The Obama Cave

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Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a youth reporter who is a graduate of the Urban Youth International Journalism Program.

Editor’s Note: This article was written slightly before the national election.

The Obama cave: October 30, 2008, 566 W. Lake St. You go down the stairs in the dark. Then you see a bright light and the Obama cave is there, with its many rooms, Obama signs and the word “Obama” everywhere.

The supporters show their love by coming in, signing up, and making phone calls to get other people to vote for Obama. Some go door to door. Everyone is there: the young and the elderly. They work there day and night from days to weeks, just to make sure that they get your vote and others. Eighty to 200 people come and help out every day. These were some of the people who took part in the campaign: Kate Samuels, Andy Kitaeff, Rodney Washington and Dough Stevensin.

Samuels came from England for the campaign. I asked Samuels what her opinion was on the election and she said, “I’m pretty scared, amazed, and those who are not scared should be scared. I’m kind of cautiously optimistic. Right now, it is important to get the votes in to persuade people to register and vote soon. Right now, it is hard for both parties because to some people, it is a habit to not vote or forget to vote. If this doesn’t get done, then there will be no true winner. We need to focus on getting the votes or the people to go to Indiana. We must work to get translators to get the votes from foreign people. ”

They wanted to get the people of Illinois to go to Indiana to get the people to vote for Obama because it was a swing state; it didn’t know who to vote for. Since Illinois already would vote for Obama, they wanted their neighbor to vote for Obama too. Then I asked her: “Are you worried about the polls being rigged?” She said, “I’m not afraid of the polls getting rigged because it happened eight years ago and the blame goes onto (Former Vice President Al) Gore because he didn’t defend himself. We now have more protection on the polls.”

Every one seems happy but as the time draws near, people start to tighten their shifts. “Whoever becomes leader can help America and the world. I think (Republican candidate and Us Sen. John) McCain is a great senator, not a president,’’ said Samuels.

My other interviews were with Andy Kitaeff and Rodney Washington. They had the same opinions about McCain. They both thought that McCain would not be a great president. Obama’s issues are clearer, has great plans for change, and he reaches out to most of the US. He seems more heartwarming than McCain, they said. McCain is still stuck in the same mind frame as the previous presidents, they said. The president should use the money for our security, rather than war. We need to send someone new to Washington.

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Categories: UYIJP