Two quick notes about remarks made by Katie Couric on Tuesday's CBS Evening News in a taped piece in which she spoke with Columbus-area “blue-collar” voters:

♦ Talking to the husband and wife owners of a restaurant, Couric learned “an African-American candidate may be more acceptable than a woman.” The husband observed that “Hillary's made emotional outbursts” and worried what would happen “if she's put in a tragic situation where, God forbid, we have another terrorist attack or something like that.” To which, Couric retorted:

But some of the male candidates, like Mitt Romney, have gotten misty eyed as well.

♦ As she walked inside a Honda plant, Couric described Ohio's “working class” voters as “often culturally conservative -- against abortion rights, gun control, and hawkish on defense.” Of course, she could just as easily have phrased that as “against abortion rights and for gun rights” or “pro-life and pro-gun.”

A transcript of a portion of Couric's March 4 CBS Evening News story:

KATIE COURIC: Outside Columbus, the owners of a popular lunch spot seem to reflect the views of many blue-collar voters we talked to. An African-American candidate may be more acceptable than a woman.

SARAH BRADY, OWNER, THE OLD TOWN INN: Some people have made some comments about, you know, it's like their mom's yelling at them and, you know, I don't think that the country would be ready for that. I think she might get torn down.

COURIC: What about an African-American candidate? Do you think the country's ready for that?

SARAH HARDY: I think so. I mean, he's a very intelligent man.

JESSE HARDY, OWNER, THE OLD TOWN INN: Hillary's made emotional outbursts and I feel like if she's put in a tragic situation where, God forbid, we have another terrorist attack or something like that, you know, is it going to be an emotional outburst or, you know, how do you handle that situation?

COURIC: But some of the male candidates, like Mitt Romney, have gotten misty eyed as well. It's just harder for you to take coming from a female candidate?

JESSE HARDY: I don't know. I think the nation's more ready for a black male candidate than it is for a female candidate at this point.

COURIC: They may not be the trendiest, but working class white male voters like these guys working at the Honda plant outside Columbus, Ohio, may be the most coveted voting block right now. They are the ultimate swing voters. They supported Ronald Reagan in 1980, Bill Clinton in 1992, and in 2004 George W. Bush. While many of these voters care about jobs, they're often culturally conservative -- against abortion rights, gun control, and hawkish on defense. A formula that could bode well for all but certain Republican nominee John McCain.

—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center