Iowa Independent talks about Obama's appeal in Iowa

The campaign for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has been listening as Iowans have gathered in small groups to whisper about the one thing they most worry about: electability. In response to those concerns, the campaign has released a list of 268 Iowa Republicans who will be crossing party lines to caucus with Democrats on Jan. 3, 2008.

"To Iowans, electability means that we need to win this election," said Dale Hedgecoth, one of Linn County for Obama's most out-spoken and active volunteers. "There are some of these other candidates that are carrying too much baggage. We need a cross-over vote from Republicans in this primary and we need independents to come over as well. I believe that will happen at caucus time and, if Barack Obama is the candidate, I believe it will also happen during the general election."

Hedgecoth estimates 15 percent of the people walking into and volunteering at the Linn County for Obama office are Republicans or former Republicans. Electing someone who can represent and find support on both sides of the political spectrum, he said, should go a long way to ending "the political gridlock" of recent years.
"With all the challenges our country faces, we cannot elect a president who will go to Washington and just get bogged down by the same partisan gridlock," said Brett Blix, a 30-year-old Iraq war veteran from Northwood who switched his party registration to caucus for Obama. "That's why I'm supporting Senator Obama even though I'm a Republican. He's the only candidate in either party with a record of bringing Republicans and Democrats together to solve problems, and he will always tell you where he stands even when you disagree. There are thousands of disaffected Republicans like me who are disappointed by President Bush and the Republican presidential candidates who would consider voting for a Democrat who can bring about change we can believe in."

The campaign is hoping outspoken people like Blix, combined with Obama's third-place finish in a poll of Republican caucus-goers, will convince Iowans that electability isn't an issue for Obama.

"I've always believed that you can only bring about real change when people come together across party lines, and I've seen what happens when folks put politics aside and get down to work," Obama said in a prepared statement. "If you can't bring people together across the old fault lines, you simply aren't going to be able to make progress on the challenges we face."

In recent weeks, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus and former Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson -- all Democrats from red states -- came to Iowa to discuss how Obama appeals to Republicans and Independents in their home states.

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