Obama coming to Cape this week

Democratic Party presidential front-runner Barack Obama will visit Cape Girardeau on Tuesday to meet with voters about the economy, an Obama campaign aide said Saturday.

The exact time, location and format of the event is still being finalized, the aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I don't have any more details, but he will definitely be speaking about the economy," the aide said.

A Democratic source close to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a co-chairwoman of Obama's campaign committee, said the event being planned is a town-hall style meeting with about 100 participants expected to attend. The event will be a chance for Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, to listen and respond to "kitchen table economic concerns," said the Democratic source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Obama is locked in a marathon primary battle with U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York for the Democratic presidential nomination. While Obama has built a substantial lead and has, according to reports, started planning the fall campaign, neither candidate has secured enough delegates to win the nomination.

Missouri voters cast primary ballots Feb. 5. But voters in Kentucky will have their primary May 27, and broadcast media serving the Cape Girardeau area also serves most of western Kentucky.

The event will not be a campaign rally but a serious discussion on issues ranging from food and gas prices to mortgage and credit issues, among others, the source said.

"Barack Obama understands the economic conditions and the challenges the Bush administration has presented to middle-class families have been unfortunate, to say the least," the Democratic source said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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