"Obama Probes National Health Care"

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch covered presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's visit to St. Louis this week. The trip gave Obama a chance to talk in detail about his health care plan, but he also had made progress on his effort to reach out to rural America. The Post-Dispatch reports:

Asked why Democrats have lost the state in presidential elections since Bill Clinton carried Missouri in 1996, Obama said, "A mistake is probably made in neglecting those parts of the state that are not traditionally Democratic."

"Obama promised more stops in predominately Republican territory like the town hall gathering he held last month in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

"In the rural parts of the state, showing up makes a big difference," Obama said. "My general view is, even if I don't win those areas, we can narrow the gap and that may make a significant difference in how we do statewide."

Read more here. Once you get to the story, you can also click into an audio to hear more and also see more picture of his hospital visit.