Yesterday in Washington, Iowa, Barack Obama took a question from a skeptical audience member who said there was “a certain unreality about listening to you [Obama] that’s about like listening to George Bush…”

Obama responded by addressing two parts of the man’s question: “electability and governance.”

For the final part of his answer he drew a sharp distinction between his methods and the Clintons’ work on health care in the 1990s.

He said, “My plan is not that different from Hillary Clinton’s plan or John Edward’s plan or any of the other plans. The question is how do you move it forward … I admire Sen. Clinton and Bill Clinton for having tried in 1993 but they did it the wrong way … they went behind closed doors … the Clinton plan was dead on arrival … “

He went on to say he would try to work differently: “This is all going to be on C-SPAN, the American people will be watching, so it’s not behind closed doors, it’s open.”

Obama was joined onstage by Rep. Dave Loebsack. He recently endorsed Obama for president and introduced the Illinois Senator.


Obama fan Rachel McPherson teaches family literacy and ESL at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa City, Iowa.

She told the Iowa Independent that Obama would make her proud to live in the U.S. again.  She said sometimes she tells people she is from Brazil and has had thoughts of moving to Spain to get out of the U.S.

She met Obama at the 2007 Tom Harkin Steak Fry and said that he was her “man” for the caucuses.

In this video she describes that experience and her thoughts on his plan for education:

Another questioner asked him about funding for U.S. schools:

Obama said before the crowd in the Washington Junior High School gymnasium that he said he would “change No Child Left Behind, which left the money behind.”

I.I. reporter John Deeth has more from this event.