Barack Obama knows how to start off on the right foot. The first words out of the Democratic presidential candidate’s mouth at his “Stand for Change” rally Friday night seemed to boost his audience support even further. “Wow,” Obama said after walking onstage to a U2 song and cheering decibel levels louder than those at Oregon basketball games. “So is this what they call The Pit?”
The audience roared with gratitude and in Obama’s 50-minute speech its loyalty did not waver. Nathan Ferguson, outreach coordinator for Students for Barack Obama, described the feeling inside the venue as “electrifying.”
The most popular topics among the packed McArthur Court spectators were the environment and education. But the prevalent themes of Obama’s speech involved taking a stand in government and transcending above divides.
“If we could get past the divisions and the distractions and the trivializations of politics,” Obama said, “then there would be no problem we cannot solve.”
Obama credited the young people who are participating in the election with unprecedented numbers and the activists in Oregon who are more excited and involved than most. Obama said this election is about taking a stand on the role of a government. “It’s easy enough to be against something,” he said. “What’s harder is to make a decision that we still have it in our capacity to join together and make this country work.”
Students who watched the speech said they thought Obama connects with young voters not only because of his charisma and energy, but also because of his take on the issues.
Student senator Diego Hernandez, who missed part of a conference to be in Eugene for the speech, said he thinks Obama connects with young voters because his relative youth gives him a unique perspective on the issues.
“I think he has the same experiences as us and he can see what we see,” Hernandez said. “He talks about issues that we see, that not everyone else sees.”
Matthew Jordan, a volunteer for Students for Barack Obama, said this quality appeals not only to young voters, but also to Oregonians in general.
“I think Oregon – we’ve always been one of the states pushing for change. Finally we got a candidate who recognizes that there are states that don’t like the same politics.”
The Oregonians who had been camping outside Mac Court since 5 a.m. were among the first to make their way into the arena decked out in signs reading “Hope!” “Action!” and “Change!” Representatives from every local media outlet from Eugene to Bend were present, as were the traveling press from Obama’s plane. High school students and senior citizens were there, as well as a few University administrators. A cappella groups On the Rocks and Divisi performed, and songs that reflected Obama’s major campaign themes of hope played loudly over the Mac Court sound system. Oregon Superintendent of Public Education Susan Castillo and Rep. Earl Blumenauer spoke and endorsed Obama. When the senator finally came onstage at about 9:15 p.m., the audience was energized.
The Illinois Senator’s interaction with the audience started off strong and continued. When Obama talked about deciding to run for president he mentioned Abraham Lincoln, to which one person in the stands shouted “Lincoln’s the man!”
“Lincoln is the man,” Obama replied. “Love that guy.”
But Obama quickly turned serious, talking about why he chose to run at only 46. “We cannot wait” to deal with issues such as global warming and the state of the economy, Obama said. “The American people were hungry for something different. They were tired of politics that were all about tearing people down.”
Obama scolded the “smaller circle of power” within American government that determines which issues are examined, sometimes to the detriment of the American people.
“That’s not how America’s supposed to work,” he said. “That’s not what democracy is all about. That’s not what the founding fathers intended … They will not run my White House.”
The idea of a political system really working with the people moved Ferguson.
“One of my favorite things he said was ‘change doesn’t happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up,’ and ‘politics doesn’t happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up,’” Ferguson said. “That’s very important to me.”
Ferguson said he thinks Obama’s appeal to young voters comes from the fact that he “replaces the displeasure with the current administration with a more optimistic outlook.”
“He reaches out to the younger people because they are sick and tired of the partisan politics and replaces it with more optimistic politics,” Ferguson said.
Obama spent a fair amount of time discussing the economy, which he said “works best when it’s working for all people, not just some.” He spoke also about bias and racial stereotypes in education, and about rising tuition costs.
“I don’t know about you, but I think it’s about time we make sure every young person can afford to go to college,” Obama said to the most inspired applause yet.
University student Sam Allen, who watched the speech on television because he arrived at the venue after all the seats were taken, said he liked Obama’s discussion of his plan to provide college students a $4,000-per-year tuition credit in exchange for community service.
“In the room I was in, everyone was talking about that, thinking it was a really good idea. They were glad he brought up something like that,” Allen said.
Hernandez also said he enjoyed hearing what Obama had to say about education, not only just at the college level, but about closing the achievement gap in K-12 education.
Obama’s focus on environmental issues was also met with enthusiasm. “I want a head of the Environmental Protection Agency that actually wants to protect the environment,” he said. “I want a government that believes in reason, that believes in fact, that believes in science. And I want a government that respects the decency and the wisdom of the American people.”
Ferguson said Obama’s way of speaking to people about what they can do to shape America’s future is very important to him. Ferguson said that while he thinks Obama recognizes that the things he wants to do as president will be difficult, he is still willing to face the challenges with the American people.
“Kennedy didn’t know anything about getting a man to the moon, but he entrusted Americans to get us there and gave Americans the will to do it,” Ferguson said. “That’s the kind of leadership Obama is driving for. I thought that was very powerful and moving.”
Jordan said Obama “obviously positions his speeches for the day, the crowd he’s speaking to.” He said the entire crowd could relate to the discussions of education, health care and global warming.
“He’s a phenom,” Jordan said. “I’m pretty sure that if McCain and Hilary Clinton had gone to that rally, they would vote for him. That much charisma from one man standing on a stage, I’ve never seen before in my life.”
Obama said one of the president’s most important responsibilities is ensuring Americans’ safety by maintaining a fine military through training and governmental support. And, as both he and his opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton often do, he lamented the war in Iraq.
“We have three candidates left for commander in chief,” Obama said. “One of them recognized that (the war in Iraq) was a bad idea.”
Obama quoted John F. Kennedy and stressed the importance of interaction between opposing world leaders. He talked about ending genocide in Darfur and researching HIV/AIDS. But above all, the senator called for unity: Unity within the Democratic party and unity above political divides nationwide.
“We can’t afford to be distracted,” said Obama. “Not th
is time. This time we’re going to be persistent … This time we are going to stay focused on creating the kind of America that we want for our children and our grandchildren.”
To watch the entire, unedited speech, click here.
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