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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Patricia Trinchero who wrote (91443)	12/9/2006 11:17:19 PM
From: SiouxPal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 360967

Obama in New Hampshire by mcjoan Sat Dec 09, 2006 at 07:44:46 PM PST Not that he's running or anything, but Obama is in New Hampshire, and sat down with the Union Leader for a chat (and a little kissing up): 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.'' That out of the way, they get down to issues. On being a rock star: . . . 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. . . . "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. . . . On race: 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.'' On health care reform: 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. On Iraq: Although he was not elected to the Senate until 2004, Obama said, he opposed the Iraq war even before it was launched. . . . 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. dailykos.com