Women as a pivot vote

My favourite radio show NPR reported on 6 January that Maine Senator Olimpia Snowe could have a key vote in Alito's confirmation hearing as a Supreme Court judge. Wind back a clock a little bit and you would remember that the former Supremem Court justice Sandra O'Conner, a jostice whom Alito is poised to replace, was also known as a key "pivot" judge in important cases, casting crucial ballot in many of the 5-4 split decisions.

Both Snowe and O'Conner are women. Is it a coincidence? Is it because women are more independently minded and wouldn't follow strict party or ideological line, or is it because they do not have strong stance or views on any issue and be easily swayed by the tide of the time or convenient political calculation? Does it play into generally held stereotype that women are just standing out there waiting for other people (men) to woo? Probably so. But mainstream media are busy portraying those women as independently minded, key voter, and shaker and mover, shaping American judicial history, when in fact they are incapable of holding stong ideological footing that are requisite for their important positions.