By Deb Kozikowski

In October 2007, then candidate Barack Obama said he would hold a “rural summit” and deliver a package of rural initiatives to Congress in his first 100 days as president.

“What’s good for rural America will be good for America. The values that are represented … are values that built America, and we’ve got to preserve them,” Obama told a crowd gathered at the Sally Williams farm east of Fairfax, Iowa.

From an Urban Organizer to a Rural Advocate?

Experience as a community organizer on the mean streets of Chicago may not seem a natural background to understanding farmers, ranchers and other rural people. But candidate Barack Obama campaigned all across America, from the New Hampshire hills and Iowa cornfields to the Great Plains of Montana and while rural voters chose to vote Republican overall, there was a shift in many rural areas that responded to Obama’s message of hope.

National Public Radio’s Howard Berkes talked to rural activists about what President-elect Obama might want to focus on to make his campaign promises to rural America reality.  Take a listen to Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday for a glimpse of what rural advocates are hoping to see happen to help rural communities grow and thrive.

Posted on November 26th, 2008 by admin
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