From the Washington Post:
Barack Obama and John McCain made their first joint appearance of the general election Saturday night, breaking away from the debates over national security and the economy that have dominated the campaign in recent weeks to court evangelical voters at an Orange County megachurch. The forum at Saddleback Church presented a rare opportunity for Christian voters to contrast candidates who do not conform neatly to party stereotypes. While Obama has spoken often about his faith -- and endured a storm of controversy over comments made by the former pastor of the Chicago church he attended until recently -- McCain has largely avoided public discussions of faith and values during his career, which has contributed to a sometimes rocky relationship with evangelical leaders. The event was hosted by Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life" and one of the country's most prominent evangelical preachers. Warren, a Southern Baptist, referred to both McCain and Obama as friends in his introductions... In his answers, Obama described many of his positions, even on taxes and energy, in the language of a devout Christian. When asked about his "greatest moral failing," he discussed his teenage drug and alcohol use, attributing it to "a certain selfishness on my part. I was so obsessed with me, and the reasons why I might be dissatisfied, that I couldn't focus on other people..." "I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him," Obama told Warren. "That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis."
From the Reno Gazette Journal:
When U.S. Sen. Barack Obama returns to Reno today for his first general election campaign swing in Northern Nevada, he'll be stepping into what could be ground zero in the presidential battle for the Silver State's five electoral votes. Washoe County, long a Republican stronghold with only pockets of Democratic voters, is starting to change, giving hope to local Democrats that the county will be the one to finally nudge Nevada into a Democratic presidential candidate's column. "We are the swing county in the swing state, and a personal visit from the senator will energize volunteers and voters in a huge way," said Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno. "On Sunday, the real campaign begins." In traditional Nevada politics, Democrats running statewide focus on their base in Clark County, which has long been overwhelmingly Democratic but underwhelming in its turnout performance. Voters there, both Republican and Democrat, rarely make it to the polls in great numbers. That gives Washoe County, with a growing number of Democrats, a new foothold. "You have to do well in Washoe County," said Sean Sinclair, a Democratic consultant who ran U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's 2004 campaign. "There's never been enough of a margin in Clark County that you can just do average in the rest of the state." Since 2004, Democrats in Washoe County have cut the Republican voter registration advantage to 5,700 from 17,000. The county's two biggest cities, Reno and Sparks, are majority Democratic. Outside of registration, the county also is starting to perform for the party. In the 2006 congressional race, Democrat Jill Derby won the county by 4 percent. Democrats in four of the six statewide offices won the county... While today is Obama's first general election visit to the area, his organization in the state reflects an opportunity for him in Washoe County, which he won handily in the Nevada Caucuses. The campaign has 10 field organizers in Washoe County, and two of the campaign's five senior staff members worked in Northern Nevada during the caucuses.
From the Las Crucs Sun-News:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will appear at a local high school for a town hall and discuss the economy at a smaller event in Albuquerque on Monday. During his fourth visit to New Mexico this campaign season, the Illinois senator will discuss the economy with residents at an invitation-only event Monday morning in Albuquerque. The candidate will hold a town hall meeting at Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque at 1 p.m. Doors open at 10:45 a.m.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama raised $51 million in July, pushing the total he has raised since his presidential quest began to more than $390 million. His take for the month dipped slightly from the $52 million he raised in June. But he nearly matched the roughly $53 million raised by rival Sen. John McCain and the Republican National Committee combined in July. Obama's total is significantly more than what the eventual nominees had raised by this time four years ago. President Bush had raised $240 million at this point in 2004, and Sen. John F. Kerry had collected $210 million... In a statement, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said 65,000 new donors in July "demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to fundamentally change business as usual in Washington..." Obama has an edge: a massive number of small donors. His campaign says he has received money from more than 2 million contributors, compared with McCain's 600,000. Obama expects to raise more than McCain in part by seeking more money from that army of donors.
From the New York Times:
Under a scorching sun, hundreds of people lined up recently in a parking lot here to pick up free back-to-school supplies being distributed by a local radio station. Bobbing among the shade umbrellas were a handful of workers for Senator Barack Obama, carrying clipboards and voter registration forms. On Monday night, others fanned out at a movie screening for surfers in Wrightsville Beach. They descended on a street festival in Asheville. When oil companies posted record profits, Obama supporters showed up at gas stations here with registration forms. Despite the relentless heat, and midsummer lull, the Obama campaign is mobilizing in North Carolina. The state is one of half a dozen once-solid Republican bastions, including Georgia, Indiana and Virginia, where Democrats now sniff opportunity to expand the electoral map. They hope that North Carolina’s growth, especially among high-tech workers in Research Triangle Park, will help change voting patterns that are decades old... To that end, the organization of Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has been conducting an intense registration drive, appearing wherever people gather, as well as singling out potential voters in neighborhoods and online, and reaching out to undecided voters. It has also reactivated the extensive volunteer network it built before crushing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton here in the May primary, and it is already running television commercials. The campaign of the presumed Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, by contrast, has been barely visible... “The dynamics here are different than they ever have been,” said Mr. Obama’s state director, Marc Farinella, pointing to the influx of about 600,000 people since 2004. Mr. Farinella said the Obama campaign would take advantage of this through an aggressive ground game and would speak to both affluent workers and those upended by trade policies that have cost the state tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs. The campaign will also try to exploit Mr. McCain’s opposition to a $300 billion farm bill approved by Congress... But the Obama organization is steadily gaining recruits and putting them to work. Jennifer Lasater, 38, a project manager at a software company here, donated $25 online to the campaign recently and then joined a registration drive through a breast-cancer awareness event. Now she is canvassing and calling voters and at night entering voter information into the campaign’s extensive voter database. “The thought that North Carolina could vote for a Democrat made me think that if there’s something I could do to make that happen, that would be valuable,” Ms. Lasater said. “I figure, if my mother-in-law, who is fairly conservative, told me out of the blue that she was planning to vote for Obama, he has a chance in this state.”
Comments are closed for this post.
