h-hour hotel

That's the name of the Cold Chisel song that is the source of the phrase "doctors' wives" that we've seen bandied about a fair bit lately, according to this story by Max Suich:

It refers to middle-class women, whom the Liberal Party would normally assume would be big-L Liberals, who have been turned off by the Howard Government's support for the Iraq war and are now contemplating voting Green, Labor or for another anti-Coalition party

I'm troubled by the term. It sounds dismissive and negative. Interesting to read the remarks of the Liberal candidate source though:

"Doctors' wives" evokes mock Tudor perhaps, twin-sets and pearls, golf, and a trace of silver in the hair - and the suburbs of Kew, Camberwell and Malvern. But the fact is the women are to be found across all age groups and in most Liberal electorates."

So is there really a gender split on Iraq among the Liberal-voting middle to upper middle class? If true, maybe the wives are onto something and the husbands could try listening to them.

ps: I know I just said I'd stop election blogging for the time being...consider that a non-core promise.