All Blog Posts from From The Road

From CBS Radio Correspondent Barry Bagnato:

(WEST MIFFLIN, PA.) So much is being made about racism in this race and the negatives, especially for Barack Obama the bigger story may be lost. This campaign is forcing groups such as labor unions to openly confront the issue because race preferences are threatening the union's political goals.

In United Steelworkers Union Local 2227's concrete block hall here, international Secretary-Treasury Jim English took the stage at a "Steel Blitz for Obama" rally. Teaming with the Pittsburgh Steelers, union leaders and activists are being bused around to train and motivate activists to go door-to-door. English's entire speech was about racism, not something you normally hear in these halls. "If we all do what we're supposed to do, five years, ten years from now, we won't be saying, I won't vote for somebody because of the color of their skin." Fading photos of Democratic Presidents from FDR to LBJ sagged from a wall. Referring to JFK, English said, "It was always a source of puzzlement to me that people said they wouldn't vote for him because he was Catholic. Well, history repeats itself, doesn't it?"

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From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) Barack and Michelle Obama addressed a small group of seniors at a retirement home here today, where Michelle Obama praised her mother for her role in caring for the couple’s two daughters.

“We have this wonderful support system around us of people who love us and care for us and number one on top of that list is my mom, who is 70 years old,” she said, “She finally retired even though my older brother and I have been begging her since we started having kids, but she is at home when we are on the road and, I don’t know, there’s nothing like having grandma there.”

Michelle Obama added that her mother’s pension from her late husband and social security are the reasons that she is able to care for her granddaughters, a role that Obama said has been pivotal to her daughters’ and her husband’s lives. “We know that we couldn’t be who we are today not just because of our family but because we’ve got seniors in our lives, and the importance of having her there an instilling the kind of values she taught us to our girls is beyond measure and Barack has experienced that as well.”

Barack Obama touted his retirement plan to small crowd, expressing his opposition to privatizing social security. “Imagine if your social security right now was tied up with the Dow Jones, how would you feel when you woke up in the morning and the Dow had gone down 400 points? You wouldn’t feel real confident about the stability of your nest egg,” Obama said.

Obama promised that achieving retirement security will be a priority in his first term, but that bipartisan negotiations will be a necessary part of the process. He said both Republicans and Democrats will have to “jump at the same time” otherwise the issue risks becoming politicized.

Playing off of John McCain’s call for a series of town hall style debates, Obama said he is will participate in such a forum, but added, “when it comes to Social Security, he might want to finish the debate with himself first.”

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From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(CHICAGO) Barack Obama told a group of high dollar contributors last night that his critics are trying to paint him and his wife as “scary” people. One donor, Rick Fizdale, added the word, “Hussein” to his name tag in an effort to show solidarity with Obama. “The theory was, we’re all Hussein” Obama explained.

“But that accurately captures, I think, the strategy. Come on. They’re going to try to make me into a scary guy. They’re even trying to make Michelle into a scary person. Right? And so that drumbeat of we’re not sure if he’s patriotic or not, we’re not sure if he is too black. I don’t know, before I wasn’t black enough. Now he might be too black. We don’t know whether he’s going to socialize, who knows what?” he said as the crowd laughed.

“You laugh but this is what is being said, our challenge is to make sure that that tactic does not work,” Obama added.

The Obama campaign launched a website yesterday in order to combat internet and email rumors about both of the Obamas. As of late last night, the campaign estimates that 20,000 had registered on the website.

Barack and Michelle will be campaigning together today in Columbus, Ohio, at an event focusing on senior citizens and social security. Obama, who opposes privatizing social security, is expected to jab at McCain’s retirement plan.