Arizona Daily Star, March 16, 2010

Rhonda Bodfield | Posted: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 6:37 pm

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Monday penned a letter to First Lady Michelle Obama asking her to attend Women’s Equality Day at Fort Huachuca on Aug. 24.

That date, coincidentally, is the same day as Arizona’s primary election, when it will become clear which candidate Giffords will face in November.

Giffords request is a follow-up from a February invitation from Major Gen. John Custer, who asked Mrs. Obama to be the keynote speaker at the event, to honor the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in August 1920.

Noting women make up 20 percent of the modern military, Giffords wrote, “The opportunity to hear you share your experiences as a wife, mother, lawyer, public servant and First Lady would mean a great deal to the soldiers, families and civilians who live and work at the Fort.”

Republican challenger Brian Miller, one of four running in the GOP primary, pondered whether presidential visits are being dangled to wavering representatives to get them to commit to the health care bill. “Will this trip include some campaign stumping for our current Congresswoman?” he speculated.