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NEWS / TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
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POLITICS
Tides of sentiment have turned for Obama, Democrats since 2008
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADISON, Wis. — President Barack Obama is returning to the University of Wisconsin to ask young voters who helped propel him to the White House to support fellow Democrats in key races for governor and U.S. Senate.
Tuesday's visit carries a decidedly different political atmosphere than the one that surrounded the then-candidate in 2008, when a boisterous overflow crowd of more than 17,000 people greeted Obama at the Madison campus. His popularity has since dipped amid the nationwide recession, and many Democrats face tough challenges in the Nov. 2 midterm election.
During a Monday conference call with college journalists, Obama acknowledged excitement has waned in the last two years. But he said he hoped the Madison rally would re-engage students and emphasize the importance of the midterm to advancing his agenda.
"You can't sit it out," Obama said. "You can't suddenly just check in once every 10 years or so, on an exciting presidential election, and then not pay attention during big midterm elections where we've got a real big choice between Democrats and Republicans."
One of the biggest choices facing Wisconsin voters is whether to send Sen. Russ Feingold back for a fourth term. Feingold — who's facing Republican millionaire businessman Ron Johnson — is skipping Obama's event Tuesday, opting to remain in Washington where the Senate is in session. Feingold also chose to attend his hometown Labor Day parade
rather than stand with Obama at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month.
Feingold's absence this time around may be more curious given his reliance on college students and independent voters to fuel his wins. In 2004, exit polls showed voters ages 18-29 favored Feingold 56 percent to 42 percent over Republican Tim Michels, mirroring Feingold's 55 percent to 44 percent margin of victory.
Wisconsin traditionally has
Wisconsin had one of the highest young voter turnouts. In 2008, 58 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds voted, according to the Washington b as e d Center for Information
"The story of how much the turnout falls is a story about how disillusioned the Democratic base is."
& Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE). Nationally, exit polls showed young voters backed Obama 66 percent to 31 percent over Republican John McCain.
prove particularly precarious for Democrats this year because so many more young voters supported them in 2008, said Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE.
They helped give Obama a surprisingly large 14-point win in Wisconsin, far greater than the margin in the two previous presidential elections in which the Democrat won the state by less than half a percentage point.
"The story of how much the turnout falls is a story about how disillusioned the Democratic base is now." Levine said.
Democrats hoped the momentum would carry into the midterm, but Wisconsin's mood soured as the recession brought the state's unemployment levels in a generation. A July poll showed Obama's approval in Wisconsin at 49 percent, down from 60 percent last November.
PETER LEVINE
Director of CIRCLE
The mood on campus has shifted as well, said University of Wisconsin senior Nick Novak, a volunteer for Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker's
The enthusiasm gap could
campaign
Obama.
"A lot of students just kind of blindly followed him because that's what everyone else was doing because he was the cool candidate," Novak said of
Novak said student efforts back ing Walker are more organized on campus than they were for Republican John McCain's presidential campaign two years ago.
"I think all around there's a general excitement about conservative candidates who are going to change the way our state and nation is run," said Novak, who is working with Republican students on 20 other Wisconsin campuses.
Sondra Milkie, volunteer coordinator for the College Democrats of Madison, said students are working just as hard to get Feingold and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett elected this year.
"They are incredibly excited," said Milkie, also a 21-year-old senior. "I think people know this
election is important to students."
The state Democratic Party has a dozen paid campus organizers working with college Democrats statewide to make phone calls, distribute leaflets and help students get registered and turn out Nov. 2, said party chairman Mike Tate.
They are using the same tactics as during the 2008 campaign, which focused heavily on social networking websites and cell phone text messaging to organize students, said Tate, who predicted the president's visit would be "an absolute shot in the arm for the base of our party."
The Madison rally is one of four Obama has scheduled in swing states during the next month. He will almost certainly talk about administration efforts to make college more affordable, stimulate the economy so jobs are available for graduates, and allow young adults to remain on parents' health insurance until age 26.
But the event is organized as more youth-focused pep rally than policy discussion. Popular rock band the National, along with singer-songwriter Ben Harper, are scheduled to warm up the crowd.
And despite Feingold's absence, the White House clearly recognizes holding his seat is essential to maintaining Democratic control of the Senate. First lady Michelle Obama plans to host a fundraiser for Feingold in Milwaukee next month. During his Labor Day visit, Obama praised Feingold, saying he's looking out for middle class workers, and is likely to talk up the senator again Tuesday.
ENTERTAINMENT
Economic concerns also affect performers' decisions to play single or with a group
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
Randall Bramblett thinks of himself as a "band guy."
Sure, his reputation as one of today's foremost Southern songwriters and instrumentalists can be corroborated by any of the artists who have cut his songs, including Bonnie Raitt, or who have employed his playing prowess on keyboardes and saxophone
— say, Steve Winwood, both in and out of Traffic.
But ask Bramblett what kind of musical environment provides the most natural fit for his vocal, instrumental and compositional strengths, and he will readily point to the music he has made in a band context. For proof, just look at any of his eight exemplary solo albums or the harder-to-find fusion and funk recordings he cut with the overlooked Southern band Sea Level in the late '70s.
"I've always been a band guy," Bramblett said. "With a band, you just walk out onstage, play and then walk back to the dressing room. I guess I never really viewed myself as a solo artist."
So why is Bramblett touring
predominantly as a solo performer? Well, it's partly out of necessity. Great recordings and a sterling critical reputation don't always yield substantial financial rewards — especially in an economy in which many established artists from all genres are struggling to make a living.
But it's also an opportunity for a little of the literate Southern detail of his song's story to shine through. There hasn't been a Bramblett record in which groove hasn't been a
show than at a band show, believe it or not."
Admittedly, some of Bramblett's records translate readily to a solo context. His new album, "The Meantime," shifts the focus from band-oriented tunes to more introspective works performed primarily on piano or by a trio
key element. But the human story lines and keenly emotive character studies are just as important.
"With a band, you just walk out onstage, play and then walk back to the dressing room."
"If you really want to strip the songs down and listen to them as they were written, solo is the best way to do it. Now, playing solo can be vulnerable and lonely and all that stuff. But people also tend to listen more carefully at a solo
RANDALL BRAMBLETT Musician
of piano, bass and drums.
"I just followed the flow on that one," he said. "It felt so good to do a piano-oriented record with an upright bass and drums with brushes. It's just a melodic
record. And I needed that. I need to let myself be melodic. There are some romantic songs on there, too, which I normally don't let myself do. It just felt like the right thing at this time in my career."
for some festival dates, but they also contain quieter songs with a lean and sometimes mysterious soulfulness that makes for inviting additions to his solo shows. Among them: the beautifully despondent "Disappearing Ink" from 2001's "No More Mr. Lucky" and the hopeful eulogy "Where a Life Goes" from 2008s "Now It's Tomorrow."
Bramblett's previous records, particularly those on the New West label, took advantage of the hearty electric band he still fronts
But the music that most involves Bramblett are the songs he has yet to write. Performing in solo or band contexts is fine. But his biggest creative impulses come from the ideas and rhythms that have yet to find their way into a composition.
"For me, the key to staying involved and interested is having new material. That's the reward. Otherwise, you're basically just presenting a show like you would a play. And the key to new material is just a question of paying attention. There is always plenty of material out there if you look for it, so I just pay attention and try to take the time to show up to write. That's the heart of my musical life."
INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il promoted Kim Jong Un to the rank of general in the Korean People's Army, the state news agency reported, the clearest signal yet that the younger Kim is on track to succeed his father in ruling the impoverished country.
Kim Jong II issued an order handing six people — including son Kim Jong Un — the rank of general, the Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch published early Tuesday. Also promoted was Kim Kyong Hui, which is the name of Kim Jong I'lls sister. Her name was listed ahead of Kim Jong Un's in the report.
The report came hours ahead of the start of the country's biggest political meeting in three decades and amid intense speculation that Kim Jong Il's youngest son and sister could be given key posts at the gathering.
It marks the first time that Kim Jong Un's name has appeared in official media.
It is widely believed that the ruling Workers' Party meeting, which was set to take place
later Tuesday, may pave the way for Kim Long Un to become his father's successor. Some experts also said that Kim Kyong Hui might also get a prominent party job to oversee a transfer in case the leader dies before the son is ready to take over.
U. S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell said in a conference call that Washington was "watching developments carefully" and was working to interpret the announcement's significance.
The report came hours ahead of the start of the country's biggest political meeting in three decades.
Kim Jong Il took control of North Korea when his father, the North's founder Kim Il Sung, died of heart failure in 1994. He has reportedly groomed third son Kim Jong Un as his heir to power.
Many delegates to the meeting arrived in Pyongyang on Sunday by train and the city was festooned with flags and placards announcing the event, footage shot by video news service APTN showed. "Warm congratulations to the representatives meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea!" read one poster.
The question of who will take over from Kim Jong II, who rules with absolute authority but is believed to suffer from a host of aliments, is important to regional security because of North Korea's active nuclear and missile programs, and regular threats it makes against rival South Korea.
A South Korean newspaper reported Monday that the younger Kim was chosen as a military delegate to the conference. The party central committee then put out internal propaganda proclaiming him to be Kim Jong II's sole successor, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing a source in North Korea that it did not identify.
sister to a prominent position to help Kim Jong Un eventually run the North.
Still, some experts said Kim's son may not be ready to officially debut as a successor, which could make the 68-year-old leader promote his
Kim Kyong Hui, who is married to Russian-educated Jang Song Thaek, vice chairman of the all-powerful National Defense Commission, has emerged as one of Kim's key aides in recent years, experts said.
"There is a possibility that she could play the role of a coordinator to make sure the power succession goes smoothly," Cheong said.
Cheong, Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute think tank near Seong, shared the view.
Kim jong II might designate his 64-year-old sister to serve as a caretaker for the third-generation successor after Kim's death, for mer Japanese Defense Minister and national security adviser Yuriko Koike wrote in a syndicated column earlier this month.
Koike wrote that Kim Jong II himself signaled his sister's authority in the communist country in comments before the ruling party's Central Committee, saying "Kim Kyong Hui is myself, the words of Kim Kyong Hui are my words, and instructions issued by Kim
Kyong Hui are my instructions."
Okei, now a top official in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, did not clarify in her column how she knew of these comments.
Kim Kyong Hui, who heads the North Korean ruling party's light industry department, is four years younger than her only biological sibling. Biographical information about her is extremely scarce. But a former sushi chef to Kim Jong Il wrote in a 2003 memoir that Kim Kyong Hui is full of charm when it comes to her brother.
"At banquets, she would sit next to Kim Jong Il and kept on saying, "brother, brother!" Kenji Fujimoto said.
A small photo in a book published by South Korea's Unification Ministry shows Kim Kyong Hui with a chubby, bespectacled face and wavy, shoulder-length hair. Footage aired last year by Pyongyang's state television showed her dressed in a light gray parka similar to her brother's while she stood side-by-side with him during an inspection trip to a farm.
Koike wrote that Kim Kyong Hui was believed to have a fierce personality, adding that Kim Jong II is quoted as saying. "When my sister turns violent, no one can stop her: Even I can do nothing."
Jang Sung-min, a former South Korean lawmaker who was involved in foreign affairs, also said Kim Kyong Hui has a fiery personality, citing an unidentified source in Beijing who he says is privy to North Korea affairs.
"Kim Kyong Hui is the only person in the North who can speak frankly to Kim Jong II and can even be emotional in front of him," said Jang, who authored a book on Kim Jung II.
Her husband, Jang Song Thaek, was demoted in early 2004 in what analysts believed was a warning from Kim Jung II against gaining too much influence. But he has since made a political comeback in a rehabilitation engineered by his wife, the former lawyer said.
lang returned to power in 2006 and headed the ruling party's department handling administration and capital construction one year later, according to the Unification Ministry.
Both Jang and Kim Kyong Hui have become key officials accompanying Kim Jong II during field visits to public facilities, which include military units that form the key base of Kim's support.
There was a big jump in the couple's appearances in KCNA in recent years.
"Kim Kyong Hui's frequent appearances in her brother's field trips showed that she is a key person who can play a role in the power success," said Kim Yonghyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University.