‘Hungry for Change’

A day after winning the Iowa caucuses, already campaigning hard in New Hampshire, Sen. Barack Obama sat down with NEWSWEEK's Richard Wolffe for an interview in a teacher's office at Concord High School. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What does your win in Iowa say about America today?
Barack Obama: It means that America is hungry for change. The way young people, old people, independents, crossover Republicans poured out was a testimony to the American people's desire to move beyond the broken politics of Washington. You know, when the American people get it in their minds that they have the power to change things, it's very hard to stop them.

People are saying there's something historic here as well: an African-American presidential candidate winning in a predominantly white, an overwhelmingly white, state.
Against some very strong candidates. I think there's no doubt that it's a measure of our progress as a country. I've said from the beginning I had confidence in the American people. Race is no doubt still a factor in our culture. But people want to know who is going to provide health care that works, schools that work, a foreign policy that works. If they think you can do the work, I think they are willing to give you a chance.

Does it change the psychology of voters elsewhere, black and white?
Yes. I think there's no doubt it's pretty difficult for people to make an electability argument against me when I was attracting more independent and Republican support than any other [Democratic] candidate. And this is what we've been saying throughout the campaign. Everybody had been pooh-poohing it, but you saw it in action yesterday.

Your wife has said this comment about [how] you're not going to do this again. Another four years, another eight years and you'll be disconnected from real people. What does that say about Washington?
I think it's not just Washington. I think Washington is an especially virulent aspect of what happens when people in power are only talking to other monied power interests. They forget that there are an awful lot of people out there who are working just as hard, in many cases more honorably, but are still struggling.

What is the hardest thing you've done, and what does it say about your capacity to lead?
Look, let me address what you're interested in. What happens if there's a 9/11, and how would you respond to that? All I can say is this: during the course of my life, a life in which I wasn't born into privilege, I made some bad decisions early in my life, but as an adult I made a series of choices that I'm very proud of. I got to work on behalf of people who needed help, to advocate for the dispossessed, and [took] a lot of risks when a comfortable path was before me. So I think my judgments over the last 25 years indicate somebody who handles just about anything that is thrown at him.