From the Boston Globe:
Barack Obama's Vermont campaign has made its temporary home in a tiny art gallery, tucked into one of the picturesque brick buildings lining Main Street. Surrounded by paintings in brilliant hues, a handful of volunteers in sweaters and jeans dial voters on their cellphones. "The gallery was built on passion, and the art I show is from passionate artists," said Catherine Dianich Gruver, the gallery's owner and curator. "Why wouldn't I support someone running for president that is so passionate about his ideals?" ... Most of the focus in recent days has been on Ohio and Texas, which will award nearly eight times as many delegates combined on Tuesday as Vermont and Rhode Island ... But in the closest primary campaign in a generation, neither candidate can afford to surrender a single delegate, so both are devoting unprecedented attention to New England's smallest states. ... Vermonters' excitement about Obama - and his inspirational message - seems positively feverish. Hundreds of canvassers are going door-to-door this weekend. When the campaign recently asked Deb Shumlin, a jewelry maker and the wife of state Senate President Peter Shumlin, to organize a small audience in Putney to listen to Anthony Lake, a former national security adviser to President Clinton and now an Obama foreign policy adviser, the aim was to get 25 people. Shumlin was astounded when 325 people showed up.
From the Woonsocket Call:
The Obama phenomenon rolled into Rhode Island Saturday, mixing its gospel of inspiration and hope with the practical politics of getting out the vote for Tuesday's Democratic primary. An estimated 10,000 people showed up to hear Illinois Sen. Barack Obama energize his supporters for the homestretch of the primary campaign, 5,000 of them cramming into the Rhode Island College recreation center – the same room where Obama's opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton, attracted about half that number last week – and another 5,000 listening outside in the cold and intermittent light rain. Obama borrowed a famous line from the movie "Jaws," joking, "it looks like we need a bigger boat." Earlier in the week, the Stopping by before his speech to address the overflow crowd that was shivering on the newly-fallen snow, ObamaObama campaign said it was looking for a space that would hold 10,000 people, but no such room was available on such short notice. ... Supporters were urged by everyone who stepped up to the microphone, including Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Attorney General Patrick Lynch, not only to vote on Tuesday but to bring family and friends and co-workers to the polls with them. ... After the speech, Louis Palmisciano of Woonsocket said, "I've been to Iraq and come back, I've done a lot of amazing things, but I've never felt anything like this before. I didn't think he was going to win in Rhode Island, but now I think he is going to win. People were actually standing in a puddle of water since 8 in the morning (to get into the rally that started just before 3 p.m.)." ...Cumberland Town Councilman Jason Kirkpatrick said, "I have been excited since the day he announced his candidacy. He is the fresh breath of air this country needs."
From the Washington Post:
Tiny Rhode Island -- with 21 pledged delegates at stake Tuesday -- is reveling in its unaccustomed position of relevance in a Democratic presidential nominating contest. ... In a testament to the importance being placed on every state and delegate in the hard-fought Democratic contest, [Obama] took time away from Texas and Ohio to stump in this state ... ... Hoping to deal a morale-crippling blow to Clinton, Obama opened an office in Providence a little more than two weeks ago, with 25 paid staffers working out of a prime location on Westminster Street. One of the staffers, communications director Caleb Weaver, came here from Missouri, where Obama was able to eke out a victory by just 10,000 votes on Feb. 5. The team has organized more than two dozen "house parties," recruited several hundred volunteers to work phone banks and is "outspending her three to one on TV here," according to Weaver. Obama also has his own big-name supporters, particularly Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy and ex-senator Lincoln D. Chafee, a former Republican who became an independent after losing his 2006 reelection bid. Chafee said Obama's early opposition to the Iraq war, coupled with Clinton's vote to authorize the war, is the main reason he is backing the senator from Illinois. But Obama's supporters are calling Rhode Island a tough state for their candidate. "I think the Obama people are pretty apprehensive. They know what they're up against," said Chafee, now with Brown University. "The Clintons have really invested here. . . . They've been working Rhode Island through their contacts." Weaver, the Obama communications director, said: "We certainly see it as a bit of an uphill struggle. But we're closing the gap, and it's going to get competitive."
From the Chicago Tribune:
For the first time in more than 30 years, Democrats -- and even some Republicans -- are openly wondering whether Texas could actually be in play come the November presidential election and not simply a slam-dunk for the Republican nominee. The signs of potentially seismic political changes are mounting on the eve of Tuesday's primary and the dramatic Texas-style showdown between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama that may well leave only one of the Democratic contenders still standing. Early-voting turnout on the Democratic side smashed all previous records, even in staunchly Republican suburbs, foretelling potential crossover votes in November. Some prominent Texas Republicans have fallen into scandals and were forced aside by party leaders worried about a voter backlash. ...Some political experts say the scenario in which Texas votes Democratic in November works only if Obama is the nominee, because of his potential to draw new voters and independents to his side. ... "Sen. Obama ... has a vision that will include us, not an electoral calculation that would use us and discard us," [said Jim Dunnam, the Democratic leader in the Texas House.]
From the Coshocton Tribune:
OHIO -- Democrats (and Republicans and independents who choose to vote in the Democratic primary) have a momentous choice to make. Coshocton County Democrats should join the rising tide and help Obama secure their party's nomination. Obama has emerged as one of the most attractive candidates on the political scene in decades ... [he] has confounded his critics and exceeded his supporters' wildest expectations. There's every chance he can exceed ours as well. ... He is the best hope the Democrats have of ending eight years of Republican rule. He deserves your vote Tuesday.
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