Reply #16: It's VERY rare

[StoryTeller]

Sen. Nelson said that the last presidential candidate to campaign here was 30 years ago. The last primary candidate was 40 years ago with Robert Kennedy.

The thing is, I really think the Democratic party could make inroads here...eventually. Nobody around here likes to change quickly. But it's things like this that will encourage people to give the Dems a try. A lot of people here just want to MATTER to somebody. We are such a fly-over or drive-through state--a place that doesn't even get mocked nationally as much as it just gets overlooked. To have a president that actually values us and thinks we're worth something is huge.

There are really great people here, much as the conservative attitudes frustrate me. So it was fabulous to have someone like Obama acknowledge that. He expressed that he needs us, that our country needs us. That is a brand new message for most of us, and one that was quite meaningful and moving.

I hope it will really energize the Democrats here. We badly needed some encouragement and something to rally around. Obama gave that to us today, and we're going to do our best to tell him thank you with a Nebraska win on Saturday. He deserves it.