On the campaign trail, the two main presidential candidates scaled back campaigning Thursday to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain appeared together at New York’s Columbia University for a forum on public service. During his remarks, Obama said the US government should play a role in offering young people more opportunities to help their community.

Sen. Barack Obama: “The choices that we provide young people right now are too constrained. When I graduated from Columbia, I had a choice. I could pursue a lucrative career on Wall Street or go immediately to law school, or I could follow through on the inspiration that I had drawn from the civil rights movement and from the Kennedy era and try to work in the community. And I chose the latter, but it was tough. I made $12,000 a year, plus car expenses, in Chicago working with churches to set up job training programs for the unemployed after-school programs for youth, trying to make the community better. It was the best education I ever had. But ironically, it was harder for me to find that job than it was for me to find a job on Wall Street. And I think there are a lot of young people out there who are interested in making that same choice, and we should be encouraging them. The government’s going to have a role.”