ASHTABULA —
It has been more than three years since area residents boarded a bus for Washington D.C. to be a part of history.
The bus, sponsored by the Star Beacon in conjunction with the Ashtabula County NAACP, traveled to the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. He would become the first African-American president.
It has been three and a half years since that historic day. Some of the people who were on that bus have shared their thoughts of then and now.
“We were very excited to go to the Inauguration,” said Adam Holman, an officer the NAACP who helped organize the trip. “I actually thought it was one of the biggest things that have happened in this country’s history.”
Bill Osborne, an Ashtabula resident, who went on the trip said political change is hard to come by in our fractured country.
“The election was historical for obvious reasons but he (Obama) is only one man ...
he can’t put solutions in place unless he has a clear mandate from the American people,” Osborne said.
Osborne said special interest groups, with the help of the media, accelerate divisions in the country. He said the divisions between gay and straight, black and white, rich and poor are used as wedges to keep people apart.
“We spend so much time divided we can’t spend the time finding solutions for the (country’s) problems,” Osborne said.
Osborne said other institutions, such as the business community, need to be involved in finding solutions to economic and social problems.
He said major companies can not seek blindly after profits, through out sourcing, and not find ways to provide safety nets for those who get left out in the cold.
“I think Obama for the most part means well... I think with all the competing interests he is having difficulty bring them together,” Osborne said.
Holman said he is not sure if he would return to Washington D.C. if Obama is re-elected. Osborne said he would be inclined to go again.
“The second term (celebration) might be more important,” Osborne said.
“I think the American people should turn off the television, turn off the radios and think about what is important to the country,” he said.
Joe Humpolick, an attorney with the Ashtabula County public defender’s office, said he believes President Obama has made too many compromises, but understands why they are necessary.
“Congress turned every trick to block him,” he said.
Humpolick said he was looking for a single payer health system and a much larger economic stimulus bill, but feels history will be on the president’s side.
“I think history will be very, very kind to Barack Obama,” Humpolick said. “I regard that day (inauguration day) as one the best days of my life.”
He said the president saved the auto industry and prevented a world depression (with the bailout of the banking industry).
Lisa Holman did not go on the trip, but met the group in the Washington D.C. area.
“As an African-American I am still proud and elated that an African- American or non-traditional candidate was able to put a coalition together to get elected,” she said.
Lisa Holman said she was surprised by the amount of political opposition, making it difficult to pass some of the president’s legislation.
“I’ve been gravely disappointed with some of the obstacles that have been placed in the way,” she said.
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