Obama campaign makes stop in Danville

About 50 people came out to Union Street Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday to grill members of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign on issues ranging from health care to gas prices.

Fuel costs, job growth and the economy were forefront in the questions, echoing statements the campaign members said they have seen across the state.

“People are screaming out for help,” said Daniel Sepulveda, who has been an advisor to the Democratic candidate for four years.

In the short run, Obama would offer a $1,000 tax cut for middle-class families derived from a windfall profit tax on big oil companies, a change from the current administration’s tax cuts for the upper class, Sepulveda said.

Sitting in a church across from the shuttered Dan River Inc. mills, people expressed concern about globalization and asked how the candidate could bring jobs to the United States.

One of Obama’s plans to help keep and bring jobs to the U.S., Sepulveda said, is to change the tax code and reward companies for doing business in the United States. The code now, he said, encourages companies to operate in countries with few or no labor and environmental standards.

For gas prices, the No. 1 issue people are talking about, campaign members laid out the short-term and long-term solutions, noting that Obama recently said he would consider offshore drilling as part of a larger plan, but stressed that the U.S. only has 3 percent of the world’s oil reserve.

The Illinois senator’s bottom line is to reduce dependency on oil and he would provide loans and tax credits to automakers to make cars more fuel-efficient, campaign officials said.

In addition, Obama advocates releasing 10 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move that brought down prices after Sept. 11, and that could provide time to invest in and research alternative energy sources, according to his campaign representatives.

On the issue of rights for ex-felons, the campaign members pointed out that Obama has co-sponsored legislation advocating restoring voting rights and work force training programs.

For health care, Sepulveda said that Republican candidate John McCain’s plan is “not fixing the system.”

Obama’s plan would allow people to participate in a national provider plan similar to that provided to members of Congress, he said. Individuals also would have the option of opting for private insurance providers, but the government would regulate those providers to ensure care.

As far as medication prices, a big problem for people who are underinsured, Sepulveda said that under Obama’s plan Medicare would be able to buy drugs in bulk and re-importation of drugs would be allowed.

Danville City Councilman Buddy Rawley asked whether Obama would pick Gov. Timothy M. Kaine as a running mate.

Virginia Communications Director Kevin Griffis said there was “a good chance” and acknowledged that the two politicians “like one another a lot … and come from a similar point of view philosophically.”

As to whether Kaine is on the short list, he said, “I haven’t seen any lists.”

Contact Sarah Arkin at sarkin@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7983.