Senator Obama was scheduled to attend a "meet and greet" with local area Democratic elected officials and activists before the main "Town Hall Meeting" at the high school. We arrived a few minutes early. And the Senator was about 15 minutes late. Not bad for a politician making the trip all the way from Springfield, Illinois. All the usual suspects were there: Congressman Loebsack, Mayor Halloran, two of the County Supervisors, several state legislators, county central committee folks, and two county party chairs: Mike Robinson from Linn County and me from Jones County. I was impressed that he had Senator Durbin traveling with him today.
We chatted and circulated while waiting for the Senator. When he arrived, he made the rounds and posed for pictures. My wife commented that he was very good at taking direction for pictures, and could flash that smile on cue. Of course there was no time for chatting even with the relatively small crowd there. Just time to shake hands, get the book signed, maybe get a photograph taken, and exchange some pleasantries.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/IABooger/IMG_40541.jpgThe public event at the John F. Kennedy High School gymnasium, full to overflowing, started at about 4:15 PM.. Media had a platform center and elevated for a good camera angle. Introduction of the moderator of the "Town Hall" meeting was made by a high school student whose name, unfortunately, was lost in the crowd noise. The moderator himself was Steve Sovern, a former state senator and well-known Cedar Rapids attorney.
Mr. Sovern did not waste much time, just the usual welcome to Iowa, Cedar Rapids and to Kennedy High. Opening remarks about starting a conversation with Iowans. Oh, no, I thought, he's channeling HLC.
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Obama thanked Jordan for the introduction. [OK, the high school student was "Jordan." I still did not get the last name.] Acknowledges the elected officials present, plus Michelle and the children [by name, but I did not get those].
[Now for the real message.] This is the start of a long process. Issues that need addressed: healthcare; the lack of an energy strategy; global warming- alternative energy [applause]; education - children will have to compete with children in Beijing and Bangalore, ....
Now onto national security. A rational national security strategy cannot be addressed well "until we bring this ill-conceived war in Iraq to a close." [I had hoped he would use the term "occupation" but it's early and that is far from a deal-breaker.]
Now he is talking about his campaign and his desire for the campaign to transform this country. Nothing like lofty goals. He says, "You make this a vehicle for your hopes and dreams." He remarks on the high quality of the candidates involved in the race for the nomination. Also remarks that the open process with which we choose a nominee is a good vehicle for change.
Sovern: Makes the tie-in to JFK and how he inspired a generation of young Democrats to move the country forward.
Obama: Bringing hope to the country. Politicians have a tremendous responsibility. But politics has been turned into an insiders game. Special interest money and lobbyists block real change in energy policy and prescription drug prices, for example. And it makes real ethics reform exceedingly difficult.
Only 1% of Americans make political contributions. So even if you take out the factor of PAC's and large special interests, remember that those in that 1% are people who can afford it. Even the ordinary citizen who gives money still represents, in a way, those who are making it, rather than those who are struggling day-to-day to make ends meet. So even though ordinary citizens who are doing alright make some political contributions, virtually none of those who have not made it do. And those people have a very little voice with their elected officials unless those officials reach out to them.
Restore a call to action - the feeling that ordinary citizens can get involved and make a difference. In this race, when asked to identify his most important rival, he says "cynicism." When people give up on politics, when people are cynical and think all politicians are the same, they don't pay attention to what is done and don't hold them accountable for the decisions they make. He wants people to be involved and to believe that ordinary citizens can make a difference.
Mentions using the internet as a tool to raise small amounts of money [campaign contributions] from large numbers of people. [No mention of public financing.]
Sovern: Tells an awkward story about ethnic backgrounds and meeting his ethnic in-laws for the first time, as a lead in to let Obama talk about his background.
Obama: Background story: Kenyan father, Kansan mother, met in Hawaii, where Obama grew up. Post-college went to Chicago to work as a community organizer. [there is some new information for me] Then law school, etc. He says his strength as a candidate includes that he represents "a lot of different pieces of America in me."
Now a question from the audience. Kyle poses a question about withdrawal from Iraq.
Obama: "I opposed this war from the start." [applause]
Whether or not someone favored the war, everyone should see that there will not be a military solution to the situation as it is now. All candidates have a responsibility to answer the question "What would you do now." He repeats that this was an ill-conceived mission but offers that now that we are there, we do have some responsibilities to meet as we plan for an end to the mission. He then outlined the plan in his bill: an outline of benchmarks, offer help as long as the politicians in Iraq are meeting the benchmarks. He offers that the plan in his bill parallels the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. "We should be at least as careful getting out as we were careless getting in."
Linda from Cedar Rapids asks about North Korea.
Obama generally endorses President Clinton's plan of engagement, negotiation and diplomacy. Acknowledges cheating on the agreement by North Korea, but says that Bush broke the deal when it did not have to be broken. Bush's plan is to press forward with the 6 party talks [I may have the number of parties wrong here]. Obama would enter bilateral talks. He says he is under no illusions, but you don't punish people by not talking to them. The Bush Administration thinks you punish people by not talking to them but what you really do is lose leverage and then you have to "contract out diplomacy."
Someone from Sensible Priorities asks about shifting pentagon spending to other priorities.
Obama responds that the trouble is that even getting out of Iraq, there cannot be immediate cuts because we have so depleted our military that there is hardware to replace, and we need to build up the regular army to take the stress off of the National Guard and reserves. So in the long run, there can be some shifts, but not in the near term. [That is not an applause line, but it sound to me like an inoculation against the right-wingers fear-mongering. He can sound "realistic on defense."]
A University of Iowa student asks about higher education costs.
Obama: There is no reason that we cannot make sure every student who is willing to work hard can go to college. He talks about student loan forgiveness in return for service in selected areas [like the National Direct Student Loans did before Reagan]. Talks about other improvements in financial aid.
[No one ever seems to want to talk about direct subsidies to colleges so that they can lower their tuition and fees.]
A teacher asks about No Child Left Behind.
Obama opens with a quip: "No Child Left Behind left the money behind." NCLB identified some of the problems in educational system, such as the fact that some groups are left behind in the process. In practice, NCLB as problems. There is no measurement of progress but only of scalar results. So even if schools are doing the right things, and are in a very difficult situation, they may still not meet the NCLB goals. The process needs work. [The audience does not respond well to this. The popular perception here among Democrats is that NCLB is a failure and should be scrapped. No position that is just tinkering with the system will win many followers. But he may score points for being willing to stand on his position rather than pandering.]
Touches then on the large number of teachers needed to replace retiring baby boomers, who have already started to retire. Hits on the need to pay teachers more, but with the higher pay must come accountability using assessment tools developed in concert with teachers.
Time is up and now for a final statement:
This is a long race with a lot of excellent candidates. We need to have a sense of urgency to accomplish what needs to be done in America. Don't wait for me to get it done - get involved. He asks for support and for volunteers to get involved to win now and tomorrow to make a change in politics.
And that is that. As he makes his way out, he shakes lots of hands. This is an impressive candidate, with a compelling life story and a knack for engaging oratory. But it is early. More later.
Cross-posted at Daily Kos.
1 comment:
Nice to see another liberal blog out there. Great photo from the Obama event. His candidacy is inspiring lots of people and it seems so in Cedar Rapids as well.
Peace to all
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