A few hundred people attended a Planned Parenthood rally today just inside the gates of the Democratic National Convention. The speakers all made the case that when it comes to women's issues, there is a clear delineation between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Newark Mayor Cory Booker led the speeches off by directly attacking speakers at the Republican National Convention for saying that they love women because they have mothers and sisters. "That's like saying you're not racist because you've got a black friend," Booker said, or "like saying you love Latinos because you eat at Taco Bell every week." When it comes to protecting women's rights, Booker said, "don't tell me about it. Be about it."

But the superstar was Sandra Fluke, who didn't mince words: "A woman needs affordable access to the care she needs, when she needs it." The only candidate who backed family planning and women's health issues is Barack Obama, Fluke said, and "we have to stand with him." Fluke's lack of political polish was appealing; she politely referred to the Republicans as "Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan," and while she made her case passionately and clearly, this wasn't a stump speech she had recited thousands of times before, which, at a convention, is maybe the most appealing trait a talented speaker can possess. She announced her new rule: "No sleep 'til November!" Fluke called on Planned Parenthood supporters to talk to "everyone...if there is one woman or one man who loves women in America who doesn't understand what these candidates stand for in November," Planned Parenthood supporters will have failed.

Planned Parenthood organizers seemed a bit disappointed by the turnout to their rally, which was blockaded by an Occupy Wall Street standoff with the police down the street. The impromptu Occupy Wall Street march became a clusterfuck of epic proportions, with all the protesters standing in a circle, surrounded by a ring of police, a no man's land, and then a second ring of police. A third stand of policemen down the street were keeping DNC attendees—including at least another hundred frustrated Planned Parenthood supporters—from entering the secure zone.