On Tuesday, April 3, Obama will hold a forum to get input from the public on the problems they are having with the current system of health care in this country and what they would like to see in a new system. That forum titled "A Community Meeting on Health Care with Sen. Barack Obama," will be held at 2:30 p.m., at Seacoast Media Group's new headquarters, 111 New Hampshire Ave., at the Pease International Tradeport.

"As I confirm my ideas on health care with the experts, I also want to go into communities and talk to families dealing with health care issues, doctors, nurses and other providers," Obama said in a telephone interview Monday. "I think Portsmouth is wonderfully representative of the communities of this nation."

The Illinois senator said he has found in the course of his career both in the U.S. Senate and in his state's Legislature, that by listening to the American people he can create more effective policies and be a better legislator.

"I believe that sense stems from my background as a community organizer," Obama said.

This strikes me as pretty smart: making ordinary people a part of the process and giving them a chance to tell him in an open public forum what they think is wrong with the system.

Now, Obama's had some bad press recently, both in the traditional media and especially here on MyDD, and somewhat deservedly so, IMO. Showing up at a forum, speaking next to more prepared candidates with nothing more than a general set of principles was not a particularly good idea. Perhaps he felt it necessary after skipping the AFSCME forum in Nevada previously, but most everyone seems to agree that little came out of his visit this past weekend.

He said the information he gleans from the April 3 forum in Portsmouth will be used to help craft a comprehensive health-care policy that will be presented to the nation in the course of his campaign and then, hopefully, enacted once he becomes president.

"I'm hoping for a good turnout," Obama said.

He's kind of taking a chance here. Is it just in Portsmouth, NH in which he's to hold a forum? To what degree will he really incorporate suggestions from the attendees?

Either way, what this tells me is that this campaign is far from over. Showing up at one forum in Nevada without specifics hurt him, but it appears that he's ready to start atoning for that error.

Here in the netroots we've been going crazy about his Nevada appearance. What happened there doesn't sit well with a lot of Obama supporters here, and those who were hoping to hear more from him at the SEIU forum.

We are closing in on 8 months until the first caucuses in Iowa. Several months away from any debates. Nineteen months away from the general election. At this point of the 2004 election I thought we'd be stuck with Joe Lieberman. In December 2003 I was certain that Howard Dean would be the nominee. This can change. Rapidly.

What seems interesting about this event that Obama is holding is that it shows there is a lot of campaigning left to be done. Even after a rough weekend the guy is ready to bounce back and turn his weakness into a strength. Holding forums to make people a part of the process, which kind of corny-sounding, can be an effective event in terms of policy development and public relations.

Many here will probably disagree with me somehow, and that's okay. My goal today is just to get the info out there and maybe present another way to look at things. I for one have realized that I'm wound way too tightly about this politics stuff and should probably go into political hibernation for the summer.