POTUS talks middle class, ending gridlock in Congress
According to President Barack Obama, the bluest place in Idaho is in Boise State University’s Albertsons Stadium, which is known for its deep blue football turf.
But, he said partisanship shouldn’t be an indication of how the county moves forward.
“I want this country to be one that shows the world what we still know to be true — that we are not just a collection of red states and blue states,” Obama said to a crowd Wednesday at BSU. “We are still the United States of America.
George Wood Jr. | Argonaut
President Barack Obama leaves Gowen Air Force Base after stepping out of Air Force One moments before.
Idaho was Obama’s first stop following Tuesday’s State of the Union address, in which he presented his political agenda to Congress. In Boise, he touched on many of the policy goals he mentioned during the address including improving middle class economics and effectively working with the new Republican-dominated Congress.
“Are we going to accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well, or can we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising income and opportunities for everyone that’s willing to try hard?” Obama said. “We don’t want to just make sure everyone shares in America’s success, we actually think that everyone can contribute to America’s success.”
About 6,600 Idahoans packed the Cowen-Williams Sports Complex to hear Obama give his remarks a little after 3 p.m. One of the Obama’s main goals this year, he said, is to improve the U.S. education system.
He reiterated his desires to encourage more women and minorities to participate in STEM programs, increase funding for research and development, help students reduce their monthly loan payments through refinancing and recruit companies to provide apprenticeships along with other ways people can upgrade their skills.
Additionally, Obama said he was submitting a plan to Congress that would lower the cost of community college — to zero.
“In the new economy, we need to make two-year colleges free and as universal as high school is today,” Obama said.
He also said he supports a “free and open internet,” more affordable childcare options and paid sick leave for working Americans.
Obama acknowledged Idaho is a red state and asked the many Idaho Republicans to consider hearing his ideas and offering suggestions of their own — a process he said he wishes Congress would engage in more often.
“I know there are Republicans that disagree with my approach … my job is to put forward what I think is best for America,” Obama said. “The job of Congress then is to put forward alternative ideas, but they’ve got to be specific, it can’t just be ‘No.'”
Air Force One touched down in Boise at 1:20 p.m. at Gowen Air Force Base, approximately 15 minutes away from the BSU campus. About 100 family members with deployed relatives awaited in the cold weather for Obama to arrive. After shaking hands and taking pictures with many of those in the crowd, Obama waved goodbye and exited by a long motorcade that closed many Boise streets.
Once he arrived on campus, he made a brief stop at BSU’s new product development lab in the Micron Engineering Building He said he was shown various innovations the lab was developing, such as a 3-D printed arm that would help disabled students open lockers without assistance.
“Here at Boise State, innovation is a culture you’re building,” Obama said. “You’re also partnering with companies to do two things — you help students graduate with skills employers are looking for, and you help employees pick up skills they need to advance on the job.”
Some BSU students were waiting since 5 a.m. to buy tickets and secure a good seat before the speech, including BSU sophomore Katie Maddux.
“It was such an amazing experience and honor, because living in Idaho I never thought the opportunity would happen,” Maddux said.
Anna Guida, another BSU student, attended the speech with friends.
“I thought it was really cool, of all the places he could speak, he came here.” Guida said. “Initially I was concerned, because one of my teachers asked who is going to see Obama speak, and only five or six people out of a class of 30 raised their hands.”
Hundreds of protestors waited outside of the complex to relay messages to Obama as he drove by in the motorcade, including those against Obamacare and the Obama administration creating a national monument on the Boulder-White Clouds, a treasured wild land in Idaho.
The most populated protest included Boise locals adorned in yellow, holding up signs that said “Save Saeed.” According to protesters, the demonstration was to empower Obama to negotiate with the Iranian government to free former Boise area pastor Saeed Abedini, who was arrested in Iran in 2012 for alleged Christian proselytizing in Iran.
Naghmeh Abedini, Saeed’s wife, was able to meet with the president for about ten minutes, and she said Obama assured her that Saeed was a top priority. Abedini said the president told her Saeed was constantly being mentioned in meetings between Secretary of State John Kerry and the Iranian Government.
Obama left soon after the speech to depart for Kansas, where he spoke at the University of Kansas Thursday.
George Wood Jr. can be reached at [email protected]