Obama Speaks at Claremont, NH
We went to the Obama rally at 3:30 PM in Claremont, NH, on Nov 12th. We waited outside while the Secret Service swept the building. About 300 people waiting at that time were patient and joking.
Once inside we sat patiently for about 30 minutes while people filed in. Eventually there were about 500 people there. Obama was introduced at 4 PM, and proceeded to impress me. He has a warm presence and connects well with the crowd. He exudes optimism and hope, and joked that some of the Washington insiders label him as naïve because he is so hopeful. They say he is inexperienced. He says that he has 20-years of experience outside DC dealing with urban problems and bringing Republicans and Democrats together in Illinois to solve problems, and that what the DC insiders are saying is that he needs to be in DC longer so that they can squeeze the hope out of him.
Among the questions he dealt with was China. He sees China as a long-term challenge, but not as a short term threat. He said that we need to negotiate trade arrangements with more toughness, emulating the Japanese, who have arranged for Japanese food inspectors to inspect in China.
One questioner cited the loss of 13,000 jobs in Claremont, possibly due to NAFTA, and asked why he had supported the Peru FTA. Obama pointed out that he is for trade – with adequate provisions for the environment and labor. The Peru FTA had those, in contrast to other recent proposed FTA’s and NAFTA. That is why Obama opposed the other FTA’s. He would as president renegotiate NAFTA to add similar protections.
The crowd responded most vigorously to Obama’s education proposals, such as criticism of No Child Left Behind, which penalizes schools with low test performance without recognizing whether the school has significantly improved its student’s performances with respect to where they were when they entered the school. He favors leveling the entrance disparities by more early childhood services, including reaching at-risk mothers and their young children.
He also advocates getting the banks out of the student loan business so that the money now going into profits can go to students. He called for an expanded national service program in which part of the compensation was relief from some of the participant’s student loans.
obama and chinaSubmitted by zwaan on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 23:31.
Obama is right on with this issue. In the most recent debate, when questioned about contaminated goods from china, obama had the best respoonse, citing japan's policy and that we should do the same. He did much better in that debate than all the spin doctors are saying.
You're so lucky to have such access!Submitted by V on Sat, 11/17/2007 - 03:06.
Great comments! We love Obama here in California. Campaign costs/fundraising limits him to high-priced intimate forums here, as he has to spend most of his time with you in NH and in Iowa, now Nevada and SC. I just saw him in San Francisco, we were 6,000+ including congressional district organizers and teams. It's still glorious to see him in-person, I got to give him a hug and thanks, got the same back from him, quite thrilling!
It's been incredible organizing for him. It's the second time I get into a presidential primary campaign, and Obama's is so well-run, despite all the newbies, and so inspiring that I've grown to love this community work. It's our first early (Feb. 5th Super Duper Tuesday) primary in California!
I envy your tradition and access to the candidates. The hardest thing isn't convincing voters here in CA that Obama's the one - we listen to voters' questions, answer with Obama's own words because he gives us so much to share for outreach, and easily win supporters. The hardest thing is getting folks to realize we're one of the most important three states of the immense Super Tuesday, for the first time!
We'll work to get as many absentee ballots in as early - many of our counties have Early Voting! - as possible for Obama, to help you in NH, NV and SC see he can and will win this primary. Keep spreadin' the word!