Obama seizes 'defining moment'

EDINBURG -- The crowd cried out "We love you!" and the candidate said, "I love you back."

About 5,000 supporters showed their love for Sen. Barack Obama Friday during the Democratic presidential hopeful's first visit to the Rio Grande Valley.

Tuition assistance, affordable health care and comprehensive immigration reform were popular themes of Obama's speech in Edinburg.

His position on border security, discussed about halfway through his address to an estimated 5,000 supporters, drew loud cheers.

"We cannot do it by building a wall all across the border, that's not going to do it," he said.

Speaking in a cool and confident tone, Obama rolled up his sleeves and thanked supporters at the rally held at the University of Texas-Pan American.

"I am so glad to finally be in South Texas," he said and praised the warm weather. "I've been cold all winter."

In his first visit to South Texas, Obama observed that it's been more than a year since he stood at the state capitol in Illinois and announced "this unlikely journey to change America."

"I'm running because of what Dr. (Marting Luther) King said is the fierce urgency of now," he said. "We are at a defining moment in our history ... our nation is at war."

Obama drew cheers for acknowledging the Valley's contribution to the nation's Armed Forces.

"Change happens from the bottom-up," he said. "If we could just come together and get past all the division, we can come together black, white, Hispanic, Asians, rich poor ... There is no problem we could not solve, no destiny we cannot fulfill."

After a year of speaking to hundreds of thousands of people and shaking thousands of hands, he said, I am here to let you know that my faith in the American people has been vindicated and they are saying we want something new ... we want to write a new chapter in American history."

And the crowd cheered, joining in a chant of "Yes we can, Sí se puede."

Standing in a sea of campaign signs promoting, "Change we can believe in," the candidate told the crowd that change to the country's economy and health care system is possible, with their help.

"If you work in this country, you should not be poor," he said and pledged to make a living wage a priority for his administration.

The Valley is among the poorest populations in the country, with nearly half of all residents and 70 perecnt of children living at or below the poverty level.

"These are all our children, they all matter to us, they all have to be educated," Obama said and outlined a plan for better early childhood education and more pay for teachers.

Obama attended a roundtable discussion with students about the cost of education, before he was to take the stage at the college campus.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has addressed Valley audiences twice in a week, including an outdoor forum at UTB-TSC, that she mentioned during Thursday night's debate against Obama.

Campaign officials and local politicians spent the morning here stumping for Obama and leading the audience in chants, trying to keep the crowd entertained, as some people have been waiting here for five hours.

"Who was right on Day 1 about the war in Iraq?" asked State. Rep. Eddie Lucio III. The crowd responded, "Obama!"

Obama voted against invading Iraq in 2003. Clinton voted for the military movement.

Lucio, D-Brownsville, is one of a handful of local Democratic officials to lend his support to Obama. More than 150 others have endorsed Clinton.

Edinburg Mayor Joe Ochoa led the crowd of mostly university students, in a chant of "Viva Obama."

Obama began his speech just before noon. Those at the front of the line arrived before 7 a.m. even though doors did not open until 9:30 a.m.

UTPA student Jennifer Rodriguez, 21, said it was worth turning out early for the opportunity to see part of the historic campaign. "We're watching history in the making," Rodriguez said.

For more on this event, continue to visit www.BrownsvilleHerald.com