GARY | Before thousands of starry-eyed supporters assembled to see history first-hand, presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke on grand themes of war and economics, then struck a more personal note.
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Responding to a question from an 8-year-old named Victoria, the Democratic senator from Illinois reached out to parents and urged them to take responsibility for their role in raising the next generation.
"If your child is misbehaving in school, don't curse out the teacher. You know who you are. It's not the teacher's fault if your child is misbehaving," said the father of two. "Don't blame the teachers and the government and the schools if you're not doing your job."
Obama is considered the front-runner in the contest to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency, with most tallies of party delegates giving him the delegate lead over U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
Indiana's primary election is May 6, making it one of the last eight primaries in the nation before Democratic Party officials convene in Denver in late August to choose the candidate who will challenge U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in November.
Thursday's event was Gary's first visit by a presidential contender in 40 years, attracting a capacity crowd of 2,500 to Roosevelt High School on a chilly, rainy morning. Although all the free tickets for the event went in less than three hours Wednesday, spokesman Nick Kimball said Obama is planning to make more appearances in Northwest Indiana before the primary.
Obama's event came about two weeks after Clinton filled the 5,000-seat Hammond Civic Center on her campaign for the nomination. She plans to return to Valparaiso on Saturday for a discussion of defense issues.
Obama hit all the expected themes during his one-hour appearance Thursday, including plans to improve the economy, rebuild the nation's infrastructure and end the "unwise" war in Iraq.
The meeting featured about a half-hour of questions from the audience after his prepared remarks, including one about international currency markets that came in response to a question from a West Side High School student about "the decreasing dollar."
"The way to strengthen the dollar is to strengthen the economy," Obama said. "And the way to strengthen the economy is to invest in our infrastructure, invest in our education system, roll back those Bush tax cuts, end this war, ... produce more scientists, produce more engineers."
He proposed creating a $60 billion "infrastructure reinvestment fund" to rebuild the nation's bridges and roads and other domestic tasks that "can't be exported" to other countries.
He also proposed creating a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to help lenders and homeowners agree on fixed mortgage rates, and a $150 billion fund for investment in "green technologies" that would be paid for with fees on polluters.
Obama wants to provide $4,000 assistance for college tuition, give raises to teachers whose students perform well, and end tax breaks for "fat cats" and "companies shipping jobs overseas."
The first topic he talked about was the Iraq war, which he said was a distraction from the real fight against al-Qaida in Afghanistan and "the hills of Pakistan." He vowed to end the war in Iraq in 2009 and bring home all troops in less than two years by withdrawing up to two combat brigades per month until all 140,000 soldiers are gone.
"That is seven years in Iraq," Obama said. "If we can't get the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own country in seven years, they won't do it in 14 years, they won't do it in 21 years, they won't do it in 28 years."
But it was his pointed commentary on parenting that received some of the most resounding response, sounding more like commentator Bill Cosby than a senator trying to become elected as the nation's commander in chief.
"Fathers: Be fathers," Obama said. "Be a part of your child's life. Be a part of your child's life. Make them proud."
Obama and the next generation
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., got some of his most vocal response when he said parents need to play a role in improving the nation by raising the next generation right.
"You've got to turn off the television set for a while. You've got to put away the video games for a while. You should have a curfew in your house when your children have to come home," he said.
"You should meet with the teacher," and help kids with their homework, he said. "And if you don't know how to help out with the homework, don't be embarrassed. Get someone to help you."
"Fathers, be fathers," he said to huge applause. "Be a part of your child's life. Be a part of your child's life. Make them proud."
"And the last thing is, if your child is misbehaving in school, don't curse out the teacher. You know who you are. It's not the teacher's fault if your child is misbehaving. That's the home training. I'm getting carried away here, sit down," he said to the standing crowd, "but you know what I'm saying is true. Don't blame the teachers and the government and the schools if you're not doing your job."
