Widening the Playing Field

Returning home from a month of traveling, mostly overseas, I find myself with a sense of, to borrow from Yankees' great Yogi Berra, "deja-vu all over again." When I left, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was in Raleigh celebrating his victory in the state's primary, and today, he is back in Raleigh to give an invitation-only talk about economic issues. The difference is that Obama now is is the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee.

The news that Obama is coming back to North Carolina has triggered all sorts of comments and analysis focused on the electoral wisdom of his visit. Why would he visit a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976? Does this mean that U.S. Sen. John McCain is weak? Is this part of some grand electoral plan?

Yet this horse-race analysis overlooks just how dysfunctional American presidential politics has become. Why should the fact that a presidential candidate is visiting one of the nation's most-populous states news in and of itself?

Regardless of the outcome in November, the presence of Obama in North Carolina (hopefully this will not be his only visit) is a good thing. Ideally, Obama's economic speech today will expose voters, both those who attend in person and those who learn about it through media outlets, to a progressive economic vision that normally isn't raised in North Carolina. And even if North Carolina ultimately backs McCain (a very probable outcome), multiple appearances -- both in person and through ads -- on the part of Obama could help set changes in motion that would alter the dynamics of future elections, just as has happened in neighboring Virginia. If Obama has the resources to invest in a "red" state like North Carolina, why should he pass up on an opportunity to help widen the playing field for progressive politics?