President Obama Speaks in Virginia - Personal Reflections

Underscoring Virginia's status as a battleground state in the coming presidential election in November, President Barack Obama made a campaign stop in Virginia Beach this morning, a stop in Hampton this afternoon and will visit Roanoke tomorrow.  In 2008, Obama carried Virginia by winning the so-called "urban crescent" that runs southward from Northern Virginia down through the greater Richmond area and then southeasterly to Hampton Roads.  It's an area that holds enough votes to outweigh the Republican strongholds in rural Virginia if one motivates the turnout.  Obviously, Obama wants to repeat what worked in 2008 and so far polls show him continuing to lead Mitt "Pinocchio" Romney.  Thanks to VIP tickets from Hampton Mayor Molly Ward, the boyfriend and I decided that we would attend the Hampton event which as things turned out was not without its logistical problems. 

Thanks to me getting back to Hampton from the office later than planned, we arrived late and ended up in the "overflow" crowd (I was late because the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel - which the GOP controlled Virginia General Assembly refuses to upgrade since the gasoline tax would have to be raised for the first time in 25 years to pay for upgrades - was in total clusterf*ck mode.)   Yours truly was NOT a happy camper to put it mildly.  This curse, however, turned out to have a silver lining and our group of perhaps 100 or so had our own short private address by President Obama before he addressed the jam packed main auditorium.  The boyfriend snapped the images above with his phone (yes, we were very close to him when he went around greeting people).  Much of Obama's address focused on the economy with an emphasis on the differences between his priorities and those of Mitt Romney and the 1% crowd.  The reaction of the crowd was very positive from what we saw and experienced.

President Obama also stressed to the crowd the importance of his winning Virginia (a broadcast this evening stated that if he holds the states he is winning so far in the polls and carries Virginia, he crosses the magic number of electoral votes needed to win).  That, of course, means another four months of incessant political ads.

Two things struck me. One is the charisma that Obama has in person.  The other thing is how Obama electrified the black members of the crowd and those in their yards along the route of his motorcade (we had to hike in to the event since we arrived so late).  The sad truth is that in 2012, being black in Virginia is in many ways as bad or worse than being gay.   True, black Virginians don't have the laws aimed deliberately at them to keep them less than equal or the legalized discrimination that LGBT Virginians face, but racism and bigotry are still the norm in many areas of society that they encounter. Particularly, among the "godly Christian" set and the hate merchants at The Family Foundation.  Just by his presence Obama sends a message of hope to these Virginians.  And with his new support of same sex marriage, he gives me hope.