Obama addresses equal pay for women in N.M.
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8/18/2008 - 8/18/08
ALBUQUERQUE — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said his single mother struggled to work and attend school while raising two children, and that experience is why he pledges to fight for equal pay for equal work for female employees.Obama talked Monday morning to a group of 50 mostly professional women at an Albuquerque library. He said women in New Mexico make 71 cents for every dollar earned by a man.
"I get mad. I get frustrated," the Illinois senator told the women during an informal question and answer session at which he appeared in a work shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and fighting a cold.
The father of two daughters also said he wants to work to make sure his children are not disadvantaged in the workplace.
"The thought of it would make my blood boil," he said.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Obama talked about bringing the majority of troops home from Iraq, providing affordable health care, fixing the No Child Left Behind education reform and the importance of renewable energy.
On his fourth visit to New Mexico this campaign season, Obama talked of the swing state's importance for him to beat his Republican opponent John McCain on Nov. 4.
"We've got to seize this moment. We've got to seize the opportunity. New Mexico's going to be critical to doing that. This is going to be a close election," Obama said.
Obama also was asked about undocumented workers, and said he supports a path to citizenship and comprehensive immigration reform.
Laura Nunez, an Albuquerque teacher who attended the informal talk, said she hasn't seen a lot of support for Obama from the Hispanic or African-American community in Albuquerque.
"I haven't in the campaign office really seen a lot of Hispanics. It's been mostly Anglos," Nunez said.
The volunteer for the Obama campaign said Hispanic women tend to vote for the pro-life candidate, and she fears that position will mean more votes for McCain.
"The women here are very Catholic, very conservative, and will vote for the other candidate depending on how it's presented," she said.
But Nunez said the campaign is beginning leadership training for Hispanic volunteers and has heard of some pro-Obama work among Hispanics in Albuquerque's South Valley.
Obama planned to attend a town hall meeting at Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque's heavily Hispanic South Valley on Monday afternoon.
He was joined in the high school gymnasium by Gov. Bill Richardson, a former Clinton administration official who endorsed Obama in March.
Obama was last in New Mexico on June 23, when he again met with working women at the Flying Star Cafe and Satellite Coffee headquarters in Albuquerque.
He also visited on Memorial Day, meeting with veterans in Las Cruces.
In the days ahead of the New Mexico Democratic presidential caucus Feb. 5, Obama spoke to thousands of people at an overflowing "Economic Summit" in Albuquerque and to thousands of people in Santa Fe.
Obama narrowly lost the caucus to Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was in Espanola on Sunday stumping for her former opponent.
Obama heads to Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday where he will appear at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.
