The Obama campaign opened 24 offices in rural areas of Missouri on Saturday.

During opening ceremonies at the Montee Law Offices in Maryville, Missouri, and later in St Joseph, Obama Northwest Missouri field organizer Corey Dukes said that the Obama campaign is committed to a continuous presence in Missouri through the November general election. All 24 offices will be staffed full time.

There are new offices now in Arnold, Bolivar, Farmington, Rolla, Sikeston, Sedalia, and Warrenton. State Auditor Susan Montee told supporters at gatherings in both Maryville and St Joseph that in every presidential election but one, Missouri has chosen the winner. Sen. John McCain holds a slim lead in Missouri, according to Pollster.com.

The Fargo (ND) Forum reports this morning that Sen. Barack Obama granted the local paper a 7 minute and 17 second interview. Yes, Senator, we're counting. The Democratic candidate made most news in North Dakota talking about Iraq, but the Forum wanted to know about North Dakota. (Obama in Fargo above.)

Obama said he thought he had a chance to win the state because people are "frustrated with rising gas prices, lack of affordable health care, lack of affordable college. They are worried about job loss and a slowing economy, and so they want to move in a new direction." He said he was a "strong supporter of the Second Amendment," although he was for "common sense gun laws." He supports biofuels, "something John McCain opposed but is very important to the people here in North Dakota."

Will he be back to Fargo in October? Hard to tell, the Senator said. "I think there's a lot of excitement here in North Dakota around this campaign, and in the fall, I think we may surprise a lot of people. This thing, is, I believe, going to stay very close." Time's up.

The rural press is beginning to look at the two presidential candidates from a local perspective — and for now, Sen. John McCain is getting the short end of the stick. In a story published today in the Helena, Arkansas, newspaper the thrust is that rural voters "may play a significant role" in the election — and the Republican candidate has not been favorable to agricultural interests.

"The general perception of (Republican candidate) John McCain is that he's not farmer friendly. He never scores well on top farm issues," said Tom Buis, executive director of the National Farmers Union. The National Corn Growers Association is nervous about McCain's opposition to ethanol subsidies. Buis said Sen. Barack Obama had a perfect score on the NFU's accounting of congressional votes and the Democrat supports ethanol production.

Chuck Hassebrook, executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs, had a more circumspect opinion about the candidates. "Both parties have a miserable record when it comes to rural America," he said.