Barack Obama's Got Game in North Carolina

[bigtree]

Sen. Barack Obama waits backstage before speaking at a rally in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, April 28



CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — For all his basketball skills, Barack Obama was out of his league.

The Democratic presidential candidate played hoops with the University of North Carolina team on Tuesday, a Final Four squad that cut the 46-year-old some slack.

"These guys move very fast," puffed Obama, as he raced up and down the court with the much younger and much bigger college players, many of whom dwarfed the 6-foot-2 Obama.

At one point, Obama slipped past Hansbrough for a layup, which rimmed out. Ever the realist, Obama recognized what had happened.






University of North Carolina's Jack Wooten, right, pressures Barack Obama during a basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tuesday, April 29




"Hansbrough went easy on me," Obama said. "I thought I had it."

"Let me tell you, these guys are big and fast," said Obama, catching his breath on the sidelines. In his March NCAA tournament picks, Obama selected North Carolina, but the Tar Heels lost to eventual champion Kansas in the semifinals.

Though the players, who were relishing banging on each other, gave Obama his shots, he was unable to score. At one point he dished off a nifty, behind the back pass that nearly set up an assist.

Neither side kept score.









WILSON – With his jacket off and his shirt sleeves rolled up, Barack Obama asked a crowd of about 1,500 somewhat-soggy Eastern North Carolinians on Monday to believe in the potential of the middle class – and then to vote for him on May 6.

Obama briefly outlined his plan to help put people back to work by investing $60 billion throughout the nation on improving infrastructure. The idea is to put millions to work expanding and fixing roads, bridges, waterlines, sewers and high-speed Internet cables.

"People will tell you we can't do it," Obama said. "But if we're spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can invest money here in Wilson putting people back to work."

"Let me explain to you that the gas tax is what pays for our Highway Trust Fund to rebuild our roads and our bridges," Obama said. "If we don't have that money then roads and bridges won't be repaired, which means folks in North Carolina won't be working this summer. On top of that, do you know how much you would save a year, on average, with John McCain's plan? Twenty-five dollars. Maybe $30. This is typical of what Washington does. Instead of solving the problem, you offer a gimmick."

Instead of a tax holiday, Obama pledged to push a middle class tax break to help families offset the rising costs of gas and other necessities.

"In such circumstance we cannot afford to wait," Obama said, people in the crowd beginning to rise to their feet. "We can't wait to fix our schools. We can't wait to fix out health care systems. We cannot wait to bring back good jobs and good wages. We can't wait to rebuild our infrastructure. We can't wait to develop a solid energy policy. We can't wait to bring the war in Iraq to a close. We cannot wait, and that is why I decided to run for president of the United States of America."

"We have a lot of challenges ahead of us, Wilson," Obama said. "But if you work with me, if you volunteer with me, if you march with me and if you vote for me, we can do this."




Sen. Barack Obama speaks during a town hall-style meeting in Wilson, N.C., Monday, April 28



Obama's appearance in Wilson was delayed by more than 40 minutes by bad weather, but he did not act rushed once he arrived.

In fact, he spoke for more than an hour -- the first 40 minutes being a speech that hit on many of the same themes as his April 17 appearance at East Carolina University, then he spent 30 minutes answering questions about health care, education, Israel-Palestine relations and Chinese goods, among other subjects.

He cited two specific examples from Wilson's recent past as he talked about how U.S. communities have been hurt by free trade policies.

"When Wrangler shuttered its 40-year-old plant here in Wilson, moved its operation to Central America a couple of years ago, local workers -- many of whom had worked at the plant for decades -- found themselves without work, without health care and without pensions," he said. "The three years leading up to that closure, a thousand workers were let go from their jobs in a series of painful layoffs."

He also noted the closure of the Leiner Health Products plant In January, which cost 176 workers their jobs.

Layoffs don't just affect workers, Obama said. "Suddenly restaurants don't have customers. Day-care centers have to close because folks are out of work. ... When those things start shutting down, kids start moving away because they feel they have no opportunities."









CHAPEL HILL - The Dean Dome rocked Monday night as people danced in the aisles, did the "wave" and jumped for joy at a Barack Obama presidential rally.

A crowd estimated at between 17,000 and 18,000 by police and Obama staff members, caught one of Obama's largest indoor rallies and cheered loudly and repeatedly throughout his speech in which he said the reason he decided to run so early in his career is because he couldn't wait.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Obama said, called it the fierce urgency of now.

"I believe there's such a thing as being too late, and that hour, North Carolina, is almost upon us. We are at a defining moment in our history," he said.







"My story, Michelle's story, is not possible anywhere else on earth," Obama said. "The American dream has always been there; that each of us can grab for that dream, grab for what others might not think is possible."

Obama said he wants to change the way things are done in Washington and it isn't enough to just change the party that is running things there now. "It's not enough to hire somebody who knows how to play the game better," Obama said. "I think you should hire somebody who's going to put an end to the game playing."







Speaking after 10:30 p.m. to a crowd that skewed young and screamed loudly enough to be heard up the street, Obama ended a day of campaigning in the Dean Smith Center. There, he said that he would bring troops home from Iraq, that he would unify the country, that he would fight special interests and, as much as anything, that he believes in hope and the American dream.

"This campaign is about you," he said. "And when we remember that, that's when government works."

Obama's image was broadcast over four giant screens above the crowd, which the campaign said numbered about 18,000.







"It is time for us to write a new chapter in American history," Obama said. "That's why you're here tonight.

"We can't afford four more years of George Bush economic policies under the guise of John McCain," Obama said.

"They say, we don't know enough about him," Obama said. "He doesn't always wear a flag pin. His pastor once said something. He's got a funny name. Sounds Muslim.

"You want to know my values?" he asked. "Well, let me tell you about my family."

He talked of his Kansas upbringing and of how his wife, Michelle, grew up on the south side of Chicago. "We're always willing to make America better," he said. "That's why I love this country. That's why you love this country."

[livetohike]

1. You are the best bigtree

:hi: and Thanks!

[bigtree]

2. .

:hi:

[bigtree]

3. kick

:kick: out of the gutter

[bigtree]

4. .

[bigtree]

5. .

[onenote]

6. k/r

[bigtree]

7. pull us out of the swamp, onenote

:kick:

[onenote]

8. I have to believe we'll get there eventually. But its going to take some time for some healing

In a perfect world, Democrats would recognize that (i) there is no perfect world and (ii) either of our candidates are miles better than McCain and whomever McCain picks as a running mate. And that only if we stop pissing on each other and try to pull together can we end up in a better place -- not a perfect place, because no such place is reachable -- than we are today and have been for the past 8 years.

In time, I hope. In time.

[bigtree]

9. kick

:kick:

[TheDoorbellRang]

10. Thanks so much, bigtree

As always, a shining beacon to show us what GD-P COULD be, if more people participated like you do. :thumbsup:

[TragedyandHope]

11. Thanks for the news and great pics!