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News
The Clarion | October 31, 2008
Sarah Palin visits Asheville Civic Center
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by Jay Moore
Staff Writer
Asheville had a prominent political figure
visit the area on Sunday when Sarah Palin
held a rally at the Civic center to promote
the campaign of John McCain for President.
This visit comes less than a month after
Barrak Obama held a rally for his campaign
at Asheville High. All of this increased
interest in Asheville, and the state of North
Carolina in general, is a result of a hotly
contested Presidential race.
In fact. North Carolina has not gone
Democrat since Jimmy Carter ran for
President in 1976 and at the time of
publication for The Clarion this week the
candidates are locked in a virtual dead
heat. This is the reason for the heightened
attention on North Carohna and the reason
for Governor Pahn’s visit on Sunday.
Palin’s campaign staff site the total
attendance for Sundays rally at the Civic
Centerwas 7,800 give or take a few. When
Pahn took the stage she was greeted with
signs that read “Asheville loves Sarah” and
“Kids for Sarah”. After helping opening
act Gretchen Wilson belt out "Redneck
Woman," Palin gave a speech, the focus
of which was the economy and the difficult
economic storm that the country is now
facing.
“John McCain will help people keep
their homes, he will help retirees secure
their savings,” she said. “John and I are
pro-growth and pro-economy and we will
get America back on the right track. ” Palin
also criticized Obama’s economic plan to
“spread the wealth” saying it took money
from hard working people and gave it to
those who were undeserving.
Palin referred to Obama’s economic plans
as an attempt to move our country in the
direction of socialism. Pahn also stated,
““You can do the math or go with your gut
and either way you are going to come to one
conclusion — Barack Obama is for higher
taxes and bigger government.”
The event went smoothly with seveal
exceptions. Civic Center security had
to remove a couple of Obama supporters
who were being loud and disrupting the
Governor To which she replied, “I think
security should let him (them) stay so he
could learn a thing or two from you (her
supporters).” Also, there were about one
hundred Obama supporters outside the
Civic Center demonstrating against the
Governor holding up signs that read “no
more hate” and “real women don’t vote
for Palin”, while shouting at the top of
their lungs.
Many of her supporters stated after
the rally that they think that Palin has the
ability clean up Washington. Susan Greer
was quoted as saying, “I think she will
clean house when she gets to Washington,
she brought a boost to the conservative
and Christian base.” Capri Potton echoed
that sentiment, “We need a strong military
leader to face the adversity of the next
four years, and we need (Palin) to clean
up Washington.”
In the wake of Governor Palin’s visit
to Ashville, it remains clear that she has
the ability to inspire support from her
followers, while simultaneously inspiring
disdain from the supporters of her rival.
Candidates pledge economic change
by Radosav Babic
Business Editor
Many have fought and have struggled
throughout American history while trying to
implement a true democracy and equal rights
for all. Therefore, not only is it everyone’s
obligation as a citizen of United States to vote,
but each individual should feel responsible to
do so because all of those who have sacrificed
their own lives for the rights each American has
today, such as an equal right to vote.
The victory of Barack Obama or John McCain
will ultimately have a great effect on the future
of this country and it's people in the next four
to eight years, therefore each vote is considered
to be quite important. However, these two
candidates, one being a Democrat and the other
a Republican, have somewhat different views
and plans, especially economic plans, with
which they hope to rescue this country from the
economic crises in the future.
Obama plans on executing an economic plan
that would guarantee American’s capability
see Economy, page 8
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