Obama calls for change
By MIKE REUTHER mreuther@sungazette.comU.S. Sen. Barack Obama made it clear to a Williamsport audience Friday that the country is going in the wrong direction and he’s the man who can lead the wave of change needed to right the course.
An overflow and energetic crowd of about 2,800 people in Lycoming College’s Lamade Gymnasium listened to Obama address a host of issues ranging from the Iraq War to the ailing economy.
With the audience anticipating his appearance and chanting “Obama ... Obama,” the Democratic presidential candidate strode into the gym at 4:10 p.m., about 40 minutes after his speech was scheduled to begin.
He wasted no time embracing the audience, many of whom were eager and enthusiastic Obama supporters who had come from throughout the region on an unseasonably hot and sun-splashed afternoon to hear him talk.
“I’m going to get off my jacket,” he said. “It’s warm in here.”
Obama proceeded to address the reason he’s seeking the highest office in the land.
It has to do, he said, with what Dr. Martin Luther King called “the urgency of now.”
The economy, for one, is in a shambles, he said, with the number of manufacturing jobs in the Williamsport area alone at their lowest point since the last generation.
He referred to layoffs at Spring Window Fashions in Montgomery and at Woolrich.
But those unemployment woes are only a microcosm of much of the rest of the nation, he said.
He noted that the Bush Administration has left more people without health care and more children living in poverty.
“People are working harder and harder just to get by,” he said.
Children are not receiving the best possible education, he added. Obama said No Child Left Behind has its merits, but it needs to be re-examined. Public school teachers, he said, should make more money, but not ‘‘teach to the test.’’
College educations must be made affordable for everyone. Toward that end, he called for offering tuition credits to students in exchange for commitments to community service programs.
He also called for expanding Pell grants and offering more federal subsidized loans.
“The federal government has to follow through with its mandates,” he said, while noting that the property taxes that help fund education already are too high for many people.
Obama said it simply cannot be business as usual in Washington, D.C.
“You need someone to put an end to the game plan in Washington,” he said.
Obama said people need to come together to challenge special interest groups and lobbyists.
He said he takes no campaign money from Political Action Groups and lobbyists but rather donations from the people for whom he will work.
“I think the American people are desperate for change,” he said. “If we can change Washington, we can solve problems.”
Obama called for an end to the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and for investments in alternative energy such as wind, solar and biodiesel energy sources.
He later told the Sun-Gazette he is against lifting the government’s moratorium on offshore natural gas leasing as a means to tap available energy resources.
“Our shores are a natural treasure,” he said. “We aren’t going to drill our way out of the problem.”
He said now is the time to invest in alternative energy.
At one point, Obama was asked how he would stop drugs from coming into the country.
“The key is to cut demand,” he said. “The key is to make sure children aren’t interested in drugs.”
It means giving kids a sense of a bright future, he added.
He also called for more drug treatment and education programs.
On illegal immigration, Obama called for stronger surveillance and patrolling of the nation’s borders, as well as a crackdown on employers who hire illegals.
He said illegals who already are here should be given the chance to become citizens, however.
Obama called for reforming health care, partly through cracking down on abuses by insurance and drug companies.
He noted that the nation spends $10 billion a month to support a war in Iraq that he voted against.
“It’s cost us American lives. It hasn’t made us safer,” he said.
He added that he is for a strong military and will not hesitate to strike against the nation’s enemies.
Part of strengthening the military, he added, involves supporting its veterans.
Obama said that while he will not be a perfect president, he will be honest and accountable and will listen to all the people.
Among those hearing Obama’s speech was Whitni Ciofalo, a Bucknell University sophomore, who said she likes the message he offers.
“I just think he’s a very progressive person who hasn’t been jaded by the political system,” she said. “He brings hope to the country.”
Steve Shope, 33, of Loyalsock Township, said Obama seeks to change the political system.
“He can unite the Republicans and Democrats, and I don’t think Hillary (Clinton) can do that.”
