Michelle Obama at UMKC, July 10, 2008

Michelle Obama came to Kansas City today to hold a round-table discussion and talk with working women about economic (in)security. The panel consisted of Mrs. Obama and five area women who are struggling with this republican-caused disaster of an economy, and she took questions from the audience after. Every time an audience member gave back the microphone, so many hands shot into the air that had she answered them all, we would still be there, and I am getting to this seven hours later.

Wow. What an engaged and engaging speaker. She is smart, funny, quick-witted and savvy. She is impressive in her own right, and Senator Obama is a lucky man to have woman like her as his partner. I think she will be a terrific first lady who will use her position to bring attention to vital domestic issues. She could do a lot simply by doing what she did today, all over the country, for the first two years of her husbands administration.



The doors opened at 9:00 for the 10:00 event, and it was pretty cool to sit over in the press pen and watch as the mostly-female crowd filled the room in minutes.



The time lapse between these two pictures was about three or four minutes.





And this one was taken about ten minutes before the program got started.


The event started on time, and Mrs. Obama was introduced by Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee, who was one of the first of Missouri's Democratic elected officials to get behind Obama - She endorsed him one year ago today.



Mrs. Obama spoke for about fifteen minutes, then the panel discussion got underway with five area women who are all playing the game by the rules and falling behind. She spoke about her early life, growing up in a working-class environment, her father worked for the city and her mother raised Michelle and her brother. And today, a man like her father can't keep up and can't make ends meet on one salary.

She also talked about her husbands early years and his mothers struggles to complete her education and the fact that she had to rely on food stamps at times to put food on the table for Barack and his sister. She tells us that her husband understands the struggles of women, and the way she tells it, I believe her. His grandmother, now in her eighties, was a pioneer. She was the primary breadwinner in their home, starting her career as a secretary in a bank and working her way up to a senior executive position - and heard the thud when she hit the glass ceiling. He understands what women deal with because he has spent his entire life in the company of strong women who dealt.

After her prepared remarks,she took a seat with the roundtable panel. The participants were, going clockwise clockwise, Sister Berta of Operation Breakthrough (no serious conversation about poverty takes place in this town without her input), next to Sister Berta is Michelle Vitale. Following on around, that is Leanna Templeton at the right edge of the frame, and seated next to her is Sheila Johnson. Next to Ms. Johnson , being miked up in this picture, is Rebecca who didn't give her last name.

Each and every one of these women has a compelling story, and frankly I will more than likely come back to the well once more on this and get into the details of the conversation and the specific struggles of the women on the panel and the people in the audience.


She worked the rope-line for quite a long tiome, taking the time to stop and speak with everyone who waited patiently. I think at least as many people got hugs as handshakes, and the Secret Service guys almost seemed chagrined that she is so intent on interacting so intimately with the crowds.

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Yes, I am back on-line. I picked up the computer this afternoon but I had to spend several hours reinstalling software and reactivating installed copies. Regular blogging resumes tomorrow.

Thanks for the patience - and the help with the trip. I was telling Warren just yesterday that we have the best readers in the entire blogosphere. We are your fans, too.

~BG

Impressions of the Democratic AG candidates (and Friday Housekeeping Notes)

The debate moderator, and the candidates. Left to right: Margaret Donnelly, Jeff Harris and Chris Koster

Of particular interest to Missouri readers, I attended the Democratic AG candidate debate yesterday evening at UMKC and I have great pictures and audio to transcribe. What I saw on that stage was a deep bench. Three capable lawyers with impressive resumes took questions from four local journalists for an hour and a half, and every one of them presented a compelling case. Damn, but Democrats are looking good these days. Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a couple of strong Democratic candidates.

Mike Mahoney and Steve Kraske both let their masks slip, of course, but that is to be expected of those two, and everyone in the KC media market knows it. I wanted to rush the stage and the people around me groaned audibly when Mike Mahoney started shilling for Voter ID "Why shouldn't voters have to prove who they are?" (We already do. We just don't have to overcome the onerous burden of showing a government issued ID and producing a notarized copy of a birth certificate, and if you are a married woman, your marriage license - which is what the latest attempt would have mandated!) I heard the subtle implication that he liked the option of amending the constitution to make people prove citizenship and name changes every single time they cast a vote for anything - we already identify ourselves in an effective and non-burdensome manner and there have been no instances of voter fraud to justify their draconian measures. Kraske needs to be the press secretary for some republicanor other and be done with it. Ah jeez - ranting about the sorry state of the local media again - sorry.

At the reception after the debate I had a lovely 15-minute chat with Chris Koster's mother and she is a hoot! She also confirms that he was always a "weird republican." He has the strongest courtroom experience - he was the only person on the stage who has tried a serial killer. He also said some very reasonable things about the application of the death penalty. He has tried cases where he asked for it, and is grateful they all ended in pleas of guilty in exchange for a sentence f life in prison. I was impressed with that answer. I also heard something I wanted to hear from him - I heard him say that he cast votes as a republican that he regrets. Full marks for that, in this age of accountability coming back into fashion.

Jeff Harris is a witty guy - he did get the laugh lines, and frankly, the ability to engage a crowd like that is a very strong asset when one is campaigning. It has been proven over and over that that people vote for people who are likeable, and Harris certainly is, and he is strong on consumer protections. He was the only one on the stage who has worked in the AG's office, for our current AG and future governor, Jay Nixon. I like that he is willing to go after CAFOs.

Margaret Donnelly has a strong background in family law, and served on the Budget Committee in the House. She has overseen staff and budgets larger than the AG's office and has the management experience to hit the ground running.

Like I said...Deep bench. We Democrats seem to be cursed with them these days. Innit great? [/gloating]

Anyway - more on the debate later. I'll transcribe, you can decide. Deal?

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Hey all - It's Friday, so we are keeping our eyes and ears open for the Friday News Dump™, and the cats are coming soon, but I have some stuff to do that is going to take some time, including a trip to Target for gadgets. (Yippee!) Then I need to spend two uninterupted hours with a new software package that I have been meaning to learn for weeks - literally. Both the gadgets and the software will enhance your blog reading experience, so I must find the time...

I have had a very busy week, following two weekends in a row that I was away attending gatherings of Democrats, and both of my to-do lists (one for the cyber world and one for the corporeal realm) have become practically overwhelming.

Thanks for your patience. Kitties and the news dump - and more debate blogging - are coming along as time permits. And of course there will be the nightly newswrap for the Nightowls - but don't be surprised if over the weekend you only get three or four posts a day besides the roundup and quick hits, because my partner is busy, too. Or there is the alternative - and in my case that would be spinning my tires for another two weeks, and I don't need that aggravation, and you deserve a better quality of blogging than that would produce.