LIVEBLOG: Barack Obama in Flint, Mich.

Michigan Messenger will be covering the Obama campaign event from Flint, Mich. this morning; check back frequently for updates!

[FOLLOWING POSTED LIVE, UNEDITED]

1:30 pm –
With people flowing out of the building, the independent merchandisers are out in full force in the parking lot, says Todd. He notes one man has set up t-shirt sales on the trunk of a Flint Police Department. Another has a tent with tables covered in Obama material. A third man rides on a bicycle around the crowd holding a sign which reads “No More Bushit.” The crowds are happy, smiling, and spending money on the various Obama material available for sale.

In hindsight, there were things that we didn’t get out of this speech that we expected; there was no announcement about the seating of delegates, nor was there any acknowledgment of the potential party disunity.  We didn’t see Michigan Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer, although we note an exceptionally warm greeting (big, BIG  hug) for Governor Granholm. But in spite of the greeting, Granholm didn’t speak; the intro was left to Sen. Levin alone.

1:13 pm –
“Flint, this is our time.” They are on their feet now, as he closes with the same theme he used at his previous appearance at Troy High School, that this is this country’s time if it chooses change.

Continued -1:11 pm –
The audience is beginning to respond to him as if this is a church service; I hear affirmations, “Yeah!” punctuating his closing comments, half expecting to hear “Amen!” at any time. Todd’s right in his previous observations that Obama has a cadence like a preacher.

1:09 pm –
“My administration will open up the doors of democracy.” He’s proposing transparency in federal government with more of government transactions visible on the internet, so that special interests can’t hide.

1:07 pm –
“Finally, a word about fiscal responsibility…we need to end the war in Iraq…we need to put an end to the loopholes…John McCain wants to double down on the Bush policies.”  The crowd is very happy to hear that the wealthy will be taxed more heavily than the middle class under Obama’s administration. “There is nothing fiscally conservative about John McCain’s policies.”

1:03 pm –
He’s now attacking the Bush Administration’s policy of “any trade agreement is a good trade agreement.”  This crowd cheers heartily as he addresses inequity in trade, using Korean cars as an example.

1:00 pm –
I’m sorry, I can’t help it, I’m clapping…he’s discussing the need for pervasive wireless internet across the country. I’ll bet there are some executives at a few telecom companies squirming right now.

12:59 pm –
Obama now talks about the need for improvements to our nation’s crumbling infrastructure in order to be more competitive, using the funding we are spending on the war in Iraq on such improvements, in a program 10 years long and expected to create 2 million jobs.  Interesting word phrase employed here: “bringing the Iraq War to a responsible close.”  What does that mean?

12:46 pm –
“For two centuries, this country has led the world in innovation…it’s time for America to lead again.”  He’s now taking it to the Bush Administration for their anti-science stance, and proposing making the R&D tax credit permanent.  I don’t think this crowd realizes just what that means, although they do understand what it means when Obama discusses development of the bio-tech triangle schools (University of Michigan, Wayne State, Michigan State University).

12:49 pm –
Energy is now the topic, linked to national security and economic growth; this sounds as if our state’s governor could have written this speech as he promotes alternative energy development.  He is proposing creation of 5 million jobs through investment in alternative energy, retooling and retraining auto workers for these new jobs.  He also says he won’t wait 6 years like George Bush to sit down and meet with the auto industry — which of course brings huge applause and cheers from this auto town crowd. (I think he’s already met with part of the industry if he’s already talked with Debbie Dingell…)

12:46 pm –
He is now pushing personal responsibility, saying that parents need to do more to encourage their children’s learning, like turning off the television and reading them a book.  Again, surprisingly well received by this crowd.  He is now proposing that every child not only needs a high school education, but a college education that should be their birthright; he is proposing national service as an exchange for college tuition. And again, the crowd is eating it up, lots of applause.

12:43 pm –
“Bush left the money behind for No Child Left Behind.” The crowd agrees; it’s definitely getting noisier in here. “We need to recruit an army of new teachers,” he says, to more applause. He is now proposing recruiting teachers, deploying them with mentoring to inner city and other challenged districts, while rewarding good teachers with better pay, which is received with big applause.

12:39 pm –
“This agenda starts with education.  Whether you are conservative or liberal, Republican or liberal, a highly skilled workforce is essential to our success.” (Think that’s a rough paraphrase, because he’s now speaking faster than he has up to this point, he’s getting into this now that he has the crowd pulled in.) He’s now working on tieing education — both improvements to and increasing education — as the ticket to competing as a nation. “Senator McCain doesn’t talk about education much; I don’t even know what is platform is on education.”(Applause from crowd, and our first cat call, “[McCain] Doesn’t have one!” in response to Obama’s comment about McCain on education.

12:37 pm –
Ooh, our first boos…but responsive to Obama’s claims that McCain will continue the same policies of overextending our indebtedness to countries like China, while offering tax cuts to the wealthiest.  The crowd may have been on the fence before, but they are now digging this message of fiscal responsibility.

12:33 pm –
Okay, the crowd has now gotten on board and is revved up, now that Obama has said he will be the kind of leadership to bring real economic change.  I’m sitting next to blogger Marcy Wheeler, who points out this is speech is very supportive of Gov. Granholm.

12:30 pm –
Obama’s describing a trip to Google’s facility, where he saw network monitoring of internet connectivity around the world; he’s using it as an analogy to show how demand is global, and that our people must be competitive to meet that demand.

“We work harder and better…” he says, throwing some red meat to this primarily blue collar crowd.  He’s beginning to build the case for fundamental change in the way we work, though, using the Transcontinental Railroad, the Hoover Dam, and now  Kennedy’s call to go to the moon as examples of leadership encouraging the change needed to reinvent the economy.

12:28 pm –
“Yes, we have to make sure the economic pie is sliced more fairly, but we need to grow the pie.” He’s now discussing jobs — jobs move to wherever there’s an internet connection. [True, 'dat.]

12:25 pm –
Obama now speaking: “We’ve got CEO’s getting golden parachutes when others’ health care is getting dumped…[talking] about getting relief for Americans, not later, but right now.” (Applause).  BIG cheer from crowd when Obama says that Americans should have the same health care as members of Congress.

12:21 pm –
Barack Obama now on stage, acknowledging the presence of the Democratic leadership; apparently Sen. Debbie Stabenow has now arrived, too.

There must be a number of folks from Kettering University here as there is a large cheer when he acknowledges the facility.

Obama asks for volunteers, asks people to contact an organizer.  He’s now acknowledging Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

12:18 pm –
“We need a president in the White House who will fight for universal health care (loud applause); we need a president in the White House who will end the war in Iraq (HUGE applause)…”

12:15 pm –
Oh definitely, this is about the economy; Levin is going through the litany of economic failures that “John McCain calls ‘great economic progress’ over the last seven years…can’t afford 4 more years of Bush-McCain economics.”

12:12 pm –
Sen. Carl Levin is up, and the crowd is on its feet; he is introducing all the Democratic leadership. They cheer very loudly for our Jen the governor.

12:08 pm –
The crowd beings to applaud as someone mounts the stage.  Oops, false alarm.  We are all getting quite itchy.  The mainstream media has arrived, like a horde of locusts with attitude; Obama surely cannot be far behind, can he?  Very tempting to call our fellow from Washington Independent, Sridhar Pappu, who is “embedded” with the campaign, to ask him where he is. (Sridhar will be liveblogging from the other side of the divide between candidate and crowd, be sure to check in at WashingtonIndependent.com.)

11:55 am –
The crowd was still struggling with the wave, when the crowd realized that dignitaries were also waving with them from a 3rd floor balcony that overlooks the venue.  Rep. Dale Kildee, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Sen. Carl Levin and Lt. Gov. John Cherry are visibly waving.  We’ve heard that the Dingells — both Rep. John Dingell and his spouse and DNC delegate Debbie Dingell — are en route to the venue. We’re running behind schedule, which is unusual for this campaign organization…and the crowd is still not getting the hang of doing the wave.

11:46 am –
Todd says: As crowds are wont to down when packed tightly together in folding chairs and bleachers, the crowd waiting for Sen. Barack Obama to appear has been attempting to do the human wave for about 15 minutes. They finally accomplished a half hearted process, with only half the audience on the left standing, a few people in the center standing, and people on the right only raising their hands in the air. [Ed. note: this devolves into friendly bickering between Marcy Wheeler who is sitting with us; she thinks Todd's being too hard on the Flint folks since they are seated in a 110 degree semi-circle in front of the podium. We are getting restless...]

10:55 am —
Todd Heywood notes that there are protesters outside the venue now; they are with National Right To Life and Flint Right To Life.  They are handing out leaflets containing Obama’s alleged record on abortion.  There are more graphic protest signs than there are protesters, since only three protesters are visible. Apparently the Jesus signage likes to stay well across the street from the signage depicting fetuses…

10:45 am —
We’re here at Kettering University in Flint, Mich. this morning, awaiting the arrival of Barack Obama and other Democratic leadership.

Obama is expected to address two key issues at this  event: party unity, and the economy.  This weekend’s Michigan Democratic Party State Central meeting resulted in the selection of 45 at-large delegates that will attend the Democratic National Committee’s convention. 23 delegates were selected for Obama and 22 for Clinton.  The mainstream media is still on the campaign bus en route to the venue, and should already have been told by Obama that the full delegation from Michigan will seated, at full strength, a departure from the punitive settlement reached by the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee on May 31st.

The weather is thankfully cooler and sunny, making for a more comfortable wait for the 1000+ attendees expected this morning.

Check back soon for more on this morning’s Obama campaign event!