NYT
In Obama’s Victory, Clues to the Challenges Ahead
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: January 5, 2008
<snip>
Nell Boyd lives in the small northern Iowa town of Belmond. From the moment she saw Mr. Obama speak in October in nearby Waterloo, Ms. Boyd said, she was sold on his candidacy and made a small contribution to his campaign, the first time she had ever given money to a politician.
At her precinct Thursday night, 214 people signed in, compared with 72 four years ago.
The crowd, Ms. Boyd said, was a mix of old and young, with a sprinkling of college students home on break and high school students who will be 18 by Election Day. In the end, the tally concluded in this order: Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Edwards.
The Boyd household, perhaps, is atypical. Ms. Boyd supported Mr. Obama, while her husband, Rex, walked into the caucus as a Clinton supporter. Before the final head count, she said, he changed his mind and moved over to the Obama corner of the room.
In an overnight e-mail message, Ms. Boyd offered an explanation:
“Rex went to Clinton and I wore a Obama sticker. As people milled and talked, he changed before the count as he heard people stating they could not vote for someone with a last name like Obama. One said, ‘He needs to stay in Chicago and take care of his family.’
“Rex came over to Obama, where he heard not one negative bit of talk. He felt they both stand for pretty much the same ideas, but our leader needs to be positive and Obama puts that feeling out there. That is important in this world.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/us/politics/05memo.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin