Farmers for Obama

Why was the Indiana primary so close? Why did Obama do better here than anyone predicted? We had a powerful grassroots organization that delivered the message from friends to neighbors, not just big money spent on TV and newspaper ads. To wit, I give you Governor and former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who visited Washington recently to help undecided voters better understand Senator Obama’s positions and policies.

How often do ordinary voters get to talk to the advisers and other people in positions of political power to ask about the issues that affect our daily lives? He answered questions on how the effect of high fuel prices, the war in Iraq, and how the weakening dollar is hurting families that are already strapped.

He discussed how Barack Obama has plans to address every one of these issues that impact our everyday lives. Increasing the value of the dollar alone will go a long way towards reducing the cost of fuel for the trucking fleets the drive our economy. But he also pointed out that great countries make things. That means we need to create economic incentives for companies to keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S., rather than outsourcing overseas. The U.S. has great potential to become a world-leader again in designing the next generation of great technologies for reducing energy consumption. We need our government to encourage that development so that manufacturing those technologies can create jobs here in the U.S., and not get beaten to the punch again by Japan, China, and Korea.

We also need to enforce trade agreements with China, Korea, and Japan. The problem is that they currently own over half of our country’s national debt. Try laying down the law with someone to whom you owe money. It’s nearly impossible. By eliminating that debt, we can negotiate with those growing Asian economies on a level playing field.

Mabus also discussed the war in Iraq, saying that a milittary-only strategy has never been successful in the middle-east. A coordinated strategy of military efforts with long-term diplomatic efforts can not only enable us to start drawing down our troops, but also create allies in the region that would prevent us from needing such a strong military presence in the region. Reducing our military spending would allow the U.S. to provide financial support to U.S. industry in much the same way that our economic competitors do now.

Mabus covered a wide range of topics, and emphasized that Barack Obama has practical solutions, not just the broad, sweeping statements that are his hallmark. By creating real solutions, Barack Obama can effect real change in the lives of ordinary Americans, and that’s what the people of Indiana heard.

This is the kind of face-to-face discussion that helped Obama beat the predictions, keeping Indiana competitive to the very end. A narrow 2-point loss in Indiana cemented Obama’s position as the front-runner, and we can honestly say that Indiana helped choose the Democratic nominee, and give him great momentum going into the November general election.

Photo credit: Barry Baldwin