CLEVELAND –

During day two of the Democratic Party’s meeting to write their platform, average Americans told the drafting committee about the everyday struggles they face. Over the almost three-hour session, twelve people from Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania spoke about economic troubles, jobs sent overseas, health care, rising food and gas costs, poverty, education, energy independence, and “green” jobs and technology.

The committee heard from the speakers before sitting down to actually write the platform – a mission statement that expresses the most important issues to the Democratic Party. The platform will be presented before the entire committee next weekend in Pittsburgh before being voted on at the Democratic National Convention, which begins August 25th in Denver.

The current back and forth between Barack Obama and John McCain was mentioned when committee member Patricia Madrid went after John McCain for his “Celeb” ad calling it “ridiculous”, especially after hearing the daily problems of so many Americans. She added that it would be struggling Americans who determine the outcome of the election:

“This morning I heard Senator Obama on television say that is going to be people like you that are going to determine the outcome of the race, People that are angry and this morning I also heard him say why is John McCain concentrated on Paris Hilton and Britney Spears? Your testimony makes his ads all the more ridiculous,” said Madrid. “I hope this year it is going to be people like you that are not going to vote against your economic interest again because it is you who are going to determine the outcome of what we are going to do in this country about health care, job wages and things that matter to you.”

During yesterday’s meetings Senator Hillary Clinton was not mentioned—even though some of the members here were supporters of hers and spoke on her behalf during May’s testy DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. Today former top health care advisor to President Clinton and committee member Chris Jennings mentioned her while thanking the speakers for sharing their stories, “Senator Clinton often talked about during the campaign about working Americans being invisible to the previous administration and you have given them a voice. “

Like Friday’s session, speakers took the opportunity to hit John McCain while praising Barack Obama and putting their hope in an Obama presidency to solve their struggles.

Many of the speakers lost their jobs to outsourcing and have seen factory jobs sent overseas something they see as continuing under a McCain presidency, “Our good paying and respectful job are being sent to Mexico so. . .employers can avoid paying decent wages and benefits,” said David Landrum a factory worker from Indiana, “It is crazy to me that John McCain has pledged to support every trade deal under the sun knowing how much it has hurt my family and others like this. I want to say that a visit to Bloomington would change his mind, but he keeps going to our communities like ours and saying the same thing that jobs aren’t coming back and he supports free trade at any cost.”

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