Obama Addresses the Cost of War in Iraq at West Virginia Speech

Mabscott, West Virginia -- Early, on the morning of March 20, my sister and I made the 45-minute drive from Beckley to Charleston. She, being an avid Obama supporter, and myself, a self-proclaimed liberal Republican, we were both curious as to what direction his address would go. We arrived at the University of Charleston just as the doors were opening at 9:30. The program was not due to start until 11:00, but my sister wanted a T-shirt.

As we sipped coffee and waited, the crowd grew, before long it was standing room only. I had been under the impression that Senator Clinton had majority support in West Virginia, but it appeared that Barack was holding his own in the mountain state. Students, teachers, and people from all walks of life had gathered. There was a certain air of excitement as everyone waited to hear what the Senator from Illinois had to say.
My first thought when Obama reached the platform was that he appeared modest and confident at the same time. After the applause had died down, I was not surprised to hear the word Iraq in his opening comments. Having a brother who has served two tours in Iraq, and being scheduled for a third, I sat up and listened with rapt attention.

Senator Obama spoke about Marine 1st Lieutenant Shane Childers, a native West Virginian, and the first American serviceman to give his life in Iraq. Barack recognized Childers' family on the day before the fifth anniversary of his death. He acknowledged that the cost of the war was greatest to our troops and their families. At this point, both my sister and were near tears, we knew what it felt like to live with the thought of someone close to you losing their life in the war. We had lived with this fear for four years.

Barack Obama went on to talk about the effect of the War in Iraq on our economy. He made a direct correlation between the war and rising gas prices. As the senator went on, he gave very detailed examples of how the average American was paying the price for our military action in Iraq. Obama pointed out the fact that the Bush administration had promised that this war would cost between $50 and $60 billion dollars, and the final total would probably be closer to $3 trillion dollars. While not resorting to slander, Obama managed to verbally wag his finger at President Bush, and republican candidate John McCain, claiming that McCain was determined to carry out a third Bush term. He chastised Hillary Clinton for voting in favor of the war in Iraq.

After pointing out the obvious, and not so obvious costs of war, Barack Obama did something almost unheard of on the campaign trail, he offered logical, reasonable, and possible solutions. According to Obama, while still supporting our troops, he plans to end the war in Iraq if he is elected. He proposes that instead of fighting the war, we could be fighting terrorists on our own soil. Obama expressed desire to make universal health care a reality in the U.S. With a certain controlled power in his voice, he vowed to fight for education, tax breaks for working families, to protect Social Security, and make college more affordable. The senator mentioned his proposal to rebuild roads and bridges and proposed solutions for the oil crisis. He promised to continue to support our wounded troops by maintaining funding for the Veterans Administration, and repair the military equipment that has been damaged in Iraq. Senator Obama stated that we could do all of these things for half the cost of a year in Iraq.

In closing, Obama posed these questions to his audience:

1. How much longer are we going to ask our troops to bear the cost of this war?

2. How much longer are we going to ask our families and our communities to bear the cost of this war?

3. When are we going to stop mortgaging our children's future for Washington's mistake.

Senator Barack Obama's speech ended to the sound of thunderous applause. More than the obvious approval from every person present, I felt in my heart that I had found a candidate that I could believe in. My sister and I left feeling hopeful, on the way out I got my very own Obama for President T-shirt.