Rural policy tour hits Dillon

DILLON — Former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and current U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar brought their “rural policy” RV tour to Dillon Friday night, urging local Democrats to vote for Barack Obama.

“We may be the key state. You may be the key county,” Romer told an enthusiastic crowd ranging from infants to WWII veterans who filled the Barack Obama campaign office to hear speeches from Romer, Salazar, Colorado agriculture commissioner John Stulp and state Sen. Dan Gibbs.

The informal gathering — complete with beer and wine — marked the politician’s last appearance of a three-day stump tour around rural Colorado, which Romer estimated included 25-30 stops.

“How many of ya’ll are farmers or ranchers?” Stulp inquired to the crowd early on.

When only four hands shot up out of the standing audience of 60-70 people, the politicians diverged from the tour’s earlier focus on struggling rural economies and agricultural policy and focused in on all things Obama.

A raucous Salazar, donning a cowboy hat, let the crowd know that he believed they were standing behind the right candidate.

“I know Barack Obama. I’ve had dinner with Barack Obama. I’ve had beer with Barack Obama. I’ve worked out with Barack Obama. I know Barack Obama … Know that he feels your pain. Know that he knows who you are.”

Seeking to inspire the Summit County canvassers in attendance, Salazar mentioned that he saw a chart showing that Obama has 261 electoral votes — exactly 9 short of the 270 votes the Democrats would need to secure the nomination.

Colorado carries 9 electoral votes.

Summit County, which has voted Democratic in four consecutive presidential elections, was a Republican stronghold spanning from the end of WWII through to the early 1990s.

And so the message went: “Organize, organize, organize.”

At the podium, Romer got to his point.

“This is the most important election of my lifetime,” he said in opening.

In line with the Obama campaign strategy the past several weeks, the former governor strongly emphasized the economy during his five-minute speech.

Illustrating why he felt Obama was more suitable to take office during this time of crisis in now global financial markets, Romer discussed a “temperamental difference” he observed in the two candidates reaction’s to the onset of the collapse on Wall Street.

Regarding McCain’s decision to call off — and then go forward with — the first presidential debate, Romer said: “That’s erratic. It’s impulsive. It’s shooting from the hip. It’s not stable. It’s not steady at the helm.”

He contrasted with his view of Obama during the time of crisis.

“What do I see out of Obama? Obama appears with some very key financial advisors — Warren Buffet on one side, Robert Rubin on the other. He approaches the issue deliberately, calmly … He is a person who reaches out for inclusive advice.”

Currently standing chair of the Strong American Schools project, Romer took an official leave of absence to partake in the rural-policy tour. Due to the non-partisan nature of the school initiative, he did not integrate his education talking-points into his stump-speeches during the tour.

Strong American Schools generated a good deal of publicity early this year when it was granted $60 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations.

Romer, who will turn 80 on Halloween, weighed in on the successes and failures of the initiative, which has lobbied for putting education on the forefront in the 2008 elections.

“Look, we’ve made progress. We’ve made some real progress. Both candidates are using some of our material and ideas. But we didn’t make enough progress, obviously. This nation is falling behind the world, and we’re not focused on it. We’ve made some progress and we’ve got more work to do.”

Romer had a positive take on the rural policy tour, telling the audience it was “good to be home” and it has been “really successful.”