Wesley K. Clark
Women For Clark Event

It's great to be here with all of you today.

I first want to acknowledge the woman who is my closest advisor, my best friend, and the love of my life - my wife, Gert Clark.

I'd also like to recognize Lt. Governor Lawton and thank her for all her support. The people of Wisconsin are lucky to have her on their side, and so am I.

I want to thank Dr. Berry for coming out today as well. Dr. Berry is one of the great civil rights leaders of our time, and I'm thrilled she could join us.

I'd like to acknowledge Representative Margie Smith and Mary Rauh for their outstanding work on behalf of women and all the people of this state. And I want to thank Dudley Dudley for all her help right from the beginning. I consider myself very lucky to have all of you on my team.

As many of you know, I served in the United States Military for 34 years. And as you can imagine, it wasn't always the most welcoming place for women. Back when I started out, a lot of people thought that opening the doors to women meant lowering standards for everyone.

I thought they were dead wrong. And as soon as I was in a position to do something about it, I did. I fought hard to recruit women and make sure they had every opportunity to move up the ranks. Because I saw first-hand that the wider we opened our doors, the stronger we were.

I'm going to bring that same philosophy of inclusion to the White House. Because I don't believe our country can move forward unless we develop the potential and draw on the skills of every single American.

Unfortunately, our president seems to have a different agenda. And he's not exactly subtle about it. Just two months after taking office, he actually shut down the women's office at the White House.

For the last three years, he's worked day and night to chip away at reproductive rights -- appointing right-wing ideologues to the courts, hoping to pave the way to the demise of Roe v. Wade.

And today, American women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn - 70 cents here in New Hampshire. Today, too many talented women still rise through the ranks at work, only to hit the glass ceiling once they get too high. And today, too many workplaces are still far from family-friendly - and women are hurt most because of it.

But this isn't just a matter of policy or politics. It's deeper than that. It's about how we think about these issues. Let me offer an example.

Over the past few months, I've talked to a lot of young people. And I often ask them about their futures - about the careers they want to pursue and the lives they want to lead.

And nearly every single one of the young women I've talked to - no matter what their background or chosen career - has told me that one of their biggest worries is how they'll balance work and family.

I can count on one hand the number of young men who've told me that.

Make no mistake about it: we are never going to win the battle for women's equality until we understand that these issues aren't just women's issues. They're family issues. They're American issues. And it is high time that all of us - men and women - started caring about them.

So when I'm in the White House, the women's office will be back in business. And it's going to reach out to all Americans, because women's issues are American issues, plain and simple.

When I'm in the White House, we're going to stand up for choice. Because the government has no business coming between a woman, her doctor, her family and her faith in making such a personal, private decision.

We're going to invest in education. My education plan will give students $6,000 for the first two years of college, helping an additional one million Americans get a college education -- 4,000 right here in New Hampshire.

We're going to make sure that every single American has access to affordable health insurance - and that every single American child is covered. My health care plan extends coverage to 30 million Americans -- over 78,000 right here in New Hampshire.

We're going to fully fund the Violence Against Women Act. Because sexual assault and domestic violence are human rights violations, plain and simple. I stood up for human rights in Bosnia. I stood up for human rights in Kosovo. And I'll stand up for human rights here in the United States of America.

We're going to create jobs, because we've lost far too many in the last three years. The recent layoffs at JacPac here in New Hampshire are just one example.

And we're going to fight for work places that work not just for companies and employers - but for American families too. That means fighting for childcare, paid leave, and more flexible workplaces - for both men and women. In the Army, I made sure that all of my soldiers had time for their families - time for parent-teacher conferences and school assemblies; church and baseball games. I want the same for all Americans. And it means closing the pay gap so that women get equal pay for equal work. Because the amount of money you earn should be determined by one thing: the amount you contribute. And until women in this country earn 100 cents on the dollar - we're all being shortchanged.

Finally, we're going to clean up the mess in Iraq once and for all. I recently spoke to Eleanor Kjellman who's here with us today. Her son is about to be deployed, and I know she's worried about him. Eleanor, I promise you that when I'm President, we're going to win the war in Iraq and bring your son - and all our troops - home with honor.

Today, we need a higher standard of leadership in the White House. Leadership that puts America's interests above the special interests. Leadership that promotes open, honest government, and holds people accountable.

That's the kind of leadership I'm going to bring to Washington. And I hope that all of you will join with me. Together, we're going to turn this country around.

Thank you.