i'll post video when it's available.
here is some of what he said. these aren't quotes, though some might be.
a child asked what he wanted to be when he was a kid. obama said he wanted to be an architect, an nba player.
it's not who has the plans, it's who can get it through. clintons went behind closed doors to try to get healthcare done. they scared everyone, didn't have enough confidence in the american people to let them in on the plan. when they announced the plan it was dead in the water.
i'm going to have a big table and i'm going to invite everybody. we will have the negotiations on CSPAN so that the american people know what's going on.
the american people have to be enlisted to make government work. the more the people understand the more accountable.
standardized tests and no child left behind:
standardized testing forces teachers to teach to the test. he wants them learning poetry, science, art. we need to keep learning interesting. i would change the assessments, one at the beginning and one at the end of the year. use the test scores as a tool for teachers to improve their students.
view on AIDS in american's in african american community:
prevention in healthcare. we wait for people to get sick then spend oodles of money. we don't spend money on the front end. when it comes to aids the most important thing is education, which should include abstinence teaching and other contraceptive information.
with his daughters, he's going to teach them about values and morals but if they make a mistake he doesn't want them punished with an STD. you have to teach abstinence and about contraceptives.
stigma of aids as only in the gay community. it's connected to drug use, so needs to be treated as a public care issue not a criminal issue.
a very passionate woman asked how are we going to end abortion. this issue perhaps best illustrates obama's sensibilities.
i understand the issues on both sides. he talked about his daughters. i understand the moral dimension. the people who deny that are missing the boat. no one is pro-abortion. people feel like this is a painful decision. what it comes down to is who is going to make this decision. i trust women are not making this decision casually. they consult their conscious and others.
i have been pro choice but let me say this is an example where good people can disagree. but can we agree to reduce teen pregnancies, make adoption more viable.
