Minnesota rallies aim to unify female voters around Obama ticket

Updated: August 20, 2008 - 11:24 PM

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In an effort to solidify his support among female voters -- many of whom had been devoted followers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- supporters of presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama lauded their candidate's support of women's issues at a Minneapolis rally Wednesday.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., got the crowd cheering by thanking Obama backers and those who had campaigned for Clinton, saying, "We're all together now."

"Are we fired up and ready to go?" Klobuchar asked. "Are you tired of that same old leadership in D.C.?"

"Yeah!" the mostly female audience responded.

Organizers said more than 600 people attended the event at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis as it was simulcast to similar gatherings in Duluth and Rochester. They heard a cavalcade of noted female speakers argue that Obama has long record of supporting women's issues, especially when compared to his likely Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain.

Klobuchar then introduced one of Obama's potential running mates, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who urged the crowd by phone to help "mobilize other women across the country," in support of Obama.

Perhaps the biggest cheers were for famed arctic explorer Ann Bancroft. She told the pro-Obama crowd that "it's time to win the hearts of the world back."

"It's going to take all of you," Bancroft said. "Each one of those small steps makes a difference to the bigger goal.

"Those steps matter."

TERRY COLLINS

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