The Valley Observer

Tuesday evening, thousands clamored into the Convocation Center at James Madison University for a chance to view Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Harrisonburg, one week before Election Day.

Although doors were scheduled to open at 3:15, thousands of students, area residents, and visiting Obama supporters spent the better part of the day camped out in lines that stretched as far as the eye could see.

“I have been 200 percent Obama since before the beginning, when he was still thinking about it,” said JMU assistant professor Kia Johnson, who was excited when she learned that the senator would be visiting the Valley.

Initial estimates place the total attendance at the Convocation Center and alternate viewing locations around campus in excess of 20,000. The Convocation Center quickly reached its capacity of nearly 8,000.

When Governor Tim Kaine and Senate hopeful Mark Warner took the stage to introduce Obama shortly before 5 p.m., the audience was told that Virginia has not gone to a Democratic vote since 1964.

Still, elsewhere on campus, the JMU College Republicans came out to protest.

For nearly 40 minutes, the senator from Illinois spoke in general terms of his plans for the future and the importance of voting in this election.

“I can understand why you might want to vote for the Duke Dog,” Obama said of the JMU mascot, “but he is not on the ballot. So, you might try Barack Obama, instead.”

He began speaking about the economy by claiming his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, was afraid to do so.

Stressing his campaign’s stance on tax cuts, he said that 95 percent of Americans would receive cuts – a frequent talking point throughout his campaign. The tax rate for those who make over $250,000 would return to a rate from the 1990s, he said.

Obama refuted claims that his policies were “socialism,” as he said McCain believes.

He did, however, praise McCain on his military distinction and stance on torture.

Obama said that through investments in renewable energy and improvement of the nation’s infrastructure and educational system, millions of jobs could be created.

Using the concept of an “October surprise,” a late-breaking story that emerges near the end of a campaign, Obama referenced a statement by McCain advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin.

“This morning,” Obama said, “we were offered a stunning bit of straight talk – an October surprise – from his top economic advisor, who actually said that the health insurance people currently get from their employer is – and I quote – ‘way better’ than the health care they’d be getting if John McCain were President.”

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds has since said the statement was taken out of context.

Yet the talking point that possibly received the greatest response from the largely student audience was a promise of affordable education.

Spotswood High School student Hannah Facknitz of Harrisonburg, 17, said she was moved to tears when he said his administration would reward service such as involvement in the Peace Corps by aiding in educational expenses.

“I want to do Peace Corps work,” she said. “That’s such a huge thing for me because I’m a senior in high school and I’m trying to pay for college.”

Following Obama’s appearance in Harrisonburg, he boarded a plane for Norfolk, where he is scheduled to speak at 9:30 this evening.

According to Obama, the last Democratic presidential candidate to visit Harrisonburg was Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln’s opponent, in 1860.

“He gives our country hope,” said Johnson. “He gives us hope and hope, plus knowledge, to me, would be change.”

To view a slideshow, click here.