IN MY OPINION
Obama's case for the big picture
In talk with black journalists, he seeks to move beyond image
MARY C. CURTIS
Barack Obama is like your favorite teacher. He's thoughtful, organized and knowledgeable. And he can be pretty funny.
It's an image at odds with the persistent Obama myth -- forged in a famous speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. The myth of a candidate above it all has withstood efforts by his wife to portray him as everyman and entreaties by some fans for him to raise the decibel level in his battle for the Democratic nomination for president.
Part of Obama's challenge is to get voters to see beyond that and hear his message.
On Sunday, the Illinois senator was back in Columbia, in a state he's been hitting hard in anticipation of its Jan. 29 primary. In a day that started with two church visits, he sat down with several black journalists from the region.
My report: He cannot walk on water but he can speak with passion about issues he believes are important -- and crack an occasional joke.
The meeting included journalists from community publications and broadcast outlets -- an attempt to reach every corner of the electorate. In South Carolina, African American voters could cast about 50 percent of the votes in the Democratic primary.
Even when he touched on the touchy topic of race with this particular audience, Obama aimed broader.
"Most of the issues that people are really thinking about right now," he said, "are issues that cut across racial lines."
Iraq is a concern, he said, both for foreign policy implications and for anxiety that the billions spent there could be used to build schools, pay teachers or provide scholarships.
He said that on health care, everybody he meets -- and in early-primary Iowa that doesn't include a large percentage of black voters -- has a story to tell about rising premiums or avoiding doctor visits to save money.
The economics of wage stagnation and home foreclosures affect many.
"The one area where the African American community is much more concerned -- but what I think is an American issue, not a white or black issue" he said, is criminal justice.
His job, he said, is to "persuade the larger American family that when we are doing the right thing in making sure the law applies equally to everybody, that's good for everybody."
"The most important thing we can do to repair race relations is to make sure all people have an equal opportunity and a good shot at life," Obama said.
Again he made a connection, this time that a skilled, educated work force is essential long-term for the U.S. to remain internationally competitive.
On foreign policy, Obama promised to make Africa a higher priority "not simply for humanitarian reasons but for strategic national security reasons." Failed states, without effective rule of law or a public health infrastructure are, he said, vulnerable to terrorists, pandemics and refugee crises.
In the hour-long conversation, in which he also acknowledged the concern some voters have for the safety of an African American candidate and his family, Obama barely mentioned his major opponent.
He did call Sen. Hillary Clinton the "default" candidate for people who don't know him well. But Obama said he would resist those who want to see the two "go at it." By the time the S.C. primary comes along, he said, everyone will know what he stands for.
Though the decibel level stayed pretty low, he countered the claim that he may not be tough enough to deal with whatever opposing candidates might throw at him: "When I was coming up, the really tough folks," he said, "didn't always talk about how tough they were." That's "part of what's wrong with our politics; politicians go around trying to act tough."
And, since this was an Obama appearance, there rose the issue that a stake to the heart can't seem to kill. He said he's always amused by the "are you black enough" question. He'll says he looks around the stage at the other candidates and think, "Compared to who?"
Mary C. Curtis
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Mary C. Curtis: [email protected].
