Local supporters impressed with president's comments

by PAUL MORTON

Associate editor

Oberlin was well-represented when President Barack Obama visited Lorain County Community College Friday, and those residents we spoke with were duly impressed.

Robin Jindra, Michael Kay, Martin Buck, Kristin Peterson, Ann Pilisy, and Ron and Renetta Rimbert carpooled to Elyria for the president's town hall meeting, part of his White House on the Road series. Former Oberlin resident Tom Annable was seated on stage with the president, and Leona Grigsby stood at the corner of the stage, using American Sign Language to interpret for the hearing impaired.

Peterson said she had seen him in 2008 at a campaign stop at Baldwin Wallace College. She said he has not changed since taking office.

"He's what he was when he ran," Peterson said. "He's bright, passionate. He presented the same as when he was campaigning."

Pilisy said she was impressed by the format of the meeting. She said Obama's remarks were largely unscripted, with the majority of the time dedicated to fielding questions from the audience.

"He started early -- unbelievable," Pilisy said. "He spoke for about 20 minutes at the lecturn, then he took questions from the audience for, what, 45 minutes at least. It was about an hour and a half all together."

Peterson said the people Obama called on were not prescreened. She said he alternated between male and female questioners, but took questions from all over the room.

"He took questions from an 83-year-old woman, college students," Pilisy said.

"A 29-year-old guy who said he'd never held a job because he'd gotten in trouble when he was young," Peterson added. "It's difficult for anyone to get a job after they've been convicted of a felony. At some point they need a second chance."

The security was tight around the campus, with several streets in Elyria closed during the president's visit. But Peterson said at the field house where the town meeting was held it was somewhat puzzling.

"Anything metal or electronic had to be set on the table," she said. "Oddly enough, anything electronic had to be turned off and set on the table, because if you have anything that's going to do something, it's not going to do it if it's turned off. At the Democratic National Convention, if you came in with a camera, they'd take your camera and take your picture with your camera to make sure you were OK with your camera."

Kay said he was impressed with the grasp Obama seemed to have on local issues after visiting a precision machine shop and an athletic equipment manufacturer in Elyria. Peterson said that understanding impressed her most about his visit.

"The fact that he was able to see first-hand what's happening here and across the country in terms of manufacturing, and banks restricting lending, making it tough for business," she said. "He gets it."

In fact, he was introduced by an unemployed electrician who had returned to school at LCCC for more training.

"I thought it was impressive he had an unemployed person introduce him," Rimbert said. "He seemed like a real person."