Obama - here - Now with PHOTOS !

I am going Sunday to Asheville HS to listen to Obama speak !

He is staying in Asheville this weekend to prepare for the debate in TN next week.

Obama to hold rally in Asheville on Sunday


ASHEVILLE – Sen. Barack Obama will take a break from debate rehearsal Sunday to make his first Western North Carolina public appearance with a rally at Asheville High School.

The 2 p.m. Memorial Stadium rally will be the first appearance in the region by a candidate on either national ticket since the May 6 primary.


The event is free to the public, but the Democratic nominee’s campaign encouraged those planning to attend to register online http://my.barackobama.com...asheville.

Obama plans to be in Asheville Sunday and Monday to practice for his second debate with Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, set for Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn.

The campaign isn’t telling where Obama will stay in the Asheville area, seeking seclusion to practice for the debate.

Nor would it reveal Thursday whether people might see him flying into Asheville, or if he would attend the Democrats’ Vance-Aycock dinner Saturday night.

A state Democratic Party spokeswoman declined to say if the party has invited Obama to the dinner at the Grove Park Inn.

Fundraising

Obama will make his first local appeal for votes this weekend, but he’s already had success in winning money from the region.

More than $188,000 from WNC went to Obama’s campaign between his primary win and August. Residents have been more generous to him than to McCain, who took in $122,000 in the same period.

Gifts to both candidates have come in all sizes. Donor Bakki Kudva thinks it’s telling that Obama has taken in many small contributions, like the $235 from Kudva in August.

“I think he stands for just the ordinary folks that are really underrepresented in politics these days,” said Kudva, the owner of an Asheville software business.

Since Obama began seeking the presidency, he’s received more than $393,000 from WNC donors.

McCain’s total stands just above $167,000. The gap is so wide partly because Obama’s marathon with Sen. Hillary Clinton included a North Carolina push, while McCain had clinched the GOP nomination long before.

But Democrats can also count on some strong activists in WNC and active party organizations in some of its counties, said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at Western Carolina University.

Contributions and votes

Dollars given don’t necessarily translate into votes cast. WNC could be one of the toughest parts of the state for Obama to win.

“I still think this is an area where people vote, like all over the country, based on policy, and it is a more conservative area,” Knotts said, “… and McCain is the more conservative candidate.”

African-American voters, part of what’s making Obama competitive in North Carolina, number fewer in the mountains than in other regions.

The area has consistently voted Republican for president — but then, so has the state, and statewide polls now show Obama and McCain neck and neck.

Statewide, Obama has also out-raised his rival over the primary and general elections by a more than 2-1 margin, $4.6 million to $2.1 million.

Knotts said Democrats, as the party out of power, stand to benefit electorally from economic problems in the country. The crisis on Wall Street has brought Washington to the brink of a $700 billion bailout.

Donors

Jim Stike said the focus on pocketbook issues should only help McCain among businessmen like himself. Stike, the owner of Materials Innovation Technology, which is developing automobile and defense technologies, gave McCain $500 in August.

“As a small business owner, it scares me to death to hear what tax increases may be coming down the pike if Obama’s elected,” he said.

Stike, 55, pointed to Obama’s suggestion to raise the income cap on Social Security taxes — which he said would require his business to pay more in matching payroll taxes — and also predicted mandates to provide more health coverage.

Kudva, 60, contributed to Obama in part because of his hope Obama would restore the country’s tarnished reputation. That’s the message he gets from talking to people in his former home, India.

“I have a view of how this country’s perceived from the outside, and I also see how those people on the outside think of him,” Kudva said, “and I do think he could restore the prestige.”

How exciting! By just being there, you'll be a part of history!

Madartista went to the closing speech of the DNC.

DiminutiveRocker said:

How exciting! By just being there, you'll be a part of history!

Madartista went to the closing speech of the DNC.

For a second I thought by the title of the thread that Obama just joined the org. I have missed him when he has come to speak here. I am jealous. Have a great time.

I am still here.

Obama to Speak at Asheville High School




The Asheville Citizen-Times is reporting “Sen. Barack Obama will appear at a rally at Asheville High School on Sunday, his campaign said.

Obama will make his first Western North Carolina appearance at Memorial Stadium at about 2 p.m., taking time out from preparation at an undisclosed location in Asheville for his second debate with Sen. John McCain.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but the campaign requests RSVPs at www.barackobama.com…”




Change We Need Rally
with Barack Obama


This Sunday, October 5th, please join Barack Obama in Asheville, where he will talk about his vision for creating the kind of change we need.

Change We Need Rally
with Barack Obama



Asheville High School
Memorial Stadium
419 McDowell St.
Asheville, NC

Public Entrance: AHS Memorial Stadium SW Gate
(located off of the A-B Tech Azalea parking lot)

Sunday, October 5th
Gates Open: 12:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 2:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Obama was here in Newport News, Va today at the Victory Arch. I wanted to attend, however, I had volunteered to cookout for the local children's hospital and couldn't make it. Anyone here in Va go to it?

questionofu said:

How did you North Carolinians get so smart? Virginia and you guys are at least on planet earth. The rest of the red states should just be another country.

Wave your wildsigns high!!

I hope you get a chance to take pictures and post them here. Have a good time!

http://prince.org/msg/15/286132


BARACK OBAMA, FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!! Get used to it HATERS!!

2elijah said:

Wow

okay after I go through the photos and edit I will add some

Asheville High 2.5 hrs before Obama arrives



1 hr prior to arrival



News 13 Asheville's Darcell Grimes ( she is originally from detroit )

Asheville welcomes Obama


and on with his talk ...




I was pretty close on accident - for some reason I got into the ticketed peeps area and I didnt have a ticket

Wonderful pics!

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Wonderful pics!

Mach said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Wonderful pics!

Thanx

GREAT day

I have a bunch more photos

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Mach said:

Thanx

GREAT day

I have a bunch more photos

Well quite being all stingy! You know how I just Obama pics!

Saying goodby to Asheville

That's what I'm talking 'bout! You took some GREAT pictures! I'm still learning.

OT - Don't forget what I said about orgnoting me when you get to the D.

Now let me ask you this...did being that close to Obama make you feel like you were witnessing greatness in the making? I ask because each time, I've been there, that's what I walked away feeling and my friends who weren't actually there, just don't quite understand what I mean. Even after my 4th Obama rally, I still can't articulate exactly what I felt but I know I was apart of something that is bigger than myself. Does that make any sense to you since you're the only person I can ask?

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

By George Jackson
Reporter-Producer / News Channel 11
Published: October 5, 2008

Asheville, N.C.—Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama called Republican rival John McCain “out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time,” during a speech at Asheville High School’s Memorial Stadium.

He criticized McCain’s health care plan, economic agenda, and aggressive television advertisements.

McCain increased his staff presence in North Carolina last month, from 20 to 30 paid staff. The Obama campaign said it has at least 375 paid staff.

see vid here
http://www.tricities.com/...ama/14694/

Mach said:

Asheville welcomes Obama


and on with his talk ...




I was pretty close on accident - for some reason I got into the ticketed peeps area and I didnt have a ticket

http://prince.org/msg/15/286132


BARACK OBAMA, FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!! Get used to it HATERS!!

2elijah said:

Mach said:

Asheville welcomes Obama


and on with his talk ...




I was pretty close on accident - for some reason I got into the ticketed peeps area and I didnt have a ticket

Wow...nice photos Mach...very clear. I look forward to him becoming the next President!!

Mach said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Now let me ask you this...did being that close to Obama make you feel like you were witnessing greatness in the making? I ask because each time, I've been there, that's what I walked away feeling and my friends who weren't actually there, just don't quite understand what I mean. Even after my 4th Obama rally, I still can't articulate exactly what I felt but I know I was apart of something that is bigger than myself. Does that make any sense to you since you're the only person I can ask?

Yes that makes sense to me

I am still digesting my feelings and those thet I was surrounded by and spoke to today.

On my long walk out I only passed one "protest" type person with his poster standing on the sidewalk

That too spoke volumes to me as well

I met several people that made a trip of 3.5 hrs and more to watch/listen to Obama speak. It felt good to be surrounded by intelligent hopeful people from all walks of life here in our small southern city

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Mach said:

Yes that makes sense to me

I am still digesting my feelings and those thet I was surrounded by and spoke to today.

On my long walk out I only passed one "protest" type person with his poster standing on the sidewalk

That too spoke volumes to me as well

I met several people that made a trip of 3.5 hrs and more to watch/listen to Obama speak. It felt good to be surrounded by intelligent hopeful people from all walks of life here in our small southern city

It's just freaking awesome, isn't it? I'm 38 so I wasn't alive during the times of Martin, Malcolm and both John and Robert Kennedy. I've read, heard and saw by the power of video, what it was like but since then there's been no chance for my generation to actually experience such greatness for ourselves, until now. Sometimes, I just sit and try to take it all in and I'm so overcome with emotions, that I think I'll pop. Thanks for letting me know for sure. that I'm not alone.

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

I am still here.

Mach said:

2elijah said:

Wow...nice photos Mach...very clear. I look forward to him becoming the next President!!

Thanx

I have a pretty nice camera and I just happen to get into a killer spot

Was a great day and wonderful experience

Mach said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

It's just freaking awesome, isn't it? I'm 38 so I wasn't alive during the times of Martin, Malcolm and both John and Robert Kennedy. I've read, heard and saw by the power of video, what it was like but since then there's been no chance for my generation to actually experience such greatness for ourselves, until now. Sometimes, I just sit and try to take it all in and I'm so overcome with emotions, that I think I'll pop. Thanks for letting me know for sure. that I'm not alone.

You are not alone

I felt moved ...