Obama breaks bread with $25 Bronx donor
NY Daily News | June 22, 2007
By Helen Kennedy
A Bronx community activist who once volunteered for Hillary Clinton was one of four small donors chosen to have dinner with Sen. Barack Obama next month.
Haile Rivera, who works at a food bank and started a youth mentoring program called Hands On New York, will have dinner with the Democratic candidate and three other small donors handpicked from last week's contributors.
"I gave him $25. It's all I could afford. Now I'm trying not to jump up in excitement," Rivera said.
The Obama campaign stunt is designed to draw a contrast with the other candidates, who generally dine only with fat-cat contributors.
Rivera volunteered for Clinton's Senate campaigns and still lists her as his "role model" on his Web site. But he said he's backing Obama all the way for President.
"He's very charismatic, and when he starts talking about the issues, it's not like a typical politician when you feel like you already know what they are going to say," Rivera said.
"I do like Hillary, but not for President. She hasn't been very clear on the Iraq war. And when she comes to the Bronx, it's just for parades. Latinos love the Clintons, but we're not ignorant that you only wave a Dominican flag for political convenience."
Rivera said he would talk to Obama about the war, college tuition and the failings of the No Child Left Behind law.
"I'm going to invite him to Fordham Road. I want him to come walk in the Bronx and meet the people. You know President Kennedy campaigned in the Bronx? He gave a speech at Fordham Road and Grand Concourse [in 1960]."
Besides running up their online fund-raising totals before next week's second-quarter deadline, Obama campaign spokesmen said the idea was to bring together a group of people who would not otherwise meet.
Rivera's companions at a Washington restaurant will be a miner from Nevada, the wife of a Louisiana soldier in Iraq and female firefighter from Florida who used to be a Republican.
Air fare and hotel will be paid for by the campaign.
