Obama in Montana, Day Two

National journalists tend to scoff at the local media and look at candidates who go after local coverage as "bypassing the filter." But what other option do they give a candidate like Barack Obama who isn't in lock-step with the Beltway punditocracy?

Instead of prattling forth about "bitter-cling" and pimping false memes gleaned from schmooze sessions with McCain flacks like Michael Goldfarb and Karl Rove, the media should spend some time paying attention to the damage the Bush presidency has inflicted upon our country and the anger that has been generated by his failed policies.

And instead of trying to figure our what kind of GOP attack strategy might work on Barack Obama, they should put more effort into understanding why so many millions of Americans see Barack's candidacy as an opportunity to change all that. If they did that, they might begin to understand how Barack Obama could be leading in the polls in a state like Montana.

There's a lesson to be learned in these four front pages (Obama is on all four Montana front pages available at Newseum). It's time the national media started paying attention to it.

Great Falls Tribune: Article | Full front page

BUTTE — Gov. Brian Schweitzer enthusiastically welcomed Barack Obama to Montana for a parade and "family" picnic on Friday, and predicted the Democratic presidential candidate will carry the state in November.

Obama watched Butte's Fourth of July parade with his family before hosting a free picnic for supporters. Obama is making history by waging a fight with Republican John McCain for Montana's three electoral votes. The state has mostly been ignored in past presidential contests.

Obama pitched a message of independence — including freedom from oil companies and drug companies — to the crowd. Because of security concerns, he did not walk in the Butte parade, a traditional stop for state Democrats.

Helena Independent Record: Article | Full front page

BUTTE — At events more likely to host a candidate for county sheriff than president, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spent a sunny Fourth of July here Friday, driving home his message that if he can win in Montana this fall, he can win almost anywhere.

“If you stand with me and walk with me and vote just four months from now, we will have won Montana and we will have won everywhere else,” he told a cheering crowd at an outdoor picnic on the Montana Tech campus in Butte. “We are going to change this country and we are going to change the world.”

Obama, joined by his wife Michelle, his two daughters and his sister and brother-in-law, spent the day in Butte, taking in the Mining City’s annual Fourth of July parade and lunching at the picnic, where several hundred people gathered to hear him speak and chow down on hot dogs and hamburgers served by organized labor volunteers.

Billings Gazette: Article 1, Article 2 | Full front page

Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, never mentioned McCain by name or inference on Friday, instead choosing to outline his vision for America's future: End the war in Iraq, pass health-care reform that can offer coverage for all, fashion a new energy policy that emphasizes alternative energy.

"There are challenges all across Montana, and this country," he said. "And the question is, are we going to seize this moment? Are we going to declare our independence today? Are we going to declare our independence from special interests (that are blocking energy and health-care reforms)?

BUTTE - For his first task as president, Barack Obama said Friday he'll call in the nation's top military officials and "tell them we have a new mission": End the war in Iraq.

Next on the list is reforming the nation's health-care system, so everyone in the nation has basic health care and costs are reduced for families and businesses.

And, third, craft a new energy policy that "requires a shift away from the sort of wasteful energy usage of the past, and to develop alternative fuels like solar, wind and biodiesel," Obama said in an interview on his campaign bus near the Montana Tech campus.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Article | Full front page

Butte, a Democratic stronghold in Montana, ate up its chance to see a presidential candidate at the city's parade. A Republican float was met with a chant of "Obama."

Officials estimated a crowd perhaps twice the usual size.

Sharon Chebul of Butte said she had never seen anything like it.

"It's telling us that even our little towns like Butte mean something," she said. "We can make a difference."