He told 1,900 people at Beddingfield High School that he sees the same economic distress in eastern North Carolina that he sees in the agricultural areas of his own state.

"When you go to downstate Illinois, it's just like Wilson, North Carolina," he said. "We have farms, you have farms. Y'all may grow some different stuff, but it looks the same and our towns are struggling in the same way."

The Beddingfield "town hall" meeting was one of three campaign appearances Obama made Monday, sandwiched between speeches in Wilmington and Chapel Hill. This was his second stop in eastern North Carolina.

Both Obama and U.S. Sen Hillary Clinton are trying to capture voters' attention as they head into the final week before the N.C. primary elections on May 6.

Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, appeared in Charlotte Monday. Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has several N.C. appearances scheduled today and Wednesday. He campaigned on her behalf at Barton College on April 12.

Obama's appearance in Wilson was delayed by more than 40 minutes by bad weather, but he did not act rushed once he arrived.

In fact, he spoke for more than an hour -- the first 40 minutes being a speech that hit on many of the same themes as his April 17 appearance at East Carolina University, then he spent 30 minutes answering questions about health care, education, Israel-Palestine relations and Chinese goods, among other subjects.

"When Wrangler shuttered its 40-year-old plant here in Wilson, moved its operation to Central America a couple of years ago, local workers -- many of whom had worked at the plant for decades -- found themselves without work, without health care and without pensions," he said. "The three years leading up to that closure, a thousand workers were let go from their jobs in a series of painful layoffs."

He also noted the closure of the Leiner Health Products plant In January, which cost 176 workers their jobs.

Layoffs don't just affect workers, Obama said. "Suddenly restaurants don't have customers. Day-care centers have to close because folks are out of work. ... When those things start shutting down, kids start moving away because they feel they have no opportunities."

Unemployment is higher in Wilson than it is across the U.S., he said. Average annual household income in Wilson is $11,000 lower than that of the average American family.

"Meanwhile, gas is at $3.58," he said.

During the question period, Hunt High School Principal Joe Davis asked what Obama would do to eliminate or ease poverty in rural areas.

The candidate replied that if the U.S. is going to reverse this trend, it needs to invest heavily in rural infrastructure -- not just roads but broadband lines, cell phone networks and other technological improvements, he said. "We need to ensure that information can flow into these communities."

He said he would also ask the states' university systems to lead efforts to reform agricultural practices. Biomass, the production of energy from agricultural materials, could be the source of "new opportunities, new jobs," he said.

Obama would also like to see college scholarships created for teachers interested in teaching in rural areas after graduation.

Suzanne Stott, a fourth-grade teacher at Statonsburg Elementary School, asked Obama about his opinion of No Child Left Behind and standardized testing.

Obama replied that he believes in academic standards.

"We live in a knowledge economy," he said. "It used to be that it you had a strong back, you could get a job and support a family, but no longer."

But No Child Left Behind has created a school culture where teachers are encouraged to teach the test, he said.

Schools need to find a way to encourage students to have a healthy appetite for education "because the kids in China and India are not complaining about math and science; they're hungry for it," he said.

He added that schools cannot do it alone.

"If parents don't parent, we cannot educate their kids," he said, a line that drew a standing ovation from at least one group of teachers.

Obama also addressed a man who described his heart attack in December. His treatment was limited because he had no health insurance and he wasn't Medicaid eligible.

"Your story is too common," Obama said. Forty-seven million U.S. citizens don't have insurance while those who are covered are dealing with soaring premiums.

Many programs don't pay for preventive care, he said. They won't allow overweight patients access to nutritionists who might help with diets, which leads to complications with diabetes, he said.

He said he favors a national discussion of health issues, leading to universal health coverage.

Obama asked his supporters not to be distracted by negative campaign, either before the primary or this fall.

"They're going to say he has a funny name. Or he hasn't been wearing his flag pin lately. They're asking questions about my values, my character, my patriotism," he said. "But this campaign is not about me, Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain. This campaign is about you. It's about your struggles, your hopes, your dreams. That's what I want to talk about for the next eight days, the next eight months, the next eight years. It is about how to make your lives a little bit better."

mshaw@wilsontimes.com | 265-7878

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