Obama is the epitome of unity in diversity and the celebration of it too. Little did anymore should wonder why over 99.9% gravitate to listen to him speak irrespective of their party affiliation.
America for sure will be great again, as all people of every race shall converge to move the nation forward rather than in the retrogreesive fashion that those who advocated the status quo are relentlessly pursuing.
God bless USA
God bless Obama & Biden
I do honestly believe that the American people are tired of the same old same type of politics whereby candidates forgo issues and instead tear themselves down and apart all in the same of either by omission or commission to win the election. This dispensation is to a greater extent is being made to be different through the emergent of Sen. Obama, which is indeed a healthy development that should never be allowed to fail.
Recent information coming out of the McCain’s campaign conspicuously indicated the obvious inclinations to defamed and assassinate the character of Obama if that will translate to a win for him and his collateral damage running mate. However at what detriment and expenses? Will it therefore be wise for McCain to allow egocentrism and the myopia of trying to win via using cheap shots against Obama at the expenses of the country and its people?
So far the McCain offensives have not worked for the simple reason that Americans want to know how they will be able to get the next bread to feed their loved ones, and are not ready to pragmatically consider giving a neurotically and overanxiously inclined candidate the benefit of the doubt, when in reality there is the one who is ready to lead the country from the prevailing socio-economic squalor.
McCain must try to exercise caution and good judgment at this crucial stage in the election, otherwise not only is he going to loose come November, but may as a matter of fact go into the Guinness book of record as the most dogmatic, archaic, sentimental and detrimental candidate of the 21st century.
1%, or 1 vote out of 100There have been 12 Presidential elections that were decided by less than a 1% margin; meaning if less than 1% of the voters in certain states had changed their mind to the other candidate the outcome of the entire election would have been different. More than half were decided by less than a 2% margin.
In 2004, 57,787 votes would have given us President Kerry.In 2000, 269 votes would have given us President GoreIn 1996, 575,515 votes would have given us President Dole.
From ABC News:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2008/09/squeakers.html
=========="Squeakers"Ned PotterABC NewsSeptember 29, 2008How close have Presidential elections been? Closer, perhaps, than we ever guessed. Mike Sheppard, a grad student in statistics at Michigan State, has done a mathematical exercise that shows it.He ran a computer program to answer this question: "What is the smallest number of total votes that need to be switched from one candidate to another, and from which states, to affect the outcome of the election?"The answer: in some years, very, very few. Take a look at his analysis HERE. It shows the powerful interaction between the popular vote and the electoral college.[...]==========
Full article here:http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2008/09/squeakers.html
Detailed analysis here, including colored maps:https://www.msu.edu/~sheppa28/elections.html-Mike Sheppard
I was a full time volunteer during the primaries in Kentucky. I called hundreds of people (I don't like making calls) and I've knocked on thousands of doors. I've attended community meetings, I've joined the local democrats in trying to get our local representatives elected, along with our representatives in the federal offices.
I was excited to hear that Obama was going to run a 50 state campaign. We're now a little over a month away from the election. and there is no Obama presence in Owensboro, Kentucky. There are no offices, there are no Obama staffers, there is nothing Obama related here.
I, like a lot of volunteers, donated time instead of money because, frankly, I don't have any money. Now that the general election is upon us, I don't even have the option of donating my time. There a lot of people in Owensboro who want to help. They also would like bumper stickers and yard signs, to show their support.
Right now, it seems the only way we can get yard signs here is to either donate $15.00 to the Obama campaign, or drive 45 miles north, canvass in Indiana, and knock on 50 doors. I don't have a problem knocking on 50 doors, or even 500 doors, but I can't afford to drive 50 miles to do it. I also can't afford to donate money to the campaign. It's why I donated my time.
There doesn't appear to be a bumper sticker option for Kentucky. Does the 50 state stratagy mean that he will accept donations from all states, but doesn't want to campaign in them all? Why are the only emails I'm getting asking me for money, when I can't find a local office for the campaign? Kentucky seemed so important in the primaries, but now, neither candidate is doing anything here except taking our money.
We are one of the poorest states in the Union. There is no presidential campaign going on here, except on the news. This is exatly what I expect from our candidates. History shows this to be the case, and I'm more than a little upset that Barack is doing it too. I thought he was different. It seems that, once again, during the Presidential election, neither candidate cares about Kentucky.
The latest campaign ad from the McCain camp definitely define this ‘maverick’ as no maverick at all or rather a maverick that have the mentality of a new born child who lacks the wisdom to distinguish between right and wrong.
Considering the fact that Obama’s response to the economic crisis have been measured, principled and pragmatic, this ad from Sen. McCain in which by the end of the day he will ingloriously claim “I am John McCain and I approve this message” conspicuously depict him as a man that is experiencing the plunging of his integrity in such an alarming and exponential fashion that defy all logical conclusion other than to summarize that he is too desperate for comfort.
What has fact checker to say about this ad, please visit the link below:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/23/mums_not_the_word_despite_mcca.html
It is only an intellectually and pragmatically deficient individual that will quarrel with Obama over preposition for an economy that has too many clouds covering its reality. How do you propose a concrete rescue plan without understanding and knowing the exact problem? McCain approach reminds me of some Doctors who may as well claim that the laboratory tests are not essential to treating a patient only for them not to be able to distinguish pyrexia of unknown origin and have no option than to ask the laboratory to help provide a substantive diagnosis.
Want to make a difference in this election? Want to be a part of History? Then come to Indiana and help us turn the Hoosier state blue for the first time in 44 years. The race here in Indiana is close. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to deliver our 11 electoral votes for Barack Obama on November 4th, but with your help, we can do just that and help put Barack Obama in the White House. We are neighbors. We share common values. We are facing challenges because of the failed Bush economic policies and we all share a common desire for change.
Go to http://in.barackobama.com/cometoindiana to signup
OR Can’t make the trip but want to help? Make calls from home at
my.barackobama.com and select the call Indiana campaign on your dashboard
Hello again everyone,
I got an email from the Kentucky Democratic Party telling me the Democratic Office is now open, in the same place that Barack had his Primary Office. 805 Fredericka. I went there, Barack didn't have a presence there, it was a Bruce Lunsford office. Barack is supposed to have his office with David Boswell, the Democratic candidate for Congress, a bit closer to the river. I went and checked that out also, and the office wasn't open, even though I was there during the posted office hours, and I didn't see any sign of a Barack presense.
I still want to be involved, and enact much needed change in our Federal Government. I decided to volunteer to help Lunsford beat out Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell has been a senator for the past 24 years. He is now the Minority Leader in the Senate. He has been a strong backer of George Bush and his policies. He was instrumental in blocking a lot of Bill Clintons, and he was part of the crew that went after Clinton over the Monica Lewinski thing.
If you look at his record, you'll see, he hasn't been a very nice guy. After 24 years as a leader of our country, the best he's been able to do, makes him angry when he wakes up in the morning. If he can't do any better in 24 years then to induce self-rage, then he should get another job, or maybe go home and write a book or something. He shouldn't be in the position he's in. It's time for a change, and with Barack about to be our next President, it's time to put someone in there who will support the new Obama Administration, and not fight against it.
I'm going to the Organizing and Traiing Summit at the Kentucky Demacratic Headquarters in Frankfort on the 16th, and as I said earlier in this post, I'm going to volunteer for Lunsford. He does phone canvassing at night during the week, and door to door canvassing on Saturdays. So if you have some time, I ask all of you reading this to come over and help us make some phone calls in the evenings, and knock on some doors on Saturdays.
One last note, Governor Beshear is holding a Town Hall Meeting tonight at Apollo High School, starting at 6pm. It would be great if you could make it.
Thank You,
Rich
July 20th 2008
Most unfortunately and as had become the tradition of the incumbent administration Americans are never given either the benefit of doubt or the opportunity to know the entire truth before proposals are acted upon and no matter whether such articulations have fundamental bearing on their lives or not is absolutely not a prerogative at all.
I have had the opportunity to research and at the same time rob minds with American scientists and other experts that are in favor of renewable and other alternative energy sources as the best means of helping to cub the excessive dependence on foreign oils in the country. Without an iota of doubt I am totally in support of the articulations by Sen. Obama, Vice President Al Gore and also please take not to watch the advertisement by T. Boone Pickens (pickensplan.com) as veritable and pragmatic alternative sources of energy that our experts and others who love this country can help transform into a reality.
However Americans must be willing to give them their support by calling on local, state and national government and the corporate bodies to help these groups of experts for posterity sake and for the next generation.
Bobby Kennedy gave a remarkable prediction back in 1968· Tim Russert used this is this week's "Meet The Press"· Pretty interesting huh???
Ted-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Attorney General Robert F· Kennedy told the world that the United States - despite Alabama violence - is moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be President in 40 years·"There's no question about it," the Attorney General said· "In the next 40 years a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother has·" Kennedy said that prejudice exists and probably will continue to exist ··· "But we have tried to make progress and we are making progress· ··· We are not going to accept the status quo·"
Just for a moment I hope you will take in the historic importance of last night's primaries. It has been over 200 years in the making. We shown ourselves, our country and indeed the the entire world that race does not matter anymore. We have finally joined the 21st century and I am proud to be an American. Yes, I'll say it, for the first time in my life I'm proud to be an American.
Seventeen months ago people were laughing at us. "Never" they thought. This country is hungry for change, we deserve it and Barack Obama has delivered us to a great place. I have to be honest, last night I cried. This is and again I stress the point, a huge ground-breaking historic event. The world was stunned, they never thought that we would let an African-American in this country become the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America.
To each of you I say thank you, thank you, thank you; we did it. This was the first election in history where we actually changed and shaped it's outcome. Social networking pages such as Myspace, facebook and websites and blogs such as these have enabled us to take this all the way to November. We are in a great place, a quantam leap forward from where we were even yesterday. Spread the word, spread the joy and share the hope.
Yes We Can... Yes We Did... Yes We Will!!
Ted Tucker
It seems it's human nature to hit back.
In the past week we've had numerous excuses to do just that. Hillary's remarks made an easy target.
But Obama and his campaign again demonstrated just what "Change" is about. Change requires a different reaction - and the most effective reaction begins with recognizing and ignoring distractions.
Don't get me wrong - I was right there screaming for "revenge!" and I took great comfort watching Olbermann lash out against the implications of Hillary's remark. But as the barbs flew across our email lists one email got everyone's attention - it was from a Hillary supporter who was apparently 'trolling' the list.
"All you Clinton hating Obama supporters need to get a life."
One sentence. That was it.
Not the kind of exchange we need to build bridges. Our fiery tongues sparked the fire that could burn bridges instead.
This distraction could burn bridges.
Obama said in one of his speeches something like 'be careful who you tear down cause you might need them on your side some day.'
We need Hillary's supporters on our side. We can to let the media take care of the distraction as they like - but we need to be the carpenters; the bridge builders.
The real challenge we face as the primary race draws to a close is in reaching out to those who feel that they disagree with us. Those who are angry with us. Hillary supporters and Republicans who are still desperately looking for the path out of Bush country.
When they meet us, let's make sure our bridges are in good repair and that we have a hand extended to help them across.
Don’t be discouraged by the election results in Kentucky. While most of Kentucky voted the way everyone expected them to vote, we didn’t. In our area, District 2, we did much better than we were projected to do. They said that Barack will only get 20 percent of the vote. He got 33 percent. They said that Barack will get 1 of the 5 delegates in our area, and he got 2.
That’s right. All of our hard work and effort paid off big time in the Owensboro area, and the surrounding counties. The volunteer turnout was fantastic, and the work effort was out of this world. The scheduled volunteer shifts were filled at over 200 percent. We not only did all the calls that we were scheduled to do, we had time to go through call lists for other areas. This happened at least three days in the last week before the election.
We covered all the canvassing we wanted to do, and then some. We were able to send people to Bowling Green and Henderson to help with their canvassing. In Owensboro, we had some canvassers go rouge on us, and canvassed their own areas on their own time, outside of our walking lists.
In the upcoming election, it will be Barack Obama against John McCain. In Kentucky, you can’t vote across party lines in the primaries. That means that any Republicans that support Barack, and yes, they are out there in Kentucky, could not vote. The Independents were in the same situation. We had quite a few volunteer shift hours covered by independents who wished they changed their affiliation before the election. One more thing to remember about the general election, Hillary won’t be taking our votes.
I hope to see the same kind of volunteer turnout for the general election that we saw during the primaries. The Democratic Party will have a headquarters open in Owensboro, probably sometime in August, and we will still need help. We have more voters to get registered, he have party affiliations to change, phone calls to make, and doors to knock on. We have to make sure Barack Obama wins the Presidency, and make sure a Democrat takes over Ron Lewis’s seat in the House, and we have to get rid of Mitch McConnell.
So, although it’s true that 21 percent of Kentucky said they didn’t vote for Barack because of his color, and that number will go up in the general election, it won’t go up as much as the number of people who will vote for Barack because he’s the best candidate to run for office in over 40 years. Change isn’t easy, and if you want it, you have to work for it.
I am beyond upset with yesterday's election. Do you people realize that we are now OFFICIALLY the laughing stock of the country. We are the butt of all racist remarks across this land and it makes me sick. I have never in my life been more ashamed of my state than I am right now. All across CNN and other news channels, they're telling the world that Kentucky is not an affluent society nor are we educated. And the sad thing is, they are ABSOLUTELY right. Kentucky wants to party like it's 1899, so you know what? GO FOR IT. Knock yourself out and have a great time. Let's continue to let the world think that we are a bunch of inbred, rednecks, not wearing shoes and sleeping with our cousins... that's a great image to have. Let's let the world know that we can't think for ourselves, that we rely on the way things have been taught for so long and that part of these "learned behaviors" even come from our churches. Let's let the world know how STUPID we are!!! I am fed up with this mentality, I am fed up with Southern thinking, I am fed up with REDNECKS and I am FED UP WITH THIS "GREAT" STATE. To hell with it all!!!
Thank God for Oregon!!!!
Ted
Muhlenberg for Obama
Mary won't take no for an answer.
One of the many ways Mary helps the Obama campaign is by calling ministers in Kentucky and encouraging them to endorse Barack. When one hung up on her, she called right back and told him she had to go see him. She headed over, and by the end of the meeting not only had landed his endorsement, but had him telling his congregation on Sunday how important it was for them to vote for Barack.
A self-proclaimed "grandmama for Obama," Mary was called three weeks ago by another volunteer in the campaign and asked to volunteer. She immediately agreed, and has since become a tireless volunteer and a precinct leader in Louisville. Perhaps what's most remarkable is that Mary hasn't always been involved in the political process: at the age of 59, she's a first-time voter.
"I felt [politicians] couldn't touch me," Mary explains. "But something about Barack Obama inspires me. He explains things to me and works for me. He's the real deal."
Besides going to churches and calling ministers, Mary canvasses, recruits volunteers, and makes phone calls: on her day off this week from her part-time job working in child counseling, she made 92 phone calls.
Mary wishes she could help even more. "I love it! I wish I could do it all day, every day," Mary says. "I think he's wonderful and special." She says there is nothing like "seeing everyone so excited and enthused."
We don't all have the energy of this extraordinary grandma, but we can all help in our own way. For the next three days, local volunteers like Mary will be going door to door to help Get Out the Vote throughout Kentucky. No matter where you are, you can help right now by making calls to undecided voters in Kentucky. The Kentucky calling campaign runs until 9:00 PM EDT tonight.
Having witnessed from close range the stunning effectiveness of the Republican machine at shaving just enough votes in key places in many recent campaign cycles, the Clintons set out to use their hard-won savvy. Arguably comfortable with their data and their sense of how the trends would develop they set out confidently atop a well-tuned campaign machine with a distinctive message implicit in the Senator's campaign for the nomination. It ran something along the lines: The Republican old boy network can't attack the patriotism of a female U.S. Senator who voted to support Bush's Iraq mission.
Yes, it would take work. Still, the country was in a mood to reverse course, the political pendulum was swinging back, and the attacks that had been launched during President Clinton's term in office had cemented Hillary's celebrity, as demonstrated by her success running for the Senate in a "new" home state. Now, having carefully orchestrated her voting record and honed her campaigning and rhetorical skills in the interim, (and make no mistake about it, the skill-set needed to campaign effectively is distinct from what's needed to actually be President,) the Senator Clinton could take back the White House. The Clintons are campaigning with the Rove tactical toolset, targeting whatever gives them leverage within specific groups to shave a few points off their opponent(s) in carefully selected spots, trying to apply just enough pressure to energize specific voters, while the Obama vision of "strength through unity" dictates reliance on an appeal to selflessness, turning on voters who have not been engaged, and a reliance on the intelligence of the voters to consider the issues we must confront, like it or not.
Spotlight on Sound-bites
And now, as Andrew Sullivan has been documenting insightfully for months, those differences are being tested, and the soundness of the forecasts has come to dominate the limelight. The Obama message, which critics have derided via sound-bites combat, is at once both complex and simple, and judging by recent history that's a real gamble. Why craft policy papers and present your stand on the issues in nuanced ways? Simple talking points are what has won elections, after all.
Why? Because Obama has faith in Americans. He has worked alongside the men and women who did not complete college. He understands that it's not indicative of their intelligence, that there are brilliant thinkers scattered throughout rural and urban areas of the U.S., that it's possible to talk to people who have had different opportunities without deprecating their wisdom. In other words, he knows that data-analysis and statistics which refer to groups of voters inevitably diminish the richness of those individuals.
Senator Clinton has recently suggested, for example, that other journalists refer to an Associated Press story including, "how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." Most of those 'uneducated' white voters are capable of hearing the underlying text, and being insulted at the implication that their support is linked to their educational level in a sort of class-based oppression that's familiar to them, but not welcome. Visit any Union hall, or construction site, and you will find that most know who among their "peers" is conversant with the subtleties of any major issue, that there are on-site pundits without college degrees who garner more respect than most of the talking heads and media experts. No, not everybody agrees with them, the differences are present, but that's just the point: differences ARE present, and Senator Clinton arrogantly lumps all of them together as though none will notice.
Obama's experience
Senator Obama, having spent more time in the last 35 years associating with less-educated people, respects the diversity and intelligence of the people he has met. He knows college and grad school afforded him opportunities denied many who don't get that experience, and that while it's not unusual for folks to gravitate to the familiar it's foolish to underestimate individuals based solely, for instance, on their level of education. Sullivan cites an event filled with predominantly black donors and activists, when Obama recounted how a supporter greeted him at the anniversary of Martin Luther King's march on Selma."That was a great celebration of African-American history," the supporter said.
To which Obama immediately responded: "No, no, no, no, no. That was not a great celebration of African-American history. That was a celebration of American history."
Barack Obama's vision of a country increasingly united can be likened to the recognition that while copper is a soft metal which can become brittle, and zinc is also brittle, mixing them yields: brass (which is stronger than either separately) - or that while hydrogen and oxygen are prone to combustion, they can be combined into something entirely different that can even be used to quench fire. Each element has a purpose and place of its own, yet alloys have yielded some of the most interesting, durable, and useful discoveries in human history.
What will the voters believe in?
So, we watch the man who seeks to restore our strength by creating an alloy of people test his vision of unity against the proven tactics of divide and conquer. He trusts the voters to think, to act for the good of the whole, to respond in ways that resonate with patriotism that once rallied the nation to put a man on the moon. Can Obama's demonstrated regard for the value of individuals result in the unified strength of his vision? Time will tell; but there can be no doubt now that the country and the world will be well-served by any and all who prefer creating synergistic coalitions over isolation, ruinous conflicts that squander both lives and resources, or self-serving personal agendas.
DIGG it!
Dear Fellow Americans:
At this date, at this time, at this moment in history I have a mixture of feeling revolving around the question, "Why would anyone be suppoting Senator Hillary Clinton"?
She says that her base is "Hard-working, uneducated, blue-collared, white workers". I am upset, offended, and extremely mad about this statement! To call us DUMB boils my crawl! You know folks THAT'S What UNEDUCATED means! Hillary has a college degree, Bill has a college degree, even Chelese ( I don't know if I spelled her name right; maybe I am dumb) has a college degree. They are looking down their noses at us and laughing at us!
They are saying we will believe anything they say! They have the strings to our emotions and can pull that chain at will and we will fall for it! Those of us who are blessed to have children in college, who have made sacrifices to make that happen, you are talking about us! Children who are in college, they are talking about your parents! What are they saying? I can get "DUMB" folks to vote for me. And why not? They tricked us in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virgina!
What are they saying? "If you vote for me I will fight for you"! BULL)*(@*! We know that they will say anything and do anything to get into office. They are playing us like fiddles!!! Early in her campaign it was all about (I, ME, and MY)! Now, that she is losing, it become what "I" will do for "YOU"! She is playing the Race card as well as the Gender card. Listen to her carefully! Let's Not Be Suckered IN this time! Vote for Senator Barack Obama, who is sincere, whose, message has never changed, who has a proven record of working with poor people like us ( working for people who has lost their jobs to outsourcing, walking picket lines with people who wanted to form unions for better working conditions and a better life, representing us in the courts, state Senate and U.S. Senate). This has been his life's work! Don't judge the man by the color of his skin (remember he IS half white so while the Afro-American can take pride in is being black, we can take pride in the other half!) but judge him by the content of his character!
The newspapers and T.V. people say that there is not much difference between them. Since February 5th when she was supposed to have been crowned queen, she has been changing her stump speech to sound like what Obama has been saying all along and they, the media has been playing it up! They are All laughing at us thinking we will do what they say. Let's fool 'em this time! Let's show them they we can think for ourselves and college kids, you are going to defend your parents! Let's come out for Barack Obama in groves because voting for him is truly voting for ourselves!
I went to see Barack at his Louisville rally. It was amazing. It was inspiring. Did I mention it was amazing and inspiring? For those of you not familiar with downtown Louisville, I will attempt to paint a picture for you. The convention center probably takes up a good two city blocks. I tried to park at the Hyatt but the lot was full so I made my way to the Marriott and parked there.
The doors were not supposed to open until 5:00 PM. Senator Obama was scheduled to speak at 7:00 PM. I was there at 4:00 PM and the line already stretched from the entrance to the convention center, around the corner, around the convention center, past the Marriott, past the Hyatt, past the convention center itself. It was amazing. The weather was perfect, the crowd was energetic and everything was well organzized. I was as excited as a kid at Christmas.
Once inside, I signed in and we made our way up the escalator to a packed foyer where there was yet another line. This was the security checkpoint. The only problem here was once we were at the top and safely off the escalator, the volunteer staff had not been monitoring closely enough the number of people going up. No one could move and people were still on the escalator trying to get off. People were literally balancing themselves on the rails on either side. It could have been disastrous. Finally, they shut them down and the crowd was able to move about safely.
Inside the exhibit hall where Barack was going to be speaking the crowd was energetic and ready for something amazing. By my estimate (though this is only an estimate) I would say they had between 10 and 12,000 people in a standing room only atmosphere. The fire marshal actually turned away roughly 2,000 people still waiting to get inside.
Kentucky congressman, Ben Chandler spoke and then an employee from the Ford Motor Plant spoke. He announced that he would soon be laid off as well as thousands of other local workers for Ford. Then, he introduced Barack. It took about three minutes or so from the time of his introduction to the time that Barack actually made it to the podium. It was electric. He was gracious, warm and excited. He spoke approximately 41 minutes on topics ranging from healthcare to economic reform, to fuel costs. He covered everything. He even made a joke about being Dick Cheney's cousin.
It was an amazing evening. Once we made it back to our car and got out of the parking garage and onto the street, the police blocked the road. I thought they were going to let other traffic through but no one was coming. It was then that a parade of cars, police cars, secret service came whizzing by. Instantly, everone began honking, waving, looking out their windows and sun roofs. His motorcade went right by us. He too was smiling and waving. If someone had been there and not known that Senator Obama had just spoke, they would have thought that everyone had either lost thier minds or that this was this rudest place in America to drive because you couldn't hear ANYTHING but horns, horns and more horns!!!
Here's a link to the video of the event:
http://www.wave3.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=2479561&at1=News&h1=RAW:
Enjoy,
