UPDATED 

ST. PAUL - Carly Fiorina and other women supporters of Sen. John McCain blasted “the media” for what they called sexist coverage of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and denied that the Republican party had inflicted its own sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton.

“The Republican Party  will not stand by while Sarah Palin is subjected to sexist attacks,” Fiorina said.

She singled out a column by The New York Times’s Maureen Dowd that referred to Republicans’ “tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West” as a glaring example of gender stereotyping.

When asked what was sexist about examining Palin’s experience or judgment, Fiorina said she objected to the media “trying to portray her as a show horse, not a work horse.”

She also denied that Hillary Clinton had been subjected to sexist attacks by Republicans, drawing a few sarcastic chuckles from the audience.

Fiorina said she had stepped up to defend Clinton by going on television to express her outrage over sexism.

Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn thought the media was to blame for Republicans not doing more to support Clinton, arguing that, “Had we been more vocal, you all would have chosen not to report it.”

UPDATE:

However, not everyone in the McCain camp appeared to be on the same page. When asked on Fox News whether there was any sexism in the reaction to Palin, Meg Whitman, McCain’s national campaign co-chair, said, “I wouldn’t say there really has.” 
   
“I actually think it’s completely fair for the media to vet Sarah Palin, just as they did Barack Obama, and John McCain and everyone else who’s running for office,” she said. “I mean you are running for the second highest office in the land.”

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

- Photo credit: REUTERS/Rick Wilking. Carly Fiorina speaks at a press briefing at the Republican National Convention, Sept. 3, 2008.

John McCain adviser Carly Fiorina is offering a new defense of the Republican candidate’s ownership of multiple homes , suggesting that it is due to his hard work rather than his wife’s money.

McCain’s wife Cindy is a wealthy heiress and the couple own between eight and 11 properties depending on how they are counted, according to the Talking Points Memo political blog. McCain responded to a question on the subject last week by saying he wasn’t sure how many properties he owned.

Cue criticism from his Democratic rival Barack Obama, who said it showed McCain was out of touch with millions of Americans struggling to pay mortgage costs.
Fiorina told CNN on Monday: “He is a man who has these blessings and these assets because he’s worked hard all his life. That’s part of the American dream.”

She also pointed out that McCain had a plan to address the home mortgage crisis, noted that Cindy McCain’s investment portfolio was managed by others and argued that Obama, who owns a house in Chicago, was in no position to judge when it came to house purchases.

“Obama got the opportunity to buy a house that he couldn’t afford through his associations with a gentleman named Tony Rezko who’s now in jail,” she said. “If we want to talk about houses and who’s out of touch with the American people we ought to be balanced in that.”

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.