Elon, Burlington communities: ‘What we want to hear from Obama’

Elon University and Burlington, NC residents explain what they want to hear as the nation’s 44th president, Barack Obama, is sworn in on January 20. 

By Keegan Calligar

December 11, 2008

 

Throughout president-elect Barack Obama’s campaign, Americans were extremely vocal and arguably more involved in politics than ever before.  Next up for Obama is his January inauguration, and members of the Elon and Burlington communities continue to voice their opinions about what they want to hear as the 44^th president is sworn into office.

 Tony Williams, a Burlington resident and Walmart employee, wants to see Obama talk about the economy and the war in Iraq.

 “I’d like him to talk about the economy, to continue to do that things that’s necessary to get the economy back on track,” said Williams, a 33-year Air Force veteran. “And at the same time, also concentrate on getting the military people out of Iraq. I don’t feel like they should have been there to start with.”

 Adam Short, a visiting instructor in political science at Elon University, also believes that Obama should talk about the current economic crisis.

“I would like to see him touch on his plans for the economy,” Short said. “He has stayed in the background in the past few weeks on the auto bailout and plans for an economic stimulus package, so I would like to know more on day one what his plans are.”

Harlen Makemson, an associate professor of communications at Elon, believes Obama should talk about the recession, as well as uniting Americans of different political parties.

“I definitely want to hear him talk about the specifics about what he’s going to do with the economy, what his plans are,” Makemson said. “I’m encouraged by the people he’s putting into place, but the problems are so many and so immense, I’d like to know where he’s going to go first to tackle these sorts of things.

“I would like to hear more about how he’s going to try to bridge the seemingly huge gap between left, right, red state, blue state. There seems to be some good things he’s done on that aspect as well, but I think there’s so much work to be done and I worry sometimes that perhaps its too big to be crossed. So certainly, his work’s cut out for him in addressing those two things,” he added.

Brian Collins, the associate director of residence life at Elon University, hopes that Obama will address the United States’ role in the global community.

 

 

Harlen Makemson hopes Obama will discuss the economy and how he plans to unite Americans of different political parties.

“I think I’m hoping that he talks about improving the way America is viewed by the rest of the world, and [talks] about [how] we need to come together as a community, and that there is a world community, and that we all play a part in that,” he said.

 

 

“What the United States does has an affect on what everyone else does, and vice versa,” he added. “So our energy policies, for example, play a big role in how we are viewed in the world and how we work with other countries. I think those are the two biggest things I hope to hear.”

 

Burlington resident Joni Grooms said that while she did not vote for Barack Obama and is not happy that he is going to be president, she would like to hear how the president-elect plans to pay for new, government-funded programs.

 

“Mainly what I would like him to talk about is how he’s going to pay for all of the things he’s proposing, [such as] the new jobs and the changes for America,” she said. “[I’d like to know] how he’s going to pay for them, if he’s going to raise taxes or … if he’s going to cut other things out of the budget.”

Pauli Hawkins, a Burlington resident and Walmart employee, hopes Obama will address the increasing unemployment rate.

“What’s he going to do to help people with jobs?” she asked. “He’s such a good man, anything he says I’ll be happy with.”

 

Hawkins worries came on the same day that an article on Bloomberg.com article said that the current unemployment rate has soared in the past weeks.

 

“Initial jobless claims increased 58,000 to 573,000 in the week ended Dec. 6, the highest level since November 1982, from a revised 515,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said today in Washington,” said the articles authors, journalists Timothy R. Homan and Shobhana Chandra. “The number of workers staying on benefit rolls reached 4.429 million, also the most since 1982.”

Pauli Hawkins wants to know how Obama plans to create jobs.

 

 

 

Mary Morrison, the director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning at Elon, explained that she wants Obama to inspire others to take part in community service.

“My hope is that Barack Obama will be able to inspire a whole new generation of people who are committed to public service, who can restore the next generation’s belief in government and the power of government, and also in their own efficacy for addressing issues on a local level,” she said.

Obama will be sworn in on Jan. 20, and tickets for the event are proving extremely hard to acquire. The event is free if a citizen’s request for tickets is granted by his or her congressman or senator. However, supply has rapidly outpaced demand for Obama’s inauguration, and online ticket-brokers are charging large amounts of money for tickets.

 

According to a November article on CNN’s website, one ticket-broker was already charging $20,095 per ticket.

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