Ever wonder why the media wing of the Democratic Party ginned up a supposed Republican war on women? The reason is buried in the internals of recent polls.

With most Democrats sure to vote in lockstep for Their Leader--and Republicans even more sure to vote against the Big O--we have been told for almost four years now that the winner of the 2012 election would be whoever did best with independent voters. New polls show that Obama is hemorrhaging with that crucial group.

The Pew Research Center's most recent survey of registered voters reports that 37% say they are certain to vote for the Republican candidate. (The survey was begun before Rick Santorum dropped out of the race.) That's up significantly from 29% in Pew's poll at a similar point four years ago. 39%, or about the same as 2008's 38%, say they are certain to vote Democrat.

With the increase in Republican voters, the number of registered voters who now say they are "swing" voters stands at 23%. From Pew's report:

This is a significantly smaller swing vote than was the case at the end of the primary season four years ago. In June 2008, 33% of all registered voters, and fully 46% of independent voters, remained uncommitted. Today, just 23% of voters, and 33% of independent voters, are swing voters.

And the Pew survey shows Obama trailing within the dwindling independent voter demographic, with Romney at 48% and Obama at just 42. Obama is 10 points behind where he was with independents at the time of the 2008 election, and a full five points behind where he stood just a month ago.

Unlike in 2008, Obama is now a known quantity. His handlers have far less chance of convincing the undecided Dorothy and friends to ignore the all-too-disappointing man behind the curtain this time around, so the O-Team turned to other groups. With Obama already receiving support from 95% of blacks and two-thirds of all Hispanics--exactly the same as in 2008--it's difficult to imagine those numbers could grow much, so they directed their media comrades' attention elsewhere.

To listen to MSNBC and the other Democratic media tell it, independent voters are no longer the crucial voting segment. The key to the 2012 election is now ... women voters.

And once women voters see this phony war on women for the political ploy it is and decided to concentrate on the economy, unemployment, dwindling housing prices, and other issues that actually matter? No doubt the crucial voting block will then become Hispanics, or left-handed basketball players, or whatever Balkanized segment of the population the media thinks gives Obama the best shot at winning.

-William Tate is an award-winning journalist and author