Austintown bar patrons grade president’s speech

Photo by: Special to The Vindicator/Mark Stahl

Photo

VALLEY VIEWERS: Jack Koscelansky and Dee Troll of Austintown watch the State of the Union address at Ball Busters Sports Bar in Austintown.

SEE ALSO: Obama: 'I will not walk away from these Americans'

Several locals wanted to hear about jobs and getting American troops out of Iraq.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

AUSTINTOWN — If Steve Osborn were to give President Barack Obama a grade for his first year in office, it would be a C-plus.

“I think we’re better off than a year ago … but he was a little bold on health care his first year, trying to tackle it,” said Osborm, who was one of a few dozen people who gathered Wednesday at Ball Busters Sports Bar, 3661 Mahoning Ave., to hear the president’s first state of the union address. Also on hand was a crew from CNN, who were just beginning to set up for interviews after the speech.

Osborn, of Youngstown, received a degree from Youngstown State University in accounting, but said that he didn’t fully realize how expensive college tuition can be “until the loans came pouring in.”

Obama needs to place greater emphasis on ways to make college more affordable, as well as job creation, noted Osborn, who works two jobs to pay off the loans. Without jobs, even affordable health care will be out of reach for many, he added.

Other priorities the president should assume are doing more to protect gay people’s rights and allow more people to enter the country legally, he continued.

Also supporting the president is Dee Troll and her husband, Jack Koscelansky, both of whom said they feel Obama is doing well under difficult circumstances.

“He’s doing the best he can,” Troll said. “People need to hang in there with him.”

The Austintown couple said they also feel a top item in the president’s agenda should be jobs, before health-care reform, and that he should end the war in Iraq and bring American troops home.

That thought was echoed by Koscelansky, who said that, despite having served 30 years in the military, he strongly opposes the war in Iraq.

Koscelansky added that he “hate[s] the nastiness against the administration,” as well as what he said is some people’s “tearing Obama down.”

During Obama’s prime-time speech, Osborn appreciated what he felt was the president’s bipartisan approach, as well as “hitting on the right things,” such as plans to make college more affordable and revamp the country’s community college system.

Nevertheless, he continued, Obama should make good on his promise to close the military prison at Guantanemo Bay, Cuba, something he said goes against the nation’s core values.

“It represents torture and is anti-American,” Osborn added.

CNN also visited the sports bar close to the 2008 presidential election, noted Ron Lewis, manager. The cable outlet was interested in getting local residents’ reactions to the election and had contacted a few such establishments in the area, one of which suggested Ball Busters, he recalled.

“One [eatery] across the street gave them our number and my partner said, ‘Why not?’” Lewis added.