Barack rocks Glass

Slideshow: Barack Obama comes to Lynchburg

The cheers that greeted presidential candidate Barack Obama in the E.C. Glass High School Wednesday night rivaled any basketball victory’s excitement, and they kept erupting as he talked about working-family budgets, tax breaks, energy, and negative TV ads.

A crowd packed with Obama loyalists cheered for a full minute before letting him get his first sentence out, explaining that he had taken a few extra minutes to shake hands with people outside who hadn’t been able to get into the gym.

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From Andrew Jackson to George H.W. Bush, Lynchburg played host

Later, Obama said in an interview that he came to Lynchburg because he believes “90 percent of success is showing up” and that people in Central Virginia, like the rest of America, are worried about economic issues. “If I can communicate the message that I’m going to fight for them, we might pick up some votes we might not otherwise get,” he said.

Obama told the crowd his 19-month campaign has taught him “Americans are anxious. They are worried about the present and about the future.”

Family incomes went up $6,000 during the Bill Clinton presidency, but they have since declined $1,000 during the Bush presidency, Obama said.

The solution, he said is “to bring about a fundamental change in Washington and restore the American dream, and that’s why I am running for president.”

His Republican opponent, John McCain, is offering the same tax breaks as President Bush, Obama said, breaks that benefited higher-income people and corporations but didn’t help middle-class families.

Obama said he would give middle-class families a $1,000 tax break.

Mark Peake, chairman of Lynchburg’s Republican Party, said he watched Obama’s speech online and the promise of a $1,000 tax break doesn’t impress him.

“I don’t think he’s being forthright with voters when he talks about taxes,” Peake said. “The biggest deception is the $1,000 rebate. It’s just an attempt to buy votes,” Peake said.

Obama said economic conditions don’t assure him of victory. “The Republican Party hasn’t been very good at governing, but they very good at running negative ads, so it is important that we make it clear what the choice is in this election.”

Obama urged the 2,000 or more in the gymnasium to canvass neighborhoods on his behalf, work phone banks and write checks to his campaign.

When Obama opened up the town-hall style meeting to questions from the audience, one of the questioners asked him, “Do you think you can win by taking the high road” in the face of negative TV ads.

“This is a challenge,” Obama said, and warned that anyone who goes into public service should “know ahead of time that people are going to lie about you.”

“For a year and a half, e-mails have been going out saying that I am a Muslim,” Obama said, despite the fact that he isn’t. “I believe in Jesus Christ as my savior,” he said.

“I’m saying that, not because there’s anything wrong with being a Muslim, but these e-mails are designed to feed into anti-Muslim sentiment. It’s a very cynical point,” Obama said.

In an interview question about his stand on abortion, Obama said he thought the best approach to reducing the number of abortions was education, including abstinence education.

“The criminalization of women or their doctors, I do not believe, will actually bring about the results that both evangelical voters and myself would like to see,” he said.

Obama said during his speech that nuclear energy should be part of U.S. energy policy, and he emphasized its safety aspects during the speech and in the interview.

He said the United States has lagged in dealing with nuclear waste and proposals to recycle used nuclear fuel don’t fully solve the problems.

“Really, the challenge is finding storage strategies that are safe and can give people confidence” in the ways leftover nuclear materials are handled, he said.

“Part of what we have to do is be honest with the American people, not do a sell job, but provide them with the information they need so they can feel comfident with nuclear power, even if it is located in their own communities,” he said.

“Sometimes people are scared of nuclear power because of misinformation, but part of it has to do with the fact we haven’t always been honest and straightforward about these issues.”

Before the speech, Obama met in a locker room with local officials, including Mayor Joan Foster, Vice Mayor Bert Dodson, City Councilmen Mike Gillette and Ceasor Johnson, Del. Valentine, former state Sen. Elliot Schewel and John Lawrence, chairman of the local Democratic party.

Dodson said, “He was very friendly. It was like seeing your neighbor walk by your front porch on a Saturday morning.”

Johnson said, “I think it’s just what was needed to assure people he’s the one we need as America begins this transition.”

Outside the gym, two pro-McCain demonstrators held a sign that read, “NOBama.”

One of them, Khristen Minter, 22, said Obama “doesn’t have any experience and doesn’t seem to know how to run a country.”