Indiana woman to have dinner with Obama

Bonnie Locchetta has a lot to say to Barack Obama, and she'll soon get her chance.

The 44-year-old Rushville, Ind., woman was chosen to have dinner with the Democratic presidential candidate after she donated $25 to his campaign.

"I want to ask him what he plans to do to help people like me send their kids to college and help people like me to retire who have no savings and to help people like my mother who's struggling to afford her medication when she's also struggling to pay her housing and all her bills," she said Wednesday.

The single mother of three said she has followed Obama since his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and was inspired to "put a little money where my mouth was" on Monday to support him. She said his policies on the economy, the Iraq war and education make him the best candidate.

"He says a lot of things that make sense to me and he's coming at things from such an angle that I think he can change things," Locchetta said.

Locchetta, who manages a church in Rushville, a farming community about 40 miles southeast of Indianapolis, said she'll use the opportunity to bend the Illinois senator's ear about the problems facing average Americans.

Obama's campaign is offering an "intimate dinner with Barack" to four supporters who donate money to his campaign by Monday. A date and location for the dinner, along with the three other guests, were still to be determined.

Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for Obama in Indiana, said the campaign wanted to invite at least two first-time donors to the dinner and chose Locchetta because of the note she submitted with her donation. The fact that she lives in a state that has yet to hold its presidential primary also factored in.

Indiana votes May 6 and has 72 delegates up for grabs.

"Obviously it made her that much more attractive as somebody that we wanted to invite for the dinner," Griffis said. "This is an opportunity for him to hear directly from someone from Indiana at length and candidly."

Locchetta was thinking through what she would say.

"I want to give him the perspective of the average schmo who's trying to put gas in the car and pay the electric bill and buy groceries and send their kids to school," she said.