Hays-area Obama supporters look to do their part
By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN
Jahman Hill wants to study political science in college, and he'd also like to play basketball at the college level.
Hill figures he can do both, so he is practicing both this summer.
Hill, who hones his skills against older basketball players every week in his hometown of Larned, was one of the youngest people who attended Saturday's "Unite for Change Rally" at Coffee Rules in Hays.
Actually, not counting 8-month-old Logan Chambers, who didn't know or care what the adults were talking about, the 14-year-old Hill was the youngest participant at the rally.
"I want to learn more about politics, because in college I want to study political science," said Hill, a freshman-to-be at Larned High School this fall who accompanied his dad, Tony Hill, to the rally.
About 30 people from six surrounding counties attended the event, held in the basement of the local coffee shop on Elm Street.
It started with those attending telling why they were there.
With some variations, most of them boiled down to a united theme: It's time for a change, and Barack Obama,the Democratic nominee for the 2008 presidential election, is the vehicle for that change.
"I want Obama to win, and not because of his race," said a black woman from the crowd.
The first African-American presidential nominee from a major party, Obama's father was Kenyan, and his mother, a Kansas native who grew up in Butler County, is white.
Neither race nor skin color matters, though, the crowd agreed.
"He doesn't sound like a Republican. He doesn't sound like a Democrat. He sounds like Obama," said Bob Pfeifer from Liebenthal. "I'm convinced he will be our next president, and I want to know as much as I can about him."
"It's time for a new era in politics, and this is where we start," said Matthew Musgrove, a Fort Hays State University student from Imperial, Neb.
Musgrove is a political science major at FHSU and also is manager of Coffee Rules, so he was glad to offer the space for the rally.
About 3,000 similar rallies were scheduled for Saturday around the country.
"I'm impressed with his ability to speak intelligently about things we need," said Janet Hays from Hays.
John and Jean Binder, long-time Democratic volunteers, helped lead a session of suggesting what people in Hays and the surrounding area could do to help with the campaign.
The three main topics talked about were 1) voter registration; 2) electing Democrats down the ballot; and 3) building a grassroots movement.
Subtopics included clarifying polling places, helping the elderly vote and ways to "inform, include and involve" -- the mantra of the Obama campaign.