 There was one vice @-@ presidential debate between Congresswoman Ferraro and Vice President George H. W. Bush . Held on October 11 , the result was proclaimed mostly even by the press and historians ; women voters tended to think Ferraro had won , while men , Bush . At it , Ferraro criticized Reagan 's initial refusal to support an extension to the Voting Rights Act . Her experience was questioned at the debate and she was asked how her three terms in Congress stacked up with Bush 's extensive government experience . To one Bush statement she said , " Let me just say first of all , that I almost resent , Vice President Bush , your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy . " She strongly defended her position on abortion , which earned her applause and a respectful reply from her opponent . In the days leading up to the debate , Second Lady of the United States Barbara Bush had publicly referred to Ferraro as " that four @-@ million @-@ dollar — I can 't say it , but it rhymes with ' rich ' . " Barbara Bush soon apologized . Ferraro 's womanhood was consistently discussed during the campaign ; one study found that a quarter of newspaper articles written about her contained gendered language . 
