Obama heads to NH
By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said yesterday that if he runs for President, he will ignore a new Democratic National Committee rule by campaigning in New Hampshire even if its first-in-the-nation primary is scheduled earlier than the party establishment's designated date.
But Obama, who debuts in New Hampshire tomorrow for two sold-out appearances, also said in an interview it was a "great idea'' by the DNC to schedule a caucus in Nevada and a primary in South Carolina -- states with more racial diversity than New Hampshire -- into early slots "where they can have an impact'' on the nomination process.
Gov. John Lynch and state party leaders strongly opposed the DNC's recent move to schedule a Nevada caucus three days ahead of New Hampshire's primary, which the party set for Jan. 22, 2008, and five days after Iowa's traditional leadoff caucus. It also moved South Carolina's primary to Jan. 29, 2008.
Obama said the national party still preserved "the essential role that Iowa and New Hampshire have always played'' in the nominating process. He said that as a political product of grassroots organizing, "I'm a strong believer in the tradition of New Hampshire being the first primary.''
He added, "If I decide to run, I expect I'll be campaigning actively in New Hampshire.'' He said he will make his decision "early in the new year.''
The DNC in August passed a rule to punish candidates who campaign in out-of-compliance states by withholding any national convention delegates they win in those states.
"Ultimately, the DNC is nothing more than its constituent members,'' Obama said, "and the party as a whole benefits from the kind of grassroots campaigning that has played a traditional important role in New Hampshire.''
New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner is the official who schedules the primary, and he has often said its date will not be dictated by any party rule.
State law says the primary must be held seven days ahead of any "similar election.'' Gardner has said an additional caucus joining Iowa ahead of New Hampshire may fit into his broad interpretation that the statute requires him to preserve the primary's traditional impact on national politics, even though party-run caucuses are structured much differently from New Hampshire's state-run primary and may not be "similar.''
As a result, Gardner has strongly indicated he may jump the date of the primary ahead of the date set in the DNC rule when he makes his scheduling decision next fall.
Potential Democratic candidates New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry have also said they will campaign in New Hampshire regardless of potential punishment by the DNC.
No "rock star''
In the interview, Obama yesterday shrugged off the "rock star'' label attached to him by the national political media, saying he may merely be a "symbol'' of grassroots Democratic excitement in New Hampshire and across the country.
Tomorrow afternoon, Obama is scheduled to speak at a state Democratic Party celebration of its Election Day victories at the Radisson Hotel Manchester at the Center of New Hampshire. The party shut off ticket sales after 1,500 tickets were sold at $25 a person. A smaller number of people will also attend a $150-a-person private fundraiser. The party has said tickets will not be sold at the door.
Earlier tomorrow, Obama is scheduled to sign copies of his book, "The Audacity of Hope,'' for 750 people at a free event hosted by the RiverRun Bookstore at the Frank Jones Center in Portsmouth. Organizers say no tickets remain.
Obama said he won't decide on a run for President until after Jan. 1, but he has been dubbed a front-runner in the Democratic Presidential race, along with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
A nationwide FOXNews poll this week found 33 percent of Democrats backing Clinton, with Obama at 12 percent, former Vice President Al Gore at 11 percent, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards at 8 percent and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry at 6 percent.
As for his star image, "I tend not to buy into the hype too much,'' he said. "I'm a little suspicious of it. It's been flattering, but I worked in almost total obscurity as a legislator for seven years before I ran for the U.S. Senate, and before that, I was a community organizer and civil rights attorney. My background has been working behind the scenes and getting things done.
"A lot of this stuff is new to me,'' he said. "I'm not complaining. It's a nice problem to have but not something I take too seriously.
"To some extent,'' he said, "the response to my visit to New Hampshire has more to do with the people's growing excitement about the possibility of getting involved in the political process and moving the country forward. I just may be a symbol of that at the moment.
"I believe ultimately that people in all states across all demographics are looking for somebody who is authentic and can listen to their concerns -- a pragmatic politician rather than an ideologue,'' Obama said.
The race issue
The freshman senator, an African-American, also said the United States is not "color-blind'' and that "race is still a powerful force in our society. But what I found in my own race when I ran for the U.S. Senate (in 2004), when people were skeptical whether I could run for statewide office, I believed that if people get a chance to know an individual, then they judge that individual on the merits.''
Obama said, "If somebody goes into a polling place and they see the name 'Barack Obama,' I probably won't get their vote, but if we sat in their living rooms and talked and shared our values,'' he would stand a much better chance of receiving those votes.
While "events could change very quickly,'' he believes the focus of the 2008 Presidential campaign will be on Iraq, terrorism and the "economic challenges facing this country that have not gotten the focus they deserve, such as people getting squeezed on health care and making sure their retirement is stable.''
Obama said he is flexible on how to fix the nation's health-care system, but said, "I strongly believe that given the amount of money we are already spending on health care in this country, there is no reason we should not be able to provide universal health care to everybody.
"But,'' he said, "it's not a choice between a single-payer, Canadian-style system'' and the current system. He said there are other options that include insurance pools with some government subsidies to insure those currently without insurance.
Obama said that in the campaign, "people are going to be looking for a restoration of trust in our democracy and a belief that government is responsive to people. We should return to common-sense, pragmatic politics as opposed to highly ideological politics.''
Success will reward "those Democrats who can speak to people in an authentic, common-sense way about these challenges and who can actively solicit the involvement of people in the process,'' Obama said.
Opposed Iraq war
Although he was not elected to the Senate until 2004, Obama said, he opposed the Iraq war even before it was launched.
Potential Presidential candidates Clinton and Kerry initially favored sending troops to Iraq.
"That's going to be an issue for some,'' Obama said, "but my general view is that the next Presidential campaign will be about the future. We shouldn't be re-litigating the decision to go into Iraq.''
He called for a "phased redeployment'' of U.S. troops and said, "We have to initiate a withdrawal or redeployment plan that's flexible but firm and sends a message to the Iraqis that we are not going to solve militarily what is a political problem between sectarian factions.''
He said that to protect against an uptick in terrorist activities in Iraq after a U.S. withdrawal, "we would reserve the capacity to engage in counter-insurgency efforts. We would have an over-the-horizon force, whether in Kuwait or another part of the Gulf, that could be redeployed. This is not a situation where we would abandon the field, but we would lessen the resentment that fuels the insurgency and would put pressure on the Shia and Sunnis'' to have better relations.
Obama favors U.S. contact and negotiation with Iran even as that nation pursues nuclear weapons.
"For 50 years during the Cold War, the Kremlin had missiles pointing at the U.S.'' while the nations' leaders were connected by direct telephone lines, he said. "That didn't lessen our resolve to end that threat, but it did provide us with mechanisms to work on issues of common interest, which helped to erode Soviet bloc support for communism.'' He called for the "same set of strategies'' to be used to deal with current threats.
unionleader.com |
