Maine Democrat caucus chooses Obama 15-9

    HOULTON — Thousands of Mainers, young and old, turned out to see candidate Barack Obama at the Bangor Auditorium Saturday and the momentum continued Sunday as Democrats gave the Illinois Senator 15 of their 24 delegates.
    Sen. Obama came out in front after last weekend’s Democratic caucus vote with 15 of the state’s delegates, while Sen. Hillary Clinton walked away with nine. The results haven’t caused either candidate to quit, and Democrats remain split on who to choose for the Presidential campaign.
    Aroostook County Democratic Party Co-Chair Joanne Carpenter said the weekend’s caucus gathering was the largest turnout she’s seen in the past 22 years.
    “We normally have between 20 to 30 people, if we get that,” she said. “This year, I did a headcount of 97.”
    Carpenter and her husband Mike have been active members in their local caucus and she said she noticed an increase in activity from younger voters, which Carpenter feels is a reflection of the current situation in the country.
    “I think with Obama, he has given a lot of the young people some hope,” she explained. “I know that word has been overused as far as he’s concerned, but he has given them some insight as far as what their future can be without all the complications of what’s happening in our world today and I think that’s wonderful for them because they really haven’t had a whole lot of positive things to hang onto with the stock market and the war, the economy of this country, the gas and the oil prices, and when you’re young and looking at that, it must be horrifying. I think it made them realize that they need to get out there and participate.”
    Carpenter said the most interesting part about the caucus meeting was the equal support that each candidate was receiving from Democrats.
    “This is going to be a split,” she said. “There was no question that it was a difficult choice for a lot of people. For myself, to have the opportunity to select perhaps the first woman president or perhaps select the first person of color for president … I’m in awe that it should happen at the same time. So it’s just been very difficult.
    “But it was such a positive caucus,” she added.
    There has been talk about the idea of the “dream team” — Obama and Clinton taking each other to the election. Carpenter said she feels the pair would be good together.
    “They both seem to be very positive about each other,” she said. “They’ve obviously made it very clear where they’re different, but I don’t see any animosity between either one of them. I think they’ve been good friends and I think they’ll remain good friends, so I think it’s a possibility.”
    In the overall race for the nomination, Clinton leads with 1,136 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as super delegates. Obama has 1,108. The first candidate to reach 1,500 becomes the Democratic candidate for presidency.