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Obama: 'Attack the challenges'
Obama holds rally in Richmond
Date published: 10/23/2008
RICHMOND --With 13 days left before Election Day, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama returned to battleground-state Virginia, telling a crowd of 13,000 in Richmond's Coliseum that people want real economic change, not negative campaigning."John McCain's doing his best to change the subject. He's been on the attack. That's what you do when you're out of ideas, you're out of touch and you're running out of time," Obama said. "You don't want to hear about politicians attacking each other. You want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing us." Obama, whom polls yesterday showed to be just a few points ahead of Republican John McCain in Virginia, is trying to win the long-time red state, which hasn't gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. "It is good to be back in Richmond. It's good to be back in Virginia," he told the cheering crowd, who had waited in line for hours to get in. Some 7,000 were left outside; Obama went out to talk to them briefly before his speech. He urged the crowd to help with the final days of the campaign, to make phone calls and knock on doors and work to get voters to the polls. Obama criticized the "slash and burn" politics of negative ads and divisive campaigning that he said are contrary to a unity needed during a crisis such as the economic problems the country is facing. "There are no real parts of the country and fake parts of the country," Obama said, referencing a McCain aide's comment this week on "real Virginia" being different from Northern Virginia. "There are no pro-America parts of the country and anti-American parts of the country. We're all together." He told the crowd that change "won't come easy. It won't come quick. Bush has dug a deep hole." Obama said change will also take sacrifice and more effort on the part of Americans. "I will put more money in education. But I can't be a parent and turn off that TV set and make sure your kids do their homework," he said. Much of Obama's speech focused on the economy; he said while the bailout of financial institutions was necessary, what is really needed to improve the economy is a similar package for working people. "We need an immediate rescue plan for the middle class," Obama said.
Date published: 10/23/2008
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