Andanh.com

The proverbial question for men has long been, "What do women want?" Well, I'm here to reveal the carefully guarded secret -- at least to two men, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain.

Women voters, especially the unmarried ones, are the demographic key to this year's election. If you want their votes, you will have to approach them with respect and insight. Drop the reductive labels that diminish women into voting blocs -- such as "soccer moms." Few women can be packaged so neatly.

So far, neither Obama nor McCain has garnered a strong majority of potential female voters. A recent poll of women found 49 percent were for Obama and 38 percent were for McCain.

Obama and McCain also should forget about nominating a woman running mate if this is merely a means to court the female vote. We don't care.

A majority of the women polled by Lifetime said the vice president's gender was of no consequence to them. They still believe they soon will see a female president, even if it's not this go-around.

A year ago, it was impossible to get through a day without some mention of Paris Hilton -- the ingenue famous mostly for being famous.

Oh, how we complained. Can't we please have just one day when we don't talk about Paris?!

And then one day, America's prayers were answered. Not only did Hilton disappear, she vanished into a jail cell where she spent 22 days for violating parole.

But with his recent ad trying to convey that Barack Obama is just another celebrity whose status is based on a thin resume, John McCain effectively resurrected Hilton's career.

Familiar to most by now, the ad shows Obama before a cheering crowd, then the camera pans to Britney Spears and Hilton. "He's the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?" asks the narrator.

The following are reader comments from our online blog at http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog:

• Tanker contract

I doubt that it is possible for it to be "fair." No matter what is done (size, etc.), one company will have an advantage over the other. It seems to me that much of the perception of "unfairness" comes from the fact that we have a bunch of Boeing people who turned a blind eye to all the corruption in the first place (the lease program) and now whine because someone else might win.

Will awarding the contract to a foreign company increase or decrease the trade balance?

Rep Todd Tiahrt has done a great, bipartisan job on this issue.

"Congress shouldn't be on vacation when many Americans can't afford a vacation."

-- Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, upset that the U.S. House adjourned Aug. 1 without addressing energy prices

"There's something to be said for killing your enemy before he gets out of his foxhole."

-- Christian Morgan, Kansas Republican Party executive director, on Sen. Pat Roberts' aggressive ads against challenger Jim Slattery

"His need is to basically destroy me in the crib."