Oh yes, it's Ladies Night...Oh what a night!

So...have you been watching or listening to the Democratic National Convention? I've been catching parts of it, and I'll admit that the theatrics and the well-scripted speeches made my heart swell and my eyes brim with tears. Hope and change are powerful messages after these past eight, very dark years in American history. And as much as I became frustrated with Hillary over the past few months, she won me over with her talk of universal health care and furthering women's rights and gay rights when she spoke on the Tuesday evening as part of "Women's Night" at the DNC...or what I prefer to think of as Ladies Night for those disco ladies and sophisticated mamas out there!

Leaving disco for the dance floor where it belongs (or blasting from my stereo while I'm cleaning house - I swear it makes it more fun), I think it is important for the DNC to recognize the women leaders in the party and to reflect on how far we've come and how much more work needs to be done since the first Women's Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, NY, 160 years ago. What really struck me about"Women's Night" during an election year when a woman's right to reproductive choice and freedom is once again under attack (see posting July 23, 2008) was one particular speaker, Senator Bob Casey, Jr., of Pennsylvania.

You see, Senator Casey used this opportunity to illustrate how his presence at the convention was a testament to Barak Obama's compassion and understanding for those with differing views on some of the issues. I think we can all agree that we need a leader who has the ability to bring different sides together rather than using polarizing issues to rip the country apart for the sake of getting votes, that he is "a uniter not a divider" to borrow from our most articulate leader of all times. The problem is that Senator Casey speaking on "Women's Night" used his opposition to abortion rights to illustrate this point. I don't know about you, but I find his position just slightly anti-woman. Hmmm, maybe it's just me...

" Oh yes it's ladies night
And the feeling's right
Oh yes it's ladies night
Oh what a night (oh what a night)

Girls, y'all got one
A night that's special everywhere
From New York to Hollywood
It's ladies night and girl
the feeling's good"
- Kool & the Gang