California Delegation
L/R: Miss Michigan (1st Runner Up), Miss Kansas, (Miss AGIF USA) and Mr. AGIF USA
McCain & Obama Campaigns Address The
American GI Forum
The 60th National Conference of the American GI Forum was
held in the Mile High City, Denver, Colorado, from July 23rd through
July 26th. Much of conference business was postponed until Saturday
to accommodate the arrival of presidential hopefuls or their surrogates.
Friday’s agenda was purely candidate watching as members eagerly awaited the
arrival of Sen. John McCain at noon and then Sen. Barack Obama’s surrogate,
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Forumeer response was lukewarm to
Senator McCain’s constant references to Sen. Obama and his position on the
Iraq war. Following Sen. McCain’s speech, members voiced concern that he did
not address important issues to Hispanics like Immigration Reform, the Economy
and Veteran Services. Some even displayed banners reading “Bring The Troops
Home” and “Peace Is Patriotic” during his visit.
The evening belonged to New
Mexico Governor Bill Richardson who told the crowd that Sen. Barack Obama was
something special. The New Mexico Governor was pinch hitting for Sen. Obama who
was outside the country and countered Sen. McCain’s barrage of negative
commentary on Sen. Obama’s record earlier that day. He spoke in English and
Spanish outlining Barack Obama's history of Veteran support. He also shared
stories of their coming together as a consequence of their rivalry for the
democratic nomination. Following the speech, the Governor came down to the floor
to greet Forumeers and later met privately with some of the California
delegation.
Convention business resumed on Saturday morning and continued into the early evening. Once the final task of electing officers was concluded, the general session was adjourned. A very nice reception was followed by dancing into the evening featuring the Rick Garcia Band . Augie Lerma, Editor California Forumeer
McCain
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/25/mccain-talking-denver-vets-today/