Thousands gathering for Obama’s final rally
(AP Photo/Eric Jamison)
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., arrives at a rally in Henderson, Nev., on Saturday.
Thousands are gathering at the Prince William Fairgrounds in Manassas for presidential candidate Barack Obama’s final rally.
The event is set to begin at 9 p.m. Obama learned this morning that his grandmother, who he credited with shaping the man he became, had died. But campaign officials said he planned to continue his appearance. Organizers expect nearly 40,000 people to attend.
The presidential nominee is expected to talk about the economy, health care and providing tax relief for Virginia residents, campaign spokesman Bobby Whithorne said.
This is Obama’s 11th trip to the commonwealth since the end of the primary season in May.
The Illinois senator spoke to about 7,000 who packed the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow on June 5, after he became the Democratic presidential nominee.
There, he was joined by Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Sen. James Webb as he thanked his principal rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, for making him a better campaigner.
Staff writer Uriah Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
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Don’t worry about it Valerie. You’ll have at least four years to figure Barrack Obama out. 
What Barrack Obama lacks in senatorial experience, he has already proven he makes up for with good judgement, intelligence and calm, rational decision making.
If you want to vote for four more years of tired, Republican rule a la George W. Bush, knock yourself out. Its not going to make a difference. McCain is toast.
McCain would know about about the trouble Fannie and Freddie were headed towards. He was a part of the Savings and Loan scandal back in the 80s.
Obama’s campaign can’t be figured out because it doesn’t add up. You cannot fund numerous new social programs, like health insurance for all, and increase funding for existing programs AND lower taxes (he even says he will refund taxes to nearly everyone—even to those who do not make enough to pay taxes—how do you “refund” someone who did not contribute?) THE MATH DOESN’T ADD UP. Taxes will go up. Universal Health Care will fail. It just failed in the one place it existed—Hawaii, isn’t that where Obama grew up?
People want to make history by electing Obama. Great, but shouldn’t we wait until he has gained some real experience and can show some accomplishments from his work as a US Senator? In his short time as a US Senator what has he accomplished? He has spent the last 20+ months campaigning. That is a long time for so one who hasn’t held the position very long. What has he really accomplished? (No, getting the nomination doesn’t count as an accomplishment. Getting more people to register to vote doesn’t count either). What has he done for the Country other than making inspiring speeches?
McCain isn’t my first choice as a candidate, but between these two I can see where McCain has served as a Senator for a long time and sponsored and co-sponsored many worthy bills. McCain even co-sponsored a bill in 2005 to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because he could see trouble coming, but the Dem’s (led by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd) shot it down insisting Fannie and Freddie were fine and there was no problem looming. Who was right?
The “Change” Obama speaks of started two years ago when the Democrats won so many House and Senate seats. In the last two years, since the dem’s took over the majority of seats, has the Country’s situation gotten better or worse? The answer is WORSE, much worse. The approval rating for Congress is even worse than Bush’s rating. Seriously.
Before you vote people, think, really think! Don’t vote for a persona, vote for someone who has shown leadership in govenment and even put his life on the line for his Country.
In four years Obama will have the experience to go with the speeches and may have proven himself to be a leader on the house floor, but right now all we have are speeches and promises and no record on which to judge.
This election is so close, and nearly over. Yet after 20 months of campaigning, I still can’t figure Senator Obama out. Did you ever put a puzzle together and the pieces don’t seem to fit? You squeeze them and jamb them together, no matter how you try they just do not fit. Barack Obama is like that kind of puzzle his words don’t match the pieces to the puzzle. A friend forwarded a youtube video to me that nicely sums this up, to view it click on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4PF_QMBvMs
That is smarter than having it at Manassas Park. Signal Hill Park only has about 250 parking spaces and I don’t think having the rally on school property is appropriate or safe (who wants an estimated 40,000 people on school property at night?). I still wonder how even the fair grounds can handle this kind of traffic and parking. Dumfries Road is very small.
I will be so glad when the campaigning is done. That said, I hope the most qualified candidate, the one who has proven he will go above and beyond for his country, will win.
He needs to talk about how he will help PWC out with building a better transportation network….
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