It's Ladies Night at Dem Convention

Tuesday is Women's Equality Day and the 88th anniversary of ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

From the midmorning meeting of the Women's Caucus to Hillary Clinton's prime time star turn at the Pepsi Center, women own Day Two of the Democratic National Convention.

Women represent 51 percent of all convention delegates. Their caucus meeting was so raucous and high-energy that Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Lottie Shackelford asked:

Is it 10:30 in the morning or 10:30 at night?

First-time caucus attendees included actresses Rosario Dawson, Fran Drescher and Eva Longoria who was "representing all the desperate housewives who are in this room."

But the high-energy could not mask the divisions within the party. Black women were few and far between among the tambourine-shaking white women who exploded at the mention of Hillary Clinton's name. Speakers like Ellen Malcolm of Emily's List, Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood and Sheila Johnson owner of the Washington WNBA's Mystics exhorted the women to unite and support Barack Obama. Johnson said:

If we don't unite, we may not get the President we want, we'll get the President we deserve.

Donna Brazile, a superdelegate from Washington, DC, fired up the caucus when she told them that last night, she signed the petition to place Clinton's name in nomination:

I did that in honor of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to run for president, in honor of Barbara Jordan, the first black woman to give a keynote address at a national political convention, and in honor of Stephanie Tubbs Jones. I did it because Barack Obama understands that a united Democratic Party is a victorious party in 2008.

There's still work to do. Prominent Clinton backer Susie Tompkins Buell told the New York Times:

I don't think that Senator Obama understands how deep this commitment goes to Hillary, and where this passion comes from.

And it is deep. From my conversations with delegates, convention guests and party activists, many are still angry that Clinton's historic race was given short shrift by the mainstream media and the Democratic Party.

So, what do Clinton's supporters want? They want more than "catharsis." According to a new Rasmussen poll, nearly half of Democratic women want Clinton on the ticket.

It's ladies night "and the feeling's right." Or at least that's what Obama hopes.

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