Michelle Obama previews her DNC speech

First Lady Michelle Obama gave us a preview of her speech in a conference call a little while ago with few female writers including associate editor Fannie Flono. From her comments this afternoon, she will not only be making the case for her husband's reelection but directly targeting women voters pointing out the stark differences in how the Democrats and Republicans are treating women's issues. Some of the differences have been highlighted over the last few weeks with controversial comments from some Republicans about women's reproductive issues and use of words such as "legitimate rape" which met a storm of women's outrage.

Obama was joined for the conference call by Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter, who said "there was no one fighting harder for our daughters and the next generation of women than the president and Mrs. Obama."

Here's some of what Michelle Obama said: "Tonight's a big night for me and for the Democratic Party. I'm looking forward to reminding people across the country about the qualities and experiences that make my husband the man and the president he is today. And I've had an upclose look at just how hard Barack has worked to move this country forward, to rescue our economy and rebuild our middle-class and give our children the opportunities they deserve. So I'm really excited about talking to everyone about giving him a chance to finish the job that we elected him to do four years ago."

Obama went on to focus attention where Ann Romney did in her speech last week at the Republican National Convention where her husband Mitt Romney received the GOP presidential nomination - on women. Michelle Obama said it was important for women to know what is at stake in this election: This time of year when school's starting and children are returning to class puts things into perspective. Many of the issues being debated in this election, she said, will affect our children not just now but in the future, and the futures of their own children.

The First Lady talked about health care. She said the president knows that women need the full range of health care services and that they need to make their own choices about health care. "He's fought so hard for historic health care reform and because of that fight insurance companies now have to cover basic preventative care, things like contraception, mammograms, prenatal care - at no extra cost. Insurance companies now can't charge us extra for those services just because we're women. And mothers can understand that our kids can now stay on our insurance until they're 26 years old."

Michelle Obama called those and other health care reform changes in the still controversial Affordable Care Act "huge steps for women all across the country." And she cautioned that those changes would endangered if her husband wasn't reelected. "That's the choice," she said.

What else is at stake? Women's workplace issues. The First Lady pointed to the president's signing of the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act as indication of his belief that women should be paid the same as men for the same work. So many women are breadwinners for their families so women's success is key to the family's success in this economy, she noted.

Issues like equal pay and health care aren't just women's issues, they're family issues that are important to entire communities, she said.

She says the president is "working to have an economy where hard work pays off, and where everyone plays by the same rules and all of our daughters and our sons have a fair shot at success in this country." That's what president Obama has been fighting for and that's what he'll continue to fight for if he's elected for the next four years, she said.

"I'm going to be doing everything I can to make sure everyone, especially our mothers and daughters, sisters and our best friends, neighbors understand what's at stake in November because while we've come a long way in Barack's first term, it is critical that we keep moving forward. There is so much that is on the line for us as women, not just for the next four years but for decades to come," she said.

Posted by Fannie Flono