My View from the Porch

It’s now time to make our political decisions, and here is one columnist’s choice: Obama

By CARLA OFFENBURGER
December 3, 2007
COOPER, IOWA

The Iowa Political Caucuses are only one month away and I’ve finally chosen my candidate, Barack Obama, the U.S. Senator and Democrat from Illinois.

I hope you are enjoying the caucus fever as much as I am. I’m always shocked when I hear that Iowans aren’t getting out to see and hear all the candidates. It’s easy to go see the one you like the most, but the real thrill is hearing all of them and being able to really evaluate what they say, whether they look you in the eye and if they stay on-task with their own agenda rather than bashing the other candidates. Most have done a pretty good job of this.

Since, sigh, we have a divided household here at the farm, my husband Chuck and I have tried to see all the candidates. Alas, Chuck’s Republicans are just not showing up around Greene County much. Much to my relief, I might add. I’m pleased that we’ve seen all of the leaders among my Democrats now except for Senator Christopher Dodd – and isn’t that odd since he’s the one candidate who took up residence in Des Moines?

I have made it a slow and methodical process in choosing who I’m going to support. I want the Democrats to win back the White House and start cleaning up a mess of political chaos we have now on many fronts – education, military, health care, immigration, and our national budget/deficit.

It’s scary when you really focus in on our state of affairs as a nation. You really begin to see that where we are is nowhere close to where America should be in the worldwide arena. We are not the superpower anymore. Our approach to the world seems to be “we are scared,” and it has put us out of favor and far behind. We can do so much better.


Senator Barack Obama mixes with the crowd after his speech in Guthrie Center on September 4, visiting here with Guthrie High School student Dylan Dinkla. That’s Carla Offenburger, in brown, on the left of the candidate. She is now endorsing him as her choice for president. (Photo by Luann Waldo, of the Bayard News Gazette and Scranton Journal.)

I have seen and heard all of the Democrats that I was considering. And actually, I’ll be happy with nearly any of them – Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards, Senator Joe Biden and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. And I’ll be happy with them in that order, please.

When I first saw Barack Obama in early September, with the backdrop of an Iowa corn field on the edge of Guthrie Center, I leaned over to Chuck and said, “He is so calming and reassuring.” I liked that. He didn’t yell, he didn’t say things I wanted to hear, but things I needed to hear – all delivered in a confident and poised manner. He let me and dozens of others ask him questions, shake his hand, get our picture taken with him and ask follow-up questions one-on-one. I was impressed. I still am.

Because every Iowan is important to every candidate in Iowa, I have been somewhat awed and impressed with the attention I have received while making my decision.

When will Chuck Offenburger endorse one of the Republicans? COOPER, IOWA December 3, 2007 Chuck Offenburger, the Republican in our politically-divided farmhouse, says he too will be endorsing a presidential candidate “in the next week or two” in his column “Out in Greene County, Iowa” on this Internet site. Why not now? “I was fairly firm for former Governor Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, until recently, and I now find myself reconsidering,” Offenburger said. “I think a lot of my fellow Republicans are feeling that way, no matter who their initial choice was.” Any chance he will stray and endorse a Democrat? “Nope,” he said.

And I think any Iowan who has wanted to ask questions, be informed and personally understand the candidates could have the same opportunities I have taken advantage of. That means that I’ve been called numerous times by people in the campaigns of Obama, Edwards, Biden and Clinton. I even had a very savvy young woman on the Clinton campaign staff come spend an hour with me in our farmhouse, explaining Clinton’s positions on many items I have special interest in. I have been called by Obama’s Iowa campaign manager, Paul Tewes, to make sure all of my questions have been answered to my satisfaction. My older sister Tammie Amsbaugh, of Des Moines, who is doing volunteer work for Edwards, has given me her personal reasons for supporting Edwards, and I respect many of her positions.

This hasn’t been easy for me. As I said, I’m impressed with many of the Democrats. I’ve been vacillating for months and nearly change my mind every time I see one of the candidates. But my gut instincts keep bringing me back to Obama.

For me, it comes down to choosing a candidate who is relatively new and fresh on the national scene, with new fresh ideas, over older tried-and-true Washington politics. I like the idea of someone with “less experience” in the ways of Washington, going in there and shaking it up – a lot! I have confidence that Obama will do just that.

I think he has sound ideas that seem practical and full of common sense. He’s not promising the Moon, he’s promising to get us back in focus – domestically and internationally. Might he be less experienced on an international level? Perhaps, but surely we can’t be any worse off than we are now, can we?


In early September, Obama spoke from a trailer, with the crowd in lawn chairs and school chairs on the practice football field at Guthrie Center High School. (Photo by Chuck Offenburger)

I trust Obama to continue with his practical, common-sense approach to solutions. I trust Obama to be who he says he is – all of the time, not just when it’s convenient. I trust Obama to choose good, solid people to work with him and around him. In fact, maybe I can convince him to have the “Board of Common Sense” I’ve campaigned for over the years. And, of course, I’d be happy to serve as its director.

As a divided household, we’re certainly receiving our share of campaign literature in the mail (which I’m going to recycle, by sending it all to a friend of ours in another state so he can experience some sense of the hoopla around our Iowa Caucuses). This seems extra fun since we get both Democratic and Republican literature. And it keeps each of us on our toes with what our issues are and why we support whom we do. There’s a lot of debate going on right now in the Offenburger home, for sure. But we know where most of the candidates in both parties stand on the issues that are important to us.

Interestingly enough, since Chuck and I don’t watch television, we haven’t been bombarded with television ads, like most of you. It wasn’t until this past weekend when I was iced-in at my mother’s home in Des Moines that I saw my first series of campaign ads – it seemed like they were almost in succession – Clinton, Richardson, Republican Mitt Romney, Republican Rudy Giuliani and Obama.

I felt best about the ad I saw for Obama – it focused on education. What I thought about as I heard Obama say, “I’m Barack Obama and I support this ad,” was how his ad was okay, but it was more important that I have heard Obama say the same things in person while he looked me in the eye. I heard him answer an education question from a young high school senior who was concerned about the cost of education, and I heard his answer to the need for early childhood education opportunities.

Most of America will only hear that he supports those things in an ad. But here in Iowa, we are able to see him, hear him and watch his body language as he says what he believes and what he’ll do about it. It can’t get any better than that can it?

And so, finally, I can breathe a little bit easier this last month of the caucus campaign, knowing that I’m going to caucus for Barack Obama – and I hope you will, too.

IT’S DECEMBER – ALREADY! Oh my. I better get serious about the holidays. I have set four mildly intimidating goals for myself.

First, since I ordered 120 holiday photo greeting cards, I better get them out with a Christmas letter. It seems I’ve been reminded a few times this past year that I haven’t done a Christmas card in the last few years. I’m sticking to my rule – if I’m seeing someone during the holiday season and can wish them “Peace on Earth” personally, they won’t get a Christmas card. And the week of Christmas, I’ll post our Christmas letter here on Offenburger.com.

Second, I’m asking for and giving “consumable” gifts. That limits me to edible or wearable gifts, or gift cards. I also consider books “consumable,” and I suggest you don’t argue with a book nerd like me. It will be fun to do the edible baking, which Chuck and I can sample. I’m even going try some new holiday treats and devote a few days off work to do a lot of baking at once.

Third, I’m going to decorate the house in full this year. Last year, we were headed off to South Africa on Christmas night, so we did very little. This year the decorations will all seem brand new. How fun will that be?

Fourth, I’m going to do some holiday entertaining – in small intimate groups. This way I can show off all the decorations I spend time putting up around the house.

In general we Offenburgers do a pretty good job of enjoying the season with little stress. We focus on the birth of Christ as the “reason for the season,” do a lot of church related activities, participate in some fun caroling, enjoy being with family, and reflect often on all the blessings we have. These are the never-intimidating things I look forward to most.

A GOOD FRIEND TURNS 60. My good friend Mary Riche, of Des Moines, turned 60 this past week and I traveled to Des Moines to attend a dinner party with a few of her close friends. We feasted on a fabulous meal, but it was the birthday cake that blew me away. Friend and dessert baker Kathleen Murrin said the cake had no flour in it, but had over 4 ˝ pounds of various kinds of chocolate. Now who wouldn’t be thrilled about turning 60 with cake like that? All of us enjoyed it!


You can write the columnist at carla@Offenburger.com.