In Idaho, Obama Slides A Touch to the Right
BOISE, IDAHO -- Although it was his first campaign visit to the state, thousands came to see Barack Obama at an early morning rally in Boise.
"So they told me that there weren't any Democrats in Idaho," Obama proclaimed, "That's what they told me but I did not believe them!"
Throughout his speech, Obama targeted young voters and independents. He used the Iowa caucuses as an example of his success with voters who don't typically vote or who vote conservative.
"For the first time in anybody's memory we had folks 30 and under voting at the same rate as people 60 and over. It has not happened in a generation but it was happening in this election," Obama said.
He said that although pundits told him that independents would not vote until a general election, independents and many Republicans threw their support to him.
"We keep on defying the conventional wisdom," Obama said.
Obama's message was also geared towards the more conservative crowd in Idaho. As he often does, he addressed the rumors that are circulating about his religious beliefs and his patriotism; "the usual smear campaign." However, he spoke about the Second Amendment, which he hasn't done in the past.
"There are people who say he doesn't believe in the Second Amendment even though I come from a state…we got a lot of hunters in the state of Illinois…and I have no intention of taking away folks' guns."
And in a state that has a large Mormon population, Obama also noted today's funeral in Utah for Gordon B. Hinckley, the president of the Church of Latter-day Saints who died this week.