Having just returned from New Orleans and feeling even more mobilized to get a pulse on how people think on the issues and the upcoming election, today's tabling for Obama just felt great to be part of.
It was hotter than usual, but that didn't stop the large crowds from showing up and having a great time. It was busy for us at the table with many buttons and bumper stickers given way to where we were down to Avery labels and some Obama magnets. People would ask for a bumpersticker long after we ran out and were happy enough to wear an Obama sticker on their shirt to show off while they would then venture off.
Most people were very kind and came to the table to talk politics or sign up for emails. There were a couple of people that were interested and had some questions.
One man came up and asked what Obama was going to do about poverty in the ghettos. He wanted to know about how an Obama administration would address problems in the inner cities. I talked to him about how universal healthcare would include making sure that children are covered as well as other issues covered in a printed version of this page
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/fightingpoverty/He seemed to accept the ideas after some explation took place.
Another person seemed to think that Obama wanted to strike Iran with nuclear weapons. I asked him where he heard that. He thought he heard it on Democracy Now. I couldn't imagine Amy Goodman saying that Obama would even think that. I mentioned that Obama has said that "no option is off the table", yet would only use diplomacy and other tools to end any events that could happen. More accurately, Obama has been qouted:
'Obama was particularly explicit on the sanctions point. He called for "Tough-minded diplomacy
would include real leverage through stronger sanctions... would mean harnessing the collective power of our friends in Europe who are Iran's major trading partners."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173115959138&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
All in all, it was a wonderful day to participate as well as was a time to enjoy people's enthusiasm in Obama's candidacy.