Malcolm & Albright Urge Female Voters To Get Behind Obama

[Ichingcarpenter]

Speaking at group's annual luncheon celebrating in Washington D.C., Ellen Malcolm, EMILY's List's founder and director, offered a highly personalized plea for Democratic unity, saying that the possibility of a John McCain presidency outweighed political grudges.

The crowd applauded. Later in the event, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, another Clinton supporter, declared that "we are all in one campaign now" and "the reality is that this year the Democratic Party produced not one but two candidates who are qualified to win in November." She was greeted with a more enthusiastic reception.

Throughout the primary, Malcolm had been one of the most outspoken supporters of Clinton's candidacy, often questioning whether female supporters could end up backing Obama. After Clinton bowed out of the primary race, she continued to express a sense of hesitation in supporting the Illinois Democrat before changing her tone in recent days.

"I spoke to Senator Obama on Friday and I told him I would do all I could to defeat John McCain," she told the crowd. "We are here today to begin the final stage of '08. This is the election we have been waiting for. The country is fed up with the policies set by George W. Bush and his allies in Congress. Voters want change. I want change. Do you want change?"


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/12/malcolm-albright-urge-fem_n_106787.html

[democrattotheend]

1. I was there

My office had a table, and I was on the fence about going, because I used to work at EMILY's List and thought it might be a little awkward. But I was glad I went. It was interesting. They were making a push to unite the party, though Ellen Malcolm and Stephanie Tubbs Jones made reference to 18 million voters and Malcolm even said something about the popular vote (more votes than any presidential candidate in history). But otherwise the speeches seemed intent on arguing why women needed to move past the primaries and support Obama. They even had one Obama supporter, Donna Edwards, as one of the speakers. And I have to say, while she infuriated some of us during the primaries, Stephanie Tubbs Jones is pretty funny in person.

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Thanks for the inside story n/t