Obama Courts Independents

Trak1: Barack Obama used a ten-minute speech before the round-table to lash out at lobbyists. He blamed special interest groups for higher costs for gasoline, heating oil and prescription drugs. During this primary, Democrat John Edwards has worked to stake his claim as the anti-corporate candidate. On Thursday, Obama made it clear he wasn’t conceding that ground.

AX1:(1:07 — 1:25) I intend to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over, that they had not funded my campaigns, and from my first day as president, I will launch the most sweeping ethics reform in U.S. history. We will make government more open, more accountable and more responsive to the problems of the American people. (18 secs)

Trak: Obama said he’s done more than any other candidate to limit corporate influence, citing ethics bills that he championed in Congress and in the Illinois Senate. Looking ahead, he said he will use transparency as a weapon. When his administration tackles health care reform, legislation will be crafted in open sessions on C-SPAN. Iif drug companies say they need large profits to fund development of new drugs, Obama said he is ready to respond.

AX2: (12 secs) I can call in some health care economists and in front of the American people, they will say, well, actually a lot of those profits are going into television ads that don’t do anything to create breakthrough drugs. :13

Trak: The Obama campaign needs to win the support of independent voters. Obama encouraged these independents to talk about their frustrations with government and the party system. For Gail Collins of Rochester, it wasn’t hard to get started.

AX3: Whether you talk about conservative or liberal, what does that really mean/ Right. And a lot of the political dialogue then ends up being, using labels//Yes// It doesn’t open people up to new ideas?// And when we label people, we depersonalize them/ And it’s easier to just ignore them// And not just ignore them// Villify them// That’s right (20 secs)

Trak: After the round table, participants said they liked what they learned about Obama. Rye resident Peter Colby said he was impressed by the senator. In part based on his policies, but even more, based on the intangibles of character and style.

AX4: (2:37 — 2:58) Now I vote from my guts. I don’t believe that they’ll accomplish hardly anything that’s on their agenda. Therefore, do I think that this is a person that can be a good president for this country? I looked at his articulation, his appearance and what he said back to us. I know a little bit about how he was brought up, which is different from the rest. And from that I know that I can vote for the man. (19 secs)

Trak: Another participant, Exeter voter Sally Anne Hawko, said she considers Obama one of two final contenders for her vote. She said she came into the round-table with a test in mind. She said Obama passed.

AX5: It was a degree of consistency that I was looking for coming in. I was not looking for someone who was going to change what they said or how they said it based on their audience. And he was just consistent. (13 secs)

Trak: After the event in Exeter, Obama went on to Portsmouth and Rochester, where he was introduced by Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter. Shea Porter recently endorsed him and owes her own victory to support from independents. For NHPR News, I’m Dan Trudeau.