The Obama campaign has a woman problem. How big? How small? It's not clear, but in a close election, small can be big.

And Michelle Obama spoke to it Monday in Chicago.

Departing from her prepared remarks, she cautioned a ballroom of applauding "Women for Obama" that despite their unwavering support, "there's a whole country out there that still needs a little convincing."

You wouldn't have known it from this mostly well-dressed, mostly well-heeled crowd. Many of the women, black and white, young and old, were early donors who gave money back when Barack Obama was a long shot, and they were gladly giving again now. A lovely lunch of organic chicken prepared by a renowned chef, Alice Waters, brought in somewhere between $400,000 and $700,000 for the Obama Victory fund.