Hill Harper takes time out from filming CSI: New York to give students a personal perspective on presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Harper has known Obama since they attended Harvard Law School together. To show his support for Obama's campaign, Harper visited the University of New Hampshire on September 30 to speak to a small group of students. "Obviously I'm here for my friend Barack," he said. "The reason I am here is because New Hampshire is critical. All of the other states do not matter if we don't deliver NH." Harper went on to say that "New Hampshire is a relatively small state in terms of population. A room of this size can control the election. UNH itself can control the entire election in this state. I want to be here because I believe and I know that Barack Obama is critical and his winning is critical for us to move forward."

Harper described Obama as a "regular" guy and said that he is "the most authentic candidate in the race, from either party." One of the main topics of conversation when it comes to Obama is his race. "That is the number one big elephant in the room, electing an African American candidate. New Hampshire has less than a two percent African American population," Harper said. "If we win New Hampshire, it takes that question off of people's minds."

Money and experience are two more issues that come up when discussing Obama, and Harper addressed both when he spoke to the students. "Experience does not equal good judgment," Harper said. "Look at his past as a community organizer. I want someone who is good at that." As for Obama's financial status, Harper pointed out that "he's the only candidate who is not a multi- multi- multi- multi- multi- multi- millionaire. Having money doesn't make you a bad person, but we are in a place in this country where the wealthy control money and politics. It's time to support candidates that don't."

Harper also said that the money for Obama's campaign is not coming from big corporations. Instead, the donations come from individual people. "Barack has more individual donors across the country than any presidential candidate in history," Harper explained. "He has more individual donors than all of the Republican candidates combined. The people will be who put him in office, not big business."

Harper had to get back to Los Angeles to film CSI: NY, and some of the students were disappointed that he could not stay longer. "He did a good job making the case for Barack for president in the short amount of time that he had," said Adam Entrehil, a UNH junior. "He laid out the ground and the qualities that make him an electable candidate."

To read the full article, head over to The New Hampshire (requires registration).

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