2008 Presidential Candidate Barack Obama focused on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues as he extended his campaign trail to Charlottesville last night, hosting a rally at the Charlottesville Pavilion.
Obama made a concerted effort to differentiate himself from other candidates and the current administration at the rally.
"What's impressive is not just the size ... but that you see a cross-section of America here," Obama said.
Obama used this as a springboard to talk about what he believes to be his broad aisle-crossing appeal and the ability of Americans to rally together in unity, not just as "a collection of red states and blue states."
Change, as his campaign slogan suggests, was the central theme of Obama's rally.
"We need to change the way business is done in Washington," Obama said, citing a lack of progress on issues such as health care, education and energy reform.
He described what he saw as "fever of fear" gripping Washington politics and offered himself as an alternative as a sort of "hope-peddler."
College Republican Student Advisor Craig Orndorff claimed, however, that Obama's candidacy is threatened by the short amount of time he has spent in Washington.
"His candidacy was really made possible by his [National Democratic] convention speech in '04," Orndorff said. "If he had not been able to make that speech, we would not be talking about him today."
Obama addressed critics' claim that his attitude is derived from his lack of experience in Washington by objecting to the very idea that experience should be the determining factor in a voter's decision. Obama also said experience does not breed success in office.
"Some people in this election are saying 'elect me because I can work the system,' but the system hasn't been working for us for a long time," Obama said. "Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who have two of the longest resumes in Washington, are responsible for one of the worst foreign policy decisions in recent American history."
These were not the only harsh words Obama had for the current administration -- the Illinois senator expressed his opposition to the war in Iraq from the beginning.
"The American people are tired of a war that should have never been authorized," Obama said. "I do not intend to back down on what I believe in."
Orndorff argued that this is part of Obama's larger strategy.
"He's really gunning for the anti-war vote because he is the only one among the top-tier candidates not to vote for the war ... and this is part of his charm with the University crowd," Orndorff said. "He has been posting a high number of small donations ... and he is the candidate who has the most enthusiastic student following so it makes sense for him to come to Charlottesville community."
Although a Democratic presidential candidate hasn't won over the state of Virginia since 1964, Gov. Kaine, who introduced Obama, expressed enthusiasm as "Virginia becomes more competitive" between the Republican and Democratic parties.
"Underdogs win races," Kaine said, referring to national poll numbers showing Obama behind Sen. Hillary Clinton. "I've been the underdog in many races ... [and] I've never lost a race"
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