New Orleans    Hillary Clinton is having well-documented problems appealing to young women. Backers like Gloria Steinem have been no help to her. She can talk about student loans and the need to get a woman elected, but where she’s getting traction, very cleverly, is with the “moms,” and if we were whispering advice in her ear, it would have to be: “do more of that, sister!”

Brilliantly, she seems to have reached out and courted African-American mothers of young men shot by police. The Times detailed her outreach, and it’s a textbook example of the advantage of a well-organized internal campaign organization and uber-professional campaign staffers. She sent them handwritten notes on Christmas cards about their losses. She followed up with other hand-written notes. She got some of them together for a 3-hour dinner in Chicago, and this wasn’t a Michelle Obama healthy sprouts special, this was old time, down home, Southern cooking, featuring pork chops, fried okra, and apple pie. She did what she does best as the every diligent, super-student in the room, listening and taking notes while they told their stories. She put them on the road together to appear at meetings and rallies, where she smartly introduces them to much better applause than she gets on her best lines. OK, sure the story was planted with the Times and pushed along and facilitated by the campaign, but that also proves my earlier point about how well organized and professional her campaign has the ability to be. Undoubtedly, this kind of outreach has been pure gold in sending her message, silently and with strength, to the African-American community. Who wants to see another grinning politician or wannabe, if you can stand in applause for sister in pain?

If something is working, why not do more of it? Hillary should double-down on the “mom” vote. Heck, they vote more than young women anyway, when push comes to shove.

But, why not do more and prove to the rest of us that you will be our standard bearer?

Why not argue more aggressively for family leave that means something? Not just some unpaid leave if you’re lucky enough to work for a big company, but real leave for pregnancy with support and pay for everyone?

Why is Clinton not making paid sick leave a bigger issue for working mothers – and fathers! There’s increasing support for such leave in statehouses and cities, why not carry that banner?

And, here’s the kicker? Isn’t it finally time to talk about universal daycare? The advantages are immense: job creation, more women in the workforce, less loss of working hours, earlier education of children, huge financial savings for families, reduced inequality, and just plain peace of mind. You want moms – and a heck of a lot of dads – then finally fix daycare and take it out of the shadows of always low-waged and often informal employment and create something that supports families and children. Moms would crowd the rallies and stand in line for a candidate really committed to delivering on this issue.

And, besides we should all whisper to Secretary Clinton, universal adequate and affordable daycare for children is a core feminist issue. Surprise yourself, go one-hundred percent for the moms, and see if positions like these, sincerely felt and strongly argued, don’t bring even young women to your side as well.

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