Posted on 10/26/2008 8:19:17 AM PDT by ResistorSister
CANTON Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who is scheduled to be in Canton on Monday, will deliver "an important address" at the Memorial Civic Center rather than his typical stump speech, his campaign said tonight.
A campaign spokesman said he could not disclose any further details.
The campaign is apparently organizing an event at the civic center at 1101 Market Ave. N that's different from the standard political rally. The spokesman said that no entertainment has been booked. In addition, Geoff Tompkins, manager and director of event services for the civic center, said Obama's advance team told him that they wanted a venue that would be appropriate for a "policy speech."
A press release said that Obama would "discuss his plans to turn around the economy, bring new jobs to Ohio and deliver the change we need in Washington."
The campaign says it will not release specifics on Obama's arrival and departure from Canton, nor would it say where he'll stay Sunday night. He is scheduled Sunday to campaign in Colorado. After his speech in Canton, he's set to go to Pittsburgh, a spokesman said.
LIVE IN CANTON
The event here will start at 12:30 p.m. The Obama campaign said the doors at the McKinley lobby entrance on the south side of the civic center will open no later than 10:30 a.m. Free tickets were distributed this afternoon and evening at Obama's campaign offices in Canton at 111 Second St. NW, Alliance at 15 S. Arch Ave. and Massillon at 35 Erie St. N along with the Stark County Democratic Party office at 4220 12th St. NW in Canton Township. Tickets were to be handed out between 2 and 8 p.m. Sunday.
The campaign declined to say how many tickets still were available or how many were passed out Saturday. Tompkins said the civic center's capacity can vary from 3,500 to 5,000 people, depending on the configuration. He added that the Obama campaign will pay $12,000 to rent the facility.
Healy said the campaign also had considered holding the event at Fawcett Stadium, but the campaign apparently went with the smaller civic center because of forecasts of chilly, rainy weather Monday.
RUSHING TO GET TICKETS
At about 7 p.m. tonight, a steady stream of people was stopping by Obama's Canton office to pick up the blue event tickets. At times, a line went out the door. A campaign volunteer said the line wrapped around the building at one point in the afternoon.
C.J. Cooper, 19, of Dover, a Walsh University sophomore, originally went to the office looking for tickets to a pro-Obama rally in Cleveland on Wednesday featuring rapper Jay-Z and Cavs star LeBron James. He ended up settling for tickets to see Obama on Monday.
"It's a little disappointing, but still encouraging at the same time," he said, tongue in cheek. He said he'll be skipping statistics class to attend Obama's speech. But he doesn't think his professor will care.
"I think he's for Obama."
Ophelia Owens, 60, of Canton, was shopping at the Value City Department Store in Canton Township, near Meyers Lake, when her son called her with news of Obama's visit. She immediately rushed to the Canton office.
"I want to be there to support him," she said. "I think we're almost in a depression. I think he's going to bring back the economy. I think he's going to bring troops home from the war."
Mayor William J. Healy II said Obama told him earlier this year at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami that he planned to visit Canton. Local Democrats have been pressing the campaign for weeks to arrange for Obama to visit Stark County. Healy said it could be Obama's last major stop in Ohio before the election.
"They knew Canton was one of the biggest cities they hadn't hit yet. I knew they wanted to save it for the end."
Yes, because he will announce that Joe Biden is dropping out and Colin Powell will run with him as VP on an "all-black bipartisan" ticket of unity. And Scott McClellan will be the official butt kisser for the ticket.
Tell you what, if he spends an hour talking about Brat Fraud, I will be very, very pleased, come to think of it!
“I think he will be proposing some major protectionist policies...”
Nope, just more of the same old, same old: “... rejects the false choice between walls around America and losing every manuf job... etc, etc,”
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