Advertisement

Opinion: Barack Obama goes for a closing Iowa argument today

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Barack Obama and his campaign team seem to like set speeches to set themes. Remember, his announcement speech in Springfield. His foreign affairs speech. And his domestic policy speech. Now comes his closing argument speech. In Iowa. Des Moines. Today.

It will be a summation of his presidential effort so far and where he wants to go. The good folks over at NBC’s First Read paid very close attention to Obama’s Mason City speech Wednesday and think they see the developing theme of today’s rhetorical ruminations that could play a crucial role in closing the sale for the junior Illinois senator among many Iowa Democrats in what has become essentially a statistical dead-heat among Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Obama seems likely to retrace his campaign trail from the steps of the Illinois Capitol, where he made his announcement 10 months ago based on a fundamental belief in ‘the core decency and generosity of spirit in American people. A belief that the American people were desperate for change.’

Advertisement

He added, ‘We felt that we might be able to not just change political parties in the White House, but that we might be able to change our politics. That was our bet and now 10 months later that faith has been vindicated, 10 months later what people said couldn’t be done, we might do.’

Now, he claimed, the whole Democratic campaign has become about change. And he urged the crowd, ‘when you make a decision to caucus, you have to ask yourself who’s been about change their whole lives? Who’s made the choices that would indicate their passion for working Americans, their hopes and their dreams?’

Not too surprisingly, Obama comes down on the side of Obama.

Now, if the same pattern as all year follows, watch for an attempt at a major announcement or distraction by the Clinton campaign to detract from the news play and attention Obama might get if he dominates Iowa’s newscasts alone.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Advertisement