I was watching his speech via the Ustream bulletin the campaign posted on the Myspace. It was an awesome speech, and I'm SOOOO glad that he made it. I'm very VERY glad that these issues are getting into the platform, I have to say it's been disappointing that they haven't been paid much attention in the last few presidential/party platforms. This is good.

I've been fairly disappointed by Obama's performance recently, but I really appreciated this, insofar as it highlights the need to address these issues, and I did especially like the bit at the end about how women need to be treated like the partners we are.

However, and this is not a jab at Obama at all, I just wish that an issue could be addressed even if the only people it ever affected were women. It is unfortunate that even if something is oppressive to more than 50% of the population, you still have to frame it as hurting men and children to make is sound important.

I agree with the frustration that something has to hurt men and kids for it to be important. I also think that with ecomnomics though, it makes sense to point out that women and "our issues" don't exist in a vacume. I also REALLY love how he called out the right for the hollowness of their "family values" rheotric.

So often the media portrays feminists as only caring about abortion rights in elections, I am glad to see a speech that covers so many of the other issues effecting women.

"However, and this is not a jab at Obama at all, I just wish that an issue could be addressed even if the only people it ever affected were women. It is unfortunate that even if something is oppressive to more than 50% of the population, you still have to frame it as hurting men and children to make is sound important."

Absolutely. On the flip side of that, it's nice to have these things really acknowledged and not just tossed aside as "women's issues". Too often, women are treated as a special interest group, while, in reality, they ARE issues that affect everyone.

agreed on all counts.

kudos to obama for speaking out about this and for calling out the right wing for its complete lack of caring for actual, living families.

super excited about this. I agree that it is sad it shouldn't just be enough that women don't get equal pay but to get people to understand you have to explain why it affects them.
I also heard a snippet on the radio today from Obama giving a speech about how we need to reconsider our arrogance on not learning a second language and how we need to realize we are one of the only places in the developed nations whose children aren't taught to be bilingual. I was excited about it because I believe that is an excellent point and i thought it was a pretty ballsy one to make

Okay, I am not usually an Obama fan [although duh I will be voting for him, before anyone attacks me...], but I was very impressed by this speech of his. As much as it sucks, and oooohhhh it does suck, the fact that he is a man and adored by so many people and supports these issues vocally is important in the larger political scheme. He doesn't have to be a woman candidate or even a woman to care about this. I think that is one of the most important things here, even more important than the obviously true and important aspect involving how the patriarchy screws men over too. I highly resent that these issues have to be framed in the way that they are, "these issues don't just hurt women, but MEN and CHILDREN," but in the context of economics it makes more sense that they are connected than it might in another context. I give him mad props for this; today I am pleased. :)

Obama isn't perfect, but statements like these make me very glad that he's running for president.

So you'd think solving these problems would be one of our highest national priorities. But while some politicians in Washington make a lot of noise about family values, when it comes to what people actually need to support their families, and care for their families, and spend time with their families - they get awfully quiet, don't they? And year after year, it just gets harder for working parents - especially working women - to make a living while raising their kids.

Hell fucking yes.

But I don't understand the other commenters' willingness to excuse Obama's invocation of the old it-matters-because-it-affects-men-too with some vague "economic" context. Why in that context must we frame women's issues as a function of men's? Women are huge players in the economy, making up much of the buying power of it and a huge portion of the labor force. Not mentioning how women's issues affects men doesn't place them in a vacuum; rather, it stresses how women's issues, regardless of whether they affect men's specifically, have huge repercussions on the economy.

I agree that it is sad it shouldn't just be enough that women don't get equal pay but to get people to understand you have to explain why it affects them. (Emphasis mine)

That's exactly my point. To get "people" to understand why it affect them? Women are people. Women are half of people, and so it already does affect them. What your statement implies is that it must be explained to men why they should give a shit, and that's not an okay thing.

While I'm glad he's aware of how sexism, in particular, lower pay for equal or more work and less opportunity in general (though he didn't cover that aspect of it).
I hope he feels in his heart and soul that equality doesn't have to be supported by the knowledge that it hurts everyone (men and male children) when women are discriminated against. It's bad enough, all on it's own, for how it affects women. In other words, the single woman, who does not have children in Day care, deserves equal pay as well as the mother.
We have to be careful not to be valued only as mothers, sisters, wives.
We deserve equal pay as individuals who work.

Also, I wonder if he understands that often (certainly in film crew work) women get an opportunity to work BECAUSE we will take a lower pay rate. It is often the only way we get our foot in the door.
I say this as a Production Supervisor who is looking at the deal memo's and handing in the paychecks at the job I'm on.
My pay rate is awfully low, but, I'm grateful for the work and experience. It's a boys club ya' know.
Regardless of their skin tone, it's a boys club- no women allowed without some penalty.

I agree with several of the comments here. Why does Obama feel the need to link women's issues or plights to the interests of men and children for them to be legitimate?

And ladies/gents, please don't stereotype. People on the right care about actual, living families.