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Race, religion 'won't matter'
12/02/2007 14:09 - (SA)
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| US senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at a rally during their three-day presidential announcement trip through Illinois. (Charles Rex Arbogast, AP) |
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Iowa Falls, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama does not think voters have a litmus test on religion, whether evangelical Christianity or his childhood years in the Muslim faith.
"If your name is Barack Hussein Obama, you can expect it, some of that. I think the majority of voters know that I'm a member of the United Church of Christ, and that I take my faith seriously," Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"Ultimately what I think voters will be looking for is not so much a litmus test on faith as an assurance that a candidate has a value system and that is appreciative of the role that religious faith can play in helping shape people's lives," he said.
In the interview, Obama also said his race might be a "novelty" this early in the presidential contest, sparred with the prime minister of Australia over Iraq, and said he has a higher burden of proof with voters because of his relative inexperience.
Obama formally announced his candidacy in Illinois on Saturday and made a beeline for Iowa, site of the first nominating contest next January 14.
Attended Muslim school
Obama's religious background has come under scrutiny because he attended a Muslim school in Indonesia from age six to 10. Obama, who was born in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather from 1967 to 1971 and subsequently returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.
Obama attends a Chicago church with his wife and two young daughters. The 2008 presidential field also includes Republican Mitt Romney, a Mormon, and senator Sam Brownback, a Republican evangelical Christian who converted to Catholicism in recent years.
Obama's leading rivals for the Democratic nomination are far better known to voters, the US senator from Illinois said. He was elected in 2004.
"At least two of my fellow candidates have been campaigning nationally for years," Obama said, referring to senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former senator John Edwards.
"They have an infrastructure and name recognition that are higher than mine so there will probably be a higher burden of proof for me."
Race 'a novelty'
Few minorities reside in early voting Iowa and New Hampshire but Obama said his race - his mother is white, his father is black - will not play a determining role.
"I think that early on it may spark some curiosity or a sense of novelty, but I think very quickly people will be judging me on the merits. Do I have a message that resonates with people's concerns about health care and education, jobs and terrorism?" he said. "And if they do, then I think race won't be a major factor."
Obama laughed off criticism from Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who said Obama's plans for Iraq "encourage those who wanted to completely destabilise and destroy Iraq".
"It's flattering that one of George W Bush's allies feels obliged to attack me," Obama said. The senator has called for capping the number of US troops in Iraq and then beginning to withdraw them on May 1. He wants a complete pullout of combat brigades by March 31, 2008.
Obama said that if Howard did not think enough was being done in Iraq, he should consider sending more Australian troops to the region. Australia has about 1 400 troops in Iraq, mostly in noncombat roles.
Security fears
Obama dismissed concerns about his own security, but would not answer directly when asked if he had received death threats. The Rev Jesse Jackson drew early secret service protection because of violent threats during his campaigns for president in the 1980s.
"I face the same security issues as anybody," he said. "We're comfortable with the steps we have taken."
Obama campaigned in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo after his kick-off announcement in Springfield, Illinois. He also met with party activists at a private home in Iowa Falls and attended a rally at Iowa State University in Ames.
He won the endorsement of two top state officials - attorney general Tom Miller and treasurer Michael Fitzgerald. Miller called Obama "a once in a generation talent".
- AP
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