3:25 PM: Obama says time to replace 'same old cast of characters' in D.C.
Jennifer Thompson waited Saturday for two and a half hours in temperatures that struggled to get to 20 with her three young children to hear Barack Obama. The day-care provider from Bloomer said she was undecided about her choice in Tuesday's presidential primary election before she heard Obama speak for nearly 50 minutes in UW-Eau Claire's Zorn Arena.
But Thompson isn't quite sure the 46-year-old U.S. senator from Illinois would be able to deliver on his promises.
"I hope what he says he will do, he will be able to do," Thompson said as her children pulled at her coat sleeves.
Thompson added that Obama's speech covered "everything I wanted to hear."
Obama, in his second appearance in Wisconsin of the day, did indeed run through the litany of issues he has hammered on throughout his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination: health care, education, the war in Iraq, energy policy, economic insecurity and taxes.
He waited until 38 minutes into his speech to mention Sen. Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democratic nomination who has cancelled a stop in Eau Claire on Monday. He derided the claim by Clinton that he is a "pretty good talker" without the seasoning to accomplish his ambitious agenda.
He then rattled off his experience as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, Illinois legislator and U.S. senator, saying he has accomplished the majority of his goals at every stage in his life.
"All of this (agenda) is possible if you believe change is possible," Obama said. "The last thing we need is to have this same old cast of characters doing the same old things" in Washington, D.C., an apparent reference to Clinton's history in the White House as First Lady.
Many times the capacity crowd in the arena, which holds 3,200, cheered so loud that Obama's words were drowned out as Obama encouraged his supporters to vote in Tuesday's primary.
He repeatedly came back to his essential message that the United States finds itself at a juncture: "We are at a defining moment in our history, Eau Claire."
In an area that suffers from low average family income, Obama pledged that as president he would work toward "restoring a sense of economic fairness" in the country by pegging increases to the minimum wage to the rate of inflation, rolling back tax breaks for the rich and helping those who can't afford health insurance to pay for coverage. He also pledged to protect Social Security benefits.
Turning to higher education, Obama promoted his plan to offer a $4,000 annual tax credit to pay for tuition. Students would be expected to perform 100 hours of community service a year in return, he said.
He concluded by returning to his message of hope and change.
"This is our moment," he said. "This is our time."
Before leaving the arena, after the crowd had cleared out, Obama came out to take pictures with the supporters who were seated behind him during the speech and to take pictures with the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team.
-- By Doug Mell
Labels: 2008 spring primary