Iowans Taking Hard Look at Obama

DES MOINES, IOWA, - Jan. 18, 2007 — -- Now that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has taken the first step toward entering the 2008 presidential campaign, his neighbors in Iowa want a closer look at him.

Iowans take their duties seriously as the first state to hold caucuses before the primary season begins in New Hampshire. After Obama made his announcement that he is setting up a presidential exploratory committee, the Des Moines register proudly headlined not only his decision but the reminder that the Hawkeye State would be the first to vote on him. And those caucuses are less than a year away.

With that in mind, we took a brief trip to Des Moines, and found residents are eager to learn more about Obama. So far, many seem to like what they know, at least for now.

A KCCI-TV poll just before Christmas put him in a dead heat for the lead with former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., who is a familiar face here from his second-place finish in the 2004 caucuses.

We began on a frosty morning at a Grounds for Celebration coffee shop in a middle class neighborhood. As residents tried to jumpstart their day with refills of caffeine, most admitted they were more concerned with a local political scandal which resulted in indictments than in the caucuses next January. But they also said Obama's entry into the race got their attention......big time.

Shop owner Jan Davis has overheard her customers discuss Obama. "He's a fresh, new face for everybody to talk about, but everybody probably doesn't know his views yet. Maybe he's overrated, I don't know. But people like to see him on camera and that's the whole deal."

UPS driver Dave Halter savored his coffee, and mused about Obama: "I wish I knew more about him to be honest with you. I think we need some young people in there to get new ideas, but I don't know much about him right now. I just need to know where he's going and what he thinks. He hasn't been around very long."

When we dropped by the Drake University campus, we heard much the same thing from students who seem surprised that someone with only two years in the Senate is making a bid for the White House. On her way to class Lauren Christie told us she wants a woman to win, but she doesn't think "Hillary Clinton is the one to do it." She believes Obama is "popular with young people." But she thinks that could hurt him with older voters "if he comes off as Mr. Cool."