Hospitals & Asylums
Barack Obama spoke at the 5/3 Arena Shoemaker Center at the
University of Cincinnati at 2 pm. The audience arrived at noon to wait in two,
quarter mile long, lines. Attendance was estimated at 12,000. Three bleachers
were filled to capacity and the press focused on a stage in the northeast
corner. A four-sided big screen television hung down from the center of the
ceiling.
Ohio State Treasurer Richard Cordray got on stage and said, "I have a
conviction that the election is not about the past. We have an opportunity for
transformational change this election. We need a President to transcend the
divide and transform America. That is what Obama will do. He started helping
people find work in Illinois. As state Senator he got 150,000 people onto the
health insurance rolls. When Barack Obama is in the White House we will have a
future. As Ohio Treasurer I want that President to be Barack Obama".
Gineth Walker, a middle aged African American lady, said, "Barack Obama
offers a strong commitment for working Americans. I've been a grocery worker
and union member for 32 years. Obama has been fighting for the rights of
workers for 25 years. He began in Chicago creating jobs and caring for
children. Too many young Ohioans cannot a good paying job. Obama knows how to
help working families. Let me welcome Mark Mallory".
Mark Mallory, Cincinnati's African American mayor, took the stage and said,
"Good afternoon Cincinnati. Are you ready to work. Ready to improve this
country. We have a special guest today who deserves a special Cincinnati
welcome. Here is the situation. I am a superdelegate. Superdelegates are
important in this process. Well I've been thinking. There are a lot of
similarities between Barack's campaign for President and my campaign for Mayor.
Barack motivates people. I have decided to give my endorsement to Barack
Obama".
Barack Obama begins. "Thank you Cincinnati". First of all a long
round of applause to your outstanding mayor. I also want to thank Gineth Walker
and the President UC Nancy Zimpher, Board of Trustees, state officials and most
importantly all the volunteers. We have a little business to attend to. There
is early voting in Ohio. After the speech you can vote today. There will be
buses to take you to the Board of Elections at 824 Broadway. We have
extraordinary turnout everywhere we go. But Cincinnati doesn't want to be in
the middle, we want the best turnout. Don't wait until March 4th, vote early.
I have been running for President for a little more than a year. I stood on the
steps of the capitol where Abraham Lincoln once stood. People said you are a
relatively young man. You can afford to wait. I'm running because of what Dr.
King called, "the fierce urgency of now". I believe there is such a
thing as too late. Our nation is at war. Everything we have fought for is
slipping. Its harder to save, its harder to go to college. Our healthcare
system fails to cover 47 million people. Education leaves millions behind. We
cannot wait to end global warming or the war in Iraq.
When I decided to run I felt the people wanted politics that would lift them
up. They wanted straight talk and honesty from their elected officials. I moved
to Chicago after college. Thousands of workers had been laid off, communities
had fallen on hard times. It taught me that ordinary people can do
extraordinary things. It taught me the change doesn't happen from the top down
but from the bottom up. If we could join together, the rich and poor, to
challenge special interests, we would be fulfilled.
My faith in the American people has been vindicated. We want to turn the page,
write a new chapter. People are more engaged in the political process than
ever. I can't take all the credit. When you go to a polling place George W.
Bush will not be on the ballot. My cousin Dick Cheney will not be on the
ballot. A genealogical survey says we are directly related. We all want to be
related to someone cool. We want to be something.
We have a lot of challenges. All the stories I hear are of hardship and
struggle. I spoke with five women aged fifty to sixty about retirement
security. They had to care for both their parents and college tuition of their
children. One had gotten sick and had to withdraw from her 401k to pay the
bills. All across the country people have the will to go to college but not the
money and they have to take out $50-75,000 in loans. People don't expect
government to solve all the problems but when you get sick there should be
something there. We should be our brother’s keeper.
The war in Iraq has cost us dearly in blood and treasure. We are disillusioned.
I want to roll up my sleeves and work to make life better but I need your help.
If you are ready for change you can tell the lobbyists they will not run my
campaign or my White House. We need to do something for the 47 million without
health insurance. This is personal because my mother died of cancer. I remember
her looking through insurance forms in the months before she died. If you don't
have health insurance we will help, if you have health insurance we will lower
your premiums by more than a thousand dollars. We will do this in my first
term.
If you are ready for change we can restore vitality to the economy. I believe
in entrepreneurship but when a CEO makes more in 10 minutes than a worker makes
all year, when corporations go bankrupt and CEOs get golden parachutes but the
workers get nothing, that is not right. We're taking away the tax breaks for
companies that go overseas to promote American business. We are rolling back
tax cuts. People who earned less than $75,000 will get around $1,000 back. I
want to give every child an education. To compete we must have high standing.
We are going green. I will raise fuel standards. We can't go on wasting our
energy. I told the automakers in Detroit, "You've got to bring about
change if your are to compete". If you are working in this country you
should not be poor.
The next President must tell you not just what you want to hear, but what you
need to know - the truth. As Commander in Chief, my prime duty will be keeping
you safe. I will defend the United States. We must treat our veterans with
honor and respect. We must use our military wisely. The war on Iraq was unwise.
We spent billions even trillions that we could have used for our
infrastructure. It has cost us more in injuries. That is why I will bring this
war to an end. It's not enough to end the war. We must end the politics of
fear. We need to rediscover the power of diplomacy. John F. Kennedy once said,
"We must not negotiate out of fear, but we must not be afraid to
negotiate"
We want everyone to say America is back. We need a President whom will uphold
the laws and Constitution. I was born to a single teenage mother. They gave me
love and hope. I wrote a book called the Audacity of Hope. Clinton often calls
me naive, a hope monger, in my own words. Hope is looking for respite from
hardship and going on to do something, ie. universal health care, clean energy,
getting people to college not prison. We need to be better parents to instill
excellence in our children. Imagining and fighting to do what did not seem
possible before, that is hope. For those who hope for justice and freedom we
will win precinct-by-precinct, county by county, state by state. If you work
with me we will take this country. Thank you.
Obama for America www.barackobama.com