A Conversation with Barack Obama

Senator Barack Obama took questions today in a conference call from a farm in Fairfax, Iowa. The Senators intent was to unveil his rural policy agenda, which he called: Real Leadership for Rural America.

Obama held rural issues forums in Adel, in July and Tama, in August to talk with local Iowans about the challenges they face and how they deal with them. The insight he gleaned from these meetings are what he claims to have based his rural policy agenda upon. He hopes that this agenda will revitalize and strengthen rural America.

Obama said that his plan will balance concerns of conservation that he thinks people in Iowa find important. "I'm really pleased with the proposal that we have put together. We encourage organic agriculture and we encourage energy efficiency," he said ...."We are going to help small businesses in rural communities by bringing more nurses and doctors," he added.

Obama said that they want to encourage community colleges and invest in an infra structure. He also said that they want to implement more broadbands that will make it easier for more businesses to move into rural America.

He took questions from four journalists during the call. I asked him what he intends to do about the Tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. "We are seeing more drug resistant strains of TB, we need to create a public health system," Obama said.

I also asked him what he intends to do about TB immunized immigrants who test positive being forced to take Isonizaid which causes liver damage.

"I am not aware of it but I will have my people investigate it," he said. "We need to provide health care to all Americans... In particular...we need to make sure that better health care is operating in rural communities," Obama said.

Chuck Peterson of Enterprise Journal, St Ansgar, Iowa, invited a response from Obama: "We see a lot of stuff on the internet... You refuse to wear a pin of the American flag when you are out campaigning," he said. Obama's response was: "This is a case of a mountain being made out of a mole hill. I have nothing against people who are expressing their patriotism. I think it is fine."