It’s the women, stupid! Barack Obama cannot win re-election without piling up a sizable majority among female voters. Sorry, fellas, but the ladies will pick the next president.

In 2008, 8 million more women voted than men, and women accounted for 53 percent of the electorate. Obama barely edged John McCain among male voters but trounced him by 13 points among females. Recent polls reflect a similar trend this year.

In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, Obama trailed Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee, by 6 points among men but beat him by 18 points among women. Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster who helped conduct the survey, summarized: “Up until six weeks ago, Democrats suffered from an intensity gap, but this has closed as women — particularly suburban women — have turned against the GOP.”

Team Obama is keenly aware of this shift, and the president now makes a direct appeal to women in almost every public appearance. At his latest press conference, he said women vote on a “whole range” of issues and added: “I believe that Democrats have a better story to tell to women about how we’re going to solidify the middle class and grow this economy.”