President Barack Obama addressed thousands of excited Prince William County residents outside at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge early Friday afternoon.
The President's Speech
“Unless your cable has been broken for a while, you might be aware there is an election going on,” joked President Obama. The President then described his campaign, “as a choice between two different paths for America, two fundamentally different visions.”
“I don’t believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims, who don’t take responsibility for their own lives,” he said. He was responding, of course, to Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s candid comments about the 47 percent of Americans.
“I don’t see a lot of victims in the crowd today,” said the President. “I see hard-working Virginians.”
Clarifying his economic views, Obama said, “No one believes that anyone is entitled to success in this country.” Yet he said he believes in an American where “everyone receives a fair shot."
“Let me break it down in case you all missed the convention, or in case you only saw Michelle,” Obama said. He proceeded to outline his five-point plan for helping America recover from the recent recession. The plan included producing more and exporting fewer job by investing in renewable energy and domestic resources; ending “corporate welfare;" “investing in our workforce” by making education more affordable; reducing the deficit, through a return to Clinton-era taxes; and protecting Medicare and making healthcare more affordable.
Transitioning into foreign policy, the president said, “Now Virginia, I’ve talked about what we need to do here at home, but it’s connected to what we do abroad.”
Obama counted ending the war in Iraq and returning tens of thousands of troops from Afghanistan, among his major accomplishments, as well as killing Osama Bin Laden. He said he plans to use the military to protect our diplomats overseas, but would focus on “nation building” at home with the money that could be saved from ending two wars.
He stated that his party does not think government is perfect, but nor does it believe that the government is the source of everyone's problems. Nor do they blame, “welfare recipients, immigrants or gays,” for the nation's problems.
He promised to lead the way for young immigrants via the Dream Act, leave women’s health care choices to women and their doctors and support gay rights.
Reaching Out to Prince William County
When President Obama took the podium at Pfitzer Stadium he thanked Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Gerry Connolly.
In his opening speech, Warner presented the county as a key battleground territory, saying, “back in Prince William County, back in Woodbridge four years ago, it was the Commonwealth of Virginia that elected President Obama.”
Warner ended his speech with the motto, “We changed the guard in 2008, in 2012 we guard the change."
Woodbridge resident Jill Borak also gave an opening speech. Hers stressed the importance of Prince William County in the 2012 presidential election.
"Maybe like a lot of you, I never got involved in politics before the 2008 election,” said Borak.
However, personal circumstances led Borak to take an active role. Her husband and mother were laid off within months of each other. Soon Borak found she was pregnant, and her insurance company told her that is a “preexisting condition.”
Borak encouraged others to get involved in the election by volunteering with the campaign, donating even $10 to the cause, or encouraging others to get out and vote, and to make sure their vote counted by being prepared on election day.
Voices in the Crowd
While many said they wanted to take advantage of a rare opportunity to hear the President speak in person, many more were also passionate about the issues President Obama represented.
While the crowd of tens of thousands of many Northern Virginian democrats consisted of people of both genders and various ethnicities, almost everyone was interested in how to fix the middle class and get the country out of recession.
“I’m here to show support for a man who’s supported us, the middle class,” said Ashley Rahim of Woodbridge.
“(I came today) because I’m interested in issues. I support the President. I think he’s done a great job, and I see improvement. This election is very, very important,” Cheryl Blackwell said, a baby-boomer also from Woodbridge.
Many young people came out for to hear the President as well.
“I’m taking AP government, and we’re following the election very closely,” said Richard Laity-Festa of James Madison High School in Vienna. “I’ve never been to a rally before. I’m very excited.”
And twenty-somethings responded to his social agenda for America.
“I’ve never seen a President before in person,” said one young man from Nokesville. “I didn’t get into politics until 2008. (But Obama) represents a lot of things I support, like gay marriage and health care.”
The Opposition
Although it was a love fest inside the stadium, protesters down Prince William Parkway at the Republican Headquarters told a different story, holding signs opposing Obama’s policies and vision and promoting Mitt Romney.
However, because the Prince William Parkway is a major route, those protesters were not able to set up their counter-rally directly across the street from the stadium. This made it difficult for them to directly interact with Obama supporters.
While there are two sides to every story, it is clear that Prince William citizens will play a key role in the November presidential elections.
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