Does Vermont Have Primary Pull? Burlington, Vermont - September 12, 2007 Nearly 100 people packed Burlington bar Metronome on Wednesday night -- not for a party, but a politician: Barack Obama, a Democrat for president. "I didn't want to start paying attention to the campaign this early," said Alex Ball, an Obama supporter from Burlington. "I really didn't. But every time I turned around the guy was just grabbing my attention." Obama has already built a groundswell of early support in Vermont. The Federal Election Commission reports that as of June 30th, Vermonters had donated $241,000 to all candidates for president. Democrats took in $172,000, with Obama picking up the lion's share -- $127,000. That's more than all the other candidates combined, and six times the amount donated to his closest competitor, Hillary Clinton. "I'm in my 60s and I've seen a lot campaigns," Obama supporter Ida Gatwood said. "And I think this is the first guy in a long time that is really real." But will support here even matter? By the time Vermont's primary rolls around on Town Meeting Day in March, at least 30 states will have voted. The Democratic nominee is likely to be determined before Vermonters even cast their ballots. "I don't think we need to take a back seat and say we're small and late," said Bill Sorrell, D-Vt. Attorney General, who delivered his endorsement at the rally. "I think we've got a role to play." That role is likely to include its very powerful neighbor. "The reality is, this race might be over before Vermont's primary," Sorrell said. "But New Hampshire is right next door, and that's an early primary. Hopefully a lot of Vermonters will go over." Obama was in Burlington last year campaigning for Vermont Democrats, and was at a fundraiser in Norwich in August. Other than that, he has not campaigned in Vermont, though he has drawn huge crowds just across the river, including at a Memorial Day rally at Dartmouth College. The head of the grass-roots organization Vermonters for Obama said Vermont's late primary offers one advantage. Neil Jensen explained, "Because there's not a lot of pressure on trying to win here in Vermont, it allows us to go where we really think we can do the most good, which is the New Hampshire primary. I think that will be a pivotal part of the nomination process." Supporters point to Vermont's long tradition of political activism as proof that Vermont's voice far exceeds its size. "What Vermont thinks counts," Alex Ball said. "Whether we vote early or not, it doesn't really matter."
Does Vermont Have Primary Pull?
Burlington, Vermont - September 12, 2007
Nearly 100 people packed Burlington bar Metronome on Wednesday night -- not for a party, but a politician: Barack Obama, a Democrat for president.
"I didn't want to start paying attention to the campaign this early," said Alex Ball, an Obama supporter from Burlington. "I really didn't. But every time I turned around the guy was just grabbing my attention."
Obama has already built a groundswell of early support in Vermont. The Federal Election Commission reports that as of June 30th, Vermonters had donated $241,000 to all candidates for president. Democrats took in $172,000, with Obama picking up the lion's share -- $127,000. That's more than all the other candidates combined, and six times the amount donated to his closest competitor, Hillary Clinton.
"I'm in my 60s and I've seen a lot campaigns," Obama supporter Ida Gatwood said. "And I think this is the first guy in a long time that is really real."
But will support here even matter? By the time Vermont's primary rolls around on Town Meeting Day in March, at least 30 states will have voted. The Democratic nominee is likely to be determined before Vermonters even cast their ballots.
"I don't think we need to take a back seat and say we're small and late," said Bill Sorrell, D-Vt. Attorney General, who delivered his endorsement at the rally. "I think we've got a role to play."
That role is likely to include its very powerful neighbor.
"The reality is, this race might be over before Vermont's primary," Sorrell said. "But New Hampshire is right next door, and that's an early primary. Hopefully a lot of Vermonters will go over."
Obama was in Burlington last year campaigning for Vermont Democrats, and was at a fundraiser in Norwich in August. Other than that, he has not campaigned in Vermont, though he has drawn huge crowds just across the river, including at a Memorial Day rally at Dartmouth College.
The head of the grass-roots organization Vermonters for Obama said Vermont's late primary offers one advantage. Neil Jensen explained, "Because there's not a lot of pressure on trying to win here in Vermont, it allows us to go where we really think we can do the most good, which is the New Hampshire primary. I think that will be a pivotal part of the nomination process."
Supporters point to Vermont's long tradition of political activism as proof that Vermont's voice far exceeds its size.
"What Vermont thinks counts," Alex Ball said. "Whether we vote early or not, it doesn't really matter."
Back at Hillary: Obama calls his judgment best Chicago Sun-Times - United States Barack Obama is to convince voters he has the experience to be president. He turns 46 on Aug. 4 and has been in the Senate since January 2005. ...
Sweet blog special: Obama keeping heat on Clinton. Who is naive ... Chicago Sun-Times - United States Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is continuing to keep pressure up on chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (DN.Y.) over the issue that is central to both of their ...
Craig Crawford's Trail Mix: Give Obama a Break on Talking to Dictators New York Times - United States By Craig Crawford, CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY You would think that White House contender Barack Obama had proposed giving Fidel Castro the Presidential Medal ...
Obama Snags NH Endorsement New York Times - United States Representative Paul Hodes, a New Hampshire Democrat, is scheduled to sign up with Senator Barack Obama tomorrow morning in Concord, NH Mr. Obama's aides ...
Obama Stirs Up the Duel With Clinton New York Times - United States By Katharine Q. Seelye Senator Barack Obama has upped the ante in his case against Senator Hillary Clinton -- on camera. "I think what is irresponsible and ...
Obama's Strategy: Emulate Reagan CBS News Wed, 25 Jul 2007 9:30 AM PDT Barack Obama's strategy for overtaking Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination ? based around victories in key early states ? borrows a page from an unlikely source: Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign.
Barack Obama's People Problem [His "high-class" problem? Generating huge crowds which limits direct contact with voters.] TIME - USA Barack Obama speaks at a house party organized in support of his presidential bid, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jae C. Hong / AP Lauren Smith, 22, drove an hour ...
'Obama time' MSNBC - USA It's time for Barack Obama Obama: I know what you know. Despite all the progress that has been made, we still have more work to do. ...
Obama wins CNN focus group MSNBC - USA Again, this is all unscientific results from this focus group, but clearly throughout this debate Senator Barack Obama was showing some favorable responses
Obama is the Democrats' common sense 'liberal' USA Today - USA By DeWayne Wickham When Barack Obama announced his strategy for combating some of the most intractable problems afflicting urban blacks, he invoked the name ...
WINDS OF CHANGE ARE NOT ALL BLOWING HILLARY'S WAY Yahoo! News - USA Barack Obama has subtly but unmistakably identified it. "What we're more interested in is looking forward," he said in an interview with The Associated ...
Obama Says He Would Walk Picket Line ABC News - USA (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) The Associated Press By MIKE GLOVER Associated Press Writer Democrat Barack Obama told union activists Saturday night that he ...
Why Clinton vs. Obama seems like iPods vs. Windows Chicago Sun-Times - United States Barack Obama, on the other hand, is like Apple. His brand is driven primarily by its emotional appeal: He is exciting and fresh to some, hip and cool to ...
Obama: Big business, lobbyists blocking change Boston Globe - United States This was Barack Obama's populist message this morning at the Adeline C. Marston Elementary School here, one of three public campaign stops in the last two ...
Obama Says Iraq Has 'Distracted' Us TIME - USA Senator Barack Obama, campaigning in New Hampshire Thursday and Friday, latched onto the recently released National Intelligence Estimate as proof that ...
Obama Says He, Too, Is a Poverty Fighter Washington Post - United States Barack Obama (D-Ill.), came to Anacostia yesterday to stake his own claim as a poverty warrior -- and to present a vision for fixing struggling inner cities ...
WHY IS OBAMA SO STRONG? Yahoo! News - USA NEW YORK -- When I left the country for a few weeks of summer travel overseas, the conventional wisdom was that the phenomenon of 2007, Barack Obama, ...
Since January 2007, the Barack the House Link Party has compiled news items that highlight the many reasons why Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States.
And it doubles as a resource for people working to ensure that accurate and positive information about Barack gets out to the public. If you’re interested in helping out with this effort, please consider joining the Obama Rapid Response group on my.barackobama.com.
Obama raises more money in Vermont than all other candidates Boston Globe - United States Barack Obama raised more money in Vermont during the first six months of the year than all over candidates combined, documents show. ...
Davis said Obama was using the Internet to raise money, a method pioneered by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. "I think the Obama campaign studied the Dean campaign very carefully and they realized how the Internet can be used as a tool not just to raise money but also to organize people and get people mobilized to support the candidate as election day approaches closer." Davis said.
Davis said Obama was using the Internet to raise money, a method pioneered by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
"I think the Obama campaign studied the Dean campaign very carefully and they realized how the Internet can be used as a tool not just to raise money but also to organize people and get people mobilized to support the candidate as election day approaches closer." Davis said.
Pure Horserace: On Equal Footing CBS News - New York City,NY,USA Barack Obama was quick out of the gate in responding to the new information, giving a preview of what we can expect in coming days in the debates over Iraq ...
Barack Obama was quick out of the gate in responding to the new information, giving a preview of what we can expect in coming days in the debates over Iraq and terrorism. "After almost six years, awesome sacrifices by our brave men and women in uniform, and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, we are no safer than we were on 9/11," Obama said in a statement sent out by his campaign. "This is a consequence of waging a misguided war in Iraq that should never have been authorized, and failing to seize the opportunity to do lasting harm to the extremist networks that pose a direct threat to our homeland." Obama is calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, as are his fellow Democratic candidates, but that could prove a difficult argument in light of the report's warnings about potential dangers posed by al Qaeda elements in that war zone. Republicans seeking to hold off congressional action on a withdrawal are certain to seize on that element of the report to argue that the nation can ill-afford to leave the terrorist group in Iraq free to plot and plan after the U.S. leaves or pulls back. But Democrats can — and will — loudly zero in on the administration's inability to prevent the reconstitution of al Qaeda and, as Obama does, argue that the war in Iraq has contributed to the terrorist threat. Republicans, many of whom have taken to describing the fight against terrorism as a war with "jihadists," will advocate "staying on the offensive," which includes combating terrorists in Iraq. In other words, expect this report to generate more of the same essential argument the parties have been engaged in for the past several years. Just don't expect Republicans to get the bounce they once did from terrorist threats.
A Foundation Built on Small Blocks Washington Post - United States Barack Obama -- and they gave it over the Internet. Check out this guide to all the Democrats and Republicans who are running (or are likely to run) for ...
Touting his success, Obama said his fundraising effort is "the largest grass-roots campaign in history for this stage of a presidential race." Jerome Armstrong, an Internet adviser for Howard Dean's insurgent campaign four years ago, didn't dispute that. "What we're seeing here is Obama's broad, wide, mainstream appeal, and he's bringing in new people . . . people who aren't necessarily political junkies who follow the blogs," said Armstrong, who is the founder of the blog MyDD.
Touting his success, Obama said his fundraising effort is "the largest grass-roots campaign in history for this stage of a presidential race." Jerome Armstrong, an Internet adviser for Howard Dean's insurgent campaign four years ago, didn't dispute that.
"What we're seeing here is Obama's broad, wide, mainstream appeal, and he's bringing in new people . . . people who aren't necessarily political junkies who follow the blogs," said Armstrong, who is the founder of the blog MyDD.
Obama's Camp Sees Big Value in Small Donors New York Times Mon, 16 Jul 2007 7:21 PM PDT Senator Barack Obama?s campaign has employed novel tactics, like counting sales of $4.50 key chains as contributions, to pump up numbers and cultivate support.
Fenty to Endorse Obama, Sources Say Washington Post - United States Barack Obama's bid for the Democratic nomination for president tomorrow, sources said this evening. Fenty (D) has so far been noncommittal when asked who he ...
Obama rails against 'epidemic of violence' Boston Globe - United States ... neighborhood violence firsthand, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said yesterday that more must be done to end a major social ill. ...
Obama on Iowa, Iraq and the 2008 race USA Today - USA Barack Obama, D-Ill., on Saturday about his presidential campaign after events in northeastern Iowa. Here are excerpts: Q: Why is Iowa still so important in ...
Q. What have you felt resistance to on the campaign trail? A. Obviously, I'm probably not getting a complete sampling of resistance out there. … I don't find much resistance on the issue of experience. Because people understand that I've got a lot of experience. I just haven't been in Washington that long. I do think that people are interested in electability. They are interested in toughness, both with respect to being able to win a general election and being able to take on some of the big challenges that are out there. The main thing is people are very receptive to the message. They just have to overcome the cynicism that's built up over the last couple of decades about the effectiveness of government in Washington.
Q. What have you felt resistance to on the campaign trail?
A. Obviously, I'm probably not getting a complete sampling of resistance out there. … I don't find much resistance on the issue of experience. Because people understand that I've got a lot of experience. I just haven't been in Washington that long. I do think that people are interested in electability. They are interested in toughness, both with respect to being able to win a general election and being able to take on some of the big challenges that are out there. The main thing is people are very receptive to the message. They just have to overcome the cynicism that's built up over the last couple of decades about the effectiveness of government in Washington.
Obama: Strong Women Made Him Pro-Choice U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA Barack Obama may not be the female candidate, he cited a family of strong women as part of his reason for supporting reproductive rights at a Planned ...
Illinois' Obama stakes out turf in neighboring state USA Today - USA Barack Obama scanned about 250 people on a backyard lawn sloping down to the Turkey River and urged them to grow their own fuel "right here in Illinois. ...
Oprah and Obama San Diego Union Tribune - United States The talk show host, who is estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth $1.5 billion, will host a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ...
Obama finds his stride at NAACP debate Chicago Sun-Times - United States Barack Obama is indeed a quick study. After looking surprisingly unpolished in a nationally televised forum targeting black audiences nearly two weeks ago, ...
The crowd erupted into shouts more common at a tent revival than a forum when Obama pointed out that though convicted, Scooter Libby didn't have to spend one day in prison, while poor people who are found guilty go to prison for years. "We have to recognize the twin scourges of race and poverty in this country," Obama said during his three-minute remarks. "We don't expect government to guarantee success in life, but when millions of children start out in the race of life so far behind only because of race, only because of class, that's not just an African-American problem. That's an American problem," Obama said. Clinton, who drew the luck of the draw and was first to speak -- and, conversely, had the final word -- sparkled in a bright yellow suit and entered the stage to enthusiastic applause. But the crowd roared when Obama, No. 6 in line, appeared on stage.
The crowd erupted into shouts more common at a tent revival than a forum when Obama pointed out that though convicted, Scooter Libby didn't have to spend one day in prison, while poor people who are found guilty go to prison for years.
"We have to recognize the twin scourges of race and poverty in this country," Obama said during his three-minute remarks.
"We don't expect government to guarantee success in life, but when millions of children start out in the race of life so far behind only because of race, only because of class, that's not just an African-American problem. That's an American problem," Obama said.
Clinton, who drew the luck of the draw and was first to speak -- and, conversely, had the final word -- sparkled in a bright yellow suit and entered the stage to enthusiastic applause. But the crowd roared when Obama, No. 6 in line, appeared on stage.
Rivera's Dinner with Obama The New York Observer Thu, 12 Jul 2007 7:16 AM PDT
Haile Rivera, a Bronx-based food bank employee, City Council aspirant andsupporter of Barack Obama, is back from a dinner in D.C. that the senator had with four low-dollar contributors. Rivera seems to have been mesmerized by Obama, which I guess is bound to happen when you get to have dinner with a presidential candidate after donating just $5. Here's part of his dispatch: “As he greeted us, he did so with a sincere, normal smile (one of those that you know was not prepped in advance), a firm handshake and a "Hi, nice to meet you." He thanked us for coming (as if we[sic] an invitation from him could be turned down).” He adds, “I concluded by inviting him to the Bronx and letting him know that next time, dinner was on me.”
Haile Rivera, a Bronx-based food bank employee, City Council aspirant andsupporter of Barack Obama, is back from a dinner in D.C. that the senator had with four low-dollar contributors.
Rivera seems to have been mesmerized by Obama, which I guess is bound to happen when you get to have dinner with a presidential candidate after donating just $5.
Here's part of his dispatch:
“As he greeted us, he did so with a sincere, normal smile (one of those that you know was not prepped in advance), a firm handshake and a "Hi, nice to meet you." He thanked us for coming (as if we[sic] an invitation from him could be turned down).”
He adds, “I concluded by inviting him to the Bronx and letting him know that next time, dinner was on me.”
'Time' Poll Says Romney, Obama of Strongest Faith TIME - Thu, 12 Jul 2007
But the lack of excitement about the Republican field may help Obama as well. His general favorability rating amongst red state voters equals that of Rudy Giuliani at 56%. And because Obama has a relatively low unfavorable rating in red states (30% versus Giuliani's 35%), his net favorability rating among red state voters (+26%) is actually better than any of the Republican candidates. Nor do his Democratic opponents come close -- Edwards' net rating is +13 and Clinton's is zero, with 48% of red state voters on each side of the question.
Obama Offers Hope to Educators New California Media - San Francisco,CA,USA Hope is exactly what presidential candidate Barack Obama gave to more than 16000 education professionals at the National Education Association annual ...
Obama also criticized No Child Left Behind, which was the primary focus of discussion at the NEA assembly. He referred to the national legislation as “No Child Left Behind … left the money behind and left the common sense behind.” “The law that has become one of the emptiest slogans in the history of American politics is No Child Left Behind,” Obama said. However, one thing he did promise the crowd of educators is that he would raise salaries for teachers across the board. He also promised to help pay off college loans for future teachers. “Nobody goes into teaching to get rich, but you don’t want to go into teaching by getting poor,” Obama said. He plans to invest billions of dollars in teaching professions and would recruit an “army of well-trained and well-qualified” teachers in every classroom. Obama added he would compensate highly certified teachers in rural areas that are constantly underserved.
Obama puts the 'Unite' in 'United' Napa Valley Register - Napa,CA,USA Barack Obama is the kind of passionate and inspirational person who can accomplish this. Hillary cannot. The Democratic Party made a blunder when we ...
Barack Obama is everything we need in a president ... right now. This passionate, enthusiastic man is the kind of leader that can mend our country’s broken hearts. It is actually quite ironic how much more Barack Obama is like Bill Clinton than Hillary Clinton is. We need him and his spirit to revitalize our stale political mindset. This country is heading down a dangerous path of alienation and disenchantment. This is our opportunity to change this course and nominate a man who represents everything it is to be American. I truly believe that Barack Obama can put the “Unite” back in United States of America.
Obama shows us the way Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA Barack Obama is shaping the way we fund elections. Obama is more in tune with the New Hampshire way of evaluating politics than the other candidates are. ...
Obama is more in tune with the New Hampshire way of evaluating politics than the other candidates are. He recently began a funding initiative in which each individual supporter really can make an impact on the campaign. Apparently, 90 percent of funding for Obama comes from donations of less than $100, and a full 50 percent of funding comes from donations of less than $25. In the same way that New Hampshire voters have the opportunity to get personally involved in the primaries, we now have a way to be individually connected to Obama's campaign.
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How Obama Is Shaking Up Campaign MSNBC Sun, 08 Jul 2007 6:23 AM PDT How Barack Obama is shaking up old assumptions about what it means to be black and white in America.
To the candidate, the debate says more about America's state of mind than it does about him. "I think America is still caught in a little bit of a time warp: the narrative of black politics is still shaped by the '60s and black power," he tells NEWSWEEK. "That is not, I think, how most black voters are thinking. I don't think that's how most white voters are thinking. I think that people are thinking about how to find a job, how to fill up the gas tank, how to send their kids to college. I find that when I talk about those issues, both blacks and whites respond well." He may be right. One eye-catching measure of Obama's broad support is his extraordinary fund-raising. More than 150,000 donors gave $31 million for his primary campaign in the second quarter, roughly $10 million ahead of Hillary Clinton and far ahead of anyone else in either party.
To the candidate, the debate says more about America's state of mind than it does about him. "I think America is still caught in a little bit of a time warp: the narrative of black politics is still shaped by the '60s and black power," he tells NEWSWEEK. "That is not, I think, how most black voters are thinking. I don't think that's how most white voters are thinking. I think that people are thinking about how to find a job, how to fill up the gas tank, how to send their kids to college. I find that when I talk about those issues, both blacks and whites respond well."
He may be right. One eye-catching measure of Obama's broad support is his extraordinary fund-raising. More than 150,000 donors gave $31 million for his primary campaign in the second quarter, roughly $10 million ahead of Hillary Clinton and far ahead of anyone else in either party.
Race for '08: Obama banks on charisma, ability to motivate The Sacramento Bee Sun, 08 Jul 2007 0:18 AM PDT DES MOINES, Iowa -- Running first in fundraising and second nationally among Democratic presidential contenders, Barack Obama is asking voters to take a leap of faith and embrace the promise of his charismatic leadership to change America.
Running first in fundraising and second nationally among Democratic presidential contenders, Barack Obama is asking voters to take a leap of faith and embrace the promise of his charismatic leadership to change America. He's betting that voters will rally behind his motivational style and personal appeal despite his relatively thin national credentials, that they'll choose him as a clean slate for the future rather than restore a Clinton political dynasty, and that they'll embrace his idealistic if vague vision of a unified, post-racial America. "There is this narrow window that doesn't come around that often -- maybe once a generation -- where we have the opportunity to put our shoulder into the wheel and move history in a better direction," Obama told about 1,000 people Tuesday evening. They were gathered around a gazebo in the old-fashioned town square in Fairfield, Iowa, where residents are known for their interests in meditation and environmental consciousness. "That's the moment we're in," Obama exhorted, his voice building steam. "But we've got to seize it. "If we seize it together," he said, allowing the last word to linger, "we are going to transform the United States of America. It's a matter of who can ignite the American people to build a movement for change." That's the soul of Obama's message. Many Democrats find it electrifying.
Running first in fundraising and second nationally among Democratic presidential contenders, Barack Obama is asking voters to take a leap of faith and embrace the promise of his charismatic leadership to change America.
He's betting that voters will rally behind his motivational style and personal appeal despite his relatively thin national credentials, that they'll choose him as a clean slate for the future rather than restore a Clinton political dynasty, and that they'll embrace his idealistic if vague vision of a unified, post-racial America.
"There is this narrow window that doesn't come around that often -- maybe once a generation -- where we have the opportunity to put our shoulder into the wheel and move history in a better direction," Obama told about 1,000 people Tuesday evening.
They were gathered around a gazebo in the old-fashioned town square in Fairfield, Iowa, where residents are known for their interests in meditation and environmental consciousness.
"That's the moment we're in," Obama exhorted, his voice building steam. "But we've got to seize it.
"If we seize it together," he said, allowing the last word to linger, "we are going to transform the United States of America. It's a matter of who can ignite the American people to build a movement for change."
That's the soul of Obama's message. Many Democrats find it electrifying.
Obama's views not always what some expect USA Today - USA By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is making a habit of telling people things they don't necessarily ...
Thomas Mann, a government scholar at the Brookings Institution, says Obama makes his points "in a very calm, measured way" that reinforces his broader message that "the time has come to try to bridge some differences and deal with real problems confronting people." Mann also says Obama balances his edgier ideas with words his audiences can embrace: In Detroit, an offer to help automakers with retiree health costs. In Philadelphia, a promise on merit pay that "I'm not going to do it to you, I'm going to do it with you." In Spartanburg, acknowledgment that the government needs to do more to help black men get education and jobs.
Thomas Mann, a government scholar at the Brookings Institution, says Obama makes his points "in a very calm, measured way" that reinforces his broader message that "the time has come to try to bridge some differences and deal with real problems confronting people."
Mann also says Obama balances his edgier ideas with words his audiences can embrace: In Detroit, an offer to help automakers with retiree health costs. In Philadelphia, a promise on merit pay that "I'm not going to do it to you, I'm going to do it with you." In Spartanburg, acknowledgment that the government needs to do more to help black men get education and jobs.
Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign TIME - USA Barack Obama speaks during his Minnesota campaign kickoff at the International Market Square in Minneapolis, MN. on June 29, 2007. ...
As eye-popping as Barack Obama's second-quarter fund-raising total was--it raked in $31 million for his campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination, beating even the much vaunted Clinton money machine by better than $10 million in funds for the primary race--what really has the political classes chattering is another figure Obama reported: 258,000. That's the number of people his campaign says have already donated to him, and it amounts to more than a doubling of his fund-raising base in the past three months. "He's got a much more viral campaign than we do," says an envious Hillary Clinton strategist, using a term for word-of-mouth advertising and marketing techniques. "He's got a real buzz about him."
Obama's Tightrope Washington Post - United States Up seemed down and everything was out of sync as the front-runners for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, spoke. ...
There is no better example than Clinton's comment about the disproportionate effect HIV has on black communities. She said that if "HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country." For Obama to have said the same words in the same fiery manner could have been political suicide. By forfeit, Clinton essentially becomes the black candidate; it's not a space America would allow Obama to fill. Not long after Obama announced his candidacy, the buzz in the media was, "Is Obama black enough?" Many black Americans privately laughed at this question. We know that it takes only a slip of the tongue about slavery's legacy or reparations, a hiccup about institutional racism or paying special attention to the needs of black Americans, and suddenly the love would be gone. We know that the question has less to do with black America than with whether white America trusts that Obama is not too black for its political taste. We laugh at the question of Obama's blackness because we live with a version of Obama's tightrope dance every day. We do the same dance in our workplaces, with our supervisors, our neighbors and our college classmates. In that way we know Obama couldn't be more like us, he couldn't be more black. We along with Obama know that even the most skilled tightrope performance may not be enough to ensure that you land on your feet.
There is no better example than Clinton's comment about the disproportionate effect HIV has on black communities. She said that if "HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country." For Obama to have said the same words in the same fiery manner could have been political suicide. By forfeit, Clinton essentially becomes the black candidate; it's not a space America would allow Obama to fill.
Not long after Obama announced his candidacy, the buzz in the media was, "Is Obama black enough?" Many black Americans privately laughed at this question. We know that it takes only a slip of the tongue about slavery's legacy or reparations, a hiccup about institutional racism or paying special attention to the needs of black Americans, and suddenly the love would be gone. We know that the question has less to do with black America than with whether white America trusts that Obama is not too black for its political taste.
We laugh at the question of Obama's blackness because we live with a version of Obama's tightrope dance every day. We do the same dance in our workplaces, with our supervisors, our neighbors and our college classmates. In that way we know Obama couldn't be more like us, he couldn't be more black. We along with Obama know that even the most skilled tightrope performance may not be enough to ensure that you land on your feet.
Obama 'electrifies' crowd with his message, mingling Huntsville Times - Huntsville,AL,USA ... an experience with Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama as most of the supporters who paid $1000 for beef tenderloin and roasted vegetables. ...
Shortly before Obama walked past, Garner wrote a sign and taped it to an empty chair at their wrought-iron table: "Reserved for our future President Obama." "I like what he has to say," Garner said, her hands shaking with nervousness as she wrote out the sign, "but I'm still in the thinking phase." The presidential contender saw the sign, grinned and took a seat. "Oh, I've got to sit here," he said. Obama posed for pictures with those eating lunch on the patio, and he shook their hands and gave a fourth-grader a fist knock. He commented on what a pleasant place it looked to have a nice lunch. His ease and charisma won over Garner and Jordan. "I don't need to think about it anymore," Garner said. "I'd vote for him. He was fantastic."
Shortly before Obama walked past, Garner wrote a sign and taped it to an empty chair at their wrought-iron table: "Reserved for our future President Obama."
"I like what he has to say," Garner said, her hands shaking with nervousness as she wrote out the sign, "but I'm still in the thinking phase."
The presidential contender saw the sign, grinned and took a seat.
"Oh, I've got to sit here," he said.
Obama posed for pictures with those eating lunch on the patio, and he shook their hands and gave a fourth-grader a fist knock. He commented on what a pleasant place it looked to have a nice lunch.
His ease and charisma won over Garner and Jordan.
"I don't need to think about it anymore," Garner said. "I'd vote for him. He was fantastic."
NH's Stonyfield Farm CEO endorses Obama Boston Globe - United States ... who also is among the most important Democratic activists in New Hampshire, yesterday endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. ...
Gary Hirshberg, chief executive of Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, said Obama was the one candidate who could appeal to both Democrats and Republicans alike. "This guy can heal a divided nation," Hirshberg said on a conference call with reporters. Stonyfield is an organic dairy specializing in yogurt and known for environmental activism. The endorsement came a week after Hirshberg held a house party for Obama at his Concord home. He said that his choice came down to Obama and John Edwards. He said that he had a long conversation with Elizabeth Edwards yesterday. "This is not to be interpreted as a negative on John Edwards," Hirshberg said, but he added that what "moved my needle" in recent days was finishing Obama's book "The Auducity of Hope," watching Obama interact over dinner with the soccer team Hirshberg coaches, and hearing Republicans say they are interested in Obama.
Gary Hirshberg, chief executive of Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, said Obama was the one candidate who could appeal to both Democrats and Republicans alike.
"This guy can heal a divided nation," Hirshberg said on a conference call with reporters. Stonyfield is an organic dairy specializing in yogurt and known for environmental activism.
The endorsement came a week after Hirshberg held a house party for Obama at his Concord home. He said that his choice came down to Obama and John Edwards.
He said that he had a long conversation with Elizabeth Edwards yesterday.
"This is not to be interpreted as a negative on John Edwards," Hirshberg said, but he added that what "moved my needle" in recent days was finishing Obama's book "The Auducity of Hope," watching Obama interact over dinner with the soccer team Hirshberg coaches, and hearing Republicans say they are interested in Obama.
Obama's book club opens soon Portsmouth Herald News - Portsmouth,NH,USA By Sarah Hines "Am I surprised with Barack Obama's success? Not at all," said Michael Kruglik, who served as community organizer alongside Obama on ...
"Am I surprised with Barack Obama's success? Not at all," said Michael Kruglik, who served as community organizer alongside Obama on Chicago's South Side in the late 1980s. "He has the same qualities of character and leadership as a presidential candidate that were already present in him before he exploded onto the national scene." Kruglik discussed Obama and his beginnings at a Friday news conference at SecondRun Books in Portsmouth, where Obama's N.H. campaign formally launched "From Doubt to Hope," a series of book clubs in different New Hampshire towns, lasting throughout the summer. The program will allow undecided voters to get acquainted with Obama's past by reading and discussing his book, "Dreams From my Father." Each book club will run five two-week sessions, with a meeting each week. Obama supporters will run book clubs in 12 towns across the state: Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Derry, Lebanon, Exeter, Keene, Concord, Laconia, Dover, Peterborough and Conway. "Reading his book is as close as you can get to knowing him," said Kruglik. "It's very honest and revealing." Fellow Obama supporter and the book club host in Dover, Christine Davidson, said, "This book will allow more people to know and understand Obama and his origins."
"Am I surprised with Barack Obama's success? Not at all," said Michael Kruglik, who served as community organizer alongside Obama on Chicago's South Side in the late 1980s. "He has the same qualities of character and leadership as a presidential candidate that were already present in him before he exploded onto the national scene."
Kruglik discussed Obama and his beginnings at a Friday news conference at SecondRun Books in Portsmouth, where Obama's N.H. campaign formally launched "From Doubt to Hope," a series of book clubs in different New Hampshire towns, lasting throughout the summer. The program will allow undecided voters to get acquainted with Obama's past by reading and discussing his book, "Dreams From my Father."
Each book club will run five two-week sessions, with a meeting each week. Obama supporters will run book clubs in 12 towns across the state: Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Derry, Lebanon, Exeter, Keene, Concord, Laconia, Dover, Peterborough and Conway.
"Reading his book is as close as you can get to knowing him," said Kruglik. "It's very honest and revealing."
Fellow Obama supporter and the book club host in Dover, Christine Davidson, said, "This book will allow more people to know and understand Obama and his origins."
The Internet U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA By Kenneth T. Walsh As Barack Obama made clear last week, candidates have discovered ways to raise millions of dollars in contributions from the Internet. ...
Last week, Nielsen Media Research released figures on traffic to candidate websites that put Obama at the top, with close to 650,000 visitors in April. Hillary Clinton's website came in second with around 500,000. McCain's site was the highest trafficked among Republican candidates, with 212,000. Seen another way, Obama has more than twice the number of page views as Clinton—nearly 3.8 million for Obama compared with 1.6 million for Clinton in April. This suggests more return visitors and a more devoted online readership. John Edwards actually had more page views—1.7 million—than Clinton did.
Obama catches fire with netroots Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA By Salena Zito In a word, Barack Obama's second-quarter fundraising numbers are shattering. There never has been anything like it. ...
In a word, Barack Obama's second-quarter fundraising numbers are shattering. There never has been anything like it. For a guy who was in the Illinois Senate three years ago not only to be in the top tier of his party's fundraising but to have raised the most of any candidate in a quarter is mind-boggling. One thing Obama's success does speak to is the maturation of the "netroots": If you have an incredible story and a compelling case to be made, you can catch fire among the political activists in the blogosphere. It's not always about a thick Rolodex and an institutional operation. A fantastic chapter in politics has not been written about the netroots movement -- and that is, how does a candidate cross the threshold of being presidential while maintaining the cause that enabled him to catch fire? ... But Obama clearly has caught fire with the netroots. And that success should beget success in everything. The netroots are looking to be inspired. Right now, they think Obama's a winner. It's a case of audacity versus inevitability and excitement versus establishment.
In a word, Barack Obama's second-quarter fundraising numbers are shattering. There never has been anything like it. For a guy who was in the Illinois Senate three years ago not only to be in the top tier of his party's fundraising but to have raised the most of any candidate in a quarter is mind-boggling.
One thing Obama's success does speak to is the maturation of the "netroots": If you have an incredible story and a compelling case to be made, you can catch fire among the political activists in the blogosphere. It's not always about a thick Rolodex and an institutional operation. A fantastic chapter in politics has not been written about the netroots movement -- and that is, how does a candidate cross the threshold of being presidential while maintaining the cause that enabled him to catch fire?
...
But Obama clearly has caught fire with the netroots. And that success should beget success in everything.
The netroots are looking to be inspired. Right now, they think Obama's a winner. It's a case of audacity versus inevitability and excitement versus establishment.
Obama's team works to get out his back story Baltimore Sun - United States By John McCormick OSKALOOSA, Iowa // The crowd of several hundred was still getting settled in at the Smokey Row coffee house when the Barack Obama trivia ...
But for the majority of the hundreds of Iowans assembled in the coffee house, the answers to the candidate biography questions were anything but obvious. Even after national magazine cover stories, hundreds of television and newspaper interviews and two best-selling books, most of those who will cast the first votes of the nominating process next January know very little about the senator. "People are not connected into this process," the candidate's wife, Michelle Obama, said later. "The average person is not paying attention yet to this race." The lack of knowledge about Obama's background is one reason his campaign recently started running biography ads in Iowa. The ads, running statewide on television and radio, feature details about his life and career.
But for the majority of the hundreds of Iowans assembled in the coffee house, the answers to the candidate biography questions were anything but obvious.
Even after national magazine cover stories, hundreds of television and newspaper interviews and two best-selling books, most of those who will cast the first votes of the nominating process next January know very little about the senator.
"People are not connected into this process," the candidate's wife, Michelle Obama, said later. "The average person is not paying attention yet to this race."
The lack of knowledge about Obama's background is one reason his campaign recently started running biography ads in Iowa. The ads, running statewide on television and radio, feature details about his life and career.
Obama has demonstrated his experience, judgment In-Forum (subscription) - Fargo,ND,USA By Dan Hannaher, I applaud The Forum for its recognition of the movement forming around the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama (editorial, July 5). ...
Michelle Obama Sees Election as Test for America NPR - USA by Michele Norris Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, introduces her husband at a fundraiser in March 2007. ...
Even Bill Clinton can't halt the Obama show Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom ... will carry Bill and Hillary Clinton in one direction across the state, venue of the all-important first primary caucuses, while Barack Obama, ...
Bill Clinton was undoubtedly the master of what Americans call "retail politics" - typified by campaigning in Iowa - during the television age. But this is now the internet age and Mr Obama is already the hero of the YouTube generation that gets its news and organises much of its social activities via the internet. As of yesterday, the Illinois senator had 97,954 "friends" registered on the networking site Facebook, nearly five times as many as Mrs Clinton. Among many Democrats, there is the gnawing fear that Hillary Clinton remains too divisive and shrill a figure to be elected president. Polls, moreover, show a pervasive dissatisfaction, bordering on disgust, with all politicians in Washington, where Mrs Clinton has been for the past decade and a half. Mr Obama, who has the rare, uncanny knack of being almost impossible to dislike, has been in the American capital for barely two years. His campaign manager speaks of an "enthusiasm gap" that he enjoys over Mrs Clinton. Americans are cynical about politicians, deeply fearful about the future and bracing themselves for defeat in Iraq. In these strange times, the "experience gap" the Clintons are highlighting as they tour Iowa this week may work in Mr Obama's favour, if the yearning for something truly different trumps deference and respect for a proven track record.
Bill Clinton was undoubtedly the master of what Americans call "retail politics" - typified by campaigning in Iowa - during the television age. But this is now the internet age and Mr Obama is already the hero of the YouTube generation that gets its news and organises much of its social activities via the internet. As of yesterday, the Illinois senator had 97,954 "friends" registered on the networking site Facebook, nearly five times as many as Mrs Clinton.
Among many Democrats, there is the gnawing fear that Hillary Clinton remains too divisive and shrill a figure to be elected president. Polls, moreover, show a pervasive dissatisfaction, bordering on disgust, with all politicians in Washington, where Mrs Clinton has been for the past decade and a half.
Mr Obama, who has the rare, uncanny knack of being almost impossible to dislike, has been in the American capital for barely two years. His campaign manager speaks of an "enthusiasm gap" that he enjoys over Mrs Clinton.
Americans are cynical about politicians, deeply fearful about the future and bracing themselves for defeat in Iraq. In these strange times, the "experience gap" the Clintons are highlighting as they tour Iowa this week may work in Mr Obama's favour, if the yearning for something truly different trumps deference and respect for a proven track record.
Obama kicks off Fourth of July tour DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA Fifteen minutes was all it took to persuade Sylvia Mills-Echols to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. ...
Fifteen minutes was all it took to persuade Sylvia Mills-Echols to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, started his Fourth of July tour through Iowa on Tuesday by standing on a vintage pickup truck festooned with flag bunting on the playground of Hawthorne Elementary School in Keokuk. A crowd of about 300 people cheered during Obama's short speech, which focused on uniting Americans behind the goals of withdrawing troops from Iraq, providing universal health care and improving education funding. "I wasn't a supporter until today," said Mills-Echols, 54, a teacher from Keokuk.
Obama's Newcomer Appeal Helps Capture Hearts of Internet Donors Bloomberg - USA This year, Barack Obama is picking up where Howard Dean and John McCain left off. Illinois's Democratic senator raised $10.3 million online in the last ...
Obama has raised more online than some of his rivals, such as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senators Christopher Dodd and Joseph Biden, have raised from all sources combined. While neither McCain nor Dean, Obama's predecessors as online favorites, won their parties' nominations, rapid changes in technology make comparisons between elections difficult, Corrado said. The rise of social-networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook gives Obama access to more organizing and mobilization tools than McCain and Dean had. "The campaign is now very conscious of starting to translate that support into votes,'' Corrado said.
Obama has raised more online than some of his rivals, such as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senators Christopher Dodd and Joseph Biden, have raised from all sources combined.
While neither McCain nor Dean, Obama's predecessors as online favorites, won their parties' nominations, rapid changes in technology make comparisons between elections difficult, Corrado said. The rise of social-networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook gives Obama access to more organizing and mobilization tools than McCain and Dean had.
"The campaign is now very conscious of starting to translate that support into votes,'' Corrado said.
Lessons Learned as Obama Shepherds Volunteers (Includes great video on left middle) New York Times - United States By MICHAEL COOPER It was just an organizational meeting for Senator Barack Obama's New York volunteers, but the gathering this month jammed every pew of a ...
The grass-roots following for Mr. Obama in the backyard of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has been built around a sophisticated group of young professionals skilled in marketing, organizing, Web design and other useful areas. But as Howard Dean’s campaign for the Democratic nomination proved four years ago, it takes more than a core group of dedicated, Web-savvy supporters to win votes. “One of the lessons, obviously for us, is making sure that the grass-roots enthusiasm translates into votes,” Mr. Obama said in a recent interview. “And that’s something obviously that we’re going to be paying a lot of attention to.”
The grass-roots following for Mr. Obama in the backyard of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has been built around a sophisticated group of young professionals skilled in marketing, organizing, Web design and other useful areas. But as Howard Dean’s campaign for the Democratic nomination proved four years ago, it takes more than a core group of dedicated, Web-savvy supporters to win votes.
“One of the lessons, obviously for us, is making sure that the grass-roots enthusiasm translates into votes,” Mr. Obama said in a recent interview. “And that’s something obviously that we’re going to be paying a lot of attention to.”
Obama pledges to drive out the old cronies Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA Barack Obama pledged yesterday to put an end to the rampant cronyism and special interests that he said have taken the country away from the average ...
Obama's plan differed from Clinton's on some specific points. In her speech, Clinton did not say she would keep new employees from working on regulations and contracts related to their former employer. Obama would prohibit a new employee from doing so for two years. Clinton said she would prevent cabinet officials, a small group, from lobbying her administration. Obama would prevent all political employees - a much larger group - from lobbying the administration. Clinton did not mention banning gifts from lobbyists; Obama would bar gifts from lobbyists and lobbying firms in any amount to any employee of the executive branch.
Obama's plan differed from Clinton's on some specific points.
In her speech, Clinton did not say she would keep new employees from working on regulations and contracts related to their former employer. Obama would prohibit a new employee from doing so for two years. Clinton said she would prevent cabinet officials, a small group, from lobbying her administration. Obama would prevent all political employees - a much larger group - from lobbying the administration.
Clinton did not mention banning gifts from lobbyists; Obama would bar gifts from lobbyists and lobbying firms in any amount to any employee of the executive branch.
The Obama-Clinton '08 Duel - Differences in Connecting with Voters About - News & Issues - New York,NY,USA And by all accounts, Barack Obama's second quarter 2007 fundraising will easily surpass that of Hillary Clinton, both in total dollars and in number of ...
Obama Campaign Contact This past weekend, I participated in a brief conference call with Barack Obama, in which he took a few questions. Sen. Obama made me feel like it was just him and me and a few others. In everyday lingo, the senator warmly thanked me for making time for his phone call and for my support... and his gratitude felt genuine. Not one staffer or aide uttered a word. That really happened. Except that a few thousand others were likely on the conference call, too. And they probably all felt the same symbiotic connection with Sen. Obama. Please don't think I doubt Sen. Obama's sincerity. He's a down-to-earth guy, and is undoubtedly grateful for each one of his supporters. Sen. Obama may be ambitious, but he doesn't seem to stumble over an inflated ego. (And apparently Michelle is active in keeping his perspective real... ) That's my point: Obama loves the grassroots. His campaign is all about building buzz and electricity among the voters, then harnessing that energy to build an Obama for President movement from the ground up. I receive emails weekly, sent and signed by Obama, and written in his style and word choice.
Obama Campaign Contact This past weekend, I participated in a brief conference call with Barack Obama, in which he took a few questions. Sen. Obama made me feel like it was just him and me and a few others. In everyday lingo, the senator warmly thanked me for making time for his phone call and for my support... and his gratitude felt genuine. Not one staffer or aide uttered a word.
That really happened. Except that a few thousand others were likely on the conference call, too. And they probably all felt the same symbiotic connection with Sen. Obama.
Please don't think I doubt Sen. Obama's sincerity. He's a down-to-earth guy, and is undoubtedly grateful for each one of his supporters. Sen. Obama may be ambitious, but he doesn't seem to stumble over an inflated ego. (And apparently Michelle is active in keeping his perspective real... )
That's my point: Obama loves the grassroots. His campaign is all about building buzz and electricity among the voters, then harnessing that energy to build an Obama for President movement from the ground up.
I receive emails weekly, sent and signed by Obama, and written in his style and word choice.
Senator Barack Obama and His Ben Harper Band Rock the Hammerstein ... Arabisto.com - Orlando,FL,USA The fundraiser was sponsored by Generation Barack Obama (GBO), a group of about 15 young professionals and students aged 25 through 40 that want to affect ...
Christians Respond Positively to Obama's Hartford Speech...
The Brody File Reacts to Barack Obama's Faith Speech Christian Broadcasting Network - Virginia Beach,VA,USA The headlines from Barack Obama's faith speech this weekend centered on how he ripped leaders of the religious right. We'll get to that in a moment. ...
Let’s first start with this. Besides Obama, how many times have you seen a presidential candidate get up in front of a large crowd and talk in depth about his salvation? I’ll give you the answer: Zero. For Obama to stand up and talk about how Jesus changed his life, my friends that takes guts. You may disagree with everything he’s about, you may disagree with his policy goals but as Christians, shouldn’t we like it when someone talks about Christ being the missing ingredient in his life?
Media ignore Obama's personal testimony GetReligion - Washington,DC,USA Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a noteworthy speech on Saturday before 10000 members of the United Church of Christ in Hartford, Conn., ...
Press Releases...
Barack Obama: Feingold, Obama Push for Strongest Ethics and ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden June 21, 2007 -- Washington, DC - US Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are pushing for Congress to produce the strongest ethics and ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Today's Middle Eastern Summit All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden "Today's summit in Sharm el-Sheikh is encouraging. I support the efforts of Prime Minister Olmert, President Mubarak, and King Abdullah to strengthen ...
Barack Obama: Bond, Boxer, Lieberman, Obama Urge Immediate Review ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden ... DC -- A bipartisan group of US Senators led by Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), and Barack Obama (D-IL), ...
Barack Obama: Obama Announces Funding for Health Care Research and ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden "This critical funding will expand access to health care in medically underserved areas, increase desperately needed research on autism, ...
Barack Obama: Obama Applauds Modest First Step on Fuel Economy ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden "For twenty years, as our greenhouse gas emissions rose to new heights and our dependence on foreign oil peaked, America has waited to raise fuel economy ...
Obama promises sweeping government reform Boston Globe - United States By Holly Ramer, AP Writer | June 22, 2007 MANCHESTER, NH --Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Friday he will clean up Washington on his first ...
The Illinois senator said he will ban political appointees who leave their jobs during his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of his time in office. Those who join his administration will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers for two years. "When I am president, I will make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer or your bank account -- it's about serving your country, and that's what comes first," he said at New Hampshire Community Technical College.
The Illinois senator said he will ban political appointees who leave their jobs during his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of his time in office. Those who join his administration will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers for two years.
"When I am president, I will make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer or your bank account -- it's about serving your country, and that's what comes first," he said at New Hampshire Community Technical College.
Here Comes Barack! Hartford Courant - United States At noon on Saturday, 2 1/2 hours before Illinois Sen. and presidential candidate Barack Obama delivers a keynote address to a crowd at the Hartford Civic ...
Obama committed more than a year ago to speak at the annual synod of the United Church of Christ, held this year at the Hartford Civic Center. And, with buses from throughout the state carrying ticket holders to his Saturday afternoon speech, there's every indication that his weekend appearance in Hartford is generating the same kind of frenzy seen elsewhere in the country. "All I'm hearing in the black community is that people can't get tickets," said the Rev. Alvan Johnson, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Bloomfield and a Hartford social activist. "Obama coming here is generating huge interest." Two other features of Obama's unusual resume have established him as a candidate who can reach across generations and social classes. The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father who met in graduate school, and raised in Hawaii and Indonesia, Obama carries a multicultural identity that increasingly reflects the U.S. population. And, long before he entered politics, Obama was active in a large, influential United Church of Christ parish in Chicago, and is comfortable referring to his faith in speeches.
Obama Makes His Budget Requests Public AP
Democrat Barack Obama on Thursday revealed the 113 budget items he has requested in the Senate _ known as "pet projects" or "pork" in the language of budget reform _ and challenged his fellow presidential candidates to do the same. Obama's more than $300 million in earmark requests range from $33 million made along with other senators for a nationwide project to promote civics among students to $125,000 to add turn lanes and traffic lights at an intersection in rural Oregon, Ill. "As a matter of transparency and good government, Obama thinks it's important that voters know who their candidates are, what their sources of income are and whether they have any potential conflicts," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. "We would hope that other candidates follow suit in disclosing their earmarks as well."
Barack Obama wins Politico.com Straw Poll Politico - Washington,DC,USA Senator Barack Obama scored a victory among progressive activists Wednesday, winning the Politico.com Straw Poll of attendees at the Take Back America ...
Barack Obama Campaign Goes Mobile For Election 2008 Information Week Weblog - Manhasset,NY,USA The campaign of Democrtaic presidential candidate Barack Obama has embraced the third screen as a way to rally support and organize volunteers. ...
Obama Team Proud Of Crowds Campaigns & Elections (press release) - USA
After all my years in South Carolina, I never would have thought we could assemble 3,500 Barack Obama supporters on a Friday afternoon in Greenville. With a candidate like Barack Obama, large turnouts at events can be expected, but the number of you who came out to support the Senator last Friday exceeded even our most optimistic expectations of Upstate support. Click here to watch the video Even more telling than the size of the crowd, though, was how it came together. While the campaign might have hung the flag and set-up the chairs, it was supporters like you -- supporters who talked to their friends, emailed their family and promoted the event at weekly religious services -- who laid the groundwork for such an incredible event. In a part of the state that's not known as a Democratic stronghold, 3,500 people rallied in support of Barack because of your efforts. Together, we showed the entire country that South Carolina is ready to elect Barack Obama President of the United States.
After all my years in South Carolina, I never would have thought we could assemble 3,500 Barack Obama supporters on a Friday afternoon in Greenville.
With a candidate like Barack Obama, large turnouts at events can be expected, but the number of you who came out to support the Senator last Friday exceeded even our most optimistic expectations of Upstate support.
Click here to watch the video
Even more telling than the size of the crowd, though, was how it came together.
While the campaign might have hung the flag and set-up the chairs, it was supporters like you -- supporters who talked to their friends, emailed their family and promoted the event at weekly religious services -- who laid the groundwork for such an incredible event.
In a part of the state that's not known as a Democratic stronghold, 3,500 people rallied in support of Barack because of your efforts. Together, we showed the entire country that South Carolina is ready to elect Barack Obama President of the United States.
Barack Obama: Obama Commemorates Juneteenth Independence Day All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden June 19, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC - US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) issued the following statement on Juneteenth Independence Day, the anniversary of June 19, ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on the Culinary Workers Union Local ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden June 19, 2007 -- Las Vegas, NV - Barack Obama made the following statement today on the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 settling their contract with ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on the Continued Detention of Aung ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden "Birthdays are supposed to be celebrations--moments of joy spent with friends and family. Today is Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd birthday and it will be neither ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Proposals All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden "Achieving energy independence and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions are two of the greatest challenges America faces. ...
Grassley/Baucus/Obama Amendment Puts Immigration Bill Back On ... National Association of Home Builders (press release) - Washington,DC,USA and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is critical to putting immigration reform back on the right track, according to the nation's home builders. ...
Obama: What a Movement Looks Like Sam Graham-Felsen | MyDD.com
In early May, we tried something that might have seemed preposterous a few years ago. We announced that on June 9, there would be a nationwide Walk for Change, where thousands of grassroots supporters from across the country would pound the pavement in their neighborhoods and share Barack's hope for a new kind of politics. In the history of political campaigns, nothing like this-- with people in all fifty states participating this early on in a campaign-- had ever been done before. But we believed that by combining unmatched grassroots energy for a candidate with unprecedented integration of online tools, you guys could pull it off. Below is the story, with video and photos, of Walk for Change. It's the story an unprecedented grassroots mobilization that brought more than 10,000 people out to the streets. It's the story of ordinary people working together to share their hopes and dreams; ultimately, it's the story of an effort to reclaim our democracy.
In early May, we tried something that might have seemed preposterous a few years ago.
We announced that on June 9, there would be a nationwide Walk for Change, where thousands of grassroots supporters from across the country would pound the pavement in their neighborhoods and share Barack's hope for a new kind of politics. In the history of political campaigns, nothing like this-- with people in all fifty states participating this early on in a campaign-- had ever been done before. But we believed that by combining unmatched grassroots energy for a candidate with unprecedented integration of online tools, you guys could pull it off.
Below is the story, with video and photos, of Walk for Change. It's the story an unprecedented grassroots mobilization that brought more than 10,000 people out to the streets. It's the story of ordinary people working together to share their hopes and dreams; ultimately, it's the story of an effort to reclaim our democracy.
Obama talks one-on-one with RNN Politics on the Hudson - White Plains,NY,USA ... Richard French recently got the chance to do a one-on-one interview with presidential candidate Barack Obama, one of the leading Democratic contenders. ...
ON CHANGE “I get a sense right now that the American people might be ready for some big changes. I thought to myself—in that environment—a message that has some truth telling to it. A message that has some hope to it might appeal to people and I think the one thing I seem to be able to do effectively is to get people to think about their common values and their common ideals and to bring people together. And to bridge the divides of race and region and even party—and that was the reason I decided to go forward.” ON THE MEDIA “We’ve got a 24-hour news cycle—we’ve got the internet and blogs and talk radio. You can imagine a lot of thing that Bobby Kennedy said – if he was in today’s environment—would be skewed on Rush Limbaugh—all sorts of TV venues would dissect every single word that he said. So I think the environment it tougher now. I think the american people, though, are still hungry for some truth telling. I think they know that things are out of whack. They feel a huge disconnect form Washington and part of the reason I think so far the campaign’s been successful has been that people sense this is an opportunity to break out of the usual political conventions. And it’s hard to do. And the jury is still out as to whether it will work or not.” ON HIS MISTAKES “Some of the mistakes I make have nothing to do with the environment or the media. It just has to do with—I make mistakes. And all of us are going to make mistakes. But I do think that despite whatever mistakes I’m making—people still seem to be hungry for something new. They want to turn the page on this last sad chapter in American History with the war in Iraq, inattentiveness to issues like health care and that’s a huge opportunity that I hope our campaign can take advantage of and I hope democrats can take advantage of in 2008.”
ON CHANGE
“I get a sense right now that the American people might be ready for some big changes. I thought to myself—in that environment—a message that has some truth telling to it. A message that has some hope to it might appeal to people and I think the one thing I seem to be able to do effectively is to get people to think about their common values and their common ideals and to bring people together. And to bridge the divides of race and region and even party—and that was the reason I decided to go forward.”
ON THE MEDIA
“We’ve got a 24-hour news cycle—we’ve got the internet and blogs and talk radio. You can imagine a lot of thing that Bobby Kennedy said – if he was in today’s environment—would be skewed on Rush Limbaugh—all sorts of TV venues would dissect every single word that he said. So I think the environment it tougher now. I think the american people, though, are still hungry for some truth telling. I think they know that things are out of whack. They feel a huge disconnect form Washington and part of the reason I think so far the campaign’s been successful has been that people sense this is an opportunity to break out of the usual political conventions. And it’s hard to do. And the jury is still out as to whether it will work or not.”
ON HIS MISTAKES
“Some of the mistakes I make have nothing to do with the environment or the media. It just has to do with—I make mistakes. And all of us are going to make mistakes. But I do think that despite whatever mistakes I’m making—people still seem to be hungry for something new. They want to turn the page on this last sad chapter in American History with the war in Iraq, inattentiveness to issues like health care and that’s a huge opportunity that I hope our campaign can take advantage of and I hope democrats can take advantage of in 2008.”
Obama Seeks Counsel From Friends, Foes CBS News Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:30 AM PDT In his brief time in the Senate, Democrat Barack Obama, now running for president, has sought to educate himself on policy issues by listening to the experts ? even those he's likely to disagree with.
Interviews with those, and with a handful of others who participated in the Obama seminars, suggest, unsurprisingly, that the senator's discursive, academic style — which can come as a surprise to audiences who expect partisan red meat — was catnip to policy wonks. Though Obama hasn't spent decades participating in the national domestic policy conversation to the extent that Bill Clinton had when he first sought the presidency, guests said they were struck by both Obama's immersion in the policy details and his interest in the politics of policy. "I've been here for 28 years, I've seen them come and go, I've seen the smart ones and the not so smart ones, and I was really impressed with his intellect and his sensitivity to the politics," said Bill Klinefelter, who was then the legislative director of the United Steelworkers of America. "I remember being quite impressed by how much he had gotten into making these things work," said Woolsey.
Make Room, Moms For Obama: Jin Is Barack's New MySpace Friend MTV.com - USA ... a freestyle on his MySpace page titled "Open Letter 2 Obama," a pep-rally-like track honoring Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. ...
Obama inspires crowd with excitement, hope San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA If Barack Obama wanted to fire up a crowd of youngeducated voters Tuesday night on his "Generation Barack Obama" tour, one need look no further ...
A twirling disco ball at a San Francisco nightclub cast fuchsia diamonds of light on the starched white collar of presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday night as he whipped up a crowd of nearly 1,000 mostly young professionals into a tent revival frenzy. To a deafening roar of whoops and applause, the Democratic senator from Illinois strode back and forth across the stage telling the standing crowd packed onto the dance floor and filling the balconies that "people are hungry for change."
A twirling disco ball at a San Francisco nightclub cast fuchsia diamonds of light on the starched white collar of presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday night as he whipped up a crowd of nearly 1,000 mostly young professionals into a tent revival frenzy.
To a deafening roar of whoops and applause, the Democratic senator from Illinois strode back and forth across the stage telling the standing crowd packed onto the dance floor and filling the balconies that "people are hungry for change."
Barack Obama endorses low carbon fuel standard Boston Globe - United States Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at a house party in Hanover, New Hampshire May 28, 2007. Obama on Tuesday proposed a ...
Obama Raises 'serious Concerns' About FEC Nominee CBS News Tue, 12 Jun 2007 9:23 AM PDT Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has "serious concerns" about whether Hans von Spakovsky, who was nominated by President Bush for a seat on the Federal Election Commission, should serve on the panel.
Upper-income black donors back Obama over Clinton USA Today - USA By Fredreka Schouten and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- Democrat Barack Obama is surpassing rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in campaign contributions ...
The Case for Obama FOX News - USA And their answer has been the same: Barack Obama. So have their reasons. It is a case worth considering. It is not because Obama has been so successful as a ...
It's because what he's selling, or saying, if you prefer, makes him so different from the other leading candidates. He's not out there explaining why he switched his position on this issue and that one; why he voted that way, but would or wouldn't do it again; whether he's sorry or not, was wrong then or right now, would do it differently if he'd known something different that he didn't know or should have known or did or didn't read. He's not talking about how many inches we can move in this direction, about this bill he'll vote for as opposed to that one he didn't, or the other way around, about which compromise he'd make and which he wouldn't. He's talking about hope and vision and change. He's talking about a different kind of future and a different idea of politics. He is telling people, as more than one commentator has called it, "the inconvenient truths," whether to the black community about the need to stop denigrating those who speak well for being too white or the Jewish community about the need to recognize Palestinian suffering. He is, at a time when people on all sides are disgusted with politics as usual, with all its negativity and toughness, the least political, most positive of all the candidates on both sides. It goes beyond ideology. It is not, as my old boss and friend Michael Dukakis once said, about competence. It is about hope.
It's because what he's selling, or saying, if you prefer, makes him so different from the other leading candidates.
He's not out there explaining why he switched his position on this issue and that one; why he voted that way, but would or wouldn't do it again; whether he's sorry or not, was wrong then or right now, would do it differently if he'd known something different that he didn't know or should have known or did or didn't read. He's not talking about how many inches we can move in this direction, about this bill he'll vote for as opposed to that one he didn't, or the other way around, about which compromise he'd make and which he wouldn't.
He's talking about hope and vision and change.
He's talking about a different kind of future and a different idea of politics.
He is telling people, as more than one commentator has called it, "the inconvenient truths," whether to the black community about the need to stop denigrating those who speak well for being too white or the Jewish community about the need to recognize Palestinian suffering.
He is, at a time when people on all sides are disgusted with politics as usual, with all its negativity and toughness, the least political, most positive of all the candidates on both sides.
It goes beyond ideology. It is not, as my old boss and friend Michael Dukakis once said, about competence. It is about hope.
Crafting the Obama Brand Chicago Tribune
One colleague who took note was the powerful then-chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, who later invited Obama on a trip through the former Soviet Union, inspecting projects to decommission Cold War-era weapons. The two ultimately worked together to pass legislation to control the spread of weapons. "I like him, and I appreciate working with him," Lugar said. "It seems to me that he was adept in finding partners and coalitions and actually was able to achieve results." In addition to a legislative accomplishment teaming with Lugar, the partnership gave Obama the added credibility he sought in an association across party lines. A former presidential candidate who has seen many fellow senators launch White House bids during his 30-year Senate career, Lugar offers unusually strong praise for Obama. "He does have a sense of idealism and principled leadership, a vision of the future," Lugar said. "At certain points in history, certain people are the ones that are most likely to have the vision or imagination or be able to identify talent and to manage other people's ideas. And I think he does this well."
Obama's 'quiet riots' are for real CNN - USA Barack Obama's speech to the Hampton University Annual Ministers' Conference raised the combustible topic of the burning anger among the nation's poor ...
Conservative critics have been lighting up the airwaves and blogs for the last 48 hours after Sen. Barack Obama's speech to the Hampton University Annual Ministers' Conference raised the combustible topic of the burning anger among the nation's poor African-Americans. Much of this was the result of a terrible story written by Bob Lewis of The Associated Press, who wrote in his lead that "Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Tuesday that the Bush administration has done nothing to defuse a 'quiet riot' among blacks that threatens to erupt just as riots in Los Angeles did 15 years ago." After seeing the story I was stunned to read such a thing, and immediately sought the transcript of Obama's speech. In reading it, Obama used the word riot nine times; the phrase "quiet riot" three times; and never suggested that America was on the verge of seeing African-Americans lash out like they did during the Los Angeles riots in 1992. But what he did try to do was give the 8,000 attendees, and anyone else watching, an understanding of what is a real problem in America's inner cities. And more importantly, his blueprint for fixing the problem.
Conservative critics have been lighting up the airwaves and blogs for the last 48 hours after Sen. Barack Obama's speech to the Hampton University Annual Ministers' Conference raised the combustible topic of the burning anger among the nation's poor African-Americans.
Much of this was the result of a terrible story written by Bob Lewis of The Associated Press, who wrote in his lead that "Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Tuesday that the Bush administration has done nothing to defuse a 'quiet riot' among blacks that threatens to erupt just as riots in Los Angeles did 15 years ago."
After seeing the story I was stunned to read such a thing, and immediately sought the transcript of Obama's speech. In reading it, Obama used the word riot nine times; the phrase "quiet riot" three times; and never suggested that America was on the verge of seeing African-Americans lash out like they did during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.
But what he did try to do was give the 8,000 attendees, and anyone else watching, an understanding of what is a real problem in America's inner cities. And more importantly, his blueprint for fixing the problem.
Obama's way is with words, not hugs Los Angeles Times - CA,USA NORTH CONWAY, NH -- A busload of reporters and TV cameras awaits Barack Obama as he steps forward, notes in hand, and begins speaking in his sonorous ...
A day later, George Hathorn is part of the sprawl covering a grassy swath at Dartmouth. But the 63-year-old architect is more curious that convinced. "I'm concerned about the hype," Hathorn says of Obama's comet-like candidacy. "I haven't seen the substance yet." It is this question — involving the percentages of steak and sizzle — that dogs Obama, and it clearly irks him. Told of the criticism expressed by some in the crowd, Obama blames those covering his campaign. "One of the questions that I think I would ask back at you," he says, "is what do we need to do to get the national press to focus on those speeches we've been delivering in great detail?" His tone, however, is even, not angry. Suffering fools and reporters is very much a part of running for president and if that bothers Obama, if the atmospherics, the minute scrutiny and stagy photo opportunities ever get to him, he doesn't let on. As he stands on the porch of the Littleton Area Senior Center, making small talk with the gray-haired ladies, one of Obama's two daughters, 5-year-old Sasha, pipes up and asks, "When are we going to do fun things?" "This is fun things," her father replies.
McCain adviser admits call of Obama Guardian Unlimited - UK ... told his campaign that if the Democrats nominate Barack Obama, he'll leave McCain because he can't see himself opposing the Illinois senator. ...
Here's the sort of campaign news you don't often see: An adviser to John McCain has, according to Newsweek, told his campaign that if the Democrats nominate Barack Obama, he'll leave McCain because he can't see himself opposing the Illinois senator. ... And now, McKinnon has apparently told his colleagues in the McCain campaign that "while he opposed Obama's policies, especially on Iraq, he felt that the Illinois senator - as an African-American politician - has a unique potential to change the country." Did I write that this is the kind of campaign news you don't often see? Let me clarify: This is the sort of campaign news you never see. I've covered these things since 1988, more or less, and I'm confident I've never seen a consultant - not just any consultant, but a famous and high powered one - say to his candidate that he might have to bolt from the campaign so he can support someone from the other party. It's completely unheard of (assuming that McKinnon said it; there are no actual quotes in the Newsweek item). So it's stunning news. But how significant is it? For now, I'd "reasonably," say for three reasons.
Here's the sort of campaign news you don't often see: An adviser to John McCain has, according to Newsweek, told his campaign that if the Democrats nominate Barack Obama, he'll leave McCain because he can't see himself opposing the Illinois senator.
And now, McKinnon has apparently told his colleagues in the McCain campaign that "while he opposed Obama's policies, especially on Iraq, he felt that the Illinois senator - as an African-American politician - has a unique potential to change the country."
Did I write that this is the kind of campaign news you don't often see? Let me clarify: This is the sort of campaign news you never see. I've covered these things since 1988, more or less, and I'm confident I've never seen a consultant - not just any consultant, but a famous and high powered one - say to his candidate that he might have to bolt from the campaign so he can support someone from the other party. It's completely unheard of (assuming that McKinnon said it; there are no actual quotes in the Newsweek item).
So it's stunning news. But how significant is it? For now, I'd "reasonably," say for three reasons.
Barack Obama and the audacity of my hope (confessions of a former Republican) BlueOregon - OR,USA I started to get involved in volunteering, and today I find myself with an audacity of hope because of the candidacy of Barack Obama. ...
I am a life-time Oregonian, born and raised in Portland, now back in Portland after 25 years in Salem (love this city!). I grew up in a VERY Republican home, and in a religion that virtually required “Republican” on your precinct card to be on the rolls. I was white, I was middle-class, and everyone in my family's social circle was a dedicated conservative. But I have hope in Barack Obama. How did I get from “there” to “here”? How did a believer in uber-conservative Republican values and policies for over 50 years come to change her political registration three years ago? How did I get to this place wherein I proudly wear an Obama button, and plaster bumper stickers on my car for maybe the second time in my life!
I am a life-time Oregonian, born and raised in Portland, now back in Portland after 25 years in Salem (love this city!). I grew up in a VERY Republican home, and in a religion that virtually required “Republican” on your precinct card to be on the rolls. I was white, I was middle-class, and everyone in my family's social circle was a dedicated conservative.
But I have hope in Barack Obama.
How did I get from “there” to “here”? How did a believer in uber-conservative Republican values and policies for over 50 years come to change her political registration three years ago? How did I get to this place wherein I proudly wear an Obama button, and plaster bumper stickers on my car for maybe the second time in my life!
Obama chooses shoe leather over TV ads DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA Barack Obama today launched what he touted as one of the largest and earliest nation-wide door-to-door efforts in presidential campaign history. ...
Unlike some other candidates, Obama’s campaign has not yet started to run television ads, instead concentrating the effort on dozens of smaller and more personal stops such as coffee shops or restaurants. His campaign staff today declined to say when or if they would begin to run television ads. Obama spent about an hour and visited five homes in Dubuque, where he was followed by dozens of local and national newspaper and television employees. Residents congregated on front porches to meet Obama and watched as the crowd ˆ which included Secret Service agents walked door to door. Obama handed out information about his health care plan and, generally, asked residents about issues that concern them most. Dubuque resident June Manning spoke with Obama on her front porch. She described the senator as "cordial and friendly” and that his visit was like her "15 minutes in the sunshine.” “I was up in the air between him and Hillary but I have chosen him,” Manning said a few minutes after Obama left her door.
Obama bringing new people into politics Honolulu Advertiser Sun, 10 Jun 2007 7:27 AM PDT
Hawai'i Democrats believe Barack Obama's presidential campaign may be an appealing recruiting tool among young people and independents, two coveted demographic groups that might be drawn to the party before the state's caucuses next February. Obama volunteers and other Democratic activists, including many who favor Obama's rivals for the nomination, said they detect an interest in the Hawai'i-born Illinois senator among people who are not traditionally active within the party. Many of the party's key leaders are aging and, while Democrats have politically recovered, even thrived, under Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, they recognize a need to attract young people and the growing segment of voters who describe themselves as independents. Will Grosswendt, of Kailua, an economics major at Georgetown University, saw something in Obama's personal history that made him want to volunteer. Obama's success at Harvard Law School and his experience as a community organizer in Chicago were interesting. But there was something else. Obama, he believes, has an ability to bring people together. "He doesn't seem like he was groomed to be a career politician. It seems like it was something where he had a calling to make a difference," Grosswendt said. "I think Obama is able to bring new people into the fold."
Hawai'i Democrats believe Barack Obama's presidential campaign may be an appealing recruiting tool among young people and independents, two coveted demographic groups that might be drawn to the party before the state's caucuses next February.
Obama volunteers and other Democratic activists, including many who favor Obama's rivals for the nomination, said they detect an interest in the Hawai'i-born Illinois senator among people who are not traditionally active within the party.
Many of the party's key leaders are aging and, while Democrats have politically recovered, even thrived, under Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, they recognize a need to attract young people and the growing segment of voters who describe themselves as independents.
Will Grosswendt, of Kailua, an economics major at Georgetown University, saw something in Obama's personal history that made him want to volunteer.
Obama's success at Harvard Law School and his experience as a community organizer in Chicago were interesting. But there was something else. Obama, he believes, has an ability to bring people together.
"He doesn't seem like he was groomed to be a career politician. It seems like it was something where he had a calling to make a difference," Grosswendt said. "I think Obama is able to bring new people into the fold."
Powell Gives Obama Foreign Policy Advice ABC News - USA Barack Obama speaks at a fund raiser Friday, June 8, 2007 in Chicago accompanied by his wife Michelle Obama. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) The Associated ...
Barack's Wife Michelle Obama: Rock Star on the Campaign Trail National Ledger - Apache Junction,AZ,USA Which is pretty serious stuff for a speech in the park, but Michelle Obama brings it home: "We have a man, Barack Obama, my husband, who is stepping up to ...
Kenya: My Encounter With Obama AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA When I first met Illinois Senator Barack Obama recently, I was full of expectation and excitement about the man whose father was born in Kenya but who now ...
Although I myself do not understand the Luo language, I was excited about how an American presidential candidate could speak a local dialect. This confirmed to me that Mr Obama is really originally from around Lake Victoria. I felt proud and became the envy of the group. And out of ignorance, several journalists asked me to greet the great man in my "mother tongue," not knowing that I do not share my tongue with him and that the distance from Kisumu to my home district of Kilifi is about 1,000km. To straighten things up a bit, I gave my country's history, especially its 40-odd tribes united by a common language called Kiswahili, and the fact that I come from the Indian Ocean side of the country and Sen Obama originates from the west. Despite my inadequacies, I became an instant hero among the group, and any time they referred to me, they called me "the man from where Obama comes from". When the senator walked into the hall to address us, he did not repeat the erokamano by way of greeting because the journalists were from different countries, and I was the only one from Kenya. The hall fell quiet, and each of us got ready to either take pictures of the famous man or jot down in our note books what he was going to say. Dressed in a black suit and a tie to match, brown trousers and black shoes, Sen. Obama waved to the gathering as he got onto the podium and exclaimed how happy he was to address journalists from Africa. Several of us were lost for words as we looked forward to listening to the man said to be sending shock waves among fellow presidential hopefuls due to his charisma, wit and eloquence.
Although I myself do not understand the Luo language, I was excited about how an American presidential candidate could speak a local dialect.
This confirmed to me that Mr Obama is really originally from around Lake Victoria.
I felt proud and became the envy of the group. And out of ignorance, several journalists asked me to greet the great man in my "mother tongue," not knowing that I do not share my tongue with him and that the distance from Kisumu to my home district of Kilifi is about 1,000km.
To straighten things up a bit, I gave my country's history, especially its 40-odd tribes united by a common language called Kiswahili, and the fact that I come from the Indian Ocean side of the country and Sen Obama originates from the west.
Despite my inadequacies, I became an instant hero among the group, and any time they referred to me, they called me "the man from where Obama comes from".
When the senator walked into the hall to address us, he did not repeat the erokamano by way of greeting because the journalists were from different countries, and I was the only one from Kenya.
The hall fell quiet, and each of us got ready to either take pictures of the famous man or jot down in our note books what he was going to say.
Dressed in a black suit and a tie to match, brown trousers and black shoes, Sen. Obama waved to the gathering as he got onto the podium and exclaimed how happy he was to address journalists from Africa.
Several of us were lost for words as we looked forward to listening to the man said to be sending shock waves among fellow presidential hopefuls due to his charisma, wit and eloquence.
Thousands of Obama Supporters to Take to the Streets on Saturday ... Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA Barack Obama will kick-off the "Walk for Change" in Dubuque, Iowa and across the Hawkeye state more than 1000 people will door-knock in their communities. ...
Barack Obama: EPA Endorses Obama Proposal to Eliminate Lead From ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden June 5, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC - US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today praised the Environmental Protection Agency's announcement of support for his proposal ...
And it doubles as a resource for people working to ensure that accurate and positive information about Barack gets out to the public. If you're interested in helping out with this effort, please consider joining the Obama Rapid Response group on my.barackobama.com.
Obama: Electric in Las Vegas Huffington Post - New York,NY,USA Barack Obama Then Obama talked about the troops. What we owe them and how they should be treated. "Don't tell me... Don't stand up next to the flag at a ...
So bring on Rudy. Bring on Fred. Newt? Don't make me laugh. It won't matter. If Obama gets to the general no one can beat him. Yes. He is that good.
So bring on Rudy.
Bring on Fred. Newt? Don't make me laugh.
It won't matter.
If Obama gets to the general no one can beat him. Yes. He is that good.
Barack Obama has "it" and I am so excited for the future. TA Barnhart BlueOregon - OR,USA I wanted to see and experience for myself what there is about Barack Obama that makes him such a compelling candidate. And there simply is no way to explain ...
And there simply is no way to explain it other than to say he has "it" — charisma, a calm presence before a screaming crowd, a command of his message, and a delivery that while undeniably practiced comes across as if he's speaking extemporaneously. The speech he's probably given now dozens of times sounds fresh because it's real. Obama is saying what he truly believes, and that's what comes across and is exciting.
Obamacare: Clearing Away the Fog Jacob S. Hacker | TomPaine.com
Obama’s speech presenting the plan didn’t resolve the confusion either: Even more general than the policy blueprint released by the campaign, it simply magnified the uncertainty, fueling initial reports that were either misleading or just plain wrong. However, after Sunday’s debate and new statements from the campaign (including a posting from Harvard economist David Cutler, a key Obama adviser, at the Campaign for America’s Future blog), the outlines of Obama’s plan are clearer. And it’s much more sophisticated, bold, and far-reaching than initial reactions suggest. Granted, I am not a detached observer. I have talked with Obama and his team, and I’m gratified that the proposal they adopted contains core elements of the proposal I’ve been advocating, “Health Care for America." Still, I have no affiliation with the Obama campaign, and I have talked with other candidates and officeholders, including, most notably, Edwards. I also have differences with the Obama approach, and I’ll present some in a moment. But first we should understand what his approach is, and how it would dramatically transform American health insurance for the better. Obama’s proposal is best understood as a new framework to provide automatic coverage for everyone who works (or lives in the family of a worker). In the Obama plan, if you work (or someone in your family works), you are entitled to good insurance, either from your employer or through a new public plan. Notice what I said: a new public plan. Obama believes that a new Medicare-style public plan for those younger than 65 will deliver big savings and better coverage, and that this plan should be the default source of coverage for anyone whose employer doesn’t provide good insurance. Indeed, he takes a major step beyond Edwards by envisioning a national Medicare-like plan (Edwards would make a plan similar to Medicare available on a regional basis) and by clearly stating that this plan will have generous, guaranteed benefits.
Obama’s speech presenting the plan didn’t resolve the confusion either: Even more general than the policy blueprint released by the campaign, it simply magnified the uncertainty, fueling initial reports that were either misleading or just plain wrong.
However, after Sunday’s debate and new statements from the campaign (including a posting from Harvard economist David Cutler, a key Obama adviser, at the Campaign for America’s Future blog), the outlines of Obama’s plan are clearer.
And it’s much more sophisticated, bold, and far-reaching than initial reactions suggest.
Granted, I am not a detached observer. I have talked with Obama and his team, and I’m gratified that the proposal they adopted contains core elements of the proposal I’ve been advocating, “Health Care for America." Still, I have no affiliation with the Obama campaign, and I have talked with other candidates and officeholders, including, most notably, Edwards.
I also have differences with the Obama approach, and I’ll present some in a moment. But first we should understand what his approach is, and how it would dramatically transform American health insurance for the better.
Obama’s proposal is best understood as a new framework to provide automatic coverage for everyone who works (or lives in the family of a worker). In the Obama plan, if you work (or someone in your family works), you are entitled to good insurance, either from your employer or through a new public plan.
Notice what I said: a new public plan. Obama believes that a new Medicare-style public plan for those younger than 65 will deliver big savings and better coverage, and that this plan should be the default source of coverage for anyone whose employer doesn’t provide good insurance. Indeed, he takes a major step beyond Edwards by envisioning a national Medicare-like plan (Edwards would make a plan similar to Medicare available on a regional basis) and by clearly stating that this plan will have generous, guaranteed benefits.
Obama feels the love from New Hampshire's famous skeptics SalemNews.com - Salem,MA,USA ... almost see their eyes squinting to will this to come true - to believe that Barack Obama can go from the gym in Conway to the White House in Washington. ...
CONWAY, N.H. - This is a crowd that is virtually all white. This is the least emotive state in the Union. This is a town that voted decisively for Barry Goldwater in 1964. This is where thousands of people filled the parking lot of Kennett High School in the hope of seeing a black man who is running for president. This also may be the political phenomenon of the age. Inside the high school, where a banner boasts of 15 state high school boys' skiing championships since 1979, voters of a state where natives like to tell visitors that they can't get there from here are straining - you can almost see their eyes squinting to will this to come true - to believe that Barack Obama can go from the gym in Conway to the White House in Washington.
Barack Obama fires up Seattle crowd Seattle Post Intelligencer - Seattle,WA,USA "It's time to turn the page and write a new chapter in America," Barack Obama said in his first visit to Seattle since the Democrat launched his campaign ...
Camp Obama focuses on election win Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA CHICAGO --A Yale graduate who quit a finance job in New York to volunteer for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Chris Wyant knows exactly how long he ...
Clinton, Edwards and Obama Discuss Their Faith at Forum Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA In his turn on stage at the Sojourners forum, Barack Obama talked about his belief that there is evil in the world. (Photos By Melina Mara -- The Washington ...
Obama Web Site Seeks to Rally The Faithful Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is a Christian, he "embodies the basic ideals and values of most Hindus," said Prianka S., a Hindu from Chicago. ...
Barack Obama's Faith Christian Broadcasting Network - Virginia Beach,VA,USA Barack Obama has a pretty neat campaign site dedicated to faith only. It's called "Faith, Action, Change" and basically if you go to the site you can read ...
Obama is tied with Clinton in new Gallup Poll Deseret News - Salt Lake City,UT,USA WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are essentially tied for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, ...
One Place Where Obama and Elbows Still Meet New York Times - New York,NY,USA Last Christmas, Senator Barack Obama flew to Hawaii to contemplate a presidential bid in the peace of his childhood home. But there, on a humid playground ...
Obama's wife makes his case Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA She had spent the day campaigning in New Hampshire with her mother, Marian, and her daughters, Malia and Sasha, while Barack Obama was sweeping through ...
Barack Obama: America Is Not Safer Since 9/11 All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden June 04, 2007 -- During the Democratic debate in New Hampshire last night, there was disagreement over whether or not America is safer since the 9/11 ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Pride Month All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden June 01, 2007 -- CHICAGO , IL-- US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement to commemorate Pride Month. ...
Begun in January 2007, the Barack the House Link Party is a regularly produced compilation of news items highlighting the many reasons why Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States.
It's also intended as a resource for people working to ensure that accurate and positive information about Barack gets out to the public. If you're interested in helping out with this effort, please consider joining the Obama Rapid Response group on my.barackobama.com.
Barack Obama's quiet rebellion Salon - USA At Dartmouth College Monday, Barack Obama had reached the practiced moment in his stump speech when he explains the Kenyan origins of his "funny name. ...
So here is a working theory, subject to many modifications as the campaign unfolds: Barack Obama is simultaneously both aware of the power of cheap rhetoric and easy emotion -- and intellectually contemptuous of it. He is a candidate in quiet rebellion against the banalities that too often govern political discourse. It is questionable whether he can maintain this high-minded stance through the debates and the primaries. But for the moment, Obama is running for president on his own terms, and succeeding.
Obama Calls for Universal Health Care Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Seeking to add heft to his presidential bid, Democrat Barack Obama is offering a sweeping plan that would require every American to have ...
Barack Obama Beats Hillary Clinton, Guilliani in New Poll MetroPost - New York,NY,USA President Barack Obama? It's no longer just a Democratic fantasy. Barack Obama may be young and black, but Americans decidely prefer him to Hillary Clinton ...
Obama in New Hampshire's North Country ABC News - USA Barack Obama, D-Ill., Memorial Day weekend was spent driving through the mountains in an RV filled with extended family. ...
Barack Obama's wife crowd favorite in campaign appearance with husband WCAX - Burlington,VT,USA CONWAY, NH (AP) - At one point in a steamy rally today (Sunday) in a Conway, New Hampshire school auditorium, Illinois Senator Barack Obama handed his ...
Obama visits war monument, pushes vets' services The Courier News - Elgin,IL,USA LITTLETON, NH -- Though he said Memorial Day shouldn't be politicized, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama used a visit to a war monument Monday to ...
It's Obama frenzy in NH Barre Montpelier Times Argus - Barre,VT,USA LITTLETON, NH -- Presidential hopeful Barack Obama is measuring his success not just in poll numbers, money raised or endorsements. ...
How a young tech entrepreneur translated Barack Obama into the ... (about Chris Hughes and the My.BO site) Wall Street Journal - USA Click to see a larger image of Barack Obama's Facebook page. Or visit the page itself (login required). About 5000 groups of Obama supporters now use online ...
Camp helps Obama team hit trail Chicago Tribune Mon, 28 May 2007 5:16 AM PDT Volunteers learn campaign techniques Jerry Saavedra played the role of an Iowa farmer, while Trakia Thomas was cast as a volunteer for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid.
Voters would invite Giuliani, Obama to picnic: poll Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA Democratic presidential candidate and US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) listens to his introduction at a luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 24, 2007. ...
Latino Outreach Campaign Promotes Barack Obama in Key Primary States WebWire (press release) - Atlanta,GA,USA Burbank, CA - May 30, 2007 - Nueva Vista Media, has launched an outreach campaign, "Amigos de Obama," to promote Presidential candidate Barack Obama and ...
Barack Obama: Obama Votes to Demand Changed Course in Iraq All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden "This vote is a choice between validating the same failed policy in Iraq that has cost us so many lives and demanding a new one. ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Asian Pacific American Heritage Month All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 25, 2007 -- Chicago, IL - "I spent much of my childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, and for most of my adult life, I've lived in Chicago, a city with its ...
Barack Obama: Obama Introduces Bill to Recognize and Fund ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 29, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC - US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) last week introduced a bill that would create an official designation in higher education ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Darfur Sanctions All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 29, 2007 -- Chicago, IL--Senator Obama today released the following statement in response to President Bush's announcement of sanctions on the Sudanese ...
YouTube: Barack Obama's SNHU Commencement Address
Obama tells students to build character Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA Barack Obama, D-Ill., takes questions at the Rye Elementary School from area residents in Rye, NH, Friday, May 18, 2007. Obama is campaigning in the ...
Canvassing For Obama In New Hampshire National Journal - Washington,DC,USA Alinsky is the legendary organizer and theorist who Barack Obama reportedly counts as an inspiration. Heck, the journalist who wrote The Essay on Obama and ...
MANCHESTER, NH - Officially, the event held in a large, muddy parking lot north of the city was called a statewide grassroots canvas. Unofficially, let's call it the first of many "Saul Alinsky" days. Alinsky is the legendary organizer and theorist who Barack Obama reportedly counts as an inspiration. Heck, the journalist who wrote The Essay on Obama and Saul Alinsky -- The New Republic's Ryan Lizza -- was there. To "canvass," means to go house-to-house and collect something. Today, Obama's team is collecting signatures to to pressure Sens. Gregg and Sununu to end the war in Iraq. Unoffiically, the event serves another,more Alinskian purpose. There are so many Obama volunteers statewide that the campaign itself cannot accomodate all the solicited help. So today's event is a place-holder of sorts, a way for those thousands of volunteers to invest their time for Obama's greater cause. The canvass cements their link to Obama by appealing to another part of their political self-interest. A side benefit: big early grassroots events impress reporters. I was impressed.
MANCHESTER, NH - Officially, the event held in a large, muddy parking lot north of the city was called a statewide grassroots canvas. Unofficially, let's call it the first of many "Saul Alinsky" days. Alinsky is the legendary organizer and theorist who Barack Obama reportedly counts as an inspiration. Heck, the journalist who wrote The Essay on Obama and Saul Alinsky -- The New Republic's Ryan Lizza -- was there.
To "canvass," means to go house-to-house and collect something. Today, Obama's team is collecting signatures to to pressure Sens. Gregg and Sununu to end the war in Iraq. Unoffiically, the event serves another,more Alinskian purpose. There are so many Obama volunteers statewide that the campaign itself cannot accomodate all the solicited help. So today's event is a place-holder of sorts, a way for those thousands of volunteers to invest their time for Obama's greater cause. The canvass cements their link to Obama by appealing to another part of their political self-interest.
A side benefit: big early grassroots events impress reporters. I was impressed.
Obama hits Sununu, Gregg for war votes Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA residential candidate Barack Obama launched a two-day offensive on Republican Sens. John Sununu and Judd Gregg, telling New Hampshire voters yesterday that ...
Obama stresses anti-war stance Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA MANCHESTER, NH -- The volunteers were wearing Barack Obama buttons and handing out literature about the Democratic candidate for president, but the explicit ...
COMMENTARY: Barack Obama's Military Proposal Clashes with Some ... HNN Huntingtonnews.net - Huntington,WV,USA Senator Barack Obama's remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs caused some liberals to question Obama's progressive values on matters of war and ...
Our next President should be competent, someone who uses good judgment and wisdom, but he/she must also demonstrate a willingness to use force against opposing threats if necessary. A few days ago, a terror plot to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey by 6 Islamic radicals was foiled on Monday. No one knows what might happen in 4 or 7 years, and because the threat of terror is real, the democrats must make the case they too are strong in combating terror. Their case must be that they believe in fighting smarter-- oppose to not fighting at all. Although some liberals disapprove of Obama’s military plans, it is a mistake to think he shouldn't have one-- an antiwar campaign will only get one so far. Progressives can debate Obama’s views on foreign policy but it is inaccurate to think he can win being antiwar alone.
Obama & Brownback together on another issue -- this time, Iran USA Today - USA Though they're running for the presidential nominations of competing parties, senators Sam Brownback and Barack Obama do seem to like to work together on ...
Fast Talk: The Selling of a President: Barack Obama's Secret Weapon Fast Company - USA Kim Mack, 44, a manager for the county of Sacramento, helped start one of the largest and most active grassroots Barack Obama groups in the country (Mack's ...
Kim Mack, 44, a manager for the county of Sacramento, helped start one of the largest and most active grassroots Barack Obama groups in the country (Mack's husband, Vince, in the background, is a member). Her group is using online social-networking tools to organize and has quickly mushroomed to more than 300 members. "I have a son who is in Iraq, and I am very displeased with the policies of this administration. Honestly, there wasn't a candidate who inspired me until I really started to pay attention to Obama. After he made his announcement on February 10, I searched online and my.barackobama.com came up. Whoever came up with that Web site was brilliant--the ability to completely network, get in touch with people who are organizing, and be able to set up events yourself. I posted on the site, and I figured maybe 10 people would show up at the first meeting. Fifty-five did. At the next one, another 200 people came. If it were not for that Web site, this group in Sacramento would just barely be organized. Now we're able to effect change all across the country. I got an email from a woman in Arkansas who wanted to find out how we've accomplished so much. A couple of weeks later, she had a house party with 70-plus people and three TV cameras. Instead of hitting brick walls, we now have an inspirational process."
Kim Mack, 44, a manager for the county of Sacramento, helped start one of the largest and most active grassroots Barack Obama groups in the country (Mack's husband, Vince, in the background, is a member). Her group is using online social-networking tools to organize and has quickly mushroomed to more than 300 members.
"I have a son who is in Iraq, and I am very displeased with the policies of this administration. Honestly, there wasn't a candidate who inspired me until I really started to pay attention to Obama. After he made his announcement on February 10, I searched online and my.barackobama.com came up. Whoever came up with that Web site was brilliant--the ability to completely network, get in touch with people who are organizing, and be able to set up events yourself.
I posted on the site, and I figured maybe 10 people would show up at the first meeting. Fifty-five did. At the next one, another 200 people came. If it were not for that Web site, this group in Sacramento would just barely be organized. Now we're able to effect change all across the country. I got an email from a woman in Arkansas who wanted to find out how we've accomplished so much. A couple of weeks later, she had a house party with 70-plus people and three TV cameras. Instead of hitting brick walls, we now have an inspirational process."
'Camp Obama' lures young volunteers to campaign Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA Those staffers work in tandem with Students for Barack Obama, a group of Obama supporters who met up via Facebook and formed their own independent group but ...
Michelle Obama in the News
Obama's Wife: 'It's His Time' ABC News - USA Despite questions about the country's readiness for a black president, Barack Obama will win the race for the 2008 White House if he connects with Americans ...
Michelle Obama: I'm his wife, not adviser Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA Barack Obama, Michelle Obama talked with people at a suburban coffee shop and toured a residential program for women being treated for substance abuse. ...
Obama's wife targets Iowa's female voters DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA Barack Obama of Illinois, one of the frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination, last month helped launched "Women for Obama. ...
Press Releases
Weekend Canvas for Obama a Success Campaigns & Elections (press release) - USA “As someone who got his start as a community organizer, Barack Obama inspires people to believe that they can have an impact, and that together we can ...
Barack Obama: Obama, Frank, Lantos Introduce Iran Divestment Bill All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 16, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and US Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) today introduced the Iran ...
Barack Obama: Obama Raises Concerns Over Nomination of Industry ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to Senator Daniel Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Commerce, ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Immigration Reform Developments All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- “Over the past two years, I have worked hard for a comprehensive immigration bill that would provide strong border ...
Barack Obama: Obama Calls on House to Pass Ethics Reform ... All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC –“Today, we moved one step closer toward sweeping ethics reform in Washington. The House Judiciary Committee approved a ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Today’s Iraq Vote All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 16, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – “Today, 1519 days after it began, the war in Iraq rages on, with no sign of a resolution.” ...
Barack Obama: Key Report Highlights Advantages of Insuring Adults All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden Senator Barack Obama: “SCHIP’s expansion to cover Illinois parents has allowed 55000 more children to gain access to health care coverage. ...
Obama Disputes Claim of Sharing Clinton’s Stance on WarNew York Times - New York,NY,USASenator Barack Obama yesterday directly challenged former President Bill Clinton’s assertions that Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hold the ...
Mr. Obama, of Illinois, was asked in an interview on MSNBC yesterday about Mr. Clinton’s point that the two senators have voted mostly the same way on Iraq.“Well, I suppose that’s true if you leave out the fact that she authorized it and supported it, and I said it was a bad idea,” Mr. Obama said. “You know, that’s a fairly major difference.”Mr. Obama then suggested that a fundamental question of judgment was at issue.“I think very highly of Senator Clinton,” he said. “I think she is a wonderful senator from New York, but — and I think very highly of Bill Clinton. But I think that it is fair to say that we had a fundamentally different opinion on the wisdom of this war. And I don’t think we can revise history when it comes to that.”Mr. Obama has repeatedly noted on the campaign trail that he opposed the Iraq war as far back as the fall of 2002, when Mrs. Clinton was voting to allow military action. But until yesterday, Mr. Obama had not been so direct in contesting Mr. Clinton’s claims that there was little difference between the two hopefuls.
Mr. Obama, of Illinois, was asked in an interview on MSNBC yesterday about Mr. Clinton’s point that the two senators have voted mostly the same way on Iraq.
“Well, I suppose that’s true if you leave out the fact that she authorized it and supported it, and I said it was a bad idea,” Mr. Obama said. “You know, that’s a fairly major difference.”
Mr. Obama then suggested that a fundamental question of judgment was at issue.
“I think very highly of Senator Clinton,” he said. “I think she is a wonderful senator from New York, but — and I think very highly of Bill Clinton. But I think that it is fair to say that we had a fundamentally different opinion on the wisdom of this war. And I don’t think we can revise history when it comes to that.”
Mr. Obama has repeatedly noted on the campaign trail that he opposed the Iraq war as far back as the fall of 2002, when Mrs. Clinton was voting to allow military action. But until yesterday, Mr. Obama had not been so direct in contesting Mr. Clinton’s claims that there was little difference between the two hopefuls.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack ObamaIndependent - London,England,UKThe Democratic contender Barack Obama, in writing a fairly chunky book exploring the matter, and publishing it as he hits the presidential campaign trail, ...
As modest proposals go, it's a tricky one: getting across the idea that the certain conviction one should be the "leader of the free world" is born of nothing beyond a humble wish to serve. The Democratic contender Barack Obama, in writing a fairly chunky book exploring the matter, and publishing it as he hits the presidential campaign trail, has chosen to offer a fairly comprehensive exposition of his paradoxical position. It helps, of course, that he can write, in an easy, casual, but careful style. Mellifluous and friendly, it hints rather than boasts at an underlying intelligence and determination rather more steely than this gentle, scrupulously fair-minded, but sweeping and generalised text might necessarily confirm. It helps, too, that he has no hesitation in becoming intimate with the reader, offering a touching vignette here of the courtship of his wife, Michelle, and a moving glimpse there of the all-conquering wonder of breathing the scent of a little daughter's hair.He does jokes too, self-deprecating ones that acknowledge the distance from ordinary experience that senators inevitably develop, like when he has to admit that his first experience of flying by private jet was "nice". Edgier ones suggest a refreshing relaxation about political correctness, like when a senator turns to him during an impassioned speech by a black firebrand about racism and its iniquities to confess that the speaker's trouble is that he makes him feel "too white". Obama doesn't want anyone to feel too anything, except perhaps too lucky not to want to share it round.
As modest proposals go, it's a tricky one: getting across the idea that the certain conviction one should be the "leader of the free world" is born of nothing beyond a humble wish to serve. The Democratic contender Barack Obama, in writing a fairly chunky book exploring the matter, and publishing it as he hits the presidential campaign trail, has chosen to offer a fairly comprehensive exposition of his paradoxical position.
It helps, of course, that he can write, in an easy, casual, but careful style. Mellifluous and friendly, it hints rather than boasts at an underlying intelligence and determination rather more steely than this gentle, scrupulously fair-minded, but sweeping and generalised text might necessarily confirm. It helps, too, that he has no hesitation in becoming intimate with the reader, offering a touching vignette here of the courtship of his wife, Michelle, and a moving glimpse there of the all-conquering wonder of breathing the scent of a little daughter's hair.
He does jokes too, self-deprecating ones that acknowledge the distance from ordinary experience that senators inevitably develop, like when he has to admit that his first experience of flying by private jet was "nice". Edgier ones suggest a refreshing relaxation about political correctness, like when a senator turns to him during an impassioned speech by a black firebrand about racism and its iniquities to confess that the speaker's trouble is that he makes him feel "too white". Obama doesn't want anyone to feel too anything, except perhaps too lucky not to want to share it round.
Obama opens affirmative action debateAlbany Times Union - Albany,NY,USABarack Obama doesn't think anyone should cut his two daughters any slack when they apply to college -- not because of their race, at least. ...
Barack Obama: Obama Statement on Iraq Redeployment PlansAll American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden“Today, 1518 days after it began, the war in Iraq rages on, with no sign of a resolution.” “The Iraqi people appear no closer to the settling their ...
Michelle Obama Adds New Role to Balancing ActNew York Times - New York,NY,USAIt was a triumphant moment for Barack Obama: He was walking through the Capitol for the very first time as a United States senator in January 2005, ...
Broncos WR an Obama discipleDenver Post - Denver,CO,USADuring the past year away from football, Broncos receiver David Terrell picked up Barack Obama's memoir, "Dreams from My Father," and was so inspired, ...
Obama vs. Clinton represents refreshing choice for black womenSan Jose Mercury News - San Jose,CA,USABarack Obama on the Larry King show, Oprah has brought some extra attention to a familiar and not always welcome question. Are African-American women, ...
Begun in January 2007, the Barack the House Link Party is a regularly produced compilation of news items highlighting the many reasons why Barack Obama will be a great President of the United States.
It's also intended as a resource for people working to ensure that accurate and positive information about Barack gets out to the public. If you're interested in helping out with this effort, please consider joining the Obama Rapid Response group at my.barackobama.com.
Obama stirring in his KC visit Kansas City Star - MO,USA After candidate Barack Obama’s impressive showing last weekend, the buzz is only going to grow louder. First of all, Clinton should just go ahead and ...
It was clear from the outset that Obama brought his A game. While fatigue was blamed for a few flubs he made on the campaign trail in recent weeks, Obama seemed energized Saturday. After a few opening remarks, he found his rhythm, his cadence. “Politics seems as if it’s become a business and not a mission,” Obama said. “It seems that power is always trumping principle, especially in Washington. It seems our leadership is long on rhetoric but short on substance.” The crowd’s response seemed to rise each time he mentioned a theme associated with middle America. “We’ve had a government that basically ignores the realities of ordinary people,” Obama said. “They say the economy has never been so good … even though families are living from paycheck to paycheck. People are trying to figure out everything from how to fill up the gas tank to saving for retirement to sending their kids to college. People are living hand to mouth, trying to make ends meet.” Of course, his disdain for the war in Iraq drew vociferous applause. “We have a government that thinks that our foreign policy can be determined by ideology and bluster instead of strategy and foresight,” he said. Yet, it was when he invoked a sense of optimism reminiscent of the 1960 presidential campaign that he seemed the most genuine. “I just get a sense that a new wind is blowing,” Obama said. “The American people are paying attention like they haven’t paid attention in a lot of years. People are standing up all around this country saying, ‘We want our country back.’” No one in the audience was left feeling cheated. “You can tell in peoples’ faces that they really were feeling for what Obama’s message was,” said Nancy Pinkston, a student leader with University of Missouri Students for Obama. “So many politicians can talk the talk. But Obama’s the real deal.” Sarah Taylor, another supporter, was not disappointed either. “He has incredible charisma,” Taylor said. “He’s got a broad appeal. I think he’ll be a real strong contender. I want to support someone who’s different.” Obama was on his game in Kansas City. It was as if he were 10 for 10 from the field. But no one should underestimate Hillary Clinton, especially when she has her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in tow. But minus Bill, she would have a hard time in Kansas City drawing a larger, more diverse and more enthusiastic audience than the one Obama drew last weekend.
It was clear from the outset that Obama brought his A game. While fatigue was blamed for a few flubs he made on the campaign trail in recent weeks, Obama seemed energized Saturday.
After a few opening remarks, he found his rhythm, his cadence.
“Politics seems as if it’s become a business and not a mission,” Obama said. “It seems that power is always trumping principle, especially in Washington. It seems our leadership is long on rhetoric but short on substance.”
The crowd’s response seemed to rise each time he mentioned a theme associated with middle America.
“We’ve had a government that basically ignores the realities of ordinary people,” Obama said. “They say the economy has never been so good … even though families are living from paycheck to paycheck. People are trying to figure out everything from how to fill up the gas tank to saving for retirement to sending their kids to college. People are living hand to mouth, trying to make ends meet.”
Of course, his disdain for the war in Iraq drew vociferous applause.
“We have a government that thinks that our foreign policy can be determined by ideology and bluster instead of strategy and foresight,” he said.
Yet, it was when he invoked a sense of optimism reminiscent of the 1960 presidential campaign that he seemed the most genuine.
“I just get a sense that a new wind is blowing,” Obama said. “The American people are paying attention like they haven’t paid attention in a lot of years. People are standing up all around this country saying, ‘We want our country back.’”
No one in the audience was left feeling cheated.
“You can tell in peoples’ faces that they really were feeling for what Obama’s message was,” said Nancy Pinkston, a student leader with University of Missouri Students for Obama. “So many politicians can talk the talk. But Obama’s the real deal.”
Sarah Taylor, another supporter, was not disappointed either.
“He has incredible charisma,” Taylor said. “He’s got a broad appeal. I think he’ll be a real strong contender. I want to support someone who’s different.”
Obama was on his game in Kansas City. It was as if he were 10 for 10 from the field.
But no one should underestimate Hillary Clinton, especially when she has her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in tow. But minus Bill, she would have a hard time in Kansas City drawing a larger, more diverse and more enthusiastic audience than the one Obama drew last weekend.
Senator Obama Leads In South Carolina AHN - USA ... a new poll shows Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is running in second place against fellow Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in South Carolina. ...
Obama scores points with workes on health care, Iraq NorthJersey.com - Hackensack,NJ,USA A union crowd gave Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama repeat standing ovations Monday as he called for universal health coverage, ...
Over the course of more than an hour, Obama said he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country, opposes private school vouchers, supports legislation that would lower barriers to unionization and favors more research on alternative energy sources. The crowd was particularly pleased with his unqualified call for a phased withdrawal from Iraq, starting "last week." "If we organize, we can bring an end to a war that never should have been authorized," Obama said, raising his voice over cheers. He added, "I'm proud that in 2002 I stood up, when it wasn't popular to be against this war." One of Obama's chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, voted to authorize the invasion, which necessarily complicates her stance on the war. New Jersey is supposed to be Clinton country: Polls put the New York senator in the lead for the nomination among New Jersey Democrats, and she also has won the endorsement of Governor Corzine and other party leaders in the state. However, during his swing through the state Monday, Obama gained some endorsements of his own from the mayors of the state's two largest cities, Newark's Cory Booker and Jersey City's Jerramiah Healy. Democratic Assemblyman Gordon Johnson of Englewood also announced his support for Obama on Monday. "I believe he is a breath of fresh air," Johnson said. "I believe he is what we need."
Over the course of more than an hour, Obama said he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country, opposes private school vouchers, supports legislation that would lower barriers to unionization and favors more research on alternative energy sources. The crowd was particularly pleased with his unqualified call for a phased withdrawal from Iraq, starting "last week."
"If we organize, we can bring an end to a war that never should have been authorized," Obama said, raising his voice over cheers. He added, "I'm proud that in 2002 I stood up, when it wasn't popular to be against this war."
One of Obama's chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, voted to authorize the invasion, which necessarily complicates her stance on the war.
New Jersey is supposed to be Clinton country: Polls put the New York senator in the lead for the nomination among New Jersey Democrats, and she also has won the endorsement of Governor Corzine and other party leaders in the state.
However, during his swing through the state Monday, Obama gained some endorsements of his own from the mayors of the state's two largest cities, Newark's Cory Booker and Jersey City's Jerramiah Healy. Democratic Assemblyman Gordon Johnson of Englewood also announced his support for Obama on Monday.
"I believe he is a breath of fresh air," Johnson said. "I believe he is what we need."
Barack Obama: Obama Bill on Climate Change Education All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden May 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was today joined by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing ...
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was today joined by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing legislation that would create a national education program to build awareness about the causes and effects of global climate change. This bipartisan bill, the Climate Change Education Act, will educate students and all Americans about the troubling consequences of climate change, greenhouse gases, and carbon emissions, as well as suggest steps they can take to conserve energy and reduce their environmental impact. “The power to fight back against climate change lies in the hands of all Americans,” said Senator Obama. “As we develop national solutions to reduce carbon emissions from our factories and motor vehicles, every student should know that lifestyle choices like changing a light-bulb or driving a fuel-flexible car can help our progress.”
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was today joined by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing legislation that would create a national education program to build awareness about the causes and effects of global climate change. This bipartisan bill, the Climate Change Education Act, will educate students and all Americans about the troubling consequences of climate change, greenhouse gases, and carbon emissions, as well as suggest steps they can take to conserve energy and reduce their environmental impact.
“The power to fight back against climate change lies in the hands of all Americans,” said Senator Obama. “As we develop national solutions to reduce carbon emissions from our factories and motor vehicles, every student should know that lifestyle choices like changing a light-bulb or driving a fuel-flexible car can help our progress.”
Obama Proposes Changes in Student Loans ABC News - USA Barack Obama, D-Ill., gestures as he speaks to a large gathering of mostly union members Monday, May 14, 2007, in Trenton, NJ The town hall-style meeting ...
Missouri happy to show Obama the money Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA Why did Barack Obama fly to Missouri last weekend, stopping briefly in the state's biggest urban centers, St. Louis and Kansas City? ...
But looking around the ballroom one could also see that the crowd here was in many ways a cross-section of America: babies, seniors, young, black, white, students, and the curious. "Missouri is close to the median of the United States in terms of the economy and the population," John Petrocik, head of political science at the University of Missouri-Columbia, explained to me later. In this state, plunk in the middle of the continental U.S., there remain traces of a southern tradition, a rural white population in the Ozark mountains, a rust-belt industry in St. Louis, a large Christian conservative population and important universities. Missouri is an atypical Midwest state that has it all; it is a microcosm of the USA. As Petrocik says, it wasn't a bad place for Obama to have "an off-Broadway tryout." And, yes, it is a swing state where shifts between Democrats and Republicans are not rare occurrences. Missouri has more often voted for the winning presidential candidate than any other state, whether he's Democrat or Republican. It is the state of Harry Truman but it elected George W. Bush the last time around. As the state slogan suggests: "Show Me." And that's likely what Missourians were asking of Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to visit their state: "Show Me" before I give you my vote.
But looking around the ballroom one could also see that the crowd here was in many ways a cross-section of America: babies, seniors, young, black, white, students, and the curious. "Missouri is close to the median of the United States in terms of the economy and the population," John Petrocik, head of political science at the University of Missouri-Columbia, explained to me later.
In this state, plunk in the middle of the continental U.S., there remain traces of a southern tradition, a rural white population in the Ozark mountains, a rust-belt industry in St. Louis, a large Christian conservative population and important universities. Missouri is an atypical Midwest state that has it all; it is a microcosm of the USA. As Petrocik says, it wasn't a bad place for Obama to have "an off-Broadway tryout."
And, yes, it is a swing state where shifts between Democrats and Republicans are not rare occurrences. Missouri has more often voted for the winning presidential candidate than any other state, whether he's Democrat or Republican. It is the state of Harry Truman but it elected George W. Bush the last time around. As the state slogan suggests: "Show Me." And that's likely what Missourians were asking of Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to visit their state: "Show Me" before I give you my vote.
Obama names NH co-chairs Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA Three former Congressional candidates and a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair will head up Barack Obama's presidential campaign in the state where ...
Poor grades help Barack Obama learn about campaigning McClatchy Washington Bureau - USA Barack Obama of Illinois is going to school on the presidential campaign trail, and he just got a lesson from what's arguably the most important trade union ...
"There was a view that Senator Obama seemed to be a little somber, a little sobering," Schaitberger said, referring to a survey he took of the roughly 1,000 union leaders who heard Obama and 10 other candidates that day. "The issues he shared weren't necessarily on point. "Senator Obama was probably not overly pleased with my opinion," Schaitberger added. "But I was being honest." ... On Friday, Obama got a chance for a makeover. The firefighters invited him and the five Democrats who did well to meet for follow-up interviews with about 80 union leaders gathered in Portsmouth, N.H. ...He got more specific about firefighter issues and ended up with a much better grade. "Obama did a much better job," Schaitberger said. "He was more on point. He acknowledged this. He made it clear that he really wanted to pursue our support. Today was a very different presentation."
"There was a view that Senator Obama seemed to be a little somber, a little sobering," Schaitberger said, referring to a survey he took of the roughly 1,000 union leaders who heard Obama and 10 other candidates that day. "The issues he shared weren't necessarily on point.
"Senator Obama was probably not overly pleased with my opinion," Schaitberger added. "But I was being honest."
On Friday, Obama got a chance for a makeover. The firefighters invited him and the five Democrats who did well to meet for follow-up interviews with about 80 union leaders gathered in Portsmouth, N.H.
...He got more specific about firefighter issues and ended up with a much better grade.
"Obama did a much better job," Schaitberger said. "He was more on point. He acknowledged this. He made it clear that he really wanted to pursue our support. Today was a very different presentation."
Obama Joins Booker and Healy to Call for Creation of Affordable Housing Trust Fund Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA TETERBORO, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barack Obama joined Mayor Cory Booker of Newark and Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City today to call for the creation of ...
Obama does it Truman style -- giving 'em hell over Iraq Chicago Sun-Times Sun, 13 May 2007 2:20 AM PDT KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- This is former President Harry Truman's stomping ground, "give 'em hell" country, and that's exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave 'em hell.
This is former President Harry Truman's stomping ground, "give 'em hell" country, and that's exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave 'em hell. He played off the enthusiasms of a fervent crowd of 2,000 in a downtown hotel ballroom to lambaste President Bush's policy in Iraq, noting the Democratic effort to use legislation to bring troops home in a phased withdrawal is meeting an impenetrable stone wall: the president's veto. "I don't think we are going to change George Bush's mind," Obama said. "He doesn't seem to be someone who examines the facts." Obama has been arguing all along that the solution to the war in Iraq is a political one and the lengthy presence of American troops will do nothing to solve the impasse among the various Iraqi ethnic groups. He asserts the solution is political, not military. ... Obama reiterated his own theme that Americans need to find a unity of mind amongst themselves and also to reach out to the rest of the world to resolve issues such as global warming, the debacle in Darfur and nuclear proliferation. We need to mend our relationships abroad, he explained. "The day this president steps down, the rest of the world will breathe a sigh of relief," Obama said. He also called for the closing of Guantanamo -- the American military base in Cuba where putative al-Qaida terrorists are imprisoned: "Why don't we say we don't do torture, we don't do rendition, that's not who we are as a people." He concluded with another theme he regularly invokes: that America needs to be transformed into a country that expresses humanity and "core decency" so it can remain a "beacon of hope" to the rest of the world.
This is former President Harry Truman's stomping ground, "give 'em hell" country, and that's exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave 'em hell.
He played off the enthusiasms of a fervent crowd of 2,000 in a downtown hotel ballroom to lambaste President Bush's policy in Iraq, noting the Democratic effort to use legislation to bring troops home in a phased withdrawal is meeting an impenetrable stone wall: the president's veto.
"I don't think we are going to change George Bush's mind," Obama said. "He doesn't seem to be someone who examines the facts."
Obama has been arguing all along that the solution to the war in Iraq is a political one and the lengthy presence of American troops will do nothing to solve the impasse among the various Iraqi ethnic groups. He asserts the solution is political, not military.
Obama reiterated his own theme that Americans need to find a unity of mind amongst themselves and also to reach out to the rest of the world to resolve issues such as global warming, the debacle in Darfur and nuclear proliferation. We need to mend our relationships abroad, he explained.
"The day this president steps down, the rest of the world will breathe a sigh of relief," Obama said.
He also called for the closing of Guantanamo -- the American military base in Cuba where putative al-Qaida terrorists are imprisoned: "Why don't we say we don't do torture, we don't do rendition, that's not who we are as a people."
He concluded with another theme he regularly invokes: that America needs to be transformed into a country that expresses humanity and "core decency" so it can remain a "beacon of hope" to the rest of the world.
Trail is new place for Michelle Obama Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA Barack Obama of Illinois, said he is running for president. After she ends her duties as vice president of community and external affairs at the University ...
Glamour, grit and homespun charm: Mrs Obama gets another day job Times Online - UK Michelle Obama, the Harvard-educated African-American wife of the Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, announced yesterday that she was quitting ...
Obama assails private Medicare plans Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA DES MOINES, Iowa --Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Friday proposed cutting government subsidies to private insurance companies under ...
Grassley-Obama sparring continues over veto override DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA Washington, DC - Barack Obama and Iowa's senior US senator continued to spar Friday over a call to bring troops home from Iraq. ...
Corporate gifts to Obama? It never happened ... Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA I have watched Barack Obama since he entered the state Legislature many years ago. I have compared him and his ethics with those of people I have known in ...
Corporations did not give any money to Obama and they are not going to have any hold on him in his public life. I have watched Barack Obama since he entered the state Legislature many years ago. I have compared him and his ethics with those of people I have known in political arenas over the last 50 years that I have been active in public life. He is in the mold of the late Senators Paul Douglas and Paul Simon. The only "Inc." you can put after his name is if you are starting to spell the word "incorruptible."
Jesse Jackson Jr. asks black Dems to back Obama The Decatur Daily - Decatur,AL,USA Barack Obama in the state’s presidential primary. The ADC, the state’s oldest and most influential black political organization, will not formally endorse a ...
Jackson said it’s time to come together and build a more perfect union. Instead of questioning whether a candidate is “black enough,” some people need to let go and move on, Jackson said. That would mean some people will have to stop holding onto the past and start looking to the future, he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, rich or poor,” Jackson said. “We need to build a more perfect union for everybody.” The ADC convention theme was “Taking Back Alabama in 2008.” ADC Chairman Joe Reed said he looked forward to October when the group will meet in Birmingham to make its endorsements.
Jackson said it’s time to come together and build a more perfect union.
Instead of questioning whether a candidate is “black enough,” some people need to let go and move on, Jackson said.
That would mean some people will have to stop holding onto the past and start looking to the future, he said.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, rich or poor,” Jackson said. “We need to build a more perfect union for everybody.”
The ADC convention theme was “Taking Back Alabama in 2008.”
ADC Chairman Joe Reed said he looked forward to October when the group will meet in Birmingham to make its endorsements.
Obama's candidacy raises, answers myriad concerns The Argus - Fremont,CA,USA THE PICTURES I took at the Oakland rally for Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama include about four of the Rotunda building across from where he ...
In recent weeks, Obama has been gaining in the polls. Most show him making steady progress. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been running a parody that calls Obama "the Magic Negro" white liberals can support and assuage their racial guilt. Some have called it offensive, particularly with the increase in hate mail and Web postings. Obama's campaign has called it simply dumb. I have another take on the racial angle. The Limbaughs of the world would dismiss it as white liberal guilt, but I wonder if electing a black man as president wouldn't help our country begin the process of racial healing. It wouldn't negate the need to continue the work to eliminate entrenched discrimination and racial disparities in health, education and wealth. However, if we can send a black man to the White House and he can serve his term or terms, we've made progress I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime.
In recent weeks, Obama has been gaining in the polls. Most show him making steady progress.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been running a parody that calls Obama "the Magic Negro" white liberals can support and assuage their racial guilt. Some have called it offensive, particularly with the increase in hate mail and Web postings. Obama's campaign has called it simply dumb.
I have another take on the racial angle. The Limbaughs of the world would dismiss it as white liberal guilt, but I wonder if electing a black man as president wouldn't help our country begin the process of racial healing. It wouldn't negate the need to continue the work to eliminate entrenched discrimination and racial disparities in health, education and wealth.
However, if we can send a black man to the White House and he can serve his term or terms, we've made progress I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime.
Obama's half-sister helps kick off local campaign Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Honolulu,HI,USA Hawaii-born presidential candidate Barack Obama sees Hawaii as "a fabulous model for the kind of America I hope this campaign will bring about." ...
"He was instrumental in helping me make good decisions, and reminding me of my strengths," she said. Race and Obama's Kenyan heritage have been the focus of many discussions around his candidacy, and Soetoro-Ng said it gets frustrating because Obama comes from a culturally diverse family. "I think to focus on that is to cheapen things," she said. "He has enough complexity so that when he acts or speaks, he's thinking of people of all races and creeds." Locally, the campaign hopes to recruit as many as 7,000 supporters to join the Hawaii Democratic Party and vote in the Feb. 19 precinct caucus, campaign coordinator Andy Winer said. More than 100 people showed up at yesterday's kickoff and planning session. State Sen. Clarence Nishihara said Obama reflects Hawaii's aloha spirit. "Internationally, if people find you come from Hawaii, somehow they think we're something special, something out there," Nishihara said. "We provide a different kind of American ... the kind we need to work toward."
"He was instrumental in helping me make good decisions, and reminding me of my strengths," she said.
Race and Obama's Kenyan heritage have been the focus of many discussions around his candidacy, and Soetoro-Ng said it gets frustrating because Obama comes from a culturally diverse family.
"I think to focus on that is to cheapen things," she said. "He has enough complexity so that when he acts or speaks, he's thinking of people of all races and creeds."
Locally, the campaign hopes to recruit as many as 7,000 supporters to join the Hawaii Democratic Party and vote in the Feb. 19 precinct caucus, campaign coordinator Andy Winer said.
More than 100 people showed up at yesterday's kickoff and planning session.
State Sen. Clarence Nishihara said Obama reflects Hawaii's aloha spirit.
"Internationally, if people find you come from Hawaii, somehow they think we're something special, something out there," Nishihara said. "We provide a different kind of American ... the kind we need to work toward."
The easy case for President Obama St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg,FL,USA Anyone who underestimates the Illinois senator's ...
In a crowded field where at least 20 states may vote on Feb. 5, 2008, campaign money can't be underestimated. As the field of aspiring Hillary alternatives winnows, that only helps Obama. "We're going to be competing everywhere on Feb. 5. The only other person that can say that is Hillary, " said Miami lawyer Kirk Wager, Obama's Florida finance chairman. Given his lack of experience on the national stage, Obama, of course, must hope that the 2008 election is more about change than it is about the war on terror. But even there judgment may trump experience; unlike his leading rivals, Obama opposed invading Iraq from the start. "I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. ... I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida, " Obama said in 2002. "In some ways, Obama's redefining what experience is. His line - 'look what experience has gotten us' - I think that resonates, " said Bernie Campbell of Tampa, a veteran Democratic consultant who sees Obama as a strong contender. "He's got a message that competes, he's got a staff that competes, and he's got the money that competes, " said Campbell. Once he beats Clinton in the primary, the general election looks almost easy given the state of the Republican image lately. That Obama is winning over his share of Republicans at the same time he's pulling liberals from Clinton's camp, shows how strong he could be in the general election. Never underestimate the strength of a candidate that a broad array of people feel good about supporting. Barack Obama, the embodiment of the American dream, may prove the perfect candidate for an electorate hungry for optimism.
In a crowded field where at least 20 states may vote on Feb. 5, 2008, campaign money can't be underestimated. As the field of aspiring Hillary alternatives winnows, that only helps Obama.
"We're going to be competing everywhere on Feb. 5. The only other person that can say that is Hillary, " said Miami lawyer Kirk Wager, Obama's Florida finance chairman.
Given his lack of experience on the national stage, Obama, of course, must hope that the 2008 election is more about change than it is about the war on terror. But even there judgment may trump experience; unlike his leading rivals, Obama opposed invading Iraq from the start.
"I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. ... I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida, " Obama said in 2002.
"In some ways, Obama's redefining what experience is. His line - 'look what experience has gotten us' - I think that resonates, " said Bernie Campbell of Tampa, a veteran Democratic consultant who sees Obama as a strong contender.
"He's got a message that competes, he's got a staff that competes, and he's got the money that competes, " said Campbell.
Once he beats Clinton in the primary, the general election looks almost easy given the state of the Republican image lately. That Obama is winning over his share of Republicans at the same time he's pulling liberals from Clinton's camp, shows how strong he could be in the general election.
Never underestimate the strength of a candidate that a broad array of people feel good about supporting. Barack Obama, the embodiment of the American dream, may prove the perfect candidate for an electorate hungry for optimism.
Newark mayor to back Obama Chicago Tribune Sun, 13 May 2007 3:53 AM PDT Sen. Barack Obama will pick up a significant endorsement Monday when Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J., is expected to formally announce his support for the Illinois Democrat in the 2008 presidential primary.
Obama Draws 3000 in Missouri Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama urged about 3000 supporters Saturday to help send members to Congress who will oppose the war in Iraq. ...
Ireland Claims Obama as Its Own Washington Post Sat, 12 May 2007 7:23 PM PDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is the talk of the tiny Irish village of Moneygall.
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The Barack the House Link Party is a regular compilation of news items that highlight the many reasons why Barack Obama will be a great President of the United States.
Mrs Obama steps into the spotlight Times Online - UK The wife of Barack Obama, the presidential candidate who is tussling with Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic choice to succeed President Bush, ...
And in recent weeks Mrs Obama, who is tall and striking, has also deployed alone on the campaign trail, making speeches in churches in Illinois and Carolina. In a letter sent to potential donors earlier this month she wrote: "I'm now one of those 'other' kind of people Barack talks about — the people who believe democracy can live up to its promise, who are not just willing to do their part to make it work but who are enthused about the prospect."
Michelle Obama: Campaigning her way USA Today - USA Barack Obama, is a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, but in an interview with USA TODAY, she admits she hasn't thought much about ...
Obama, 43, says she has overcome the qualms she once had about her husband's political career and presidential ambitions. She says she's comfortable being his emissary, collecting the concerns and hopes of the voters she meets and sharing them with him. A vice president of the University of Chicago Hospitals, she now works part time and limits her campaigning to day trips so she can make breakfast for their daughters — Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5 — and be home in time to tuck them in at night. She used to have a cynical view of politics, she says, because politicians she admired — but won't identify — were "afraid of taking a stand because they don't want to lose their seat or their position." "I never had doubt about what Barack could offer, and that's what kind of spiraled me out of my own doubt," she says. "I don't want to be the person that holds back a potential answer" to the nation's challenges. She had to overcome concerns that her husband could get "chewed up" by the whole "messy business" of politics, she says.
Obama, 43, says she has overcome the qualms she once had about her husband's political career and presidential ambitions. She says she's comfortable being his emissary, collecting the concerns and hopes of the voters she meets and sharing them with him. A vice president of the University of Chicago Hospitals, she now works part time and limits her campaigning to day trips so she can make breakfast for their daughters — Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5 — and be home in time to tuck them in at night.
She used to have a cynical view of politics, she says, because politicians she admired — but won't identify — were "afraid of taking a stand because they don't want to lose their seat or their position."
"I never had doubt about what Barack could offer, and that's what kind of spiraled me out of my own doubt," she says. "I don't want to be the person that holds back a potential answer" to the nation's challenges. She had to overcome concerns that her husband could get "chewed up" by the whole "messy business" of politics, she says.
Obama Renews Pressing Grassley on Iraq Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters ...
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters should urge the Iowa lawmaker to help override President Bush's veto of a bill that would set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Obama addressed the issue during the eighth campaign swing through Iowa since he declared his candidacy for president. "It isn't personal," Obama told about 300 people at a town hall meeting at Simpson College. "I respect him greatly. But I said then and I say now that he needs to hear from you and people across Iowa who understand that it's time to change course." Obama has made his opposition to the war in Iraq a central theme of his campaign.
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters should urge the Iowa lawmaker to help override President Bush's veto of a bill that would set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Obama addressed the issue during the eighth campaign swing through Iowa since he declared his candidacy for president.
"It isn't personal," Obama told about 300 people at a town hall meeting at Simpson College. "I respect him greatly. But I said then and I say now that he needs to hear from you and people across Iowa who understand that it's time to change course."
Obama has made his opposition to the war in Iraq a central theme of his campaign.
Barack Gets It Right On Limbaugh's "Barack The Magic Negro" Parody Huffington Post - New York,NY,USA That's how Presidential candidate Barack Obama responded when Paul W. Smith with Detroit's WJR Radio asked him about the Rush Limbaugh's parody song "Barack ...
Obama didn't take Limbaugh's bait. Good for him. Obama understands that the continuing name calling from the right further confirms his skyrocketing viability as the Democratic nominee. Obama also understands that talking about race is a scary thing in America. Especially for a politician. Race is a third rail issue that can end a career. Obama knows that race is a huge elephant in his room and both the Obama haters and the Obamaniacs are watching his every word on all things racial. Obama also understands that he doesn't need to care what Limbaugh's listeners think. They aren't voting for him. So, instead of a even criticizing Limbaugh, Obama deftly swats off the controversy with humor, which shows leadership. Obama knows to win that it's not worth making Rush's molehill more of a mountain. Like the Rutgers's ladies, Obama is a class act.
Obama Has Harlem Locked New California Media - San Francisco,CA,USA Senator Barack Obama will have the Black vote solidly in his corner if street pundits along Harlem’s famed 125th Street are to be taken as a measure of how ...
Senator Barack Obama will have the Black vote solidly in his corner if street pundits along Harlem’s famed 125th Street are to be taken as a measure of how African Americans are weighing their votes between the Illinois senator and New York’s Hillary Clinton. Coincidentally, top Harlem politician Bill Perkins today announced his endorsement of Obama. Some of the people interviewed say they don’t want to see a Clinton dynasty, while others say she panders too much to the right with her stance on the Iraq war and unquestioned backing for Israel. At the end of the day, Obama will win Black votes because he’s the first Black presidential candidate with a realistic chance at winning the White House, many say.
Obama represents generational change Coshocton Tribune - Coshocton,OH,USA SAN DIEGO - As someone who could become the first African-American president, Barack Obama can't help but make history - even the unwelcome kind. ...
An Obama presidency would be a refreshing change and would almost certainly benefit from the fact that the candidate is not burdened by what he calls the "psychodrama of the baby boom generation" with its endless feuds, grudges and hard feelings dating back to the conflicts of the 1960s. If nothing else, it'll be a nice change - from this point forward - not to hear every foreign policy challenge described as "another Vietnam." OK, we get it. That war went a long way toward defining the baby boomers. But that doesn't mean it has to define our nation's foreign policy for the next century. It's time to bury those ghosts. Fifty years from now, people will look back and they won't believe that during the 2004 presidential election - the first since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - the debate in America wasn't really over the location of Osama bin Laden but over whether John Kerry was ever in Cambodia or whether George W. Bush spent the requisite amount of time in Alabama to maintain his status as a member of the Air National Guard. You would have thought we could have found something more urgent to focus on - like how best to combat the threat of global terrorism. We need a new national mindset, and step one is to usher in a new generation of leaders. One waits in the wings.
An Obama presidency would be a refreshing change and would almost certainly benefit from the fact that the candidate is not burdened by what he calls the "psychodrama of the baby boom generation" with its endless feuds, grudges and hard feelings dating back to the conflicts of the 1960s. If nothing else, it'll be a nice change - from this point forward - not to hear every foreign policy challenge described as "another Vietnam."
OK, we get it. That war went a long way toward defining the baby boomers. But that doesn't mean it has to define our nation's foreign policy for the next century. It's time to bury those ghosts.
Fifty years from now, people will look back and they won't believe that during the 2004 presidential election - the first since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - the debate in America wasn't really over the location of Osama bin Laden but over whether John Kerry was ever in Cambodia or whether George W. Bush spent the requisite amount of time in Alabama to maintain his status as a member of the Air National Guard. You would have thought we could have found something more urgent to focus on - like how best to combat the threat of global terrorism.
We need a new national mindset, and step one is to usher in a new generation of leaders. One waits in the wings.
Obama taps influential foreign policy experts Chicago Sun-Times Thu, 10 May 2007 3:24 AM PDT The inner circle of foreign policy experts advising Sen. Barack Obama is small but influential. If he is elected president, his secretary of state and national security advisers may come from this group.
For Obama's presidential bid, Senate staffer Mark Lippert is the critical link between the campaign, the Senate staff and the senator. Lippert has accompanied Obama on the three international trips Obama has taken while in office. Lippert, who has a master's from Stanford in international policy, has had a hand in every major Obama speech and statement on international affairs and deals with the senator daily. Lippert, a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy Reserve, came to Obama after working on the Senate Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee for five years and has handled foreign policy and defense issues for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. Besides Lippert, the core Obama group consists of three people who worked in President Bill Clinton's administration: former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and former senior State Department officials Susan Rice and Gregory Craig. They meet regularly in Washington. Lake was the NSA adviser during Clinton's first term. Rice was the senior adviser on national security affairs for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004, an assistant secretary of state for African affairs and a special assistant to the president at the National Security Council at the Clinton White House.
For Obama's presidential bid, Senate staffer Mark Lippert is the critical link between the campaign, the Senate staff and the senator. Lippert has accompanied Obama on the three international trips Obama has taken while in office. Lippert, who has a master's from Stanford in international policy, has had a hand in every major Obama speech and statement on international affairs and deals with the senator daily.
Lippert, a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy Reserve, came to Obama after working on the Senate Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee for five years and has handled foreign policy and defense issues for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
Besides Lippert, the core Obama group consists of three people who worked in President Bill Clinton's administration: former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and former senior State Department officials Susan Rice and Gregory Craig. They meet regularly in Washington. Lake was the NSA adviser during Clinton's first term. Rice was the senior adviser on national security affairs for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004, an assistant secretary of state for African affairs and a special assistant to the president at the National Security Council at the Clinton White House.
Obama's Economic Brain Trust Breaks With `Status Quo' Bloomberg via Yahoo! News Thu, 10 May 2007 8:27 AM PDT May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Barack Obama portrays himself as a new kind of leader who transcends conventional politics. Judging by the economists he has enlisted in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may just be.
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Barack Obama (news">Link, bio">Link, voting">Link record) portrays himself as a new kind of leader who transcends conventional politics. Judging by the economists he has enlisted in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may just be. Obama's economic brain trust -- a blend of up-and-coming academics and former officials in President Bill Clinton's administration -- displays a fondness for backing innovative solutions to the nation's problems. Among them: offering ailing U.S. automakers aid in return for increased investment in hybrid cars and rewarding doctors for the improvements they make in patients' health. ``They bring to the campaign some fresh thought on approaches that are non-status quo,'' says Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Barack Obama (news">Link, bio">Link, voting">Link record) portrays himself as a new kind of leader who transcends conventional politics. Judging by the economists he has enlisted in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may just be.
Obama's economic brain trust -- a blend of up-and-coming academics and former officials in President Bill Clinton's administration -- displays a fondness for backing innovative solutions to the nation's problems. Among them: offering ailing U.S. automakers aid in return for increased investment in hybrid cars and rewarding doctors for the improvements they make in patients' health.
``They bring to the campaign some fresh thought on approaches that are non-status quo,'' says Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.
EXCLUSIVE: George Stephanopoulos Interviews Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama ABC News Thu, 10 May 2007 9:53 AM PDT Obama Sits Down for First Sunday Morning Interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos
Obama Criticizes Automakers on Fuel Economy New York Times - New York,NY,USA DETROIT, May 7 — Senator Barack Obama of Illinois delivered a stern message to Detroit auto companies on Monday, saying they had done little to lessen the ...
Michelle Obama says husband has moral compass Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA WINDHAM, NH --Presidential hopeful Barack Obama electrified his audience with his 2004 address to the Democratic National Convention and was heralded as the ...
Voters pack Windham house party for Michelle Obama The Union Leader - Manchester,NH,USA WINDHAM - Michelle Obama, wife of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, stirred a house full of people yesterday with her personal stories of her husband and ...
In Lincoln's footsteps Guardian Unlimited - UK For even the most seasoned observers of American politics, Barack Obama is a phenomenon. In normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable for a politician ...
I've met Barack on a number of occasions and consider him a friend. And I have been pleasantly surprised to see that his presidential bid has been met with such widespread warmth and enthusiasm. As Barack himself is frequently at pains to point out, all this excitement says as much about the mood of the American public as it does about the unusual talents of the junior senator from Illinois. The British publication of his new book, The Audacity of Hope, therefore offers readers on this side of the Atlantic a window not just into the mind of one of America's most exciting politicians, but into the political landscape of the post-Bush era.
I've met Barack on a number of occasions and consider him a friend. And I have been pleasantly surprised to see that his presidential bid has been met with such widespread warmth and enthusiasm. As Barack himself is frequently at pains to point out, all this excitement says as much about the mood of the American public as it does about the unusual talents of the junior senator from Illinois.
The British publication of his new book, The Audacity of Hope, therefore offers readers on this side of the Atlantic a window not just into the mind of one of America's most exciting politicians, but into the political landscape of the post-Bush era.
Can Oprah push Obama into White House? Houston Chronicle - Houston,TX,USA Barack Obama, D-Ill. In an interview on Larry King Live on CNN, she said she was backing the senator "because I know him personally." ...
Obama stories prompt racist postings Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA Stories about White House hopeful Barack Obama on CBS News.com have been attracting so many racist comments that staffers were told they should no longer ...
Obama's backers can't get enough Detroit Free Press - Detroit,MI,USA Barack Obama's supporters in Michigan want to hear more specifics, more details, more of his plans for the nation. But mostly, they want him. ...
REPUBLICANS DEFECT TO OBAMA Free Market News Network - Pompano Beach,FL,USA DISILLUSIONED supporters of President George W Bush are defecting to Barack Obama, the Democratic senator for Illinois, as the White House candidate with ...
Obama urges Iowans to lobby congress to end the Iraq war DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA WATERLOO, IA — Presidential candidate Barack Obama called for Iowans to lobby their US senators to end the war in Iraq during a campaign stop here Sunday. ...
For Barack Obama, Winning the White House Would Mean Bridging The ... Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA Barack Obama's white supporters, this is the dialogue of race, the parsing of perceptions and expectations as they watch their man campaign. ...
