FORT WAYNE- Within five minutes of Sen. Barack Obama taking the stage at Wayne High School, he marshaled the nation from praising the present to remembering the past.
After being introduced by Mike Riley, Robert Kennedy's 1968 Indiana campaign manager, Friday morning in the nationally televised event, Obama entered to a screaming crowd. Then, he looked straight at the television cameras in front of him and called for a moment of silence in memory of the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination.
"Through his faith, his courage and his wisdom, Dr. Martin Luther King moved an entire nation," Obama said. "He preached the gospel of brotherhood, equality and justice. That was the cause for which he lived and for which he died."
Obama said he spoke to King's family early that morning. The Senator continued to speak about King's message and the road he paved for further generations.
However, Obama said a scar has appeared on America since the civil rights leader's death.
"Part of the problem is that for a long time, we've had a politics that's been too small for the scale of the challenges we face," Obama said. "Instead of having a politics that lives up to Dr. King's call for unity, we've had a politics that's used race to drive us apart, when all this does is feed the forces of division and distraction, and stop us from solving our problems."
The possible Democratic nominee reminded the crowd of Kennedy's stop in Indianapolis the day he heard of King's assassination on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, Tenn. Rival Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee John McCain stopped at the same hotel Friday to honor King.
In remembrance, Obama said King's struggle is up to the current generations to complete.
"We have to recognize that while we each have a different past, we all share the same hopes for the future," Obama said.
When the Illinois Senator ended his remarks about King, he moved his attention from the cameras to the audience for questions.
Based on their concerns, Obama spoke about defense spending, the war in Iraq, the cost of college and gun control.
Fort Wayne locals have experienced an increase in gun violence among young people within the last month, an issue Obama said requires common sense restrictions on guns, increased help within schools and requires better parenting.
"One of the forgotten aspects of Dr. King's legacy is personal responsibility at home," Obama said.
After answering his final question, Obama left the stage just as he entered it more than an hour beforehand: by the crowd chanting his catchphrase, "Yes we can."
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