news-record.com

Michelle Obama, the wife of presidential contender Barack Obama, spoke for roughly 30 minutes to a packed house at the Carolina Theatre, urging a crowd composed mostly of women to work for the Democratic candidate this fall.

"Women need an advocate in the White House now more than ever," Obama told the crowd Thursday afternoon.

The Greensboro stop was her second public appearance of the day. Earlier, she held a roundtable discussion in Charlotte. There she told voters to make their choice on the issues, not because "I like that guy" or "she's cute," according to the Associated Press. She followed with, "I'm talking about me," and a smile.

In Greensboro, her delivery was more subdued, at times dipping down to a whisper. She raised her voice only at the end to exhort the crowd with a shout of "fired up."

Before Obama spoke, state Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat running to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, addressed the crowd.

"Senator Obama and I are committed to providing access to health care to the 19 million women uninsured nationwide," Hagan told the crowd. She touched on a number of issues of particular concern to the mostly female crowd, including pay equity.

When Michelle Obama took the stage, she thanked Hagan.

"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," she said.

Much of Obama's 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.

At the end of her talk, Obama shook hands with supporters who sat onstage behind her and then walked into the audience to shake hands and sign autographs.