Michelle Obama Meets with Members of the Military Community in Pensacola

Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, met with 14 members of the military community in Pensacola, Florida today, before taking the stage for an Early Vote for Change rally. Among those who met with Mrs. Obama were Wendy Bennett, a military wife and mother whose husband is serving in Iraq and Amanda Allen, a junior attending the University of West Florida, whose husband currently serves in the Navy. Also in attendance were military community members who volunteer for the Obama-Biden campaign and serve as Team Pensacola members and have been heavily involved in the campaign’s grassroots voter registration and early vote for change efforts.

At today’s meeting, Mrs. Obama thanked them for their service to the country, and shared her perspective on the opportunity that military families have in this year’s election to cast their ballot for the only candidate who shares their vision of a military system that does more to support its troops and their families.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from these roundtables, it’s that when our military goes to war, their families go with them,” said Mrs. Obama. “Barack is the only candidate in this race who wants to create a 21st century VA that offers world-class care and rejects the idea that we should only treat combat injuries, but not those sustained in training or on the deck of an aircraft carrier. And Barack is the only candidate in this election who has put the middle class at the heart of his economic plan. ”

Today’s meeting builds on the series of roundtable discussions that Mrs. Obama has hosted with military families over the last several months to give a voice to the concerns of men and women who are facing the challenges of balancing work and family – particularly in a troubled economy – and to help communicate Obama and Biden’s plans to support America’s families. Mrs. Obama has met with military spouses and families in North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.

Today’s rally is part of the Obama-Biden campaign’s three day barnstorm across the state to mark the beginning of early voting in Florida. Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, will crisscross the state, speaking with Floridians about the importance of early voting and making their voice heard at the polls in advance of Election Day in order to bring the change we need in Florida and across the nation.

This evening, Mrs. Obama will join her husband in Miami for an Early Vote for Change rally. Tomorrow, Mrs. Obama will host similar events in Jacksonville and Gainesville. In Jacksonville, she will be introduced by Command Sergeant Major Michelle Jones, who served as the 9th Command Sergeant Major of the Army Reserve from October 2002 through August 2006, and retired in March 2007 after 25 years of service.