Obama brings hope to 5th District

Photos by Ted Mallory

Presidential candidate Barack Obama
brings message to Western Iowa
By Ted Mallory

DENISON, IA- Saturday night, March 31, presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke to an audience of over two hundred at the Denison High School gymnasium. The Illinois Senator started his day in Council Bluffs. Obama came to Denison after speaking to a group of around seventy-five in Onawa. The Onawa town meeting was telecast to simultaneously to house meetings across the country.

The number two Democrat spoke a few minutes about his background and his hopes for the country and then took questions from attendants in the crowd, rather than reporters. He promised that it would be only the first of at least three visits to Denison. Iowa boasts the first in the nation caucuses in January 2008.

Obama quipped that two things he is always asked no matter where he goes.
One is, “where’d you get your funny name?” He explained that his father was from Kenya and his mother was from Kansas. Thus his name came from his father’s East African homeland, and his accent came from his mother’s Midwestern one.

The other question he’s most frequently asked is, “You seem like a nice enough guy. Why do you want to go into something dirty and nasty like politics?” He told the audience that he understands why people have become cynical about politicians but that he firmly believes that the “other” kind of politics is the fact that “we all have a stake in one another.” Whether it is students in an underperforming school, or neglected Seniors in nursing homes, Obama believes that Americans are affected by each other’s condition. He told the crowd that if enough people believe that too and act on it, they can make positive change.

The former community activist and Constitutional Law professor fielded questions from a crowd made up not only of supporters, but also uncommitted yet curious voters, and skeptics. Obama answered inquiries about education, trade, healthcare, religion, fuel prices, nuclear weapons, and the war in Iraq.

He received a standing ovation when he emphasized the importance of taking better care of Iraq and Afghan veterans and their families than we have been in the wake of the Walter Reed military hospital scandals.

“We’ve got to treat our young men and women properly when they come home,” he declared.

Following the question and answer period, Obama was surrounded by attendees who waited to shake his hand, ask for autographs, and visit privately with the candidate.

Crawford County Democratic Party Chairman Les Lewis said that Denison area Democrats didn’t invite the Obama campaign, they just helped coordinate the event. He explained that the campaign organizations of candidates select communities they want to visit and contact activists there about making arrangements.

Lewis noted that the Obama campaign did plan on return visits and the campaign of New York Senator Hillary Clinton also asked about one or two appearances but hadn’t finalized dates yet. Lewis said that this was an unusually early election season. He believed that former North Carolina Senator John Edwards had only recently established campaign personnel in the Sioux City area.