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Obama Needs to Try On a Blue Collar

Dem struggles to overcome ‘arugula’ rep

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Aug 13, 2007 12:35 PM CDT

(Newser) – Barack Obama is having trouble appealing to the more downscale wing of the Democratic Party, a problem on display in a recent Iowa farm appearance in which the Chicagoan complained about the price of arugula at Whole Foods. More a “wine track” than a “beer track” candidate, Obama must find a way to bond with blue collar voters—or Clinton will own them, Newsweek reports.

Hillary scores 12 points higher among voters without college degrees than those with them; her rival’s polls are reversed. The frontrunner knows how to work a rural crowd, making regular reference to being “born into a middle class family in the middle of America.” Still, there are signs of hope for Obama among low-income voters in South Carolina, where the two marquee Dems are tied.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during town hall meeting, Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, in Le Mars, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during town hall meeting, Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, in Le Mars, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)   (Associated Press)
Democrat presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill, shakes hands with supporters during a rally prior to a private fund raising event Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, in Park City, Utah.  (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)
Democrat presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill, shakes hands with supporters during a rally prior to a private fund raising event Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Steve C....   (Associated Press)
Senator Barack Obama is the first politician to be on the cover of GQ since presidential running mates Bill Clinton and Al Gore appeared in November 1992.  (PRNewsFoto/GQ)
Senator Barack Obama is the first politician to be on the cover of GQ since presidential running mates Bill Clinton and Al Gore appeared in November 1992. (PRNewsFoto/GQ)   (Associated Press)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addresses a rally in the parking lot of Soldier Field before a presidential forum hosted by the AFL-CIO at the stadium in Chicago, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addresses a rally in the parking lot of Soldier Field before a presidential forum hosted by the AFL-CIO at the stadium in Chicago, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Rex...   (Associated Press)
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