From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
Sen. Barack Obama told a small crowd of supporters here Sunday that he offers real solutions to the nation's economic woes while his opponent is pushing the same tired agenda of President Bush. Obama, D-Ill, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said Sen. John McCain is trying to make the campaign about Obama and his experience because the Arizona Republican's own record is one of supporting Bush's failed economic and foreign policies. "No wonder they want to make the election about me," he said. "They don't want to be talking about their record because they can't defend it. So don't get fooled by Paris, Britney and nasty e-mails folks are sending out. This election is about you. It's about us..." Obama made his comments to about 250 invited supporters at Wooster High School. The day before, he and McCain appeared at a faith forum at a California megachurch, where they briefly hugged. Sunday's visit was Obama's first to Nevada since a trip to North Las Vegas in late May, before he locked in the Democratic nomination for president... Earlier in the day, he met with Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens to discuss strategies for developing alternative energy. Pickens has criticized the country's dependence on oil and is pushing the development of alternative energies... Obama highlighted the differences between his and McCain's positions on taxes and the development of alternative energy. Obama said his tax plan provides breaks to 95 percent of Americans, while McCain's plan would give breaks to the wealthy and to corporations. "He's giving $300 billion tax breaks to corporations including oil companies like Exxon Mobil that have made record profits every quarter for the past three quarters," he said. "John McCain and I both have a tax plan, but I benefit the middle class and working families and he is benefiting the same corporations that have been making out like bandits under the Bush administration." Obama also said he wants to commit $15 billion a year to developing new sources of energy. This would reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and create "5 million new green jobs" that could not be outsourced to other counties. "We've got a lot of sun here in Nevada," Obama said. "And we can use that to generate energy and free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. "Here in Nevada, we should have solar panels all throughout the state, everywhere," he said, his remarks heralding today's energy summit in Las Vegas organized by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
From the Reno Gazette-Journal:
When Marysa Falk received a phone call asking if she would carry U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's luggage to the airport Sunday, she happily dropped everything to volunteer for the job. She called it an honor. And, she got to attend the Democratic candidate's invitation-only speech Sunday morning at Wooster High School. "It's nice to see everyone wearing Obama shirts, pins and bracelets," said Falk, president of Students for Obama at the University of Nevada, Reno. About 250 volunteers, union representatives and others affiliated with the campaign attended Obama's speech with Falk. They mostly agreed: They liked what they heard. Roieann Croxen, 67, a Sparks mother and grandmother, said she switched from supporting U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton to support Obama. A recent bout of illness caused Croxen to lose her home, her job and her savings. Obama, she said, is her best hope for national health care reform. "I honestly believe that (Obama) is going to make the change," she said. Banmali Rawap, a 61-year-old University of Nevada, Reno professor, said he was impressed with Obama's speech. His daughter is a delegate for Obama in Las Vegas. "(His speech) was down to earth, in the way he talks to people and understands their problems," Rawap said. "His economic solution will work, and it's practical..." Christian Fitts, a 13-year-old volunteer for Obama's campaign, said he appreciated Obama's energy plans to implement greater use of wind and solar energy. "I thought he was a really good speaker in person," Fitts said. "He touched on the economy the most." Reggie Brantley, 54, of Sparks said he felt Obama demonstrated he understood the crowd's concerns while answering the crowd's questions. "He addressed the issues and he made it plain that our interests are his interests," Brantley said. "To me, he's not a celebrity, he's a man of substance."
From the Washington Post:
The folks in this picturesque mountain community with red barns and Amish buggies have been voting overwhelmingly Republican in national elections for decades. But tough economic times in Mifflin County and in rural areas all around the country have created possible openings for Democrat Barack Obama. President Bush won nearly 70 percent of the county's vote in both 2000 and 2004, but the standard of living here has declined steadily during his administration. The farm equipment factory that employed 500 workers here is closing. So is the milk plant. Farmers are facing skyrocketing feed and fertilizer costs, and gas prices are squeezing household budgets of those who now have to drive elsewhere for work. Nationally, Bush won almost 60 percent of the rural vote, but Republican John McCain doesn't appear to be doing as well... Recognizing an opportunity, Obama has opened more offices in rural areas than any other Democratic presidential candidate in years, pushing a message focused on job creation. Neighborhood campaign teams have been going door to door talking about Obama and his economic policies. In Ohio, his campaign recently announced a "Barns for Obama" effort, in which farmers are encouraged to paint their barn with Obama's logo... Republican Barbara Dettloff, 72, a retired bartender from Racine, Ohio, an Appalachian river town with about 750 people, voted for Bush in 2004 and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in this year's Republican primary. She's voting for Obama in November because "I think he's nice and I think he's sincere in what he says."
From the Hamilton Spectator:
A vibrantly attired Uncle Sam and his companion, Lady Liberty, led a parade of about 40 Barack Obama supporters in Hamilton on the weekend. The group gathered for a voter registration rally Saturday, before marching to the York Boulevard bridge to represent how they say the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee can "bridge" all people of all ages, races and political stripes. "There is an amount of optimism that we've never seen before," said Kenneth Sherman, the chair of the Hamilton chapter of Democrats Abroad, and the vice-chair of the national organization in Canada. Sherman says Democrats Abroad has seen a "tremendous increase" in membership during the leadup to the United States' November election. Estimates peg the number of eligible U.S. voters living north of the border at about 600,000. "Americans living abroad see the U.S. through a different lens," said Sherman. For Mark Oreskovich, an American citizen from Brantford who has been living in Canada for more than 40 years, watching from a distance as his home country fights a war in Iraq spurred him to register to vote. Oreskovich, who is originally from Obama's home state of Illinois, said he has never voted in an American election, but he intends to vote for Obama this November.
From WLNS-TV:
With the presidential election just 78 days away, one candidate is setting up shop in mid-Michigan. Senator Barack Obama's campaign staff opened an office in Lansing. There's a lot of talk about Michigan's role as a battleground state in this election, and now that battle is taking to the streets of mid-Michigan. Several hundred people turned out to officially launch this phase of presumptive democratic candidate Barack Obama's campaign. The event drew prominent democrats, volunteers and Obama supporters from across the area. Organizers say the local campaign office will allow them to recruit and manage volunteers. They say they now plan to put the campaign in high gear, canvassing the area, registering voters and doing whatever it takes to spread their message.
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