Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright stumps for Barack in Pennsylvania

Last Thursday night former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sat with Hillary Clinton at Invesco Field in Denver and listened to Barack deliver his nomination acceptance speech.  For Albright, the speech was the culmination of a summer spent getting to know Barack Obama, after having worked tirelessly for Senator Clinton during the primaries.  She listened to his books on tape, spoke with him on the phone, and along with 40 million other Americans, watched him lay out a 21st century vision for our country in Denver.  

Speaking today before a packed hall at Bryn Mawr college in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Secretary Albright left no doubt about how she felt about Barack. 

I’m going to go out there, and work my tail off for him.

That’s certainly what Secretary Albright did today in Pennsylvania.  She greeted volunteers at the Bucks County field office in the morning, then hosted a Women’s Issues Forum in Bristol, before addressing the standing room only crowd at Bryn Mawr. 

Albright spoke about the world as she sees it today, calling it, quite frankly, "a mess."  She described the challenges facing whomever serves next as Commander in Chief, and said, "I want a president who’s confident rather than certain…a president who looks at a lot of ideas and comes up with an integrated approach that’s principled."  

Albright’s loudest applause of the afternoon came when she talked about the stakes for women in this election, and the clear choice that exists between Barack and John McCain and Sarah Palin. 

This is not a question of gender, it’s a question of agenda.

Albright spoke about the future makeup of the Supreme Court, about equal pay for equal work, and jobs. She said that in her mind the comparison is not even close.  It was a firm and convincing declaration, the kind you could imagine her delivering to foreign leaders overseas during her time as Secretary of State, and it brought the overflow crowd to its feet. 

You can watch the video of Secretary Albright’s speech in its entirety here.