Issue of war may tip Mass. voters in favor of Obama
In interviews, many weighing Clinton's stance
WORCESTER - Elsa Scheie was rushing across campus in blue Chuck Taylor hightops and a red Clark University sweatshirt yesterday to hear Hillary Clinton's speech.
When asked if she was a Hillary supporter, she gave a quick and breathless nod. And then a quick clarification.
The 19-year-old psychology and sociology major said she "supports" Clinton - as polls suggest a young woman and registered Democrat probably would - but she is planning to vote for Barack Obama.
"It's the war in Iraq. That is what has me pretty much decided on voting for Obama," she said, walking toward the packed Clark University gymnasium where Clinton delivered a campaign address on the eve of today's Super Tuesday primary vote.
"I like her [Clinton] on healthcare. I will support her if she wins [the nomination] . . . But the war is a major piece of my decision and Obama has been much clearer in his opposition," she said.
The war in Iraq has slipped in issue polls to number two in priority for voters nationally over the last few months while the country and the campaigns have focused more intensely on a faltering economy. But conversations with voters yesterday suggest that in Massachusetts, where Clinton has long been regarded as the front-runner, the issue of the war remains a potent factor - and may cut in favor of Obama, who opposed the war in a 2002 speech and often reminds voters that Clinton was among those who voted for the resolution that effectively authorized the war.
Both candidates now oppose the war and pledge to withdraw US troops from Iraq - though they differ some about details and timing. Obama has discussed a phased withdrawal that he would begin immediately, and Clinton has proposed a 60-day timeframe to begin a gradual drawdown.
Along with Senator Edward M. Kennedy's recent endorsement of Obama, the Iraq issue seems, in the view of some political observers and analysts, to be helping to drive Obama's apparent surge into a dead heat with Clinton in the state.
A 7News/Suffolk University survey published yesterday showed Obama with 46 percent and Clinton with 44 percent, while 7 percent of Democratic and independent voters remained undecided.
In her speech yesterday, Clinton focused on universal healthcare and economic issues, though she also outlined her Iraq withdrawal plan. Obama was set to deliver a speech at Boston's World Trade Center last night.
In Worcester yesterday afternoon, Rosemary Johnson, 72, a retired nurse from Westborough, sat in the bleachers with a "Hillary" sticker on her lapel. She said that the question of how to end the war in Iraq was "humongous" in this election and that she decided to vote for Clinton because she felt Clinton was "misled about what was happening over there" the "same way we all were" and that Clinton, more than Obama, understands the complexity of the issues there.
"I think she's proven to be versatile and to have the ability to compromise and to listen carefully while also standing up for what she believes in. Those are good skills to help us get out of Iraq," said Johnson.
Meredith Tittler, 21, of Swampscott, who is a student at Clark, said she remained "on the fence" as to which Democrat she would vote for, but that she was leaning toward Clinton, particularly on the issue of Iraq.
"I think we have a responsibility not to leave before we clean up the mess we made over there. I think she understands that," said Tittler.
In Cambridge, where Obama buttons and signs seem more visible than those for Clinton, Noel Swanson, 22, said he had considered both Democrats and that their differences on Iraq had led him to Obama.
"Iraq is a huge factor in why I am voting for Obama," the 22-year-old Harvard physics major said.
"I think it's not just getting out of the war, but repairing the damage to our country's reputation which has been caused by the war. And I think Obama can do that better than anyone." 