An Obama Presidency: Hey World, "America's Back"
CONCORD -- Barack Obama said tonight that he's in this race to win it, and that his campaign is not merely about the inspiring nature of his pitch, it's about "creating a new majority" in American politics.
"I want to win an election in November," he told an enthusiastic crowd gathered in the Concord High School gym for the final rally before N.H. voters go to the polls tomorrow. ""That's what we're starting here. It's just a beginning. I'm not in this to feel good. I'm in this to win."
The speech was long, and the candidate seemed tired, at times grasping for the right words to finish his sentences. But the crowd listened attentively and urged him on with chants of O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA." They pounded the bleachers and held their children up high on shoulders. And as Obama spoke about change and how talk of it has dominated debate of late, one man yelled to the candidate: "Don't change yourself."
"Well," Obama responded, "I won't do that."
Obama aimed also to respond to critics -- and rivals -- who say his campaign is big on lofty rhetoric but falls short on substance. He said that his positions are clearly outlined on his Web page, which voters could spend the whole day perusing. He emphasized that he would end the war in Iraq, focus on Afghanistan and go after Al Qaeda, and close Gitmo.
"I want to go before the world and say, 'America's back'," he said. "... There's nothing ambiguous or vague about it," he added about his foreign policy intentions.
Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, who introduced him, mentioned Iowa several times tonight. It was a reminder that victory is not elusive for this fresh face with limited Washington experience.
"There is a spirit that is stirring all across the country," Obama said. "It started on Thursday in Iowa."
He urged that it's time to "turn a page in American history." "We are one people and one nation, and our time for change has come," he said.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)