Barack Obama was in Indianola on Thursday and defended his comments from Sunday. From the AP
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters should urge the Iowa lawmaker to help override President Bush's veto of a bill that would set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Obama addressed the issue during the eighth campaign swing through Iowa since he declared his candidacy for president.
"It isn't personal," Obama told about 300 people at a town hall meeting at Simpson College. "I respect him greatly. But I said then and I say now that he needs to hear from you and people across Iowa who understand that it's time to change course."
Obama has made his opposition to the war in Iraq a central theme of his campaign.
Congress passed a measure that would provide additional funds for the war, but Bush vetoed it because it also contained a timeline for bringing the troops home.
"We need 16 Republican votes in the Senate to overturn the veto," said Obama. "I said on Sunday that one of the senators we need to persuade is from right here in Iowa."
Grassley has rejected the suggestion that he can be pressured on the issue, saying Obama, an Illinois senator, is violating traditions of the institution by traveling to another state and publicly applying pressure to a colleague. He has labeled that step "not senatorial" and said he had no intention of voting to override the veto.
Obama said he has not overstepped his grounds, saying those senatorial traditions pale before the magnitude of the war.
"This isn't about Washington etiquette, it's about bringing our troops home," said Obama. "This is how real change happens in America. This isn't symbolic, this is real."
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