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Michelle Obama used two public campaign stops in North Carolina on Thursday to emphasize what her husband, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, would do for women if he is elected president.

In Greensboro, she touched on issues such as health care and pay equity in a roughly 30-minute speech to a mostly female crowd at the Carolina Theatre.

She also called on those in the audience to rally to the Obama campaign’s support in the closing weeks of the election, exhorting them to volunteer and talk to friends about the Democratic standard-bearer.

“Women are going to make the difference in this election, and that has always been the case,” Obama said in what could have been an oblique and singular reference to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican candidate John McCain’s vice presidential running mate.

Polls following the Republican convention showed McCain picking up support among women, particularly white women, in what many analysts dubbed a “Palin effect.”

Michelle Obama’s speaking engagements in North Carolina could be viewed in part as a way to win female voters in a state that operatives for her husband’s campaign insist they can win.

“One of the purposes of her trip is to bring back women,” said Chalmers Brumbaugh, chairman of the political science department at Elon University.

Her presence also indicates a “sustained interest” in North Carolina, Brumbaugh said. Unlike in other Southern states, such as Georgia, the Obama campaign continues to invest money for television commercials and the
time of high-level surrogates here.

Earlier in the day in Charlotte, Michelle Obama hosted what was billed as a roundtable discussion on women’s issues and let loose with what many interpreted as a reference to Palin.

She urged voters there to make their choice based on issues, not because “I like that guy” or “She’s cute,” reported The Associated Press.

“I’m talking about me,” Obama said with a smile. But she is not on the presidential ticket. Palin is.

In Greensboro, Obama’s delivery was subdued, with her voice dropping to a whisper at times. She raised her voice only at the end to exhort the crowd with a shout of “fired up.”

The audience provided the enthusiasm, breaking out in cheers or chants several times. It was clear that those who attended, such as Dorothy Newsome, 39, of Thomasville were already won over.

“I just feel honored to hear her speak,” Newsome said before the speech. “She’s the force behind Obama.”

Before the would-be first lady came to the stage, she was introduced by Maya Angelou, a Winston-Salem resident and prominent supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primary.

Angelou referenced that support but made it clear she was supporting the Obama campaign now.

Referencing the diversity of faces in the audience, the one-time poet laureate said, “This is in truth what our country is supposed to look like ... and Sen. Barack Obama will help us become just what we need to be.”

State Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat running to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, was also on hand and helped introduce Obama. In turn, she thanked Hagan when she took the stage.

“We can’t forget what’s going on in these local races, because Barack is going to need some help when he gets to the White House,” Obama said.

Much of her talk focused on what she said was a lack of progress on important policies, including health care and education, over the past eight years.

Problems in education, health care and the economy are particularly felt by women, she said.

“We feel it when it’s time to get that mammogram that we know we need but put it off because the co-pay is just too high,” she said.

Later in the day, she appeared at a fundraiser in Durham.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com