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| Serving Callaway County communities since 1875. | www.fultonsun.com | Wednesday, November 19, 2008 |
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Joe Biden takes Columbia by storm By ROGER MEISSEN The Fulton Sun
Here - in a building where chlorine wafts through the air from the indoor pool and sweaty bodies worked the exercise bikes seen through the glass windows of the main gymnasium - Biden made his case to the mid-Missouri public to support Sen. Barack Obama for president. But Biden wasn't first to greet the nearly 1,000 people that came to witness. Instead, many received their initial greeting from two men holding a “Rednecks for Obama” sign outside of the building, showing their support for the Democratic ticket. Les Spencer - a middle-aged man from Rolla whose son lives in Portland - holds up half the sign and shared a message with some that perhaps rivaled that of the anticipated main speaker. “The Republicans don't talk about issues, they talk about hating,” Spencer said. “They stick to wedge issues - gun control, abortion, terrorism - and they never say McCain wants to do this, McCain's plan will fix that. “Š Obama is a lot different, he wants to build the economy from the bottom up,” he continued. “We've had enough of the trickle down economics that don't work; eight years is enough. I don't know how anyone can say that we're better off now than eight years ago, regardless of whether you're rich or poor.” This message seemed right in line with the Democratic brand of “Change We Can Believe In” that graced buttons and bumper stickers possessed by many standing in the security lines and waiting to enter the main venue. They were an amalgam of professionals in pin-striped suit jackets and slacks, young mothers quieting their babies and college-aged supporters bearing dreadlocked hair, among others. By the fact that those present sought out limited tickets and stood in line two hours prior to the event, it is safe to say most - if not all - were adamant supporters of the vice presidential candidate.
“At the Republican convention, I did not hear the words “middle class” part their lips,” Biden said. “Š I did not hear anything - anything at all - about the things that matter in the days and lives of the people I grew up with. “Ladies and gentlemen, I've never seen so many Americans get knocked down with so little help or even with so little recognition of what's happening from their government, from this administration.” Biden - a Democratic senator from Delaware - tried to show he understands what middle class Americans are going through now. He did not disappoint those seeking relief for the middle and lower classes, mentioning tax cuts that mean fewer taxes for 95 percent of Americans and a troubled job market. “Last week they announced 84,000 Americans lost their jobs in August,” Biden said. “We're faced with the highest unemployment in the last five years - 6.1 percent. “To us these are not statistics, these are individual people whose lives have been shattered.” Mid-Missouri and Columbia are integrally important to the Democratic Party, and it presents a unique challenge to the Democratic presidential ticket. As a battleground state, whichever side wins will most likely come out on top because they scrapped for every last vote. Rachel Levine - regional field director for the Obama campaign who helped organize the event - pointed out that in the last presidential election Democrats lost Boone County by only 158 votes. “We have 57 days left, 57, and we need all your help to volunteer, to make phone calls, to reach out to your neighbors,” Levine said. “Š One voice can change the room, one room can change a city, one city can change the state and one state can change the nation.” Levine was only part of the procession of speakers leading up to Biden's appearance. Ninth District Democratic congressional candidate Judy Baker and others first took the stage, pointing to the urgency that surrounds the shrinking time left to convince voters to support Obama and Biden. “Barack Obama and Joe Biden know what we need to do to get this country back on track,” Baker said. “They know we need a united America, not defined by ideology or party, but redefined by the American spirit that says we can do anything, as long as we do it together.” |
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