Why West?

In an attempt to clear the craziness clouding the health care debate and drum up support for a public option, President Obama parachuted into unfriendly territory last Saturday—and not for the first time. It was his second visit to Grand Junction, Colo., in conservative Mesa County, where John McCain spanked him last year, 64 to 34 percent.

Obama made his first pit stop in GJ while on the campaign trail last fall. And though he appeared this time as sitting President, the event had all the makings of a campaign gathering: fans and protesters, rolled-up shirt sleeves, Obama-brand rally signs, and echoes of the man as candidate:

These struggles have always boiled down to a contest between hope and fear. It was true when Social Security was born. It was true when Medicare was created. It's true in today's debate.
...
So if you want a different future—a brighter future—I need your help. I need you to stand for hope.  I need you to knock on doors.  I need you to spread the word, because we are going to get this done this year.

Sound familiar? Obama’s back on the campaign trail, and back to relying on the rhetoric and strategery that won him the presidency—given how it worked out last time, it isn’t a bad game plan.

But why go West? From a political perspective, Obama’s brief western tour was likely part of a broader effort by Democrats to woo the West, which emerged in the last election as "America’s new swing region." Here’s the Associated Press’ take:

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.

The anti-government contingent clearly came out, at least to protest if not actually attend the town hall. While Obama fans jammed to Michael Jackson on one side of the road (the left side, coincidentally), reform opponents waved signs with choice slogans like "impeach the commie" on the other. Protester Chris Nielsen, from Fruita, Colo., stood behind a huge banner reading, "Obama Crushing The American Dream One Freedom At A Time," that took on the appearance of a sail in the wind. While Nielsen doesn’t have health insurance, he said he doesn’t want it from the government. "I’ve got diabetes, my mom died of lupus, we had to pay for our own health care. That’s the way it should be," Nielsen said. "Our government can’t be everything for everybody."

But Nielsen’s willingness to pay his own way isn’t feasible for most people. Even in reliably red Mesa County, the crowd that filled Central High School’s gymnasium Saturday seemed generally in favor of some sort of reform. Certainly, it’s needed here as much as anywhere: As a region, the West’s uninsured rate is the second highest in the nation, at 16.9 percent according to the most recent census. And rural residents are particularly vulnerable when it comes to health care. According to the Center for Rural Affairs:

[R]ural people are subject to myriad risk factors that lead to higher rates of being without insurance and to insurance instability. Rural workplace characteristics such as greater dependence on small business employment, more self-employment, more low-wage work, and rural health disparities and less choice in the health insurance market all lead to increased risk of being uninsured, underinsured or having less stable health insurance coverage.

On the upside, Grand Junction has been attracting a lot of attention lately for its innovative approach to health care, which is perhaps another reason Obama chose to stop there.