Polls show that it's a dead heat in Indiana, a traditionally 'red' state for the past several presidential elections. Let's get some Chicago people down to the NW part of the state to support our neighbors to the south!
Anyone want to volunteer in NW Indiana this weekend (Sat 9/6)? There's a canvassing group in Merrillville, only an hour south of Chicago. (I'm up for heading to other locales as well--South Bend, Michigan City--whoever needs the most support). If you're in NW Indiana, please let us know how we can be of help!
Please respond by Friday afternoon so we can coordinate rides and such...only 65 more days.
Go Obama!
Peace,
Brit
Why is it that Keith Olbermann is the only one who forcefully responds to McCain's baseless attacks and character assassination on Barack Obama?
McCain will do anything, including flip-flopping and selling out his maverick image, to realize his ambition to become president. When is the Obama campaign going to more effectively call him on his BS.
Thanks to Sara C. for the excellent letter below. Every vote counts, but it does not stop there -- every volunteer makes getting more votes possible. I'm pointing my friends to this site for a while and have sent them the below letter - maybe you'd like to do the same!
__________
You have given your support, you may have already given your most precious possession; your vote, you might have given some hard earned dollars but now it is time to give of yourself. We are urging you to join us. The time is crucial, the stakes are high, and our time is running out. We have 26 primaries and only 5 months remaining to win this nomination. We have come so far and covered a lot of ground and we are gaining with every primary but we need to grow again. We need to swell our ranks, pound the pavement, and fill the airwaves. I am urging you to join us, sign up to volunteer, find a way to help by giving of yourself. We cannot lose if you join us. We will not be denied if you join us. This movement will make it all the way to the White House if you join us. Imagine your pride in August on convention night when Obama takes the stage in Denver Colorado as the Democratic nominee for President and you can say I helped to make this happen. I helped. For the rest of your life you will be able to tell your family, perhaps your children, your co-workers, and your friends that you gave of yourself to help change America. You made a difference. Obama’s message is “Yes We Can”. It is more then a political slogan. It is about YOU. If you want change then you must actively seek it. You must be willing to work for it. Obama’s message is about empowering people; getting the young, getting the hopeless, getting the content, getting the discontent to believe in America again and all the unrealized promise that still resides within us. It is about finding those that are lost, it is about asking those that have plenty and those that are struggling to work together to make a better America that works for us all. So we urge you to roll up your sleeves, find a way to commit yourself, use your talents, and your time to make this dream come true. We are counting on you; our success will be determined what we strive to accomplish together.
Join us. Volunteer.
Face it: You loved the little shorts.
Back in the ‘90s when then-President Bill Clinton would rise early for his morning jaunt up and down Pennsylvania Ave., most of us couldn’t help but feel endeared by his choice of clothing. His big, man legs sticking out of teeny-tiny shorts were hilarious. It was goofy. It was likable. And, most importantly, it was human.
If you ask a current day Clinton-supporter what the reason is for their love, most likely they will spew some information about the economy, punctuated with favorable adjectives about NAFTA. Or maybe they will even tell you something about a resurgence of the Democratic Party. But we all know the real reason why they love him. That reason is because he used to jog in tiny shorts. He was struggling with the weight he’d gained from fast food, and we loved every minute of it.
Bill Clinton tossed aside the typical, stiff Presidential appearance – a time when we were familiar with the dubious images of George H.W. Bush perplexed by the conveyor belt and barcode scanner at a grocery store – and showed us something that looked a little bit more like ourselves.
However, when I turn on the television today, I cringe at the sight of our favorite cheeseburger-loving ex-President practically frothing at the mouth within feet of a Nevada caucus site. Watching him campaign for his wife conjures up images of the character Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings,” and the candidacy is his “Precious.” It’s unfamiliar. It’s disturbing. And it’s rather hard to relate to as a human.
The problem with this image is that it makes you think: If Bill Clinton hadn’t been so likeable, then would we have ever viewed him as such a wonderful President? People in the ‘90s were so high from the economic boom (partly to do with the President, sure, but mostly to do with the growth of the Internet and subsequent dotcom explosion in Silicon Valley) that they didn’t really seem to notice that not much else was really getting done.
This man had eight years in office – and with very little opposition considering that it was a mostly-Democratic Congress for half of those years – and yet he still failed to accomplish some of the most basic goals. He had eight years to pass healthcare reform, define a new energy plan to decrease U.S. dependency on oil, develop a long-term plan for social security, reform immigration, and improve our poorest areas and public schools. He had eight years to accomplish these things and yet he failed at every single one. Not to mention, with the implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, he propelled the gay rights movement into a backwards tailspin. And all the poverty that was unearthed with the disaster of Hurricane Katrina? That stuff just doesn’t materialize over night. Tragedies like that have been hiding below the dark underbelly of America through many presidencies and have yet to be properly addressed.
The fact is that he was so bogged down in scandal after scandal that little progress could be made. Days and months were wasted as he put America’s problems aside and addressed his own personal issues instead. And yet we forgave him for this and for the lies he told because we loved that he was human. “Well, anyone would lie about that. We understand, Bill.”
Unfortunately for the Clintons, America is in such a crisis right now with a recession, a mismanaged war, our infrastructure literally collapsing beneath our cars and a health insurance program that causes doctors to choose death over life for their suffering patients, that it no longer wants a fun man in tiny shorts. It wants a real leader who is actually capable of getting things done. And we’re just not sure the Clintons can adequately put aside the partisan bickering long enough to do much of anything – again.
The Clintons are losing their human “average Joe” charm, and without that, there is little appeal. People are seeing that they had their chance with eight years, and by most standards, they failed. It’s time for someone new to have a chance. People get nostalgic about the Clintons because Bush seems so inhuman in comparison. But we don’t need to look to the past to find improvements; we need to look to the future. Much like the Nirvana-inspired grunge clothing, bowling shirts and “The Rachel” haircut, some styles need to stay in the last decade. And tiny jogging shorts are one of them.
OBAMA '08!!!
Hey
I heard the JJ speech and was almost as fired up as when I heard his 2004 speech. That says a lot being that that was the moment I thought about him being president.
Now we need to continue to push for him. If you can make it to Iowa or NH, do so. Make calls or send out literature. Donate money. Put a banner in your window.
The fact that the polls did not move after Bill made a run through Iowa says a lot. I think the tide is turning towards Obama now and this train is not stopping until we are at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue.
Hey everyone
Barack will be on Meet the Press this weekend and have the whole hour. Let's make sure we let everyone possible know as this kind of exposure this late into the race is fantastic.
If you have outside or politics blogs, mention the show.
Mike
The fact that Hillary could not answer the immigration question clearly should alarm the public as to the fact that this is who she is.
What I mean by that is that she took days off the campaign trail for the debate. This was for a simple debate!!!!! What is she going to do with things like Katrina or a national security issue?
This is one of the reasons why I support Barack. His decision making ability is excellent. He is able to make decisions in a timely manner (right away if necessary).
I think we found our way in the door to the nomination.
Dear Mike,
For the last month, you and I have lived very different lives, but we both have worked for the same noble goal: canceling the debt of some of the world's poorest nations.
As Josh Peck mentioned in earlier emails, I left my home in Washington state and came to Washington, D.C., to fast for 40 days, all the while meeting with members of Congress and asking them to cosponsor the Jubilee Act. My thanks goes out to each and every one of you for joining me for the last four days of my fast to ratchet up the pressure on Congress.
Your efforts were extraordinary. Nearly 48,000 of you sent letters to your members of Congress, far surpassing my original hope for 40,000 letters, 1,000 for each day of my fast. Even more impressive are the 4,200 of you who picked up the phone and made a call to your senators and representatives. You wrapped all of this up by inundating the IMF with tens of thousands of emails demanding they follow through on their promise to cancel Liberia's debt.
And Congress heard you loud and clear.
Through our efforts we added 27 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, with over half of those signing on after ONE started taking action. We were also able to convince some of our champions in the Senate to introduce a companion bill, and so far 10 senators have agreed to cosponsor the bill. As if this were not enough, Congress agreed to hold a hearing on the Jubilee Act in mid November, drawing important attention to the need for debt relief.
Senator Barack Obama and Senator Richard Durbin are taking the lead and have already agreed to co-sponsor the Jubilee Act and they deserve our thanks for their efforts.Please send them a short note thanking them for hearing us, and acting on behalf of the world's poorest people.
Once again, my deepest gratitude to you all, working together we have done a great thing.
In peace,
Rev. David Duncombe, ONE Member
Now that the governor of Mass. has endorsed Barack, we need to show the Mass supporters how important it is to head to NH and make personal contact with voters for this upcoming primary!
We as Illinoisans have the experience and record that the Mass supporters will need to lean on when they head to NH. Our work in Iowa will help those in NH.
We should get in contact with Mass. organizers and if possible get out there to have meetings on how to engage and inspire the NH voters.
Keep up the good work
A couple of notes on the recent fundraising headlines:
Barack and Hillary are both over 30 mil on hand. The difference is that some of Hillary's is from her Senate cash and difference in the amount of donors sway way over to Barack's side.
The republicans are spending more than they are taking in. Therefor a competetive republican primary is just what the Democrats could ask for.
Last week our great junior senator from New York decided that talking to Iran would be a good idea. This comes after calling Senator Obama naive for suggesting such a thing during a recent debate. This type of pass has to be confronted. We are the people to do just that.
When will America realize that Obama is far ahead of Hillary in judgement about the major issues? She has yet to come out with an energy policy, slow on Iran, completely clueless on Iraq, and don't even bring up the subject of social security. She can't hide behind Bill much longer.
Who exactly is naive here?
Together Everyone Acheives More
I am asking all who have come to my site to kindly request to be friends with my friends. I believe this is important as we should be able to do more for Obama together.
today's new friends list so far is - Amandamo and Ric Flair. Thanks guys
Take care
Hi fellow Senator Obama constituents! My name is Kelly and I lead the NW Suburbs of Chicago for Obama group. Currently we are neck and neck with the Washington DC for Obama group in the fundraising challenge that ends this Sunday.
The winner gets a conference call with Barack and in only two steps you too can be a part!
First step: Donate any amount, even $5, through our group’s fundraising page:
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute?outreach_page_id=10807
Second step: Join our group and follow the prompts to send at least one invite to someone else to our fundraising page.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/NWSuburbsofChicagoforObama
Anyone who donates $5 or more and sends out at least one invite can partake in the conference call! Lets show those people in DC who really is the most fired up for Barack!!!
Thanks so much for your time; I hope to be on that conference call with you soon!
Hey guys,
This article from the Sioux City Journal didn't make the Obama homepage, but I think it's worth reading. Enjoy!
Warnstadt endorses Obama By Bret Hayworth Journal staff writer 2 comment(s) | Share | Small | Large Seeing a candidate he thinks can not only win the 2008 presidential election, but govern in the following years, Iowa Sen. Steve Warnstadt, D-Sioux City, has announced his endorsement of Barack Obama.U.S. Sen. Obama, D-Ill., has campaigned twice in Sioux City this year and Warnstadt liked what he saw then and has seen previously."America is facing a lot of division, and I think (Obama) has unique skills to bring people together," Warnstadt said.Warnstadt also thinks Obama is making a strong move for change in his refusal to accept political action committee donations. "I like the way he has limited campaign financing to non-PACs. He has decided to reach out aggressively to ordinary individuals," he said.Warnstadt's role with the Obama campaign is yet to be defined, but he said he is "impressed with how the campaign is turning to individuals. This is not a top-down campaign."With Warnstadt's endorsement, four of the five Sioux City statehouse lawmakers have settled on a candidate for the 2008 presidency. The first to endorse was House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, who supports former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican. The other Sioux City Republican serving in the legislature, Iowa Sen. Ron Wieck, has not settled on a candidate."I continue to watch where they are on the issues," Wieck said, adding that he will endorse at some point before the Jan. 14 Iowa caucuses.Of the two other statehouse Democrats, Iowa Rep. Wes Whitead supports John Edwards and Iowa Rep. Roger Wendt has endorsed Hillary Clinton. Whitead will speak on behalf of Edwards at the Northwest Iowa Labor Council annual Labor Day Picnic on Monday.Northwest Iowa Labor Council president John Hamm said the picnic field of speakers is the best ever. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden will take part, while former President Bill Clinton will also attend and introduce his wife. Estimates are that 5,000 or more people will attend the labor council event at Riverside Park in Sioux City.Parking will be available on both sides of Riverside Boulevard and on the grass between the railroad and Riverside Boulevard, Hamm said. Also, parking is available in the park's lots.The appearance of three presidential candidates at the picnic ends a fallow period with few candidates since the Aug. 11 Iowa Republican Party straw poll, which was won by Romney. Many candidates from the two major parties campaigned in Sioux City in late July and early August, but since the straw poll the only stop was by Edwards on Aug. 14.Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
