My Little Chat with Senator Barack Obama in Greenville, North Carolina

In early April, word emerged that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) would soon be taking a swing through my home state of North Carolina. With the North Carolina primary set for May 6, the news of their campaign stop was not surprising.

What was surprising were the three words I saw at the end of Senator Barack Obama's schedule: Greenville, North Carolina.

Greenville is home to East Carolina University. With about 25,000 students, it is a significant force in Eastern North Carolina. As Senator Clinton mostly stuck to the greater Raleigh region, news of Senator Obama's appearance at East Carolina University spread quickly. It didn't take long for an alumni of the school -- now an elected city councilman for the town of Newport and a good friend of mine -- to hear the news of Obama's visit.

Being an elected official has its perks. One of those perks is extra access, and when he invited me along to both Obama's Greenville rally and a private question and answer session afterwards, I felt immediately lucky. I was going to get the chance to ask Barack Obama the questions that I wanted to ask of him. How often does this opportunity present itself?

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Having made the trip to Greenville from the other side of the state, my friend and I met up at Pirate's Cove, an apartment complex outside of East Carolina University. Being an open supporter of Barack Obama, he was already very excited, and the excitement began to rub off on me as well.

Arriving at Minges Coliseum around 3:00 p.m., we were greeted to the typical security protocols. Lines were formed, signs were examined, and metal detectors were present. While being an elected official has its perks, it is clear that Senator Obama's campaign does not wish to take its chances, and we received no special treatment.

After an hour that seemed closer to an eternity, we arrived inside the coliseum and took our seats in the mezzanine. After another period of time that seemed close to another eternity, Senator Barack Obama took the stage. The crowd was as energized as ever, with young and old supporters alike laid out in front of us.

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After Barack Obama's stump speech and the raucous rally had concluded, my friend and I were shuttled to (what appeared to be) a random East Carolina University classroom. The walls were covered with East Carolina literature and I was later told that we were in an International Sports classroom.

About 45 minutes after we arrived, Senator Obama entered the room. Except for a handful invitees like myself, the room was comprised completely of local and regional elected officials. Barack Obama began the session with a personal question about how the campaign was going and where Obama felt the campaign was currently at. Obama responded that he believed it was going quite well, that he had been seeing great turnout everywhere he went, and that while the process was tiring he truly enjoyed having the opportunity to travel to many places the candidates might not otherwise be able to go.

After about 30 minutes of questioning on everything from gas prices to executive powers, to which Barack Obama largely responded with the same answers we have all heard elsewhere, he looked at my friend, who had his hand raised to ask a question. With a smile, Senator Obama laughed and said "how old are you!?" to my friend, who was elected to local office at a very young age and is one of the youngest to occupy any office in the state. When my friend responded "twenty-five," Senator Obama laughed and congratulated him on his office. After asking a question about the proper role of local and city powers (and in particular a water runoff ordinance he was being faced with), Barack Obama responded that self-determination was needed in much of local politics. After answering the question to my friend's liking, he congratulated him once again on being elected at such a young age, and told him to keep it up as he saw "a bright future in politics" for him.

Next up, I got the chance to ask Barack Obama a question. Likely due to the t-shirt and jeans I was wearing, Obama seemed to (correctly) assume that I was not elected to office, but the Senator listened to my question regardless. I inquired about Obama's lead economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, a well-known behavioral economist at the University of Chicago, asking Senator Obama what role behavioral economics had to play in his policy and personal philosophy.

Obama replied that behavioral economics seemed to him a manner of approach that not many Presidents or policy-makers had explored, and he believes that its philosophy of suggestion -- and not of forced mandatory practice -- is both a politically and morally favorable approach to forming public policy. Barack Obama's approach towards healthcare, for example, shows this philosophy: while Senator Clinton believes that mandates should be in place to force all citizens to buy healthcare, Barack Obama believes that people should (within reason) have the ability to opt out of programs they do not wish to participate in.

Unfortunately, that is all I was able to ask of Obama. After about an hour of total questioning, the question and answer session was wrapped up, we shook hands with Senator Obama, and we headed out for a bite to eat. After a brief discussion of the meeting we just had with Obama, we separated and headed to our individual cars.

Being able to spend a fair amount of time close to a Presidential candidate is, as one might expect, a far different experience than seeing them on television. With the divisive and bitter political process this country puts itself through, it is often hard to remember that each of these three candidates are human beings. The recent controversies over Barack Obama's pastor, Barack Obama's "bitter" comments, Barack Obama's poor debate showing -- being ten feet away from Obama gave me a far different sense than I may have otherwise had, and I expect that the experience I had with Obama would be similar to one with Hillary Clinton and John McCain both. Being able to ask questions of Obama was an experience I will not soon forget.

If the opportunity arises to attend such an event, whether you agree with the candidate's politics or not, I highly advise you to take it. It is a far different experience to sit on the couch and listen to a candidate speak than it is to be sitting right there with them. While Barack Obama was the only candidate to visit Greenville this time, you can be sure that I'll try and meet each and every one of them.