by Frank James

Someone in Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign mistakenly e-mailed a copy of working draft of a campaign document which isn't earth-shattering but still an interesting read. So onto The Swamp it goes.

It's essentially an argument for why women should support Obama. Whoever edited the document wisely crossed out an an abbreviated reference to the website MyBarackObama.com which in the initial version was written as "mybo.com."

 Also struck out was this line, one of several the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton would no doubt see as fighting words: "We are light years ahead of the Clinton campaign in terms of organization -- not photo ops and TV cameos..." 

October 16, 2007

TOo: Interested Parties

FRr: Betsy Myers, chair, Women for Obama

RE: The Fight for tThe Womaen's vVote - A View from the Grassroots

DA: October 17, 2007

 Like all Americans, women desperately want change they can believe in. They want an end to the divisive politics in Washington. They want someone who had the judgment to say no to an unnecessary war and who can stand up to the special interests that have shut out the voices of average Americans for too long.  These are all the reasons why women have been at the forefront of the grassroots movement that is the Obama campaign.

,which is why they have been at the forefront of the grassroots movement that is the Obama campaign.

While the Clinton Campaign likes to portray the competition for the support of wWomen through the lens of meaningless national poll numbers, which reflect the quasi-incumbents advantage in name recognition, the true story is on the ground in the early and February 5 states. In the latest The latest Des Moines Register poll showed 2 out of every 3 women is are not supporting Senator Clinton. In the state , where the public knows the candidates best, Iowa, the gender gap being touted by the Clinton Ccampaign is essentially non-existent.

What is Women for Obama

Earlier this year, the campaign launched "Woman for Obama," (WFO) an initiative to allow encourage women from across the country to participate in our campaign and to talk to other women about Barack Obama's lifelong leadership on issues important to women.

WFO is not only about endorsements, but instead its focus is the thousands of women on the ground who are organizing every day through house parties, book clubs, bbqs barbecues, blogs, and going door to door to recruit other women for our grassroots movement. So Oour women are not just voting for Barack, but are organizing and recruiting other women, one by one, to help Barack win in Iowa, New Hampshire and other key states.

Barack Obama: Standing up for Women

As the son of a single mother whose grandmother was the family's primary breadwinner, Barack lived through the struggles that everyday women face. This experience moved him to develop a lifelong history of standing up for women, from Barack Obama has a long record, starting with his days as a community organizer and continuing through his career in public office, of standing up for women. As a young community organizer in Chicago, Barack worked closely with mothers in public housing to force city government to remove asbestos from their homes. As a member of the Illinois legislature in the 1990s, Barack saw how politicians in Washington put politics over principle, crafting a federal welfare reform law that shortchanged the need for more childcare for working mothers. So Barack led a successful fight to ensure that the state's version of welfare reform included a six-fold increase in childcare funding. He also passed one of the nation's most comprehensive domestic violence laws. Throughout his career, Barack has been a leader on reproductive justice and women's health issues - receiving a 100% Planned Parenthood pro-choice voting record and recently winning their straw poll for his appearance at a July Planned Parenthood event. Last year, Barack had the courage to stand up while others ducked a critical battle over a woman's right to choose. He was the only U.S. Senator to raise funds for a critical initiative to reverse the South Dakota law that effectively banned abortion rights.

 The Story in the Early States

For example, tThis past Saturday, oOver 150 women in Iowa traveled to Des Moines for a 6 hr grassroots organizing training. After the training the women have returned home to their counties, fired up and ready to go. These women will serve as Precinct Captains and Women for Obama leaders in their home county.

Some Key Facts:

 · More than 175,000 women have contributed to the campaign; · 20,000 women have signed up for Women For Obama on our website;

· There are close to 100 supporter-created volunteer groups on my.barackobamaMy.BO.com

· We have active and engaged WFO groups in all the early states and most of the February 5 states;

 · WFO has hosted nearly 1,000 house parties nationwide;

·Barack has the endorsement of high profile women in each of the early states;

· There are local WFO chapters in 50 Iowa counties and all 10 counties in New Hampshire;

· More than 1,000 South Carolina women have joined woman for Obama;

· 3,000 women attended the Northern California Women for Obama Kickoff;

· Women leaders from across the country and across industries are supporting Barack Obama for President. From leaders in Congress and entertainment to activists and entrepreneurs, they are meeting women face to face in the early states and going online to share their personal stories of support for Senator Barack Obama. They include: Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Gwen Moore, Rep. Melissa Bean, Alfre Woodard, Alice Walker, Bobbi Brown, Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey, Samantha Power, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Iman, among others.

·Prominent Women leaders in the early states are supporting Senator Barack Obama for President, including:

IA: State Representative Janet Petersen, State Representative Pam Jochum State Representative Helen Miller, Iowa's First Female Supreme Court Justice, Retired Justice Linda Neuman, Former State Senator and Feminist Leader, Jean Lloyd Jones

NH: Co-Chairs: Ann McLane Kuster - Director of Rath, Young, & Pignatelli's Education and Non-Profit Law Practice Group; member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; board member of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Womankind Counseling Center Co-Chair:and Peggo Horstmann Hodes - renowned vocalist and educator; Democratic activist, wife of Congressman Paul Hodes Concord, NH

SC: State Rep. J. Anne Parks, Mayor Luevenia Wright, Councilwoman Amy Brown, Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, Councilwoman Lillian Brock Flemming

NV: Former State Senator Helen Foley, Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, Rose McKinney-James, Elaine Wynn

To be part of Women for Obama doesn't just mean that your name is on a list -- it means that you are actively organizing in your community to elect Barack Obama as President. The personal stories I hear from our women on the ground amaze me every day - from girls who are voting in their first presidential election to women in their 80's who haven't been involved in politics since Kennedy, thousands of women all over the country are inspired by Barack Obama's message of hope, change, and unity. Women for Obama is a fundamental part of our strategy to win the nomination and we believe see daily that in the early states and across the country we are light years ahead of Clinton campaign in terms of organization -- not photo-ops and TV cameos, but actual we have a grassroots organization capable of turning out the vote on caucus and primary night.