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Support for Obama grows
(by Mark J. Bonamo - January 16, 2008)
Hackensack native Matthew Rozsa definitely knows what side he’s on in the highly contentious Democratic Presidential primary battle to be decided early next month in New Jersey.
“We are at a crucial point in the history of this nation, and we need an inspirational president to change what’s wrong,” said Rozsa, 22.
Standing in Barack Obama’s West Orange campaign headquarters with other volunteers on the night the U.S. Senator from Illinois lost the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary to Hillary Clinton, he insisted, “That’s why we need Barack Obama now.”
With the Garden State Democratic presidential primary scheduled for Feb. 5, arguably the hottest political contest in the nation has hit New Jersey full force. As the Obama campaign gears up to take on the U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady in her adopted backyard, the question is whether Obama will fire up locals on primary day, or prove to be a flash in the plan.
Bergen native Barack backer
For Obama to win New Jersey, he will have to appeal to both sides of the state’s suburban/urban demographic fault line. One state politician uniquely qualified to discuss this divide is Bergen County native and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, one of Obama’s major New Jersey supporters. At a recent Obama rally in the basement of St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in Newark, Booker noted that New Jersey has been a political battleground before.
“This is the state where the history of our nation turned during the Revolutionary War,” Booker, 38, said to the crowd.
“On Feb. 5, if we stand up for Barack Obama, we can again claim the destiny of our nation and set our country on the right track.”
In a conversation with Hackensack Chronicle after the rally, Booker expanded on this theme.
“New Jersey has been divided for too long along urban/suburban lines,” said Booker, a Harrington Park native. “Barack is the great unifier in the Democratic field right now who brings people together. A competitive primary is the best process to find the best leader. When you get to know Barack, you know he can take America to the next level. He is showing us that anything is possible.”
The congressman’s choice
U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9th district) is also on board with Obama. In a telephone interview, the congressman, whose district includes Hackensack, South Hackensack, Bogota, Cliffside Park, Little Ferry and Ridgefield Park, pointed out why he likes Obama’s chances with local voters, despite poll results published Jan. 13 in The Record indicating Clinton still holds a 48 percent to 23 percent lead over Obama among likely New Jersey Democratic primary voters.
“The voters of Bergen County are very sophisticated, and many people are looking for a change,” Rothman, 55, said.
“Senator Clinton has been practically a household word here for more than 15 years. But we believe that Democratic primary voters will vote for the candidate with the best chance of winning the general election, and we believe that candidate is Barack Obama. We expect this to be a very hard fought contest, but we also expect that Sen. Obama will surprise a lot of people on Feb. 5.”
Mark Alexander, the New Jersey state director for the Obama campaign, expressed optimism in the wake of Clinton’s narrow 39 percent to 37 percent New Hampshire primary victory.
“We are organized all over the state, we have supporters in every county, and we are picking up voters,” said Alexander, 41. He noted that the vote in New Jersey is part of the critical Feb. 5 Super Tuesday election in which 22 states nationwide will hold Democratic primaries. “We always had a plan to work hard through Feb. 5 and beyond, and that plan doesn’t change.”
History in the making
A palpable sense of history certainly surrounds the Obama campaign. He is seen as both the first African-American presidential candidate with a real shot at victory and, apart from that, a candidate of exceptional intellectual and oratorical skills. During a packed campaign appearance on Jan. 9 in Jersey City, Obama was not afraid to remind listeners of comparisons linking him to another charismatic candidate.
“I believe in what John F. Kennedy said: You should never negotiate out of fear, but you should never fear to negotiate,” said Obama, 46, regarding his views on foreign policy and national security.
Some observers have questioned Obama’s level of experience as he negotiates a tough primary campaign in New Jersey and nationwide. However, Rozsa dialed up history to project the future.
“Abraham Lincoln and J.F.K. didn’t have as much experience as other candidates, and both men were fine presidents,” said Rozsa, who plans to keep doing volunteer work for Obama until Feb. 5 and beyond.
“Obama inspires young people in a way I’ve never seen before, and people in New Jersey and the rest of the nation are tired of your standard, run-of-the-mill politicians. Obama has to continue to focus on the key issues of education, health care, the environment and America’s future role in the world. If he offers an alternative to the status quo as a real agent of change, he will win the state of New Jersey.”
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