Barack Obama Comes To Southeastern Ohio

While I was deeply disappointed in the Obama’s campaign’s decision to once again only hold closed door events in Southeastern Ohio, I bit my tongue and headed up to Dillonvale this afternoon.

The event sounded like more of a photo-op than anything else, just a brief speech at a family Bar-B-Q. But it still ended up being interesting.

The first thing that struck me was how far off the beaten path this event was. I live out in the middle of nowhere, but this place gave me a run the money. The remote location definitely seemed to go over well with the crowd though. Like me, they seemed impressed by Obama’s decision to head away from the large towns that make up the typical campaign route here in Southeast Ohio.

This was a Bar-B-Q, and there was a large buffet (that the press wasn’t allowed near). Most of the time I was there, people were eating. The actual speaking portion of the event was relatively brief in comparison. A local veteran started things off by introducing Obama, who then immediately offered the microphone to Congressman Charlie Wilson.

It was good to hear Wilson speak up in support of Obama, and it sounds like Wilson spent yesterday on the road stumping for Obama with Gov. Strickland.

Finally Obama took the stage (er… hill) and launched into his current stump speech. While the GOP may attack Obama as a “celebrity”, but I for one can’t wait to have a president that doesn’t butcher the English language every time he opens his mouth.

I’ve had the opportunity to see Obama speak live before, but it doesn’t get old the second time around. I’ve seen people that know how to get a crowd fired up before, but few can hold up to Obama. It really drove home the need for public campaign stops down here.

Obama did add a new line to his stump speech that went over well:

"John McCain –- the guy who helped write his health care policy -- was interviewed in the Dallas Morning News the other day, and he said, ‘I’ve got a plan to get rid of all the uninsured. He said, ‘if they can go to an emergency room, then they are not uninsured and you should stop calling them uninsured.’

Pretty much sums up the way the Republican Party has been dealing with the middle class, doesn’t it?

And finally, on my way out I think I saw a familiar face in the VIP area that was roped off…

Looks like Richard Cordray to me, what do you think?