(The following story by Sylvia A. Smith appeared on the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette website on August 26.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — “Barack’s the real deal,” Hoosier Mike Fisher told the 6,000 delegates and thousands of others at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night.
Fisher, an Amtrak mechanic and union member – a demographic more likely to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primaries than Barack Obama – was given three minutes to speak to the convention with a message that Obama understands the kitchen-table economic concerns of working-class Americans.
“I’m very nervous,” he said a few hours before he donned his best black suit and white shirt to face the cameras and the sea of convention-goers.
Fisher isn’t a political activist, so he was a little surprised to receive a call from the Obama campaign Sunday night, offering him a trip to Denver and a chance to speak during the opening night of the convention.
He said his connections to Obama started in April when the Obama campaign asked the Beech Grove Democratic Party to find a blue-collar family for a preprimary visit.
“When I saw the motorcade driving up our street, I was a nervous wreck. But as soon as Barack Obama came up on our front porch and shook my hand, he put me at ease,” Fisher told the convention delegates. “We went inside, and Barack put his elbows up on the kitchen table and listened.
“Barack and Michelle listened, and they understood. It was like talking with family,” Fisher said. “It became clear that they are regular people. Barack and Michelle grew up dealing with the same challenges most of us face. … It’s pretty clear he can relate to working people and those who are struggling.”
In an interview, Fisher said he gave much the same speech in April at a rally after meeting Obama.
Fisher said his spot on the podium – between Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., and the president of the Chicago chapter of the Service Employees Union – threw him into a frenzy of media attention.
He and his wife, Cheryl, were interviewed by Katie Couric for the CBS Evening News, a Chicago Tribune reporter and multiple Hoosier news outlets.