Advocates ask Obama to remember rural in speech

Candidate Obama at forum
of League of Rural Voters
in Ames, Iowa, fall 2007

When President Obama, trying to channel Teddy Roosevelt, went to Osawatomie, Kan., in December and gave a speech about the middle class, "Some of the rural residents and surrounding farmers found it odd that he didn’t mention farming or U.S agriculture, one of the brightest spots in the economy, or the importance of helping small towns through rural development. Expect that to change in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night," writes Sara Wyant of the Washington newsletter Agri-Pulse.

Wyant notes that Obama "had a very organized rural campaign strategy" in 2008, says "The Obama campaign will need every vote it can find in rural swing states" this year, and notes that almost 30 rural organizations sent him a letter asking him to include rural development in the speech.

"As you prepare for your upcoming State of the Union address, we ask you to remember the roughly 50 million Americans who live in rural areas," the letter said, suggesting ways the organizations think rural issues could be addressed, including reauthorizing the Farm Bill in a way that "revitalizes the rural communities that form the backbone of our heartland," and developing a "strong and robust" Rural Development section of the bill that would, among other things, extend broadband services and provide entrepreneurs with needed credit.

The organizations thanked the president for creating the White House Rural Council, which to some observers appeared to be the fist step in a rural re-election strategy, but reminded him, "Rural communities across America are struggling to rebuild in the wake of closed factories, empty Main streets, and record unemployment that exceeds the national average." (Read more)