7:55 Obama says he opposed the war at the start, said he would not begin his career as a US Senator by backing down on what he believes in. [But he got into office and started voting repeatedly to fund the war he supposedly opposed!???]
7:56 We need righteous anger and impatience over health insurance. His mother died of cancer and had bad insurance coverage because she'd just gotten a new job. [THEN WHY WOULD YOU KEEP THE INSURANCE COMPANIES AROUND??] We're going to get every single American coverage by working with insurance companies to do the right thing. [YOU GONNA DO THAT WITH SHARKS AND RAPISTS TOO?]
7:58 I don't accept that we can't provide a world class education to every child. We should invest in early childhood education. Pay teachers more money. Make college affordable. Get the bank middlemen out. Increase the minimum wage every year. Give unions power. Invest in infrastructure in America instead of spending money in Iraq. End corporate tax loopholes and overseas tax havens. [YES, GOOD. AND HUGE APPLAUSE.]
8:01 Increase fuel efficiency standards to 40 mpg. [THANK YOU FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC!!!]
8:02 We need to bring an end to this war. If the troops are not home when I'm sworn in, I will start bringing them home. [I shouted "Filibuster it!" He made no mention of that power. He made no mention of his refusal to commit to ending the occupation by 2013.]
8:05 [NOW THE TOUGH TALK…] We will go after al Qaeda militarily and go after those who could kill us, we are going to lock down these nuclear weapons. [WHOSE?? Iran's mythical nukes?] But we also are going to help nations address AIDS, bring an end to the genocide in Darfur, close Guantanamo, restore Habeas Corpus, not ship people out in the middle of night and lock them up, that is not who we are. [GOOD.]
8:08 One of the first things I will do. I will call in my AG and go through every executive order by Bush and reverse those that encroach on civil liberties. [Why not name a few now? Torture? Spying? Martial law?]
8:09 The volunteers are still standing there behind him.
8:10 Obama urges everyone to vote for Dems next week in Virginia and volunteer for his campaign and go to Iowa and sign up students. Good rally-the-people talk.
8:12 People are smiling and cheering. He's now recounting a trip to Greenwood, South Carolina. The moral of the story is that a few people in a small town can get energized and motivate a movement, or at least an electoral campaign. HUGE APPLAUSE.
8:18 music back on. Dave Matthews tune. Then Aretha Franklin: You Better THINK!
By tomorrow at the latest, the full audio of the event will be posted at http://www.cvillepodcast.com/
And there will be photos from George Loper at htttp://www.george.loper.org
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