East Carolinian

Issue date: 6/11/08 Section: News

Media Credit: staff photo

Media Credit: staff photo

Last week, he made history as the first African-American to receive a presidential nomination. This week, Barack Obama is touring the country to talk about the economy with regular citizens in his two-week "Change That Works for You" tour.

Despite pro-McCain protestors outside, Obama kicked off the tour on Monday at the Exposition Center on the North Carolina Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The event was by invitation only, and doors opened at 11 a.m.

NC Governor Mike Easley, who signaled his support for the Democratic nominee for president, preceded Obama's speech.

"Forty-seven years ago John F. Kennedy told us, 'Don't ask what your country can do,'" said Easley. "Americans have sacrificed enough for America. It's time for Washington to do something for us. Washington needs to change, and Barack Obama can do it."

Easley spoke of the rising gas and food prices and President George Bush's tax cuts as reasons for his desire for change in the country.

"Milk and gas are about the same price per gallon, and Washington is doing nothing about it," he said. "Some of us can't wait 30 years for something to change."

John and Elizabeth Edwards, Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and former Colorado Governor Roy Roemer were in the audience at the Exposition Center, along with NC Governor Easley.

Before Obama took the stage, a Pittsboro, NC resident, Pamella Cash-Roper stood up to talk about the financial struggles her family has recently endured. She told the audience that between her husband's medical bills and rising costs elsewhere, "we simply could not keep up."

"I am a lifelong Republican who believes in the creed that if you work hard, you can make ends meet," Cash-Roper said. "[But] we found ourselves buried in medical expenses to the point where we almost filed bankruptcy."

Cash-Roper praised Obama for his work in helping middle-class Americans.

"Senator Obama has been fighting for working people for more than two decades," she said. "Today we need a change. We need an end to the Bush economy."

After Cash-Roper sat down, Obama took the mic, amid raucous applause and cheering.

" It is good to be back in NC," he said. "This election is a defining moment in our history. The decision we make in November will shake a generation."

Obama focused solely on the economy, citing the decrease in job availability, the crumbling housing market and the rise in gas and tuition prices, among others. Obama stated that in some areas of policy he and John McCain agree, but in the area of the economy, "[we] have fundamentally different policies."

Obama said that his plans for the economy include creating more jobs through developing research and technology, combating high gas prices through developing alternative fuel options, creating a stipend for college-bound students and helping homeowners refinance their homes through a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund.

Although he commended McCain for his service in the US military, Obama said that his policies would "only take care of the healthy and wealthy."

"We have tried it their way for eight long years and it has failed," Obama said. "It's time for something new."



This writer can be contacted at editor@theeastcarolinian.com.

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