Chicks don't dig Kerry?

A recent poll suggest Bush leads with women voters (sorry, I just caught the story on NPR's All Things Considered and didn't catch the source of the poll). While I doubt it's true, Kerry does seem to be underperforming with women according to a large number of recent polls. I hear alternately that it's because of so-called "security moms" but then the next moment I hear it's because Kerry is talking too much about war and terrorism and not bread and butter issues. Once again, Bush gets away with screwing voters, while the media puts Kerry on the defensive. So, what's going on here and what can be done about it?

Personally, I think this gap will go away as soon as Kerry finishes this recent push on terrorism and war issues (after the first debate). Kerry needs to establish himself on security before he moves to domestic issues (which should happen after Thursday as the candidates prepare for the domestic issues debate and the national media starts to bore of reporting on deatsh in Iraq and moves on the something else). IMO, I think Edwards will win over tons of these women when he comes to national prominence at the debate with Dark Dick and in the closing weeks of the campaign when, hopefully, he shows up on the national radar. Not just for his looks and charm, but also because he is naturally more likely to focus on kitchen table issues.

But is there something else going on here? Is Bush just more appealing to women for personality/image reasons? The snarky side of me can't help but bring up the late Bill Hicks' song: "Chicks Dig Jerks." Maybe it's true. After all, Bush is the biggest jerk of them all. Does Kerry have a chance or is Bush's macho swagger and compassionate veneer going to fool enough female voters to erase the gender gap?