Maya Soetoro-Ng, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's younger sister, had just returned from campaigning in the chill of rural Iowa and had sensed the momentum herself.

But she still said she was incredibly nervous yesterday in the hours before her brother took the Iowa caucuses. She had spoken to him by telephone several times throughout the day and described him as confident and relaxed. He had even snuck in some hoops.

"He had gone and played basketball at 5:30 in the morning with a bunch of his buddies from Hawai'i who came out there on the 1st," she said. "So they played a game of 5-on-5, I think, and he said he had so much fun. And he was feeling very relaxed, much more relaxed than I was."

Soetoro-Ng, a history teacher at La Pietra Hawai'i School for Girls, said Obama's victory "reflects the fact that this is a real movement. It's really grassroots, and people really feel like they need this, they need him."

The Iowa caucuses, as the first test of a presidential campaign, are often more about symbolism and momentum than delegate counts. Obama, who was born in Hawai'i and graduated from Punahou School, will hope his surge in Iowa helps in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday and in the maze of caucuses and primaries ahead.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, who helped with Obama's get-out-the-vote drive in Iowa, said the Illinois senator has distanced himself from U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

"The question of 'Do you want change?' was foremost in people's minds. They do, and they associated it with Senator Obama," Abercrombie said in a phone interview last night from Des Moines. "The question that had been raised about him vis-a-vis 'experience' simply didn't resonate sufficiently with the voters in Iowa.

"They want a winner and they want change."

Abercrombie said he will campaign for Obama in Nevada this month to appeal to the many Hawai'i transplants who now live and vote there.

Local Obama volunteers gathered at Abercrombie's headquarters at Ward Warehouse last night to watch the Iowa returns on television over soft drinks, beer, pizza and fried chicken. Their next step is a Jan. 12 organizational meeting at Kawananakoa Middle School for their get-out-the-vote plans for the Hawai'i caucuses on Feb. 19.

Jacce Mikulanec, an aide to Honolulu City Council member Donovan Dela Cruz, campaigned back in his home state of Iowa for Obama and said his parents were co-precinct captains for Obama in Indianola. He said his father was a Republican who switched parties to caucus for Obama.

"The guy is just clear. He's for change. He's a fresh voice. He's someone that makes a break with the past," Mikulanec said of Obama. "I think America needs somebody that's going to go forward into the future. And I think Obama is a guy to do it."

DEBATE BY PROXY

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), a Clinton volunteer, said Obama should be congratulated for his victory but she questioned whether Iowa will be as significant as in past elections because of the accelerated caucus and primary schedule this year.

"Anyone from Hawai'i would congratulate Barack Obama and I congratulate him on his win," Hanabusa said. "But there is a question about whether or not you can get a 'bounce' from Iowa this year."

The Democratic Party of Hawai'i, meanwhile, has received filing fees for four more candidates for the state's caucuses. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio (who has campaigned in Hawai'i), U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut have filed. Dodd and Biden, however, ended their campaigns yesterday after poor performances in Iowa.

Obama, Clinton and Edwards had filed for the Hawai'i caucuses earlier.

Democrats are planning a debate among local campaign volunteers Jan. 17 at Harris United Methodist Church. Representatives for Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Kucinich have confirmed.

Soetoro-Ng, Obama's sister, described her last few days of campaigning in Iowa as incredible and said she met people of all ages and backgrounds who had sacrificed for her brother. She said people had questions about his Hawai'i background.

"They want to hear the stories, and Hawai'i is an integral part of that," she said. "I think they recognize the importance of Hawai'i in terms of giving him the tools necessary to negotiate many worlds and have complex understandings of identity and promote meaningful diversity and perspective.

"People recognize that Hawai'i was instrumental in helping him to become the man that he is."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.