Another Woman to Speak for Obama

Lilly Ledbetter is the latest addition to the list of speakers at the Democratic convention next week, and her appearance may possibly do Barack Obama as much good as Hillary Clinton’s.

In today’s Washington Post, Ruth Marcus explains: “Ledbetter was on the losing end of a Supreme Court case last year on equal pay. A manager at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama, she consistently received smaller raises than her male counterparts. The Supreme Court threw out her suit because, the five-justice majority said, she waited too long to complain, even though she didn’t know about the pay difference earlier.

“Now, a bill to fix this equal pay Catch-22 is pending in Congress–and the Ledbetter case has emerged as a key piece of Obama’s effort to woo women. In particular, working women, less-educated women, older women. Women who voted for a certain woman and haven’t come around to the guy who defeated her.”

Obama is co-sponsoring legislation to reverse the result in the case. McCain opposes it. When Lilly Ledbetter takes the stage in Denver next week, her presence may make a stronger argument for the Democratic nominee than anything Hillary Clinton could possibly say.

Cross-posted from my blog.