WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- Eight-year-old Michael LaCoste wanted to ask Barack Obama a question.
The young boy got his chance at a campaign stop with the Democratic candidate Tuesday.
"How do you get to be, how do you run for president," asked Michael.
The crowd applauded and gave a little "ahhhh" as the Illinois senator started to answer.
"You have to work really hard in school and get really good grades. You have to do everything that grandma tells you to do," Obama said. "When you get out of school, then you've got to go to college. When you get out of college, you've got to get a job that's hopefully helping other people..."
"And if you do all those things, then you might just be a president someday," Obama said.
The moment was more than sentimental.
Asked about the exchange after the event, Michael said "it was cool" before being quickly interrupted by his grandmother, 51-year-old Sylvia LaCoste.
"Tell him you're not going to be a gangster," said Sylvia.
"I'm not going to be a gangster," repeated Michael.
His grandmother said two weeks earlier, the young boy had declared he wanted to become a gangster, "so I sat him down and told him about good examples, and about Obama. This is a great thing. It's going down in family history."
---
Compiled by Devlin Barrett
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Email This
Larger Font
Print This
Smaller Font