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From In-Forum:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama brought his message of change to Fargo today, telling a group of veterans and about 1,000 spectators that he would improve veteran services, engage in diplomacy with Iran and roll back the Bush administration’s tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans.

The Illinois senator talked about veterans during a 16-minute speech and touched on an array of hot-button issues during a 36-minute question-and-answer period.

Dressed in khakis, a red tie and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Obama emerged from the barn-red Children’s Museum at Yunker Farm in north Fargo to wild cheers. He opened on a light-hearted note.

“It is fun to be in Fargo,” he said, “although I have to say that it doesn’t look like it does in the movie.”

On the day before the nation celebrates its independence, Obama said that for the nation to honor its ideals, it must honor the men and women who defend them.

“This requires more than saluting our veterans as they march by in a Fourth of July parade,” he said. “It requires only sending them to war when we must and giving them the equipment they need.”

From the Grand Folks Herald:

In a state that hasn’t voted a Democrat for president for 44 years, Sen. Barack Obama worked the crowd of 1,500 who came from far and near to see what they think is history being made.

“I’m more enthusiastic, more excited than in any other election,” said Rick Santiago, Fargo, as he bounced his 4-month-old daughter, Brianna, and waited to see Obama under the trees of Yunker Farm in north Fargo.

The son of migrant workers from San Antonio, Santiago, 41, always voted Republican until George W. Bush said things he didn’t like after the 2000 primary season.

Obama’s message of change and hope rings true for him, Santiago said. “I believe in him, in what he says.”

For the first time, Santiago gave money to a campaign, Obama’s, and stood in line Tuesday for almost two hours to get one of the tickets for Thursday’s event for him, his wife and Brianna.

“The way this country is going, we need to do something,” Santiago said. “I’m looking toward the future for my daughter and my son, who is 16.”v Ralph Maxwell, a former U.S. attorney and state judge in Fargo, said he yearns for the change Obama promises. He’s been a Democrat since about the time he graduated from UND’s law school after the war once the old Non-Partisan League merged into the party, he said.

The 88-year-old Devils Lake native fit easily Friday into the very uniform he wore as a sergeant in an anti-aircraft unit in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Maxwell joined about 200 veterans present for the event, the day before Independence Day. Organizers said it was meant to honor veterans.

…Obama won loud applause when he promised to end the war in Iraq as soon as possible if he’s elected president, saying he would use some of the $10 billion spent monthly on the war to reduce the budget deficit.

Looking entirely at ease in brown slacks, burgundy tie and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Obama…spent 40 minutes answering questions from the crowd, using each one to launch in-depth into his major issues. One of the two dozen or more national reporters and photographers who follow the Obama campaign stop to stop said the Illinois senator was much more “off the cuff” Friday than usual.

Catching sight of a boy wearing a Chicago Bears cap, Obama insisted he get the next question, but first quizzed the boy, who gave his name as Chance, about the Bears’ prospects and player needs, and gibed the many Minnesota Viking fans present, saying “you all need to get re-educated.”

While 1,325 tickets were distributed for the event, organizers said there’s little doubt more people came at the last minute and were allowed in.

Ross and Beth Horner and their son, Alex, 15, drove three hours from Bismarck on Thursday to see Obama, after getting a friend to stand in line for tickets Tuesday.

She normally leans Republican, Beth said, canceling her husband’s vote. “But I like the change Obama represents. Our country does need a change, and I think he’s the guy to do it.”

Phil Harmeson, a UND official and longtime political analyst in North Dakota, said he was struck by the significance of the Obama phenomenon evident at Thursday’s event….

…“He’s making a stop in Fargo, North Dakota, in July when most times, the Democrats write off the state early,” Harmeson said. It means Obama is dictating the terms of the national campaign, he said, which would force McCain to stump here, a state he ordinarily could have counted on without a visit.

No Democratic presidential candidate has won North Dakota since Lyndon Johnson’s win in 1964.

But, for state politics, Obama’s visit is even more significant, Harmeson said. The good vibrations that Obama’s charm and gospel of change generate could be enough to swing, say, three state senate races to the Democrats, giving them control of at least one house in a legislature long dominated by Republicans, he said.

“So, this could have a dramatic impact on North Dakota politics,” Harmeson said, gesturing around the leafy park full of Obamanites.

…Obama promised to spend far more money on veterans if elected, from upping the G.I. Bill’s sweep to building new hospitals for veterans….

“There are many things that went wrong in the war in Iraq,” he said. “But caring for our veterans is one thing we can still get right.”

After his hourlong town hall meeting, Obama worked a long line of eager fans, shaking hands, taking compliments and posing for photos.

Tom Vacha was one.

“I told him, ‘When I was 12 years old, I rode my bike out here, to the airport right across the street and I shook John Kennedy’s hand,’” Vacha said. “And I told him ‘You sure are an inspiration and you remind me a lot of John Kennedy.’ And he said thank you.”

Vacha, 61, served in Korea during the Vietnam War. Kennedy campaigned in Fargo in 1959 when Vacha was 12 and lived a few blocks from the airport at what now is Yunker Farm.

From the Star Tribune:

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, speaking before veterans, their family members and others in Fargo this afternoon, said the country must do better by those who serve in the military.

Speaking for about 20 minutes at the Children’s Museum at Yunker Farm under a bright sky…Obama noted that the Fourth of July is not only about barbecues, parades and fireworks, but the United States should be sending its young men and women "to war [only] when we must and giving them the equipment they need."

He also contended the medical and financial help for veterans when they return home needs to improve. "It doesn’t have to be this way," he said.

Whether going to war is the right decision or not, Obama added, "Caring for our veterans is something that we can still get right."

He pledged, if elected, to reduce the red tape that veterans face when seeking medical treatment or help with education and housing benefits.

He said he wants to expand funding to help veterans buy homes, and medical treatment for mental health care and brain injuries needs "to dramatically improve."

As for financial aid for education, Obama said, the government needs to look to how the GI Bill helped World War II veterans and pay the full bill for college.

From Reuters:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pushed deep into Republican territory in North Dakota on Thursday, saying he saw the potential for a significant political realignment in November’s election.

Staking another claim to a state usually ignored by Democratic contenders for the White House, Obama said Americans of all political leanings were hungry for something different after eight years of President George W. Bush.

"I’m a firm believer that 90 percent of success is showing up and Democrats haven’t been showing up in these places," he said in Fargo, North Dakota, a state that has not backed a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

The visit to North Dakota, where Obama pushed his plans to help military veterans, followed stops in conservative sections of Ohio and Colorado this week. On Friday’s July 4th holiday, he will visit Montana, another state that traditionally votes Republican.

"If you look at the trends in many of these states, there are more and more independents who aren’t tied to a political party and I want to make sure that we are reaching out to them," Obama said.

"I think there is a possibility of a significant realignment politically in this election," he said. "Now is the time for us to have a conversation with all Americans, not just some Americans, about how we can pull together."

…He has promised to open offices in all 50 states and aired advertising in 21 states, including several traditional Republican strongholds including North Dakota, Montana and even Alaska.

Obama hopes dissatisfaction with Bush and Republicans will help swing independents and some Republicans his way. Democratic voter registration and turnout has been higher than Republicans nationally and the Obama campaign has organized a national voter registration drive.

"Look at today’s news — 62,000 jobs lost, over 80 percent of American people think we are moving in the wrong direction, there is unease all over the country," Obama said.

"I believe the American people across the political spectrum are hungry for something different, something new," he told reporters in a brief tarmac news conference after touching down at the Fargo airport.

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