Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and Jill Biden, wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, targeted undecided female voters at a rally in Newcomb Plaza yesterday. The duo attracted an eclectic crowd including Charlottesville residents, students, volunteers and a few protesters.
According to an Obama campaign official, approximately 2,000 general audience members — “not counting those on the fringe” — attended the rally.
All of the speeches during the rally, with the exception of the invocation and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, focused primarily on women’s issues and the importance of community activism, especially regarding spreading word about the election and getting others registered to vote.
Obama was the final speaker during the rally and immediately took on the issue of women in the workplace.
“The truth is when women are paid unfairly, who pays the price?” she asked. “Their kids, their families pay the price, and we won’t stop fighting until women are paid fairly for the work that they do ... I’m talking about hardworking women like the Cavaliers here.”
Second-year College student Leslie Janikowsky, however, did not feel that Obama’s speech had enough factual evidence to support her positions on women’s rights. Janikowsky noted that McCain has shown he focuses on women’s issues because he chose a female running mate.
“He’s actually showing how he’s going to help women,” Janikowsky said, adding “that’s on his mind.”
Obama also addressed the University students in the crowd during her speech, noting the impact that college students can have on an election.
“You’ve been sharing your hopes and your ideas,” she said. “And it makes a difference when young people talk about the future that they hope to have.”
Obama ended her speech by reminding those in attendance of how important each vote is in Virginia.
“This is such an exciting moment in our nation’s history,” she said.
Prior to Obama’s speech, a number of other speakers took the stage to address the crowd.
Kristin Szakos, an Obama volunteer coordinator, told the crowd that Virginia could be a key factor in the presidential election.
“This entire election could be decided by you, the people of Virginia,” Szakos said. “If Obama wins every state that Kerry won in 2004 and he wins Iowa, he will only need 11 more electoral votes to win. We have 13.”
Szakos, who has been writing about community organization for 20 years, emphasized the importance of community organization and activism, reminding the audience that there are still seven weekends left to canvass before the election.
Though Graduate Arts & Sciences student Adam Jortner, who is an Obama supporter, said the rally speakers did not focus on issues that are his primary concern, he noted that he “might actually volunteer now.”
Shortly after Szakos spoke, Biden introduced the women’s issues that would be discussed in detail later, chiefly issues for women in the workplace.
She noted that while women on average make an average of 70 cents for every dollar that a man makes, African-American women make an average of 62 cents and Latino women make an average of 53 cents for every dollar a man earns.
“Equal pay is not just a woman’s issue,” Biden said. “It’s a family issue.”
Biden then introduced Lilly Ledbetter, a woman whose claim the Supreme Court denied on statutory grounds in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., a case concerning women’s compensation in the workplace.
After working for some time at Goodyear, Ledbetter found she was being given smaller raises than her male coworkers, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages. She was awarded her demands in Alabama court, but the Supreme Court ruled against her claim five to four. She noted that Barack Obama was one of her major supporters and a proponent of the bill, that would have “made sure what happened to me couldn’t happen again,” the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was defeated in the Senate in April 2008.
Ledbetter’s speech was the last before Michelle Obama took the podium.
The rally, sponsored by Hoos for Obama but organized mainly by the Obama campaign, was not a University event but simply a campaign event the University allowed on Grounds, according to Hoos for Obama President Sam Shirazi, who is a former Cavalier Daily Opinion columnist.
Students in attendance at the rally voiced a variety of opinions about the Obama campaign.
Hoos for Life President Elyse Smith, who was holding an pro-life sign with several other protesters, said she wanted to remind those in attendance of an important issue.
“We want people to remember that before you can have the right to vote you have to have the right to live,” she said.
Third-year College student Tom Mitchell, meanwhile, who said he likes what Obama stands for, said he attended to hear what the “future first lady” had to say.
Danny Steeper, Newcomb Hall assistant director of operations, said he and his staff helped to coordinate building-related issues for the rally, such as the rearrangement of tables and chairs, but noted they were in no way involved with security planning.
“The Secret Service [came] in and [worked] hand in hand with the University Police Department,” Steeper said. “There was a great effort on both of their parts and the event was very successful.”
University Police Officer Eugene Sandridge noted that no problems or security issues occurred during the rally.
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