Obama Out to Prove Blue Collar Authenticity

The candidate draws on his humble beginnings to appeal to working class voters.

ByABC News
April 28, 2008, 8:08 PM

April 28, 2008— -- In Wilmington, N.C., this afternoon, fighting the perception pushed by his opponents that he's an elitist, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., steered clear of his rock-star reception and soaring oratory about changing the world, and told his personal tale in a modest town hall meeting

"I was raised by a single mom ... she had me when she was a teenager," he said, sharing details about his grandfather, a World War II veteran who went to college on the GI Bill, and about his humble early years with his mother.

"There were scholarships so that she could send her son and her daughter to some of the finest schools in the world, even though there were times when she was on food stamps," he said.

Far from his fancy friends, such as Oprah Winfrey, and his more controversial ones, like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama said he understands what small town Americans want and believe.

"All they hope is that there's a handle there. That they can get a handle on moving up if they work hard, will find a job that pays a living wage. ... If they work hard, they're gonna be able to retire with some dignity and respect. That's why I love this country," the presidential candidate said.

It is part of a new phase of the Obama campaign to re-introduce himself as someone who doesn't just understand the working class, but is of it.

"Barack Obama's great strength has always been that he seems like he is above politics. It turns out that, lately, maybe he has been a little too above politics," Democratic strategist Steve McMahon said.

In 1992, Bill Clinton faced a similar challenge with voters thinking he was a child of privilege. He re-introduced himself with his humble beginnings as the son of a single mom.

So, for Obama, cameras followed him to church Sunday. On Saturday in Indiana, where basketball is another form of religion, he shot hoops.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., over the weekend, twice called Obama "out of touch" and said he was "insensitive" to the economic issues in America, adding that Obama did not support a gas tax holiday he proposed because "[o]bviously Sen. Obama does not understand that this would be a nice thing for Americans."