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Obama: One Man's Second Choice
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ShareDecember 31, 2007 3:03 PM
ABC News' David Wright and Sunlen Miller Reports: The last question today at Barack Obama's rally in a Jefferson, Iowa high school gymnasium was unusually blunt.
It came from a voter who was not a supporter of Obama's.
"I'm not undecided," Iowa farmer Gene Blanshan shouted from the very back of the room, "I'm a Biden supporter."
But the voter said he is torn over his second choice. Under Iowa Democratic Party rules, in most of the almost 2,000 Iowa precincts, supporters of candidates who fail to reach 15 percent support of that caucus meeting may switch allegiance and choose another candidate to support.
And in a race this tight, second choices matter.
"Why should I choose you over John Edwards?" he asked.
Obama smiled. "John is a fine person with a beautiful family who has run a great campaign," he said. But Obama argued that he, not Edwards, is more apt to deliver change.
Obama cited his own legislative efforts in Illinois to reduce the power of lobbyists. He spoke of his early opposition to the Iraq war and to NAFTA. "If you look at our track records," he said, "I think I can deliver."
After the event, Blanshan told reporters he asked Edwards the exact same question last August on the steps of the county courthouse. But Blanshan said he liked Obama's answer better.
"What matters to me is change," Blanshan said.
"I'm still for Biden," he said. "But my second choice now is Obama."
That doesn't mean he’s giving up on Biden. He still holds out hope, as do plenty of others we have met in Iowa these past few weeks, citing the Delaware Senator's steadiness and experience.
He said: "In Iowa we get a second bite at the apple, so we always go with who we really want. I think Biden will be the surprise of Thursday night."
"I think Biden will be more viable than anybody thinks," Blanshan said.
December 31, 2007 in Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (10)
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Obama/Biden is the winning ticket and the right administration for change.
Posted by: Louis | Dec 31, 2007 5:22:09 PM
Please I,ll like the ABC editoral to tell what is negative about the Obama radio ad.
This is just cheap politics. 572 group is all over Iowa circulating wrong information about his healthcare plan, with Edwards backing( claims he his not in support but cannot stop them) and Madam Clinton is in one corner telling lies of how 15 million Americas will not get covered under his health plan and all the young man is doing is simply leting the people know the truth and as usual, just like what CNN will do it is tagged a nagetive ad.
When Madam Clinton puts up Ads claiming what she did not do, there is no sensational headlines. Please give him a break
Posted by: ken | Dec 31, 2007 8:19:15 PM
You got that backward Louis Biden/Obama a good winning ticket for '08. That guy is right Biden will be more viable than most people think. Happy and healthy new year to all.
Posted by: mike | Jan 1, 2008 12:28:13 AM
I agree that Biden/Obama ticket is the right order. No reason for Biden to give up the chair of the senate foreign relations committee for a mere veep. Happy New Year!
Posted by: Chilana | Jan 1, 2008 1:07:41 AM
It's important to know your history! Biden has had an opportunity to become President once before...he failed because of plagiarism. And he wasn't much older than Obama at the time. The question is not how old or young you are to get the job done effectively, but how you go about doing the job with intergity, vision, judgement and character. Therefore, Obama is ready to lead for '08.
Obama/Biden is the only choice if
plausible!
Posted by: speakkup | Jan 1, 2008 2:45:03 AM
Sen. Biden is the only candidate on either side of the aisle with the wisdom, experience, and electability to become our next president. Iowans will not be bought or out-smarted by the media. I believe Jan. 3rd will be a great surprise!!
Posted by: patmorrison | Jan 1, 2008 4:38:05 AM
Chilana,
The plagiarism charges were trumped up by the Dukakis campaign in order to try to slow Joe down back then. Biden gave credit for the quotes in every single stump speech he gave, but he forgot to cite Kinnock in that one instance. Biden, being the honorable man that he is admitted that he had indeed made a mistake and withdrew from the campaign. I'm glad to see that you like him for #2 though. I agree that a Biden/Obama ticket would be unstoppable.
Posted by: Mary | Jan 1, 2008 10:04:15 AM
The surprise of Jan 3 will be from young, first-time caucus goers. These are the folks with unpublished cell phone numbers, missed by many pollsters.
Biden is a great guy, but he's been inside the beltway for too long. We need a fresh vision. We need change.
Those young cell-phone-toting Biden/Richardson/Kucinich supporters will end up supporting Obama and will deliver the surprise Thursday evening.
Posted by: Samatva | Jan 1, 2008 10:15:07 AM
When it comes to what's going on today around the globe, because Joe Biden is touted as our best foreign policy mind in Washington, it is essential...it is CRITICAL that Joe Biden become our next President. We have men and women around the globe spilling their blood and giving up their lives. Armageddon in the Middle East, turmoil in Pakistan (a nuclear power), we have leaders of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Turkey, and Korea, China and now Russia that MUST be dealt with. We have muslim extremists that want us dead. And if we DO NOT establish some type of resolution regarding our global affairs, we will not have a country ANYMORE. It is ridiculous to believe that we will be able to continue with a "normal American way of life", if we do not take care of our foreign difficulties. Then and ONLY then can we really concentrate on our domestic issues and address them properly. We are spending lives and spending ALL of our resources abroad and THIS MUST STOP.
Joe Biden is the only one that can mend our desperate, broken nation...this broken world. The importance of having a bright and experienced foreign policy mind in our Oval Office calling the shots cannot be overstated in these dire times. This should be the SOLE issue for this next Presidential election, but the people of this country are busy being enamored with sound bites and magazine covers, and constant media coverage of the so called "front runners" who don't have a tenth of experience of Joe Biden.
People of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, please, let's get it right this time. America needs your foresight.
Posted by: JDS NY, NY | Jan 1, 2008 12:40:08 PM
I agree, that in this very dangerous world we need Joe Biden. He already has established relationships with Musharaff and all the other important players. They know and respect him. He also has respect from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle as proven by the bipartisan support for his plan to end the Iraq war. Hillary is too secretive and devisive, and neither Edwards or Obama have the foreign policy chops we need in our next Commander-In-Chief. Now is not the time to elect a rookie. Obama could learn a lot from Biden and then be ready to run in 2016 which is what he should have done all along. Biden/Obama '08 for America!
Posted by: Jayne | Jan 1, 2008 2:10:38 PM
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