Obama Stops In Wis. On Slow Road To Denver

Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

JACKI LYDEN, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Jacki Lyden. Barack Obama's freshly anointed running mate, Joe Biden, is home in Delaware today, prepping for his convention speech Wednesday night in Denver.

The guy at the top of the ticket is going solo for today, taking the traditional slow road to the convention, and today's stop is at a barbecue in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, at the Rod and Gun Park.

NPR's Don Gonyea is traveling with Senator Obama. Hi Don, how's that Wisconsin barbecue?

DON GONYEA: You know, I had a choice between the beef and the pork. I went with the pork, and it's the best meal I've had in a few days out on the road, so quite good.

LYDEN: Any speculation about why Eau Claire and why a place like the Rod and Gun Park?

GONYEA: Well, there's some symbolism here. First, just coming to Wisconsin. Wisconsin is an important swing state, a battleground state. We all know that. Democrats, though, in the past few elections have kind of seen fertile ground on the west edge of the state, along the Mississippi River, places like Eau Claire.

Democrats always do well in, you know, in Milwaukee and Madison and Kenosha. There were some protestors as we came in, people holding up signs saying Obama's going to take away your guns, he's going to ban hunting.

He spoke to that. He said he supports a person's right to own guns, and this really is part of the pitch to those working-class voters.

LYDEN: So what's the reaction been to Senator Biden joining the ticket? Have you had a chance to talk to anyone?

GONYEA: They've been very positive. Now, I have encountered some folks in the past 24 hours or so who still say gee, they wish it had been Hillary Clinton, but overall, people seem very pleased with the pick. They feel Joe Biden will be a real fighter and a real asset to the ticket.

LYDEN: Is there anything interesting or different that you saw in Obama's speech to this crowd, Don?

GONYEA: He is focusing more on domestic issues here, but the other thing is, you know, one of the things that political analysts will say is that it's good to go after an opponent's strengths, and he is saying that really the only reason John McCain is running is because of his supposed expertise, his long resume on national security and foreign-policy issues, and Senator Obama is itemizing what he sees as John McCain's weaknesses in that area, starting with his support for the Iraq War, and they are really going after McCain in that regard here.

LYDEN: I understand that Barack Obama won't get to Denver for several days. What's he doing in the meantime?

GONYEA: It's a tour of swing states, of battleground states: Wisconsin today, Iowa tomorrow, Missouri the next day, Montana, a state they'd like to pick off, and then finally he arrives Wednesday night at the convention, in time to deliver that big, outdoor speech at the stadium before 75,000 people on Thursday night.

LYDEN: NPR's Don Gonyea on the trail with Barack Obama in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Don, before we say goodbye, what about John McCain? Is he doing anything today?

GONYEA: John McCain has a day off on this Sunday.

LYDEN: All right. Thank you very much for speaking with us.

GONYEA: It's a pleasure, thank you.

Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.