August 27, 2008 03:13 AM UTC

Women's Issues--they're about much more than women

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• by: Jenn at Obama for America in Colorado

From the Colorado for Obama blog.

Today marks the 88th anniversary of women’s suffrage. In honor of that and all the incredible ways women have been transforming politics, we are dedicating the day to women and issues that are important to us.

We started this morning with a women’s economic round table, where Michelle and Joe spoke with four female governors and four women panelists who shared their stories and spoke about why they are eager to see change in Washington.

Before the event, I spoke to a few of the women who were attending the event, asking them to share their thoughts on the importance of women’s issues.

One of the women, Juana told me:

I think we’re going through a shift in America about women. I mean, I’m an early feminist and I think that early feminist agenda was about education, it was about health, it was about jobs. And I don’t think we can lose sight of that. When women first started to talk about change, we weren’t just talking about change for women — we were talking about a different kind of world where our children live. And I think we need to get back to that. And it’s not about women it’s about the kind of world we want to leave our children.

Merle also thought that the concept of "women’s issues" affected a lot more than just women. She said:

I think that when you talk about issues that affect women, you forget that as they affect women and as they affect families that basically they affect all of us. I think that it’s critical that we approach what we view as women’s issues — involving children, families, things like that — sometimes we don’t focus enough on the fact that working on those issues is really working for everybody. And those issues sometimes get dismissed or sidetracked off into women’s issues when, in fact, they are issues that are absolutely critical to all people.

I asked to share their thoughts on the candidates and their policies.

Dottie, a former Hillary supporter, said:

I’m not a person who had trouble switching to Hillary, even though I was very loyal to her and worked for her, because I think Barack shares many of her ideas… McCain has consistently voted with Bush and he is a continuation of Bush. Do you want a continuation of Bush’s eight years? Because that’s what you’re going to get with McCain.

Merle also voiced her disapproval of McCain’s policies. She said:

We can start right away with McCain’s support of an incredible pro-life platform. I think he’s disingenuous about it — it’s clear that he has no support for a woman’s right to choose. I think he’s hidden that policy, but if you look into his record at all, that’s one of the worst things he has done and it’s one of the worst things that denigrates women.

The women all agreed that the women’s issues don’t just affect women–they also have a great impact on their children, their families and the lives of everyone they know.

Juana told me how the election was about her family and in a way, passing the political torch on to her daughters. She said:

The first person I voted for was John F. Kennedy and now I have three daughters and they’re all going to vote for Barack Obama. And that’s what I want to see — a change in generation, with people like me and Dottie and Merle all sitting here helping the younger people really structure a new kind of America.