Washington — Representatives from the campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama fielded questions from Asian Americans during a two-hour town hall meeting in Annandale, Virginia, October 28. The gathering was an opportunity to ask questions that have not been addressed on the national platform, organizers said.
Virginia is considered a battleground state for the 2008 elections, and political analysts say Asian Americans could be an important voting bloc in Virginia. (See “Asian Americans Important Voter Group in Election Swing States.”)
Charles Lu, Obama’s chief of staff in the Senate and also a senior adviser for the Obama campaign, led the discussion with remarks on affirmative action. Lu said Obama supports affirmative action, but “the system is not perfect.” He said that race should be a factor, but that people should also consider other issues such as socioeconomic background. He said Obama understands that the system does disadvantages Asian Americans at times. Affirmative action describes policies intended to promote access to education and employment for historically and socio-politically nondominant groups...
