Tipper, Hadassah address union women

LOS ANGELES — Walking on stage at the Wilshire Grand Hotel to the
disco tune, “Good Times,” the wives of Vice President Al Gore and Sen.
Joe Lieberman were met with a standing ovation of an unusual kind —
handclaps accompanied by the deafening rattle of hundreds of boxed
macaroni and cheese dinners.

One attendee proudly gave her box to WorldNetDaily, saying it
symbolized the working woman in America. Each box at the
AFL-CIO-sponsored event was branded with a sticker reading, “Working
Women Vote.”

But boxed pasta was perhaps the most poignant statement made at the
event, second only to the uproarious support Tipper Gore received for
her pro-choice message. Struggling to complete some of her sentences
during the 10-minute speech, the would-be first lady had no trouble
telling the crowd that her husband would be a staunch defender of
legalized abortion.

That’s what happened when the cameras were off yesterday, prior to
the prime-time show. Gore and Hadassah Lieberman gave brief, general
addresses to women union members in an attempt to rally grass-roots
support for their husbands in the race to the White House.

While Mrs. Gore mentioned subjects such as equal pay for women,
continuation of affirmative action and affordable health-care coverage,
Gore did not explain how her husband intended to achieve those goals.
But she did encourage women to “work” in their communities to elect her
husband.

The event marked the final gathering of the Women’s Caucus at the
Democrat National Convention in Los Angeles, which met daily during the
festivities.

On Wednesday, the caucus discussed the importance of grass-roots
involvement in the presidential campaign.

“There are a lot of people who want to be in a campaign, but they
don’t want to work,” said Cindy Wall of the Gore-Lieberman campaign.
“This is going to be a lot of work.”

Wall never expressly acknowledged the vice president’s double-digit
deficit in the polls, but she did say, “It’ going to be close. It’s
going to be difficult.”

“Polls, right now, do not matter,” she said.

Likewise, Mrs. Gore yesterday encouraged women at the event to “take
home the message of this convention.” That message, she said, is that
the prosperity America is experiencing now “is not an accident” and that
“politics is personal.”

“When women vote, we win,” she pronounced. “We are going to do it.
We have to do it.”

Gore characterized the DNC weeklong gala as “one of the best
conventions we have ever, ever participated in.” And she thanked
attendees for their “patriotism.”

Lieberman’s speech was extremely brief — about four minutes — and
consisted of introductions of her husband’s mother and sisters and an
affirmation of the senator’s commitment to abortion on demand.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who also spoke to the union members, called the Bush-Cheney campaign “the most anti-choice ticket in history.” She also criticized supporters of Gov. George W. Bush, who had signs at the Republican convention that read, “The W is for Women.”

Boos and hisses emanated from the crowd at the mention of Bush but were quickly replaced by laughter when Schakowsky said it would be more accurate to say the “W” in Bush’s name stands for “What?” or “Wonderland.”

“They call themselves pro-life, but they’re pro-life from conception to birth,” the congresswoman said, suggesting Bush’s policies are anti-woman.

Labor Secretary Alexis Herman pitched her support for Gore-Lieberman, saying about their wives, “They’re going to make a terrific team in the White House, simply put, because they get it … and so do their husbands.”

With an anticipated bounce in the polls yet to materialize on the eve of Al Gore’s address to delegates in Los Angeles, some are beginning to wonder if the Democrat ticket will have a chance to be the team that plays in the White House. But whether or not Gore wins in November, the current second-family has a devoted following.

“I know that Al Gore doesn’t make false statements,” said a public school teacher from Texas. “I am willing to put my family in Tipper Gore’s hands.”