Today was an exciting day in our area, as President Obama made the scene in Elkhart, Indiana!Elkhart is a little east of us, as you can see on the map below. (The red X is approximately where Nutwood is.) Air Force One landed at South Bend Regional Airport and the motorcade made its way over to Elkhart. (Cousin Shane flew back from New York today--I just heard from him, and although he didn't experience any delays, he said that some things were changed a bit to accommodate the President's visit.) As I recently mentioned, Elkhart County is hurting in a bad way, with 15.3% unemployment. The President was introduced by an out-of-work Elkhart resident, an RV worker, who is worried what he'll do when his unemployment benefits run out. President Obama spoke for about 20 minutes, then took questions from the audience in a town hall-style format for 35-40 minutes, followed by lots of handshaking on his way out.
He was accompanied on this trip by several Indiana and Michigan politicians, including Senator Evan Bayh, Congressman Joe Donnelly (our congressman), and Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan. A surprising absence was Senator Richard Lugar, who was apparently invited on the trip but declined. Senator Lugar worked closely with then-Senator Obama on some things, and there has always seemed to be a mutual respect there, so I'm puzzled by his absence. Dan wondered if he was being pressured by the GOP. If so, that's a cryin' shame, because Sen. Lugar has always been a great legislator and an asset to Hoosiers. I'll be writing to Sen. Lugar in a moment and urging him to support the President on this.
Oddly enough, the President mentioned something in his speech that I just wrote about: while it's easy to talk numbers, 15% unemployment, 50,000 more jobs lost, etc., we have to remember that there's a person behind every number. That was my philosophy when working in the lab...never forget that those numbers are real people. I think it applies here, too, and I thought it was pretty cool to hear him say that.
I thought he did a great job, and was very well-received. The calls were not prescreened, so he was going in blind, and had to answer a question about some of his Cabinet selections and their tax problems. The crowd kind of started booing her, but the President was like, "It's all right, it's all right...it's a legitimate question," and went on to reiterate that he made a mistake, and that he is committed to changing the culture of Washington. The woman also inexplicably made the comment that she thinks he should "have a beer with Sean Hannity." What kind of bonehead comment was that? He handled it well...said he didn't know Mr. Hannity had requested to have a beer with him...that Mr. Hannity has made no bones about not being a big fan of his...but he's always good for a beer.I just enjoyed the hell out of watching this today. It took me back to the heady days of the primaries, and then the Presidential campaign. He's so damn good at this. I thought one of the most powerful things he said was that hey, people in Elkhart want to work--nobody's asking for a handout! He got a big cheer for that one, and he's right. Not just in Elkhart, but across the country. Have you seen the pictures of the lines in Atlanta and Chicago for job calls? People want to work. We need to do something to provide job opportunities for them, whether through job creation, job training, or education. That's why I support this, and why I think it needs to pass.
Off to write my Senator! And no matter how you feel about this or any other issue, I encourage you to write your Senator or Congressman. You might be surprised at how responsive they are, and I've been fortunate in that I've always gotten thoughtful responses to my letters. We have the power and right to be engaged in our legislative process, and I also believe it's a responsibility that we shouldn't take for granted. Happy politicking, y'all! And don't forget to watch the President's address tonight.
