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On February 19, 2007, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) made a barnstorm tour of
California, the first of what promises to be many visits to the Golden State, in an effort
to generate support for his bid for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
Before a crowd of 1,400 people, the senator was given the type of reception often
reserved for Hollywood celebrities and rock musicians. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
said of her colleague, “Someone who came at the right time, and someone who gets
mad at the injustices that surround us. Right now, more than ever, we need someone
who will standup and fight against those injustices…When I see him, I see what is right
about America.” I had a few minutes with the Senator to ask him a few questions.
Currently, the war in Iraq is a major issue in the mind of Americans, as with most of
the Democrats you have voted to end support for the war. As such, why now?
OBAMA: The 2006 elections told us that the American people are sick and tired of being lied
to. Good and honest government matters and what is happening in Iraq can’t be spun away…
This is a war that has shattered lives and broken bodies of thousands of American soldiers.
We have stretched our military forces too thinly. As a consequence, we are seeing Al-Qaeda
and the Taliban coming with a frightening resurgence. To make matters worse, when the
British leave the Iraq later on this year, we will find ourselves with our relations strained, and
the world’s opinion of us further diminished…. We are in the midst of a sectarian civil war, and
with casualties mounting, it proves that this war should have never been authorized… We
have tried the president’s policy for the past 5 years and the American people want out…
Immigration has become a major issue with the next presidential election, I was
wondering what your views on the issue are?
OBAMA: Around the world, many people look at America as the last, best hope. Many
immigrants take the audacious step of looking at the situation in their countries, and say,
there is something going on across the ocean. We should not restrict ourselves, knowing that
immigrants have been the engine that has fueled growth and production in this country. It
used to be that our children just had to worry about competition from state to state. A child in
Alabama, Iowa, or Illinois, knew that their skills were being put up against students in California
or New York. But now with outsourcing and globalization, we have been slow to action….We
know we are in a global economy, where our children are now competing against people in
India, Japan, South Korea, and China, but we short change ourselves with teachers who are
underpaid, lessons that overwrought, and results that are underachieved, and we are
supposed to be surprised as math and science scores continually fall behind the rest of the
world….
Many of your critics point out that you are currently inexperienced with only a few
years in the U.S. Senate. Why do you feel that you are qualified to be President of
the United States?
OBAMA: I would point out that President Bush was in a similar situation when he came into
office in 2001. For all the problems and divisions that this nation still faces, I still believe in
hope. This nation is at a crossroads internationally and domestically, but the most vital
division has been between the American people and their government. So much cynicism has
built up that most Americans are content that many people are content with the policies of the
state, as long as no harm is done to them. I look at the War in Iraq and the disaster that was
Hurricane Katrina, and I see it as what happens when we as a people lose faith in the common
decency and bond that we share as a people. The question in this country for our leaders
should be, “What are we going to do to reaffirm the belief in this great country of our?” Our
nation has always been audacious in both action and belief, ever since the Revolution…That
is why I want this campaign to become a repository for the hopes and dreams and especially
for those who still believe in hope….
The environment has become a major issue in this election, as such, what is your
stance on this issue, and what should be done about it?
OBAMA: Currently we are being held hostage by foreign oil producers for whom we give $800
million per day, to nations who often give money to both sides of the “War on Terror”. This
presents a threat to our national security, and serves to undermine our foreign policy….But
there is hope, but it comes from the fact that we have an opportunity to deal with those issues
now. If we don’t deal with them, we may be consigning our children and our grandchildren to a
fate that is a little meaner and colder than they have now…
California, the first of what promises to be many visits to the Golden State, in an effort
to generate support for his bid for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
Before a crowd of 1,400 people, the senator was given the type of reception often
reserved for Hollywood celebrities and rock musicians. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
said of her colleague, “Someone who came at the right time, and someone who gets
mad at the injustices that surround us. Right now, more than ever, we need someone
who will standup and fight against those injustices…When I see him, I see what is right
about America.” I had a few minutes with the Senator to ask him a few questions.
Currently, the war in Iraq is a major issue in the mind of Americans, as with most of
the Democrats you have voted to end support for the war. As such, why now?
OBAMA: The 2006 elections told us that the American people are sick and tired of being lied
to. Good and honest government matters and what is happening in Iraq can’t be spun away…
This is a war that has shattered lives and broken bodies of thousands of American soldiers.
We have stretched our military forces too thinly. As a consequence, we are seeing Al-Qaeda
and the Taliban coming with a frightening resurgence. To make matters worse, when the
British leave the Iraq later on this year, we will find ourselves with our relations strained, and
the world’s opinion of us further diminished…. We are in the midst of a sectarian civil war, and
with casualties mounting, it proves that this war should have never been authorized… We
have tried the president’s policy for the past 5 years and the American people want out…
Immigration has become a major issue with the next presidential election, I was
wondering what your views on the issue are?
OBAMA: Around the world, many people look at America as the last, best hope. Many
immigrants take the audacious step of looking at the situation in their countries, and say,
there is something going on across the ocean. We should not restrict ourselves, knowing that
immigrants have been the engine that has fueled growth and production in this country. It
used to be that our children just had to worry about competition from state to state. A child in
Alabama, Iowa, or Illinois, knew that their skills were being put up against students in California
or New York. But now with outsourcing and globalization, we have been slow to action….We
know we are in a global economy, where our children are now competing against people in
India, Japan, South Korea, and China, but we short change ourselves with teachers who are
underpaid, lessons that overwrought, and results that are underachieved, and we are
supposed to be surprised as math and science scores continually fall behind the rest of the
world….
Many of your critics point out that you are currently inexperienced with only a few
years in the U.S. Senate. Why do you feel that you are qualified to be President of
the United States?
OBAMA: I would point out that President Bush was in a similar situation when he came into
office in 2001. For all the problems and divisions that this nation still faces, I still believe in
hope. This nation is at a crossroads internationally and domestically, but the most vital
division has been between the American people and their government. So much cynicism has
built up that most Americans are content that many people are content with the policies of the
state, as long as no harm is done to them. I look at the War in Iraq and the disaster that was
Hurricane Katrina, and I see it as what happens when we as a people lose faith in the common
decency and bond that we share as a people. The question in this country for our leaders
should be, “What are we going to do to reaffirm the belief in this great country of our?” Our
nation has always been audacious in both action and belief, ever since the Revolution…That
is why I want this campaign to become a repository for the hopes and dreams and especially
for those who still believe in hope….
The environment has become a major issue in this election, as such, what is your
stance on this issue, and what should be done about it?
OBAMA: Currently we are being held hostage by foreign oil producers for whom we give $800
million per day, to nations who often give money to both sides of the “War on Terror”. This
presents a threat to our national security, and serves to undermine our foreign policy….But
there is hope, but it comes from the fact that we have an opportunity to deal with those issues
now. If we don’t deal with them, we may be consigning our children and our grandchildren to a
fate that is a little meaner and colder than they have now…
An Interview With Senator Barack Obama
By Jose Ricardo G. Bondoc
By Jose Ricardo G. Bondoc
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