Arizona Republic
"Obama rally draws 13,000 to Coliseum"Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama challenged Arizona to seize the moment and said the time for change is now during a rally on Wednesday in Phoenix. "I believe change in America does not happen from the top down. It happens from the bottom up," the Illinois senator said to a crowd of more than 13,000 at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Obama covered health care, education, immigration and foreign relations during his nearly 50-minute speech. Obama evoked images of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when he said he was running for president because of what King called the "fierce urgency of now." The United States is at a defining moment of history, Obama said, and the dream that so many people fought for is slowly slipping away. On immigration, Obama said it was time for an intelligent, humane and effective policy, and he was tired of the topic being treated as a political football...."We don't just need someone who is ready on Day 1," Obama told the crowd. "We need someone who is right on Day 1."...Obama was introduced by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of the late President Kennedy, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. Napolitano told the audience they were part of history by being there in the coliseum. The rally drew a mix of people from young families to teens and retirees. ...For Chris and Dana Castoro of Ahwatukee, the rally was an opportunity to expose their daughters, ages 8 and 9, to the political process. "It will only be two more elections before she can vote," said Chris Castoro, pointing to his older daughter.
"Obama rally draws 13,000 to Coliseum"
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama challenged Arizona to seize the moment and said the time for change is now during a rally on Wednesday in Phoenix. "I believe change in America does not happen from the top down. It happens from the bottom up," the Illinois senator said to a crowd of more than 13,000 at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Obama covered health care, education, immigration and foreign relations during his nearly 50-minute speech.
Obama evoked images of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when he said he was running for president because of what King called the "fierce urgency of now." The United States is at a defining moment of history, Obama said, and the dream that so many people fought for is slowly slipping away. On immigration, Obama said it was time for an intelligent, humane and effective policy, and he was tired of the topic being treated as a political football.
..."We don't just need someone who is ready on Day 1," Obama told the crowd. "We need someone who is right on Day 1."
...Obama was introduced by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of the late President Kennedy, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. Napolitano told the audience they were part of history by being there in the coliseum. The rally drew a mix of people from young families to teens and retirees.
...For Chris and Dana Castoro of Ahwatukee, the rally was an opportunity to expose their daughters, ages 8 and 9, to the political process. "It will only be two more elections before she can vote," said Chris Castoro, pointing to his older daughter.
Associated Press
...Obama drew more than 10,000 people for his speech at the University of Denver. They packed a hockey arena and crammed into two overflow rooms and still were lined up outside to get in. Colorado is a caucus state, one of 22 to hold nominating contests Tuesday, and is one of a handful of states where the Obama campaign is predicting victory. Clinton has the advantage in several others, while several are still up for grabs. "Democrats will win in November and build a majority in Congress not by nominating a candidate who will unite the other party against us, but by choosing one who can unite this country around a movement for change," Obama said..."It is time for new leadership that understands the way to win a debate with John McCain or any Republican who is nominated is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq or who agreed with him in voting to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran, who agrees with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don't like, who actually differed with him by arguing for exceptions for torture before changing positions when the politics of the moment changed," Obama said."We need to offer the American people a clear contrast on national security, and when I am the nominee of the Democratic Party, that is exactly what I will do," he said...."It is about the past versus the future," he said. "And when I am the nominee, the Republicans won't be able to make this election about the past."
...Obama drew more than 10,000 people for his speech at the University of Denver. They packed a hockey arena and crammed into two overflow rooms and still were lined up outside to get in. Colorado is a caucus state, one of 22 to hold nominating contests Tuesday, and is one of a handful of states where the Obama campaign is predicting victory. Clinton has the advantage in several others, while several are still up for grabs.
"Democrats will win in November and build a majority in Congress not by nominating a candidate who will unite the other party against us, but by choosing one who can unite this country around a movement for change," Obama said
..."It is time for new leadership that understands the way to win a debate with John McCain or any Republican who is nominated is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq or who agreed with him in voting to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran, who agrees with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don't like, who actually differed with him by arguing for exceptions for torture before changing positions when the politics of the moment changed," Obama said.
"We need to offer the American people a clear contrast on national security, and when I am the nominee of the Democratic Party, that is exactly what I will do," he said.
..."It is about the past versus the future," he said. "And when I am the nominee, the Republicans won't be able to make this election about the past."
Rocky Mountain News
...after Kennedy called Obama a man who offered the "same sense of hope and inspiration" as her father, it was time. No, the house lights didn't go out, but the music was turned way up. In this case U2's uber-rousing City of Blinding Lights erupted...On the rallying chords and lyrics of that song, in came Obama. Only those in wheelchairs - and there were more than a few - didn't fly out of their seats in a standing ovation.After acknowledging those who were watching a live feed in the gymnasium, Obama exorted the audience to "give a shout out to all the folks who are still out on the lacrosse field." It was these people to whom he stopped to talk, making him later than he usually is for his shows, uh, rallies.Cell phone cameras splashed light like a galaxy was being born. People in the crowd cheered. ...All around them were people wearing buttons and T-shirts that read "Barack the Vote." Or "Barack Obama is Good!" Or "Obama Mama" - which also defined the woman wearing it, 41-year-old Tiare Flora, who flew in from Durango to attend the event and found the scene "absolutely amazing." People like Sheila Long, 41, who had driven down from Fort Collins, ignoring her broken ankle because "I'm inspired by hope."People like Pam Heleen, 50, of Conifer, and Logan Morrow, 23, from Colorado Springs, who were among the first to arrive at 6 a.m.And a good thing they did. As the light grew stronger, so did the lines - two of them, snaking for blocks and blocks, growing as if by some kind of strange mitosis....among the lucky ones was Jessica Morganfeld, 19, a DU student who came because "I heard he's a crafted rhetorician and I wanted to see how effectively he could convey his message." She looked around the arena, breathed in the excitement and said, "This is really amazing." And that was before the star, the man behind Obamania, hit the stage. Before he insisted,"The future is not what somebody else tells us it is. The future is what we decide it's going to be." Before he sang out, "We don't need small change, we need fundamental change in America!"
...after Kennedy called Obama a man who offered the "same sense of hope and inspiration" as her father, it was time.
No, the house lights didn't go out, but the music was turned way up. In this case U2's uber-rousing City of Blinding Lights erupted...On the rallying chords and lyrics of that song, in came Obama. Only those in wheelchairs - and there were more than a few - didn't fly out of their seats in a standing ovation.
After acknowledging those who were watching a live feed in the gymnasium, Obama exorted the audience to "give a shout out to all the folks who are still out on the lacrosse field." It was these people to whom he stopped to talk, making him later than he usually is for his shows, uh, rallies.
Cell phone cameras splashed light like a galaxy was being born. People in the crowd cheered.
...All around them were people wearing buttons and T-shirts that read "Barack the Vote." Or "Barack Obama is Good!" Or "Obama Mama" - which also defined the woman wearing it, 41-year-old Tiare Flora, who flew in from Durango to attend the event and found the scene "absolutely amazing."
People like Sheila Long, 41, who had driven down from Fort Collins, ignoring her broken ankle because "I'm inspired by hope."
People like Pam Heleen, 50, of Conifer, and Logan Morrow, 23, from Colorado Springs, who were among the first to arrive at 6 a.m.
And a good thing they did. As the light grew stronger, so did the lines - two of them, snaking for blocks and blocks, growing as if by some kind of strange mitosis.
...among the lucky ones was Jessica Morganfeld, 19, a DU student who came because "I heard he's a crafted rhetorician and I wanted to see how effectively he could convey his message." She looked around the arena, breathed in the excitement and said, "This is really amazing."
And that was before the star, the man behind Obamania, hit the stage. Before he insisted,"The future is not what somebody else tells us it is. The future is what we decide it's going to be." Before he sang out, "We don't need small change, we need fundamental change in America!"
Minnesota Daily
"A real voice for change""The editorial board endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States" n Tuesday, Feb. 5, Minnesota voters will gather to choose nominees for the next president of the United States. On Tuesday, the Editorial Board urges you to make your voice heard and to consider Sen. Barack Obama for your vote. Obama's work as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago, his leadership in the Illinois Senate and his continued record in the U.S. Senate, show his experience and ability to inspire a new generation and qualify him to lead our country in a new direction. Obama's opposition to the initial occupation of Iraq displays the kind of judgment that his competitor for the nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, lacks. His plans to work with the United Nations to establish a diplomatic reform of the Iraqi government will show the world that we can be a peaceful and powerful force in the world. His health care plan would provide all Americans, including the 47 million currently uninsured, the ability to qualify for a new public plan, regardless of medical history. The plan would act as an alternative - and competitor - to private insurance companies. Although we wish to see America steer toward true universal health care, the senator's plan to institute an aggressive insurance watchdog organization gives us faith that his interests lie with the people and not in fat checks from insurance CEOs. As more than half a million immigrants enter the country illegally or outstay their visas each year, a strong and compassionate immigration package is necessary. Obama's priority is to bring these immigrants out of the shadows and give them a chance to obtain work visas or attain legal status. His push to streamline the messy application system and provide employers incentives to not encourage illegal workers is a balanced approach to help those who wish to join our country while making it less enticing for immigrants to enter the United States illegally. For the past 20 years, two dynasties have controlled American politics. There were good years and years that have tested our national pride and faith in our leaders. Often, we tend to lean toward the familiar. However, we must remember it is in the unfamiliar that we find a fresh perspective of ourselves. The promise of seeing our country and American politics in a new light is just what Obama brings, and it is just what we need.
"A real voice for change"
"The editorial board endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States"
n Tuesday, Feb. 5, Minnesota voters will gather to choose nominees for the next president of the United States. On Tuesday, the Editorial Board urges you to make your voice heard and to consider Sen. Barack Obama for your vote.
Obama's work as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago, his leadership in the Illinois Senate and his continued record in the U.S. Senate, show his experience and ability to inspire a new generation and qualify him to lead our country in a new direction.
Obama's opposition to the initial occupation of Iraq displays the kind of judgment that his competitor for the nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, lacks. His plans to work with the United Nations to establish a diplomatic reform of the Iraqi government will show the world that we can be a peaceful and powerful force in the world.
His health care plan would provide all Americans, including the 47 million currently uninsured, the ability to qualify for a new public plan, regardless of medical history. The plan would act as an alternative - and competitor - to private insurance companies. Although we wish to see America steer toward true universal health care, the senator's plan to institute an aggressive insurance watchdog organization gives us faith that his interests lie with the people and not in fat checks from insurance CEOs.
As more than half a million immigrants enter the country illegally or outstay their visas each year, a strong and compassionate immigration package is necessary. Obama's priority is to bring these immigrants out of the shadows and give them a chance to obtain work visas or attain legal status. His push to streamline the messy application system and provide employers incentives to not encourage illegal workers is a balanced approach to help those who wish to join our country while making it less enticing for immigrants to enter the United States illegally.
For the past 20 years, two dynasties have controlled American politics. There were good years and years that have tested our national pride and faith in our leaders. Often, we tend to lean toward the familiar. However, we must remember it is in the unfamiliar that we find a fresh perspective of ourselves. The promise of seeing our country and American politics in a new light is just what Obama brings, and it is just what we need.
Los Angeles Times
Rosa Brooks: ...Not long ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the seemingly inevitable front-runner for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Obama was the insurgent. He was pulling in young voters, independents and new voters, but he lacked the blessing of the party's heavyweights.That's changed. Obama's success in moving beyond the traditional party base -- combined with serious Clinton fatigue -- is leading many seasoned Democratic leaders to rethink their earlier assumptions. John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Claire McCaskill and Tom Daschle, among others, have lined up behind Obama, and the last few days brought Obama a surge of new, high-profile endorsements from such luminaries as Ted Kennedy and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.His endorsers are right to see Obama as their party's best hope for 2008. Though skeptics contend that Obama lacks "experience," this concern makes sense only if you think you have to be a Washington insider to be qualified to run for president. Obama began his career as a community organizer and civil rights attorney in Chicago -- relevant background for someone who will have to deal with tough economic and social justice issues as president. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 and the U.S. Senate in 2004; in all, he's spent 11 years being directly accountable to voters (that's four more than Clinton). ...Remember that if you never develop good judgment, racking up "experience" just tends to make you older, not necessarily smarter. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were "experienced," and they brought us the Iraq war. Clinton, who's billing herself as the "experienced" candidate, voted for that war. Meanwhile, Obama, as a D.C. outsider, said in 2002 that a war in Iraq would be "a dumb war. ... A war based not on principle but on politics." He predicted, accurately, that the Iraq war would distract the U.S. from domestic priorities (such as the economy) and from our more pressing national security priorities (going after Al Qaeda, nuclear nonproliferation, forging a better energy policy). Obama has good judgment, which trumps mere experience every time....Obama has solid legislative accomplishments under his belt too. In the sink-or-swim Illinois statehouse, he brokered compromises on politically sensitive issues such as children's health coverage, racial profiling and tax credits for the working poor. In the U.S. Senate, Obama sponsored ethics reform legislation, legislation to ensure accountability of private military contractors and -- with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar -- a successful bill on securing global stocks of conventional weapons. That wasn't glamorous, but it was important. Conventional weapons, not WMD, kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Equally important, Obama's background and message are enabling him to reach beyond any narrow demographic slice of the electorate, and this bodes well -- both for his ability to beat a GOP rival and for his ability to lead effectively and without divisiveness once elected. Obama's high-powered endorsers also may have noticed something the mainstream media seem largely to have missed: If you add up the delegates won in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Obama's ahead, so far, with 63 delegates to Clinton's 48. ...There's been such a rush to endorse Obama that I'm starting to feel a bit left out. Admittedly, I'm not a senator or a Nobel laureate, but ... I'm starting to think I should endorse him myself. Why should Ted Kennedy get to have all the fun? "
Rosa Brooks:
...Not long ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the seemingly inevitable front-runner for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Obama was the insurgent. He was pulling in young voters, independents and new voters, but he lacked the blessing of the party's heavyweights.That's changed. Obama's success in moving beyond the traditional party base -- combined with serious Clinton fatigue -- is leading many seasoned Democratic leaders to rethink their earlier assumptions. John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Claire McCaskill and Tom Daschle, among others, have lined up behind Obama, and the last few days brought Obama a surge of new, high-profile endorsements from such luminaries as Ted Kennedy and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.
His endorsers are right to see Obama as their party's best hope for 2008. Though skeptics contend that Obama lacks "experience," this concern makes sense only if you think you have to be a Washington insider to be qualified to run for president. Obama began his career as a community organizer and civil rights attorney in Chicago -- relevant background for someone who will have to deal with tough economic and social justice issues as president. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 and the U.S. Senate in 2004; in all, he's spent 11 years being directly accountable to voters (that's four more than Clinton). ...Remember that if you never develop good judgment, racking up "experience" just tends to make you older, not necessarily smarter. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were "experienced," and they brought us the Iraq war. Clinton, who's billing herself as the "experienced" candidate, voted for that war.
Meanwhile, Obama, as a D.C. outsider, said in 2002 that a war in Iraq would be "a dumb war. ... A war based not on principle but on politics." He predicted, accurately, that the Iraq war would distract the U.S. from domestic priorities (such as the economy) and from our more pressing national security priorities (going after Al Qaeda, nuclear nonproliferation, forging a better energy policy). Obama has good judgment, which trumps mere experience every time.
...Obama has solid legislative accomplishments under his belt too. In the sink-or-swim Illinois statehouse, he brokered compromises on politically sensitive issues such as children's health coverage, racial profiling and tax credits for the working poor. In the U.S. Senate, Obama sponsored ethics reform legislation, legislation to ensure accountability of private military contractors and -- with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar -- a successful bill on securing global stocks of conventional weapons. That wasn't glamorous, but it was important. Conventional weapons, not WMD, kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Equally important, Obama's background and message are enabling him to reach beyond any narrow demographic slice of the electorate, and this bodes well -- both for his ability to beat a GOP rival and for his ability to lead effectively and without divisiveness once elected. Obama's high-powered endorsers also may have noticed something the mainstream media seem largely to have missed: If you add up the delegates won in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Obama's ahead, so far, with 63 delegates to Clinton's 48.
...There's been such a rush to endorse Obama that I'm starting to feel a bit left out. Admittedly, I'm not a senator or a Nobel laureate, but ... I'm starting to think I should endorse him myself. Why should Ted Kennedy get to have all the fun? "
Washington Post
"Drawing on Deep Ties, Kennedy Reaches Out to Hispanics" When Sen. Edward M. Kennedy hits the campaign trail for Sen. Barack Obama Thursday and Friday, his focus will be Hispanics, a voter group that doesn't know Obama well, but that has deep ties to Kennedy, who for 45 years has championed immigration rights. Kennedy's public schedule for Thursday and Friday lists community gatherings in New Mexico and California. Also on the agenda: Appearances on Spanish-language radio programs, interviews with Spanish-language newspapers, and phone calls to uncommitted local Hispanic leaders. Tomorrow morning, Kennedy will appear on "Piolin por la "Mañana," the top-rated show in Los Angeles......It is a relationship that dates back to the early 1960s, when President Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy, the attorney general, sought to end the migrant worker program brought to light by the Edward R. Murrow documentary, "Harvest of Shame." In 1963, JFK called on Congress to overhaul immigration law, the same year his brother Ted, then a freshman, won a seat on the Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee. In 1965, the Massachusetts senator helped to secure passage of a landmark immigration bill that abolished the national-origin quota system, which had been in place since 1924, and heavily favored immigrants of European descent. Through his long career, Kennedy has remained a champion of immigration rights...
"Drawing on Deep Ties, Kennedy Reaches Out to Hispanics"
When Sen. Edward M. Kennedy hits the campaign trail for Sen. Barack Obama Thursday and Friday, his focus will be Hispanics, a voter group that doesn't know Obama well, but that has deep ties to Kennedy, who for 45 years has championed immigration rights.
Kennedy's public schedule for Thursday and Friday lists community gatherings in New Mexico and California. Also on the agenda: Appearances on Spanish-language radio programs, interviews with Spanish-language newspapers, and phone calls to uncommitted local Hispanic leaders.
Tomorrow morning, Kennedy will appear on "Piolin por la "Mañana," the top-rated show in Los Angeles...
...It is a relationship that dates back to the early 1960s, when President Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy, the attorney general, sought to end the migrant worker program brought to light by the Edward R. Murrow documentary, "Harvest of Shame." In 1963, JFK called on Congress to overhaul immigration law, the same year his brother Ted, then a freshman, won a seat on the Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee. In 1965, the Massachusetts senator helped to secure passage of a landmark immigration bill that abolished the national-origin quota system, which had been in place since 1924, and heavily favored immigrants of European descent. Through his long career, Kennedy has remained a champion of immigration rights...
New York Times
Elizabeth B. Moynihan, the widow of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the New York senator who, from a hayfield on his upstate farm, helped shepherd Hillary Rodham Clinton into his Senate seat, has endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination....Mrs. Moynihan, an architectural historian who successfully managed three of her husband’s four Senate campaigns, said she had been inspired by an Op-Ed article by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the slain president, in The New York Times on Sunday. Mrs. Moynihan added that she was also dismayed at Bill and Hillary Clinton’s recent hostility toward Mr. Obama’s candidacy. She wrote that her husband, who died in 2003, “would have become excited, as I have, to see Barack Obama rekindle hope in our young as he encourages them to participate in the political process, and I know Pat would approve, applaud and encourage me to join Caroline Kennedy in supporting Barack Obama’s candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president.” “It is a rare gift to be able to inspire people to share a vision that requires commitment and dedication,” she wrote...“The hope that John Kennedy characterized for Americans spread across the world, then faded with his death,” Mrs. Moynihan wrote. “I believe Obama, like Kennedy, has the gift to transcend obstacles and to inspire Americans to bring out the best in themselves. I firmly believe the election of Barack Obama would help restore hope and America’s image in the world.”
Elizabeth B. Moynihan, the widow of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the New York senator who, from a hayfield on his upstate farm, helped shepherd Hillary Rodham Clinton into his Senate seat, has endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
...Mrs. Moynihan, an architectural historian who successfully managed three of her husband’s four Senate campaigns, said she had been inspired by an Op-Ed article by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the slain president, in The New York Times on Sunday. Mrs. Moynihan added that she was also dismayed at Bill and Hillary Clinton’s recent hostility toward Mr. Obama’s candidacy.
She wrote that her husband, who died in 2003, “would have become excited, as I have, to see Barack Obama rekindle hope in our young as he encourages them to participate in the political process, and I know Pat would approve, applaud and encourage me to join Caroline Kennedy in supporting Barack Obama’s candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president.”
“It is a rare gift to be able to inspire people to share a vision that requires commitment and dedication,” she wrote...
“The hope that John Kennedy characterized for Americans spread across the world, then faded with his death,” Mrs. Moynihan wrote. “I believe Obama, like Kennedy, has the gift to transcend obstacles and to inspire Americans to bring out the best in themselves. I firmly believe the election of Barack Obama would help restore hope and America’s image in the world.”
"Obama to Open Office on Navajo Nation..." ALBUQUERQUEObama is opening an office in Shiprock on Wednesday... The Navajo Nation is the country's largest Indian reservation, and its population is second only to the Cherokee Nation."Our support and organization in Shiprock reflects Sen. Obama's strong commitment to tribal communities, including the Navajo people throughout New Mexico," said Carlos Monje, state director for Obama's campaign....Obama and Clinton have voiced their respect for tribal sovereignty and said they will work to remain government-to-government relationships with tribes.Don Benally, an Obama supporter and vice president of the tribe's Shiprock Chapter, said he believes people want a change, and Obama best represents that."They believe he's going to provide better health care for the American people and also stimulate the economy for the reservations, which is badly needed," Benally said.
"Obama to Open Office on Navajo Nation..."
ALBUQUERQUE
Obama is opening an office in Shiprock on Wednesday...
The Navajo Nation is the country's largest Indian reservation, and its population is second only to the Cherokee Nation.
"Our support and organization in Shiprock reflects Sen. Obama's strong commitment to tribal communities, including the Navajo people throughout New Mexico," said Carlos Monje, state director for Obama's campaign.
...Obama and Clinton have voiced their respect for tribal sovereignty and said they will work to remain government-to-government relationships with tribes.
Don Benally, an Obama supporter and vice president of the tribe's Shiprock Chapter, said he believes people want a change, and Obama best represents that.
"They believe he's going to provide better health care for the American people and also stimulate the economy for the reservations, which is badly needed," Benally said.
Yesterday, Stanford grads Chris Pedregal and Erik Park launched what amounted to their winter-break project: YouBama, a hub of a pro-Obama videos which users can vote up and down, Digg-style. Most of the videos are culled from YouTube. At the moment, the top video is of George Clooney's interview with Charlie Rose in which the Oscar-winning actor calls Sen. Barack Obama "the best candidate I have ever seen."The Barocket, as Obama's Web presence has been dubbed, continues to take off. While Sen. Hillary Clinton has consistently led national polls, she's well behind Obama when it comes to online popularity. On Facebook, Obama has more three times the number of Clinton supporters -- 299,000 to 83,000. Obama counts 240,000 MySpace friends to Clinton's 171,000. And according to TechPresident, the bipartisan group that covers online campaigning, Clinton's videos have been viewed more than 5 million times, about 8 million behind Obama's. He's become a YouTube sensation. On Monday, Obama's nearly 5-minute video response to President Bush's "State of the Union" address became the most viewed video in the world, now seen 600,000 times. Today, his is the most viewed channel on YouTube...He's possibly the first politician to hold that top channel distinction, Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube, told The Trail."An Obama video becomes an automatic hit on YouTube when it's uploaded," Grove said.What is clear...is Obama's candidacy has mobilized a new generation online.The creators of YouBama said they simply wanted to provide a space where undecided voters can watch Obama supporters explain why they're voting for the Illinois senator. "Help add to Obama's momentum as we go into Super Tuesday!" Pedregal and Park wrote on the homepage. Videos are titled "Obama's not bought out" and "Experience v Unity." Tech entrepreneur Craig Newmark, the Craig of Craigslist and an Obama supporter, uploaded a video yesterday, saying "If we work together and communicate and get Obama elected, we can help restore what this country was about."
Yesterday, Stanford grads Chris Pedregal and Erik Park launched what amounted to their winter-break project: YouBama, a hub of a pro-Obama videos which users can vote up and down, Digg-style. Most of the videos are culled from YouTube. At the moment, the top video is of George Clooney's interview with Charlie Rose in which the Oscar-winning actor calls Sen. Barack Obama "the best candidate I have ever seen."
The Barocket, as Obama's Web presence has been dubbed, continues to take off.
While Sen. Hillary Clinton has consistently led national polls, she's well behind Obama when it comes to online popularity. On Facebook, Obama has more three times the number of Clinton supporters -- 299,000 to 83,000. Obama counts 240,000 MySpace friends to Clinton's 171,000. And according to TechPresident, the bipartisan group that covers online campaigning, Clinton's videos have been viewed more than 5 million times, about 8 million behind Obama's. He's become a YouTube sensation. On Monday, Obama's nearly 5-minute video response to President Bush's "State of the Union" address became the most viewed video in the world, now seen 600,000 times. Today, his is the most viewed channel on YouTube...He's possibly the first politician to hold that top channel distinction, Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube, told The Trail.
"An Obama video becomes an automatic hit on YouTube when it's uploaded," Grove said.
What is clear...is Obama's candidacy has mobilized a new generation online.The creators of YouBama said they simply wanted to provide a space where undecided voters can watch Obama supporters explain why they're voting for the Illinois senator. "Help add to Obama's momentum as we go into Super Tuesday!" Pedregal and Park wrote on the homepage. Videos are titled "Obama's not bought out" and "Experience v Unity."
Tech entrepreneur Craig Newmark, the Craig of Craigslist and an Obama supporter, uploaded a video yesterday, saying "If we work together and communicate and get Obama elected, we can help restore what this country was about."
Comments are closed for this post.
