Obama talks about race and urban issues in Iowa

by John McCormick

DES MOINES – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama did something today that he rarely does in heavily white Iowa. He talked at length about race and urban issues.

"On every measure, on income, on health care, on incarceration rates, on the criminal justice system, on housing, on life expectancy, on infant mortality, on almost every single indicator, there is still an enormous gap between black and white," he told a racially mixed audience of about 500 gathered at a high school.

The Illinois Democrat made the remarks on what is likely his last day of campaigning in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa before next weekend's Brown & Black candidate forum here.

Obama said urban areas and minority communities often suffer first when problems spread across the nation. "There's an old saying that when America gets a cold, black America gets pneumonia," he said.

Iowa's importance in the nomination process is often criticized because it does not have the same level of diversity as the nation. It is 93 percent white, although the state capital where Obama spoke is 81 percent white.

Despite the problems that remain, Obama acknowledged progress has been made on racial issues.

"There is no doubt that the blight of racism and discrimination is less than it was 30 years ago," he said. "I could not be standing here, were it not for the extraordinary efforts that were made on my behalf by a previous generation."

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/11/obama_talks_about_race_and_urb.html

makes no mention of the horse race.




Why is it posted here?









:sarcasm: