Obama has big bullhorn for political trail
Associated Press
PEOSTA, Iowa
It’s the biggest bullhorn in the political world.
The presidency and all the attention it commands are giving Barack Obama a chance to frame the national story line this week, to try to put his imprint and spin on the economic and political wind shear that has been battering him.
His bus tour through three Midwestern states, complete with a blocks-long motorcade, is giving Obama the opportunity to attract the front-page headlines that a White House occupant can generate even with modest or rehashed proposals.
A marvel of logistics, communications and transport that few organizations are equipped to execute, it’s a welcome advantage as he fights back in a noxious political environment and in the face of weakening public approval.
He’s not the first and won’t be the last president to employ all the trappings of power to seek a connection with the public.
Presidents get credit in the hinterlands just for showing up, even from those who don’t support them.
“I wish him well,” said Jim Pape, a 78-year-old retiree in Guttenberg, Iowa, who was having breakfast at a cafi when Obama and his entourage swooped in.
“He isn’t all bad, but I’d prefer a different president.”
That’s praise from a man with this view of Washington: “They ought to plow it under and plant corn.”
The Des Moines Register, an influential paper in the region, ran two photographs and an article on the front page after Obama’s first day on the road.
Nationally, the president also commanded prominent headlines and cable and network coverage.