ALBUQUERQUE — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama held a town hall at Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque on Monday. Nearly 2,000 people packed into the uncomfortably hot gym, including nearly every major Democratic official and candidate in the state.

The town hall meeting was Obama’s first public event since he held an economic town hall meeting in February, ahead of New Mexico’s Democratic primary.

Much of Obama’s prepared remarks focused on the economy. He criticized Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain on nearly every economic situation facing America and middle-class Americans.

"I’ve seen the price of everything from gasoline to food to health care prices go up and up and up," said Obama.

"We can’t keep doing the same things we’ve been doing and expect a different result," Obama said to applause from the audience. "My opponent John McCain, he says he puts the country first. But I have to say it’s not an example of putting the country first when you say that George Bush’s economic policies have shown great progress."

Obama and "a special guest" were introduced by Gov. Bill Richardson, whose name has been floated as a vice presidential possibility under Obama. Richardson said of Obama, "We need a president who is going to make America’s economy number one again."

Teasing the crowd, Richardson said he was introducing the "star of the event:" special guest Monica Garcia, a single mother.

"This campaign is about people like her," Richardson said. "This campaign is about fighting for those who have been left behind."

Earlier in the day, Obama held a meeting with about 40 area women. He had held a similar event at the Flying Star Commissary on Broadway in June. Like the June event, Monday’s was an invitation-only event.

Obama also criticized Phil Gramm, a former McCain economic adviser, for his controversial comments labeling the United States "a nation of whiners" and saying that the country is in the grip of a "mental depression."

Gramm stepped down from his position three days later, but is still considered a candidate for treasury secretary under McCain should he win.

Of Gramm, Obama said, "This guy obviously doesn’t pump his own gas, he obviously doesn’t do his own shopping. He obviously isn’t paying his own bills."
Barack Obama in Albuquerque at a Rio Grande High School town hall meeting. Photo by Matthew Reichbach
Even issues that were not specifically about the economy, Obama said, were about the economy. Education, not surprisingly given the setting, was an issue that Obama touched upon, saying a strong educational system would provide a strong future economy for the United States.

Obama also faced questions from the audience, including one from a ward chair in the Democratic Party asking about his stance on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is a law that governs the ability of the government to wiretap citizens. Obama said he was not happy the telephone companies were let off the hook, but cited the exclusivity provision that Obama claims would safeguard against misuse of wiretapping. According to The Trail from the Washington Post, when the vote came up, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter called the exclusivity provision "meaningless because that specific provision is now in [the] 1978 act."

Before Obama appeared, some Democratic officials and candidates received a warm welcome from the crowd when they entered the gym. Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez and 1st Congressional District candidate Martin Heinrich both received applause from the crowd upon their entrance. But the biggest response came when Richardson entered and was given a standing ovation from the people who had made their way from the seats. Richardson made his way to his seat in the front row, shaking hands while walking in.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman and U.S. Rep. Tom Udall both also were greeted enthusiastically. Udall is running for U.S. Senate against Republican and fellow Rep. Steve Pearce. Richardson, Bingaman and Udall were all acknowledged by Obama.

Richardson, Obama said, "can’t get everything on one resume." Of Bingaman, with whom Obama currently works in the Senate, Obama said, "If you look up in the dictionary the word ‘gentleman,’ you’ll see this man’s face."

Udall also received an acknowledgment from Obama.

In a question about immigration, Obama acknowledged the long history of Hispanics in New Mexico. "There are some families who have been here for four or five hundred years," he said, referring to the descendants of the state’s first Spanish settlers. "They didn’t cross the border, the border crossed them," he said to applause from the crowd.