Barack Obama Comes to JMU

Today was a day filled with anticipation that could only be met by the appearance of Senator Barack Obama, the Presidential candidate of the United States. I had been looking forward to today for an incredible two days for no one was informed of this event until that time. When I awoke this morning I had the intention of seeing Senator Obama speak, he could be our next President so why wouldn’t I want to take advantage of this opportunity? By the time I was prepared to go, I called a friend who said the line was unbelievably long and not to waste my time. I sadly took their advice and waited anxiously for him to appear on the television in my room.

When I turned on my TV right around 5 PM he had already begun to speak. He spoke about a plethora of subjects including the economy, McCain’s campaign, the introduction of millions of new jobs, tax cuts, and hope. He mentioned that we are in the middle of the worst economic crisis and that our generation is willing to sacrifice for future generations. He spoke about the increase in food and college costs while recieving a roaring AMEN from the responsive crowd. He quickly moved on to McCain’s habits, including his tendency to follow Bush throughout every economic plan without divergence. He ended his attacks on McCain by explaining how his healthcare plan is radical and unaffordable.

He did bring up one interesting plan which I was both impressed and pleased with: the introduction of five million new jobs in upcoming years. Obama intends to create the jobs through efforts to create a better environment and taking advantage of renewable resources. They will be well paying and cannot be outsourced. The jobs will range from creating solar panels to inventing new ways of being environmentally friendly. These jobs will all be domestic, which is exactly what we need. To be honest, when he brought up this plan I was suddenly reminded of FDR’s New Deal and I was inspired. He has found a minor solution to the major problem, but this is only the beginning. It actually gave me faith in his advisor’s to come up with more ideas like this one for the future.

 

To continue the inspiring moments of the speech, he spoke of seeing the best of America. He’s seen it in workers willing to cut hours rather than see their friends lose their jobs and especially in the soldiers who reenlist after the loss of a limb. He has been inspired by Americans and through this he is out to inspire others.

To end his speech he said “hold onto hope; tomorrow will be brighter. That’s what this election is about”. He is an incredibly good speaker and I honestly almost reconsidered my vote for McCain, especially when the news continued to show an interview between McCain and a correspondent from Harrisonburg’s own local news station. In this interview McCain said a lot of ridiculous things including saying he would lower the cost of colleges without a plan of how to do it or even speaking confidently when he said these things. He also said we need to continue drilling for oil overseas, when in reality we need to end our dependence on foreign oil. Overall, Obama’s compelling speech far outshined McCain’s interview and I wish I had been able to get into the convo center today of all days.