Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrea Pendergast Sen. Barack Obama (D. Ill) speaks to a packed Zorn Arena Saturday afternoon. Change was the focus of his message. "We are at a defining moment in our history, Eau Claire.

Media Credit: — edited by Ryan Dostalek

It's been one year since Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the nation's chief executive, and just under a week since he pushed past rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the delegate count.

Saturday, thousands piled into Zorn Arena on UW-Eau Claire's campus to hear the U.S. senator from Illinois, and Democratic frontrunner speak about his "journey to change America."

Throughout his 50-minute long speech, Obama continually used his campaign buzzword - change.

"Change doesn't happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up," said Obama, with the word sprawled in white letters across a large blue campaign banner behind him. "Are you ready for change?"

The crowed erupted into cheers, waving campaign placards, homemade signs and T-Shirts, all touting Obama's message of change, which the campaign latched onto early in the presidential race.

The 46-year-old senator said many in Washington, D.C. have given him flack for deciding to run for president, saying that some believe he decided to run because he felt it was owed to him. Obama said the decision came from the "fierce urgency of now," a phrase used by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., saying that he believes it is almost too late to be able to change the course of the country.

"We are at a defining moment in our history, Eau Claire. Our nation is at war, our planet is in peril and the dreams that so many generations fought for feels like its slowly slipping away," he said. "In such circumstances, we can't afford to wait."

Obama cited many reasons why he believes the country can't afford to wait for change, emphasizing health care and an education system, "that despite the slogans, leaves millions of children behind," he said, taking a punch at President Bush's No Child Left Behind law. Obama also took his stance on other policy issues such as the war in Iraq, the environment and foreign policy.

"I was convinced that the American people were looking for something new," he said.

On health care, Obama said he would give every American the opportunity to have health insurance. He said Americans would be eligible for health care "at least as good as the health care that I get as a member of Congress," and would not exclude those with pre-existing conditions.

"We will have a health care system, not a disease care system," he said.

Under Obama's plan, the government would subsidize those who couldn't afford coverage, and would cut premium costs by $2,500 for those who wish to keep their current plan

Obama also touted his education plan, which he said would make sure American children would get the "best education from the day they were born until they graduate college."

He said he would invest in early childhood education and give teachers higher salaries, as well as maintain the highest standards for education.

For college affordability, Obama said he would grant a $4,000 tuition credit to every student each year, with a stipulation that the student gives 100 hours of community service.

"We invest in you; you invest in America; together we can make this country great," he said.

Obama said to protect the environment, he would cap emissions of green house gasses and charge polluters to release those gasses. The money would go towards investigating newer, cleaner energy, which he said would also increase jobs and put America on the way to being a green economy.

During his speech, Obama showed the crowd a bracelet given to him from a mother of a soldier killed in Iraq and said he would end the war by 2009. Though he said he wouldn't be afraid to retaliate against a nation that struck the United States, he said he would end the mindset of using fear to gain popularity for war, citing the Bush tactics of using Sept. 11, 2001, to push for the war in Iraq. He said he would meet with enemies, as well as allies, to maintain an open foreign policy.

Junior Sarah Barlow said she enjoyed the speech and was on the fence between Clinton and Obama, but his speech swayed her.

"I like (Obama) better because you can tell his spirit is in it," she said. "He is very inspiring."

A question on voters' minds is how Wisconsin's open primary will affect the outcome. In Wisconsin, voters can vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary without registering, a topic Obama touched on during his speech, saying that he's had Republicans tell him they are supporting him.

Political science professor and election specialist Geoff Peterson said he doesn't think the open primary would be a problem.

"Republicans are probably more likely to vote in their own primary (in the state)," Peterson said. "If there is a crossover of voters, I think it will be a small percentage."

Obama ended his speech on another campaign buzzword - hope.

"Nothing worthwhile in this country has ever happened except somebody somewhere was willing to hope," he said. "That's what hope is, imaging and then fighting for, and working for what did not seem possible before."

"I know how hard change is going to be … this is our moment; this is our time. We will not just change the country, we will change the world."

- Editr in chief Nick Halter contributed to this report.

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