Yesterday Barack Obama was at Purdue University to talk about national security. You can read the text of his remarks here.

Purdue University may seem like a strange place to talk about National Security for many people, but this location was well-chosen for several reasons. First, Clinton won Indiana in the primaries and although the state tends to vote republican in November, Obama needs to continue to bring the democratic party together. Second, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) supported Clinton in the primaries. He’s a very popular former governor of the state who’s father was also in the Senate. Being able to receive his support is important for Obama. Third, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) is a foreign policy and national security expert. Although Sen. Lugar was not at the event, he was spoken of with high praise. Fourth, Purdue University is home of CERIAS, one of the best cyber security research institutions in the world. It makes sense to talk about national security in a state that has such an influential voice in that area.

As to the actual event itself, I strongly encourage you to read Professor Gene Spafford’s write up of his experiences at the event. He gives an overview of Obama’s speech and each of the three panels that followed. It is an excellent read if you are interested in national security, politics or computer security. Although there are many quotable sections of the post, I will refrain from quoting it in the hopes that my strong endorsement of it will encourage you to read the whole thing.