From Staunton, VA, a Call for More Women's Rights Through Obama

The following was published a few weekends ago in the Staunton News Leader, the paper from my hometown, Staunton, VA, found in the beautiful rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley. It's called "Voting for Obama with Equality in Mind," and I totally appreciate the focus on women's rights (it lacks some full-on specifics, though there's more on Obama's positions related to women here and here, and on his running mate, Joe Biden's violence-against-women work here):

"Since 1920, women have had the right to vote; the suffrage movement in the United States marked 144 years of oppression by our founding fathers, which disenfranchised women, simply because of their gender. Although the 20th century marked numerous reforms allowing the extension of rights to all people, today women continue to suffer when it comes to wages and earnings. In 2005, women in the U.S. made 79 percent of what their male counterparts (who did the exact same work they did) made.

Unfair? Heck yes! Well, there is hope. Recently Lilly Ledbetter, a retired worker for Goodyear Tires, spoke to a crowd of hundreds about her fight that climbed all the way to the Supreme Court to achieve recompense for her company paying her less than male coworkers. Her moving speech was followed by another moving speech by Michelle Obama, (the wife of Barack Obama) who discussed women's rights, particularly the right to deserve equal pay. Folks, the time is now for change, but change cannot occur if you do not vote.

Voter registration for Virginia ends on Oct. 6.

So if you care about equal rights, equal pay and want your government to serve you and not the wealthy minority of this nation, vote. Make your voice heard. If you wonder who will bring about this change, just read the headlines, and you'll find the word Obama synonymous with the word 'change.'

TIM CUNNINGHAM Waynesboro"

As a quick follow-up, a stellar video from Obama recently in Florida--he cut to the center of me with it with some honest remembrances of the hard, HARD work women have done over the years, naming the plight and work women have done in such a refreshing, and again, honest way (I was way tired when I watched, but definitely teared up with it, let me know if it gets anyone else like that):



Oh, and while I'm posting videos, here's a great one on Biden's work on a great bill to seriously fight violence against women: