First visit focuses on economic issues, “constant, never-ending guilt” women face

Michelle Obama spoke frankly Wednesday about the challenges facing American women seeking what she called “a work-life balance.”

“The challenge we have is of balancing work with family … at a time when the economy is making it harder and harder for this to happen,” said Obama, the wife of presumed Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, during her first visit to Michigan. “My girls are the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think of when I go to bed at night. This isn’t just about policy for me. These issues are personal.”

As the crowd of 200 at the Crofoot in Pontiac murmured its assent, Obama spoke of “the constant, never-ending guilt – that no matter what you do you’re never doing enough … Barack has seen that in me, that internal struggle.”

Obama appeared with Gov. Jennifer Granholm at the packed event, which was billed as a round-table discussion on economic issues facing women. She was joined on the dais by four women chosen to share their personal stories of economic hardship or frustration. Much of her talk focused on the need for more jobs, more affordable health care and more support for women who hold down a job while trying to raise children.

Continued – “We need policies to help families to thrive, not just to survive,” she said. If elected, she said, Barack Obama plans to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act and to ensure that every worker had at least seven paid sick days annually. He would also work to ensure that women are paid equal to men for equal work.

She also spoke later in the day with women leaders at a private event in Royal Oak.

Obama’s visit came as her husband’s campaign has ratcheted up its outreach both to women and to Michigan voters. Barack Obama moved quickly to reach out to women voters after Sen. Hillary Clinton conceded the nomination. And he has made several campaign appearances in the state since the primary season ended, after not campaigning in Michigan during the primaries due to the state Democratic Party’s decision to violate party rules and move its primary to Jan. 15.

In Pontiac, Obama was preceded on stage by a series of high-profile local Democratic women: Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, who is running for Oakland County executive; Colleen Ochoa Peters, wife of Congressional candidate Gary Peters; Oakland County Commissioner Mattie Hatchett, who is running for re-election; and Granholm, who supported Clinton during the primary but who radiated enthusiasm for Michelle and Barack Obama during the event.

Perhaps in acknowledgment of the disgruntled Clinton supporters who have resisted hopping on the Obama bandwagon just yet, Michelle Obama assured the audience that her husband understands women’s issues. 

“Barack wouldn’t be here but for the women in his life,” Obama said. “It’s important for you to know that he carries our stories as women with him every single day. They shaped who he became as a man.”

In fact, the Pontiac crowd seemed very willing to accept Obama’s overtures with open arms.

“I’m excited about her putting women at the forefront because I’m a closet feminist,” said Southfield resident Canequia Moulder. “Barack can do all the policy, but she’s saying, ‘I’m going to talk to the women and see what the women have to say.’”

“I think they both recognize that the needs, the experiences, the plight of women in America need to be addressed,” Hatchett said after the event. “I think they both recognize that. That’s why they’re coming out. And they’re smart too, because women vote.”