By Christi Parsons
Michelle Obama has hit the news pages a few times this summer, but mostly she’s been flying under the radar doing grassroots events all over the country — with a major chunk of her schedule devoted to courting women voters for her husband’s presidential campaign.
The summer campaign schedule is over for the wife of Sen. Barack Obama, as she takes a two-week break to get the couple’s daughters back in the swing at school and to square away some business at her job.
But after that, the campaign is planning to send its most prominent spokeswoman back out on the trail, slowly ratcheting up her schedule over the fall.
In addition to being a popular speaker at fundraisers and town hall meetings, Michelle Obama is a key component of building something they call “Women for Obama.”
She was the headliner at the spring national kickoff of the organization, where 1,200 women attended and raised almost $1 million. Since then, she has spoken at WFO house parties and worked to promote the hundreds of WFO groups forming around the country.
Campaign officials who have been out on the trail with the candidate’s wife say she “resonates” with the women they’re trying to court.
“Michelle Obama has been an incredible asset for the Obama for America campaign, in terms of reaching women voters,” said Betsy Myers, chief operating officer for the campaign. “She’s keenly aware of the challenges women face in their daily lives, and she speaks to the realities women face with a rare authenticity.”