Feeling at home with Obama

By Peter H. Milliken

The Boardman house party provided an alternative to big campaign rallies.

BOARDMAN — Those attending a Unite for Change house party in support of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign said the relaxed atmosphere was the hallmark of the event.

“It’s more informal because you can talk to people on an individual basis,” said Terrance Esarco of Youngstown, who learned of the event from a notice in The Vindicator. “It’s informative, but on an informal basis.”

“The house parties are a little bit more intimate than larger crowds. You can sit down and privately talk and discuss issues,” said Cheryl Wright, who was the hostess for the Saturday evening event in her West Boulevard home.

“House parties are a good strategy because they bring people together one on one,” said Luke Metcalf of Champion, a Youngstown State University student who has been active in the Obama campaign.

“Barack normally brings out huge numbers anytime he speaks,” Metcalf said of the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee. His observation was supported by the capacity crowd that filled YSU’s Beeghly Center for an Obama campaign rally earlier this year.

Metcalf said, however, “House parties are about being together one on one intimately.”

The Boardman party, designed to be an informational event for supporters and potential supporters of Obama, was one of 200 simultaneous Obama campaign house parties Saturday in Ohio and 4,000 of them nationwide.

A representative of the Obama campaign was to show a 30-minute Obama campaign video to the guests at the Boardman event and answer questions on the Illinois senator’s positions on issues.

Some of those in attendance were staunch Obama supporters, such as Star McGaha of Campbell, who wore an Obama campaign T-shirt that said “I still have the dream” and featured photos of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and Obama.

“This is an opportunity for a change and to be a part of history being made,” said McGaha, who also learned of the event through the newspaper.

Others, such as Esarco, are undecided voters. Esarco said he’s on the fence between supporting Obama and supporting Dr. Donald Allen, a Boardman veterinarian, who is an independent candidate for president.

Esarco said he still has questions about Obama’s positions on revitalizing the economy, how he would end the war in Iraq and whom he will pick as his vice presidential running mate.

McGaha said it’s important to pray for whoever becomes the next president.

“It’s all in God’s hands, and I feel we have to support and pray for whoever leads our country,” she said.

milliken@vindy.com