Duluth News Tribune Endorses Oberstar for Reelection by Duluth News Tribune Editorial Board Appearing in Duluth News Tribune on 2008-10-29. Jim Oberstar’s giddiness defied a man of his age (74) and political experience (34 years as a U.S. congressman from Minnesota). But who in U.S. House District 8 — which stretches from International Falls in the far north to Isanti at around mid-state — could blame the Chisholm native? If votes fall the way Oberstar suspects they will Tuesday, the already powerful representative’s influence could be boosted further by being able to work with a House, Senate and White House all dominated by his Democratic Party. “I am so excited about the next two years,” Oberstar said in an interview with the News Tribune editorial board. “I feel so good. And I love what I’m doing. Public service is my commitment, and I’m in a position now that’s so important for my district, for my state and for the nation. There is so much we can do and must do.” Not that anything could take away from Oberstar’s already lengthy list of accomplishments. A few of the more recent successes for the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (after 11 years as its senior Democrat) include miles of walking paths and biking trails, some taken by children to school; thousands of transportation-related construction jobs; support for Head Start; a restoration of the federal Clean Water Act to its original intent; and the quick allocation of $250 million in reconstruction money and the creation of a National Highway System Bridge Initiative (to address deteriorating infrastructure) within hours of the tragic Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. If that’s not enough to convince voters of the 8th District to send Oberstar back to Washington, they could consider his ongoing commitments to upgrading locks along the St. Lawrence Seaway; to eliminating runoff, a polluter of the Great Lakes; and to resurrecting Amtrak and passenger rail service, which promises economic prosperity along rail lines while lowering highway repair costs and easing the nation’s dependence on oil with every vehicle left in a garage. “Within five years we’re going to have inter-city passenger rail resurrected up here through Duluth,” Oberstar promised. “I think we have a great opportunity.” One reason for Oberstar’s success has been his ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans. “It’s who has good ideas,” he said. “I’ve never seen a Democratic road or a Republican bridge. Working together, we can build all-American roads and all-American bridges. We have to have more conversations between parties and more respect. [And we need to] tone down the rhetoric.”

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