Daschle comes to Hills to support Obama

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Tuesday, April 29, 2008

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Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle will hit the campaign trail in western South Dakota today in a familiar hunt for votes.

But unlike the old days, the 26-year congressional veteran and former Democratic U.S. Senate leader is pitching politics for somebody else.

“I see Barack as a transformational figure in American politics,” Daschle said Monday, referring to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “He has ignited a real interest among people all over the country and, for that matter, the world, in our political process. This hasn’t happened at this level since the '60s, when I experienced it for the first time as a very young man.”

Daschle shaped his political career on a middle-class upbringing in Aberdeen and the inspirational words and deeds of John and Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey. The mixture served him well, as Daschle won seven straight elections in the U.S. House and Senate before falling to John Thune in a brutal 2004 clash that captured national attention and set South Dakota campaign spending records.

Obama entered Daschle’s personal world in 2002. The Harvard Law School graduate – who would later become a sudden star when he wowed delegates with his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention -- was serving as a state senator from Illinois but dreaming of something bigger.

“I met Barack when I was majority leader,” Daschle said. “I was told that he was considering the (U.S.) Senate, and I met with him to encourage him to do so. We developed a friendship from that.”

Their political paths crossed in a bittersweet way in November of 2004. Obama won a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois and Daschle lost his bid for a fourth Senate term. As he prepared to leave the Senate he helped lead, Daschle offered Obama more than good wishes and experienced advice.

“When he was elected, I encouraged my chief of staff, Pete Rouse, to become his,” Daschle said. “Pete has been with him since.”

Daschle has been with him, too. Although he worked closely as Democratic leader with President Bill Clinton, Daschle was among the first big names to endorse Obama in a presidential primary that would see him chase, catch and pass the presumptive favorite, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But the race has tightened, leaving the nomination unsettled. South Dakota and its 23 Democratic delegates -- and more importantly, the added momentum for the general election a win here could mean -- loom unusually large in presidential politics. So Daschle, who has campaigned for Obama in other states, is mixing two days of West River politicking for Obama in with a book signing at Prairie Edge in downtown Rapid City.

Longtime Daschle fan and Obama supporter Curtis Price of Rapid City is enthusiastic about Daschle’s visit and the energy Obama brings to the Democratic Party. A flurry of new party members are being registered in South Dakota and other states, Price said.

“I am very excited about this race bringing in a lot of first-time voters and first-time Democrats,” he said. “Whether Obama makes it or not, this is the new generation of Democrats, just like the new generation that McGovern planted in 1972 – Hillary, of course, being one of that crew. We'll see the positive effects of this in the Democratic Party and in all politics for a long time.”

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com

Public meetings with Daschle:

Tuesday: 11:30 a.m. Early vote rally at the Jacket Legacy Room at Black Hills State University in Spearfish; 5:30 p.m. community event at Lacroix Hall, Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City.

Wednesday: 9:30 a.m., community coffee in the Pine Room, Custer County Annex, Custer; 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. book signing at Prairie Edge in downtown Rapid City.