We played by the rules, so should everyone else. It would unjust to seat delegates where no campaigning was allowed, where voters were told beforehand that their delegates wouldn't count so many didn't vote, and in the case of Michigan Obama's name wasn't even on the ballot.
Sign the petition here. It takes only 2 seconds. And PASS IT AROUND!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/556373523
ps- My apologies if you got this twice
At long last! The South Carolina primary has descended upon us. All we in every other state can do is sit back and watch the voters do their stuff. Only outstaters on the ground in SC can help us win now.
I eagerly await the results of the election.
On a side note, I saw a Barack Obama commercial on tv today. You know what that means? Suddenly, Pennsylvania has moved to the front of the election. I read an AP story which said that the post-Super Tuesday primaries are now almost as, if not more, important than Super Tuesday primaries.
It'd be nice for Pennsylvania to be important in both April and November for a change!
It is for this reason that Obama will win the nomination for president in the Democratic party. As we venture out via telephone and door to door, as we meet our neighbors and co-workers at the supermarket or house of worship, as we gather with our families and friends at dinners and parties, our drive to express our support for Barack and the kind of people we are will convince enough people ultimately to recognize who Obama is and what he truly stands for.
I looked at the large crowds that formed on Saturday to caucus at the fairgrounds in Fallon, Nevada where I was working on behalf of Barack. Although many Clinton supporters were wearing buttons, t-shirts and seemed friendly, they bore no resemblance to the Obama supporters, who were all ages, more diverse, energized, and seemed to be almost boastful in their exuberance to cast their ballot for Barack. The Clinton people seemed to be subdued, unapproachable and didn’t seem to be wishing to be challenged about why they were there to cast their ballot for Hillary.
I was proud of the people who were willing to step out and vote for Barack. These are the kind of people we are. They are thoughtful, insightful, well-informed and fun, to tell you the truth. Clinton people, on the other hand, looked kind of sheepish, as if they would jump over to the Obama line if they could just tweak their mind enough to step out of the conventional life they’ve lead or not worry about running into their stuck-up old friend at the market the next day.
It is truly the people in the campaign that make the difference. I have had the pleasure and the privilege to meet and work with dozens of wonderful people here in my local area, CD 12, San Mateo County, California. There are numerous dedicated people, and I won’t name them, but they know who they are. They motivate me, keep me sane and together we’ll work our butts off the next couple of weeks to make sure that everyone in our area gets out to vote on February 5th for Barack.
It is these people that I like to hang out with. I have made many lasting friends in this group, and I look forward to working on the Obama campaign with them until Barack takes the podium in November to let the entire country know that we did the right thing and that the one and only agent of change in this country will lead us into the next four years of prosperity, a cleaner environment, a better prospect in the Middle East with our troops rejoining their families, and an overall reversal so we get to regain many of the civil liberties that we’ve lost over the past eight years.
Glad to see people are starting to actually THINK now and think long term- beyond the primaries. I recently posted that Clinton would be the kiss of death for demcrats if she won the general election and I firmly believe that.
More and more people are coming out and saying the same thing. I read an ABC blog today and out of no more than 15 posts, several of them spoke to this very issue. Here are some of the comments:
He is drawing in a lot of young people and a lot of Independents and some Republicans, none of which will vote for Hillary Clinton! America had better wake up and fast!
I hope voters will really think about the implications of their vote. Clinton is hated by the right whether fair or not and she is turning off many life long democrats. You can't lead from day one winning 51% of the vote and losing seats in the House and Senate and that is if she could even manage to win. Forget attracting Indep. and Repubs, as she is going to lose democrats. How Clinton behaved in the debate last night is exactly why she could not get health care passed and why she will bring nothing but gridlock in Washington. We can't afford this America!
Hillary reminded American voters last night why they don't like her and will not consider voting for her under any circumstance. They were reminded that Hillary and Bill have real character issues. Dem. voters saw they have a real choice this primary season for a candidate who represents their best ideals, Sen. Barack Obama, or the worst of a rehash and embarassment of the scandals of the 1990s.
"We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them," Obama said. "The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity."
After a 6:00 AM departure from the Bay Area with my cohorts April Vargas and Bonny O’Daniel and an arrival at Reno HQ at 11:00, we witnessed what is making this campaign run, about 60 people either working or awaiting a briefing by the superb staff of Obama Reno. After a few hellos and a check-in with the powers that be, we were dispatched about three miles away to a briefing for experienced California volunteers at the University of Nevada. There were probably 100 people there.
After thorough instructions on what was expected of us and an explanation of the regions of Northern Nevada and what is expected of us with the Saturday caucus, the three of us were seemingly the only ones not given a packet with our individual assignments. Heather Hargreaves, the incredibly talented field training director of the Reno HQ, asked us if we’d be willing to head out to Fallon, about an hour and a half east of Reno, and being rural agricultural territory and a Republican stronghold, a challenge to say the least.
Once given directions and a bit of encouragement, off we went. The three of us stopped for lunch in Fernley, one hour east of Reno and site of the recent levy breach and flood, and of course started our canvassing with the waitress, who hadn’t planned to attend the caucus. A couple of moments with us and she was a committed Obama supporter and promised to drag her boyfriend, whom she was certain would caucus for Obama, as well.
Our work done there, we headed on to Fallon. The Churchill County Obama HQ is in the home of Nyla and Keith Howell, who have opened their home to the Barack Obama campaign and are not only the nicest people I’ve ever met, they are politically savvy, well connected in their community and about as selfless as people can be. Living in their home until yesterday were Nick Buis and Ally Coll, wonderful Obama staffers from the East Coast who have been working tirelessly in Fallon to direct volunteers to make the heavily Republican region Obama country.
After sitting in the lovely home and receiving a briefing on Fallon, Churchill County and what to expect, the three of us headed out, with Bonny partnering with a gentleman from Fallon and April and I venturing out on our own. It turns out that the neighborhoods that we were assigned were in precinct 5, and ironically, that was the precinct that became mine on caucus day. I would actually end up seeing several of the people whose doors I had knocked on over the previous two days.
April and I split up, and with temperatures hovering just below freezing, we walked the houses and apartments of what I would label a middle class area of Fallon. Knocking on doors in Democratic dominated San Mateo County is tough enough, but trying to speak to potential voters in rural Nevada is a real challenge. I will say that listening on Reno radio to misleading and disingenuous Hillary Clinton ads didn’t help with the ambience as we struggled to convince residents to get out and caucus for Obama.
The message that I want to leave you with is that you can make a difference. We can all make a difference. In a county with just 12,000 people, 1,000 people showed up at the Fallon County Fairgrounds to the Democratic caucus, and in precinct 5, Obama won 24 to 19 over Clinton. A tremendous victory for sure, but the larger victory and more amazing achievement is that Obama won in Churchill County.
On Friday, the day before the caucus, April and I heard on the local Right Wing radio station a reminder for Republicans to show up at their location at 9:00 AM sharp, which was correct, but when the announcer reminded Democrats that their caucus location was the fairgrounds, he erroneously told them to show up at 11:30, one half hour later than the actual time. Such is life in rural Nevada and a Republican controlled media.
We can make a tremendous difference in this presidential race. We can and must combat the dishonest Hillary advertisements and overcome the misinformation being put out by the Clintons and their surrogates. We must set the record straight on who Obama is, what he stands for, how he’ll change this country and yes, what incorrect propaganda is being put out about him as well.
I can’t speak loudly and strongly enough that we all must work very hard and we can make a difference. Don’t get discouraged; get busy. When April, Bonny and I were heading back to the Bay Area to rejoin our families, we learned that although Barack had lost the popular vote in Nevada, he had actually received one more delegate because he won in more counties and completely controlled the smaller outlying areas of Nevada. This is truly a triumph and something we can build on.
So if you have fifteen minutes, make some calls. If you have an hour, get down to your local headquarters and find out what you can do. If you have half a day, you can walk your neighborhood. The difference in Obama winning and coming in a close second is very slim. The power to put him over the top is within all of us. Let’s not allow an inferior candidate with a sub-par message mixed in with winning no matter what nefarious means she needs to use to beat the best chance we’ve had in years to truly change this country and change the feeling and direction of this world.
I am incredibly fired up and really ready to go. April and Bonny, thank you so much for being my partners in Nevada. CD 12 and everyone in the South San Francisco office, thank you for your encouragement and support. It was truly felt by all of us.
Let’s get going, and we can win this thing!
I think what happened in the past week gave our campaigning for Barack Obama a solid reality check. A gut check. A look in the mirror.
In the past week, we were all riding on feelings of euphoria and happiness. And there's nothing wrong with that. For everyone in the Obama camp, it was like November 1992 - good days were back again. We were jazzed up, we were thrilled. The polling was heavily in our favor.
It's like Monopoly - we just landed on free parking, win a boatlload of money to throw us in the lead, and then roll a ten and go to jail.
It's so much fun, the waiting and the expectation of Primary Day. I'm not from New Hampshire, but it's practically like it's my time to vote. Since Obama went into Iowa and made a statement in the way he won the state, I have been no less psyched for this primary tomorrow than I have been for the general election this November.
A time for change is upon us, and everyone knows it. If they didn't, we'd all be singing a different tune. Hillary can get emotional over what she thinks about this country, not wanting setbacks - ones which certain members of the otherside of the aisle have already brought - but it's not as if her not getting the nomination means the Republican will get elected.
It's far from that - who thinks a Republican is going to get elected in November to the White House? The Republicans (I'd hope) do, but I don't think a single Democrat is fearing Hillary not getting the nomination. Sure, they may prefer the former first lady, but not fear the internal alternatives. Nothing wrong fearing another Republican administration, though I hope maybe this time, we can work with them. Huckabee, Romney, McCain, sure. Guiliani? That's laughable.
But we haven't gotten that far yet. We've still got to see Barack win New Hampshire! Despite what the polls say, I'm sitting here cautiously. Because, if we've learned a lesson from Bush in office, never under-estimate your competition.
On this final night of Hanukkah we bring you greetings from Barack and his family:
My warmest greetings to all who are celebrating Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a fitting time to give thanks and hope for a more peaceful and free year throughout the world. As Jews throughout America and around the world come together to light the menorah and remember the miracle of Hanukkah, we are thankful for the blessing of religious freedom in America. We stand with all those who are oppressed around the world for their religious beliefs. The story of Hanukkah serves as an inspirational reminder that perseverance and faith can sustain us against difficult odds. Hanukkah's lessons inspire all to be hopeful for the future and to find light in times of darkness. Michelle and I extend our best wishes for a memorable Hanukkah observance and for peace, joy, and hope in the coming year. Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha
The Ed Schultz program is an excellent and fair-minded radio show that is hosted by a man who sits in Fargo, North Dakota, but his scope is definitely national. His popularity has been in a steady uphill climb since he made his debut three years ago, and he now regularly beats conservative talk show hosts in competing time slots around the country, people like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.
A week ago, Congressman Dennis Kucinich appeared on the full three-hour program of The Ed Schultz Show, and the response was so positive that Mr. Schultz repeated an hour on yesterday’s program to answer that demand.
I am hopeful that Barack Obama’s appearance on the program engenders the same or even better response from listeners to the program, and I am extremely excited to hear Obama have a fair yet detailed exchange with Ed Schultz, who pulls no punches, but allows his guests to fully express their points of view.
The Ed Schultz Show broadcasts live from 12:00 to 3:00 Eastern Daylight Time on Air America Networks all across the country, and his show is also heard in various other time slots on many radio stations. For additional details, please log on to www.bigeddieradio.com to discover when the Ed Schultz Show is broadcast in your area.
All of that has been known for years, and we also have to acknowledge that the Taliban is profiting greatly by their freedom to grow opium and that the US essentially abandoning the mission in Afghanistan has allowed Taliban fighters to concentrate on this growth, which has led to record sized crops.
But what has come to my attention is that we, the US and the rest of the world, has the technology to eradicate 93 percent of this crop from Afghanistan in 48 hours or less, and it sounds like a no brainer to me, and I wouldn’t imagine for a moment anyone, even the president of the United States, could or should do it alone, but I feel strongly that a US president, recognizing the severe damage in both addiction and crime, should take action on this and do the whole world a huge favor.
I believe it’s no secret that the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is really just another appendage of the Bush Administration and has resisted all efforts to get him to eradicate the opium crop or even curtail its growth, but Bush will leave office one of these days, and I am for our next president, Barack Obama, taking a stand right now that he’ll rid the world of this poison that causes so much turmoil in the communities of our country.
Obama should convene leaders of the countries of the world where heroin use is rampant, come to some agreement on what method to take to encourage the cooperation of the Afghani leadership, and if Karzai still refuses to go along with the wishes of the world, I believe that it would be appropriate at that point for the nations of this world to eradicate the poppy crop themselves.
The chemical glyphosate, which is the main ingredient in the product Roundup, is the active agent that can be sprayed on opium poppies and it has been proven to destroy the vast majority of the crop. This will create new problems for heroin users who depend both physically and emotionally on this substance to satisfy their addiction, but I also believe that diversion programs and appropriate medical intervention and education should be introduced simultaneous to the action of eradication.
It’s time for Obama to set himself apart from the other candidates and not continue to play follow the leader or lead the followers any longer. This simple act will establish Barack Obama as a true leader who will make major changes in this country, and I for one would love to see this change take place ASAP.
We spent the majority of our evening speaking about three upcoming events that are extremely important to our local group which have national implications, and that is the nationwide event this Saturday, the Obama Turn the Page Canvass event, the house party that we are all working hard to put together and the Straw Poll that is coming up here in San Mateo County.
The Obama Turn the Page Canvass is to be held in San Mateo Central Park this Saturday, October 13th and will be the campaign’s second large scale canvassing event. We are encouraging everyone interested in participating in the democratic process to show up at 10:00 am at the center lawn area inside Central Park. The activities we will do on Saturday are empowering, enjoyable and a great way to show your civic spirit.
The house party will be held at the home of Sue Lempert here in San Mateo on November 9th, and this is a wonderful way to gather more information on Barack Obama, get together with people who truly care about the direction of our country and at the same time rub elbows with dignitaries and the movers and shakers of our community and beyond.
The Straw Poll is also a very important event. We all need to be present to cast our votes for Barack Obama to make certain that he has a healthy showing in this uniquely San Mateo County event. There will be numerous politically connected and community representatives present at this gathering, as well.
All of the information and details for these vitally important events are available on MyBarackObama.com, and I encourage you to check it out and then attend these fabulous events. Thank you in advance for participating!
Simply put, Obama answers every question put to him. He gives it his best shot every time, and I respect that. I’m growing tired of watching Hillary Clinton dodge questions, parse words and occasionally refuse to answer one. Barack Obama just doesn’t do that. I have heard people say that they’d like to see Obama answer differently, but he does answer.
I’m afraid that the Republicans have gotten too good at picking apart Democratic candidates. Two years ago, they tore a confirmed war hero to shreds by making him look like he was barely in Vietnam at the time. They have portrayed almost every Democrat in Congress as something other than they are, and most thinking and fair-minded Americans have seen through their diversions and facade, but there is still a sizeable percentage who believe the misleading rhetoric. That is a shame.
I want to avoid that same situation again in this next presidential election. Many Republicans it seems are lying in wait for Clinton to get the Democratic nomination because they want to feast on her foibles and exploit her negatives. If I have my choice, I don’t want to have another cookie-cutter candidate on the Democratic side that makes me hold my breath when they answer a question, or in this case, sometimes not answer a question.
Barack Obama has no such negatives or questionable record to criticize. Oh, there have been plenty of made-up accusations, from the fact that Obama was trained in a Muslim terrorist training center to the fact that he has almost no experience in life and politics. The good thing is that Obama can survive these attacks, because these accusations have no basis in fact and he knows how to stand up to the baseless accusations.
I just can’t sit back and watch another election cycle where my candidate spends half of his/her time if not more defending something they said, or in this case, something they may not have said. This is not a problem that I believe will apply to Obama. He hits topics head on, and I would encourage him to continue to face these challenges directly and forthrightly. That is the only way to get over the top.
The truth is that I am fearful that Hillary Clinton may not have that ability, and I just don’t want to take that chance. If she is my ultimate candidate, I will back her fervently and unwaveringly, and I encourage her to do just as I encourage Barack Obama to do…don’t back down, answer every question and don’t accept anyone taking you off your message at any time.
In the meantime, Obama, keep up the good work and pace yourself. There’s still a long road ahead. If the path that you’re on looks as good as I think it does, this difficulty with Hillary answering or not answering will be moot.
Senator Obama, I have now heard your answer from last night’s presidential debate in New Hampshire several times, and I have digested all of the other candidates’ answers, as well, and I’m afraid that your answer didn’t cut it for me. I won’t go as far as to say I’m disappointed, but I will say that I want you to clarify your points and give a much stronger answer when asked questions about Iraq and what you’ll do when you’re president.
There are three reasons to get this country out of Iraq, and they’re quite simple. One, Democrats were made the majority of both houses of Congress in 2006 on a mandate to end our occupation and involvement in Iraq, and we’re sorely disappointed in what’s happened since, to say the least. Two, the people of this country in a very loud voice have made it perfectly clear that they want us out of Iraq, and for once they need to be heard. Three, you, as the commander-in-chief, will be elected to protect and defend the United States from enemies, foreign and domestic, and the last time I checked, Iraq posed no threat to this country. They didn’t when we bombed the hell out of them and they don’t now, when we’re killing them left and right.
George Bush and Dick Cheney have given us a clinic on how to ignore the will of the people, toy with the Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress and kiss the behinds of corporate America, their best friends on this earth, and as far as I’m concerned, this is a lost cause. I believe I speak for the vast majority of this country, and certainly just about everyone I know, when I say the day can’t come soon enough when they’re out of office. I personally hope they’re both behind bars by then or soon thereafter, but I’ll settle for the two of them to ride into the sunset never to be heard from again.
In the meantime, my focus has got to be on the future and what is best for this country. I completely support Obama, and Obama has to do what is right. Get us out of Iraq as soon as is humanly possible. Two American soldiers die on average every day in Iraq. Many more Iraqis die every day. I’m sick and tired of that, and I’m counting on you to do something about that.
So that leaves it up to the next president, and Barack Obama will be the next president. He must get our troops out of Iraq as his first act, and I believe he will. He recognizes that Bush has completely isolated this country, and as the candidates in the Democratic debate made perfectly clear last night, we have to change our policies, our direction and that George Bush cannot be trusted to do the right thing…on anything.
The world is a big place, and it seems like such a long time ago, but it was only eight years ago that an American could walk down the street in Europe, for example, and get a warm welcome and friendly greeting. It’s amazing to me that one president could change so much. Although I haven’t experienced this firsthand recently, I have a feeling that the world sees the US as stubborn, arrogant and a kind of tyrant that says we know best and we’ll do it our way whether you like it or not.
I have a 19-year-old daughter who has several friends who are in the military in one form or another, and I fear for them. Although I respect their decision to enter the armed forces to protect our country, I recognize that they may not get that chance, that their service to their country will be squandered in carrying out an aggressive act by our government instead.
What are we accomplishing in Iraq? Saddam Hussein is gone, and no one will ever argue that he was a lovely man, but he was the president of a sovereign nation, and since we ousted him and placed ourselves in charge of his country, anyone with a fair perspective would say that at best, Iraq is a country in chaos and complete anarchy. Anyone who has witnessed what we’ve done since Bush staged his appearance on the aircraft carrier off San Diego and declared “mission accomplished” realizes that we have disregarded the human beings that still live in Iraq and have had a careless attitude at best as we, the US, pillage their country.
I want my daughter to grow up in a world that once again can look to the US as a country that stands for freedom, where we have a leader that inspires us to be better, where we don’t have to shake our head when we once again hear our president say something that is either embarrassing or just downright wrong.
I fear greatly for my grandchildren, who are still too young to look that far into the future, but I can sadly see a future where if Barack Obama doesn’t take the White House in 2008 and a Republican does and continues the disastrous direction this country is headed in the Middle East, that they will grow up in a country that for the first time in my lifetime will be truly despised and seen as a tyrant in many parts of the world. I want them to have the choice to serve proudly in the military if they choose that direction for themselves and not be forced to because our continued negative actions around the world.
It almost seems like fiction to hear Rudy Giuliani, the apparent leading Republican candidate, promising to escalate the troop numbers in Iraq should he become president. Does he really believe everything he’s saying lately? I doubt it, but he feels he must move his rhetoric to the far right to get elected. He is so misguided on that notion. He says we can win in Iraq if we build up our troop numbers, and I only ask one question…win what? That is an argument that is so bogus, it doesn’t deserve another word.
Senator Obama, make it clear that you’ll get us out of Iraq when you assume the presidency. Continue to provide all of us with the hope that you’ll bolster our position and stature in the world, and provide us with a new direction on how we fight terror in an honest, forthright and thoughtful manner that isn’t just slogans and platitudes. You can do it, and we’re with you a thousand percent. My grandchildren don’t know it yet, but one day they’ll thank you.
Filling big shoes for the Northern California Obama campaign office are Brent Messenger and Buffy Wicks, the former from San Francisco and the latter from Chicago. The room tonight was filled with contagious energy and enthusiasm, and the crowd that was present at the opening gathering asked insightful questions and made great suggestions toward making the opening gala a smashing success.
What was that…an opening gala? Well, that’s what I’m calling it. Officially, it’s called a GRAND OPENING BLOCK PARTY, and it will take place on Sunday, September 30th at 1:00 pm, and promises to be a hoot. The new office is located at 436 – 14th Street at Broadway in Oakland and is right across the street from the BART’s City Center 12th Street BART station.
The goal is to fill the block. There will be music, special guests and everyone is guaranteed to have a great time. Attendees are being asked to wear Obama gear, and if you need more Obama gear, this will be a good place to stock up.
It’s been so exciting to have been on the ground floor of the Obama ’08 campaign, and now getting to be at the NorCal headquarters was a super experience. The blank walls of tonight will be transformed into the patriotic colors of the Obama campaign, and the spacious and relatively cavernous space will be miraculously filled with furniture, computers and telephones.
Come see for yourself and be part of the future. Let’s all band together this Sunday and show the world what Bay Area support for a spectacular candidate looks like.
In my heart of hearts, I know that it’s nearly impossible to have everyone in our country watch the news, keep abreast of current events and be truly informed. But I have to admit that if I could have one thing come true, it would be that people around us, the people we work with, shop with or come in contact with on the sidewalk in front of our home could take a moment to acquaint themselves with what’s going on in this country of ours.
Sadly, we live in the real world, and the truth is that more than half of the people we live around simply do not know the truth about much. They can recite chapter and verse what happened today with OJ or whether Britney goes to court today or tomorrow, but do they really know that the president of Iran actually has very little power in his country?
Statistics unfortunately show that there are people who still believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11. There are people in this country who aren’t aware that enough Iraqi citizens have died to populate a city the size of St. Louis. If you can stand one more, most people don’t realize that the president of Afghanistan once worked for Unocal Oil Company.
I can go on and on, but I won’t. I certainly don’t expect every American to know these obscure facts, but on almost a daily basis, I speak with people who barely know the name of our vice-president, and many people are so unaware of current events, it would take me too long to bring them up to date. I will usually take a moment to explain to anyone who’s interested what’s going on, but I have to say that most of the ignorant people wish to stay that way. That is ashame.
The only way to change our world and to make it a better place for us to live is to understand it. To deliberately ignore the news or make up your mind based on extremely limited exposure to what your buddy at the loading dock said he heard on the news last night isn’t going to give one enough information to make an informed decision when it comes time to decide who our next leaders will be.
I think the most disturbing thing to me is when I hear that someone doesn’t vote. Our most precious right in this country, and yet so many people can’t find a moment to cast a vote in an election. Unbelievable! And once again, statistics show that roughly half of our citizens are registered to vote, and when only half of the registered people bother to show up to vote, that means that we’re only having a fourth of our friends and neighbors deciding who our leaders will be.
Imagine if people in all of our communities took their right to vote seriously and turned out. We’d have a different country than we have now. That’s for sure. And if I had my way, people would take a moment out of their day to find out what was really going on, educate themselves and take pride in the fact that they know what’s happening around them.
A quick story. My daughter, Erika just graduated from high school. We have had a game for many years that I call Trivia for Dollars. In this game, I pick a topic, usually current events or politics, and quiz Erika and her friends one question at a time, and whoever comes up with the right answer first wins a dollar. Well, I still have most of that money in my pocket. Erika learned a lot when we were playing, but many people who participated in the game over the years were less than stellar at knowing what was going on in the world around us.
So if I were king for a day, I would encourage…no. Demand that everyone take a moment to educate themself a little bit. It feels great to know a little something about what is going on around us, and if we start small, our knowledge can grow, and who knows what a better city, county, state and country that we will have because of it.
By the way, did you hear that OJ’s girlfriend………….
It turns out that Obama showed particular popularity with the younger demographic who voted online, and this is a very important portion of the population to encourage, because if that portion of the electorate shows up to the polls in higher numbers than in past elections, Barack Obama will be our next president.
Barack Obama is truly getting on the map in this country as an extremely viable and attractive presidential candidate. Although more people searched the Yahoo archives to see clips of Hillary Clinton’s remarks in the online debate, Obama still succeeded in beating Clinton by four percent in the online poll of who won the debate.
For more information on the debate and its outcome, please log on to Yahoo.com. Yahoo has done an excellent job summarizing the event and the results thereof.
I found it curious yesterday that the TV listings in the Sunday paper for the major Sunday morning news programs listed Hillary Clinton in their roster for every program. What I didn’t see is the name of any other presidential candidate. This just lets me know that the major corporate media is focusing almost exclusively on one candidate in the Democratic Party, and at this point, I suppose they don’t choose to focus on any candidate for the Republicans. For that, can we blame them?
There is one open offer that I think would provide tremendous exposure for any candidate that accepts it, and that is the invitation to appear on a three-hour program of the Ed Schultz Show. Many of you may have never heard of Ed Schultz, but he appears daily in the middle of the day in most markets on the Air America Radio Network, and his ratings are higher than you’d think. He is a progressive talker who regularly beats Right Wing talk shows in many markets.
Should Barack Obama make an appearance in the Ed Schultz studios to get his points of view out to over three million people? I say yes. As of this date, only one major presidential candidate has agreed to appear on the program, and it was absolutely fabulous exposure. Some questions were challenging, but this exposure to a national audience is unparalleled.
If the corporate media, which is of course the major networks of this country, are going to basically ignore or overlook Obama and direct their focus on one candidate, the one that they obviously select as their choice to lead the Democratic ticket, then viable candidates need to look elsewhere to get their message out. I strongly recommend this forum as a positive step in the Obama ’08 campaign.
There is nothing that replaces a one-on-one discussion with Ed Schultz, who is no pushover, but does something unusual in broadcasting these days…he allows his guests to express themselves. A guest like Barack Obama, who can certainly hold his own under even more extreme scrutiny, could explore many topics that ordinarily wouldn’t have any time to be brought up in an interview, and in this forum, Obama would shine.
Barack, I don’t know if you’ve considered this appearance, but if you haven’t, I think it’s time. If you don’t receive a sizeable bump in the polls after being on the Ed Schultz Show, you can blame me. I can take the heat. But I don’t expect to hear you complaining. And if you want to come by to take me to dinner to thank me, I know a great Chinese restaurant.
Ironically, I’d say a higher percentage than normal are people who either can’t vote because they’re not citizens of the US or can’t vote because they identify themselves as visitors from another country and are not citizens of the US. It strikes me funny that in both situations, these people speak fluent English, live like you and I, but can’t participate in the one privilege that all Americans have, the right to vote.
Many of these people lament the fact that they can’t vote and express the fact that they would vote if they could, and some seem to be above it all and don’t seem to be concerned that they can’t participate in our democracy. The interesting thing to me is that a high percentage of the people who cannot vote in the US pass by and tell us that they would vote for Obama if they could vote.
An interesting aspect of standing there as people exit Trader Joe’s is that every race, nationality, age, gender and form of dress is represented, and I marvel at the fact that we truly do live in a melting pot. Even here in suburban San Mateo, a tattooed woman with earrings in numerous visible spots can be walking out next to a woman dressed like she’s off to the opera, and both can comfortably frequent the same store and live in the same space.
Thankfully, the vast majority of people that pass by our little table are registered to vote, and many people, upon seeing our voter registration sign, proudly proclaim that they are already registered. Some people, however, seem to ignore us and briskly walk by as if we’re intruding into their solitude. Others will actually gaze in our direction, display a smile and acknowledgement of what we’re there for, and let us know that they appreciate that we’re doing something important for our community. This is the most satisfying aspect of being there.
Today an elderly woman walked past me, turned around and tapped her finger on my shirt that has Obama’s name on it and said, “I like that guy and I’m voting for him.” I was very pleased to hear her say that, but she wasn’t done. This happens from time to time, and I must admit, when you’re standing out there exposed and certainly not protected by the little table in front of you, you are a target for whatever anyone wishes to convey.
She went on to express her disgust at George Bush, our involvement in Iraq and that she wants us out. Now! She was almost pleading with me to do something, and I told her what I tell everyone who uses similar words to express their unhappiness with the direction our country has been heading in for six years: You have the power to do something about it. Vote!
There was another woman today who came by to belligerently announce that she is not voting because the election is already decided, as are all elections. She said that our votes are not counted, anyway. I can’t buy her paranoid argument, but I am very concerned about voter suppression in our country, because it has happened, and I do tell people that their vote may be the one that puts their candidate over the top. Voting is the only way to have your voice heard.
At the last tabling event I was at, a man of average appearance and well dressed came out of Trader Joe’s, and upon seeing my tabling partner Trudi and I wearing Obama t-shirts said, “I appreciate your registering voters, but you probably wouldn’t agree with many of my political views.” Politely I said, “Well, this is America. We’re allowed to disagree,” but as this man went through a few of his favorite issues, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. His views would have been more popular in Nazi Germany than they were in my country, and he wasn’t shy about telling me what he thought.
Well, this is America, and thank God I live here where I have the right to vote, I have the right to stand in from of a store and register others to vote, to publicly support Barack Obama and talk to someone who would support Joseph Stalin’s great-grandson if he were running for president, to speak with many people who are excited to vote in the next presidential election and even a few who take pride in not voting now or anytime in the future.
I have found the experience of tabling a wonderful and fascinating experience. I think everyone should give it a try. Not only is it rewarding, but it’s also a great way to provide a service to your community. I have even had several quality conversations with people who are pleased to find a fellow concerned citizen to share their views with. We were reminded today by so many people that Barack Obama has tremendous support and that we all wish that we could vote for him tomorrow.
