John Nichols: Obama's Tough New Populism

from The Nation:



Obama's Tough New Populism
posted by John Nichols on 08/29/2008 @ 02:36am



DENVER -- William Cobb was going to approve of Barack Obama's acceptence speech.

Cobb is a working man, a union man and a proud member of the party of working men and union men: the Democrat Party of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

But Cobb, door-knocker, envelope-stuffer, rally-attender and all-around party activist, needed something he could take back to the white working-class voters of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who remain skeptical about Obama.

Before the Democratic nominee took the stage at Invesco Field, before a cheering crowd of 80,000 supporters, Cobb summed up what he thought Obama had to talk about in his acceptance speech.

"Economics. Economics. Economics," said the 64-year-old man, who lost his job in a stockroom four years ago and has been delivering pizzas since then because, as he says, "No one was going to hire a 64-year-old man for a good-paying job."

"The loyal Democrats will be with Obama," said Cobb, who eshewed the t-shirts worn by most delegates attending the outdoor rally to dress in a shirt and tie for the final night of is party's convention. "But the white guys who usually vote Democratic but who sometimes stray over to the Republicans, we don't have them yet." ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/350408