U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has branded his presidential campaign as about change, a powerful, if largely undefined, motivator that has brought thousands of new people to the Democratic Party of Hawai'i.

His message is an appeal to voters who are dissatisfied, even angry, with the direction of the country after eight years under President Bush. But many of the new Democrats who showed up for the first time at the Hawai'i caucuses in February and packed the party's state convention in May are talking about change that goes far beyond the White House.

In a state where Democrats have been the majority party for more than half a century, change is a potentially dangerous concept.

"There's a balance we're striking in managing this change," said Brian Schatz, the party's chairman and a former Obama volunteer. "This isn't about a wholesale replacement, either of the people or the values that have made our party strong. But it's a significant jolt of energy. And that's good."

PARTY IN TRANSITION

The party locally was already going through a generational transition before a record 37,000 turned out for the caucuses, many of whom were new to the process.

Jessica Wooley, an environmental attorney and progressive who backs Obama, said "Politicians at all levels need to listen to the people instead of special or corporate interests."

Wooley, who is running in the Democratic primary for the state House seat held by state Rep. Colleen Meyer, R-47th (La'ie, Hau'ula, Punalu'u), believes change can occur from within the Democratic majority in the state Legislature if the party's leadership responds.

"It's a grassroots effort. The Democrats need to listen to their constituents," she said. "It's consistent with a Democratic majority. But there will be change, I think the public is going to insist on it."

An Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released earlier this month asked people to describe Obama and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee. The most frequent description of Obama — at 20 percent — was as an outsider who would change things, while the second most frequent — at 13 percent — was his lack of experience. For McCain, the top description was old — at 19 percent — followed by his military service — at 9 percent.

The poll showed how branding by the campaigns — using both positive and negative themes — can be important in influencing voter opinion.

The themes can transcend and overshadow the differences the candidates have on public policy issues such as a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq or whether to tap domestic oil sources to reduce dependence on foreign imports.

MESSAGE OF CHANGE

For the Hawai'i-born Obama, his youth and mixed-race background have helped voters see him as an authentic voice for change. But the change message itself is a common and effective political theme often used by challengers against incumbents or by candidates from the political party out of power.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter, a Georgia governor, ran for president as a plainspoken outsider who represented change from the remnants of the scandal-plagued Nixon administration.

In 1992, Bill Clinton, an Arkansas governor, campaigned on the promise of hope and change after 12 years of Republican rule under the Reagan and Bush administrations. In 2000, George W. Bush, a Texas governor, ran as someone who would change the tone — "a uniter, not a divider" — and break from eight years of the Clinton administration.

After eight years under Bush, and given the divide over the war in Iraq and the downturn in the nation's economy, it was almost certain the Democratic nominee would campaign on change. But Obama — a freshman Democratic senator in a Democratic-controlled Congress — has surprisingly delivered the message with a conviction many believe is credible.

"Along comes a leader who is basically telling us, 'We can do this better. We can not only change what we're saying and what we're doing, but I offer in my style and my approach something that crosses generations and crosses cultures and can even cross countries,' " said Chuck Freedman, a local Obama volunteer who works as an aide to state House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa).

"I really think this is the case of a leader who can bring a sea change and can reposition America for a new, better and different kind of leadership in the world."

'A NEW BEGINNING'

In Hawai'i, change was the cry for Democrats who finally broke Republican and Big 5 corporate rule in 1954, but as the party grew stronger and eventually became the establishment, the theme was mostly used by reformers or dissidents.

Linda Lingle used a change message — "A New Beginning" — when she became the first Republican governor in 40 years in 2002. Ed Case, a moderate Democrat, campaigned on change in successful state House and U.S. House races but his message has fallen short in bids for governor and the U.S. Senate.

With supermajorities in both the state House and Senate, most Democrats have had no reason to use change as a theme.

Local Republicans have asked — legitimately, some Democrats concede privately — how entrenched local Democrats can jump on Obama's change mantra.

"I think that's a very important question the people of Hawai'i need to mull over," said state House Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan, R-32nd (Lower Pearlridge, 'Aiea, Halawa).

Willes Lee, the state GOP chairman, said local Democrats have resisted change on issues such as breaking up the state Department of Education into local school boards or endorsing a state constitutional convention, which will be on the ballot — along with Obama — in November.

"For one reason or another this year's election is about change, in some manner, everywhere except for the Democrats here," Lee said. "I think, for Hawai'i Democrats, it's hypocritical."

BAR SET HIGH

Some local Democrats ask privately whether Obama has set the bar too high, creating unrealistic expectations, especially among young people, that change will happen immediately if he is elected. Political change is usually much more incremental or, when it happens fast, a reaction to crisis or imbalance of power.

"Change is easier to fit on a bumper sticker than into our lives," one Democrat who supports Obama said.

State House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), believes the party can change from within. Say, who was first elected to the House in 1976 and has served as speaker for nearly a decade, is often cited as a symbol of an old, top-down style of leadership.

Say said the party has adjusted with the economic and social climate of the times. Obama, he said, has the potential to bring the country together. The speaker did not endorse during the caucuses but he has some advice for the new Democrats who flocked to Obama.

"Please participate in the governmental process," he said. "This is your government and we are just the tools of making it what you want it to be."