Obama Flexes Populist Muscle in Iowa

Illinois senator pursues John Edwards' base
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 30, 2007 5:18 AM CST
Obama Flexes Populist Muscle in Iowa
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 Photo/M. Spencer Green)   (Associated Press)

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. (More Barack Obama stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X