N.Y. Democrats Issue Call To Labor To Back Obama

As the presidential race enters its final stretch, New York's Democratic elite gathered for a Labor Day breakfast this weekend that seemed as much about electing Senator Obama as it was about honoring America's working people.

The event, which preceded the Labor Day Parade on Saturday, was attended by Governor Paterson, Senator Clinton, Mayor Bloomberg, and a crowd of other lawmakers and union officials. Democratic leaders there issued a call to arms to city workers, portraying the election as a critical moment in the labor movement.

"This may be worst administration in the way it treats labor in the history of this country," Mr. Paterson said in a speech. Referring to New York's fiscal troubles, he added: "We're all going to have to make a sacrifice. But 'all' does not just mean 'labor.'"

Mrs. Clinton expressed a similar sentiment, urging her union allies from the primary to organize for the Obama campaign.

The Labor Day Parade chairman, Stuart Appelbaum, took the opportunity to criticize the Republican vice presidential candidate, Governor Palin. Invoking Senator Bentsen's famous line to Vice President Quayle about President Kennedy, he rejected the notion that Mrs. Palin will attract Mrs. Clinton's supporters. "Hillary Clinton is a friend of ours," he said. "And Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton."