{"id":2827,"date":"2008-02-05T02:27:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-05T08:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/02\/1000-show-up-to-see-obamas-wife-in-las-cruces\/"},"modified":"2008-02-05T02:27:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-05T08:27:00","slug":"1000-show-up-to-see-obamas-wife-in-las-cruces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/02\/1000-show-up-to-see-obamas-wife-in-las-cruces\/","title":{"rendered":"1,000 show up to see Obama’s wife in Las Cruces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Michelle Obama<\/a>, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama<\/a>, tried to win over undecideds during a speech on Monday evening in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> by saying her husband\u2019s character is what sets him apart. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Pointing out that her husband was the editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama said that made him the top law student at the top law school in the nation. He could have chosen to become a high-power lawyer on Wall Street, she said, but he instead moved after he graduated to Chicago<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> to work for a small constitutional law firm that defended peoples\u2019 voting rights.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Obama told the group that her husband worked before attending law school as a community organizer in tough Chicago<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nobody else in this race who has made that kind of decision to work with people on the ground,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 In every decision he has made in his life, he has chosen principle over power.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Obama spoke to an animated crowd of about 1,000 people in the Corbett Center Ballroom at New Mexico<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. She was the most high-profile figure to visit Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> in advance of today\u2019s Democratic presidential caucus.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Before Obama took the stage, her husband received a previously unannounced endorsement from Delano Lewis<\/a>, the former head of National Public Radio and ambassador to South Africa<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>. He now lives in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m convinced that we need to get about solving the problems in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, and not partisanship,\u201d a boisterous Lewis told the crowd. \u201cThis is the one candidate who can reach across party lines and bring us together as one.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Those in attendance responded enthusiastically to calls from Lewis and others to support Barack Obama. His wife engaged the crowd, eliciting laughter, cheers and applause throughout her speech as she attempted to convince undecided voters to back her husband.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A call to empathy, understanding and compromise<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Michelle Obama said her husband was once considered the underdog in the presidential race \u2013 who many doubted could keep up with the fundraising or organization of Hillary Clinton<\/a> \u2013 but he has surprised many and gained traction by running a campaign based on what he believes Americans need to hear, not what he thinks they want to hear.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Obama spoke at length about the problems in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and the difficulties many face in making ends meet.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very easy to feel cynical and depressed and like nothing can change,\u201d Obama said. \u201cWhen you are struggling and you can\u2019t catch up, it is easy to be manipulated by fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Fear breeds cynicism, clouds judgment and separates people, Obama said. Her husband\u2019s challenge to Americans is to put aside that cynicism, replacing it with hope that Americans can change the way Washington<\/st1:state> does business and improve life in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> \u2013 if they\u2019ll work together.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

America<\/st1:country-region> has plenty of good policy ideas and the resources to implement them, Obama said, so a lack of ideas and resources isn\u2019t the reason life in America<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> isn\u2019t improving for most people.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The problem, Obama said, is that America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> lacks empathy.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is about caring for one another. We have a hole in our soul,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 If we can\u2019t fix that hole in our souls, then we will not be able to fix these problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Obama said Americans must quit fearing those who are different and interact. Getting to know each other will lead to empathy, understanding and compromise on serious and complex issues. That will help solve problems and vastly improve the lives of Americans, she said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cSo there are two choices: The first is the same old thing and the same old people who do the same old thing that hasn\u2019t worked,\u201d she said. \u201cThe second choice is Barack Obama.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s going to demand that you change\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Addressing criticism that her husband isn\u2019t experienced enough to be president, Obama said he has more legislative experience than Clinton<\/st1:city> because he served eight years in the Illinois<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> state Legislature before being elected to the U.S. Senate. She said the question isn\u2019t whether her husband is ready to lead \u2013 it\u2019s whether Americans are ready to change.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to demand that you change. It\u2019s not going to be easy,\u201d Obama said. \u201c\u2026 The world is watching us and they want to believe in the America<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> they dreamed of. They desperately want to know it exists. If we can do this, we can potentially change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The visit was part of a sprint Obama is making across many of the states whose Democrats vote today. New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> was the fourth state she visited on Monday. The Obama campaign said she will be in five states today.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a registered Democrat, polls are open today across New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> from noon to 7 p.m. To find your polling place, click here<\/a>. To vote, you must have been registered as a Democrat by Jan. 4.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here are a couple more photos of Obama:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lewis endorsing Barack Obama:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima also urged people to support Barack Obama:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Here are video highlights of Michelle Obama\u2019s speech, courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, tried to win over undecideds during a speech on Monday evening in Las Cruces by saying her husband\u2019s character is what sets him apart. Pointing out that her husband was the editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama said that made him the top law […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}