Watching her tonight in an interview with CNN, I was extremely impressed by the intelligence, strength, and soul of this woman. This is a woman who can be a role model for all women everywhere. Not to diminish Hillary at all, but there is another woman in this race, and her name is Michelle Obama
Please watch the whole thing. She rolls out a little touched on issue here that may gain traction this weekend in LA, Work/Family Balance, and it's something our society must improve. This is the charge Michelle will lead us to keep.
She's a strong believer in Work/Balance and Family, an issue more women need to hear... This is Barack's Statements on that matter... and it's Michelle's pet issue, so you can be assured that this will be Done in the first term.
Expand Paid Sick Days: Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year.
Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities at school; allowing leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault.
Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As president, Barack Obama will initiate a 50 state strategy to encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.
Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Barack Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children. Obama will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.
Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Barack Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.
Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. Barack Obama will commit the government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.
Expand Flexible Work Arrangement: Barack Obama will address this concern by creating a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules for productivity and establishing positive workplaces; helping businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increasing federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to petition to request flexible arrangements.
Here is some other Obama video from today in New Mexico
And lastly, Tomorrow, there is a MTV program simulcast on MySpace @ 6pm EST which will have Barack making closing arguements, please, Tune in and let your friends know too.
Please, take Michelles message to Heart. Get out there and work hard. As she said when she went along with Obama's run... What if I weren't married to him, would I want him to run?
OF COURSE!!
What can you do this long weekend, when it really matters!? Well, here's a great place to start!
Let's bring change to America and make Michelle Obama the Greatest First Lady Ever!