SIX MINUTES WITH BARACK

The Democratic Presidential frontrunner talks timber payments, Gordon
Smith and of course tattoos.

Sen. Barack Obama once remarked on the long odds of a "skinny guy
from the South Side with a funny name" finding success in American politics.

How much more improbable then that Oregon - an overwhelmingly white
state 1,700 miles from his Chicago home - could finally put the
Illinois senator over the top this Tuesday, May 20, in his bid for
the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Obama campaign looks to that date as the day to finally declare
victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), after an anticipated
Oregon win gives Obama a majority of pledged delegates nationwide.
Little wonder then that Obama's third Oregon swing May 9-10 felt more
like a victory lap than a campaign stop. In Beaverton, Albany, Eugene
and Bend, Obama test-drove a new strategy of targeting Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) and largely ignoring Clinton.

WW caught up with Obama following a town-hall meeting in Albany,
where he spoke to a crowd of 3,000. After our longer interview with
his rival ("Twenty Minutes With Hillary," WW, April 9, 2008), we
asked Obama in the much smaller amount of time granted by his
campaign about Oregon issues like medical weed, local politics and a
healthcare plan from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

WW: What's the biggest difference between you and Hillary Clinton on
an Oregon-specific issue?

Barack Obama: I don't spend all my time reviewing Sen. Clinton's
positions. But I can talk to you about my positions on some issues
that are very specific to Oregon. I think it's important for a state
to have the ability to make decisions about the siting of liquefied
natural gas stations. I think it's important for us to have a policy
on county payments that is consistent and that allows for long-term
planning for local communities, so that they're not scrambling to
figure out do they have to lay off deputies from the county or do
they have to close libraries. So I'm committed to working with Sen.
[Ron] Wyden and Congressman DeFazio and others to make sure that
we've got a system to help deal with counties where so much of the
land is taken up by federal lands.

WW: Can you see a time when those timber payments would go away?

Barack Obama: What I'd want to do is negotiate with local counties to
figure out how are we ensuring that basic necessities are paid for,
and do it in a way that recognizes that the best way to handle this
over the long term is to generate more economic growth in these
communities. But we've got to do it in a way that is environmentally
sound as well.

WW: Would you stop the DEA's raids on Oregon medical marijuana growers?

Barack Obama: I would because I think our federal agents have better
things to do, like catching criminals and preventing terrorism. The
way I want to approach the issue of medical marijuana is to base it
on science, and if there is sound science that supports the use of
medical marijuana and if it is controlled and prescribed in a way
that other medicine is prescribed, then it's something that I think
we should consider.

WW: What's the nicest thing you can say about Sen. Gordon Smith?

Barack Obama: I think Gordon Smith is a very nice man. I think he's
very gracious, very polite, and I enjoy talking to him. I think
Gordon Smith's problem is that he rarely breaks away from George Bush
and the Republican agenda that I think has done this country great
damage. But personally I think he's a perfectly decent person.

WW: The hottest race besides yours on Oregon's May 20 ballot is the
Democratic senate contest between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley.

Barack Obama: I have no opinion on that.

WW: Do you care who wins?

Barack Obama: I have no opinion on a Senate primary.

WW: What do you think of Sen. Wyden's Healthy Americans Act?

Barack Obama: I think that Ron has done a lot of really smart work in
thinking about the issue, and he is somebody I will have at the table
as I'm negotiating to bring about a universal health care plan. I
have expressed some concerns about the feasibility of shifting so
quickly away from the employer-based system to a system in which each
individual is responsible for buying their own health care. But I
think the idea of portability is one that is important. I'm looking
forward to having him as one of the driving forces in the Senate
behind getting universal health care.

WW: Any irony that Oregon may put you over the top in the pledged
delegate count?

Barack Obama: I think it would be wonderful. I don't know how ironic
it would be, but I would be thrilled by it happening and I hope it does.

WW: If you had a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?

Barack Obama: Uh, I cannot imagine any circumstances in which I would
get a tattoo.

WW: If you were under duress.

Barack Obama: If a gun was put to my head?

WW: Yes.

Barack Obama: Then I suppose I'd have to have [his wife] Michelle's
name tattooed somewhere very discreet.