How Obama is playing in Iowa

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How Obama is playing in Iowa

By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Columnist | October 16, 2007

DECORAH, Iowa
AT A RECENT rally at Luther College, Brenda Meyer text messaged her sons when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he respected the rights of hunters while decrying the dumping of handguns and assault weapons into cities. Meyer is a 46-year-old nurse from Decorah. She is a lifelong Republican and everyone in her family is a hunter.

She was in Decorah only because she was dragged here by a friend, Carol Hemesath, a Democrat and a mental-health therapist. Another Democrat nursing friend, Deb Tekippe, tried to persuade Meyer to come along earlier in the day but Meyer turned her down.

Meyer's text message was, "Interesting for a Democrat. Obama believes we should own guns to hunt."

She said she is seriously considering crossing party lines for the first time to vote for Obama. "My father would be rolling in his grave if he knew I came to this rally," Meyer said. "I hope I wasn't shmoozed but he said sometimes we have to do the right thing because it is the right thing, even if it is unpopular. It is time we had a president who did that."

Asked if President Bush had any credibility left with her, she cited Iraq and his veto of expanding health insurance for children and said, "No. None . . . . I like the fact that Obama admits that he will make mistakes as president. We need that honesty."

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses have emerged as perhaps the only chance for Obama or any other candidate to stop Hillary Clinton's nomination. It is the only early state where Clinton does not have a double-digit lead in polls, a fact frequently attributed to heavy anti-Iraq war sentiment among Democrats. If Obama ekes out a victory, it is because the perception of his sincerity trumps Clinton's experience.

Hemesath and Tekippe both said they formerly favored Clinton, but changed their minds.

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