Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama is bringing his ‘Change We Can Believe In’ army through Greensboro’s War Memorial Auditorium today and The A&T Register will be covering the entire event live with updates throughout.
(11:20 a.m.)
The Barack Obama soundtrack is blaring in the background and of course it’s old school. Anybody else think he should do a remix of Rocko’s “Umma Do Me” and get an introduction like he’s in the NBA? Just a thought.
(11:55 a.m.)
The seats on stage behind Obama are just about full and among the faces we picked out from the press area were Miss A&T
Candace Johnson, vice president of internal affairs Desiree McNair, former class president Leo Breckenridge.
(12:05 p.m.)
An ovation from the stage made everyone think the man of the hour was here….false alarm.
(12:10 p.m.)
So this long wait has given me time to think about lyrics for that remix. How’s this:
“If you ain’t talking ’bout change you ain’t talking bout ish…” I’ll stop.
They just carried out the podium, and the press area is starting to become an absolute mosh pit but at least that means its almost time. I don’t think this photographer’s khaki’d behind directly in front of me is going to work though.
(12:15 p.m.)
So the stage just emptied out for some reason and I almost got hit in the face with a camera. Don’t these late arriving reporters realize you have to be early to be in the front.
(12:23 p.m.)
Frank (don’t know his last name) from WFMY looks like he got a shape up for this. It’s starting to look like grown and sexy night at the club in here by the minute. Just kidding.
(12:39 p.m.)
Prayer time.
(12:41 p.m.)
Over 15 ‘”Yes Lord’s” and a standing ovation for the invocation. Wow!
Wow, the pledge of allegiance? Really? Is this morning bell at the elementary school?
Tom the camera guy from WRAL says hello.
(12:44 p.m.)
Chants of ‘Yes We Can’ fill the room….and a poorly timed ‘Aggie Pride’ scream just killed it.
(12:48 p.m.)
So that initial Barack buzz is fading again, as people on stage look like their taking future MySpace pictures and the audience sounds eerily similar to a high school cafeteria. Maybe the mayor should say something but any sort of gap filler would be great though.
(12:52 p.m.)
Another ‘Yes We Can’ chant goes nowhere. (Cue the Price Is Right loser music).
(12:54 p.m.)
Some lady is introduced to confused applause. Oh ok, she’s a field organizer. Three quick things from her: voter registration, shouts out to the volunteers and to text Barack. Text NC to 62262. Leave your name, number and e-mail to get involved.
(12:59 p.m.)
They really need to work on making their next campaign stop a little more seamless. They hype you up and then let it die over and over.
(1:02 p.m.)
Its past 1 o’clock, they just hit the teen movie slow clap and he didn’t come out.
(1:04 p.m.)
Ok they are doing the wave like its Aggie Stadium, where’s our boy?
(1:10 p.m.)
Fashionably late doesn’t work for me…The announcer just said PLEASE WELCOME…Debra Holt. lol
(1:15 p.m.)
Speech about health care, kind of generic but she does sound passionate about it. Iraq War, unification and so on…She’s basically reading the bio now.
(1:16 p.m.)
THE CHAMP IS HERE! Yes We Can actually fits this time.
(1:17 p.m.)
He gets a very Jay-Z like reception. First thanks the people, Shouts out Yvonne Johnson, all elected officials, local Obama campaigns. “This is a town hall meeting my job is to answer questions…I’m not going to give long speech and you know I can.”
Sitcom studio audience like laughter.
(1:20 p.m.)
Someone screams “I love you Barack” and he answers “I love you back” without breaking stride.
“I’m running for the fierce urgency of now,” said Obama.
Talks about recession and hard times.
(1:26 p.m.)
Health care and schools draw big reactions.
“We can not afford to wait,” said Obama. “We can not wait to fix the schools, to fix health care, to bring good jobs back and bring this war to an end.”
“Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they’re given a chance.”
(1:28 p.m.)
Togetherness is what convinces him that people can make change.
(1:34 p.m.)
“Senator Clinton is a smart and capable person,” said Obama. He disagrees with her about lobbyists and evokes ovations about how the people fund him.
Quotable:
“I got one money order for $3 from a woman and I appreciated it.”
“They [lobbyists] will not drown out the voice of te American people when I’m president of the United States of America”
(1:34 p.m.)
More money for teachers! He then rips a part No Child Left Behind.
$4000 tuition credit for every student every year in return for community service. “We’ll invest in young people, they’ll invest in America and together we’ll march forward.”
He quickly moves to keeping America safe. Treating veterans right. Using our military wisely. Says he’ll end it 2009.
(1:38 p.m.)
“We don’t need more Bush, we don’t need a third bush term and thats what John McCain is promising.”
(1:42 p.m.)
Short speech huh?
(1:43 p.m.)
Speech comes to a close, opens for questions. He says he’s going to go boy/girl, boy/girl to make it fair.
(1:44 p.m.)
What are you going to do about poverty?
“We have to remind ourselves that in a nation as wealthy as this there shouldn’t be deeply impoverish people”
“The poorest here should still have a roof over their head, food…health care”
Tax breaks for people making under $75,000 a year.
“You used to be able to work and support a family with just a high school diploma, now it’s a tougher”
“In the end, we can’t do this unless all of have a change of heart about what America is all about.”
(1:50 p.m.)
A&T student Kenny Escho (sp?) asks how $4000 tuition credit works for out of state students.
(1:55 p.m.)
Naturalized Bosnian refugee asks about immigration?
Better security, watching visas, controlling borders, crackdown on employers who don’t want to pay fair wages.
“We’ll still have 10-12 million people who are here after that.”
Just another WordPress weblog
RSS 2.0
