Barack Obama in San Antonio on Tuesday, February 19

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http://tx.barackobama.com/page/s/sanantonio|BarackObama.com]
Barack Obama in San Antonio on Tuesday, February 19

Join Barack Obama for a special 'Stand for Change' Town Hall in San Antonio on Tuesday, February 19th.
Stand for Change Town Hall with Barack Obama

La Plaza De Guadalupe
1327 Guadalupe Street
San Antonio, TX 78207

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Doors Open: 12:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. However, RSVP is strongly encouraged and admission is on a first come, first-served basis.

For security reasons, do not bring bags. No signs or banners permitted.

Fire it up San Antonio! Obamanos Tejas!

Sonia

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1. Kick for San Antonio

One hour to the event. Doors are opening soon.

Today's S.A. events
• Obama round table at 12:45 p.m.
• Rally near the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center at 2 p.m.

San Antonio Express 2/18/08
Political parade headed to S.A.
(snip)
Obama, who will speak around noon at a plaza near the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, at 1301 Guadalupe, has his own surrogates canvassing the Alamo City.

As a measure of just how seriously these campaigns are taking this state in general and South Texas in particular, Obama's campaign even sent out a midlevel appointee from former President Clinton's administration. Frank Sanchez, who was a special assistant to the president and assistant secretary of transportation, attended Sunday's opening of Obama's West Side campaign office on Commerce Street.

Sonia

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2. Live streaming - now

Right here:
San Antonio Express

:woohoo:

Sonia

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3. Here is what I heard

SEIU in the house!

"If you work in this country, you should not be poor in this country"

Talking about energy policy now.
Cap emissions for greenhouse gases and penalize polluters.
Reinvest in wind, solar and other renewables and create jobs.

"We're going to raise the CAFE standards. And by the way I said that in front of the car makers in Detroit.
You need a president who will tell you not want you want to hear, but what you need to hear. I'll be a truth-teller".

Smart on crime on just tough on crime

Stop using immigration as a political football. Secure

Foreign policy:
Giving our troops the training and equipment they need.
No more homeless veterans on our streets
No more cutting back on disability payments
Treat our returning veterans with respect.
We should be using our military wisely.

The War
It was a mistake
It has costs us billions that we could be using right here at home
I will bring this war to a close in 2009. I will end this war and bring our troops home in 2009

We need to change the mindset that got us into this war
"I'm going to meet with leaders we like and leaders we don't like". "I remember what JFK said 'We should never negotiate out of fear, but you should never fear to negotiate' "

"America will be back when I am elected President"

other points:
Help end the crisis in Darfur
Close Guantanamo
Restore Habeas Corpus. Because you will have a president who believes in the constitution and will fight for it!

Sonia

[sonias]

4. Q&A now

First question was about Darfur. Lengthy answer, he had quite a few ideas about what to do.

Second question - a mother who said she had three family members in Iraq. We have to send a message to Iraq that we're not going to be here for 100 years. First thing he would do in office is call in the joint chiefs of staff and plan the withdrawal.

Third question from a UTSA student was about Obama's support on bi-lingual education. Obama response that every child should speak a second language. We should all be bi-lingual. Not just Spanish but other languages. The US is at a disadvantage around the world when our citizens can not compete with other countries who are multi-lingual. Stop making it a political football.

Fourth question about health care plan differences. He says there are in agreement in about 95% of her plan, but he wants to focus on lowering premiums for everyone. He says he will mandate health care for children, but for adults he wants adults to make the decision for themselves. He says that if health care is affordable, people will buy it. He doesn't believe that people don't want insurance. He believes that people just can't afford it right now, because it's too expensive.

Audio is getting bad.

Sonia

[sonias]

5. Obama on Bush: 'Take him back'

Rolling Through Texas blog 2/19/08
February 19, 2008
Obama on Bush: 'Take him back'

After an introduction from a local woman, Celia Gamez, who told the crowd of about 3,000 crammed into the Guadalupe Plaza that she is local, Hispanic and for Obama, the putative front-runner stepped out onto a low stage in the center of the plaza.

He had to ask those around him to sit, so he could see everyone, and as they did so, an audible sigh of relief rippled among the crowd, including many members of the media, who hadn't been able to see him.

(snip)
He began with a plea for participation. Politics only works, he said, when people are involved. "Change doesn't happen from the top down, but from the bottom up."

But we don't want bush back, Barack. Can't you send him to serve a prison sentence somewhere? :evilgrin:

Sonia

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6. Great pictures of the rally

Sam Graham-Felsen's Blog



More at link above

Beautiful!

(edited to fix blog link)

Sonia