Obama Draws Nearly 8,000 in Bozeman, Talks Public Lands, Access

By David Nolt, 5-20-08

	Caption: Photo by David Nolt.

Sen. Barack Obama continued his presidential campaign’s momentum through Montana yesterday, holding a town hall meeting in Billings, becoming an adopted member of the Crow Tribe and finally rallying in Bozeman on the Montana State University campus.

In Bozeman, Obama primarily stuck to his standard talking points, not spending too much time on specific Western issues. But, he did continue in his efforts to reach across the broad demographic of sportsmen and outdoors enthusiasts, citing the importance of conserving public lands.

“We need to make sure that we’re good stewards of the land,” Obama explained. “The people here in Montana know something about that. You have some beautiful country here in Montana. We want to make sure we pass that on to the next generation. That means that we’re cracking down on polluters. It means that we are maintaining access to public lands but we are also making sure that we are doing it in a sustainable way so that we are allowing hunters and sportsmen and fisherman and people who just want a good walk – a nice hike in the mountains – that that is going to be there for our children and our grandchildren and our great grandchildren and the children after that. That is a priority for all of Montana. That’s going to be my priority when I’m the President of the United States.”

After a brief introduction by actor Michael Keaton (“Beetlejuice is a great movie,” Obama said. “Why are you laughing? It’s a good movie.”), Obama urged a packed house to help him to the finish line of his historic candidacy. Montana and South Dakota will hold the last Democratic primaries on June 3rd.

Obama’s speech came as the Democratic tide continues to turn toward his run for the party’s presidential nomination. Obama didn’t mention Sen. Clinton much, rather, he made a concerted effort to distinguish himself from Sen. John McCain, continuing to draw parallels between the presumptive Republican nominee and George W. Bush.

Obama opened by recalling his presidential bid’s beginning 15 months ago and focused on his campaign’s hallmark of change. The freshman senator from Illinois has cast his candidacy and relative lack of Washington experience as an asset rather than a liability, and this was certainly the message in Bozeman last night.

“I was making a bet on you, the American people, because I was convinced that you were tired of a politics that is all about tearing each other down,” Obama said to raucous applause. “You wanted a politics that is about lifting this country up. I was convinced you were tired of spin and PR. You wanted an honest conversation about how we were going to move this country forward. Most of all, you were tired of being divided…Well, I am here to report that my bet has paid off because the American people, everywhere I go, they are telling me they are ready for change. They want something new. They are ready to turn the page.”

Referring to what Dr. Martin Luther King called “the fierce urgency of now,” Obama listed the high stakes of this election and explained why his candidacy cannot wait. Typical of Obama, the speech was mostly visionary with heavy populist tones toward domestic policy. When it came to foreign policy, Obama did not mince words.

“I’ve said that we should talk not just to our friends, but we should talk to our enemies,” Obama argued, referring to an ongoing debate between him, President Bush and Sen. McCain.

Last week President Bush compared Obama’s pledge to engage U.S. “enemies” to Nazi appeasers in WWII. Just this week Sen. McCain said Obama’s brand of diplomacy makes him unfit to be president. Obama responded by calling the Bush Administration “incompetent” on foreign policy and contended that Iran was the “largest strategic beneficiary of our war in Iraq.”

“These guys are talking tough, but not getting anything done,” Obama said.

Obama also spoke at length about energy, skewering Sen. McCain for his call to suspend the gas tax. Obama called the proposal a “gimmick.”

“I am going to lead this administration into an era of clean energy investment,” Obama proclaimed. One-hundred fifty billion dollars over 10 years…We are going to put millions of people to work…We are going to save this planet. We are going to wean ourselves of dependence of foreign oil.”

Obama did spend some time on specific policy measures for healthcare and education. The crowd exploded when Obama called to pay teachers more, and his call to make college more affordable by expanding Pell Grants, lowering interest on student loans and initiating a community service tuition credit program was clearly popular with MSU students. Obama challenged them to become involved in their communities and promised his administration would be there to help.

Obama’s plans call for significant spending, and he was not shy about acknowledging the upfront costs. But, he emphasized, the spending needs to be put into context.

“If people tell you we can’t do it, we can’t afford it, you just remind them we’re spending $10 billion a month in Iraq. If we can spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can spend some of that money right here in the United States of America.”

Obama repeatedly called for everyday Americans to help take their government back, insisting this election is about much more than his much-hyped candidacy. Obama lamented negative turns in all three major candidates’ campaigns and deemed it a divisive and distracting form of politics. Again, and with reference to a now-dwindling cadre of lobbyists working as McCain strategists, Obama challenged the crowd to take back their political landscape from special interests.

“It’s about your hopes. It’s about your dreams. It’s about your struggle. It’s about what you’re willing to sacrifice and what you’re willing to do to make this country a better place.”

There was a broad mix of ages at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, but young faces were very prevalent in the crowd. The youth vote has been critical for Obama, and this was evident at the Bozeman rally as he warned of the increasingly competitive and globalized economy.

Dylan Zitzel, a 19-year old biology student from Dillon, Montana, will be voting in his first presidential election this year. He says he’ll probably be voting for Obama and was impressed with the Senator’s speech.

“Education is a big thing for me,” Zitzel said. “My dad is a teacher, so it’s obviously important for me. It was good to hear him talk about that.”

Zitzel also said the environment is one of his main concerns, echoing the Montana conservation ethic Obama spoke of.

“Being from Montana, you can’t not appreciate it [the environment],” Zitzel added.

Asked whether, in light of Sen. Clinton’s fleeting chance for the nomination, his vote on June 3rd would matter, Zitzel immediately replied, “It always matters.”

Though Obama is clearly popular in the West and now has his sights more on McCain than Clinton, he is still deeming it too early in the game to be making victory speeches.

“On June 3rd we are going to bring this nomination to a close right here in Montana.”