“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a president who understands?” Michelle Obama asked a packed West Allis Central High School fieldhouse. The audience of over 2,000 Obama supporters replied with thunderous applause and chants of “Obama!” and “Yes, we can!”The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was in town September 22 to kick off Wisconsin’s Women’s Week of Action, an effort to galvanize women voters in support of the Obama-Biden ticket.
Obama laid out the differences between her husband and Republican candidate John McCain on women’s issues like equal pay for equal work, proclaiming, “There’s only one candidate who wants to finally make sure that women are paid equally for the work they do.”
Mrs. Obama emphasized her husband’s readiness to confront the many challenges women and young people face. “You feel it” and “Barack gets it,” said Obama citing the rising prices of gas, food, healthcare and college tuition.
She said women and families want an understanding Washington that will not stand in the way of Americans, and start creating policies to help American families instead of just talking about family values.
Describing the kind of president her husband will be, Obama said, “The challenges this country will face require a leader who will tell us the truth when the truth is hard,” and said he would be able to send a different message about who we are as a country around the world.
Obama also called the crowd to action, encouraging them to register to vote early and help register others. She referred the audience to www.voteforchange.com to find information on voter registration saying, “The only thing that matters is your vote. The only reason Barack Obama will not be President of the United States is if you don’t vote for him.”
Reactions to Mrs. Obama were overwhelmingly positive. Katie Kline, a 16-year-old intern at the Waukesha County Obama campaign office, found Mrs. Obama to be “absolutely inspiring” and wished she could vote in this election.
Peggy Love of Milwaukee said Obama had wonderful ideas that were what Milwaukee especially needed. Andrea Hall, also of Milwaukee, said she was particularly pleased to hear Obama’s opinions on the economy.
Congresswoman Gwen Moore, who introduced Mrs. Obama to the audience, said she would be excited to have Michelle Obama as the next First Lady of the United States. “So many First Ladies devote themselves to worthy causes.but Michelle Obama specifically is going to help families balance between work, family and financial pressures.
“This is right on time for me as a woman. She will have the ear of the next President of the United States and that is exciting to me,” said Congresswoman Moore.
