Hi.

Yes We Did!

John — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:38:21 EST

Congratulations to Barack Obama and Joe Biden on their historic victory!

Elegant Obama Cake

John — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:28:18 EDT

Obama cake!

John — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:27:13 EDT

It looks good!

Obama Caves

John — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:22:09 EDT

Inevitable and sadly valid Republican talking point:

Barack couldn't stand up to the Clintons -- how can we expect him to stand up to Putin, Ahmadinejad, etc.

I Donated Again!

John — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:39:44 EDT

I guess this means my snit over FISA & funding for "faith-based" (i.e. religious) programs is over. I have never not wanted Obama to win, and I have never forgotten that feeling in 2004 that I hadn't done enough. I don't want to feel like that again.

The audacity of gutting the Constitution

John — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:37:29 EDT

I guess he figures he has the liberal/progressive/whatever vote locked up so he doesn't have to defend Constitutional principles. I still want him to win in November, but after this vote, how can he credibly swear to uphold the Constitution?

I'm done donating for now. I won't be brining up his candidacy with my friends anymore, because I will not be able to defend him on this count. And I won't be so caught up in this site's fun but ultimately silly point system anymore.

The audacity of gutting the Constitution

John — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:37:09 EDT

Faith-Based? No--Religious!

John — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:00:50 EDT

"Faith-based" is a recent invention, an obfuscating piece of doubletalk Orwell wouldn't have been able to imagine for "1984." I didn't like it from Bush (who may have invented it), but I like it less from Obama.

Expanding Bush's "Faith-Based" Initiative

John — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:08:41 EDT

First, why does anyone say "faith-based" when "religious" is a perfectly good word?

I'm not happy at all about the news today, but I guess that's the point--Barack wants to prove that he's not only for people like me (people who believe in fundamental constitutional principles such as the separation of church and state). Well, let Ned Flanders be his small donor for a while then.

McCain and the C-Word

John — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:02:53 EDT

It's well-documented that John McCain called him wife the dreaded "C-word." Why does the mainstream press refuse to report this. They could not stop with trying to blame Obama for what his pastor said. But McCain said something worse--and it was he himself who said it! Press bias for Obama? I hardly think so!

Al Gore is Late

John — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:41:27 EDT

No one thought he wouldn't be for the Dem. nominee over McCain. An endorsement from him would have meant something a month ago, or even as late as that Tuesday night when Sen. Clinton (D-NY) outrageously refused to concede.

Confused McCain Continually Contradicts Self

John — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:01:33 EDT

This video is one of many that shows how John McCain can't keep his positions straight. Do we really want this poor a public speaker representing us internationally? He's almost incoherent! I wouldn't even want him for my senator!

1996: Clinton & Dole

John — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:25:07 EDT

This election reminds me of the match up of Bill Clinton vs. Bob Dole in the 1996 election. Bob was old and out of touch, Bill was completely in touch with the politics & media of the moment, and it never really felt like the election would go any way other than it did in the end.

But let's not be overconfident!

Someone Donated!

John — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:19:53 EDT

I got the first donation on the fundraising thermometer on my page! It came in conjunction with the Brown-Bag for Obama even I created--$10 toward my goal of $1,000 is just a tiny bit of red on the scale, but it's a start, and a very exciting feeling. Maybe you'd like to add some more?

"Obama" is a town in Japan

John — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:16:40 EDT

I hope it's true--I read it on Wikipedia!

Statue Depicts Obama as Christ

John — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:01:36 EDT

The controversial artwork was made in Chicago. READ MORE!

Drawing of Obama

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:45:32 EDT

By Rob Pepper

Brown-Bag It for Barack in NYC on Tuesday

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:34:59 EDT

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gsd3

Instead of paying big bucks for that fancy New York lunch, bring your own on Tuesday--and donate the difference (or more!) to the campaign. It's easy! Maybe we can even get together in the park. Sign up today!

Obama Logo Cake

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:29:15 EDT

From photobucket.

Obama Cake from California

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:24:50 EDT

Cake by Noe Valley Bakery for Rickshaw's party.

Obama Cake from South Carolina

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:16:38 EDT

Cake we can believe in! Photo by nonprophet.

Another Obama Cake!

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:11:58 EDT

I found it at Wonkette.

More Obama Cake!

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:57:42 EDT

Photo from Flickr, cake from the great state of Iowa, which kicked off Obama's victorious primary season--thank you Iowa!

Obama Cookie Cake

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:37:24 EDT

From David's Cookies.

Mmm... More Obama Cake!

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:29:48 EDT

Cake and photo by pastrybitch.

Another Brooklyn Obama Mural

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:19:26 EDT

Photo by EricaJoy.

Obama Mural by Koolhats

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:12:45 EDT

Santa Fe, NM. Photo by Seetwist.

"Gobama!" by Ben Brown

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:02:44 EDT

Ben is selling T-shirts with this cool, video-game inspired image.

Obama Cake

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:57:22 EDT

From Charlotte, NC. Photo by nonprophet

Obama Shoe

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:45:18 EDT

From Flickr

Obama/Lincoln Mashup

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:36:28 EDT

"Abraham Obama," by Ron English

Brooklyn Obama Mural

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:22:21 EDT

Photo by threecee

Obama on Flickr

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:35:58 EDT

This fun photo is by DeltaNiner.

Clinton Supporter Says No to VP Dreams

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:37:52 EDT

I found an interesting comment after this post about Obama's VP choice at the NY Times site:

To be honest with you, I could care less about who obama is going to have as his running mate. I know this sounds strange coming from a Hillary supporter, but I don’t want to see her as a vp. I belive they wouldn’t be able to work together well enough. It would only hurt her career.. Come on we know she’s just backing him because of the democratic party.
— Posted by jane doe

I think she means she COULDN'T care less. I think everyone sees they wouldn't work well together. As for the argument about Clinton's career, well, that's her own problem

"Dreams of My Father"--the Movie!

John — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:11:51 EDT

If "Dreams of My Father" were made into a movie, who would you want to see in the cast?

Clinton's Money Woes & Obama

John — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:18:42 EDT

NY Times article on the Clinton campaign's debt.

Should Obama's campaign help Clinton's out of its debt? From where I stand, it looks like an easy "no": she stayed in the contest long after she could possibly win, and she spent these millions in a destructive campaign against the de facto nominee, Obama. Therefore, part of me says let McCain rather than Obama bail her out--he's the one she helped!

However, some help from the Obama campaign might put some teeth to our party's push for unity.

I was relieved to read in the article that the Obama campaign by law cannot just sign over some of its money to the Clinton campaign (it would have to raise new funds instead). I think many, many small doners like me would be dismayed to indirectly support the ignominious campaign the Clintons chose to run.

Obama Gear on Back Order!

John — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:24:53 EDT

I was going to buy my dad a campaign T-shirt for Fathers Day--but absolutely every shirt in the online store is on back order. It's bad news for me and Dad, but it might be another indication of this campaign's rampant success. (Or else maybe they just didn't order enough?)

"Thank You, Senator Clinton" Page at barackobama.com

John — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:30:27 EDT

The picture of Sen. Clinton (NY) that's been up on the front of barackobama.com since her concession is one of the best images of her to come out of the entire campaign. It's an interesting demonstration of the Obama campaign aesthetic, put to use on an unexpected subject. The style makes the people it's applied to look like a combination between a superhero and a religious figure--maybe accurately so?

Looking Forward, Keeping Positive

John — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:33:24 EDT

My previous post was about polling data from the primary, and it immediately was met with two somewhat critical replies. (Thank you to everyone who commented!) One agreed with me that we must move on from the primary now (an ideal I didn't live up to in my post), and that the polling material I linked to was off-topic anyway. The other commenter was upset that so much of our work and discussion is about Obama's opponents, rather than Obama himself.

I agree with both commenters, at least partially.

But just one day after Clinton's concession, it's difficult to switch gears suddenly. I know I am not the only one who found the primary frustrating, even enraging at times, and the strong feelings it aroused in us are hard to suddenly silence the moment Barack's final primary opponent conceded.

Maybe we should act like they are, though. In just a few more days, it will be even easier to let the primary race go. In a few weeks, it will start to become difficult to remember in detail (and at that point, we should resist the urge to google it all back up!). We should of course look to it for lessons learned, but not to fire up old fights.

The second commenter's point, that we should focus on Obama and not his competitors, is more complicated. In life and rhetoric, I do believe emphasizing the positive often leads to success, but in campaigns it can become more difficult. We found this out in the primary when the opposing campaign made so many strange and provocative moves--it really did make the attacker the subject, and that did make Barack weaker in the short term. John McCain is a less formidable opponent, so things may change in this regard.

However. This is not a pretty thing to admit, but a positive standpoint is a challenge to blogging. Most forms of entertaining writing exploit the excitement inherent in conflict, and the most basic way to create rhetorical conflict is with opposing forces--a positive, but also a negative. I agree with my commentor that we shouldn't lavish attention or even name mentions on our opponents. I curious to see the options this will leave me, us.

Hillary's Constituency? Let's Not Get Carried Away

John — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:34:12 EDT

Clinton lost and it's time to focus on McCain. Still, in the gracious response to her un-graciously belated exit from the race, she's somehow getting credited for every woman's vote. On TPM someone even wrote that she's "the undisputed leader of American women." The rebuttal on the Jed Report includes figures that reveal Obama did much better among woman primary voters than people are acting like now, and that he lead among nonwhite women.

Smokey the Parrot: "Yes We Can...Obama! Obama!"

John — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:46:05 EDT

I love this crazy bird!

"Dehydrated Babies" Remix on youtube!

John — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:59:03 EDT

It was only a matter of time!

Sen. Clinton (NY) Says Bye

John — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:56:55 EDT

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/199210.php

The moment we've all been waiting for finally arrived!

I hope she really does work nonstop for Barack. I think she will, and thereby establish herself as a permanent force in the Democratic Party, her and her 17 million. The actual numbers will shrink, but we may be hearing that figure for a long time.

Obama campaign logo

John — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:50:59 EDT

http://www.herecomesthescience.com/2008/02/06/the-genius-of-the-obama-campaign-logo/

That's an article from February celebrating the success of the Obama logo, especially as contrasted to the logos of the other campaigns.

I did a casual google search and I couldn't find a credit for the design. Who did it?

Bollywood Barack

John — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:12:00 EDT

I don't know if this video is really pro-Obama or if it's just into him as an icon. It's several months old, and when I first saw it in February or March, it was my first realization of how powerful Senator Obama's image is, across cultures. If this is the youtube election, they we have already won.

McCain: "We should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies!"

John — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:07:56 EDT

Even in context (he was talking about Katrina), it's a weird thing to say!

What a week!

John — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:36:51 EDT

Note: find links below

Remember the 1984 Ad? Watch it again--it came true! Now it's a classic.

And now Hillary's scaremongering 3 AM ad will go down in history too.

Now that the nomination is finally won, I'm looking at old footage from the beginning of the campaign through now; this is the first year anyone's really been able to do that. I look at the commercials but also not-so-old news footage that has changed meaning in the weeks or days when it was made. A recent fave: Hillary Clinton telling Katie Couric that she never even considers the possibility that she won't win the nomination, probably on February 5--it's reavealing! After November or whenever the election is finally over, we'll have the entire campaign to look back on the Internet as an instant historical artifact.

I wish I could have put links in this post or embedded video, but the software seems very rudimentary. So, I will cut and paste, and you should too:

1984: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3G-lMZxjo

It WILL be Hillary!, she says, before one vote has been cast!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07BPFPy6tkE

I'd link to the 3AM ad, but seriously, it's hard to find among all the parodies, riffs, and commentary in the youtube search results. And, really, this isn't the time for that kind of thing anyway.

!

John — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:20:26 EDT

I blogged a big, long first post, but the software lost it. Main points: Is a blog on a campaign site less credible? Will it create new uses for blogging software? How will it be used in organizing?