Obama Brings Substance to His Message of Hope

While he sounded the theme of hope that has become the staple of his campaign speeches (and reminded the crowd that he had always opposed the War in Iraq), Obama also made some concrete policy-based pledges on health care, education and the environment – and spoke about his prior legislative accomplishments. He did this to address the biggest criticism of his campaign – that it is big on hope, but short on substance.

“He was very impassioned, very enthusiastic and very progressive,” said Sara Heller of Oakland, who had come to learn more about the candidate that has generated buzz and momentum. Still, she wasn’t ready to jump on his campaign’s bandwagon – at least not yet. “I’d like to read more about him,” she said.

But there were plenty of excited campaign volunteers ready to enlist the crowd in spreading the word about his candidacy. Attendees were not allowed into the rally unless they wrote down their contact info on their ticket stub, a sure sign that they’ll be hearing more from the Obama campaign soon.

“We face a series of challenges as significant and daunting as any generation has faced,” said Obama. “If we do not stand up and meet those challenges, we may end up with an America that is poorer and meaner,” as he talked about a health care system that is “bankrupting families,” an education system that is “teaching too few,” and an energy crisis caused by a “lack of an energy policy.”

Like every Democratic Presidential candidate in the past decade, Obama spoke about the need for “every single American to have basic health care.” But he specifically called for it to happen by the end of his first term, and he urged the crowd to hold him accountable on this pledge. Hillary Clinton has promised to get universal health care by the end of her second term, so Obama’s pledge was clearly designed to distinguish himself from the competition.

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