Barack Obama

Obama touches on variety of issues

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

By Amy Boerema
Daily Herald

He may not have his own Bobblehead doll yet, but U.S. Sen. Barack Obama appears to have nearly as much support in Naperville as Mayor George Pradel.

Monday, the Democratic star poked fun at Pradel's movable figurine in a town hall meeting at North Central College before addressing questions from a friendly crowd of about 1,000 on a variety of topics including Social Security reform, education, the economy and the debate on gay rights.

"I'm going to investigate where I can get myself a bobble doll," he said.

But Obama became serious when the talk turned to President Bush's proposal to privatize parts of Social Security, which he said "does nothing to solve the Social Security problem and, in fact, probably makes it worse."

He said if Social Security is converted to a system of funds funneled into private accounts that are largely invested in the stock market, retirees wouldn't receive all the benefits they're entitled to.

Bush's plan would cut Social Security benefits for young workers in exchange for private accounts, Obama said, and the numbers simply don't add up.

"You've got to bank on the fact that you're such a savvy investor despite the fact that you don't have control over these stocks; that you're going to be able to make up for that 40 percent benefit cut," he said.

In answer to another question, Obama said he opposed an amendment to ban gay marriage because the Constitution historically has expanded, rather than taken away, people's rights.

He commended state lawmakers on passing a human rights act - of which he was a chief sponsor - that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Obama also said the divisive debate over gay marriage as been framed in the wrong way, pegging people with "moral values or no values."

Instead, he said, there should be a focus on where values such as tradition, family and faith overlap with tolerance and diversity and "can move the conversation forward."

When discussing the economy, he said loopholes in the tax code that give breaks to businesses that move overseas need to be closed.

In response to one woman's question about how Washington justifies the breaks, Obama said many make the argument that it raises standards of living for Americans and overseas workers over the long term.

He also said many of those businesses are effective at lobbying in Washington.

Obama briefly touched on education, saying schools need to do their part in achieving mandates set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act but federal funds need to be there to help.

"No child left behind, but George Bush left the money behind," he said to loud applause.

Education - including making college more affordable to the masses - is a priority he said he'll focus on during his term in Washington.

In a brief speech before taking questions, he talked about his rising celebrity.

He told the audience that someone jokingly told him, "You've been (in Washington) all week and there's still unemployment and poverty. You're not living up to the hype."

Real change takes time, he said, and as a newcomer he's low man on the totem pole.

"They gave me a toothbrush to clean the latrines," he said.

While he made no promises about the changes he can make, he told the crowd "what I can guarantee is that you won't have a harder-working senator."

Obama's cross-party appeal was displayed in his introduction by state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican, who called working with Obama "one of the highlights of my life."

North Central student Nicole Heyne said she appreciated Obama's efforts to unite Americans.

"It's a good thing, especially with the state of the world, we need to make that bridge," she said. "He does that very much."

Naperville resident Tina Flanagan agreed.

"When you look at him, you don't see a black man, you don't see a middle-aged man," she said. "You just see a man. That's what's so impressive."