Larry Eichel reports...
We're in North Carolina working on a story for later in the week, and we're at a very well-attended Obama town hall in Wilmington, N.C. It's part of a two-day Obama swing through the state before he returns to Indiana, which is shaping up as the more important of the two May 6 primaries.
At an Obama event, a local non-dignitary usually gets to introduce the candidate. Here, it was a kindergarten teacher. She got so excited that she said that this was, "Sorry, honey," bigger even than her wedding day.
So when Obama took the microphone, he asked for a round of applause for the teacher, and a round of applause for her husband.
He's delivering a slightly retooled stump speech that is a little less about hope and change and a little more about the specific concerns of working people struggling to get by: "Having politicians bickering back and forth doesn't help you. Having us talk about superdelegates doesn't help you...I'm going to spend all my time talking about you."
He tells the crowd: "Lately, my opponents have been trying to make this election about me and not about you." He's also emphasizing his family history and the opportunities he's had, saying "That's why I love this country."
All in all, the emphasis is just a little different, more about bread-and-butter issues and a little more openly patriotic. Not sure how much difference any of that makes. He's in good shape in North Carolina. But it might help a little in Indiana, where the race looks very close.






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