SCOTT SIMON, host:
It seemed a good week for President Obama, at home and abroad, book-ended by the landmark health care law and an important new arms control treaty with Russia. The White House routinely scoffs at that kind of week-by-week appraisal of the president's standing, but when Mr. Obama traveled to Iowa this week to celebrate the health care law, there was a new tone - and as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, a not-so-new tune.
SCOTT HORSLEY: So how's that hopey-changey thing working out�now? Just weeks after being publicly mocked by Sarah Palin and a seemingly ascendant Republican Party, President Obama is sounding like his old, audacious self again. With the improbable success of the health care bill, he can once again talk about Americans' ability to do big things and not sound silly.
On Thursday, Mr. Obama took that message back to Iowa, the state that launched his presidential bid, and the place, he says, where change began.
President BARACK OBAMA: What this struggle has taught us about ourselves and about this country is so much bigger than any one issue. Because it's reminded us what so many of us learned all those months ago on a cold January night here in Iowa and that's that change is never easy. But it's always possible.
(Soundbite of applause)
HORSLEY: To be sure, the health care battle featured little of the bipartisan cooperation Mr. Obama campaigned on. Partisan divisions are as deep as ever. But the president does now have some major accomplishments to his credit. And, having delivered change, he's again free to talk about hope.
President OBAMA: Today, because of what you did, that future looks stronger and more hopeful and brighter than it has in some time - because of you.
HORSLEY: Personally, Mr. Obama is famous for his even keel, whether the political winds are at his back or in his face. But a telling signal of the president's mood came at the end of Thursday's speech, when they cranked up the music in the University of Iowa field house.
(Soundbite of music)
HORSLEY: Instead of the old-fashioned John Phillips Souza marches that have accompanied the president since he took office, fans heard Brooks and Dunn, U2, and Bruce Springsteen a reprise of the soundtrack from Obama's unlikely campaign.
Running the country is harder than running for office and Mr. Obama warned repeatedly this week, there are more tough times ahead. But Americans will face those challenges with new confidence, he said. This is the week the president rediscovered his music.
(Soundbite of song)
BROOKS AND DUNN (Band): (Singing) Looking at the promise of the Promised Land.
SIMON: NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley.
(Soundbite of song)
BROOKS AND DUNN: (Singing) One kid dreams of fame and fortune. One kid helps pay the rent. One could end up going to prison. �
SIMON: This is NPR News.
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