In SF visit, Obama seeks to woo women voters

by John McCormick

SAN FRANCISCO – Sen. Barack Obama took a break from a busy day of fundraising Thursday to try to bolster his credentials with women by meeting with four of them in this city's Mission District.

"My mother was a single mom, my father left when I was two," the Illinois Democrat told the women, including one who was cradling her six-week-old son in a shawl-like carrier. "I know what's it like to juggle."

The push for a softer side among women comes as he tries to respond to the fact that Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York dominated with that demographic in the New Hampshire primary, one of the primary reasons for Obama's second-place showing.

Although he said he considers himself an "enlightened male," Obama said his wife, Michelle, has had to bear most burdens of family life because of his political career.

Obama said he wants to see the nation move forward with policies that help "working families in general, and working women in particular."

By listing growing costs for health care, college, gasoline and other expenses, Obama said it is becoming harder to scrape by for many. "The price of the American dream has gone up," he said.

As he often does, Obama blamed the city where he sometimes works. "Right now in Washington at least, your voices are not being heard," he said.

The event was held at the San Francisco Women's Building, a community center that made for good photos because of a giant, colorful mural that celebrates womanhood on the building's exterior.

More than 20 television cameras and roughly that many print photographers crowded half of the second-floor room's space, severely challenging the supposed intimacy of a kind of event that is designed to show Obama as more than just a stadium speaker.

"I can't imagine how we will continue to make it," said Kara Daillik, a San Francisco teacher who explained how she is struggling to find and pay for childcare for her newborn, something she said will likely cost $1,000 a month.

"I don't know what to do," she said, a few minutes later, fighting off tears.

Obama appeared less tired than when he held a similar event on Monday morning in Reno. Still, he said life on the campaign trail is sometimes confusing. He corrected himself after mentioning an event yesterday that he initially said happened a few days ago. "This is what happens when you are on the road all the time," he said.

The policy discussion followed a morning of Bay Area fundrasing by Obama, who is seeking to build up his campaign's coffers in advance of the hugely expensive and rapidly approaching series nomination contests in more than 20 states on Feb. 5.

After the event, Obama was to meet with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle at a downtown hotel, the same location where he was scheduled to hold his second fundraiser of the day, before flying back to Las Vegas for an evening rally.

Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards are joining Obama today for swings, as they bounce between campaigning in advance of Saturday's Nevada caucuses and California's massive Feb. 5 primary.

Obama was the first to run television advertising in California, although Clinton is expected to soon join in on running ads in the huge and costly state.