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Media Credit: Sarah Gerace

The morning of Sept. 20 saw the political fever following Democratic Presidential hopeful Barak Obama sweep through Daytona Beach and the Bethune-Cookman University campus. Obama spoke at the school in an event called "Women for the Change We Need" co-hosted by a number of female political figures, including Arizona Governor Janet Napalitano and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

Florida State Representative, Joyce Cusack, and Democratic nominee for Congress, Suzanne Kosmas, also spoke at the event, completing a panel of powerful female speakers.

After a series of speeches from the speakers attempting to persuade the crowd that Obama is their only political hope and a prayer led by a local pastor, Obama came on stage.

Most of the speech reiterated Obama's stance on issues ranging from outsourcing of US jobs to college tuition to health care. The twist, however, came in Obama's specific focus on how these issues affect women and on another, less-publicized of his platforms: equal opportunity and pay for women in the workplace.

Reflecting on the strong women in his own life, Obama spoke of the hardships faced by his grandmother and his wife and of his deep sympathy for women across the country.
Citing a statistic that women continue to make $.75 for every dollar that men make for the same work, Obama said "It is unacceptable that women are losing thousands every year" and that if he is elected he will ensure there are "no second-class citizens in the workplace."

Jabbing at Republican Presidential candidate John McCain's recent statement about privatizing healthcare and appealing to the average citizen, Obama said "He wants to run healthcare the way they've been running Wall Street. I know some people on Main Street who won't think that's a very good idea."

Referring to McCain's advisory staff, which is comprised, allegedly, of ex-lobbyists for floundering financial giant Fannie Mae, Obama said "When he talks about taking on the Old Boys Club in Washington, for McCain that means a staff meeting."
The crowd cheered loudest after jabs like these and after each assurance Obama gave about the economy. After the troubling week on Wall Street, Obama focused entirely on economic issues with no mention of the War against Terror.

Appealing to students, Obama emphasized his proposed $4k tuition credit for anyone seeking a higher education- although the qualifier that this credit would be available to students seeking to "serve their community or their country" was lost in the noise.

In his closing, Obama spoke of his own daughters when tying together his goals of ensured higher education and women's equality saying "I want them, and all our daughters, to have no limits on their dreams."

Outside the theater after the speech, other voices separated from the general feeling in the crowd. Not all students were sold on Obama's ideas. Tom Sobien, 20, a DSC history major said

"Obama's a good speaker, but I'll tell you who I'm voting for; I'm voting for Ralph Nader."

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