Obama takes aim at McCain with gifted cane

BY GARY B. GRAY
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Va. - Barack Obama was caught off guard Thursday when a 95-year-old man stood and offered him the gift of a long, handmade maple walking stick.
Thinking on his feet, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate entertained about 2,500 supporters by saying he’d use the stick to convince Congress to adopt his health care plan.
“I’ll whup ‘em! I’ll whup ‘em!“ Obama hollered as he whipped the gift from side to side to symbolize defeat of any opposition to his plan.
About midway through a question-and-answer session inside Virginia High School’s gymnasium, Franklin County’s Troy Edwards offered up the handmade gift. He had traveled more than three hours and 170 miles with family members in hopes that Obama would embrace his gesture.
The crowd chuckled as Obama prowled across a section of the gym striking Ninja-like poses. It was his first rally as the Democratic Party’s unofficial top choice for the nation’s highest post.
Edwards, who is black, said he’s been waiting for someone like Obama to rise to the rank of president for a long time.
“I never thought I would see an African-American presidential candidate,“ Edwards said after the town hall-style rally. “I just hope folks get behind him.“
Get behind him they did - at least on Thursday.
The first spectators to journey here for a chance to see and hear Obama showed up at about 4:30 a.m., more than five hours before the doors opened.
Brittany Pendergrass, Megan Herring and Rachel Ott drove more than an hour from Jonesville, Va., to hear the Illinois senator speak. They were the first in line, kneeling on blankets and surviving on V-8 juice and rice cakes.
“We pretty much camped out here,“ Herring said as she leaned against a steel guardrail. “No one was here for another hour after we got here. We wanted to be first.“
By 9 a.m., more than 1,000 stood in line. Although a variety of people attended the event, it appeared that Obama drew younger people and African-Americans.
“This is a big event - a history-making event,“ said Johnson City’s Pam Faw, as she waited in line. “I don’t plan to vote for him solely because he and I are black. It’s time for something new. I think everybody’s ready for it. Look around you, there’s people of all races and genders here.“
Shuffling along the increasingly long line, it became evident what people had on their minds.
Supporters headed to the event sporting T-shirts with slogans such as, “Yes we Can,“ “Barak my World!“ “Barak the Vote,“ and “Drinking Liberally, promoting democracy one pint at a time.“
Law enforcement from just about every agency in the region was on hand, including bomb squads, police and fire departments, K-9 units, and members of the Secret Service, who stuck out like stop signs. The doors opened at 9:45 a.m., though the man of the hour didn’t appear at center stage for more than two hours.
But that didn’t seem to bother the crowd, which swelled in size, chatted furiously and waved at friends. One woman had a friend take her picture as she made the shape of an O with her forefingers and thumbs.
By 10:15, the restless crowd began chanting, “Yes We Can! Yes We Can!“ They also did the old high school cheer: “Give me an O - O - give me a B ...“
High noon, and the senator finally took the podium in the middle of the gym floor.
As he would throughout his appearance, Obama interacted loosely with the audience.
“That’s right!“ a supporter would sing out. “Yes!“ another would yell. “Amen” rang out a few times.
At one point, a man in the audience was so vocal that Obama had to ask that he cut him some slack.
“Yeah, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I can’t hear myself think here,“ he said as the crowd howled with approval.
At another point, he attempted to explain a medical procedure. With his hand placed over his nose and mouth he wanted to describe a inhaler but uttered the word “breathalyzer.“
“I haven’t slept much over the last 48 hours,“ he said with a grin.
He also had the crowd guffawing when he explained how the Q&A would proceed.
“The only rule is that we go boy-girl, boy-girl, so nobody thinks I’m biased,“ he said.
The Illinois senator spent more than an hour outlining his vision for the future and addressing issues from the crowd. When he said goodbye and turned to leave, he received a roar of approval.
Afterward, there was a charge of political chatter in the air. Some people shook their heads in agreement and hugged. Many seemed to spring into the 90-degree heat with a bit more jump in their steps than when they entered.
Had they been “Baraked” or merely “Obamarized?“
“I’ve kept up on what he’s said and scouted the issues,“ said Derek Mullins, a 19-year-old white man from Kingsport, Tenn. “Occasionally, you have to go against the establishment, and that’s the case here. We need a change, and Obama represents change - change that we haven’t seen since JFK. In the past eight years, our administration has destroyed alliances. We’ve had a self-centered view of how we handle international relations.“
Marsha Hensley, a 50-year-old black woman from Lebanon, Va., said Obama has a “vision.“
“That’s why I support him,“ she said. “The vision is that of reaching - reaching for things we’ve never had, as women, blacks, whites, everybody. He makes me realize how much Americans have grown and become receptive to new ideas.“

Gary B. Gray is a reporter with the Bristol Herald Courier.