Obama works hard to woo Iowa studentsBY MARGARET TALEV
mtalev@mcclatchydc.com
DES MOINES -- Amina Kader is only 17, but as the leader of the Barack Obama student group at Hoover High School, she's a foot soldier in the Democratic presidential candidate's infantry in the first state to vote.
All the major candidates in both parties are courting young voters to varying degrees, especially on college campuses. But Obama -- who polls indicate has the most to gain if students show up to caucus in Iowa -- appears to be building an unmatched network throughout Iowa's high schools.
His campaign Web site lists 144 Iowa high schools with Obama student groups. That's 40 percent of the state's public high schools, and it translates to thousands of teens who say they're committed to caucusing for Obama. The group at Hoover High has about 25 active members.
On the Web site, students can check out a map and a pull-down bar with contact information about their schools' Obama groups or how to start one. Iowans as young as 17 can caucus provided they'll turn 18 by next year's general election.
It's a significant pool: An estimated 38,500 high schoolers are eligible to caucus in the state's 1,784 precincts, including in rural areas where a handful of unexpected participants can sway the results. That's comparable to the combined student populations of Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.
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