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Obama returns to Iowa with shift in strategy

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By Charlotte Eby | Monday, May 19, 2008 10:24 PM CDT | () comments

DES MOINES — When Democrat Barack Obama steps out to greet a crowd in downtown Des Moines tonight, he’ll be facing the voters who helped catapult his campaign when they handed him a victory in the Iowa caucuses in January.

But this time, he hopes voters will see him as a candidate on the verge of grabbing the Democratic presidential nomination.

By returning to Iowa, Obama aims to shift the attention from his primary race with Hillary Clinton toward the potential general election match-up with Republican presumptive nominee John McCain.

Oregon and Kentucky are holding primaries today, and Obama reportedly expects after those contests to be able to claim the majority of pledged delegates.

Obama supporter and former state Democratic chairman Gordon Fischer stresses the importance of the occasion.

“These are folks that were elected by caucus-goers and primary voters, and a majority of them favor Barack Obama, and so it’s an important milestone and an important moment for the campaign,” Fischer said.

Obama will still need to win over the so-called super delegates to sew up the nomination.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders in Iowa think the state could once again be a toss-up in the general election, and the Obama campaign labeled Iowa a “critical” state in November.

“I think the state leans Democratic, or should go Democratic in November, but I think Obama wants to certainly put Iowa in his column,” Fischer said.

Dave Nagle, a former congressman and state Democratic chairman from Cedar Falls, said Obama’s return visit is an acknowledgement of the role Iowa played in the process.

It also comes at a time when some have questioned whether rural white voters will support Obama.

“I don’t think they have to make the case, I think they can remind people that they did win over rural white voters” in Iowa and other states, Nagle said.

As further evidence that Obama is increasingly being considered the likely Democratic nominee, Iowa Republicans were quick to downplay Obama’s chances in November ahead of his visit to the state.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Stewart Iverson said many Iowa voters who were enamored with Obama during the caucuses might question whether he’s the right candidate after learning more about his positions on the issues.

Iverson points to what he said are Obama’s support for more gun controls and his support for raising Social Security and capital gains taxes.

Iverson said Obama will have to win over independent voters if he wants to win Iowa in November, which he said could prove more difficult.

“That’s pretty disheartening when he’s telling us up front he wants to raise taxes and essentially take away our guns,” Iverson said.

Charlotte Eby can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.