Obama in Plainfield

So! Belated entry.

Went to see Obama speak in Plainfield. We were in an elementary school gym, and I had floor seats probably eighty to a hundred feet from Obama. I could've chucked a shoe at him, he was so close. I'll spare you the fangirl bit (like the fact that I was standing in a room with Barack Obama omg), and just mention some more relevant stuff. First off, he did say a lot of what I'd already read and heard. However, a couple of things stood out.

One, I didn't realize that one problem with Social Security is that Bush has been drawing from it to fund the Iraq war. WTFery number one. Still more pressing is WTFery number two: turns out that only people who make under about 97k a year are paying for Social Security.

The second issue is just an integrity thing that caught my eye. Indiana's a big corn state. We know this. We don't do much else except race cars around in circles. So when someone asked Obama about biofuels and what we should do about these South American countries who're growing crops for biofuel. I expected, him being in Indiana and all, that he'd be all about corn ethanol. To do otherwise could get ya run out on a rail in this state.

But no, he said that biofuel research is important, and while corn ethanol is a good short-term solution, it is not optimal as a fuel source. It's better than not having any alternatives to oil at all... but really... we need to be looking into the same crops that the South Americans are growing and not rely on corn.

That struck me, minor as it may seem. That could be a really unpopular thing to say in Indiana, but he didn't screw around on the issue. In fact, watching him answer questions I saw that he didn't dance around on ANY of it. He just plain didn't screw around at all, and I'm wondering where these accusations come from that he's not a straight speaker. I've seldom seen anyone so articulate and clear and concrete about his plans.

Speaking of his plans! One thing that amused me, and that he evidently has not said elsewhere!

I guess if he ends up in the White House the first thing he does is sit down with his cabinet, mainly his Attorney General, and review every single executive decision made during the Bush Administration. Everything that the president did will be reviewed to see if it's Constitutional and if not... instant repeal.

Way to rip off your predecessor's balls like a fucking paper towel, dude. I will be looking forward to THAT.