For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Michelle Obama appeared at the same event Tuesday when both addressed a packed ballroom of women — and a few men — on the anniversary of women’s suffrage.
The women, a former first lady and a hopeful first lady, talked about one another with praise, admiration and respect at the Emily’s List Gala at the Sheraton Denver Hotel.
“She broke so many stereotypes, she broke the notion that women could not do this,” Obama said of Clinton. “Over her career she has offered me, my daughters, and all of our daughters a different vision for what they could become and for that we are forever grateful for her work.”
Emily’s List is a political network for pro-choice Democratic female candidates. The organization raises money and helps women campaign and mobilizes female voters.
More than 2,500 gathered to hear the star-studded lineup that also included Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski and U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis of California.
Obama thanked Clinton, who spoke earlier in the lineup, when she took the stage.
And as Clinton has since she arrived in Denver, she encouraged her supporters to take up the flag for Obama and “work as hard for Barack Obama as you did for me.”
Clinton first praised Barack Obama and Joe Biden and went on to compliment Michelle Obama’s Monday speech.
“I know a little bit about how the White House works, and you know if the president is not exactly on our side, call the first lady, and with Mich elle Obama we are going to have somebody to answer that phone,” she said.
Those comments elicited cheers from the audience.
“It was beautiful and really classy and it shows we can come together as a party to elect Barack Obama,” said Gabrielle Keys, a 20-year-old delegate from Las Vegas who is pledged to Obama.
Ellen Malcolm, founder of Emily”s List, praised the progress women have made in politics since the organization has been at work.
Obama also gave Colorado a verbal high five in her speech by sharing that the Centennial state was one of the first to grant women the right to vote.
“Let’s celebrate how far we’ve come and how deep our shared capacity is to break through any barriers that stand in the way of progress in this nation,” Obama said.
