CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) -Democrat Barack Obama is portraying himself as an impatient problem-solver as he launches a five-day campaign swing through Iowa.

He is also touting his support for efforts to curtail the power
of lobbyists in Washington and his refusal to accept their campaign
donations.

Obama says we need somebody who has impatience with problems
that have festered for so long.

He faces significant challenges in his bid for the Democratic
nomination.

His latest swing through the state leads up to the Iowa
Democratic Party's biggest annual fundraiser, the Jefferson-Jackson
Day Dinner on Saturday.

His fundraising has been prodigious and he attracts huge crowds.

But rival Hillary Rodham Clinton has forged a big lead in
national polls.