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It was a buoyant gathering in the town square of Fairfield, Iowa, on a midsummer evening. More than a bit funky, too, which was fitting for a place that is home to the Maharishi University of Management (think Transcendental Meditation). One look at all the sandals and T-shirts tie-dyed with New Age slogans, and you felt this crowd was ripe for another Woodstock. They were there cheering a candidate who, for some, brings to mind another icon of the 1960s, Robert F. Kennedy. The same giddy excitement rippled through the crowd as Barack Obama made his way to a central gazebo, bedecked with Fourth of July bunting.He didn’t disappoint. The tall, reed-thin Senator flashed his megawatt smile as the crowd shouted its support. Then he showed why he’s the most effective orator among the candidates in either party as he fed the faithful his applause lines: The economy has been great for Wall Street but terrible for Main Street; health care is an awful mess that needs fixing; our energy policy has us funding terrorists while wrecking the environment; the war in Iraq is a disastrous mistake, and we need to bring our troops home. After running through a list of woes, Obama reverted to his trademark optimism, talking about how an America that vanquished slavery, and prevailed through two world wars and the Great Depression, will once again rise to the challenge. “I get teased sometimes for talking about hope because people tend to get cynical,” he says. “‘He’s peddling hope again. He’s a hope-monger.’ But I have good reason to be hopeful.” He smiles again as the crowd cheers in agreement.
This is the Barack Obama that has fired up the party’s rank and file ever since he wowed the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Another side of him—a quiet, contemplative side that is truer to his nature—was evident just hours before, when he sat down for an interview with Reader’s Digest. He talked slowly, carefully, searching for just the right words to express his positions. And they weren’t always what those Fairfield activists would want to hear. Would he consider naming Republicans to key positions in an Obama Administration? “Absolutely. I think one of the things we need to return to is a sense of public service that transcends party.”
How would he use America’s power and influence? “Part of our power has to be deployed to deal with a very real terrorist threat. It would be naive to think that simply through diplomacy we’re going to deal with what is a set of ideologically driven fanatics. So we’ve got to deploy our power militarily.”
Of course, most of his remarks fit well within the liberal canon. Regarding Iraq: “I would come up with a plan to change our course militarily while aggressively ramping up our diplomatic efforts.” On health care: “I would introduce a universal health bill within the first 100 days.” On energy: “We need an energy plan that will raise fuel-efficiency standards, ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions and aggressively explore alternative fuels.”
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