“People are working harder for less,” Sen. Barack Obama is telling an intimate crowd of Vernier Software and Technology employees and press. Instead of helping people live the American dream, “we’ve tipped the scales toward the special interests and Wall Street.”

“We need to reward work, and not just wealth,” Obama says. “That’s why I’ve proposed a ‘making work pay’ $500 tax credit for every worker.”

He’s outlining the differences between himself and John McCain—as if he’s the nominee, and Clinton has already dropped out (he hasn’t mentioned or alluded to her yet).

“I think it’s time to finally make health care affordable and accessible” to every American, he says. They also “have a difference on gas prices,” he adds, saying McCain is for a gas tax holiday “gimmick” that would save people perhaps $30 over the summer. “In the mean time it stands to potentially take money out of the [transportation] trust fund that pays for highways and bridges.”

“I believe that we owe the American people the truth,” he says, explaining that his plan to lower gas prices relies on breaking our addiction to foreign oil by investing in alternative energy, and increasing fuel efficiency standards.

“So there’s going to be a real difference on the ballot in November,” Obama says. “I intend to stand with the American people,” and head in a new direction.

More after the cut…

"It's time for Washington to stand with you, for your hopes and your dreams," he says.

Time for an informal Q&A. "Don't be bashful. Just raise your hand and we'll pass you the mic."

"You have a little difference between yourself and Senator Clinton on your health care plans..." asks a man who works here, doing something with chemicals (I have NO idea what this company does).

"Ninety-five percent of our plans are similar," says Obama. One major difference is "I spend a lot of time thinking about how to lower costs for people who already have insurance or companies who are providing insurance to their employees."

For those who don't have health insurance, he and Clinton both plan to set up a government plan. "You can have all the bells and whistles, you can have a more modest plan... you'd have some choices. Because it would be a large pool, the premiums would be low. If you could not afford it, we would subsidize you."

"Both of us want to emphasis prevention so that we would have a lot of incentives for people to be getting regular checkups, regular screenings," he adds. "I would be putting $10 billion just to be giving providers" software and other equipment to increase medical efficiency.

He says the question is, "who can actually shepherd through a bill" and secure universal healthcare? He's pointing to Clinton's failed plan during the Clinton administration, which he says was crafted behind closed doors, which meant that "by the time she released it, it was dead on arrival." He'd "enlist the American people to get involved in the choices that will be made" so people "feel confident that it's being done for them... and they're ultimately applying pressure to Congress" to pass it.

Robin Johnson, a former science teacher, is in charge of the biology department here. "The current administration, they don't really believe in science..." Obama jumps in: "They really don't believe in science!"

"When you become president, which you will, what will you do to make sure that [science research] is fully funded..." she asks.

Obama says his budget will make science a "one of the top funding areas."

"Though the [current] administration is not a science booster, there are members of the Republican party who are... if we're not generating the number of scientists and engineers, then we're going to fall behind."

A mother of two boys—Janeane—has a question on education. What's Obama's stance on No Child Left Behind, does he think it's a success, need serious revision, or should be disposed of. "I guess that's a rhetorical question," Obama responds. Her second question is about school funding; Schools that don't have a high number of free and reduced lunch students "don't see a federal floodgate" of Title 1 funding.

"I intend to have my secretary of education review how Title 1 funding is allocated to be sure it's been used the way it was originally intended," he says. "No Child Left Behind. The original intention behind it was the right one. We have to have high standards in our schools... if we do not upgrade [students'] performance, they are going to fall behind and the whole economy is going to fall behind."

The requirements for high quality teachers is "a smart goal." Another thing that was good in theory is "disaggregating the data" to see if there are certain populations "that are not doing well... that's something that parents should know." The problem, however, is that it's all tied to a "single, high stakes test." It's not even administered once at the beginning of the year and again at the end to measure progress, it's in the middle of the year, and teachers "are teaching to the test." It crushes creativity, Obama says. And since it primarily tests math and reading, "other subject matter gets pushed to the side."

He wants to let the teachers teach. "Teach literature. Teach biology. Teach civics, history." He wants to reform it with teachers and administrators, so "there's some ownership."

A Beaverton student, David O'Neil, says he's going away to college next year. What will Obama do to help with the cost of education. He says the day his daughter was born, he went home to pick up some things for his wife Michelle. He turned on the news. The lead story: "If your child was born today, college will cost $250,000. I sort of had a heart attack right there on the couch," he says, smiling. The first bill he introduced in the Senate was to increase funding for Pell grants. He also wants to lower the interest rate on the federally guaranteed student loan program, and to expand the amount people can borrow. He'd also like to cut out the middleman on federal loans. "The only rationale for half of the student loans going through banks is because they are a very powerful lobby."

Another thing would be "to offer every student a $4,000 tuition credit every year, in exchange for a certain number of hours of community service" during the school year, or perhaps a commitment to serve in the Peace Corps or to teach or become a nurse or doctor in an underserved community. "We invest in you, you give something back." $4,000 would cover "about two thirds of the average public college tuition."

Marion, an accountant, says "you can guess what my question's about." Obama: "$9 trillion dollars doesn't make you feel good?"

Marion asks, where does the money come from, to subsidize health care and education and science research?

"I am a firm believer in... paying as you go. If you want to cut taxes, then you have to... eliminate programs. The point is, you're paying for what you're doing each and every year. The ways that I'm paying for each one of my proposals. The Wall Street Journal—not a raving liberal newspaper—took at look at my proposals and said roughly speaking, I pay for my proposals."

There are savings, he says, in things like ending the war in Iraq. He'll find revenue in a cap and trade program with an auction for the credits. "My health care plan is paid for by the savings obtained by greater efficiencies in the system... which would save, conservatively, $100 to $150 billion dollars a year." Then he'd roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

"I am not promising that the first year, suddenly we have a balanced budget," because we've got a huge hole. "By the end of two years in office, hopefully we're back in a situation where we're balanced up."

Last question, from Peter: "We play competitive basketball here. Since having good teammates that can play ball is advantageous to you, what's your thought on having Senator Clinton as your running mate?"

"Where you put up to that by one of those reporters back there?" Obama asks. "I said on Brian Williams yesterday, and I will repeat. I have not won this nomination yet. I think it would be presumptuous to suggest that she be my running mate when we are still running. She is going to do very well in West Virginia and Kentucky, she's is going to, in all likelihood, do very well in both states." He thinks he'll do well in Oregon. But until the nominee is chosen, "I don't want to speculate on running mates." He did say that "I think she'd be on anyone's short list of potential running mates."

On the subject of choosing his team, however, he says he puts an emphasis on "competence... having someone who knows what they're doing makes sense, doesn't it?" alluding to FEMA's former chief Michael Brown, who was with a horse racing association before being appointed to the federal post. Integrity is number two. And the third qualifier is independence. "I want people who can say no to me. It's part and parcel to the anti-science bias. This administration does not like dissenting ideas... they wanted people who were predisposed to confirming the president... that's not how you make good decisions. I make good decisions by having a lot of really good people in the room, who will argue until we've got a firm basis of fact... then we can start making some decisions around those facts, and argue about what is our strategy, what are our goals."

"I hope that I can get your vote, and I look forward to serving as your president."