I personally thought that if this was any kind of a just country that Obama would win by @ 15% margin.This is a clear example of the power of a good man running for president coupled with a high level of communication that reaches the public at the highest level of convenience. The ironic thing is that the republican party could not attempt to do this because it requires an honest party with an honest cadidate in order for them to willingly be exposed so openly and easily.That is why Barrack won by a 100% margin.That is why the republicans sat there on T.V. at John McCain's election watch party with egg on their face because they did their best and pulled every dirty trick that they had as usual and were still thoroughly trounced. That is why the elitists out there were in tears as they watched and realized that Obama has changed the game forever and even the highest level of government must now listen to and answer to the new era welly connected and unified mainstreet massess that are now more highly informed due to the wide spread acceptance and understanding of the internet. Well done.Man, I thought that I would never get to see this day.
An amazing thing happened two nights ago, and rather than writing in two places, I'll direct all my thoughts to my personal blog, found at:
http://de-bunkpost.blogspot.com/
And congratulations to President-elect Obama and Vice-President Elect Biden!
And to our future first lady: Michelle Obama!!!!
Good work! See you in Washington in January!!!
Today's New York Times story, "Obama Battles Block By Block to Get Voters to the Polls," speaks to what the groundswell of tens...hundreds...now thousands of Obama volunteers here in 'swinging' Missouri already know. Come November 5th, neighbors will have made game-changing history. Not to be cocksure about the outcome; rather, to coop a quote from my new friend, Jackson County Field Organizer Brandy Gordon, "[We] know for a fact that [our] families have been extended here in Jackson county and [we're] LOVIN' IT!!!!
We volunteers are growing. In numbers, resolve, zeal, understanding and compassion.
My teammates? A sixty-year-old African-American, retired TWA union leader who explained the message of a passing pick-up truck, confederate flag sticker in the rear window. Two black, 15-year-old Central High School Sophomores, one of whom asks me for dating advice. Eighty+ affluent, fed-up Republican white women from conservative Kansas so compelled to help Obama win they phone bank Mondays to ID Missouri voters, and canvass Saturdays in Independence. A recently layed-off single mom turned ninja campaign office worker, and her pre-schooler, her play space stocked with organic snacks and buttressed by powder blue baby blanket.
Even having lived a decade in NYC, I've not been part of such a diverse, open-hearted, deeply committed group, united -- perhaps for the first time in history -- in common purpose.
Obama has already won.
he follows what's laid out in this article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-westen/what-obama-needs-to-do-in_b_125051.html
We can't afford to lose this one.
I first saw a picture of Senator Obama's head on some silly toga guys' body and then when I read the text it was again; make fun of Barack's community organizer skills. Do you all realize the irony of this tactic? Rudy Giuliani (a fool of an immoral creep- imo), and even Sarah Pile-on I mean Palin made the same mistake of poking at Barack's service.
First of all, this was a shot at something our candidate was devoted to doing 20 YEARS AGO and secondly- making fun of heartfelt service to one's community...oh well read my response!
I don't know who reads this rag of yours Mike O, but wow are you ever misguided. After graduating from Harvard w/ a Law degree and being the first person of color to serve as President of the Harvard Law Review Barack Obama could've cherry picked a cush, high paying, high visibility firm but instead he went back to the neighborhood where he found help and love when he needed it in his youth. For VERY LITTLE money and long hard hours he built a foundation and a community and made hundreds of lives better. No amount of "snappy", sarcastic insults can change who Senator Obama is- a very accomplished, very eloquent, very bright...stand up guy! John McCain is an average politician w/ a long record of service. He was definitely not the Republicans first choice to run for Pres. And yes Mike I'm tired of hearing about his Hanoi Hilton experience as the 'every reason' for John. Hell, he used it on Leno, when Jay was joking- he used on MSNBC to illiterate a point that had absolutely no tie to the event and he used it to end his acceptance speech- which by the way I felt was dull, poorly prepared, redundant and extremely short on issues or specifics of any kind.
Americans understand the crisis we face right now as a country and sophomoric photo-shop and silly sarcasm is less than what this difficult time with all our complex issues deserves. Remember Mike, you reap what you sow.
CONGRATULATIONS, MR. OBAMA.
YOU DESERVE IT!
SEE YOU IN JANUARY!!!
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This day, as most, candidate Obama is picking up super delegates. Some days he gets none, but those are made up for by days where he gets multiples. So that in the last calendar month, from March 6th to April 7th he gained a total of 28, for a total of almost 1 a day, even with a loss of 2 delegates he still has a respectable +26. Candidate Clinton has said her path to victory lies in getting the super delegates to pick her and make her the nominee. Let's see how she is doing. In that same period she gained 7, but lost 4, although she is now +3 there are only 8 weeks or so of voting left. Even if you spotted her an extra 1 a month at this rate she still only gains 8 before voting ends, hardly getting her any nearer the nomination.But, back to Obama's outlook: at 26 a month for the remaining 2 months he gains 52 more super delegates. The remaining contests have 566 pledge delegates at stake. Obama is likely to take at least half of those. As he is winning by double digits in some states and losing by thin margins in others which tends to actually put him ahead. This means we can safely give him half of the remaining delegates or 283, knowing he will probably do better than that. So when the last vote is counted. In our example he will have 1971 where as Clinton will have 1790. If super delegates continue at the drib and drab rate they have been their will only be 267 uncommitted at the end of the voting process. He will need a mere 53 super delegates to reach the nomination or 19% of the remaining. She will need 234 or 87% of those remaining. That's how bleak it is for her and how easy it will be for Obama to reach the numbers he needs. Based on that example here is what I expect will more likely happen. He has pulled even or very close in Penn with 2 weeks to go. Then 2-3 days before the vote their will be a Clinton surprise. That will suck 2-4% out of his lead or put him slightly behind. If the difference is enough she will win but barely. The dribs and drabs will become a staccato of super delegates declaring for Obama as the win or narrow thin loss won’t be enough for her. The next contests will likely be a split. She will win Indiana slightly he will blow her out in North Carolina such that the staccato becomes a drum beat and even before the last vote is in he will cross the 2024 threshold. The victory will happen before one of the final voting contests but will be declared at the end of that contest. My prediction, based on fairly reliable odds even with Clinton surprises he is 81% likely to be the nominee, where she has at best a 19% chance, narrowing more after each contest. So keep the faith. Work hard for those next three chances to win, because a narrow win in Pennsylvania or Indiana and a complete blowout in North Carolina can end this nomination process even sooner. When you're talking to Hillary supporters let’s try and remember time is not on their side and they are extremely frustrated so truly negative attacks will just exacerbate them even further.
Patience is our call word. Change won't be stopped although it can't be hurried at this point.
Notes:Candidate, Pledge Delegates, Super Delegates, Total, NeededObama, 1415, 221, 1636, 388Clinton, 1254, 245, 1499, 525Edwards, 18, --, 18Undeclared, 0, 327, 327Remaining Contests: 566 DelegatesDelegates Needed: 2024 DelegatesSummary - (3/7 to date)Obama: Gained 28, Lost 2, Net 26Clinton: Gained 7, Lost 4, Net 3Gains -Obama: (28) Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker (CA), Bill Foster (IL), Mary Jo Neville (MD), Joyce Brayboy (NC), Everett Sanders (MS), Melissa Schroeder (WI), Margie Woods (IL), Gov. Bill Richardson (NM), Dan Lipinski (IL), Don Williams (CT), Bob Casey (PA), Steven Alari (CA), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Al Edwards (TX), Dave Freudenthal (WY),John Melcher (MT), Susan Montee (MO), Rob Carver (DE), Yvette Alexander(DC), Dan Hannaher (ND), Margarett Campbell (MT)Clinton: (7) Aleita Huguenin (CA), Mary Lou Winters (LA), Roberto Ramirez (NY), John Murtha (PA), Pat Maroney (WV), Harry Thomas Jr.(DC), Elsie Burkhalter(LA)Losses -Obama: (2) Paul Kirk (MA), Albert Wynn (MD)Clinton: (4) David Hardt (TX), Eliot Spitzer (NY), Helen Langan (UT), Lou Winters (Clinton)
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html
Hillary Clinton, in her speech on TX/OH night, pointed out that she has won the states that need to be won if a Democrat is to win in November. She points to OH and TX as examples. But one needs to look deeper to find the real winner on this night and no; it has nothing to do with delegate count.
8 in a row !!! I love it !!!
Keep it up my fellow Americans.
Cute video I think fits the mood
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February 10, 2008
http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/2008/02/10/obama-wins-grammy-for-audio-version-of-book/
Yesterday morning I went to my polling place to vote for Barack Obama and was stunned upon arrival at the polling place. I saw somewhere around twenty to thirty Hillary Clinton signs, one John McCain sign, and not one single Barack Obama sign. I was deeply concerned about this and after voting, went home to tell my wife that I was going to the Dover campaign office to see if I could help. She asked if I intended to go to my Sociology class at 1pm, and I assured her that I did.
When I arrived at the office there were a handfull of supporters getting ready to go out to canvas the city for Obama, and with a certain degree of trepidation I decided to lend a hand. I was paired up with a gentleman from Washington, D.C. who had been in South Carolina and I learned that I was one of about four people who had come in from my town to help. I was immediately worried that the state was going to vote Hillary overwhelmingly.
This gentleman and I were given a tier one canvas of a local project, and I being from Annapolis originally joked that the people of Dover, De thought about this area like he and I would think of South East D.C.. We went door to door asking people if they had voted, if they intended to vote for Obama, if they needed a ride, etc. To me this was important in breaking a foolish class related ethnocintricity, as I had forgotten that no matter where you go, no matter how much someone makes, people are people. I was greeted, in most cases, with a handshake and a smile, and for the most part people were greatful for the reminder to vote. I felt like I had become a part of something greater than myself. After a few hours we went back to the office. I went home to get myself a couple of cigarettes and to talk to my wife who was watching our son. She asked me if I was going to Sociology prompting me to look at the clock. It was 12:15.
I thought about my attendance record in class, which is perfect, and how my professor would feel if I told him I skipped class to work for the Obama campaign. My wife looked at me and estimated that my pensive stare meant that I was unsure of myself, and told me that whatever I decided to do with the day was entirely up to me. I thought about the stack of clipboards sitting on the table in the barren office, and about how much work there still was to do, and how few there were to do it. I decided that if my Sociology professor (who I have the greatest respect for) was there he would have smacked me in the head for not doing something to help the cause I have grown to believe in. Class would have to wait. When I returned to the office my partner and I were sent to a poll for a little while, after which we returned to the office.
At the office we were asked to go canvas in the roughest part of town, so we did, only this time, I had no trepidation.
I would like to thank all of the people who came to Delaware to help, I learned a lot yesterday.
Hi folks...the wife and I enjoyed meeting some of you at Fredo's Deli last night, rain be damned. An amazing night and very nearly 25 percent of the country (state-wise) going to Barack Obama!
We achieved a remarkable national split in votes and delegates (considering our man was down 20 points nationally less than three weeks ago), and won more states! Don't let the pundits fool you--California was NEVER in play...and Massachusetts, even WITH all the endorsers, was an extreme longshot.
The long and short of it? PA is in play! I started my efforts by lobbying Sen. Bob Casey with an e-mail..and learned last night that all of our National House of Representatives members are also SuperDelegates. (hint hint...time to start flooding their boxes) Yes. Our primary is still over TWO MONTHS away. But we've SEEN what happens in states where Obama gets ample exposure--he essentially derails the Clinton machine....
And that machine???
The Clinton Machine has already stated they expect to do "very very well" in Pennsylvania--and I, for one, don't want that particular statement on my conscience for the next four years....
Good luck to all! We're IN PLAY!
DJE
BARACK THE VOTE
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Barack Obama wins Politico.com Straw PollBy: Ben Smith June 20, 2007 04:27 PM EST
Senator Barack Obama scored a victory among progressive activists Wednesday, winning the Politico.com Straw Poll of attendees at the Take Back America Conference in Washington.
Obama received 29% of the 720 votes cast in the straw poll, narrowly beating out former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, and decisively knocking official front-runner Hillary Clinton into third place.
Edwards took 26% of the vote and Clinton 17%.
The poll establishes Obama and Edwards as a two-man top tier among the liberal segment of the Democratic base, said pollster Stan Greenberg, because they were also the most popular second choices for the nomination.
"If you look at this, you see Obama's [supporters'] second choice and Edwards [supporters'] second choice are each other -- in this group, the two of them form the top tier."
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson came in fourth with 9% of the vote.
Al Gore came in fifth with 8% -- although he has not said he is running and was not included in the choices on the ballot. As a write-in, he beat out four declared candidates.
The poll results also indicated intense concern about the Iraq war.
"Obama clearly has strength and a base and enthusiasm here among a network of progressive groups and activists," said Greenberg, whose Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Researchadminstered the poll.
Obama delivered an uncharacteristically confrontational performance at Take Back America Tuesday. He lashed the Bush Administration for stubbornness and, he said, for not believing in the Constitution. And he attacked Washington's culture of lobbying.
"They think they own this government but, we are here to tell them today that our government is not for sale and we are taking it back," Obama said to loud applause.
'Beat the GOP'
Many of in the packed ballroom for Obama's speech had come specifically to hear Obama, whose campaign provided tickets for supporters, and they spoke of his personal qualities as much as his policy positions.
"Obama clearly did himself well with a red-meat speech, showing he knows how to appeal to the activists," said conference organizer Roger Hickey. "But the overall message of this poll is that all three of them have their supporters among the activists."
Still, Obama's message was overlaid with non-partisan rhetoric, and early in his speech he was slowed by a group chanting "Beat the GOP."
Edwards, who has campaigned most directly on issues of importance to labor unions and liberal activists, echoed the conference's central theme that the Democratic left is resurgent.
There will be, Edwards said "no more taking half a loaf" in the Edwards presidency.
Some at the conference said they found the clarity of Edwards' message compelling.
"I think that's what the American people want -- simplicity," said Kris Pierce, a Democratic activist from Douglas County, Nebraska.
Clinton and the Netroots
Straw polls are unscientific indicators, and their results are determined in part by who chooses to participate, but the results of the Politico.com survey do suggest that Clinton has more support among liberal activists than might have been predicted from surveys conducted on the internet.
Obama and Edwards have been duking it out in the online straw polls conducted by leading Democratic blogs -- Obama is leading the MyDD straw poll, while Edwards has led the DailyKos straw poll.
Clinton is no favorite of the Netroots, and hardly registers in the online surveys, but was a clear third in the Politico.com Straw Poll.
Clinton's speech, a litany of disputes with the Bush Administration and policy aims, drew a friendly reception, though perhaps not as rapturous as the reaction to her leading rivals. She was interrupted by loud boos when she blamed the Iraqi government for Iraq's current woes.
The survey also asked attendees their second choices for president, which mirrored the first-choice findings: Obama led, followed by Edwards, and then Clinton.
The conference, and the straw poll, also demonstrated the activists' hunger for a victory next November.
The two candidates farthest to the left, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, were warmly received, but received few votes in the straw poll -- just 5% and 1%, respectively.
And when Ralph Nader, the giant of the 1970s left who may have cost the Democrats the White House in 2000, rose to introduce Gravel, he was met with boos.
Those results may indicate that a majority of the activists surveyed are looking for a choice other than Clinton.
TM & © THE POLITICO & POLITICO.COM, a division of Allbritton Communications Company
