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 ...
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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.
Aimee Fausser, a rising junior at Virginia Tech recently saw the potential for change and joined our movement (full disclosure, Aimee is a good friend of mine).
A few weeks ago, I was talking to Aimee and she let me know that she was unsure of whom to support for president in 2008 but was leaning towards one of the other candidates. I knew I could talk to her and explain what the Obama campaign was all about and why I was ready for a new kind of politics, but instead, I let Senator Obama do the talking. I challenged Aimee to watch two specific videos of Senator Obama speaking and still be undecided. She accepted.
I am happy to say that Aimee is founding a chapter of Students for Barack Obama at Virginia Tech! As she says, she is ready for a leader that
"understands the changes that need to happen in this country. A leader that is strong enough to fight for what is right rather than what is easy."
Aimee is not alone in this, I have heard numerous stories from around the country of students being inspired into action and refusing to sit on the sidelines after hearing Senator Obama speak.
So, by now you may be wondering what two videos I asked Aimee to watch. Or how you can inspire your friends by simply pointing them to YouTube?
Here are the two videos.Senator Obama’s Keynote address at the 2004 DNC ConventionPart 1:
Part 2:
And Senator Obama at George Mason University on February 2nd at the Students for Barack Obama launch.
The following recent news article speculates that Senator Barack Obama will provide additional details of his team's "HealthCare Plan" for the USA on Tuesday May 29, 2007 in Iowa. Link Read More »
Obama, let me be frank. What steps are you taking to make sure the 2008 election isn't manipulated and stolen? Why isn't there enough discussion regarding these "caging" lists? We can support you all we want, but if there's another force dictating whose votes count and whose don't, how are we to deal with that?
Read More Here:
The Future of America has Been Stolen
THE FOLLOWING STORY IS SUPPOSE TO BE A PUT DOWN OFBARACK OBAMA.. IF THIS IS THE BEST THEY CAN DO ..IWANT TO SAY KEEP EM COMING, BECAUSE THEY ARE MAKINGBARACK OBAMA LOOK LIKE THE SMARTEST KINDEST MOSTCARING MAN ALIVE. ................ ................ ............... This story was sent to you by: SOMEONE WHO ISN'T SUREABOUT BARACK OBAMA (THIER NAME WAS REMOVED BY ME)this is the article i was talking about from thetimes.--------------------Careful steps, looking ahead --------------------After arriving in Springfield, Barack Obama provedcautious, but it was clear to many he had ambitions beyond the state SenateOK THATS SMART AND HE IS SMART By Rick Pearson and Ray LongTribune staff reportersMay 3, 2007SPRINGFIELD -- Sen. Barack Obama calls himself astrong defender of abortion rights, and the presidential contenderquickly condemned the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a ban on acontroversial late-term procedure. The decision, he feared, "willembolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict awoman's right to choose."YES BARACK KNOWS LAW AND HE IS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOWMOST AMERICANS DON'T LIKE LATE TERM ABORTIONS AND I AMONE OF THEM BUT HE IS ALSO SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THATTHE SUPREME COURT RULING COULD TAKE AWAY ALL WOMENSRIGHTS TO ABORTION.But this is how Obama voted in 1997 when he was new tothe Illinois legislature and got a chance to take a stand againstbills to impose a similar statewide ban on what critics callpartial-birth abortion:"Present," the political equivalent of taking a pass.THIS IS SMART. HE DIDN'T HAVE THE VOTES TO CHANGEANYTHING SO HE SMARTLY VOTED PRESENT. VERY SMART.Obama's short time in Washington offers a limitedguide to his political views and methods, but he spent nearly eightyears in the Illinois Senate. "It was that experience in the legislaturethat convinced me that politics can be a noble calling," he said in a recentcampaign appearance.I BELIEVE THIS TO BE HIS TRUE NATURE. BEING NOBLE THATIS. If Springfield is the measure of Obama the politician,a review of his tenure is a study in complexity, caution andcalculation. In the minority party for all but his final two years in theStatehouse, he tempered a progressive agenda with a cold dash of realism,often forging consensus with conservative Republicans when otherliberals wanted to crusade.AGAIN VERY SMART. HE DIDN'T JUST JOIN A BUNCH OFRADICAL DEMOCRATS WHO WANTED TO DIVIDE US. VERY SMARTI THINK.The insular world of Springfield also served as aprelude to some of the challenges confronting Obama on the presidentialcampaign trail. While some African-American colleagues in the statecapital viewed him as a dynamic leader, others were put off by the pedigree ofa Harvard-educated lawyer raised in exotic places farfrom Chicago's West and South Sides. Some in the Senate Black Caucus went out oftheir way to haze him.THAT IS FOOLISH OF THOSE BLACK LEADERS WHO SEEM TO BEPREJUDICE OF HIS EDUCATION. At the same time Obama, who is biracial, bonded with atrio of white colleagues from the suburbs and Downstate. They becamesome of his closest friends, poker-playing buddies and soundingboards.NOTHING WRONG WITH HAVING FRIENDS OF ALL COLORS.He took leadership roles on reform measures dealingwith the death penalty, racial profiling, tax credits for the workingpoor and ethics, issues that earned him praise from Democraticsupporters and even some Republicans.AGAIN HERE BARACK SHOWS THAT HE HAS A CARING HEART.But Obama wasn't above playing the political angles.He pushed to get state-run pension funds to open moreinvestment opportunities for minority money managers who donatedto his campaign. During his 2004 U.S. Senate primary bid, Obama sent anewsletter to constituents at taxpayer expense that touted hisaccomplishments. It went out just days before the effective date of a ban on suchpractices close to election time -- part of a reform package he hadchampioned.NOTHING WRONG HERE ABOUT BARACK TOUTING HIS HELPINGMINORITIES GET AHEAD. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE HIMDOING THAT AND HELPING TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD OFLIFE.Perhaps nothing illustrated Obama's calculating stylemore than his approach to abortion. The state Senate voted 14 timeson various abortion restrictions during his tenure. Half the time, Obamavoted "present."AGAIN HERE HE IS SMART. NO SENSE FIGHTING A LOSINGBATTLE WITH THE REPUBLICANS IN CONTROL.He said it was a strategy agreed to by abortion-rightsadvocates to insulate Democrats from political backlash in moreconservative areas. But Obama's Hyde Park district was one of the state's mostliberal.HE LISTENED TO THE ABORTION RIGHT ADVOCATES. SMARTAGAIN. THEY SURELY KNOW MORE THAN THIS WRITER.From the moment he arrived in the Illinois Senate, itwas clear to many that Obama didn't plan to stay. Just months intooffice, he approached then-Senate Democratic Chief of Staff Mike Hoffman andoffered to buy him a beer. The two adjourned to a hotel bar.Talk turned to how Obama's name might play withDownstate voters in a statewide race, Hoffman recalled recently. "We talkedabout in a campaign, if you have a strange name, you could havesome fun with it."No specific office came up, Hoffman said, but thelegislative freshman's message was clear. Obama "wanted me to knowthat he had other ambitions."AND A SMART MAN LIKE BARACK SHOULD THINK AHEAD SO ASTO MAKE CHANGES IN THE WORLD. VERY SMART AND LOOKINGAHEAD ATITUDE.'Hollywood' and the upstartObama arrived in Springfield with an important ally.Emil Jones, then the minority leader of the chamber and later itspresident, fancied himself a mentor to Obama. To Jones, Obama represented"the future," someone who "embodies all that I dream and work for."HE DOES THE SAME FOR ME AS WELL.The two met on a street corner years earlier whenObama's South Side community group coincidentally convened an outdoormeeting just doors from Jones' house. They have been close ever since.WHICH SHOWS WHERE HE CAME FROM AND WHAT HE DID TO EARNHIS PLACE TODAY.Obama needed a powerful friend. He had breezed toelection in 1996 by forcing all his Democratic opponents off the ballot,including a popular member of the Senate Black Caucus, incumbent AlicePalmer. That bit of hardball didn't endear him to many in the caucus.WELL IF THE BLACK CAUCUS ONLY WANTED TO GET OR KEEPWELFARE FOR THEIR PEOPLE THAT DOESN'T SEEM SMART FORTHEM AS BARACK GETTING THEM AN EDUCATION AND JOBS WILLHELP THEM FAR MORE. LIKE HE SAID IN SELMA GET OFF THECOUCH UNCLE SO AND SO.Before taking office, Obama sought advice from Rep.Art Turner, a veteran West Side Democrat. Turner warned him not to"come in the door looking like you're all-knowing" and to "realize thatsome aren't ready for reform or changes."WELL ITS HARD FOR A MAN LIKE BARACK WHO HAS SUCHNATURAL KNOW EVERYTHING MENTALITY SO I DON'T SEEANYTHING WRONG HERE EITHER.Obama also reached out to former state Rep. PaulWilliams, a longtime lobbyist who once served as legislative aide to HaroldWashington when the former Chicago mayor was in the General Assembly.Williams found himself healing relations between Obama and seniorlawmakers."Let's face it," Williams said in a recent interview."There's certain African-Americans that the world is more likely tofall [for] than others. Barack fits all of that stuff: educated,smart, good-looking, lean, all of these kind of things."WELL I DON'T THINK I WOULD CALL BARACKS ONLY ASSETSHIS LOOKS. HE SURELY HAS SMARTS. I THINK MR WILLIAMSMAY BE JELOUS.Obama was just months into his first term when Jonesbegan doling out assignments to him befitting a more senior lawmaker.For instance, Jones made Obama the lead Democratic negotiator on alandmark welfare-to-work package Republicans were pushing.AGAIN A GOOD THING FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR SO THEY CAN GETOUT OF THE WELFARE TRAP. YES SOME NEED IT AND I AMSURE BARACK WEIGHED THAT TOO.His rise caused friction in the Senate's Black Caucus.Some caucus veterans thought Obama hadn't paid his dues and wereresentful of the attention Jones was lavishing on someone theyconsidered an Ivy League upstart.WELL THATS PLAIN JELOUSY AND NOT VERY UNDERSTANDING OFSOMEONE WHO KNOWS VERSUS SOMEONE WITH TIME IN. MANYTIMES IN LIFE PEOPLE TOLD ME THE SAME THING. I ONCEMADE 3 TIMES MORE THAN MECHANICS WHO HAD FAMILIES TOFEED AND I WAS 12 YRS OLD. HOWEVER, I DIDN'T WASTE ITOR FLAUNT IT.Among the most put out was Sen. Rickey Hendon, astreetwise West Sider nicknamed "Hollywood" who once hoped to be a movieproducer. Another lawmaker giving Obama a hard time was Sen. DonneTrotter, the Democratic point man on budget issues. In 2000, Trotter and Obamavied to unseat U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, but didn't come close totoppling the South Side congressman.In Springfield, Hendon and Trotter would "just giveBarack hell" and disparage him as a know-it-all, said Sen. KimberlyLightford (D-Maywood), who was chairwoman of the chamber's Black Caucus.WELL AGAIN IT SOUNDS LIKE JELOUSY AND JUST BECAUSETHEY ARE STREET SMART DOESN'T MEAN THEY AREPOLITICALLY SMART.In a recent interview, Obama said the tension wasparticularly intense during his push for ethics reforms. "The generalperception was, 'Here's the new guy coming in and he is acting holierthan thou,'" he recalled.WELL BARACK MAY APPEAR THAT WAY TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'TKNOW HOLY.Once, Obama and Hendon nearly came to blows. Obama hadvoted for budget cuts that eliminated a child welfare office inHendon's district. On the Senate floor, Hendon said Obama had "a lot ofnerve to talk about being responsible" to those in need and then voting tocut services to the poor.WELL MAYBE MR HENDON SHOULD THINK TWICE ABOUT KEEPINGHIS CONSTITUENTS ON WELFARE AND GETTING ELECTED FORDOING SO. IT SEEMS TO ME BARACK KNEW THE BIGGERPICTURE AND DIDN'T WANT TO BUY VOTES BY KEEPING AWELFARE OFFICE. THATS HONESTY.Saying he didn't realize he was voting for the cuts,Obama added: "I would appreciate that next time my dear colleague,Sen. Hendon, ask me about a vote before he names me on the floor."IT SEEMS MR HENDON GOT CAUGHT IN HIS OWN KARMA ANDBARACK WAS BLAMED. SHAME ON MR HENDON.Microphones off, the two headed to the back of theSenate chamber where Obama tried to put his hand on Hendon's shoulder.Hendon slapped it away.WELL BARACK ONLY DID AND HONEST THING AND TRIED TOBEFRIEND HIS FRIEND AS HE SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW HE HURTANYONE BY HIS ACTIONS. MR HENDON DOESN'T SOUND LIKE AMAN WITH AN OPEN MIND BUT AS SOMEONE WITH A CHIP ONHIS SHOULDER.Asked about the incident recently, Hendon said, "Mymemory is foggy on that issue. It's going to remain foggy."THATS GOOD THAT HE CAN LEAVE IT BEHIND HIM. THAT ISSEEING THAT IT WAS HIS OWN KARMA THAT HAD BARACK MAKETHE ACTIONS THAT RESULTED IN MR HENDON NOT GETTINGWHAT HE WANTED. WHICH WAS PROBABLY FOR THE BESTANYWAY.The politics of pokerIn many ways, Obama's relations with fellowlegislators in Springfield reflected his lifelong efforts to straddle differentworlds, a political challenge that continues to this day.While his dealings with some top black legislatorswere icy, he often seemed most comfortable among other Democrats. Obamaformed tight friendships with three white Senate colleagues whosebackgrounds and personalities couldn't have been more different fromhis.OK SO THE BLACK LEADERS WHO HAD ALL THEIR PEOPLECONTROLLED DIDN'T LIKE A SMART MANY LIKE BARACK SOBARACK DIDN'T LET IT HURT HIM HE WENT AND FOUND NEWFRIENDS.There was the blunt-talking Denny Jacobs from the QuadCities, and Larry Walsh from Elwood, whose "aw-shucks" demeanorbelied deft political skills.NOT SURE WHO THEYR ARE BUT I AM SURE BARACK DID ANDWAS BEING FRIENDLY AND TRYING TO SEE ALL SIDES OFPOLITICS IN HIS REGION.Closest to Obama was Terry Link of Waukegan, who alsowas Lake County Democratic chairman. Both entered the Senate the sameyear, sat next to each other on the floor and shared office space. "Wewere just polar opposites," said Link. "He won easy, I had a difficultrace. He was Harvard Law, and I was lucky to get out of highschool. He was backed by the independents and here I was, a party leader."OH SO ANOTHER MAN (NOT SURE OF HIS RACE) SOUNDS JELOUSTOO OF BARACKS HARD WORK AND EDUCATION. MAKES YOUWONDER WHO IS IN CHARGE OF CHICAGO POLITICS? ALLPEOPLE WITH STREET SMARTS OR WHAT?Link served as a conduit to party insiders, coachingObama to pay heed to the agendas of organized labor and other old-lineDemocratic pressure groups.WHICH I AM SURE BARACK WAS PROBABLY SICK TO HISSTOMACH THINKING WHAT ARE THE LIKES OF THESE KIND OFPEOPLE RUNNING THE REGION. I KNOW I WOULD BE. Nowhere was Obama's ability to navigate Springfield'ssubcultures on better display than at The Committee Meeting. That wasthe code name for Wednesday night poker games attended by about a dozenlawmakers and lobbyists.Obama was a regular, and his stingy betting became arunning joke with those at the table.I DISLIKE GAMBLING TOO. WOW BARACK IS SO MUCH LIKE ME.A STINGY PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO HAVING TO GAMBLE JUSTTO GET TO KNOW THE OLD TIME POLITICIANS. SHEESH "You're a socialist with everybody's money but yourown," Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) complained to Obama.NO BARACK JUST ISN'T INTO THROWING HIS MONEY AROUND..VERY SMART. I AM AGAIN JUST LIKE HIM. THE MORE I READTHIS WRITERS STORY THE MORE I LOVE BARACK OBAMA.Some in the legislature treat their long interludes inSpringfield as a form of camp, a chance to get away from familyobligations and party it up. Obama wasn't one of them. An early riser, he was aregular in the exercise room of his downtown hotel. Sometimes heshowed up at the local YMCA for a dawn pickup basketball game.AGAIN A WONDERFUL THING TO DO. HE WASN'T LIKE THE RESTOF CHICAGO POLITICIANS WHO SIT AND GAMBLE AND TALKABOUT HOW THEY ARE GOING TO RUN THE CITY. HMMM INSTEADBARACK TAKES THE HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE WOW I AMIMPRESSED! :)An exception to his disciplined routine was the pokergame held inside the headquarters of the Illinois ManufacturersAssociation, the big business lobby whose legislative goals often were atodds with those of liberals like Obama.OK SO BARACK GAMBLED A FEW DOLLARS AND THEY WANTED HIMTO BE A BIG GAMBLER DRINKING OLD TIME POLITICIAN. GEEZTHOSE POOR CHICAGO PEOPLE WHO ENDED UP WITH THE LIKESOF THEM. THEN AGAIN I AM HERE IN PHILADELPHIA WITH AFEW OF THEM. I SURE HOPE MR NUTTER BECOMES A BARACKOBAMA.Handed a cigar and cocktail on the way in, playersleft a few hundred dollars richer or poorer. Obama played liked helegislated, "slowly, deliberately, cautiously," recalled Jacobs.WELL DUH BARACK IS NO FOOL.Poker was a way to relax and schmooze out of thepolarizing glare under the Capitol dome. To Obama, it was also a chance toprove to colleagues that he was a regular guy.POOR BARACK I BET HE WISHED HE HAD SOME BETTEREDUCATED POLITICIANS TO SPEND HIS TIME. I SURE WOULDIF I WERE HIM. "When it turned out that I could sit down at [a bar]and have a beer and watch a game or go out for a round of golf or geta poker game going," Obama said, "I probably confounded some oftheir expectations."OH MY BARACK HAD "A' BEER. BUT THEN AGAIN HE PLAYEDGOLF TO WORK IT OFF. SMART MAN.A legislative diplomatIn his first campaign, Obama lashed out at incumbentpols who cut backroom deals to consolidate their power rather thanadvance the common good. But once in the Springfield mosh pit, Obamacrafted an image as a bridge-builder.THATS THE BARACK I KNOW AND THE MAN I WANT ASPRESIDENT."He's not dogmatic, he's consensus building," saidJones. He also was practical. With Republicans controlling the Senateuntil 2003, fighting them wouldn't accomplish much.VERY SMART. VERY VERY SMART.In 1999, Obama spoke so passionately in favor ofaffirmative action that a Republican colleague shelved a resolution aimedat undermining the practice at public universities.SURE BARACK WANTS PEOPLE OF COLOR TO BE ABLE TO HAVEEDUCATIONS NOT WELFARE. GOSH I LOVE THIS MAN BARACKOBAMA. AND THIS ARTICLE THAT WAS SENT TO ME IS SUPOSETO MAKE BARACK LOOK BAD?????? OH WELL ..He had less success with another goal that he now ispushing in his presidential run: universal health care. He onceproposed a state constitutional amendment to mandate it. In anotherecho of criticism Obama has faced in his presidential campaign, the proposallacked detail. He later watered down his idea to simply call for a taskforce to study the issue.OK SO HE DIDN'T DO EVERYTHING HE WANTED TO DO INILLINOIS. HE REALIZED HE BETTER GO TO WASH DC WHERE HEHAD MORE POWER AND ABILITY TO DO IT. AND HE IS STILLLISTENING AS HE ASK FOR INPUT FROM EVERY DAY CITIZENSON HIS WEB SITE AT WWW.BARACKOBAMA.COM A critic of the state's broken capital punishmentsystem, Obama spent two years working with Republicans to broker a seriesof reforms aimed at making it more difficult for the innocent to faceexecution. Still, Obama found himself on various sides of the deathpenalty debate.SURE NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THE INNOCENT PUT TO DEATH.BRAVO BRAVO BARACK!Five months into office, he voted to expand the listof capital crimes to include the brutal murder of a senior citizen or adisabled person. Four years later he opposed adding murders that werepart of "gang activity" to the list, saying the term was a"mechanism to target particular neighborhoods [and] particularindividuals."AGAIN BRAVO BRAVO BARACK FOR STICKING UP FOR THESENIOR CITIZENS AND DISABLED WHILE KNOWING THAT MANYTIMES PEOPLE BORN IN BAD NEIGHBORHOODS NEVER HAD ACHANCE TO KNOW THE RIGHT THING (PROBABLY BECAUSE MRHENDON HAD THEM ALL ON WELFARE) AND THESE GANGSMURDERERS NEVER KNEW RIGHT FROM WRONG. THEY DESERVED ACHANCE IF THEY HADN'T KILLED A SENIOR OR A DISABLEDPERSON. AND MANY TIMES THEY WERE SET UP BY CROOKEDCOPS IN THOSE AREAS RUN BY OLD TIME POLITICIANS. BRAVOBRAVO BARACK OBAMA :) WOW YOU ARE THE MAN.In 2003, with Democrats in control of the GeneralAssembly and Obama readying his U.S. Senate run, he became a whirlwind oflegislative activity. He secured passage of the nation's first lawto require police to tape formal interviews and confessions of murdersuspects. He also won passage of a law requiring police to record the raceof drivers they stop for a study of racial profiling.BRAVO BRAVO FOR LOOKING OUT FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE WHOSUFFERED FOR MANY YRS UNDER LEADERS WHO KEPT THEM POORUNEDUCATED AND ON WELFARE.The most awkward moment of Obama's legislative tenurecame in 1999. Lawmakers in a special session considered restoring ananti-gun violence law struck down in court. The battle stalemated, andObama flew to Hawaii for Christmas with his family.Lawmakers were called back Dec. 29 to vote on acompromise, but Obama remained in Hawaii. The deal narrowly failed. Obamalater said his young daughter had taken ill and he couldn't leave her, butthe incident damaged his already-slim hopes of unseating Rush.WELL AS WE WOULD ALL HOPE THAT OUR PARENTS WOULD LOOKAFTER THEIR CHILDREN BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE BRAVO BRAVOBRAVO. WHAT A FAMILY MAN :) :) :) Legislators face an array of sensitive topics, but fewpack the emotional and political wallop of abortion. Obama haslong publicly promoted his support for abortion rights, but his voting recordin Springfield is not simple to read.Obama said he sought compromise with abortionopponents, but they balked. As a fallback, he said he worked out anarrangement with abortion-rights advocates to encourage Democrats tovote "present" on some bills if they feared a "no"would look insensitive andendanger their re-election.WELL HE TRIED TO WORK WITH BOTH SIDES AND FOR THAT IGIVE HIM THE UTMOST RESPECT. ABORTION IS A HARD TOPICAND MANY POLITICIANS WON'T EVEN TRY TO REACH OUTACROSS THE TABLE. BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO AND SO SENSATIVETOO .. WOW HE VOTED PRESENT TO BE CONSIDERATE OF THEIRFEELINGS WOW I AM IN AWE WHAT A SWEET WONDERFUL MAN WEHAVE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. But few of the other Democrats who voted "present" onabortion bills recall such a strategy. And, like Obama, they weren'tpolitically vulnerable.SO BARACK WAS ABLE TO TALK THOSE POLITICIANS INTOBEING SENSATIVE TOO WOW BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO BARACK Obama's friend Link offered another reason for thestrategy: to protect those with plans for higher office. A "present" votehelped "if you have aspirations of doing something else in politics,"Link said, "and I think [Obama] looked at it in that regard."WELL OF COURSE MY LINK IS OF THE "OLD SCHOOL'POLITICIANS.. EVERYTHING HE THINKS HAS TO HAVE ANULTERIOR MOTIVE TO IT I BET. SHAME SHAME SHAME ONLINK.Illinois has a rich legacy of government scandal, andObama's campaign resume plays up his role in trying to do something tostop it. Jones early on tapped him as the Senate Democratic point manon ethics reform, an unenviable task for a rookie lawmaker given thatSpringfield veterans were reluctant to embrace change and dispensewith perks. Many resented him.THANK GOD AND THANK CHICAGO ER CHICAGO SHOULD THANKGOD FOR BARACK OBAMA.Trotter said Obama swooped in "as the knight on thewhite horse" and made it sound as though everybody in Springfield,except him, was corrupt. "It wasn't appreciated."HE MAY BE BLACK BUT HE IS MY KNIGHT ON A WHITE HORSEER BLACK HORSE THEY ARE BOTH PRETTY COLORED HORSES ANDWELL I REMEMBER BLACK BEAUTY :) SO BARACK LETS MAKETHAT YOUR MY NIGHT ON A SHINNING BLACK HORSE :)The ethics bill, Obama said, "was not a favorite of mycolleagues."SURE THEY HAD THEIR OLD SCHOOL WAYS.. I BET THEY HATEDBARACK FOR THAT ROFLMAO Obama also was in the thick of negotiations on a 2003ethics package that led to restrictions on gifts from lobbyists andthe appointment of new inspectors general to hunt corruption in a varietyof state agencies.It also banned lawmakers from sending taxpayer-fundedpromotional mailings in the weeks before an election, an attemptto clamp down on an all-too-common practice that critics said wastantamount to having the state help bankroll incumbents' campaigns.Obama wasn't big on sending newsletters toconstituents. In his first seven years in the Senate, he did it only twice. Butin early 2004, as he was gearing up for his U.S. Senate run, Obamaordered his largest newsletter mailing -- 75,000 copies.YEA I DOUBT IT WAS BARACK WHO DID IT. PROBABLY WAS THEOLD TIME POLITICIANS WHO PERSUADED HIS SECRETARY TO DOIT TO MAKE BARACK LOOK BAD. AND IF BARACK DID IT WELLHE HADN'T DONE IT AS IS REPORTED HERE FOR A FEW YRS.SO HE DESERVED ONE MAILING.Records show they hit the post office Jan. 30, twodays before the ban Obama helped write was to take effect.Obama said the impact was "nominal" because themailings only went to voters in his state legislative district. "We abidedby the rules," he said.I AM SURE YOU DID EVERYTHING LEGAL AND THIS WRITER ISMAKING A WARM POT HOT ER HE IS BLOWING SMOKE ER HE ISTRYING TO PULL EVERYONES LEG HERE BUT HE IS SO CORUPTHIMSELF HE DOESN'T EVEN SEE HOW HOW THIS ARTICLE MAKESYOU LOOK EVEN BETTER BARACK. 'You're a very powerful guy'Long before maverick Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgeralddecided not to run for re-election in 2004, Obama approached hismentor, Emil Jones, who was preparing to lead a new Democratic majority in thestate Senate."You're a very powerful guy," Obama told Jones."I've got the power to do what?" Jones responded."You could help elect a U.S. senator," Obama said.Jones asked his protege if he had anyone in mind."Yeah," Obama replied. "Me."Obama's ambitions for higher office were an opensecret in Springfield, but trying to make the leap to the U.S. Senate seemeda long shot. He was an unknown to most Chicago voters, let alone tothose in the rest of the state. His loss to Rush was so lopsided even Obamadescribed it as "a spanking."He couldn't count on the support of some prominentBlack Caucus members, including Hendon. In a recent interview, hesaid Obama was so ambitious that if the position were up for a vote,Obama would run for "king of the world."LOL WOW IS HENDON JELOUS LOL LOL LOL Obama formally announced his campaign in January 2003,more than a year ahead of the primary. Jones, of course, was there.Link, Walsh and Jacobs also attended, illustrating that his supporttranscended the black community.Hendon and Trotter were a tougher sell. Joneseventually got them to endorse Obama. Hendon said it took "seven or eight"talks with Jones before he finally decided to go along. And, Hendonsaid, he only did it out of loyalty to Jones.Obama wasn't expecting the endorsement of eitherTrotter or Hendon. He asked Jones how he pulled it off."I made them an offer," Jones recalled telling Obama."And you don't want to know."I AM SURE SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG AS SHE SOUNDSLIKE THE SMARTEST MOST UNDERSTANDING FRIEND YOU HAD INCHICAGO POLITICS. THE REST SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OFHOLIGANS. BLESS YOU MISS JONES. :)Tribune staff reporters Bob Secter and Monique Garciacontributed to this report.WELL YOU TWO JUST MADE THE BIGGEST BLUNDER IN YOURLIVES AS SUPPORTING REPORTERS TO A STORY WRITTEN SO ASTO TRY TO DISCREDIT BARACK OBAMA WHILE A SIMPLEVIETNAM VETERAN LIVING ON DISABILITY CAN SEE HOWWONDERFUL BARACK OBAMA IS IN THIS STORY. RICK PETERSON AND RAY LONG SURELY ARE THE BIGGESTGOOFBALLS IN WRITING HISTORY. ----------rap30@aol.comrlong@tribune.com- - -IN THE WEB EDITION- Listen to Barack Obama debate issues ranging fromgun control to abortion on the floor of the Illinois Senate atchicagotribune.com/obama audio- Read the series at chicagotribune.com/obama Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago TribuneLife here on earth is but a dream of the true spiritual world from whence we came and to where we will returnFor as you have cared for others so have you cared for me. Love Jesus
PS: HERE IS WHERE MY CAP LOCKS COME IN HANDY :)
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. ...
Am wondering why so many political pundits are ignorant of the wisdom and foresight contained in the substance of Senator Barack Obama's answers during the April 26, 2007 debate. I am extremely proud of his answer as described in the following (critical) article. In summary, if there is an attack and your immediate response is "retaliate", how do you know who to retaliate against? If you know immediately who to retaliate against, why didn't you use such pre-knowledge to prevent the attack? Also, can't World War III wait a few days until first respoonders have aided the American survivors, injured and wounded from such a hypothetical attack on two American cities? Common sense never goes out of style. Senator Barack Obama, thank you for being a human being with feelings and thoughts and not some media image that is just a concept.
Since when is Robert Novak have any remaining credibility? I provide his article as a representative of several circulating in the mass media. The American people are smart enought to figure things out on their own.
Shortcut to: Link Spirit of Barack Obama
Barack-Obama.TV - Barack Obama’s Telling Vision
I found the problem when clicking on the link in the blog post remove the "</a>" at the end of the web listing. This is what is causing the problem getting to the site. Sorry for the confusion.
I know there has been a lot of discussion over the last couple of days regarding the role of the grassroots in the Obama campaign. So, I thought you all might be interested in reading the comments of Zephyr Teachout, who, as you may know, was the Director of Internet Organizing during the Dean campaign. In the comments section of an article on this subject at Tech President, she does a great job of providing a thorough account of the trials and tribulations of running a people-powered campaign.
In the interest of disclosure, I should probably mention that I did volunteer work with Zephyr during the Dean campaign and she was instrumental in helping to get Vermonters for Obama off the ground. And she's a friend of mine.
(I apologize for spamming this around, but I think her comments are very important for all of us to see as we try to find our place within the campaign.)
Here's what she had to say...
This issue reminds me of questions that we had to deal with all the time on the Dean campaign. We called people like Joe A's "centers of gravity"-- people who had built up their own Dean communities. We wanted centers of gravity as close to campaign as possible without imploding.
At first, it was very perplexing, and our tiny team debated options, but we ran into an odd clarifier--the law. Because of legal concerns of coordination, we were told early on by our lawyers that we had two choices: to have a manager/agent relationship with grassroots supporters, or to not direct grassroots supporters actions at all. In February and March, Dean Nation was blogging, and New York for Dean and others were creating posters and strategies of their own--some of them were clamoring for direction.
The question answered itself. We simply couldn't have a manager/agent relationship and still have all this flowering of intelligent political energy, so we chose to be hands off, talking with people but not telling them what to do. As part of this, we had to train the press--when Georgia for Dean sends out a press release, it is not a Howard Dean press release, it is a Georgia for Dean press release. The training of the press took awhile, but they learned. Teaching people who'd worked in politics for a while that "no, we will not vet that flier you are going to pass out to 1,000 people" also took awhile, but led to what I think is the most important thing in a democracy: people taking responsibility. Local groups, centers of gravity like Joe Anthony, took responsibility because they knew we wouldn't. Some got exhausted after a few months of intense work, others did not--and not all relationships were handled well, as we fumbled for solutions for the hardworking volunteers. The issues got more difficult when paid staffers, on the ground, would be working with unpaid supporters who had done far more extraordinary, creative, and difficult work for months--we found that grassroots growth often slowed in states once we put in a paid staffer (I have alot of theories about this, but not for this comment).
There were hundreds of mistakes. Here are two. In March 2003, we signaled that we were going to give a group an "official" status and then changed our position. Our first impulse was to provide the group what they wanted, but after realizing that the "official" group was far more bottlenecked than the unofficial ones, we reneged. We admitted we made a mistake, but people were understandably angry. The second was much later--the fall of 2003. A group started in order to help Dean develop policy positions, or at least do collective research. We effectively shut the door on them--I think we weren't ready to open up that much, and didn't know how to do collective policy, and the founders were annoyed, because I (and others) had initially been very excited. Of course they continued on their own, but without the active enthusiasm of our group.
But we also had some real successes. The most obvious is that Trippi--rage as he would over a few things Aziz might mischievously post--did not try to control the Dean Nation blog. The Friendster pages set up for Dean (yes, there were a handful) were one of our top referrers, and we had rare, but nice, interactions with the founders. The vast majority of our centers of gravity we communicated with, but did not try to control.
There were a few big exceptions. Students for Dean, an amazing group with 20,000 members by the time we started working with them, was created by three college students. It was clear it couldn't keep up their site (which had many features ours didn't) without some financial support--two of the founders were getting hired away by field staff (poached by our own campaign!) and the other couldn't afford not to work for the summer. So we offered him jobs and brought them in, giving them more autonomy than most staffers because that is what they needed to be persuaded to work for the campaign. Of course nothing is that simple--as the campaign stiffened towards the end, Students for Dean lost the staff and autonomy they'd been promised--but the general approach really worked, and the on-site blending of Students for Dean and Dean Students (into Generation Dean, a name created by two South Carolina students--who we asked for permission to use). If Students for Dean had turned us down (which they almost did), then we would have continued to link to them, and gone forward.
I think a similar approach could have worked with the Obama campaign's approach to Joe A.--figure out if they could give Joe what he wanted--and it sounds like they started down that path and then, inexplicably, stopped. If it is true that they asked him for an offer (and Joe Rospars' blog post doesn't contradict this), then why didn't they counter offer?
If they did, I don't care how much Joe A. asked for--the new media team probably didn't have $40,000, but they should have counter-offered what they could. If he'd asked for $200,000 and they had $500 they should have returned with the $500 offer. Its difficult to figure out an amount in any bargaining circumstances, and money in politics is downright bizarre--whether or not the figure was too high, it should be generous with people trying to figure out how to interact with the campaign. I was happy to see that Rospars did not accuse Joe A. of over-asking. Relatedly an itemized list is presumably an effort to appear professional--an effort to show the campaign that you are not bilking them. My heart goes out to someone staying up all night, asking friends' advice, trying to work out the key to the vague promised thing. How much should I ask for?
The mistake of the campaign, may be, perversely, a result of too much success--the brilliant social networking site and tools created a dependency on keeping a loose leash on the conversations, or on "having the conversation on our ship" as Matt Gross might say, so that it lulled the campaign into a habit of being able to make decisions about what could and couldn't be said, and made them think it was possible to have mass support and and vetted statements about Obama. Its not. Rospars post about the success of the Obama web tools suggests that there is a desire (so understandable, if impossible!) for the web strategy of the campaign to live and breathe on the site, on the grounds, in the gardens built by the web team.
Joe Rospars is a friend of mine, and, as Micah said, a straight shooter, and I'm generally sympathetic with the open fumbling of campaigns towards making hard decisions. I wish his post was a little more open, but I know how hard that can be on a campaign with many vetters.
One thing his post reveals is that the Obama campaign had chosen a different general strategic approach than the Dean campaign did--one that would have our lawyers, among others, quaking in their boots. They had decided to create management/agent relationships with this particular center of gravity--the campaign had login access and control over content (at least for a while) and it basically, if gently, perceived itself as the agent finally responsible for the content.
Our lawyers advice was based on fear of FEC problems, but it turned out to be generally sound for grassroots relationships in general: for each relationship, choose whether it is one of absolute control, or no control. THAT won't confuse the press and people writing--at first, perhaps, but they will learn. When in doubt, no control is better, just as it is in friendships--your friends will do everything they can to represent you well and be your supporter, until you start telling them what to say about you.
I hope this episode is a lesson for the Obama campaign, but also others - a reminder that having grassroots support means autonomous individuals who do not just work, but speak.
By Zephyr Teachout at Thu, 05/03/2007 - 3:16am
