Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Roanoke sees its share of last-minute stumping
Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee and supporters of Barack Obama held rallies.
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From The Roanoke Times
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Primary FAQ
- Where may I vote? You may vote at your regular polling place. For the full list, go to the State Board of Election's home page at sbe.virginia.gov and click on "Voter Information."
- When may I vote? Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. If you are in line at 7 p.m. you will still be allowed to vote.
- Who may vote? Any registered voter who will be 18 years old or older by the November general election.
- Will I be asked for party affiliation? Virginia law does not require you to register to vote by party. Because both Democrats and Republicans are holding their primary on the same day, you will be asked in which primary you want to vote, but you will not be asked for your party affiliation. You may vote in whichever party's primary you want, but you can't vote in both.
- What type of ID should I bring? You will be asked to show either a voter registration card, a government-issued ID card (such as a driver's license), an employer-issued photo ID card or a Social Security card. Under federal law, certain first-time voters may show a current utility bill, a bank statement, a government check or any other government document with the voter's name and address on it.
- May I still vote without ID? Yes. You will be asked to sign an Affirmation of Identity form under oath. You will vote on a provisional ballot. Your vote will be counted once officials confirm you are a registered Virginia voter and you did not cast another ballot.
A couple of thousand people crammed in some last-minute political rallies at three campaign stops across Roanoke on Monday night just hours before the polls opened.
Former President Bill Clinton drew about 1,200 people to the Patrick Henry High School gymnasium. Mike Huckabee addressed roughly 600 followers at a standing-room-only speech at the O. Winston Link Museum with another 100 people outside pressing toward the doors. And about 50 people showed up at the Dumas Center for Artistic & Cultural Development to hear supporters of Sen. Barack Obama.
It was the latest manifestation of the political enthusiasm that the presidential primary campaigns have brought to Virginia as the state's voters prepared for today's elections.
Clinton struck a conciliatory tone from the start, praising the accomplishments of all the Democratic presidential hopefuls.
"You don't have a bad choice," he said, before launching into a detailed policy speech in which he outlined, for more than an hour, Hillary Clinton's proposals on the economy, health care, education, energy policy and foreign policy.
"Raise your hand if you know somebody without health care insurance," he said at one point.
Just about every hand went up.
He then explained Hillary Clinton's health care plan, which, he said, would not charge people more than a certain fixed percentage of their income. To pay for it, he said, she would let the Bush administration's tax cuts expire.
"This is not about punishing wealthy folks," he said, acknowledging that he was one himself. "Believe me, nobody in the top 1 percent needs another $10,000 watch more than the people in this room need health care."
The speech's loudest and most sustained applause came when he told the crowd that Hillary Clinton had pledged to "radically change the No Child Left Behind law."
"That's the only guaranteed applause line in America this year," he noted once the cheering had died down.
On the other side of town, another former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, was drawing verbal images of an America filled with neighborhoods in which Little League coaches, Sunday school teachers and blue collar workers set a standard of idealism that he pledged to live up to.
Among his stands: being anti-abortion to the point of supporting a constitutional amendment to "protect the sanctity of life," backing an amendment that defines "marriage as a union between one man and one woman," and rejecting amnesty for illegal immigrants. He also promised to overhaul the federal tax system.
"I get to be the first president to nail a going-out-of-business sign on the front door of the IRS," he said.
He wove an analogy about his attitude toward illegal immigrants, saying that if someone came to his front door saying his or her car was out of fuel, he would help. "But break in my window in the middle of the night, and God help you."
He pledged, as president, to create an energy policy that would make America independent of foreign oil in 10 years. Then, he said, the U.S. can tell Middle Eastern oil nations, "Keep your oil. We don't need it any more than we need a bucket of your sand."
Backers such as Ruthie Bellman of Dublin loved it. "I'm just praying for him. His faith is a large factor for me."
A little later, at the Dumas Center, state Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, Virginia first lady Anne Holton and former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus rallied a few dozen supporters to encourage their friends to vote for Obama. The speakers were introduced by Nat Kaine, Gov. Tim Kaine's 18-year-old son with a freshly printed voter registration card in his wallet.
The event was a hastily called makeup rally after the candidate had to cancel a planned appearance in Roanoke on Monday morning because of the windstorm.
If Obama becomes the nominee, Mabus predicted, longtime Republican bastions will swing Democratic.
"All of a sudden, instead of an eight-state race, the way it's been the last few years, it's going to be a 50-state race," he said. "Wouldn't it be something if the first African-American president is the person who brought the South back to the Democratic party?"
david.harrison@roanoke.com 777-3523
rob.johnson@roanoke.com 981-3234
