Obama says he has one message

While South Carolina's Democratic primary Jan. 26 will be the first measure of how well the party's presidential candidates do in the black community, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said he has no plans to change his message to court that vote.

"One of the things I'm very proud of is that I say the same things in different states and in front of different audiences," Obama told The Post and Courier on Thursday after his rally at the College of Charleston. "I'm a firm believer that all of us are hoping for the same thing for our children and our grandchildren."

Still, his message — which he repeated just an hour after delivering it to the crowd — has elements sure to resonate with the state's black voters. The message includes an emphasis on early childhood education, raising teacher pay, helping poor school districts build new schools and ensuring college is affordable. It also includes a push to bring troops home from Iraq.

Obama also pushed one of the top policy priorities of the state's most influential black leader, Rep. Jim Clyburn, the U.S. House majority whip, when he said: "South Carolina, like Iowa, has a large rural population, and it's important that we bring jobs back to those rural communities, and that's where alternate energy can be such an economic boon."

Asked if racism still exists, Obama said, "It would be naive to suggest otherwise, but what I've discovered in places like Iowa and New Hampshire is that people are willing to give you a fair hearing. If you are the person who can best deliver for them, help their families with good jobs and good pay and good benefits, college and health care and retirement security, then they will support you."