Obama campaign style unchanged as president

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It seems like Barack Obama has time-traveled back to last summer when he was simply a Democrat running for the White House. Only now, he's the president facing a more complicated objective and opponent as he campaigns to 'overhaul' the nation's health care system.

Yet, there he was last Wednesday, jetting to this Virginia town to talk to supermarket workers from a platform between the bakery and deli. Earlier, he bounded onto a flag-draped stage at a North Carolina high school to cheers from an adoring throng of two thousand. At both sites, he made remarks, took questions and shook hands with fans.

He also recently appeared at an interest group forum, AARP, toured the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and lent his starpower to Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey at political events — typical stops when he was the Democratic nominee.

Obama's pitch has been the same everywhere: Congress must quickly pass health care legislation... [snip]

At each stop, Obama is his usual wonky professor yet charming everyman self, clad in his usual dark suit and tie, fielding the usual offbeat questions with ease and playing by his usual rules:

"I'm just going to call on people as they raise their hand. I'll go girl, boy, girl, boy so that people don't think I'm biased."

Just like his 2008 campaign — but not...

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