Obama will visit Iowa again

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By Ed Tibbetts Quad-City Times | Friday, September 22, 2006 11:09 AM CDT | () comments

BREAKING NEWS: What, already?

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is coming back to Iowa, his office said today, less than a week after the freshman senator drew a frenzy of media attention while attending U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry fundraiser in central Iowa on Sunday.

Obama will be in the Quad-Cities on Sept. 30, with one of the stops in Davenport, his office said.

He’ll be in the area to help the congressional campaigns of Democrats Bruce Braley and Phil Hare.

Braley is seeking Iowa’s 1st District seat, while Hare is running in Illinois’ 17th District.

Obama’s visit to the Harkin fundraiser fueled all sorts of speculation about whether he might seek the presidency in 2008.

Since his speech at the Democratic National Convention two years ago, the freshman senator has rocketed to political stardom.

Obama was mobbed by reporters and admirers last Sunday at the Harkin fundraiser.

He’s said repeatedly he’s not interested in running for president in 2008, although he didn’t exactly tamp down speculation by bringing political strategist Steve Hildebrand along with him on the trip.

Hildebrand ran Al Gore’s 2000 caucus effort in Iowa. The caucuses are the leadoff presidential contest.

An Obama aide said he didn’t expect the same onslaught this trip.

“I think it’s very unlikely,” Tommy Vietor, the aide, said, also noting the proximity of the Iowa Quad-Cities to Obama’s own state. “You could throw a rock from Davenport and hit Illinois,” he said.

Details of the trip are pending.

Jeff Giertz, a spokesman for Braley, said a rally is being scheduled and the campaign is excited to have the two appear together.

“They share the same values of hope and opportunity and wanting to change the direction of this country,” he said.

Obama was in downtown Davenport for a Democratic Party fundraiser in October 2004.

Iowa’s 1st District race is one of the most closely watched in the country.

The 17th District contest, while seeing less attention, also is on some radar screens because it’s an open seat.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.