USA Today
07-18-07
Illinois' Obama stakes out turf in neighboring state
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
ELKADER, Iowa — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama scanned about 250 people on a
backyard lawn sloping down to the Turkey River and urged them to grow their
own fuel "right here in Illinois." It did not faze him when someone shouted out the
correct state.
"You're so close, I feel like I'm home," he joked, then declared to applause from
the white, rural audience, "This is my turf. I'm claiming it right now."
It was an emblematic moment in Obama's boundary-pushing campaign for the
Democratic presidential nomination, in a state he considers a proving ground.
The biracial Chicago senator grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia and carries his
Kenyan father's name. But rural Iowa reminds him of rural Illinois, he says. And
Iowa voters remind him of his late mother and grandparents, who were from
Kansas.
"The culture of Iowa's very familiar to me," Obama said in a weekend interview.
"Common sense. Not a lot of pretense. … That's the kind of atmosphere that I
grew up in. A lot of these folks look like my grandparents."
Obama doesn't look like them, or like most voters in the first primary state, New
Hampshire. In fact, here in Elkader, population 1,465, the U.S. Census counts
three African-American residents. But Obama says race will be less important
ultimately than whether voters think he can deliver universal health care, energy
independence, an end to the Iraq war — and victory in November 2008.
The fact that he doesn't look like the first 43 U.S. presidents could be an
advantage, he adds: "There's no doubt that the day I'm inaugurated, the world
looks at America differently. That provides us some important political capital."
Back in reality, six months before the Iowa caucuses, the first-term senator is
trailing New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in national polls and some state
polls. But he has left her in the dust on donors and fundraising for the primaries.
Obama views Iowa as a theater in which candidates are auditioning for "the first
real measure" of their strength. It is the only place so far that he is running TV
ads. It is the only place where voters are receiving mailers this week reminding
them of his opposition to the war "from the very beginning" and of Clinton's initial
support. "You can tell a lot about leaders from the tough choices they make," the
flyer says. Obama was not in the Senate in 2002 when Clinton and others voted
to give President Bush the authority to go to war.
On Saturday, Obama made his first visits to four towns ranging in population
from 651 to 6,692. His five-car motorcade, escorted by two police cars, sped
along country roads lined with corn and soybeans, and seldom encountered
another vehicle. At each stop, he drew 200 to 300 people. Aside from a student
or two, his aides, volunteers and Secret Service agents accounted for the handful
of African-Americans in each group.
Iraq provoked strong reactions all day. President Bush has put U.S. troops "on
the wrong battlefield" while neglecting Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama told
each group. "We are less safe as a result of this poor decision-making by our
commander in chief, which is why we need a new one." The loudest cheers came
when he pledged to shut down the prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
Michelle Gifford, 41, who hosted Obama's appearance here, reflects his
campaign's hope for a broad reach. A mother and part-time photographer, she
switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party a month ago and supports
Obama. "I'm tired of seeing the division in the country," she said. "He's for all
people."
After the talk in Gifford's yard, Obama aides said 154 people filled out contact
cards. Diane Finley, 65, was one of them. Obama said "I can't lie" when she
asked him if he is a Cubs fan. The retired education worker high-fived him
despite his loyalty to the White Sox and decided on the spot to support him. She
hasn't been involved in politics before, "but I might be now."
Dianne Bystrom, a political scientist at Iowa State University, said the
challenge for Obama is getting newcomers such as Finley to actually go to a
three-hour caucus on Jan. 14. "All this excitement he's generating needs to be
backed up with a very solid organization," she said. "That's where Howard Dean
broke down" in 2004.
Obama's positions on health care, the war and energy are similar to those of
other Democrats. Two things that set him apart are his short Washington tenure
(two years in the Senate) and his eclectic background.
Some listeners waiting for him beside a lake in Oelwein said they like Clinton's
experience as a first lady and second-term senator. Others said they like Obama
because he is a newcomer.
"I want somebody who's not already corrupted by Washington mainstream
politics," said Tamara Barnes, 40, an Obama volunteer and first-time donor. The
mother of four, who works at a Subway sandwich shop, also said she likes that
"he's been brought up not with money. He's had to do it on his own. That means
a lot to me."
Mike Carr, 67, a Manchester lawyer, says Obama's background means "he can
perhaps more easily cross all lines. He's got stretch." But Carr hasn't discounted
Clinton or John Edwards: "I'm still sorting it out."