Barack Obama’s Martinsville & Lynchburg visits: BLOGS and more

Bernard Baker and Sarah Arkin
Register & Bee staff writers
Published: August 21, 2008

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6:10 p.m. If you want to know what Obama ordered at Short Sugars, and how many other people’s tabs he picked up, grab a copy of tomorrow’s paper.

5:58 p.m. People from advertising are chiding us for leaving them hanging with that last entry. So while we write up our stories for tomorrow’s paper and put together photogalleries for online viewing delight, I’ll try to quickly recap. Where did we leave off? Ah, yes, I was talking with supporters of senator John McCain before the Obama rally started. And I have to apologize, upon reviewing the pictures I realized that the the two signs I was talking about earlier were actually one that said “NObama” and the other had a header of “Obama’s resume” with the rest of the sign blank.

Averett University student Walter Bondurant said he “sincerely believed” if Barack Obama became president “it would be chaos for this country...he has no economic programs that make any sense...and his moral and ethical stances are atrocious.”

Others around him agreed. Shirley Foster, whose husband used to work Fieldcrest Mills added that John McCain was a “real American hero (who) deserves to be president.” When talking about the trade policies that led to her husband’s lay-off she pointed out that “Democrats had a hand in it, too.” Bill Clinton signed the NAFTA treaty afterall, she said.

None of the McCain supporters said they tried to get tickets for the event, but many said they expected that a lot of people came out just for curiosity’s sake.

On the other side of the road were a group of Obama-ed-out people. I’m talking t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, signs, and everything. Irving Carter, with an imprint of the Illinois Senator on his shirt said that he was dissapointed that he didn’t get tickets, but very pleased that Obama was taking time to visit the area.

On the way down to the sign-holders, I ran into Laurie Moran, president of the Danville-Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce. She was there as part of the Workforce Investment Initiative.

“I’m excited,” she said. ‘I think it’s important that all candidates have the opportunity to learn about issues in this area.”

3:27 p.m. Well after running around taking pictures and being shuttled between various racecar assembly rooms, I’m back at a computer, and like I said, sitting in Short Sugars waiting for the “unscheduled stop.” {Flash: Several Secret Service members have crowded into Short Sugar’s in Danville, awaiting arrival of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. We return you now to Sarah}

There was obviously a lot that happened that we didn’t get a chance to put on this blog-- I’ll try to do a quick rundown.

About half an hour before the event there were nearly a dozen people before the ticket-check point present to express their support for John McCain. Most of them were from Henry County and Martinsville. Signs ranged from “McCain : Ready to lead on day one” to a woman holding two signs, one that said Obama’s resume and another that was blank.

..They’re here. More later...

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Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign stops in Martinsville, Danville and Lynchburg brought the national spotlight on southern and southwestern Virginia. Here are a few excerpts showing how national journalists described our area.

The Associated Press had perhaps the most colorful description. Writing ahead of Obama’s talk in Martinsville, the AP described the city south of Lynchburg as “on the western edge of a region of south-central Virginia dotted by small factory and farm towns whose culture is distinctively Dixie. Sundays are all about church, Saturdays are for hunting and fishing, Fridays in the fall are for high school football, and Wal-Mart is the big retailer seven days a week.”

Apparently the number of people gathered at E.C. Glass High School made an impression on at least a couple of journalists. The Web-only Washington Independent described the gathering place as “a school gymnasium literally shaking from the rafters with a racially mixed crowd of 2,200” while the New York Times noted it was “a more raucous crowd” than the one in Martinsville.

A number of political stories emphasized Virginia’s traditional conservatism while noting its importance in this year’s election. Obama considers it, as the Los Angeles Times wrote, one of “three Southern states he hopes to color blue in November.” CNN said “Virginia has become a battleground state after years of being reliably Republican.” A McClatchy Newspapers story called it “a conservative stretch of this swing state that’s key to his election strategy.”

Finally, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell’s legacy is still well-known outside the Hill City. McClatchy’s story defined Lynchburg as “the hometown of the late televangelist Jerry Falwell and his Liberty University.”

3:25 p.m.: Bernard is on the official press bus, and I’m sitting here at Short Sugars on Riverside Drive where we’re pretty sure Obama will make his unscheduled stop. It would explain all the secret service agents, anyway.

12:55 p.m.: A.C. Richardson of Martinsville asked a question about what Obama thinks about veterans’ benefits and what he thinks about the United States having the highest incarceration rate of any industrialized nation, and that most of those are drug related.

Hs grandfather was a veteran and his grandmother worked on a bomber assembly line. Obama said he used to watch veterans in Chicago have to drive hours to get care and service.

“It offended me-- I believe if you serve your country, your country should serve you just as well.”

John McCain finally came around because he didn’t really have much of a choice, Obama said. McCain initially opposed Senator Jim Webb’s bill, saying the benefits outlined in it would encourage those serving in the military to leave because. Democrats have consistently been fighting for full funding for benefits services. Shouldn’t be a partisan issue, Obama said, “it should be an American issue.”

“Government cant’ do everything, Obama says about drug use and incarceration. “In the Afican American community it’s an epidemic,” Obama said, “Father’s not looking after their kids. You have fathers not spending time with their kids. Can’t blame George Bush for that.”

Mark Warner chimes in: “I don’t care how you feel about the war...we owe world class education to all these veterans who are returning.”

1. I completely agree about the critical role of parenting. “I’ve got three teenage daughters--pray for me, please”
2. Really difficult in Virginia to get those rights restored.
3. We’ve got ito invest inot those programs that are successful to reentry-- “this is being hard headed,” Warner said. “It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to get somebody to reneter into society and become a law-abiding citizen.”

--Sarah

12:18 p.m.:
Back from the photographer’s risers, which always have a lot of elbowing involved. Presidential candidates certainly have an entourage, so it’s not only other local photographer you have to fight against, but you’ve the got the New York Times and Fox News cameras to shoot around, too.

Mr. Obama’s going on now about how his economic plan will work, and how it’s going ot help bring jobs in Henry County and Martinsville.

“I’ll go boy girl boy girl,” he said when opened the floor to questions. Then he backtracked, “Wait, I’ll go girl boy - girl boy,” he and the crowd laughed. “I’m not stupid.”

Employee free choice act?-- I’m a strong supporter of it, says Obama. “says (people cheer) if you as aworker want to join a union than you can join a union, and organize a union.

“A little bit of sharing in the prosperity--that’s what a union is there for.”

Obama says we need to think about we set up our tax structure in how to bring jobs here. His plan, he says, will encourage innovation. He waved his hands and referened the empty warehouses and tobacco farms. These, he says under his administration would be building wind turbines and solar panels.

“Basic research, basic science-- I don’t know what kind of mileage these (racecars) get...” Obama trails off, the crowd laughs.

George Bush has been flatlining on funding for basic research. Got to create cars that get higher fuel efficiency standards, he said. And we want them manufactured here.

Debra Buccannan, a Henry County supervisor asked what Obama plans to do about immigration.

“Let’s remember that we’re a nation of immigrants,” said Obama “...and also a nation of laws.”

He said his mother’s side is Scotts and Irish--"ya’ll didn’t know it, but we may be cousins.” People laugh. And that his father came here from Kenya.

Number one: Protect our borders. Also, he says “we should crack down on employers..they’re giving a magnet.” to illegal immigrants. Fix the legal immigration system.

Pay a fine. learn English. Go to the back of the line. But if they do all those things, but over the course of let’s say 10 years, they can earn citizenship, Obama says.

-- Sarah

11:48 a.m.: Obama and Warner take stage to cheering crowds. Labor leader Brian McGee said he used to vote Republican - not anymore after losing his job. McGee wants candidates who will support policies that won’t hurt American workers.
McGee wants ending tax breaks for corporations that send jobs overseas.
We’re not a nation of whiners, McGee said, they want a level playing field.
Warner said he want to see the jobs sent overseas to come back to Southside.

11:14 a.m.: Barack Obama and Mark Warner about to go on stage. One national journalist asks, “Is this Martinsburg?”

10:38 a.m.: Local chamber director Laurie Moran showed up. There’s Tim Davis from the Star-Tribune. Chris Agee from WBTM is ready to go. Bright and hot TV lights were fired up as show is expected to get underway soon.

10:20 a.m.: We’re in. State police dogs have confirmed that we and the other reporters are not carrying suspicious equipment, and we’ve been through the metal dectors. (Bernard had to go through three times: He bumped it one time and forgot to empty his pockets the second.) While waiting we ran into five members from the Steel Worker’s union local 831, and we were happy to see some familiar Danville faces.

Byron Taylor, the chairman of the political education committee told me that he got a call last night from the president of USWA saying there were five tickets available for Danville. Taylor said he was surprised and very pleased and guaranteed he could find people to go.

Politicians spotted so far include: State senator Roscoe Reynolds, Martinsville mayor Kimbell Reynolds (no relation), 5th district Congressional candidate Tom Perriello and Henry County supervisor Jim Adams.

I was hoping to see some protestors, but because the Obama staffers are checking invitations, there aren’t any close by. I’m going to go down the road and see if I can’t find some.

Wednesday 9:35 a.m. : Sarah here. Bernard and I are sitting in a sliver of shade while looking at other, presumabley print, reporters try to figure out how to use their handheld camcorders. So far we’ve identified our colleagues as Star News, ABC 13, NBC 12 from Winston Salem and our own Media General cohorts WSLS channel 10.

The won’t give us press credentials yet, so we’re just watching the line get longer. And longer.

On the ride up, we thought it would be fun to play “I Spy Candidate Signs” Bernard pointed out that this has been “Goode Country” since the early 70s. And he knows these things. We counted four Goode signs, two McCain signs and one for Perriello. And one each for Kate Berger and Teresa Easley, running for Pittsylvania treasurer, but Bernard says the don’t count.

Oops, we just realized we picked the Will-Call table, which is proving to be confusing for people looking for their tickets.

Wednesday, 9:31 a.m. posting: “We’ll see...we’ll see” joked the Rev. John Tinsley, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Pittsylvania County. Tinsley’s been selected to deliver the opening prayer. Just minutes ago he jokingly deliclined to say, however, what he is going to pray for.

Wednesday, 9:15 a.m. posting:
People are lined up at the Arrington Manufacturing Center at Patrick Henry Community College. Democratic signs line one side of the street. Collinsville Printing boasts signs for John McCain and Virgil Goode. Stay tuned!!

What question should we ask Barack Obama Wednesday? Send your question via the Comment feature below.