OBAMA VISTS MOUNTAIN WEST, KNOWING VULNERABLITY

OBAMA VISITS MOUNTAIN WEST, KNOWING VULNERABILITY

DENVER-Perhaps no region of the country better illustrates Barack Obama’s political vulnerabilities than the mountain West, a region traditionally wary of the federal government.

He’s hoping to ease some of those concerns in a Western swing blending town hall appearances and visits to national parks beginning Friday.

Democrats have made recent election inroads in the region by successfully courting independents. Republican crossovers and conservative-to-moderate loyalists in their own party. But it’s these very voters—gun owners, civil libertarians, private property advocates—who seem to be turning away from the president across the country because of deep-seated concerns about expanding government and soaring budget deficits.

They are people who bristle at big business bailouts an decry government’s reach into their own lives. They don’t see Obama’s stimulus plan jump-starting the economy or boosting employment. They fret about the enormous price tags of his sweeping proposals to overhaul health care and revamp energy policy.

“People are ready to see him move beyond the rhetoric. People want to see jobs come back . We went to see the economy recover. So we’re still, I think, waiting to see that,” says Chris Lawson, 30, who voted for Obama last fall and says he doesn’t regret it. The Littleton, Colo., resident expressed worries about health care in particular, saying: “We are not clearing moving toward more government in more people’s lives. That’s not a good thing, more government.”

Another Obama voter, Eric Schreiber, 44, of Denver argued it’s too early to judge the president. But, he added, Obama definitely hasn’t sold him on the health care overhaul. “It’s a good idea to do health reform, but I think everybody wants to know more about how it will work,” Schreiber said.

Obama is hoping he can allay such worries as he promotes his plan at town hall-style events in reliably Republic areas: Friday in Bozeman, Mont., and Saturday in Grand Junction, Colo.,near the Utah state line. The first family also plans to visit Yellowstone and Grand Canyon to highlight the country’s national parks.

Just eight months ago, the president took office with sky-high job approval ratings, the first Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson to win the White House with more than 50 percent of the popular vote. He did it by cobbling together support that spanned the ideological spectrum. He pulled new voters—particularly left-leaning young people and minorities—into the process and turned out his Democratic base in droves. And independents, disaffected Republicans and middle-of-road Democrats put him over the top.

That coalition—coupled with a national desire for change after years of Republican George W. Bush—made it possible for Obama to win a slew of states that hadn’t voted for a Democrat in years. Colorado and Nevada, among them. He also won New Mexico, a perennial swing state, came very close to winning Montana, and lost by 9 percentage points in Republican John McCain’s home state of Arizona. Still, Obama lost badly in ultraconservative Republic bastions, including Idaho, Wyoming and Utah.

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