Pool Report of Obama Q&A in South Charleston, West Virginia

Q: The challenges of attracting voters in this state–blue collar, white voters in this state <inaudible> They think you are un-american. How do you get those voters?  Democratic voters?

A: Well..You know we just have to get information out.  Hopefully they”ll watch your program tonight.  They”ll know that I’m a practicing Christian. They”ll know that my Grandfather fought in World War II and I was raised to love America and all these phony emails talking how I don’t pledge allegiance are just political smears.

But you know I think there are also a lot of people out there who also recognize that we need fundamental change in America and that’s what this campaign been about.  The reason we have been doing well all across the country is that we have very specific plans to make sure that we are bringing back jobs with good wages, that we’re making our trade agreements fair, that we’re investing in our infrastructure,  rebuilding our roads and our bridges, that we’re gonna provide universal healthcare and make college more affordable and that we’re gonna pay for all these things in part by rolling back some of these Bush tax cuts that went to wealthy corporations.  I think that’s an agenda that would be good for the people of West Virginia.

And since I also come from a coal state I think they can feel confidence that I will be  investing  in clean coal technology that will create a brighter future for West Virginia.

So you know..It takes time for us to be able get the word out, but we are confident that we will over time.

Q:  With the Clinton’s making a gazillion stops in West Virginia why is this only your second campaign trip?

A: During the course of a campaign you end up having this hopscotch that you’ve to do and all of us have to make decisions about where we’re gonna go.
We’ve got Oregon coming up. We’ve got Kentucky coming up.  Montana, South Dakota and so there’s some stops that we made a decision to make.

And Oregon. I’ve been to Oregon more than they have.  They’ve put more emphasis on West Virginia.

Part of it probably has to do with where you anticipate where you’re gonna do best.

Ultimately at the end of the day I am confident we’re gonna be able to unify the party and focus on where the real differences are and that is between the Democrats and John McCain

Q: Have you pretty much written off West Virginia as far as a primary goes?

A:  Well I think there is no doubt that Senator Clinton is favored to win.  What’s the latest poll?

I think President Clinton said that they are going to get 80% of the vote.   We”ll take him at his word.

Q: What is a good showing for you?

A: I guess better than 20% according to President Clinton’s math.

Q: How problematic are those rumors that you were talking about earlier that you don’t pledge allegiance, that you’re a Muslim?  They’re out there.

A: They’ve been out there since the beginning of this campaign. This is something that has been systematically fed into the bloodstream. We notice these emails get sent out in each successive state that we were campaigning in.

Which indicates that it is not just a random sort of viral thing. I think you know this is a dirty trick that folks are playing on voters.

One of the things I’ve always said since the beginning of this campaign is I’ve got faith in the American people to sort out what is true and what is not true.  These are patently false allegations that I think have been repeatedly debunked.  My assumption is—is that by the time we get through this primary should I be the nominee we will have more than ample opportunity to make sure the American people know exactly what is true.

Q: What’s your plan to take these Michigan delegates off the table? Will you endorse as your campaign has or support as your campaign has the Democratic Executive Committee of Michigan 69-59?

As I said.  As I think my campaign indicated.  I think it is a legitimate approach to trying to solve the problem. There haven’t been final negotiations on it, but what we have said is that we will strongly consider it and I think it is a legitimate approach to trying to resolve an issue.

My bottom line is I want to get the Michigan delegation seated.  I want to get the Florida delegation seated and I want them to be participating in the convention. I want to win those seats in November.