who wouldn’t be? Would Biden have been so cordial if he were debating a male candidate? Probably not. This is a rare instance of positive different treatment of female candidates. 

Women, while they may and should be treated differently by virtue of their being female, should still be taken seriously as candidates for public office. This is to the benefit of the general public as much as to the candidate. How can the average voter make an educated assessment of a woman candidate when the majority of news coverage she receives is superficial and irrelevant? The goal of the news media should be to educate the public on the candidate’s voting record and political ideology rather than on their wardrobe and hairstyle. 

The poll’s resounding message is that women candidates are not taken seriously when it comes to their actual policy positions and leadership capabilities. It seems women have not objected to the different treatment of women candidates, as was displayed by Joe Biden. Rather they decry the unfair treatment of women candidates that was especially evident in the media this past election. 

Read the complete Washignton Times article here.