MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, Oct 22 (AFP) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry sought Friday to improve his appeal to women, one of the weak points in his campaign.
Kerry was joined by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, as he made the case that President George W. Bush had deserted working women and "turned back the clock" on equal pay.
"The women of America can write the future of America if they go to the polls and make their voice heard," said Kerry in a speech at the University of Wisconsin.
"No one in the White House understands the challenges they face. No matter how tough it gets, no one in the White House seems to be listening," Kerry said.
Shoring up sluggish support among women is one of Kerry`s key aims as he enters the final stretch to the November 2 election. That is especially the case in the vital midwestern state of Wisconsin where polls show him in a close battle with Bush.
Women voted for Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election by 54-43 percent but polls show Kerry struggling to match that. The Washington Post had Bush leading among women 50-46 percent in a recent poll.
"As you tuck your daughter in at night, you worry because you want her to go to college and have all the opportunities in the world -- but you don`t know how you`ll ever manage to afford it," Kerry said.
Kerry argued that soaring health care costs, job losses and tax cuts favouring the rich had hit women disproportionately.
At a get-out-the vote event 116 kilometers (72 miles) west of Milwaukee, actress Sharon Stone drove home Kerry`s attack on the Bush tax cuts in front of a mostly female audience in Madison.
"I want you to know that I`m in the one percent that got a tax break and ... I didn`t need it, and I`m sorry," said the 46-year-old star of "Basic Instinct" and "Casino."
Stone portrayed Kerry as the candidate of principle, the candidate that has the best interests of "our kids," at heart.
"I think that we forget that this is what a soldier looks like," Stone said as she pulled student Heidi Katchkeg, 20, up on stage, to illustrate a point about the youth of many of the troops serving in Iraq.
"I think we forget what we`re asking of our soldiers."
That point hit home for, Joanne Ellarson, 41, a mother of two teenage sons.
"I`m scared for the draft. I`m scared for my kids," she said.
Republicans have accused Kerry`s party of fear-mongering about the possible resurrection of the draft. Bush has denied he has any plan to bring back compulsory military service.
Julie Foudy, captain of the US women`s national soccer team, shared the stage with Stone and a clutch of Democratic politicians at the event at a downtown civic center and used a personal anecdote to illustrate her point.
Foudy recalled how US officials, concerned about anti-American sentiment, urged US Olympic competitors to keep any celebrations at the Athens Olympics in August low-key.
"We were told: `Don`t wear USA gear, don`t wear red, white and blue, and don`t wave the flag,`" she said. "We`re seen as oppressors, rather than liberators, and that has to change. We need a fresh start, no question."
Another speaker addressed popular concerns about changing presidents in the midst of the Iraq conflict. "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself," said Pat Foote, a retired brigadier general.
Margaret Dunn, 68, said she will vote for Kerry, but that she still hasn`t heard any substantive policy proposals from the Democrats on women`s issues.
"I think there`s a clear choice between Bush and Kerry, but I think we still have a lot of work to do. I didn`t hear anything ... about what Kerry is going to do for women."
Kennedy and Stone were the latest in a string of prominent women to plump for Kerry.
On Thursday he shared a stage with Dana Reeve, widow of "Superman" star Christopher Reeve, who was promoting stem-cell research. He has also used September 11 widow Kristen Breitweiser at campaign events.

10/22/2004 19:23 GMT - AFP