Obama, Webb to speak at E.C. Glass town hall meeting
By Ray Reed on Aug. 20, 2008
Barack Obama will bring his presidential campaign for change to Lynchburg in a town hall meeting Aug. 20 at E.C. Glass High School, his Virginia staffers said Monday.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., will join Obama for the event inside the school’s 2,000-capacity gymnasium.
It will be the first appearance by a presumed presidential nominee in Lynchburg since Ronald Reagan in 1980.
John McCain, Obama’s opponent in the presidential race, delivered the commencement address at Liberty University in 2006 when the Republican was in between presidential campaigns.
The Democratic candidate’s Lynchburg headquarters started notifying supporters as soon as the meeting’s plans became definite Monday afternoon, and about 30 people had lined up for tickets at 5 p.m. at the Main Street headquarters.
All the available tickets were given out Monday.
“I got a call,” a smiling Lisa Waller said in describing how she and her friend Anitra Turner managed to be at the front of the line.
Another early arrival, Chris Cohen of Lynchburg, said the prospect of seeing Obama was “pretty exciting.”
“Lynchburg is off the beaten path, and I’m interested in seeing why he’s interested in us,” Cohen said.
Lynchburg City Councilman Mike Gillette said the Hill City could play a key role in Obama’s drive to win Virginia’s electoral votes for a Democrat, which hasn’t happened since 1964.
“Virginia has changed,” Gillette said.
“Obama knows he is going to do well in Northern Virginia and Richmond, and probably in Charlottesville and on the shore,” Gillette said.
“But he probably knows he is not going to do as well deep in Southwest Virginia, and that means our region really is a battleground. He needs to pull votes in our area in Central Virginia to put Virginia in his column,” Gillette said.
Doors to the high school gym will open at 4:30 p.m. and the program is scheduled to begin at 6:35.
Obama is expected to talk about the nation’s economy, his plans for a $1,000 tax cut for middle class families, a goal of 5 million new jobs in renewable energy and a college tuition tax credit.
Lynchburg was a fairly significant stop on Reagan’s campaign schedule in October 1980, when an almost iconic photo of him shaking hands with Jerry Falwell appeared on front pages around the country.
That was the year that Moral Majority, promoted by Falwell, was emerging as a national political force. Spokesmen with Moral Majority said they registered millions of new voters nationwide.
Several Republican candidates around the country ousted Democratic incumbents that fall with the support of voters who made family values their cause.
Reagan’s campaign and Obama’s share the registration theme.
Voter registrars in Lynchburg and statewide say the rate of new-voter signups has exceeded the pace of 2004.
Obama and the Democratic Party have opened field offices in small cities, including Lynchburg and Bedford, that haven’t experienced an active presidential campaign in decades.
COMMENTS
I’d like to have an Obama/Biden bumper sticker and yard sign. Where can I get them? I am very limited in walking.
I would also be interested in helping with phone banks etc. where walking distances or standing is not required.