Obama talks equal pay, launches vets group

Barack Obama focused today on equal pay for women, while also launching a veterans' group to help guard his flank on national security.

Obama was in New Mexico, a possible swing state in November, to highlight his support and proposals for equal pay and economic security for working women -- a constituency that could prove crucial in November.

The Democrat pledges to increase civil rights enforcement, raise the minimum wage, and push paid leave and flexible work schedules.

"When I hear women are being treated unfairly in the workplace, where there’s injustice, and there’s not the basic principle of equal pay for equal work, I get mad. I get frustrated," Obama told about two dozen working women gathered in Albuquerque's main library. "My daughters -- I don't want them to ever confront a situation where they are disadvantaged because of their gender. The thought of it makes my blood boil. That's what we're fighting for."

The Democrats announced that as part of the equal pay push, Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama tire plant supervisor whose case went all the way to the US Supreme Court, will speak at the party convention next Tuesday. She won a $3.3 million judgment after a jury ruled that she was treated unfairly, but an appeals court overturned the award, saying she had filed her claim too late. The high court upheld that decision.

“The fact that women are paid less than their male coworkers for doing the same job is unacceptable in the 21st century and counter to both the progress we've made and our shared values as Americans," Obama said in a statement. "Lilly Ledbetter's case before the Supreme Court has once again awakened the nation to this discrimination, and it's time we join together to right this wrong and pay women equal pay for equal work."

Obama's campaign also announced “Next Generation Veterans for Obama,” a group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who will "play a prominent role in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, lead Veterans for Obama efforts in the states, participate in grassroots fundraising efforts, and serve as surrogates before veterans and general audiences across America."

Unveiling the veterans group, Obama's campaign said that more than 14,000 military personnel and veterans have donated to Obama -- equivalent to an Army division -- and cited a study released last week by the Center for Responsive Politics that said that deployed military personnel donated six times more to Obama campaign than McCain.

“We all respect John McCain for his incredible courage in Vietnam, but this election is about who will be the best president to lead our country in the 21st century. That person is clearly Barack Obama,” said Phillip Carter, national veterans director for the Obama campaign, and an Iraq war veteran. “This election is one of the most important elections in a generation, and veterans and their families have a lot at stake. We want to make sure that the next President understands the threats facing this country and will make the right decisions about war and peace.”