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October 11, 2008 11:19:42 PM CDT

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Obama Flexes Populist Muscle in Iowa

Posted Dec 30, 07 5:18 AM CST in Politics 

(Newser) – Watch your back, John Edwards: Barack Obama is targeting your Iowa base of working-class voters. Folksy stump speeches have bolstered Edwards in the weeks leading up to Thursday’s caucuses—but now Obama hopes to catch some of that populist wave by shifting away from his mantra of bipartisanship, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Obama's prior emphasis on rising above partisanship was said to appeal to upper-income voters and independents. His strategy now includes attacks on job outsourcing and Edwards’ populist credentials, as well as vignettes of his own modest upbringing. The new tactic comes as a recent poll shows Edwards moving from third to first among likely Iowa Dem voters with household incomes under $40,000.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., has been discussing job outsourcing and his own working-class background to appeal to working-class voters, the Los Angeles Times reports. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., has been adopting a new populist message, the Los Angeles Times reports. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards's populist message has been working so well that rival Barack Obama has adopted it, the Los Angeles Times reports. (AP Photo/Chris...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., right, talks to a supporter after receiving the endorsement of the Iowa Service Employees International Union at the the University of...   (Associated Press)
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Barack Obama  • John Edwards  • Democratic presidential candidates  • populist



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