From the Washington Post:
RICHMOND, Aug. 13 -- Mark R. Warner, the former Virginia governor and a candidate for the U.S. Senate, will deliver the keynote address the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Democratic party officials announced Wednesday. It was the convention's keynote speech four years ago that launched presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to national prominence. Warner's address on Aug. 26 will be broadcast to millions around the United States. Warner, who considered running for president, is competing against former governor James S. Gilmore III (R) for the Senate seat. He has taken his name out of consideration to be Obama's running mate. The popular former governor is widely considered the front-runner to replace retiring Republican Sen. John W. Warner in a race that could help further solidify Virginia's gradual shift toward becoming a more Democratic state. "Like Barack Obama, Mark Warner is not afraid to challenge the status quo to bring people together and get things moving,'' Obama campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in a statement early this morning. "It's that kind of spirit and innovation that resulted in his selection as keynote speaker on a night when we will be discussing how to renew America's promise." The Aug. 26 convention program will feature speakers who share "Obama's concerns and support his detailed economic plan to grow the economy, create jobs, restore fairness, and expand opportunity," according to the Obama campaign. "As Governor of Virginia, Warner used his experience in business to help deliver jobs and hope to the citizens of Virginia," Plouffe said. "His work creating jobs in Southwest and Southside Virginia is a model for the rest of the country."
From the Chicago Tribune:
DES MOINES, Iowa - Democrat Barack Obama plans to significantly expand his already large field organizing effort in Iowa, opening 10 additional offices with a focus on rural areas. The presidential candidate will open six new offices this week, adding four more next week to bring the total number of field offices to 36, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday. "I just wanted to point out that Barack Obama is committed to reaching out and engaging Iowans in rural communities," Harkin said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "He has held more than 100 town hall meetings in rural Iowa." New field offices added this week are in Carroll, Grinnell, Indianola, Iowa Falls, Muscatine and Spencer, said Harkin."We want to get as many people involved as possible," said Harkin. "We need a president who will stand up for rural America."… All of the efforts come at a time when Democrats have build a 90,000 person edge in voter registration in Iowa. That's a huge change from 2004, when Republicans outnumbered Democrats by about 8,000 voters. "It seems to me there are some big shifts going on in this state," said Harkin. "It seems to me the people of Iowa are saying they want to give the Democrats a chance. The economy is a mess, energy prices are too high."
From USA Today:
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama plans to organize extensively in Ohio's rural areas and small towns that have long been strongholds for Republican candidates in the key battleground state.While Obama will also concentrate on the state's heavily Democratic urban areas as he looks to win the state's votes in the November election, his campaign released a document Tuesday outlining the additional strategy. President Bush won Ohio over Democrat John Kerry four years ago. Gov. Ted Strickland, who represented rural southeast Ohio in Congress for 12 years, said Obama's statewide strategy could at least cut into any advantage his Republican opponent John McCain would have. Strickland said during a conference call he has advised Obama campaign officials to look at his own and Sen. Sherrod Brown's recent victories as models. He said both had tactics to win votes all across Ohio. "John Kerry won the major cities and metropolitan areas in our state more than he had hoped to win by. I mean, he did exceedingly well, and he lost the election because of his lack of support in small town and rural Ohio," Strickland said. "That every part of this state is being targeted means that Sen. Obama will not repeat the Kerry mistake." The Obama campaign's Ohio strategy document entitled "Change Begins in Ohio" includes formation of more than 1,200 neighborhood teams of volunteers, who will focus on a door-to-door conversational approach, said Aaron Pickrell, Obama campaign Ohio director. Small towns like Middletown and Troy and rural areas like Perry County will have Obama campaign offices to help neighborhood teams, Pickrell said. In all, 43 campaign offices statewide are either opened or planned.
From the Boston Globe:
With the candidate himself on a Hawaii holiday, Barack Obama's campaign and the national Democratic Party are trying to fill the void today. His campaign is launching its "Republican for Obama" group to promote his bipartisan appeal. Former US Senator Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, former Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa, and former White House intelligence advisor Rita E. Hauser will help lead the effort. "[Obama's call for change] is rooted in very old American values that are as much a part of the Republican as the Democratic tradition -- there is an emphasis in individual rights, fairness and balance at home and progressive internationalism," Leach told reporters on a conference call. "And above anything else frankly I am convinced that the nation interest requires a new approach to our interactions with the world… I also have no doubt that a lot of Republicans, independents are going to be attracted to this call for a new era of non-ideological, bipartisan decision-making."
From the Rutland Herald:
WOODSTOCK -- A pair of prominent politicians and supporters of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign urged Clinton supporters to support Democratic candidate Barack Obama during a rally Sunday night. About 70 people turned out for the United for Change Potluck Supper at the Woodstock Firehouse, where Madeleine Kunin, former governor, and Gaye Symington, democratic gubernatorial candidate, urged the crowd to back Obama's bid for the White House. "The whole idea is to unite the Barack-Clinton wings of the party and get somebody in Washington who will bring change and end the war," said event organizer Bob Williamson. As democrats piled their plates with pasta, meats and salad, Symington circulated with potential voters and discussed her newfound support for Obama. "I was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton's, but I'm here tonight to help unite people to bring real change," Symington said. Event organizer Joanne Boyle said Woodstock's rally was "part of a national effort and we felt we should bring everyone together." A former employee of the Obama campaign, Boyle said she spent several weeks going door-to-door in White River Junction campaigning for Obama. … [Kunin said] "As a former Hillary supporter, I support Barack Obama, and I don't support him because Hillary does but because I know he will be great for the United States of America."
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