From Scholastic Kid Reporter John Foran
It was an exciting night at the National Constitution Center on Wednesday, April 16. First, I met up with fellow Kids Press Corps member Jack Greenberg. We were both in the center of the action leading up to the April 22nd Democratic presidential debate, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jack and I talked to protesters, candidate supporters, other journalists, and political activists while waiting for the debate to begin.
Congressman Chaka Fattah, a surrogate for Senator Barack Obama, pointed out that Obama has won twice as many elections as his opponent Senator Hillary Clinton. “I believe that Obama can win this,” Fattah said. “He has won more popular votes, more delegates, and winning begets winning. I think that he will ultimately be the Democratic nominee.”
Inside the debate hall, things were pretty quiet. Outside, however, excitement was in the air. Jack and I spoke with supporters of both candidates
“I believe that with all the problems we have in our country that [Clinton] is the best person right now to solve them,” one supporter told us.
“[Obama] has the best ideas and will really bring us together [as] a nation,” said another demonstrator.
After the debate, David Weston, president of ABC News, told me that he thought everything went very well. The debate was moderated by ABC news personalities Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.
“From our point of view, it went well because we had a good, informed discussion,” Weston said. “People got a chance to see these two candidates and answer different sorts of questions and get a sense of who they are.”
It was an exciting night in Philadelphia, and I was glad I could be part of something so special. I went to the event with my school principal, Anthony Stevenson of Radnor Middle School. And even though we did not get back to Radnor until after midnight, he told me that I had to be on time for school on Thursday! Well, that’s what I get for taking the principal! (Just kidding!)
