John Norris

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed as U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tuesday, has named John Norris as his his chief of staff, sources close to Vilsack said today.

Norris served as Vilsack’s chief of staff during his first two years as governor. He also served as chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party in 1998, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 2002 and was a national field director for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. He currently serves as chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board.

His wife, Jackie Norris, was named in November as First Lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff.

John and Jackie Norris at Invesco Field in Denver during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

“I love the fact that [The Des Moines Register] called us a ‘power couple,’ because at six o’clock in the morning the kids still wake us up and we change poopy diapers,” she said.

For two years Norris worked to elect Barack Obama president, first as a senior adviser during the Iowa Caucuses, then as his state director for the general election. Now she’s heading to Washington to serve as chief of staff to the country’s new First Lady, Michelle Obama.

But this isn’t Norris’ first go round in politics. She served as political director on Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 Iowa Caucus campaign and as finance director of Tom Vilsack’s 1998 gubernatorial bid. She worked in Washington, D.C., for 7 years on Capitol Hill, in the White House as a scheduler for Vice President Gore and at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

While it’s still unclear what her husband’s plans are, he’s no stranger to Democratic politics, either. He is a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, a one-time Congressional candidate and was chief of staff to Gov. Tom Vilsack. He currently serves as chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board.

In a phone interview with the Iowa Independent conducted before the announcement of her new job, Jackie Norris talked about what it was like to be a part of the historic campaign that elected America’s first black president, what lessons can be learned from the organization and what the future may hold for the political couple who got engaged at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

IOWA INDEPENDENT: What was it about Sen. Obama that motivated you to get so involved in the campaign?

JACKIE NORRIS: I had worked in politics and government, but in 2000 I decided to go into teaching. So I was teaching government to high school seniors.  I’ll never forget that moment when Sen. Obama had just come around on his book tour and there was a lot of excitement about him and all my students came in and wanted to talk about him and wanted to learn more about him. At that point, as a teacher, I saw interest and optimism that I hadn’t seen in the past in my students.  Young people are cynics, so I was pretty happy that they were getting excited about a presidential candidate.

II: How did you get directly involved in the campaign?

JN: A couple of people I worked with in the Gore campaign approached me to talk about Sen. Obama. At first I was teaching and had three little kids, so I thought it really wasn’t my time to get involved. But as I thought about it, I realized these opportunities only come up once in a lifetime. If I can change the way things are done I’ll be a good role model for my kids to show them that you have to stand up for what you believe in.

II: Sen. Obama’s success was never a foregone conclusion, but was there a time during the campaign where you began to realize that he might actually win?

JN: Well, I have to be honest. I’m one of those people who is an eternal optimist. I think from the get go I always knew that if we had a great field program and a great ground campaign, and orient the campaign differently than presidential campaigns of the past in terms of how we empower people and include people, we could win. I felt we had the plan and it was just a matter of execution.

Early on people saw something in Sen. Obama that they didn’t see in the other candidates. There was this energy in the campaign that was amazing. The field organizers brought Sen. Obama to activists across the state. They deserve a lot of the credit for bringing him and his message to people around Iowa who didn’t know him. That’s what we relied on –- that grassroots structure.

II: How different was the Obama campaign from other presidential campaigns in Iowa?

JN: I think our campaign learned from past candidates that hadn’t won, quite honestly.  Number one, we realized early on that it was really important to bring offices and field organizers to counties that typically didn’t see that activity in the past. It’s sort of that adage “If you build it, they will come.” What we found is that if you have an office there and staff there, there is a way for people to get involved. It’s tangible and it’s easy.

The second thing we did was we really have a policy-based discussion. That’s how we started the caucus campaign. Sen. Obama didn’t have every single plan immediately, so we were able to have conversations with staff and experts from all around the country, to talk to Iowans about the issues, and that helped shape our policy. As a result, when people left the table they walked away feeling invested in the ideas.

The third thing was our outreach organization. Past campaigns have done it, but we did it to a pretty in depth level. Outreach to college campuses. Outreach to African Americans. We went into rural communities.

The last thing is that we had fun. Not that other campaigns haven’t done that, but the nature of our candidate and his spouse, some of the things we did were more fun and light and empowering.

II: How crazy was your life in the days, weeks and months leading up to Election Day?

JN: I am a mother of three, so there already aren’t enough hours in the day. I think it’s safe to say I didn’t sleep as much and the hours were pretty chaotic. But the managerial philosophy I’ve learned over time is that you empower people and delegate to people, and that’s the way they learn how to be better at what they do. So I worked hard, but not harder than people like a precinct captain in Adel who worked to win their precinct for Barack Obama.

II: What effect do you think the Obama campaign will have on future campaigns, especially here in Iowa?

JN: I think Iowa is disappointed that more legislative candidates and candidates like Becky Greenwald didn’t win, that we didn’t see more of a coattail effect for down ballot candidates. The lesson learned is that in the counties where the Democrats weren’t organized before they realized that when they pool their efforts and work together they could actually get something done. I think what we’ve done is come in and be the catalyst for local political organizations. My hope is that once we leave they will still be energized and motivated for the next thing, whether that is a school board, a county auditor or a statehouse candidate.

II: But why weren’t the Obama coattails longer in Iowa?

JN: Iowans are notoriously independent. I also think that a lot of the people who voted were new voters and while we educated them enough to get them out to support the president they need to now be educated about the down ballot races. Not to say we didn’t do that, because I think we did see gains. But I think no one should assume voters would vote straight-ticket Democrat just because they turned out for a Democratic presidential candidate. The state and local parties need to continue to reach out to those voters in the future.

II: The Des Moines Register referred to you and your husband as “Iowa’s new power couple,” and there have been lots of reports mentioning both of you for jobs in the new administration. What’s your reaction to the attention you’re getting from the campaign’s success?

JN: Well, it’s exciting to work on something so hard and be recognized for your work. It’s important to point out that even if my name is on the top of the food chain, so many people worked so hard on this campaign. Sure, seeing your name in the paper is nice, and I love the fact that they called us a “power couple” because at six o’clock in the morning the kids still wake us up and we change poopy diapers.

II: Your husband was a big part of John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign (he served as national field director). Now you’ve played a big role in Obama’s 2008 campaign. Has this become a family tradition for you every four years?

JN: I think it’s safe to say John and I have run our course on presidential campaigns. This was a labor of love for me born out of a lot of passion and energy. So I’m excited about what I did, but to think that we’d do this again, and I can’t speak for John on this, but I have had my fair share of presidential campaigns.

II: You two actually got engaged at a presidential convention, is that right?

JN: Yep, it was at the 2000 convention in Los Angeles.

II: So this really is a political couple.

JN: Yeah, every time we think we’re getting away from it, somehow we get pulled back in. But I think we’re both pretty anxious to step away for a bit. We’ve got kids in public school; we’ve got local issues around our house, like Rice Field, that we’re really passionate about. I hope everybody who was so active in the Obama campaign now turns around and looks for ways to make a difference locally. There is a lot to be done in our communities.

Norris worked as a scheduler in Vice President Al Gore’s office, and she and her husband, John, have been involved in Iowa Democratic politics for years.  In 2000, she was Gore’s political director in Iowa, and in 1998 she was former Gov. Tom Vilsack’s finance director.  She has also taught high school government and history classes.

The ranking minority member on the Senate Finance Committee is seeking information from the non-profit University of Chicago Medical Center about jobs held by Sen. Barack Obama’s wife and one of his best friends, The Post’s Joe Stephens reports.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday sent the center a letter saying he was “troubled” by recent news reports about the hospital’s efforts to steer patients with non-urgent complaints away from the center’ emergency room to local clinics. Michelle Obama was a key figure behind the initiative.

The letter, which Grassley released to the public today, does not directly mention the Democratic presidential nominee, his wife or his campaign. Grassley also asked for financial data, board minutes and other documents related to hiring, job promotion, business contracting and care for the poor.

Peters is covering the convention for YouTube and its parent company, Google, after winning a national contest.

On Wednesday, Peters interviewed a younger Michigan delegate who had been for Clinton and only just made the decision to go with Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois and the Democratic presidential candidate.

Peters also talked with Jonathan Alter of Newsweek.

One of his videos, on Michelle Obama’s speech, is getting strong traffic on YouTube. His interviews with these people and coverage of the convention can be found on YouTube.

Peters’ winning YouTube video will be shown at Mile High Stadium in Denver tonight as the Democratic National Convention concludes.

His video — about reasons for being a Democrat in 2008 — is already a hit.

“I got stopped by two guys who said, ‘You’re the YouTube guy,’” Peters said. “These guys actually yelled 30 feet away from me.”

Peters said that when surrounded by major political figures and journalists he understands his role.
“I realize how insignificant what I’ve done is in the broad scheme of things,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday night from Denver.

On Wednesday, he watched from inside the Pepsi Center as former President Bill Clinton spoke and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., accepted the vice presidential nomination.

“I think tonight was the first time they had a full-out offensive on McCain,” Peters said.

He said it was about time Democrats took the fight to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona.

“Bill Clinton hit McCain hard and fast and numerous times,” said Peters, an Obama supporter.

I

Rich Peters, a recent University of Iowa Law School graduate who grew up in Carroll, shot video for YouTube, the popular video sharing Web site, during the convention. He earned access to the Pepsi Center in Denver by winning a video contest.

Peters told Iowa Independent in a phone interview that he was surrounded by women in the Pepsi Center who responded to Michelle Obama’s family themed keynote pitch for her presidential candidate husband, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. He watched the audience intently and talked to a number of women in attendance about their impressions.

“What cameras aren’t going to pick up are the words people used to agree with Michelle,” Peters said.

He added, “The neatest thing was being amongst the crowd. Every couple of seconds there would be someone yelling something positive.”

With memories of a hard-fought primary and caucus season looming in the minds of many activists, there is concern from the Obama camp about reaching supporters of his chief rival in that process, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. — particularly women.

“I did not know going in whether there would be unity,” said Peters, an Obama supporter. “But as soon as I got boots on the ground, I can’t tell you how much energy there was, and it was all positive.”

Earlier Monday, Peters appeared for a segment on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with host Joe Scarborough, a former conservative congressman from Florida.

Peters brought along a bag of Cheetos as a joke related to Scarborough’s references to bloggers as Cheeto eaters.

For YouTube, Peters interviewed New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Peters also talked with environmental activist Robert Kennedy Jr., among other people Monday.

Speaking to about 100 people at the new Crossroads Bistro in Carroll Sunday morning, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle, a Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer, talked of her motherly concerns.

Retirement security is not an abstract policy idea for her, said Michelle Obama, a mother of two young girls. Her own mother, thanks to years of middle class work, was able to retire with decency – giving her the time to be with the grandkids.
“There is nothing like grandma,” Michelle Obama said. “All mothers like me need that support.”

Mrs. Obama, an African-American raised in Chicago, said her life is one of overcoming the conventional wisdom, of ignoring a chorus of no’s.

“All my life I have been told `No,’” Obama said. “‘No, you can’t, wait it’s not your turn.’ That’s been my life’s message.”

Obama sees her husband’s barrier-breaking bid as uplifting the nation as a whole, bringing people together.

She dreams of what his inauguration as president would do for millions for young people.

“On that day the veil of impossibility gets snatched off the heads of millions of kids who’ve been told `No,’” Michelle Obama said.

She said the Obamas are still connected to their working-class roots, and even shop at Target in Chicago instead of more swanky stores.

Following the event Michelle Obama talked with Douglas Burns of Iowa Independent and The Daily Times Herald in Carroll, Iowa. Here is that exchange:

Iowa Independent: So this is it. You’ve said you’re not going to make this run again in eight years or 12 years. It’s now or never.

Mrs. Obama: You know. I think one of the things Barack clarified in this conversation is that part of my passion for running and why I think Barack is unique is because he has spent so much time in this system and we’re not so far removed from everyday life and in four or eight years we will be.

It’s just the bottom line.

And part of what I want to know as a citizen is what happens when you have leadership that is still very much connected to regular life.

And we won’t be that. I mean, after this, our lives will change.

And if he’s just going to be another politician – if that’s what we want in this nation – someone who looks and breathes like everybody else – then what’s the point?

We don’t have ambitions or dreams of living in the White House just to be there.

This is really about change. So philosophically to me the whole reason for running is doing it now – doing it now when the country is possibly ready to be pushed in a different way.

And if we’re not ready now I don’t that we’ll be any more ready to be pushed after we’ve made the same choices again and again. We’ve got to do this now. We’ve got do it now.

Iowa Independent: There have been some concerns expressed, particularly in the wake of the assassination in Pakistan, there have been concerns that maybe your husband doesn’t have the foreign policy experience necessary to do this job. Could you talk about how his experience growing up in Indonesia, a Christian growing up in a Muslim nation, might be more beneficial than maybe having held some subcommittee hearings on Europe.

Mrs. Obama: Part of what happens is that culture of fear. When we don’t know each other. When we haven’t lived on that side of the world. When we haven’t really experienced other cultures, something that happens, our first reaction, is to react in fear and to draw in. We didn’t get to the right conclusion when we did that the first time. We are now in a war because of that.
Barack, because of his experience living abroad, his openness, his ability to approach problems not with toughness and meanness and tough talk but with real reason, looking at the facts, that’s the kind of wisdom and judgment that we need.

So the Washington insiders keep pointing to the question of foreign policy experience because that’s what they’re used to. That’s their comfort level.

But if it had gotten us to the right positions we wouldn’t be here.

My view is we can’t keep doing the same things over and over again and keep pointing to the same types of experiences and then be surprised when we get the same results.

Iowa Independent: I know he (Senator Obama) hasn’t taken too many official delegation trips to Europe. He’s talked a lot about Asia, obviously Indonesia. Just from your conversations as husband and wife, when he was younger did he have a lot of experience traveling around Europe? Is he really familiar with it?

Mrs. Obama: Yeah, yeah, he’s traveled in the Middle East more than Europe. But we’ve traveled in Europe quite often and we had planned a trip to Asia and to Europe and then he decided to run for president so that kind of slowed things down.
It would have been difficult in a very tight race to do a foreign policy trip.
So he hasn’t been there in an official capacity.

The other thing about Barack is that the people in his life, his friends, the people he surrounds himself with, are people who live all over the world.

His relationships and connections from the time he was 3 up until now are folks who live in Pakistan and folks who live currently in Europe.

Those are the conversations he’s having and that helps to inform him as much as any one foreign affairs trip could.

When you know and live with people who are struggling and talking with you every day about the challenges that are happening, when you have family in Africa, when your grandmother lives in a hut in a small village, and you are getting word back of what’s going on and cousins and nieces and nephews, let me tell you, you don’t need the trip over there to know what’s going on and to be able to appreciate it. You’re living it.

It's a sad, scary thought that there are those out there who would cut down our leaders because of hatred or fear. But we know it's true; it's happened before. And while I agree with Lynda that "it would be a mistake" to think that the apparent threats against Obama are "placed on solely the color of his skin." I do think that his race plays the largest role in the issue.

In a "60 Minutes" interview with Barack and Michelle Obama last February, CBS' Steve Kroft said the following to Michelle Obama:

"This is a tough question to ask, but a number of years ago Colin Powell was thinking about running for president, and his wife Alma, really did not want him to run. She was worried about some crazy person, with a gun…. Is that something that you think about?"

"I don't lose sleep over it because the realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know," Michelle Obama replied. "So, you know, you can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen. We just weren't raised that way."

An astute response, I think, on matters of race in America. Whether or not Obama is the Democratic nominee, his candidacy has fostered a sort of introspection (at least by some) on race relations and what it means to be a black American today. Unless my memory fails me, no one talked about assasination attempts on Joe Lieberman because he was Jewish or John Kerry because he was Catholic. No one really seems to be concerned about the Hispanic Bill Richardson's safety (though to be fair, he's not in the race's first tier). Americans are still reconciling issues of black and white, and the legacy of slavery and segregation still looms large in our society, whether or not we admit it. In the end, I think Obama's blackness really is at the core of this safety issue—which tells us just how far we still have to go.