NORFOLK

Ahmed Lee's morning bus was packed Wednesday. Students who didn't normally go to school were showing up, he said. Some of his classmates had rushed out to buy Barack Obama shirts for the occasion. And rumor had it that a student who had dropped out of school last year showed up at the office that morning to re-enroll.

The Democratic presidential candidate and senator from Illinois was at Granby High School on Wednesday, visiting a freshman honors world history class, speaking in the school library about his education plans and sending many of the high school's students into a flurry of excitement.

In his second day of speeches focusing on education, Obama hit many of the same points he made during a speech in Ohio on Tuesday, saying he wanted to double funding for charter schools, move toward a system of merit pay for teachers and boost the use of technology in classrooms.

He also took a swipe at the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, for his latest TV commercial, which accuses of Obama of insulting the Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

On a campaign stop Tuesday, Obama used the phrase "lipstick on a pig," when discussing McCain's plans for changing Washington. The McCain campaign charged that the phrase was an insulting reference to Palin, who used this line in her convention speech: "You know, they say the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom? Lipstick."

Obama said it is time to stop the "lies and phony outrage" and focus on "serious debate about where we want to take our nation."

During his classroom visit, students asked Obama what he wanted to be when he was in high school. An architect, he said, once he realized he wasn't going to make the NBA.

When one student wondered what advice he had for students who want to get where he is today, he told her he wasn't sure that is such a good ambition.

"I'm not sure I'd advise everybody to run for president," he said. "I've been sleeping out of hotel rooms for two years now, and I miss my kids."

He went on to tell students to set high expectations for themselves, to learn to work with people who are different than them and to find work that excites them.

As he was leaving the classroom, several students turned around so Obama could sign the backs of their shirts.

During his speech, Obama said McCain hasn't made education a priority and doesn't understand its importance in determining whether America will be successful in the future.

"If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow, we're going to have to out-teach the world today," he said.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle should move past old arguments and realize that both parties have good ideas about improving education, Obama said before

detailing his support for ideas typically embraced by conservatives, such as school choice - through charter schools, not voucher programs - and accountability for teachers.

Struggling teachers should be given support so they can succeed, Obama said. But if they're given that support and they're still not successful, they should be removed from the classroom, he said, prompting applause.

Admission to the speech was invitation-only. The audience consisted of parents, teachers, students and local officials. Most of the invitations were given out by the school division, a campaign aide said.

Sophomore Tiffani Gardner, who had been invited to attend the speech, said she was disappointed that she wasn't given a chance to ask the questions she had prepared.

"There were students in here, and we should have gotten a chance," she said.

Still, she said, the talk had only increased her support for the candidate - even though she can't vote.

"He hit all the points," she said. "He's just given himself a big boost."

Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com