Posts with the tag Virginia

UNITED AGAINST RACISM

WEBMASTER — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:46:34 EDT

Hi Friend

There is a new group that just started on Facebook that I thought Organizing for America members may be interested in joining. Please see United Against Racism -

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/354956/80588439?m=9dc74a6e

United Against Racism

posted by David Apperson

I attended an event today!

CraigJTMP — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:40:09 EDT

I attended an event today in Falls Church, Virginia, gathering signatures in support of President Obama's Health Care Reform. We had a tent set up, and I played guitar, and asked people politely if they would lend their name to the work we have to do. It was a beautiful day in America to be spreading progressive values! We got hundreds of signatures.

Virginia Election Blog

WEBMASTER — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:13:42 EDT

As President Obama recently related to me regarding local service; "Now is our time to work together, reaffirm our enduring spirit, and choose our better history."

It is our responsibility as Americans to vote, and vote we must. And now is the time to prepare for the next election. I invite all citizens of Virginia to post a message on the Virginia Election Blog.

Virginia Election Blog
virginia-election.blogspot.com

Obama's Hamburger Hamlet - Much Ado About Mustard

Mark Wiznitzer — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:19:44 EDT

To be, or not to be medium well, that is the question!
In the most high and palmy District of Washington.
A little ere 100 days the mightiest Republicans fell,
Were storefronts now tenantless, and swine flue fright doth rule,
Did gibber of Ray's Steaks and Hell Burgers in Arlington streets.

Where Geithner and Bernanke proclaimed that
Both a borrower and a lender be;
For loan oft gains both votes and friends,
And borrowing stimulates weary economy.

Find out the cause of this effect,
Because the Commander in Chief hungereth.
Or rather say, the cause of this detect,
For this effect defective comes by cause,
So with his VP escapeth his White Castle.

Not a computer mouse stirring.
And then it started like a guilty thing
Upon a fearful summons.
But, look, the noon, in hungered mantle clad,
Obama rides o'er the slew of yon high shills.
The memory be green of Arugula farmers,
With Biden that less than kin, yet more than kind.
That it should come to this!

"Season your admiration with a spicy mustard."
The President's baked meats
Did coldly furnish forth their ratings tables.

Words, words, words.
Give thy thoughts no tongue, except on talk radio.
Why, Rush, a robustious periwig-pated fellow,
Very like a whale,
Would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on.

Sean cried "Thrift, thrift, Horatio Alger!
All is not well; I suspect some French socialist Dijon foul play.
Something is rotten in the state of Virginia."

Alas, poor Yokels! We knew them, Ho-radio.
Tis as easy as lying.
What! Frighted with false ire?
The loonies doth protest too much, methinks.
They have a plentiful lack of wits.
More matter, with less condiments.
There is nothing either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so tasty.

"This above all: to thine own self be true,
Medium-well it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Brevity is the soul of wit:
"No ketchup" commandeth the Prince.

Lord! we know what we are, but know not what we may be.
For I am more a modern Lincoln than an FDR.
He was a man, take him for all in all,
We shall not look upon his like again.

A king of shreds and patches worthy of GQ.
Not just a rhapsody of words.
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
Report me and my cause aright
To the unemployed.
Come, my limo!
Good-night sides;
Good night, sweet relish;
Good night.

BARACK OBAMA FIRST 100 DAYS

WEBMASTER — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:23:01 EDT

During the first 100 days of the Obama presidency we have seen outstanding leadership in tackling the many issues facing our great nation. And it seems that overwhelming poll numbers indicate that America agrees with President Obama. see THE WHITE HOUSE

The question remains; What can we as fellow Americans do to help our neighbors and countrymen? Included are nine things you can do to help the President celebrate his first 100 Days in office:

1. Donate unused suits to the Salvation Army
2. Donate time to Americorps
3. Donate toys for children at Toys for Tots
4. Donate blood at the Red Cross
5. Donate a can of food each week to a Local Shelter or Food Pantry
6. Donate money to Save the Children
7. Donate time at local a Veterans Hospital
8. Donate an hour a day to your Child
9. Donate to the Make a Wish Foundation

Participation is greatly appreciated. What you do for the least of our brethren, you do for yourself -
http://donate.barackobama.com/page/community/post/president/gGxWJh

Barack Obama First 100 Days posted by David Apperson

Earth Day

Esam Omeish — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:43:24 EDT

Today, as Virginians and residents of the 35th District celebrate Earth Day, it’s a great opportunity to take this time and reflect where we are and where we are going in terms of responsible, renewable green energy that both protects our environment and provides jobs for the Commonwealth. As we look to the future of our families, community and Commonwealth, we can all agree that strengthening Virginia’s economy, protecting our precious natural resources and building an exciting, renewable energy future will be the key to ensuring a healthier community in which to live and work.

The future of our environment is an issue which transcends politics. However, as delegate it would be my responsibility to fight for policies which protect our environment, strengthen our economy and compliments the efforts people make on a daily basis to make Virginia a better place. According to a recent poll, 76% of Virginians think that global warming is real and will adversely affect our environment. Capitalizing on alternative energy sources and investing in smart, green technology that taps into local talents and resources will help ensure Virginia becomes and remains a leader in the stewardship for a better community for us all.

The campaign could use your help so please sign up today to volunteer! Any amount of time will help us reach our goal.

After all, TOGETHER WE CAN!

Esam

Click here to sign up with Esam Omeish For Delegate

Click here to contribute.

Virginia Democrats

Candace N. - V.O.B — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:53:51 EST

I encourage my fellow Democrats living in Virginia to join the organization " Virginia Democrats" at www.vademocrats.org I joined last year and during the primary through inaugural periods I received very valuable information and links from them. By joining you help raise funds for our Virginia candidates. The website list events in Virginia along with other information important to Virginia residents. On February 7th the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner will be held in Richmond, Virginia featuring special guest speaker President Bill Clinton. Please go to the before mentioned site to get details on how you can attend. While attending the dinner, please show your support for Governor Hopeful Terry Mcauliffe, he along with the other gubernatorial candidates will be speaking. Once again I highly recommend joining this organization if you want to keep up to speed with what's going on in Virginia.

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL SPEECH

WEBMASTER — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:39:36 EST

Presidential Inaugural Address Delivered by President Barack Obama on 20 Jan 2009

My fellow citizens -
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
President Barack Obama

Presidential Inaugural Speech - A message for all people
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/president/gGxHqT

source: David Apperson, webmaster

HOPE

Young Barack — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:44:16 EST

HOPE IS EVERYTHING HOPE IS ALL HOPE CAN PICK YOU UP BEFORE YOU FALL

GObamaUSA Change is Coming Update

Rob Martin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:50:11 EST

The GObamaUSA Change is Coming group was founded by Obama volunteers, Rob Martin and Evette Wilson, who were directed to do so while attending a national Obama for America Legacy Conference on December 6th and 7th in Chicago. The purpose of the conference, which was attended by approximately 250 staff and 100 volunteers from around the U.S., was to plan and implement the "2.0" issue-organizing version of the Obama for America party organization. To date, four meetings of the Richmond, Va.-based GObamaUSA Change is Coming group have been held and are summarized in this posting as is other organizational information.

Rob Martin (rmartin@brandsync.com) and Lisa Quigley (mjquigley@comcast.net) are day-to-day contacts for the GObamaUSA Change is Coming group that is based at 6243 River Road, Suite 6, Richmond, Va. 23229.

GOBAMA!

Where's the love?

kerdc — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:56:21 EST

Has any volunteer received thanks or recognition for the work you did for the Obama campaign? Any contributors?

I'm not feeling the love. I contributed thousands of dollars and three weeks of 12-15 hour days working in Virginia, but haven't heard a word from the campaign -- except requests for more money. Mark Warner's campaign thanked me, but not Plouffe and company. At best this is bad manners, at worst it shows the campaign was merely paying lip service to the notion of valuing everyone's contribution.

I hope this lapse is not a foreshadowing of things to come in the next four years.

Discussion Scheduled on Health Care Reform

Dina — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:28:26 EST

The Obama-Biden Transition Team has advised for us to meet and have a discussion specifically around the Health Care System and "identify what's broken and provide ideas for how to fix it." Our meeting will take place Saturday, December 27, 2008, from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P. M. I would like as many of YOU to come & invite YOUR friends, The Washington team needs YOU! Virginians need YOU and YOUR ideas. Our nation cannot continue with this broken health care system where precious loved ones are left to die because their insurance company decides to deny a simple procedure that could have saved or better their quality of life. This needs to CHANGE! WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS!

RSVP online through the Obama-Biden website. Please text me at 540-793-8970 or leave a message on my relay service at: 540-904-1248

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

WEBMASTER — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:26:14 EST

The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.

Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.

Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when

individuals and organizations understand that alternative energy technology exists and
when people see the economic benefits of using alternative energy technologies

Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.

Alternative Energy
Source: David Apperson

url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy

PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM

WEBMASTER — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:06:01 EST

Obama-Biden PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM is giving all people a voice in the administration -

The PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM is doing a great job. Thank the Almighty Creator that this is a new day in the history of this great nation.

WEBMASTER - DESIGNERS AND DEVELOPERS

WEBMASTER — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:14:56 EST

President Barack Obama

Internet Webmasters, Designers and Developers

If you are an independent webmaster, designer or developer and have linked a business, personal, or political website or blog to your barack obama posts or other barackobama.com web pages and would like to be recognized for your efforts let me know.

Mail your contact and other pertinent information to:

David Apperson, Webmaster
10336 Loch Lomond Rd PMB 105
Middletown CA 95461

or email contact information to yofast@gmail.com

Photo Slideshow from last Virginia Rally

Ms. Aguiar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:13:39 EST

Barack Obama came to Manassas, Virginia November 3, 2008 (A day before he got elected to be President of the United States of America). I showed up 12 hours early. Still tired from Canvassing in Manassas and Alexandria, I showed up early just for the opportunity to hold his hand. It worked. After his speech he walked right up to me. I screamed, Obama, I came from California driving just to see you. He was very polite and responded, "Thank you very much." Ahh!! Then I held his hand against my cheeck and kissed it as if he was the pope. I have never felt compelled to kiss anyone's hand that way, but I did. I was so excited!

Click Here to see the Photos from the Manassas, Virginia Rally

Born Again American!

artrageous — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:16:13 EST

With the hope, unity and excitement of Barack Obama's victory, many have commented that we're feeling a sense of both national and spiritual renewal that's almost like a revival.

To that end, please take a look at a design I created:

www.cafepress.com/teachers4peace

Congratulations EVERYONE!

Henry M — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:59:57 EST

The country is the winner in this election. We have so much to look forward to, but on a personal note, permit me to look back again for a moment.

I was gratified that Virginia went for Barack after the long, hard work of so many VA, MD, and DC volunteers. We did it! (with a little help from Barack's Election Eve Rally :-)

Sorry, WV. We tried.

Henry M

I Voted for Barack Obama Today!

Carla from Arlington, VA — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:31:57 EST

I awoke early at 5:30am to get ready for the election. Though election day was not a fashion show, I could not show up dawdy looking because if Barack got elected, I could not had told my children that I was in wrinkled garb! Like Sheryl Underwood said on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Initially I was going to wear my silver turtleneck with matching slacks but after watching the weather report, I changed to wearing my Ann Taylor sweater. Hey I got to put on the good stuff!

Walking to my polling place at 6:58am, there was a line around the corner past M Street, the Union Club and a couple of embassies. Initially I thought that I would be finished by 10am enabling me to still complete all of my daily tasks. Immediately upon my arrival, two more men came and we discussed everything: the election, where we came from and previously voted (I voted in Virginia and Ohio and one man voted in Florida), and debated voter fraud (Though one man asserted that there was fraud on both sides. I disagreed because when Republicans proclaim voter fraud that was a dig towards black people. They feared our high turnout so they said these people were more susceptible to voter fraud!), and the DC metro area (One man exclaimed that though he liked residing in Wisconsin, he was an East Coast dude now. Even with the snow I could not see myself abandoning Cleveland. It was my birthplace and I had not morphed into this big time person enough to move on from it! It was too hard to shelve 28 years of my life over career progress!).

Though I heard many blacks' retelling how emotional it was to cast their ballots for Barack, the spirit did not well up in me because I had been voting for 12 years. Though a viable black presidential candidate was new, exercising my full franchise was not. So I waited in line for thirty-five minutes then a man asked me if my last name was between I and L, I replied yes, he instructed me to head into the church where I verified my address (I took my voter identification card just in case there was a mix-up. www.barackobama.com listed my Virginia address and polling place in its reminder email), took the blue ticket stub and waited in line to vote.

The DC electronic voting process was different than the Ohio and Virginia punch card balloting. I took this huge sheet of paper, penciled in the arrow for the candidate of my choice then waited in another line to feed it into this electronic feeder which read my vote! The elderly woman volunteered shouted at us to stand behind the line. I told the lady in front of me that she was a retired school teacher who commandeered her charges in one single-file line against the lockers!. She called my name and I fed my paper ballot into the electronic voting machine. Exiting the church I was rejuvenated to see the long lines because all of them are voting for Barack Obama.

Entering my apartment building to I talked to the front desk lady about casting my vote. I told her the reason why I finished early was because my last name was Jenkins. She replied that was the shortest line. Her surname started with a B then the lightbulb went off that she had to stand in line with all of the people named Brown and Black. Right after that my apartment I turned on my TV to see CNN and watch Senator Barack Obama cast his ballot!

Record Prince William, VA Crowd Last Night for Last Campaign Rally

Henry M — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:43:02 EST

It was an exciting night at the Prince William Country Fairground. I got there early enought to be close enough to the stage to see his comfortable smile in spite of the hardships of travel and the loss of his grandmother!

Barack Obama's Final 2008 Campaign Rally in Manassas, Virginia
Nov 3, 2008 November 03, 2008 C-SPAN Senator Barack Obama spoke at a campaign rally at Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, Virginia.

Obama Campaigns in the Final Stretch - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/11/04/GA2008110401199.html

There were 70-100,000 of us. We all shouted that we were "fired up" and "ready to go."

"I'm feeling kind of fired up. I'm feeling like I'm ready to go," Obama told nearly 100,000 people gathered for his final rally Monday night in Virginia.

"At this defining moment in history, Virginia, you can give this country the change it needs," Obama said to voters in a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in 44 years.
The Illinois senator's final day of campaigning was bittersweet: he was mourning the loss of his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who helped raise him but died of cancer Sunday night and never got to see the results of the historic election.

Thanks for reading this blog. I got in late last night and didn't get a lot of sleep, but it's time for me to head back to Virginia and get out the vote. I hope that some of our paths will cross at victory celebrations and on the mall in Washington for the inauguration.

Sincerely,

Henry M

President Bush endorses McCain on continuing America's economic prosperity

RK — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:42:31 EST

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, and Virginia here is the endorsement all of you have been waiting for...

President Bush remains hopeful that John McCain will pull it out tomorrow night and win the election." Perino added that Bush thinks McCain and other Republicans "have the right ideas when it comes to the economy and national security."

The First Time

Alex from Washington, DC — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:23:01 EST

In this election season, I have encountered many firsts. These were all firsts because in the 2004 election - the first election I was old enough to participate in - I didn't volunteer at all. I lived in Michigan and was a student at the time so I rationalized that it was unlikely the Kerry campaign needed my help - and in truth, it didn't, in Michigan at least. Michigan went blue as it has every time since 1992. Sure, I was in school and didn't have much time or money to travel out of state to campaign. Of course, we all know what happened in Ohio, just south of the Michigan border. Following the debacle that cost this country four more years of inept leadership, I vowed I would not sit on the sidelines again.

The 2004 election - and the Democrats’ failure at the polls - inspired me to drop my landscape architecture major and switch to international studies. That move led me to transfer to American University in Washington, D.C., to finish my degree in the international political capital. Since then, I’ve been working at a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to international peace through education but I’ve never lost sight of my goal: to make sure 2004 doesn’t happen again.

So, when I realized Virginia had become a battleground state, I knew what I had to do. I wasn’t going to let time, money or distance stand in my way of helping to put a Democrat in the White House. What cemented my determination was Barack Obama – his vision, his passion and his integrity. I knew that if we couldn’t end the chaos of American leadership with a candidate like Mr. Obama, we had little hope for that end.

The first of my firsts was committing to the Obama campaign and signing up on the website. After that, it was just a matter of showing up to volunteer.

This was the first time I participated in a political campaign.

This was the first time I made a cold call to a voter.

This was the first time I registered a new voter.

This was the first time I knocked on a stranger's door to spread the message.

This was the first time I was yelled at for calling someone's home.

This was the first time I had a door slammed in my face.

This was the first time I convinced someone to vote for my candidate.

This was the first time I did my civic duty and the first opportunity I've had to serve my country.

This was the first time but it will not be the last time I give my all to support a leader I believe in. Without the participation of volunteers, politics loses its impact. If no one cares who the leader is, then what’s the point of democracy? We were lucky enough to have an amazing candidate this year and he has the ability to make a real difference for this country. After all, he has already inspired millions like myself to donate our time and money toward this effort. Imagine what he can do as President of the United States.

The mass volunteer turnout this year has convinced me that we are going to win in Virginia and we are going to win this election. Come Tuesday night, we will be on the right path to redemption and we will all own a piece of that victory.

While this is only the second time I’ve voted, this is the first time I’ve voted for someone I truly believe in.

I believe in a brighter future. I believe in Barack Obama.

electoral predictions 2008: think 1992

jonathan | cvg — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:34:26 EST

so here we are: one day remaining. doesn't seem too long ago that i kept catching glimpses of this obama fellow in 2007 and thought how wonderful would it be... never expecting him to come this far up against edwards and clinton. as i have said before, from a marketing perspective, gaining a significant share of the market (in this case: eligible voters) is complicated in today's environment. any start-up firm would be hard pressed to snatch away a significant portion of p&g or coca cola customers. that same start-up firm would exemplify modern brilliance should it manage to overtake the market and gain control for any period of time. that is, in essence, what obama did in 2008. i recognized his potential. i praised his marketing campaign. yet, until super tuesday, i remained unconvinced that obama would succeed at becoming the nominee and beat the two well-established brands of edwards and clinton.

once we knew obama was our nominee, i often joked that the only way mccain stood a chance against obama was by selecting a female running mate. i certainly did not mean "that one." when mccain announced palin in dayton, i first cringed. then i googled her investigation to confirm that she had been exhonerated. to my surprise, his popular governor from alaska was still under investigation for abuse of power and likely guilty as hell. was the crime all that bad? not really. yet, just as getting a blow job or sticking a cigar in your chubby aide's kootch is not that bad... when you lie repeatedly and attempt to disguise your blunder... that is often far worse than the original crime. what people i have met and people like palin do not seem to understand, many of us are forgiving of a mistake or two... just not the pattern of lies or unfaithfulness that accompanies deception. its the compulsiveness, the ease, and the noticeable pattern that deteriorates and ultimately destroys trust.

needless to say, prior to the veep picks, i began imagining an electoral map in 2008 that mimics the map ross perot carved out for bill clinton in 1992. while initially i was nervous to see what became of clinton's stalwart supporters of which,in exit polls, many had proudly proclaimed gender as major factor in their support. however, with time, palin did backfire in the sense that she was ineffective at luring independents and former clinton voters. arguably, i assert that palin has been effective in igniting the base to match the sweat behind obama. only tomorrow will we know whether the fire palin lit in the far right-wing nuts of our country is burning strong or whether it turns out to be like a rash between your legs after a good date gone bad.

to refresh your memory, review the electoral map in 1992 where clinton pulled out a huge upset against the incumbent thanks to ross perot who remains the only successful third party candidate in modern elections.

first states i would point our are louisiana, kentucky, and tennessee. i knew this summer that those states were outside the realm of possibility. in fact, tennessee turned against gore in 2000 largely due to his environmental convictions. given that bobby jindal is about as far too the right as sarah palin, i assumed louisiana was also outside the realm of possibility despite the outcome in the primary in obama's favor. and kentucky... well that ole kentucky home is a thorn in my side, but i will defend her natural beauty until my dying day... just not the folks' politics. ross perot's impressive 18% popular vote splintered the would-be republican votes and carved out a victory for bill clinton in additional states that stay with mccain: arkansas, montana, and west virgnina. while its true that mccain's lead in arkansas is presently only in single digits, i was always hopeful that with help from bill and hillary, obama would remain more competitive as far south as arkansas.

like kentucky, west virginia seems to be very confused as to who has their best interest at heart. and, i might as well say it within this blog since i had to slam a door on my fingers a few weeks ago when i thought about writing a blog strictly targeting the separation of church and state. for those of you who forgot, we are suppose to acknowledge a separation of church and state! separation of church and state is among the founding principles of the united states of america. heads up people! when we fail to pratice our civil duties and vote for the best qualified leader to restore economic and foriegn matters because we want a candidate that agrees with the majority of our religious doctrine... hello... that is how you end up with george w. bush twice and the deteriorated condition of our country today. vote for the best candidate. don't vote based on religious convictions. if we transfer our country's power and wealth to china, russia. or the middle east... you may not have always have the freedom to practice that religion you love so much and wanted to shove down my throat.

obama appears to be strongly competing to win with an electoral map much like bill clinton's first win. the difference, and what makes this especially remarkable, obama will accomplish this without a strong third party candidate which means he is winning with a more united country and a greater percentage or the popular vote. a percentage not seen since the eighties. obama's net reduction would be 39 electoral votes after losing these five states which is still enough to make him the victor tomorrow. however, obama will likely and hopefully pick up states that even bill clinton could not win in 1992. according to new sources such as real clear politics, abc and msnbc news, toss up states include: montana, indiana, missouri, north carolina, ohio, georgia, virginia, and florida. the other three that are sometimes considered a toss-up are: nevada, north dakota, and arizona. however, i am relatively confident that nevada will break for obama and north dakota and arizona will break for mccain... albiet narrow victories no matter what the outcome. with that said, my electoral predicions for tomorrow night:

given the nature of a predicion, i have to make a few tough calls and my map is admitedly optimistic in the sense that i really want obama to win in north carolina and georgia and prevent mccain from narrowly squeaking by him. since the beginning of the summer, i have envisioned a 1992 map where obama gave up four or five states and replaced them florida, virginia, and georgia which is a net 51 electoral votes. the end result would be a few less states, but a greater electoral and popular vote win on election day for barack. based on a series of recent polls and early voting results, i feel good about viginia and florida.

i may still be overly optimistic about georgia, but it now looks like obama has an equally optimistic chance in north carolina so i moved both to obama's column. if you read my earlier blog during the primaries, i liked to mention obama's performance in north and south carolina. he alone, had more votes cast for him than mccain and his republican counterparts combined. early voting and polls show the margin in the general election tight in south carolina while virtually tied and potentially leaning to obama in north carolina. amazing! as for georgia, a relatively strong third party candidate in georgia, bob barr, could "help" tip that state to obama like ross perot did in 1992. barr polled around 8% this spring, but third party candidates generally poll better early than the final outcome because more and more voters fold into the two major parties. presently, "other" in georgia is at 4% and bob barr, a georgian, is believed to compose the majority of that 4% or better... as he has been gaining in the polls this last few weeks by picking up undecided georgia independents.

last week's cnn/time poll revealed that among "likely" georgia voters — presumably those who are both registered and have a proven track record of participating in elections, the race breaks down as follows: mccain: 50%, obama: 46%, barr: 3%

however, if the pool of voters is widened to include simply registered voters — which would include first-time voters or those who rarely participate in general elections — then the georgia vote shifts in obama's favor: mccain: 46%, obama: 49%, barr: 4%

so there you have it, i was dissappointed when the obama for america campaign shifted resourced from georgia last month, but happy to hear that more than half of registered voters have voted early thought to benefit obama. i was also happy when obama shifted resources back to georgia last week and may help see my wish to fruition.

what of my other swing state calls? montana is close. originally, that state looked good for obama, but slipped back to mccain after the palin pick. perhaps montana is the one state that palin helps mccain win. yet, we are squabbling over three electoral votes and i my calculations are that obama will succeed with or without montana. i call montana for mccain because the last month's series of polls generally have mccain leading in spite of that gap closing and now close. the same is true of arizona. i was in arizona in may. i kept asking people i met, and i gathered that if mccain was not from arizona, the state would go blue. yet, i see arizona staying narrowly red. meanwhile, long before the pundits and major shift in the polls, i have felt confident that obama would perform better in florida than ohio which was not the case for bill clinton in 1992. however, like nevada, florida's economy is hurting and unlike mccain who hosted a convention centered around terrorism... i have long thought the economy is the greatest security risk facing our country. i trust that florida agrees and i will take back every sand bar comment i've made since 2000.

ultimately, i call ohio for obama... but i predict ohio to be too close to call until after the west coast polls are closed. additionally, for the same reason i foresee ohio ending close, i also see indiana close. however, i see indiana narrowly red for mccain. unlike missiouri, indiana's popular senator is somewhat a bore and moderate. indiana reminds me of northern kentucky democrats. in order to win, you have to market yourself as a virtual republican. with that said and given that indiana did not break for clinton with perot's help, i call indiana for mccain and i call missiouri for obama... home of the likable, well-known, and early obama activist, senator claire mccaskill. if she ran for governor first, she could be president in 2016, eh?

end game: obama with 379 electoral votes. the greatest victory since the eighties. and incidentally, i alway hinted he would prove to be our next great american president. finally, i win a contest... by virtue of association or vicariously or something like that.

~ j

Tales from the Canvas - The Value of One Vote (NOV 2)

Dave — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:40:24 EST

I was in the Gloucester C.H., VA, office earlier today at 1:00PM to get a jump on the setting sun (canvassing in the afternoon is more difficult with the time savings change). I have to tell you, the scene in the office was impressive with the phone bank buzzing away, and every canvas package out on the road with tens of volunteers on the street making contact with Obama's likely voters, and increasing the probability of their getting to the polls on Tuesday.

The ultimate impact of the campaign is to totally motivate Obama's supporters such that they cannot wait to cast their vote, like a spring getting tighter and tighter, with its spring ready to be released with a sudden pulse of energy. All this underscores Obama's success in establishing a high performance organization that is disciplined and methodical in its pursuit of the Presidency.

Back to the canvas... I was paired up with Brad, and off we went to complete a second round of contacts in the GOTV action.

1. Bush has sown, and McCain now reaps. Our first knock was at the home of a middle aged couple with six kids. We were tasked to contact the mother/wife, who answered the door. We could see the kids running around the living room, probably over-amped from Halloween candy. The woman said she could not tell us who she was voting for as her husband was in the military (this is not correct), and she was still considering the candidates proposals anyway. Then, the woman's husband came out on the porch. He seemed agitated (fuming?) and quickly sat in a chair at the far end of the porch, not making eye contact. Brad and I complimented the couple on their impressive large gauge train set permanently setup in the front yard. The small talk was not working in breaking the ice so we decided to bail. Mark this one down as a 'refuse.' I don't think most Democratic voters hate most Republican candidates, but it is clear a substantial percentage of Republican voters hate Obama; such is the spawn of years of Rove/Bush wedge politics, and now McCain's campaign is continuing to propagate the Bush slime operation (I expected so much better from McCain).

2. Goats, chickens, and cats, OH NO! Brad and I pulled into a dirt driveway with large ruts and mud holes and I try to keep my truck out of the mud. Being highly trained crack Obama canvas workers, we quickly noticed the large goat fence in the front yard containing several goats, chickens, and a few cats. Of course (and unfortunately), we would find out that the wild-life was not altogether constrained by the flimsy goat fence. We made our way to the front door, taking care not to twist an ankle on the crumbling sidewalk and knocked on (I advised Brad the cadence of 'shave and a haircut, two bits' is a non-threatening knock). Our target survey person was a young woman, but instead our knock yielded the woman's mother. We asked if she and her daughter had determined who they would be voting for. The mother (50-ish) answered, while she did not have any specific issues that tilted her decision, she was definitely voting for McCain. Usually, people do not have their guard up when you first walk up on them, and the mother showed us her true feelings when she said that she and her daughter had done some 'research' that said that Obama's idol as a young man was Hilter. Yes, Hitler. Brad and I turned and looked blankly at each other, in disbelief. Conclusion: We are dealing with, as the McCain staffers like to characterize Gov. Palin, a "whack job" and it was time to go. Enter a "5" in the knock list and beat-feet out of the goat ranch.

3. As JP says, Democrats are dog lovers: We are on our very last door-knock of the day, and as I am about to pull into the driveway, I see a van coming the opposite direction and I wait in hopes the van will pull into the driveway too. Sure enough, our luck was good and the 50-something woman on our list pulled into the driveway. I rolled into the driveway behind the van, and saw a large German Shepherd dog on the loose, along with several 'Beware of Dog' signs posted throughout the yard. Brad and I stayed in the truck until the woman secured the dog in it's pen. We start talking with the woman and she says she and her husband are undecided, but are starting preparing to make a decision very soon! Brad and I make good progress in engaging the woman with the pros of electing Obama as president. I diverge off topic and say I too have a German Shepherd dog, so we are really hitting it off now. While we are having this discussion, a young African-American man working on a car in the driveway start waves and gives us the thumbs up, acknowledging us as Obama supporters. We start to close the deal with the woman and the young man and it is clear we have made progress with the pair, especially with the woman. I give up my Obama sticker to the woman, Brad gives his Obama pin to the man, and we leave Obama literature with the woman to discuss with her husband. I left my phone number with the woman so we could get our GS dogs together after the election. True love, indeed.

Sundays are for Strategizing

Carla from Arlington, VA — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:07:38 EST

Earlier this morning I chatted with my friend on MySpace comparing notes on our campaign participation during this final weekend. I told her that after the third debate concluded on October 15th, I stepped up my involvement by volunteering and donating more money. She said that she was canvassing neighborhoods. Immediately after this exchange, I donated money to the campaign. Obama needs as much money as possible to run advertisements in Ohio (the author's home state with 21 electoral votes!), Virginia, Arizona, Montana and North Dakota. The pollsters have updated McCain's home state from solid to leaning McCain meaning that Barack can steal this win! Furthermore, Montana and North Dakota, once Republican strongholds are up for grabs! Putting these states into the Democratic column is the first step towards dissolving the lunatic fringe radical Christian Right grip in the mountain states. Finally, winning these smaller states cushion the fall if McCain wins either Ohio, Virginia or Florida.

Byrd Park Canvasses for Change events this weekend are cancelled

Christopher Martin — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:36:34 EDT

When I checked Friday evening, my.BarackObama.com had pulled the plug on the Neighbor to Neighbor feature that printed walk lists. Without walk lists, we would be pretty much flying blind. Sorry for the short notice, but I had hoped the feature might be available again Saturday morning but it's not.

I wanted to provide a nearby event in the neighborhood this weekend people could go to. As it is, the closest canvass staging area at this point is 222 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA where shifts will be running all day Saturday and Sunday. Call the Richmond Obama HQ for more details. You can also find plenty of things to do in the closing days of the campaign at my.BarackObama.com/actioncenter.

Thanks to all the volunteers who participated in the Byrd Park Canvass for Change. Since it began as a weekly event in August, we've knocked on hundreds of doors and covered much of the area. Sorry we're ending, not with a bang, but a whimper, but thanks for your support.

Scary

Henry M — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:07:23 EDT

Imagine four years of McSame or Palin... http://tinyurl.com/whenmcbushcomesaround Scary! (Share the video, particularly unconviced Christians)

Following a recent death in my extended family, I'm back to work tomorrow, getting out the swing-state vote, in my case Virginia. Because the internment was yesterday, I haven't had the opportunity to do anything about Halloween. I had been planning to paint the face of a McCain mask white, darken the eyes, and extend the lips in a crooked, red, grimace...

If you appreciaterd this message, then please have a look at the rest of my blog, http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/henrymu and support and contribute to the campaign (it’s not over until the polls close): http://tinyurl.com/henrym4obamafundraising

Henry M

A Stolen Supporter Magnet

AllTheLivesOfMe — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:37:57 EDT

I skipped lunch at work few times in July so I could donate that money to Barack's campaign. It's not good for me to miss any meals, but this cause is important to me.

I received an Obama/Biden magnet in late August - I loved it. I proudly put it on my car... I even left it on to visit my father in Virginia! (one of the days I was visiting him, I went to a craft fair that was sponsored by their local Republican office. I never took my magnet off!)

The magnet survived the entire Virginia trip intact, which amazed me due to the heavy Republican contingent there.

Today, I left my apartment and headed to my car, but immediately noticed a lack of my magnet. I don't know if it was swiped at the Park and Ride I use, or perhaps on the street by my apartment. While I'm sad that I'm now without a magnet, I can only hope that it was taken by another supporter who maybe can't afford a magnet of their own, but still want to show their pride for Obama. I can't bear to think that someone would have taken it just to try and tear this movement down, even just a bit.

Forgive me if this post was badly written/has spelling/grammar errors - I just worked a very stressful 11-hour shift, and I'm a bit off my game.

Voices for Change: Sashi in Virginia

Sarah Ramey — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:21:44 EDT

"Barack Obama is the first global citizen to run for President of the United States."

When Sashi first read Dreams From My Father, she couldn't believe how much she could relate. If you're Sashi, it's not every day you find a candidate running for President who has lived in Indonesia, like you, who was raised by a family that valued education and hard work above everything, like you, and who chose community organizing and social service over other jobs on Wall Street -- just like you.

Sashi recommended the book to everyone she knew.

"Growing up in the developing world gives you an understanding of poverty that is impossible to grasp otherwise. We live in an increasingly global community, and Barack Obama is exactly the right person to lead this country, and other countries, into the new interconnected age."

30-year-old Sashi was originally born in Sri Lanka and came to the United States when she was 6. Her family left their country because it was in a state of war. Once they got to South Florida, Sashi says she watched her family live the American Dream.

We didn't live in the best of neighborhoods, but my parents instilled in us strong values and an appreciation for education. They helped us improve ourselves simply through hard work and school. My sister and I went to public schools our entire lives until we both received scholarships to college. In college, I became involved in social change and mobilizing people to advocate for the betterment of their communities.
Reading Senator Obama's memoir, I understood why he stayed in Chicago and could appreciate some of the difficulties he faced in learning his own identity. I also know how hard it is to choose a career, such as his in community organizing, that is not lucrative and is outside the norm. He did these things because he felt he had to.

And Sashi herself went on to do work that needed to be done, leading a group of students on a HIV/AIDS peer education trip throughout South India after college, interning with the World Organization Against Torture, working in an NGO for 2 years in microfinance, and working on economic development issues in Sri Lanka. When she read Senator Obama's first book, she found someone as committed to the same principles she valued -- and so, what seems like ages ago, started recommending the memoir to anyone who might listen.

But she knew that wasn't enough.

During the primaries and over the summer, Sashi got seriously involved in the campaign and canvassed in Pennsylvania and also Northern Virginia, where she currently lives. She recruited lots of friends to join her in canvassing and phone banking and she also donated to the campaign.

I've been a pretty outspoken advocate of Senator Obama, because I want people to know that his supporters are not afraid to talk politics and not afraid to confront the major issues. If we can't talk about these things then are we really informed voters?

Now with only six days to go, Sashi and thousands of other Virginian and Floridian volunteers are making the final push to prove, as she says, "that grassroots movements and communities CAN have a voice in government."

Every door knocked is one step closer to electing the first President to inspire our nation to be global citizens and local community organizers; a President who knows that the American Dream is alive in red states and blue states; in public schools and private schools; and on the main streets of small towns everywhere, from South Florida to Northern Virginia.

Vote Hope.

And get out there:

Norfolk Hears “Closing Argument” Directly From Barack Obama

Shawn O'Donnell — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:51:33 EDT

Norfolk Hears “Closing Argument” Directly From Barack Obama

Phony flier says Virginians vote on different days

Jeremy Smith — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:50:44 EDT

The Republican Party continues to employ dirty tricks. Today a phony state board of State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5. Make sure if you make calls to Battleground States, especially Virginia you remind voters that that last date to Vote is November 4th. By Julian Walker
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 28, 2008

RICHMOND

A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials.

In fact, Election Day, for voters of all political stripes, remains Nov. 4.

The somewhat official-looking flier - it features the state board logo and the state seal - is dated Oct. 24 and indicates that "an emergency session of the General Assembly has adopted the follwing (sic) emergency regulations to ease the load on local electorial (sic) precincts and ensure a fair electorial process."

The four-paragraph flier concludes with: "We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but felt this was the only way to ensure fairness to the complete electorial process."

No emergency action has been taken by the General Assembly. It is not in session and lacks the authority to change the date of a federal election.

State Board of Election officials today said they are aware of the flier but disavowed any connection to it.

"It's not even on our letterhead; they just copied the logo from our Web site," said agency staffer Ryan Enright, noting the flier has been forwarded to State Police for investigation as a possible incident of voter intimidation.

Election officials did not specify in which Hampton Roads localities the flier had been spotted.

State Police are aware of the complaint and are looking into it, said spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

In 2007, the General Assembly passed a law making it a Class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly communicate false information to registered voters about the date, time and place of the election or voters' precincts, polling places or voter registration statuses in order to impede their voting. The measure is one of the few such deceptive voting practice laws in the country, according to the watchdog group Common Cause.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com

Biden Rally in Suffolk

weebug — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:16:47 EDT

This past week-end, my step daughter and I volunteered for the Biden Rally in Suffolk. We helped set up chairs and made posters the night before the Rally then came back early the next morning to volunteer again and ended up in the "cheer leaders" group! It was fun. Our group were to keep the crowd cheering, clapping and waving their arms as we waited for Joe Biden and then as he gave his speech. I heard that it was the first time a candidate from a presidential ticket has ever held a Rally in our city. Joe Biden was a dynamic speaker and actually rather handsome on stage! Paige was surprised when after the speech Senator Biden held a few babies, she didn't know that was an age-long politcian's thing.

Tomorrow Barack Obama is speaking in Norfolk at Harbour Park and guess what!? Yep, Paige and I are volunteering again! We will arrive at 4 p.m. and stay until after the rally which starts at 9:30 p.m. It's gonna be a loooooong but exciting day!

Here are a few photos from Saturday's Rally with Senator Joe Biden:

Paige next to the signs that we made the night before the Rally with Sasha and Ben.

Outside, before the Rally, the "Cheerleaders" gather around a cardboard cut-out of Barack Obama.

Paige with the cardboard Obama.

Everybody had fun with "Barack"!

There were a lot of laughs to be had with the sighting of this Moose!

Yours truly!

This is my daughter's friend since elementary school, Mariah. She and her sister lead the Pledge of Allegience.

Look at those cheering supporters!

Senator Joe Biden in Suffolk, Virginia!

Senator Biden meets the people as the Secret Service keep watchful eyes.

New Obama Artwork - HOPE

E.Rich — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:57:35 EDT

There has been a lot of noise this election, but for me one single word still stands out.

HOPE

So, Election Day is coming up....

Brandi, from *Virginia*. ;-) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:13:40 EDT

....in just a matter of days.

Kind-of scary, no?

Exciting, but scary and worrisome.

This will be my first time ever voting (I just turned 18 on June 7th this year). ;D I'm ready man! XD I'm pumped, and ready to go! I'm ready to get Obama into the White House! ;D I registered just a few weeks after my 18th Birthday, so now I'm all ready, and the only thing left to do is go vote! ;D

I feel quite honored to be able to say "Why yes, I can vote." XD Haha. ;D

Hahhah, I'm so nervous. See, I've never used a voting machine before, and they're all different, so I don't know what kind of voting machine I'll be faced with. I might not know how to use it. XD Of course I know that there will be people there to help me, but still. What if I get in there, and accidentally vote for McCain!? HAHA, OMG. :o That would be so scary. Of all elections, this one being so historic AND it's my first time voting, and I end up accidentally voting for McCain. XD YIPE. XD I wonder if anyone has ever seriously done that, and if so, what'd they do about it? Did they get to put in their vote again and have the other one deleted, or did their vote just go to the candidate that they never supported/wanted to vote for? LOL. Uh oh. XD

Well, I'll write a more detailed blog later and stuff. ;D

I'll be sure to write about my first ever voting process thingy! ;D That blog will be coming in just a few more days....

Until then, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE, PEOPLE! ;D

Gonna stop by one of the campaign offices and get some Obama pamphlets and stickers to hand out-I'm gonna go do some last minute Obama-convincing/encouraging. ;D Heehee! ;D

-Brandi.

P.S.-Oh yah, and I'm new to the Obama website! ;D So hi! ;D Add me/message me, I'm nice! ;D Hahhah! ;D

P.P.S.-I use smileys A LOT, in case you couldn't tell. Ahaha. XD

**GUIDE TO MY SMILEY USAGE (LOL, I'm crazy):**

XD = Laughing face.

;D ;-) ;-] = Winking face.

=D :D = Big smile.

=] =) :] :) :-) :-] = Smile.

I'm sure I use a ton more smilies, but those are the just main ones I use a lot. I'm so random, but I thought I would put that there just for anyone who might stop by to read this. :D So YOU'RE WELOME. Haha, just kidding. ;D

Later! ;D

Discovering the heart of America

Ann Olson — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:06:23 EDT

Dear Friends and Family,

Beautiful, rural, mountainous Virginia has reaffirmed my faith in America. Bath and Highland counties – the Switzerland of Virginia, the far reaches that border West Virginia – that’s where I found Obama Country.

I spent most of last night calling there during our continuing Dems Abroad volunteer campaign. I spoke with some truly amazing Barack Obama supporters and some very respectful and courteous McCain supporters. No matter their stripe, almost all of them told me they supported Mark Warner’s run for the Senate, so that’s good news for Virginia.

A key to the seemingly wide support is BarackTV, which they’re watching on their Channel 73, to learn about the campaign and its stance on a broad variety of issues. Have you seen it? (I’m in Kyiv, and I’m not much of a TV watcher, but….) http://www.barackobama.com/tv/

One middle-aged man told me, “He’s the smart one. I hunt for him on the TV so I can listen to him. He’s gonna lead us out of this.”

Another told me, “There’s three of us at this house, and we’re all for ‘Bamer.”

And a third said: “I’d let someone take a club and beat me before I’d vote for McCain. He doesn’t have a plan for us. He said he doesn’t understand the economy. We don’t need that.”

Quite a few of these supporters told me about the campaign of lies they’re still hearing again and again – about Barack being a Muslim, about Barack’s wife hating America, about Barack being a terrorist – and how they talk with neighbors, friends and family to fight the deception.

One 52-year-old woman, who just did not want to get off the phone with me, talked to me about how affirming it was that I called. “I think it would be great if we could set up a phone system to call each other, and support each other, and to work out our frustrations about the Republicans and their sleazy, sleazy attacks.” She was a hoot, and Sarah Palin was her issue. “If I hear her say ‘soccer mom’ one more time, I am gonna sock my TV.” She had many more choice things to say, and definite plans for Election Day: to lock her husband in the basement so he could not go to the polls and negate her vote with one for McCain. She was fired up and ready to go, but slowed down for a moment to talk about race, and how it’s affected the campaign. “This race thing is stupid,” she said. “What century are we living in? When are we going to forget about skin color? When will we understand it doesn’t matter?” I wanted to break every rule in the volunteer book to save her phone number so I could call her back on Nov. 5. You rock, Dinah.

We started the evening by calling Democrats in Ukraine, of all places, to make sure they had received ballots and voted. Turned out a number had no way to get them back to the States without a big overnight delivery bill, so I am about to play another volunteer role in this campaign: courier for absentee ballots. I fly back to Washington this Wednesday, and will arrive with a packet of envelopes – in my carryon luggage. I’m thrilled to legally deliver more votes for Obama than just mine.

It won’t be my last task. In addition to my own personal phone bank for Bath and Highland counties, which the Rockbridge County campaign set up for me – only 350 more calls to go – I’ll be knocking on doors in Buena Vista, down near our cabin, and working in Alexandria on Election Day.

If you can, please volunteer to do more than vote. The campaign would love to put you to work in whatever way suits you and your life. Then you, too, may get to hear something thrilling like this, from a 67-year-old man from a tiny town in the backwoods of America:

“We can’t wait for Nov. 4 to get here, so we can march in together and vote for him. What a day it will be.”

Let’s keep working to make sure it is.

With fervor,
Ann

Gobama!

Zabama! (a Russian version)

Pass it on!

The Real Americans

Kaiser Farooque — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:36:11 EDT

NOTE: This post is both on my Xanga site and the smaller blog I've started up on my Kizyr for Obama page.

Where is the real America? Who is a real American? Who gets to decide which is which?

There are some interesting, yet troubling, comments recently made by a lot of the folks related to the McCain Campaign. And once again, it offers a huge, huge contrast to the message that Obama's been carrying throughout. Let me give you the following:

"I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that." ~Rep. Bachmann (R-MN)

Now, to be fair, this came on Chris Matthew's Hardball, after Chris Matthews was clearly acting like a jerk. But still, concluding that interview by suggesting some kind of media witch-hunt? No wonder she now finds herself having to apologize, and donations instantly increased to her opponent without him having to even do anything. Second:

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation." ~Sarah Palin

Again, to be fair, Palin did apologize for "the way her comments came off". It's a bit of a non-apology-apology, but still, her comments are troubling for another reason entirely (which I'll get to momentarily). Third:

"...the Democrats have just come in from the District of Columbia and moved into northern Virginia. And that's really what you see there. But the rest of the state, real Virginia, if you will, I think will be very responsive to Sen. McCain's message. ... I mean 'real Virginia' because northern Virginia is where I've always been, but 'real Virginia' I take to be the — this part of the state that is more Southern in nature, if you will. Northern Virginia is really metro D.C." ~Pfotenhauer, McCain Advisor

Now this one upset me the most. Primarily because Pfotenhauer here had the audacity to say that I don't live in "real Virginia". Now, let me lay down for you a few facts:
(a) I moved here from Tennessee, not Washington
(b) I pay Virginia state income tax.
(c) I had a choice to go to Maryland, DC, or Virginia, and I chose Virginia. I'm here entirely because I want to be, and I like this state. (The lower taxes, rent in metro-accessible areas, and rich diversity of the state, really helps, too. VA's state flag is also the coolest out of the 50 states--seriously, take a look.)

So tell me, why am I not a "real" Virginian? Oh... I know. Because politically I don't agree with you. Does that mean that when I was in Tennessee, despite being born and raised in Nashville, that I wasn't a real Tennessean because I didn't vote Republican? No wonder Pfotenhauer is now scrambling to retract her comments. But, she was given a fair chance to clarify them on the air, and she simply reinforced them. Her apology now means nothing.

Leesburg Virginia

Khaidji — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:33:07 EDT

I didn’t get to hear much of Obama today, the news seem to be more concern with the exorbitant spending of Palin of cloths and makeup these last 3 months. Barack did manage to convene a press conference with his chief security advisors after he met with them. At this meeting he was able to dispel thoughts that the meeting was called together only because of Joe Biden’s comments about the early testing of Obama if he is elected. He also addressed the issue once there but was not able to lay this ill-timed comment to rest.

Leesburg Virginia

Legal disbursement of public money

Extravagant spending to outfit she and her family

Exceeding $150,000 in the three months since

Starting her campaign for Vice President and hence

Brings some questions into the public’s eye

Unreasonable to parade the maverick guy

Running around claiming to cut unnecessary spending

Giving back to the people the excess in overtaxing

Vetoing and further attempt for politician to get

Incremental draw downs for their states budget

Restricting the pork barrel and ear mark money

Golden parachutes and roads paved with honey

In comparison this excessive façade contradicts

New idea and attitudes of these self proclaimed mavericks

In these 13 days remaining before we elect a new leader

America must discern the change champion from the imposter

Get an easy Download or a Hardcopy of
” Path To The White House”
Acrostic Poetry on Barack Obama
By Khaidji
The Bajan Poetry Society

Let's Go Canvassing This Week-End!

weebug — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:33:16 EDT

We've got twelve more days until the election, that leaves only two more week-ends to go out there and keep the momentum up. Face to face canvassing is the most effective way of convincing undecided voters that Obama is the right man for President and the most effective way to make sure all those Obama supporters actually go to the polls and vote!

Canvassing door-to-door is also fun! I talk to about 150 people every week-end. The majority of those people are good kind folk who are interested in the issues and who love our nation enough to make intelligent and informed decisions. Sometimes folks get a little complacent though and need a gentle reminder that "Yes, your vote really DOES count".

Come on out and canvass with us these last two week-ends. Throw your enthusiasm out there and let's make a difference! Contact the Suffolk Campaign for Change office and become part of history. You might even get a piece of Sweet Potato Pie!

Suffolk Campaign for Change
140 W. Washington Street Suite 103
Suffolk, Virginia
(757) 934-0856

And don't forget:

The Busy Campaign for Change Office

weebug — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:27:11 EDT

I stopped in to the downtown Suffolk Campaign for Change office today to drop off some odds and ends as I was on my way to the DMV to correct my address on my drivers license, it needed to be straightened out before election day. Anyway, I met Darla! Hi Darla!!! There she was, busy as a bee in the offices. The office was very full of activities, new posters, big photos, food and a great big monitor counting down the minutes until the election. It was very encouraging, especially after the low turn out we had over the week-end for canvassers.

There is a little store in the little "mall" where our office is. I've been buying Obama buttons there but end up giving them away while canvassing. I am down to my last one so I stopped in the store to buy some more and he was out of them! He had several other designs but I didn't like them nearly as much. I bought one but will hold out for the promised arrival of more of the kind he had before. He (I should learn his name) also sells Obama tee-shirts and hats. I ought to buy a hat, I like hats, but I make my own tee-shirts by printing my own designs on iron on transfers paper then I iron them on to plain tee-shirts. I also make refrigerator magnets that parody the the 'Virginia is for Lovers' logo. It has Virginia is for Obama instead.

Also, over the week-end I made a mini-poster in response to Obama's joke about "Contrary to popular belief, I was not born in a manger.....I was instead born on Krypton..."

Of course I also printed each of those designs on tee-shirts.

I wish I had a button maker!

Is Rollins Right?

Bill from BC, Obamican, Veteran, Husband, Father, Educator — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:54:40 EDT

Please read the linked column by Reagan political strategist Ed Rollins.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/rollins.powell/index.html

Rollins is hoping that everyone looks at the political landscape as superficially as his column suggests. Here are the real facts.

For McCain to win, virtually every state that is in play has to go his way. This includes Virginia and Colorado where Obama is polling at more than 50%. This means that not only is McCain going to have to win over just about all of the few remaining undecideds, but that he is also going to have to take votes away from Obama, especially in those two states.

Canvassing as a Spiritual Journey

T Boston — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:19:53 EDT

Six weeks ago I committed to canvas for the Obama Campaign in the battleground state of Virginia. Little did I realize that going door-to-door would be a powerful spiritual experience, or that I would meet so many people whom I carry in my heart and prayers daily. I think Barack Obama has been an excellent example of the kind of leadership that encourages people to cross boundaries, build bridges of respect and understanding, and find common ground with people who are different from ourselves.

While my family roots on both sides are over 200 years deep in the state of Virginia, until 6 weeks ago, I was totally unfamiliar with the communities of Woodbridge, VA in the historically Republican-voting Prince William County. For an introvert like me, knocking on the doors of strangers takes me out of my comfort zone, especially since I have never campaigned for any presidential candidate before. I confess, before going out I say a prayer that the divine in me will acknowledge the divine in all the people I meet.

Going door to door each Saturday I have met people and heard stories that put a human face on the hopes and challenges that ordinary Americans are living out every day. I have talked to the World War II veteran who is worried about health care and what may happen to his disabled spouse with no other relatives if he precedes her in death. I have been welcomed by the young couple with a 2-year old son who are excited about voting for the first time in their lives.

I have seen the foreclosure and home auction signs in low and moderate income communities of native born and immigrant U.S. citizens, and I have listened attentively to those more well-to-do voters whose greatest concern is higher taxes. Whether a struggling or affluent community, I saw proudly displayed American flags in many forms -- flying from flag posts, on decals, or in the form of lawn ornaments. Workers whose vehicles go without paint jobs, small business owners without health care for their families, and successful business and homeowners who fear that the American dream will not be passed on to their children and grandchildren. No longer strangers, these are my Virginia neighbors.

In one of my journal entries, I asked myself how did so many of us make enemies of our neighbors because of political and religious differences when we have so much in common with regard to our hopes and dreams for ourselves and this country? I could chalk it up to the failure of politicians and religious leaders who are invested in keeping Americans divided in order to strengthen their power base, but I also have to think about my role in drinking the Kool-Aid of "us versus them."

It's very easy to maintain a sense of moral self-righteousness when all your relationships are with "our kind of people" -- whether "our kind" live in the city, small town, suburban or rural America. Identify as NASCAR or NPR. Drive pick-up trucks, SUVs or hybrids. Vote Democrat, Republican, Green Party, or Independent. Worship like us or don't worship at all.

However we categorize ourselves or others, the "us versus them" mentality means we all lose. People become expendible. We scream, shout and call names. We stop trusting our neighbors. We act out of our worst instead of our best selves even if we only think or say negative things about other people among our own circle of family and friends.

I am truly grateful for the surprise blessings that the Obama Campaign has given me. Going door-to-door in Prince William County, I discovered what a member of my covenant group said about her experience in working with disabled and wounded veterans: you get a larger sense of who you can call "your people" when you are willing to cross the boundaries of your comfort zone.

Another friend likes to say "the real test of your 'spiritual program' (or religion) is how you behave when life gets hard." Canvassing has not been easy. It has tested me, but canvassing also has taught me what it means to put my faith in action and live my values.

Knocking on doors for the Obama Campaign in Virginia has required courage I didn't know I had. In addition to giving up my Saturdays, canvassing has required sacrificing my desire to be right and given me practice in the art of being present and listening to those who view me as "other."

In a few days I know I shall be tested even more as I become a full-time volunteer for the campaign through Election Day. Hopefully I will meet this test with compassion, humility, and gratitude that I am able to be of service to a vision larger than my individual concerns. Hopefully, I will model the excellent example of Barack Obama in these final days of Election 2008.

How to Decipher CHANGE to Undecided Voters. (Helpful for Phone Calls)

Amy — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:31:02 EDT

Introduce voters to CHANGE.

Obama in this campaign offers change in its most absolute way: change from failed policies but also change in terms of opening a new page which will burry the racial divide in this country. That change, as exciting as it sounds, needs to be defined so it doesn't scare older and less informed people, into voting for Obama. Change should not be perceived as ‘the unknown’ but “the fundamental”

You guys need to emphasize the long terms effect of Change so they understand the impact their vote will have on their children and future generations.

In terms of communicating race, I think you need to confront racism in a very considerate way so people understand this is not about electing the first African American president in history but electing the one who has the judgement to lead us out of this financial turmoil.
(Insist on the numbers: over 600,000 jobs lost)

When someone tells you the only reason why they wouldn't support Barack Obama is because he is black, tell them “this is not about Obama, this is about you and your children”.

When someone tells you, I like Sarah Palin tell them, “I hate to break it to you but chances are you're never going to sit with her. Once these elections are over, whoever wins will be presiding from the White House, and what will strictly matter then on are the ways in which their policies are going to affect your life, your children. Children can't vote but the impact of your vote, will be part of the legacy you are going to leave them.”

Talk about the power of democracy. (Insist on everything they are going against by supporting the McCain Palin ticket)

If we have a democracy today where women can vote it is because:

Þ Democratic President Woodrow Wilson stood up for Change in 1918 in support of the 19th amendment which forbid any state to deny any woman a right to political expression.

Þ It is the Democratic Party that promulgated Hillary to almost becoming the first female president.

Þ Sarah Palin goes against every thing Hillary has ever fought for:

Þ she is on a ticket which rejects Equal Pay for women.

Þ Insist on the fact that there are 10.4 million single moms in the United States who live with children younger than 18, up from 3.4 million in 1970 and that today more than ever, we need to support those moms so they can have a decent lifestyle and give to their children a sense of education. You can't say you support those women if you stand against equal pay and you stand against raising the minimum wage.

Þ And make the case that if you support the McCain-Palin ticket, you are also denying those proud American citizens the right to a better existence.

The Democratic Party never stopped fighting for the women's rights.

Þ In 1994, President Clinton provided $1.6 billion to enhance investigation and prosecution of the violent crime perpetrated against women by signing the Violence Against Women Act, which John McCain firmly opposed.

Þ This VAWA was drafted by Joe Biden who now runs on the democratic ticket as VP

Þ It is thanks to Biden that domestic violence became a public health policy and human rights concern. (You need to insist on that)

Þ According the National Organization for Women, which stepped out of its usual neutrality to proudly endorse the Obama-Bide ticket, every day in America:

Þ Four women die as a result of domestic violence bringing the number to 1,400 women a year.

Þ two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year, and 170,000 of those violent incidents are serious enough to require hospitalization

Thanks to Joe Biden, this has become a real human rights concern.

If Hillary Clinton chooses to put pride aside and step up for a "rally for change" it is because she understands the vital necessity to all be on the road for Barack Obama.

By helping each others, women pave the way for their daughters, granddaughters in ensuring that they won't be denied any fundamental human rights.

As you know, many of these women are affected by the economy crisis and for McCain to stand firm and say that he won't raise the minimum wage is simply unacceptable when he supports sending 10bn$ monthly in US taxpayers' money to a country which has an 80bn $ surplus.

Yes, the war in Iraq needs to end and it will end under the presidency of Barack Obama.

Painting the surge as having worked does not take away the fact that this war, which killed 4,152 (as of September 3rd 2008) and wounded 30,568 American soldiers should have never been authorized. Isn’t it fair to remind people that 600, 000 Iraqi civilians, who had absolutely nothing to do with September 11th, were also killed in this war, along with thousands of other soldiers and journalists.

Careless of all the critics Obama has heard on his experience and position against the war, "soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday", according to USA Today. (8/14/2008)

Yes, soldiers are putting their trust in Obama and so should we when it comes to handling the economy and the foreign policy of this country.

So when John McCain says he is going to fight, ask yourself for what…or better yet, against what? Is he going to keep fighting against the elements so desperately needed for Change, like funding for education, funding for healthcare…?

John McCain doesn’t have a record to claim that he can bring real change. What has long years in Washington ever brought to a candidate? If it mattered so much why is Palin in a position which puts her heart bit away from the presidency, when more experienced Republican candidates are available? If he just wanted to rally the right wing base, he could have chosen Huckabee, if he cared about the economy, he would have appointed Romney but instead he opted for someone with absolutely O experience.

Are you ready to have Palin as President and take a 10% risk of having change? Well after all, McCain voted 90% of the time with Bush and a 100% in 2008.

If Obama wins, America wins and therefore you win.

You should have banners saying If Obama wins, America wins / If Obama wins, you win.

“I Trust Barack OBama and You Should Trust Barack Obama” Virginia Senator Jim Webb

Shawn O'Donnell — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:35:45 EDT

“I Trust Barack OBama and You Should Trust Barack Obama” Virginia Senator Jim Webb

The REAL Reason Why I Canvass for Barack Every Week-End

weebug — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:05:32 EDT

I started volunteering for the Suffolk Campaign for Change office for two reasons, because I sooooo believe that Barack Obama is the best choice for our next President and because I was looking for a way to meet people in Suffolk. We moved to Suffolk only about a year ago and since I work from home I don't get much opportunity to meet people. When an Obama canvasser knocked on my door about a month ago and asked me (among other things) if I would like to volunteer I thought, "Heck yeah! I can maybe make a friend or two AND spend some time doing something other than staring at my monitor all day, something that makes a difference in our weary world"!

I was a professional canvasser years ago for Clean Water Action Project and I loved it. I became a field manager within the first year and never lost my enthusiasm for the grass-roots system of trying to make our planet, our country and our communties a better place. "Think Globally, Act Locally" was our motto. I believed that then and I believe it now. Barack and Michelle Obama have reignited that part of my spirit that had slowly dipped into dormancy over the last decade or so, and I am grateful to have found that place in my soul again.

After a month of canvassing for Presidential Hopeful Obama, I've come to think that if everyone spent just a few hours a week volunteering for something they believe in, something they feel will better their community and the lives of others around them, whether it be politics, a free clinic, the arts, their children's PTA, public radio, an animal shelter or an environmental advocacy group, our world will be a much happier, considerate and content place for all. Is that socialist thinking? Some people may think so, but I think it is just being neighborly in a global community. I think it is just being a responsible and caring citizen.

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Obama for helping me find that part of my spirit again!

Oh, and yes, I think I am finally starting to make some new friends!

Rene.

Retrievers to Virginia

Ray — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:18:28 EDT

Retrievers: This is from another Retriever who lives in VA asking for your help.

Dear Friends, Family members, and Colleagues, living in DC and MD:

Virginia needs your help over the few remaining days before Election !!

As you know VA is a key battleground state and could easily determine the entire course of the election. Over the past few months I have met countless dedicated Obama volunteers from DC and MD, taking time out of their busy schedules to come to Fairfax County and help us increase direct voter contact in VA, the most important way to reach out to voters.

Over the remaining days before election direct voter contact across communities in Fairfax County is going to be critical, and we need the continued support of our neighbors in MD and DC to make Barack Obama our next President !!
Note: as part of this effort, we will be also doing outreach to the Latino community in Fairfax, so bilingual speakers
are also needed !!

Please join us at the Daily Grind for coffee, good conversation, and a huge canvass effort to talk to our neighbors
in Lorton. Easy Access from I-95, no meandering around Northern VA !!!
===========================================================================
Daily Grind coffee shop - 9000 Lorton Station Blvd, Lorton:
Saturday: 10:00 AM -7:00 PM (last shift is 5 PM)
Sunday 12:00 AM -6:00 PM (last shift is 4 PM)

(note: if at all possible, the afternoons and evenings are preferred as that is when people tend to be home the most)

Directions from DC and MD:
Take I-95 South past the Springfield Interchange (accessible from the Beltway if you are coming from MD)
Take Lorton exit (a few exists after Springfield interchange)
at the bottom of the ramp, left onto Lorton Road
at second light, left onto Lorton Station Blvd
go about 1/3 mile, Daily Grind Coffee shop is to the left, 9000 Lorton Station Blvd
================================================================================
Please let me know if you are free to join us, this weekend or over the remaining days prior to election day. Canvass
in Lorton will take place every weekend until election day.

Also feel free to contact me for further directions, questions, concerns, if you need a mode of transportation,
or to find out about alternative volunteer opportunities from here until November 4th

PS: we also need volunteers on election day, so vote early and plan to take the day off !!

Contact:
Ana Prados
Latinos for Obama
South County Volunteer Coordinator
703-338-2119
ana_prados@yahoo.com

Keep Up the Momentum

weebug — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:43:33 EDT

Last night we had a meeting with some of the more enthusiastic and dedicated canvassers from the Suffolk Campaign for Change office. We are set now to continue canvassing southern Suffolk to make sure everybody who is interested in restoring faith and pride in America gets out to the polls on November 4th and votes for Barack Obama! We will be heading out today with our teams from several Suffolk locations all week-end long and every week-end and the Monday and Tuesday of the election. Our Suffolk office Campaign manager for the south-side, Justin Baker, gave us an inspiring speech to keep us motivated and ever more dedicated. I can't wait to knock on more doors today! I LOVE canvassing for Barack Obama!

I tried to make some home made sweet potato pies to bring to the office this morning, but darn! Those sweet potaoes take forever to pre-cook! It was nearly 10 p.m. before they were done and they needed to cool down before I could make pie out of them. Sorry Justin and Tony - the pies will not make it to the office until Sunday.

Targeting State by State

John Zwier — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:40:12 EDT

Reposting from Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bart-motes/obamas-smart-targeted-web_b_135249.html

Obama's Smart Targeted Web Campaign

Add another headache to the McCain campaign's faltering efforts. Barack Obama, avid Iphone user (see video) is employing state specific web sites to hammer John McCain. Websites specific to Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio point out the disastrous impact of a McCain presidency on the lives of voters in each state. Though the websites employ the same basic format, they include statistics specific to each state.

The websites aren't quite as sexy as the new Obama for Iphone application, which gives you a ready made call list of your friends, uses the Iphone's GPS to tell you where your nearest office is, and provides users with position papers on every imaginable issue. But they may be even more effective.

For instance, the Ohio website notes that "Bankruptcies Rose 19% In Ohio In The 12 Months Leading Up To June 2008; 54,160 Bankruptcies Were Filed During This Time."

Specific data such as this arms local supporters and helps convince undecided voters that John McCain will directly and negatively impact their lives.

The program is another example of the Democratic National Committee's 50 State plan. States like North Carolina and Virginia would have been ignored by a less aggressive (read previous Democratic) campaign. But because the Obama campaign built on Howard Dean's decision to build a presence in every state, not just reliably Democratic states, the McCain campaign is forced to use its limited resources to play defense in North Carolina and Virginia.

Most provocatively, the North Carolina and Virginia sites allow voters to click on their area and see funding for local projects opposed by McCain.

Websites cannot substitute for the hard work of grassroots campaigning: particularly phone banking and canvassing. But they can augment the work of local organizers and volunteers. Since the names of the state specific websites are catchy and memorable "McCain Versus Ohio," it is easy for volunteers and staff to mention them to voters and magnify their impact.

The Obama campaign is pioneering the merger between high technology and grassroots campaigning begun by Howard Dean and Joe Trippi. The results will be felt long after this election.

Note that since this post, several other state sites have been targeted. These include:

www.McCainvsMontana.com

www.McCainvsNM.com

www.McCainvsMichigan.com

No time

Porter Mason — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:55:46 EDT

I have to go to sleep, but just out of curiosity:

If you support Barack Obama, and you're not doing everything you can right now to help elect Barack Obama... why is that?

Yard signs are fine. Buttons and stickers are fine. Blog posts are fine.

But canvassing... that's the stuff that actually gets votes. Canvass.

Does it scare you to talk to strangers? Fair enough.

Isn't four more years of Bush policies a little scarier though?

Doctors: McCain Has Advanced Melanoma, 6 to 18 Months To Live

David from Muskegon, MI — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:25:59 EDT

McCain's Doctor: He Has 6 to 18 Months To Live
Mayo Clinic M.D. Originally Reported On Findings, But Has Since Gone Silent

During his first campaign for the White House in 2000, Senator John McCain unconditionally released all of his medical records to the press and gave reporters virtually unlimited access to his entire medical history.

However, last May Sen. McCain agreed to allow only highly restricted access to the very same kind of records. Only selected news organizations and journalists were allowed access to Sen. McCain's medical history during this election cycle. Members of the news media were permitted just three hours to go over 1000s of pages of files in an sealed and isolated room. Reporters were not allowed to use cell phones or use the internet while in the sealed area. Anyone who left the room was not allowed back in. This new level of secrecy baffled many members of the press who remarked that the move was inconsistent with the openness the McCain campaign showed in 2000.

The reason why Sen. McCain has gone from absolute openness with his medical records to a new level of secrecy is because the Senator's health has declined considerably since his original presidential campaign. This decline is not unusual for a man who was 64 eight years ago.

John McCain is 72 years old, and if elected he would be the oldest first-term President in history. Both voters and medical experts have expressed concern that the state of Mr. McCain's health may preclude him from executing the most important tasks of his presidency if he is elected.

At his most recent physical, McCain's personal physician at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. John D. Eckstein said that because of a "serious aliment" that Sen. McCain has just 6 to 18 months to live.

While Dr. Eckstein was not specific on the nature of the illness himself, other experts in the field say that McCain is likely to be suffering from advanced melanoma that could require chemotherapy in the near future. No one is quite sure if McCain's major illness is treatable or if his illness is terminal.

"We aren't going to talk about any potential illness or potential treatment until after the election." said an Senior McCain aide who asked not to be named.

"Right now, it's all speculative" said Dr. Eckstein when he was asked if Senator McCain would be able to maintain a full schedule as President while he underwent chemotherapy. Side effects of the chemotherapy include rapid weight loss, a suppressed immune system,memory loss, malnutrition, nausea and hair loss.

If McCain underwent these procedures it is possible that he would be unable to discharge his duties as President on a full time basis. If elected, McCain might be put in a position where he would have to frequently and regularly invoke the third section of 25th Amendment which would make the Vice President the Acting President.

The constitutional provision was used by Ronald Reagan in 1987 when he underwent surgery as George H.W. Bush became the Acting President. President George W. Bush invoked it when he underwent two separate colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007. However, since the inception of the 25th Amendment, no one has invoked it to cover anything as serious or as long term as chemotherapy.

In a potential McCain administration, current Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be Vice President and ultimately she would bare the responsibilities of the "Acting President" if section three of the 25th amendment was enacted.

"Even with chemotherapy, the Senator is gravely ill and he is unlikely to serve a full term", said Dr. Eckstein.

The Mayo Clinic physician initially expressed that he was upset that his findings were removed from the medical records to which reporters had access. "Senator McCain would be the oldest first term President ever, and his medical conditions could have a profound impact on his ability to conduct while in office".

Dr. Eckstein was contacted for a follow-up interview, but he did not respond.

Out of One Many - Out of Many One

Amunaor — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:05:50 EDT

Here is my small contribution! If you like what you see, you can find other variations on this theme; download higher resolution copies for printing and or desktop at: My Flickr Site Here

(Description: Inspirational collage of images. Background is Hubble Space Telescope image of deep sky nebula, overlain with Obama logo and image of 'Ancient of Days' etching from 1794, along with people lined up for Obama rally at MWU in Fredericksburg, VA., which I snapped while my wife and I were attempting to locate the end of. We were 2, in an unbelievable gathering of 26,000.)
Peace, Best Wishes and Hope
When is a Surge not a Surge? When an Invasion - Occupation is NOT a War!

Canvassing

sarobinson — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:04:04 EDT

Up until now, I've supported the campaign by donating money. I maxed out for the primary and have put a dent into the general. While money is important to a campaign I also decided to donate my time. Yesterday, I canvassed a community in Fairfax VA together with a young man I met for the first time in the DNC parking lot. The canvassing left me hopeful for an Obama win but equally important it restored my faith in my fellow citizens. People were mostly nice and polite. Even if they were with the other candidate, they were not disrespectful. All in all it was a great experience and I'm signed up to GOTV.

Also, a special "shout out" to my fellow canvassers from DC. and especially David. I couldn't have had a better partner in canvassing and I think we made a great team. Hope you made it to NY okay.

In Virginia, Obama Battles Block by Block

Dave — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:46:30 EDT

Canavas Techniques Explained

NY Times: In Virginia, Obama Battles Block by Block

October 11, 2008

Quotes from the article:

“When we identify sporadic voters, we want to go back to their house until they can’t stand us anymore,” said Mr. McGowan, 23, who oversees the Obama operation in Fairfax County, which is Virginia’s largest. With a smile, he added, “As long as we’re kind and respectful.”

One piece of this effort can be found in a former beauty school here along South Washington Street in the suburbs of the nation’s capital. No cable television is blaring. Mr. McGowan and his team need to know only one piece of strategy: If Mr. Obama wins Virginia, a Democratic feat not achieved in 44 years, he may well win the White House.

“We’re going to have to make sure they (newly registered voters) turn out, or we probably won’t win,” said Steve Hildebrand, a deputy campaign manager for Mr. Obama. “They’ll get extra waves of mail. They’ll get extra phone calls. They will be given a lot of love.”

Ground game strategies on both sides leave little time for random door-knocking. So just like in the last two races for governor in Virginia, won by Democrats, a sophisticated battery of databases has been tapped to find voters who may be inclined to support the candidates. At the national level, Republicans have had better success at the modeling techniques, but the Obama campaign studied the Republican plan to help shape its own system of finding voters who are prone to support Mr. Obama.

Washington Post

Obama Camp Relying Heavily on Ground Effort

October 12, 2008

Quotes from Article:

In training sessions for volunteers and organizers, Ganz offered instruction on how to recruit volunteers and persuade voters. The gist was that volunteers needed to motivate others by speaking about their experiences and reasons for supporting Obama -- their "story" -- instead of just parroting the candidate's biography or message.

As Ganz sees it, this is a "values-based" approach like that of the conservative movement, rallying around core beliefs instead of individual issues. "Democrats lost the language of moral commitment and became very wonky and policy-oriented. One of Obama's big breakthroughs was to bring values back into it -- Democratic values," Ganz said. "The Republicans have been eating our lunch on this for a long time."

But the campaign's technological prowess has obscured somewhat the old-fashioned element that lies at its heart: the power of volunteers working together. That is one reason the organization invested so heavily in field offices -- spending $4.3 million on rent and utilities through August -- so backers could have a real entry to the campaign. Some volunteers say it's because of the way that television and the Internet have fragmented daily life that they have taken such satisfaction in the campaign, and gotten such good results from their face-to-face outreach.

Yale political scientist Donald Green, who co-wrote the book "Get Out the Vote," says research has shown that face-to-face talk increases a voter's chances of turning out by 7 to 10 percent. If a campaign talks to a third of its hoped-for voters, it can expect to see a 3 percent boost at the polls, he said.

In many states, a final statewide training session was held last week for Obama field organizers, to be followed by get-out-the-vote training for team leaders. In Missouri, about 400 neighborhood teams are set up around the state, each with a goal of getting about 4,000 votes in their area. The hope, said Missouri director Buffy Wicks, is as get-out-the-vote efforts intensify in the campaign's final weeks, the teams will have established themselves enough to deliver the backing that Obama will need.

McCain Forced to Fire Virginia County Chair Following Racist Newspaper Attack on Obama

Mark C. Eades — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:20:47 EDT

The John McCain campaign has been forced to fire its campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia, following his publication of a racist newspaper attack on Barack Obama. Bobby May, pictured here, who has also served as treasurer and correspondence secretary of the Buchanan County Republican Party, recently penned a column containing an overtly racist attack against Barack Obama for a local newspaper, The Voice, which lists Mr. May among its columnists. May's column contained a number of inflammatory charges against Obama, including the following on Obama's plans for America if elected:

"FREEDOM OF RELIGION: Mandatory Black Liberation Theology classes taught in all churches - raise taxes to pay for this mandate. Put Rev. Jeremiah Wright in charge...."

"DRUG CRISIS: Raise taxes to pay for free drugs for Obama’s inner-city political base...."

"2ND AMENDMENT: Under Obama will only apply to gang-bangers, illegal aliens, Islamo-Fascist terrorists, and Senator Jim Webb’s aide...."

"FOREIGN RELATIONS: Appoint Rev. Al Sharpton as Secretary of State, Jesse Jackson as UN Representative, and let Bill Clinton handle all other "foreign relations" ... As long as Hillary doesn't find out...!"

"THE WHITE HOUSE: Hire rapper Ludacris to “paint it black.” Taxes to be increased to buy enough paint for the job plus spray-paint for graffiti...."

"THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: Raise taxes to send $845 billion, most of it to Africa so the Obama family there can skim off enough for them to free their goats and live the American Dream...."

"NATIONAL ANTHEM: Change to the "Black National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson...."

"US CURRENCY: Update photos to reflect US diversity; include pictures of "great Americans" such as Oprah Winfrey, Ludacris, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Paris Hilton, and Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson (Obama's new Secretary of the Treasury - 50 Cent refused position after learning that he would lose his crazy check if he accepted the nomination)...."

"US FLAG: Replace 50 stars with a star and crescent logo; red stripes changed to green to represent Obama’s tree-hugging radical environmentalism and his lack of experience. Flag lapel pins, having become a substitute for "real patriotism," will henceforth be banned...."

At the end of his column Mr. May challenged Obama to meet him on "County Talk," a Friday morning talk show on radio station WMJD 100.7 in Grundy, Virginia. Mr. May seems quite the local mover and shaker in Buchanan County Republican circles: In addition to his work with The Voice and WMJD, May has appeared in the Virginia Mountaineer with other local Republican leaders. Mr. May's photo above was cropped from a larger photo of him here with GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, formerly posted at the Buchanan County Republican Party's website, now purged from that site but heroically rescued from oblivion and posted at the Daily Kos with news of May's dismissal from Team McCain. According to the Daily Kos, Mr. May also provides the advertising specialties for Virginia congressman Virgil Goode, currently seeking re-election and noted for his opposition to Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison's taking the oath of office on the Quran rather than the Bible. Here is a photo of May with Buchanan County GOP leaders from a March 2006 edition of the Virginia Mountaineer:

GOP MEMBERS elected Saturday [3/25/06] were, from left (front), Delores Childress, treasurer; Leona Ratliff, recording secretary; Harriett McClanahan, second vice chairman; Jerry Lester, chairman; David Lowe, first vice chairman; and (back) Bobby May, corresponding secretary; and Bobby Hall, parliamentarian.
(Photo/Tucker Davis)

First noted in a Los Angeles Times political blog, Mr. May's story spread via blogs such as the Daily Kos (including this blog: see Oct. 5 below). May's dismissal from the campaign was finally noted by Keith Olbermann on the Oct. 8 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, when Olbermann named Mr. May "Worst Person in the World" for his racist attack on Obama (see video). Meanwhile, the Buchanan County Republican Party's website, which contained material by or about Mr. May throughout its pages when I previously looked (including the photo with Bob McDonnell above), has at time of this writing been taken offline as references to and photos of him are presumably being purged, Mr. May himself presumably expelled, any potential career for him in politics presumably ended. Like Trotsky in Stalin's USSR, Mr. May will now be airbrushed out of photos with prominent Republicans like Bob McDonnell. Wild!

The bigot Bobby May has been fired from his GOP campaign job and crowned Worst Person in the World as he deserves, John McCain has taken another notable hit in return for the overwhelmingly negative and "racially tinged" campaign he and Sarah Palin have been waging against Obama, and a county Republican website in Virginia has been forced offline. I call this a score.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Today is the last day to register to vote in Florida...here's my effort...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:28:59 EDT

I created a flyer today to notify my immediate neighbors and neighboring apartment buildings that today is the last day to register to vote in Florida.

If you live in Michigan, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Virginia today is the day for you to tie up all the loose ends and register...

Let your voice be heard!!!!

This was my effort on this last day to register here in Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida...enjoy:

-R

Long days' journey.

Porter Mason — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:50:12 EDT

Whew. Well, I'm here. I took Amtrak down here, and while I love trains, the American train system offers few options in terms of scheduling for infrequently traveled routes.

Which meant a 3am train out of Penn Station for me. Fun! But I finally made it to the Mason Family Compound at around 2pm and unpacked in my room.

But no matter, I got here. I was on essentially no sleep, so I went down to the Virginia Beach Obama office (which is on the Boulevard, near Rosemont) to check in and then went home to crash.

Lots of activity there. People walking in off the street to register, as well as people phone banking and the field directors and organizers planning out stuff. And it wasn't even particularly bustling, as a lot of folks were out on the streets canvassing.

If you're nearby and want to help out, come by the office! There's always someone there.

Let me rephrase that, if you're nearby, you NEED to come help out. Stop by. Here's a map.

And if you're not nearby, volunteer wherever IS nearby. There's no excuses for not pitching in this year.

Off to bed, first day of real work (for me) is tomorrow. I shall cast a long shadow of volunteering on my hometown

P.S. As always, buy me a virtual beer if you like.

Racist Newspaper Attack on Obama by Virginia Republican

Mark C. Eades — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:12:28 EDT

The shameless bigot you see pictured at right is Bobby May, McCain campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia, as well as treasurer and former correspondence secretary of the Buchanan County Republican Party. Mr. May recently published a newspaper column containing an overtly racist attack against Barack Obama. Appearing in a local paper called The Voice, May's column contained a number of inflammatory charges against Obama, including the following on Obama's plans for America if elected:

"FREEDOM OF RELIGION: Mandatory Black Liberation Theology classes taught in all churches - raise taxes to pay for this mandate. Put Rev. Jeremiah Wright in charge...."

"DRUG CRISIS: Raise taxes to pay for free drugs for Obama’s inner-city political base...."

"2ND AMENDMENT: Under Obama will only apply to gang-bangers, illegal aliens, Islamo-Fascist terrorists, and Senator Jim Webb’s aide...."

"THE WHITE HOUSE: Hire rapper Ludacris to “paint it black.” Taxes to be increased to buy enough paint for the job plus spray-paint for graffiti...."

"THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: Raise taxes to send $845 billion, most of it to Africa so the Obama family there can skim off enough for them to free their goats and live the American Dream...."

"NATIONAL ANTHEM: Change to the "Black National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson...."

At the end of his column May challenged Obama to meet him on "County Talk," a Friday morning talk show on radio station WMJD 100.7 in Grundy VA. It seems Mr. May is quite the local mover and shaker in Buchanan County Republican circles: In addition to his work with The Voice and WMJD, he has also appeared in the Virginia Mountaineer with other local Republican leaders.

Complaints and expressions of disgust at Mr. May's comments can and should be directed to the following:

McCain national campaign: info@johnmccain.com

McCain Virginia campaign virginia@johnmccain.com

Republican National Committee (Mike Duncan, Chair): chairman@gop.com

Virginia Republican Party: info@rpv.org

Buchanan County Republican Party (Jerry M. Lester, Chair): bcrp@naxs.net & jelester@mtinter.net / tel. 276-935-4764 or 276-935-5483

WMJD radio: info@wmjd.org / tel. 276-935-7227 ("County Talk," Fridays 10-11 a.m. EST)

The Voice: voice@mikrotecwildblue.com / tel. 276-881-8886

Bobby May: bobbyleemay@yahoo.com / tel. 276-566-8788

This story has already attracted the attention of the Los Angeles Times and blogs such as the Daily Kos, and with lots of further attention could become a major embarrassment to the GOP and the McCain campaign. The GOP and the McCain campaign should be pressed to acknowledge Mr. May's statements, to condemn and apologize for them, and to remove Mr. May from any official party or campaign role.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

It begins.

Porter Mason — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:19:27 EDT

So here's the basic deal:

I was born in Virginia Beach.
I now live in Brooklyn.
Barack Obama is running for president.
I left my full-time job in the Spring so that I'd have the freedom to use my time as I saw fit.
I am able to volunteer full-time for Obama from now up until the election.
So I'm doing it.
Despite not having voted for a Democrat for the presidency since 1964, people seem to think Virginia's thinking about going blue this year.
That's effing awesome.
So I attended a Camp Obama in Harlem, got trained to be a Deputy Field Organizer, and will start working in Virginia Beach tomorrow.
The Amtrak schedule has me leaving at 3am, which is ridiculous.

I assume I actually won't have much time to update this, but I wanted to sort of log what I'll be doing, and keep you folks who are interested up to date.

Feel free to ask questions. I'll do my best to keep up.

And please:

Richmond To Play Host to VP Debate Winner, Senator Joe Biden, Sunday, October 5th

Shawn O'Donnell — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:56:21 EDT

Richmond To Play Host to VP Debate Winner, Senator Joe Biden, Sunday, October 5th

My Detailed 2008 Election Predictions for All 50 States

Eli Corp — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:44:09 EDT

My Detailed 2008 Presidential Election Predictions!

You can check out your own state and see how every demographic group will likely break down in this election.

Today I made some minor changes to my predictions after news broke that McCain was abandoning his Michigan campaign, and putting resources into Indiana and Pennsylvania. I also made some very minor changes to Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio after looking at some new polling data. These changes were minor and did not change the eventual electoral outcome in any of the states, but instead solidified Obama's lead in those states.

Let me first explain how these election projections were made. Each State was carefully researched for the most recent census and other important demographic data. Using State by State U.S. Census data I broke down the state by Gender, Race, Party Affiliation, Age, Education Level, and Religion.

Using a complex formula I did the following, I created a Demographic profile of individuals. (ex. Men-White-Democrat-18 to 44-College Educated-Catholic) There were about 216 Different Demographic Groups represented.

Next I created a two part formula, the first was issue oriented, the second demographic oriented based on CNN Election 2004 Exit Polls.(http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/) The issues represented a wide variety of issues from Women's Issues, to Urban and Rural Issues, Foreign Policy and Economic Policy. I also included cultural issues such as Gun Rights and Racial Issues.

By answering a series of Yes/No Questions regarding those issues, I assigned specific numerical values to each question either Negative (liberal) or Positive (conservative).

On the Demographic formula I assigned importance based on exit polls from CNN. For instance Party is more important than Age or Gender. Race is more important than Gender etc.

The end result is a formula that is about 90%-95% accurate. I double checked the results against Exit Poll Data from 2004, and they match up remarkably well. Political Party numbers do tend to be under-represented in my formulas but do match up fairly accurately, and do balance out in the end. I used Exit Poll data, and numbers of Democrats and Republicans in the state legislatures to determine likely voter models for each political party.

HERE ARE THE FINAL RESULTS:

I project that Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States!

I project that Barack Obama will win with 338 Electoral Votes to John McCain's 200 Electoral Votes. (270 needed to win)

Obama will win 26 States and the District of Columbia. McCain will win 24 States.

Obama will win 51.12% of the Total Popular Vote; 67,531,664 - 338 Electoral Votes

McCain will win 47.03% of the Total Popular Vote; 62,130,227 - 200 Electoral Votes

Nader, McKinney, Barr and others will win 1.86% of the Vote; 2,451,238 - 0 Electoral Votes

TOTAL VOTES: 132,113,129 - 538 Electoral Votes

Projected difference between Obama and McCain: +4.09%

Obama Projected Wins:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin.

McCain Projected Wins:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia.

Below is a full list of Predictions from every State and Washington DC.

FULL LIST OF EVERY STATE AND WASHINGTON DC WITH NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE:

Here is a full list of all state predictions:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Washington DC

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Virginia Voter Registration Jumps

Dave — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:09:35 EDT

Virginia Voter Registration Jumps, Washington Post (October 2, 2008)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/02/obama_campaign_clears_its_va_v.html

"As it now stands, there have been 163,000 voters added to the rolls during the general election period, for a total of 305,000 new voters since the start of the year. And a few days still remain before the Oct. 6 registration deadline. That compares with 210,000 new voters who were added between the start of 2004 and Oct. 1 of that year."

"The Obama campaign has been estimating that 80 percent of the new voters are Obama supporters, and that they'll turn out at a rate of about 75 percent, which the campaign predicts could mean about a 1.75 percent boost on Election Day. That's enough to make a difference in a close race -- but not nearly enough to close the full 8 point gap that Bush enjoyed (in the 2004 Virginia Presidential voting)."

Sounds like the hard work growing democracy is having a significant impact in Obama's favor! Lets keep pushing through Monday, October 6th.

Dave

Washington Post - Registration Gains Favor Democrats

Republicans acknowledge the challenge but say Obama still has to prove he can get the new voters to the polls.

"The machine that has been put in place by the Democrats is effective. They have a lot of people holding clipboards," said Brian K. Krolicki (R) , the lieutenant governor of Nevada. But he added: "There's a difference between successful registration and a groundswell. It's mechanics versus momentum."

I say let's prove them wrong and get the vote out on November 4th!

34 Days to the Election... What are our priorities???

Dave — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:47:46 EDT

Dear Friends,

It’s been a couple days since the first McCain/Obama debate, and it time to reflect on the debate's result. I listened to the debate on the radio, and like many Obama supporters, heard McCain make numerous aggressive attacks on Obama while Barack held his fire in response. Why didn't Obama counter-punch?

The answer appears to be in the polls taken in the immediate aftermath of the debate which show Obama performed well, as voters increasingly saw him as "Presidential" after the debate. It is those nervous undecided Hillary, Independents, and Republican leaners that Obama was seeking to influence, not the hard core Democrat or Republican voters who are already on one side of the ledger or another. The subsequent polls show Obama building a more substantial lead over McCain (4-8% nationally), and it doesn't hurt that McCain and Palin continue to inflict an endless number of gaffs and il-considered ploys since the debate.

Virginia appears to be leaning towards Obama, but Obama's lead in the Virginia Presidential election continues to be razor thin. A close view of the polls indicates the events of the last week have shaken the confidence voters who, until recently, were marginally leaning towards McCain/Palin. Anecdotally, I found a large increase in the number of undecided voters this past weekend over the previous four weekends I have canvassed in Gloucester County.

It is hugely important that the Obama campaign (e.g. that is you and I) reach out to these new undecided voters RIGHT NOW while they are in a mindset to hear Obama's message. We need to be compassionate with these newly minted undecided voters. They drank the Kool-aid in 2000 and 2004 (and maybe back through the Reagan years), believing the Karl Rove distortions on the Iraq war and the economy, believing that giving huge amounts of money to the richest 1% will somehow help main street. They are confused and shaken, and need to be guided gently into voting for Obama.

Side Bar: A Crisis of Faith - Slow Rise for a New Era, Harold Meyerson, Washington Post

I did not understand it at first, but Obama was speaking to these undecided voters in the first debate, coming across convincingly as a confident, poised, and thoughtful Presidential candidate. Obama gave us this opportunity; I encourage the Obama volunteers make the most of Obama's debate performance to engage our newly undecided neighbors and shepherd them into the Obama camp. With only 34 days until the election, I encourage everyone to redouble your efforts to reach out to voters: Call, Canvas, and Write for the campaign, and speak your neighbors. Last, and not least, DONATE to the campaign (Obama needs your contribution now more than ever)!

If Obama wins Virginia, he will very likely win the Presidential election!

Virginia's Democratic Electoral College

Michael Khandelwal — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:15:47 EDT

Virginia's 13 Democratic Electors have set up a website: www.VirginiaElectoralCollege.org. Please visit our site to learn more about the Electoral College nationwide and in Virginia, Virginia's Democratic candidates, your Democratic Electors, voting in Virginia, and upcoming events—and find out how you can help us turn Virginia blue this November!

The rally -- the revolt -- the rain

lea — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:17:42 EDT

On saturday the 27th of september we had a rally for Obama in my home town of Fredericksburg, Va.

I dislike crowds so I had my reservation but I considered the importance of this election and I had hopes to see the candidates close up.

When I left home, half mile from the campus where the rally was held I noticed an unusual volume of traffic and by the time I reached the area parking had become scarse.

I went to a friend house nearby and her husband dropped us off. By then the line to get in the main entrance went around the campus and around the block to the rear entrance.
We decided to bypass and walked straight to the entrance, walked over grassy area and reached the first barrier where I told the young college student I was a member of the group and a volunteer, she let us pass only to find another barrier 30 feet away where people had gathered but the college police would not allow anyone to go through.

The stage was 100 feet away and large tents in the way prevented an open view of it.

At this time we were in good spirits but...I wondered about those people still in line and visibly with no possibility to get any closer, yet unaware that paths had been blocked and there was no room for the 500 people still waiting.

Later I was told by my daughter who had come late and stood in line that when finally after few hours in hearing someone speak on the stage those in line had attempted to go over the barrier at the entrance by the road, but the secret service had pulled their guns out and told them to return to the sidewalk.
She had left at this point and went home.

It was now 6 pm, one hour late for the candidates to appear and rain clouds begin the gather overhead, soon a gentle rain began to fall and the few that had umbrella were suddenly making close friends with those of us who did'nt.

It was kind of fun, we had good music and at times we chanted fired up...others answering ready to go...I was soaked and those with blouses were revealing more than they wanted to.

Hairdos began to dribble and the man selling Obama's hats suddenly was very happy, business was brisk.

One hour of rain later it stopped, still no sign of Obama, the rally was still on and we looked like wet bunnies.

Finally we saw the press corp appear, clouds began to gather again and I was crampy from being cramped and no room to stretch.

When the duo entered the stage a big cry of salutation went up from the crowd , I think I also heard a note of relief after the long wait.

Biden spoke first to various roars of approval and when Obama was finally formally introduced the roar reached new heights and shattered the rain drops that had begin to fall again in to a mist.

At this point being able to see only a small segment of his shirt and since cramps in my arm and leg felt stronger I decided to leave rather than cause an interrution to the rally by screaming in pain.

By carefully stepping on few feet I managed to extricate myself from the literally body suit all around me and found the path to freedom.

As I walked back to the entrance I could hear Obama's strong voice rise above the campus and reaching far and wide in the night to all corners of this small town and the hearts and minds of all people in the country.

Walking in the rain wet and drenched among others moving in various directions to find their cars or a place to dry up, I found solace in the assurance that tomorrow the sun will rise, that hope still lives in our hearts and the country is moving swiftly toward a brighter day.

Report from Camp Obama

Parker, Virginia for Obama — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:11:51 EDT

Today I attended a training with the Virginia for Obama team. Well it was a long, long day but boy do these Obama staffers have their act together! We got school-ed and ready for the field. So what's in store for this Deputy Field Organizer, you ask? Lots of phone banking, volunteer recruitment, canvassing, staging field offices and of course the final GOTV efforts (Get out the vote!) the week leading up to the election.

After the training was over, I scurried on home to get started...I sent out a few reminder emails to encourage friends and family to volunteer at a local phone bank or help with voter registration in the next week. Then I set up this nifty blog and fundraising page. It was easy - you can do it too!

Yard Signs for Virginians

Patsy — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:31:47 EDT

I know people in other states and communities may find this silly, but yard signs in Virginia are a BIG DEAL. My husband and I have been wondering why we don't see any Obama signs this close to the election. I found out that the campaign says "signs don't vote." They don't but they do influence others to VOTE. They help bolster and reinforce people who are leaning toward Obama. I think the response of Kevin Girffis to requests for yard signs in Virginia is arrogant and STUPID. The race is very tight. We need all the help we can get. This state does not vote democratic in presidential elections. Well you can cut off your nose to spite your face if you want, but I want to WIN. Please make signs available immediately. Take some of your TV ad dollars and make signs available for FREE from your local precint offices. This is your's to lose. But if you lose, we all lose.

Turning Virginia Blue

asdaf — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:49:09 EDT

Late last evening a friend sent me the raw data from the latest Washington Post/ABC presidential poll, showing that Senators Obama and Biden are widening their lead in the presidential campaign. I woke up this morning with hope for the first time since the financial system started its seemingly-unending convulsions. I truly believe Senator Obama is the person to see us through this ongoing crisis.

And I'm happy to say that here in Virginia, I'm not alone.

Granny Goes Viral - Viral Video, That Is!

Brady — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:36:18 EDT

Well - it's full steam ahead for my grandmother and her blog. She is consistently posting thoughts to her webiste at 85andchange.com, and her fan base keeps growing. She continues to receive great feedback from old and young. Everyone seems to be so appreciative that a senior citizen has spoken up and made it easier for other senior citizens to fall in line. As we saw in the numbers today - senior citizens are really starting to break for Barack Obama and Joe Biden! Others have said how they are so grateful that she has provided them a way to bridge a gap between grandparents and grandchildren and given them something to talk about with each other.

And if writing on her blog was not enough - she now has a video, too! You can find her video at her website (85andchange.com) or you can find it on You Tube! My smart, hip grandmother speaks up any chance she has and lets people know they are never to old - or young - for change!

Just this week, Granny Gobama met a couple influential people - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend & Alice Travis Germond - not to mention Heather Tom, as well! Meeting all of these women was a thrill for her. She found Kathleen Kennedy to be a thoughtful and inspiring speaker, and Alice Germond to be so enthusiastic and energetic.

Please take a moment to visit her site and pass the link on to anyone who may read (or watch) about why it is important for seniors, and everyone, to think long and hard about this important upcoming election - and why they should seriously consider voting for Barack Obama!

Obama Ahead in the Latest Virginia Poll, 49% vs. 46% for McCain!!!

Dave — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:04:18 EDT

Hi Folks,

OK, the first really positive poll numbers, really historic. Now is the time to double down on our efforts, and sprint to the finish.

I keep telling myself that, as much as I am angry with Bush and McCain, I must appeal to the better angels of our neighbors when discussing the issues. This election is about bringing economic and social justice to our citizens, and a tenacious defense of the freedoms embodied in the Constitution.

Failure is not an option!

Dave

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content//article/2008/09/22/AR2008092201964.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/va_obama_49_mccain_46_abcpost9.php?loc=interstitialskip

September 22, 2008

VA: Obama 49, McCain 46 (ABCPost-9/18-21)

By Eric Dienstfrey

ABC News / Washington Post
9/18-21/08; 857 RV, 698 LV, 3.5%
Mode: Live Telephone Interviews
(ABC story, results; Post story, results)

Virginia

Likely Voters:
Obama 49, McCain 46

Registered Voters:
Obama 50, McCain 44

More on how the sample technique of using traditional phone land lines, and not including voters with cell phones, may undercount Obama voters:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/25/study_omitting_cell_phone_users_may_affect_polls/

Family of Obama Backers

brandon — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:00:39 EDT

Dear Barack and Supporters:

There was a very inspiring article, Obama Backers from DC Go West, by David Nakamura in the Washington Post this past Sunday. It was about DC volunteers who answered Barack's call to get people registered to vote in Virginia. The article spoke of volunteer, Aaron Johnson, a Howard University student, avid Obama supporter and my cousin!! I wanted you to know that entire families are making enormous efforts to support you. As my cousin, Aaron, volunteered, my aunt in that same part of Virginia set up a phone bank in her home for volunteers to make calls on your behalf, my step mother works diligently for your housing committee, my 15 year old sister, though to young to vote, follows your campaign, and I have gone door to door to tell people why I will vote for you. In the primary election I actually changed an undecided woman's mind. By listening to her concerns about broken communities and unsafe streets for her children, I explained how your wife is apart of the National Student Partnership Organization. I told her that young children just like hers volunteer to help people find jobs, and other resources, which not only helps those in need but it teaches children from a young age to have a responsibly for their community's prosperity. This woman's eyes lit up as if that was the information she needed to make her final decision to vote for you.

The article in the Washington Post was my inspiration for writing, but you are our inspiration for giving them something to write about. Continue to break new ground through your integrity, intelligence and compassion! As you are for us, we are here for you!

Obama Backers Go West - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/20/AR2008092002059.html?hpid=topnews

Obama/Biden Weekly Videos (09-20-08)

Stephanie Williams — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:00:10 EDT

New Videos from BarackObamadotcom

Build Democracy - Register New Voters!

Dave — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:25:57 EDT

Over 283,000 new voters have been added to the Virigina Rolls this Year
Washingtonpost, September 17, 2008

* 62 percent of new voters are younger than 35, and 42 percent are younger than 25, according to the state numbers.

* In almost every county and city with a history of supporting Democratic presidential candidates, the number of registered voters has increased by about 10 percent since Jan. 1.

* Counties that have voted Republican recently are registering much lower percentages of voters, the statistics show.

* In 2004, Bush won Virginia by 262,000 votes (1,716,959 for Bush, 1,454,742 for Kerry) Election Wiki

* Before McCain made statement earlier this week that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" and 3 hours later, "the economy is in crisis," McCain had a small 2.3% lead in the polls of likely voters according to RealClearPolitics.

We have until October 6, 2008, to help build the foundation of voters that gives Obama a win in Virginia. We are soo close, so DO NOT take "no" for an answer when you encounter an unregistered person who thinks their vote won't count. Remind them about 2000 in Florida, were Bush won the state by 500 votes giving us what turned out to be 8 years of a failed G.W. Bush administration.

Low on Supplies!

Jay — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:16:08 EDT

Looks like Obama Offices all over Virginia are low on supplies if not out. While this is unusual, I have heard that national demand is exceeding supplies. I agree that the Campaign needs to put some money behind getting bumper stickers and yard signs out here. However, there is plenty we can do right now. A lot of people have been wondering what to do about it so I have a short list of ideas:

Get together with some friends and fellow supporters (or your local Democratic Committee) and put together money you would otherwise donate to the campaign and put it towards a massive order of supplies for your area.
Call up everyone you know in traditional blue states and see if they'll meet with their local Democratic Committees and put together money or supplies to send your way.
If all else fails, let's road trip to New England and steal their yardsigns. Haha, kidding.

Seriously, get in touch with people. I know many of you are active but consider who you need to talk to to get supplies moving. They might take a couple weeks to get to you but those McCain stickers will fade away in an ocean of blue Obama stickers as soon as we get our stuff.

Good luck, Virginia! (And share supplies if you happen to have extras.)

Joe Biden to visit Castlewood on 9/20

SWVA4Obama — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:51:40 EDT

Read more here: http://swva4obama.wordpress.com/

Also, please help spread the word about the website - forward the link to your friends, family and fellow Obama supporters. Please encourage them to interact and discuss the issues.

Yes, Virginia, we can go Democratic!

David from Bellingham, WA — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:36:49 EDT

With the Palin star waning, and the media bump gone, Americans are focusing on the real issues that plaque this nation. Such as a floundering economy that McCain says is "fundamentally strong".

To echo Dennis Kucinich, "WAKE UP, AMERICA". Let's stop talking about hunting moose and talk about corporate meltdowns! Thanks Obama and Biden for helping keep this election on point.

I will be leaving my home state of Washington,in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and will be visiting family in Virginia in early November. VA is my real home state.

I want nothing more than to see VA go for Barack Obama. So I have contacted the campaign in Virginia to see what I can do on Nov 4th. Drive folks to the polls? Poll watcher? I'll be there to lend a hand, Virginia...

Prediction: Democrats in a Landslide; Obama only by 4 Electoral Votes, 17 Sep 2008

George Beddoe — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:14:24 EDT

Until the Presidential debates clarify the picture, I am predicting that Democrats nation-wide will win Senate, House, and Governor races by a landslide. Unfortunately, Sen. Obama may win by only four electoral votes due to deep-seated racism and the perception that he is too liberal.

Obama and Biden are back on the offensive due to McCain’s gaffes and Palin’s persistent lies. Barack could help his cause by emoting a little but not too much. Joe Biden is good at that.

The Republicans are running on an empty tank with nothing new to say. They have been done in by eight years of George W. Bush and Lon, er Dick Chaney. More later. George

Gov. Tim Kaine Tells DPVA Path To Victory 2008 - WIN VIRGINIA!

Shawn O'Donnell — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:48:48 EDT

Click here to read and watch - Gov. Tim Kaine Tells DPVA Path To Victory 2008 - WIN VIRGINIA!

Obama Will Win Virginia

Lewis — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:11:45 EDT

Look Out Now-- New Folks Are Comin' to the Process: Increases in the percentages of young voters and African-American voters will push Obama over the top. In 2004, Kerry garnered 45% of the vote, losing to George Bush by 260,000 votes. But since the 2004 election, 456,000 eighteen year olds, way more than the spread between Kerry and Bush, have reached voting age. Some of the latest VA polls show Obama winning 60% of the youth vote; if those percentages hold and Obama is even able to register and turn out 20% of those newly registered young voters, then he decreases Bush's lead by about 50,000 plus votes. On top of that, the CDC estimates that we have about 2 million deaths a year, with most of those being individuals 65 years old and older, McCain's age group (don't have the specific number for Virginia, but VA has a lot of older veterans). Keep in mind, these numbers are based solely on those who have reached 18 that were living in Virginia in 2004. It does not include all of the young people between 18-34, Obama's principal age group, who have moved to Virginia since 2004 because they have started school here or begun working in the area .
But there is even more reason to be optimistic. As stated before, Kerry lost Virginia by 260,000 votes. Today, there are 965,000 eligible African-American voters in VA!!! If 60% of those persons vote and Obama takes 87% of the vote as Kerry did in 2004, Obama cuts into McCain's lead by about 38,000 votes (this calculation is based, in part, on the number of AA's that voted in 2004 in VA). And those numbers are conservative. According to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Black turnout in Virginia in 2004 was low, accounting for only 50% of the African-American voting age population. Given the regular voting trend increases and the excitement surrounding Obama's candidacy, that number is likely to be higher. Between 2000 and 2004, the African-American share of the overall vote totals increased by 5% from 16% to 21%. Obama estimated that African-American turnout would increase by about 30%, minimum, nationwide. More conservative estimates from the Jointer Center for Political and Economic Studies predicts that turnout will increase by 20% nationwide. Considering these estimates and the Obama camp's intense voter registrations and turnout efforts in the AA community in Virginia as well as the previously low participation of Virginia Blacks, it is not out of the question to assume that the Black share of the overall vote in Virginia will increase between 12-15%. Even a 10% net increase in the Black share of the voting totals in 2008 would net Obama enough votes to erase Bush's margin over Kerry. In addition, we can expect that Obama will likely garner more like 90% of the Black vote like Gore, since he garnered that much against Hillary, 74% of Blacks identify themselves as Democrats, and Obama will more than likely get a significant amount of African-American cross-over vote. Moreover, the number one issue, the economy, is weighing heavily on African-Americans. Forty-two percent of Blacks have said that the economy is the number one election issue; 65% have said it is in the top three of the election issues.
Nevertheless, i should point out that just as the Black and youth vote will increase, so will the white vote, perhaps limiting somewhat Obama's gains ( a recent poll showed Obama losing the white VA vote by 19 points). Notwithstanding these increases, Obama is likely to get a significant bump, especially since a large part of these increases will probably be due to the increase in the white population in Northern and Central Virginia, voting groups thought to favor Obama.
It's the Economy Stupid: In 2004, 79% of those who said the economy was the number one issue voted for Kerry; of those who said terrorism was the number one issue, 88% voted for Bush. Of those who said their economic situation was worse, 86% voted for Kerry. Of those who said their situations were the same or better, 49% and 82%, respectively, voted for Bush. These data show that by overwhelming margins those who were concerned about the economy voted for Kerry. So, why did Kerry lose? Because only 17% of Virginians in 2004 thought the economy was the number one issue and only 21% of Virginians thought their financial situations were worse off. By contrast, 22% believed terrorism was the number one issue and 72% were "worried" about terrorism. This time those numbers are likely to be reversed. If the economy ranks number one, more people are worse off than they were, and McCain is not seen as any better at handling the economy than Bush, then Obama is likely to gain more votes than Kerry even if the electorate in VA stays the same as in 2004. However, one worrisome spot for Obama is that in 2004 an equal number of voters saw terrorism and "moral values" (i.e. evangelicals) as being the number one issue. [Enter stage Extreme Right Sarah "the proselytizer" Palin].

He's Skinny But He's Strong: Even after the Republican convention, Obama is polling ahead of where he has been polling nationally and where he has been polling in other battleground states. This suggests that his support here is not weak as in places like MT where he was running ahead of McCain but suddenly found himself down by 20 after the Repulsive-can convention. Virginia is one of the only states where Obama's numbers have increased since the convention.

Reading is Fundamental: This sounds weird but hear me out. The Washington Post has a huge circulation here in VA. Overall, the post reaches over 1 million people a day. I was reading the Post the other day and all of the editorials on McCain were negative. Plus, the Post is one of the few papers that have done in-depth, somewhat negative pieces on Palin and McCain. Here's my point, unlike other states where McCain may be able to get away with saying crazy things without the state's voters being made aware of it, here the Washington Post, for the most part, has been and will likely continue to keep McCain honest. Virginia is lucky to have a hometown newspaper, of sorts, that is financially able to do good reporting.

Let Me Go Ahead and Conclude This Thing: Putting all of these things together plus the fact that Obama has spent so much time here I think Obama will take the state. And if he takes the state, he wins. As I have said before, if Obama takes all of Kerry's states plus Iowa and New Mexico, he nets 264 of the required 270 electoral votes. Virginia has 13 electoral votes. If you take away New Mexico and NH, both of which have shown McCain and Obama alternatively taking the lead, Virginia still puts him over the top. Virginia is so crucial.

One More Thing: By the way, i was wondering why Obama was spending so much time in Missouri even though he has been polling behind consistently by a statistically significant margin. This may be the reason. In 2004, Missouri had an extremely high turnout rate amongst African-Americans. 73% of African-americans turned out during that election. That number eclipsed the percentage of white turnout during the election. The same was true of North Carolina, which might explain why Obama is still battling it out there.

You Ignorant Liberal...

Shane — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:48:20 EDT

Obama is everything the Democrats have been waiting for, and we're all right to feel empowered, enthused, and confident about our candidate. BUT WE ABSOLUTELY, IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM, HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE HE WILL ACTUALLY MAKE IT INTO OFFICE. You think the average American has had enough of Bush's lies? Well, you're lying to yourself.

Just like Gore and Kerry before him, Obama is having to battle the deception and manipulation that the Republican party exerts over the American people. Moreover, obstacles like voter caging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caging_list, voting location inaccessibility, and voter count manipulations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_election_recount will make it even more difficult for Obama to get elected.

Like the 2000 and 2004 elections preceding it, this presidency will be decided by a narrow margin. In order to make sure Obama not only gets the votes he needs to legally win, but gets enough votes to beat the "Republican spread," we HAVE to get involved. There is no exception. If we don't, we WILL NOT win.

Yard Signs & Sarah Palin, 16 Sep 2008

George Beddoe — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:47:30 EDT

Obama supporters are clamoring for campaign materials like yard signs and auto stickers. Is the campaign planning to sell these through November 4, or are there going to some supplied to each office? Voters are used to having these supplied free. This is an important component of political campaigns, more important than the other work all of these Obama offices are doing.

Sarah Palin is a proven bold-faced liar and should be ignored by the candidates and other Democrats, except to counter lies she has the amazing chutzpah to continue to repeat. Republicans apparently do not think telling the truth or personal integrity is very important, or they would reject her out of hand. More later.

George

Republican Former Governor of Virginia Endorses Obama

jgabriel — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:21:29 EDT

Good news coming out of Virginia tonight:

Virginia's first Republican governor since Reconstruction and its first lady will campaign for Democratic president candidate Barack Obama in southwest Virginia.

Former Governor Linwood Holton is the father-in-law of Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the first governor outside of Obama's home state of Illinois to endorse the senator.

Holton will campaign on Obama's behalf with his daughter, First Lady Anne Holton, today and tomorrow. They will visit Wise, Abingdon, Galax, Wytheville, Christiansburg and Roanoke.

Sarah Palin Did Not Come to My Virginia Town Hall Meeting

Janis from Richardsville, VA — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:54:01 EDT

The Governor of Alaska was a no-show.

There was no evidence of her anywhere - no snazzy rimless spectacles, no snow machines, no bridges to anywhere, no wolves' paws, no moose (on the hoof or in burgers). Heck, I live in the boonies -- there was hardly even any lipstick on the women, let alone farm animals.

I live in a red, red part of Virginia and we held our first Obama town hall meeting on the evening that John McCain gave his acceptance speech at the RNC convention. September 4th -- It was the very height of Sarah Palin fever -- she was eclipsing everything, not a tv channel on the dial was immune from the visage of the perky Governor. With a storm surge the equal of a Cat 4 hurricane, Palin had overtopped the airwaves at every turn. But not here. Not in this small town.

This is the short, but instructive, story about how Sarah Palin did not make an appearance in Culpeper, Virginia and why that is so important.

My First Blog, 14 Sep 2008

George Beddoe — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:21:03 EDT

I started supporting Barack Obama when I saw his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. When he announced his entrance into the 2008 Presidential campaign, I read first, The Audacity of Hope and then Dreams from My Father, in between listening to his early primary speeches.

I had voted for John McCain in the 2000 primary because I knew that George W. Bush couldn’t hack the job, and the Democrat, V.P. Al Gore, didn’t need my help in the Virginia primary. Gore won the election only to have the victory snatched away.

I didn’t sign on to the Obama web page until about Feb. 1, 2008, a month before Super Tuesday. I immediately started donating money to his campaign, the first time in my life I have ever given any political campaign money, and now I am almost at the $1,000 mark, not too bad for a retired person with family, including a grown handicapped son, living on a fixed income in a down economy.

The more I do the more I want to do and the time is drawing near. The local newspaper, The Free Lance-Star, has a policy of allowing only one letter a month per person, and I’ve used my time this month. The Washington Post publishes only a select few letters, although I have tried.

First, a little about me. I am 65½, white, of English descent, and retired, in other words an aging, retired WASP, who has lived in the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, since late 1989, in Virginia since 1971 plus a short stint in 1944-45. My first career after graduate school was teaching history and government in senior high school back in the 60s. I worked for a private military school for a year, then in the Florida public schools for four years. I left teaching not because I didn’t love it but because I ran into a John Birch Society buzz saw in Orlando where the School Board of Orange County was controlled by this right wing extremist group, and the Chairman’s daughter was one of my students. This was serious Nam time and there was a minor riot on my campus, which the administration had to find scapegoats to blame. Although I had nothing to do with the students’ actions, I didn’t get fired, but my tenure application after three years was denied. Rather than fight, I left for a better job in Washington. I was hired as a management intern in the Department of Defense at the GS-9 level, and rather quickly rose to a Grade 15 position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. After 28 years in that bureaucracy, I retired, going to work, after taking a couple years break, as a church administrator, where I labored for over five years, my third career. Now, in retirement, I am writing a book about my family history.

I had enough experience in the Office of Secretary of Defense to gain a good idea of how Washington and the White House works, and I didn’t like what I saw. It needed changing worse than a baby with day-old diapers. I worked closely enough with political appointees to understand they often were not appointed for their competence but for payoff. I could go into great detail here how it affected both parties. At the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary level, the doors swung about every two years or so, with most appointees leaving for much higher paying jobs in the defense industry, not because they were competent, but because they had been good at networking and had contacts and some influence. I see Barack as the beginning of the answer to the change needed. Not only were appointees not qualified, but the whole system in all Federal Departments and Agencies was fighting corruption.

I just finished reading Christopher Buckley’s 2007 satire, Boomsday. Chris is William F. Buckley, Jr.’s son and is a wonderfully funny writer. This book is ostensibly about reforming the social security system, but it really is a remarkably true story about how Washington works, and how it works is outrageous. Barack can change this picture.

Enough about me for now.

This campaign is approaching completion and it is about tied in the Electoral College and the popular vote, and Virginia is a key swing state this year. Barack should be ahead by at least 10 points, but, face it, folks, he is black. We cannot deny the continued racism in these United States. And there is the perception that he is too liberal. I am and have always been a moderate Democrat, mostly inspired by social justice issues, and this is exactly where I see Barack, as a moderate inspired by social justice issues, along with the economic, energy, and foreign policy issues where he is so strong. It is extremely rare to see someone with his education, intelligence, and energy so committed and involved. I see him as one of the great statesmen of the world in the 21st Century, if only this country can get beyond extremism and racism.

I hope his campaign has reserved enough money to lock up 30 minutes of prime time TV on Monday, November 3, for Barack to have a fireside chat talking from the heart without notes with America. Book NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, MSNBC, CNN for 30 minutes at 7:30 p.m. local time in each time zone. His knowledge, sincerity, and straight forward, non-professorial talk the night before election day could swing the tide. The country needs CHANGE and it will come through a Democratic Party landslide on all levels. More later.

George

Vets for Obama T-Shirts

Disabled Vet 2000 — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:20:03 EDT

If you live in South Hampton Roads and want a Veterans for Obama 08 T-Shirt please send your order to LearningInspire@gmail.com. I am putting in the order in a few days. The shirts are Navy Blue. Include your name, phone number, and email with your order so I can reach you when they come in to arrange pick-up and payment.

T-Shirts are 100% Cotton, Union Printed, and come in sizes S, M, L, XL, 2X please specify size and number of shirts.

We need your help buying yard signs - and other Veterans for Obama chum - please donate at:

ActBlue — Virginia Veterans for Obama

and ask others to do the same by writing a personal note with the link and forwarding to those you know supporting Obama.

If everyone raised $100 from people they know we would have a good chance of meeting our goal and having the Veterans for Obama yard signs, buttons, and bumperstickers you've been asking for!

Thank You!

Stephanie Marushia

757-650-6393

Region 5 Director Virginia Veterans for Obama

Hampton Roads Veterans & Military Families for Obama

MUST WIN STATES!!(LISTEN UP!!)

JZ — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:19:52 EDT

IF WE WANT THIS MAN TO BE PRESIDENT, WE MUST HIGHLY FOCUS ON THESE STATES(NUMBER 1 BEING THE MOST IMPORTANT):
1.COLORADO - 9 EV(RCP AVERAGE +2.3 OBAMA).CHOOSING DENVER AS THE DNC WAS A GREAT IDEA,BUT WE MUST PRESS ON BECAUSE THIS STATE AND NEW MEXICO IS PLAN B IF OHIO OR VIRGINIA DOESN'T DELIVER.
2.NEW MEXICO - 5 EV(RCP AVERAGE +2.3 OBAMA).I MENTIONED COLORADO IS A MUST WIN STATE, WELL NEW MEXICO IS JUST AS IMPORTANT. THERE IS NO PLAN B WITHOUT NEW MEXICO BEING FOR OBAMA. SO FAR THE TIDE IN NEW MEXICO IS A BIT ON OBAMA'S SIDE AND TENDS TO LEAN DEMOCRATIC AT TIMES BUT WE SHOULDN'T SLEEP ON IT.
3.NEW HAMSHIRE - 4 EV(RCP AVERAGE +3.3 OBAMA)ALTHOUGH ITS A BLUE STATE, IT WAS THE STATE THAT RESUCITATED MCCAIN'S PRIMARY ELECTION AND GAVE BUSH A "V" IN 2000 GENERAL ELECTION.
4.PENNSYLVANIA - 21 EV(RCP AVG. +2.3 OBAMA)KEEP HER BLUE!!! OR ELSE!!

SO!!!!!.....IF YOU'RE FROM COLORADO OR NEW MEXICO OR FROM ALL THESE STATES I'VE MENTIONED, GET TO WORK!!! I KNOW WE ALL GOT RESPONSIBILITIES AND OUR COST OF LIVING KEEPS RISING EVERYDAY...BUT IF YOU DON'T SACRIFICE A FEW HOURS A DAY IN MAKING THIS ELECTION HAPPEN, THEN THOSE HOURS THAT YOU DIDN'T PUT IN COULD TURN INTO A FEW YEARS OF MORE BITTERNESS. THINK ABOUT IT..FEW HOURS OF DEDICATION OR FEW MORE YEARS OF THE SAME AND EVEN WORSE..IF I WHERE IN COLORADO OR NEW MEXICO, I'D BE CAMPAINING LIKE IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT...

Help In Other/Swing States by Phone

MJ from Los Angeles, CA — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:27:35 EDT

I am trying to initiate the option for out of state callers in states like mine, CA, that are solid, to help in the swing states through calls.
Here's a suggestion!

Perhaps we can get involved by making calls in on behalf of/ in connection with swing states' local events, like phone banks, and have access to the call lists from elsewhere? (Outside of our own state.)

I would suggest promoting this feature if it can be allowed. I would be more motivated to call Virginians, for instance, than Californians.

It seems like a way to get an army of loyalists to work remotely to the zones that need work. You could even link it to Skype so it's cheaper than normal calls.

We're computer saavy! Let's use the net to join forces and hit the swing states!

Thoughts? Other ideas?

Meredith Offen
mjoffen@yahoo.com

Surge Success - Blue Troops Gaining Ground in VA

Riley Murray — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:20:22 EDT

cross-posted Blue Ridge Data

Obama's Field General in Virginia, Mitch Stewart, is seeing solid statistical success from the aggressive surge of his blue troopers across the state. The count of Forward Operating Bases (local Virginia Obama HQ's) has recently topped 41.

From WashPo "State election officials told the [Obama] campaign Friday [9/5/08] that 49,000 new voters signed up in August, a sharp increase from the 36,500 who signed up in July and the 28,000 who registered in June."

"...the August gain puts the Obama campaign very much on track toward its goal of signing up 150,000 new voters by the early October voter registration deadline, on top of the 142,000 new voters who registered during primary season."

"... [new voters]could add up to about 1.75 percent of the anticipated state vote... "

"Nationally, more than 2 million Democrats have been added to the rolls in the 28 states that register voters according to party affiliation, according to the Associated Press. Republicans have lost nearly 344,000 thousand voters in the same states during the same period."

When was the last time Barack stated YES WE CAN???

Lee — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:46:35 EDT

ANYONE who reads this, if you could please pass this along and hopefully we can get the attention of HQ.

I am of the belief, with only 55 days left in the race, that Barack needs to bring back the Intensity and Inspiration that attracted most of us to him in the first place. You see on cable, Palin and McCain have huge crowds of thousands where ever they go, they are doing what Obama used to do on a daily basis. Inspriring American and creating a momentum and wave of spirit all over the country.

If you see YouTube, watch some of the rallies and gatherings Obama was doing in the Primaries. LETS GET BACK TO THE BASICS THAT BROUGHT US TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY. Tommorrow and every single day until the election, we must bring back "YES WE CAN". "HOPE" "CHANGE".

What the McCain campaign cannot compete with is bringing back our Inspiration of thousands chanting YES WE CAN. The McCain attacks are exactly what Barack said we would face. The same old Republican scare tactics, multiple ads running every day, playing same old Politics games.

What we all loved about Obama is that his campaign is built on us, the people, and changing the ways of the dirty politics. The way he needs to come back is to bring back the INSPIRATION OF CHANGE and fight against this typical Republican attack machine that we all have been warned about. Just stop for a second and think, as the McCain machine keeps rolling over us, he is sitting in his "Straight Talk Express" just laughing and smiling as he "makes fun" of Obama, smears him, jumps on every word he says. When, who he is really making fun of is US, as this campaign is built by the people.

So, how Obama says "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH", as the American People that have brought us to where we are today, lets all get out and fight for our leader who is the true canidate of change. John McCain will not be laughing and smiling any longer if Obama starts massive rallies every day and bringing back the inspiration of Hope, Change and YES WE CAN. Day by Day the excitement will continue to build and build and we will be able to drown out the excitement of McCain-Palin. Going and talking in small venues, libraries or companies, is not going to bring back the momentum.

The HQ Team should right now be coordinating and planning huge rallies every day and Barack should go back to his Inspiring Messages he stated that brought all of us onto his team in the 1st place.

Help me to get this message around so we can change the momentum. BACK TO BASICS of what got us here is what will help us WIN. WE MUST. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!! WE CAN GET IT BACK.

YES WE CAN, YES WE MUST!

REMEMBER - FIRED UP - READY TO GO!!!

BRING BACK THE FIRE - IGNOR MCCAIN-PALIN. YOU ARE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THEIR GAME. WHAT "WILL" KNOCK THEM BACK ON THEIR HEELS IS 20,000 PLUS ALL CHANTING "YES WE CAN". THEN 40,000 THEN 60,000..... TO THE PRESIDENCY... IF THE FIREY WORDS AND SPEECHES OF INSPIRATION AND HOPE ARE BROUGHT BACK, MCCAIN CANT COMPETE WITH THAT.

PLEASE GET THIS TO CAMPAIGN HQ AND IN THE RIGHT HANDS!!!!!!

LEE WILCOX FROM CONNECTICUT

The First Post

Tim — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:47:19 EDT

Welcome all! I'm excited to be posting this blog for the next few weeks...I will try to update as much as possible but I'm having a busy season. Anyway, on to the topic... The electoral college is fascinating this year.

I'm going to go ahead and get the "For Sure" States (Strong Obama/McCain) out of the way for each candidate:

STRONG OBAMA: Washington, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine (both districts), and Vermont=183 Electoral Votes
STRONG MCCAIN: Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, and West Virginia=120 Electoral Votes

These states listed above will not be going to the flip candidate under any circumstance. No amount of scandal, no amount of campaigning, no amount of attack ads will switch these states to the other side. Each side will probably make a play for one or two on the other side here (McCain=XSSCleanedvoid(0)">Obama=Georgia, Indiana) but it's not going to work.

Now "Likely" Electoral Votes for each:
LIKELY OBAMA: Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire=59 Electoral Votes
LIKELY MCCAIN: Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina=80 Electoral Votes

Trends put these states in these columns.
-Pennsylvania has voted Democrat in every election since 1992 and, although it is considered a "swing" state, I don't think McCain takes it unless there is a huge turnout in less populous Western PA or he makes a huge push to register blue-collar voters. Eastern Pennsylvania is going to be reliably democratic so it is up to McCain to counter that with the Western part.
-Oregon and Minnesota are a stones throw away from the Strong Category. I don't care what the latest poll says...these two are reliably blue and will continue that trend in this election.
-Iowa has always been strong for Obama and he is starting to solidify a lead there. McCain's stance against ethanol is well-known in Iowa and it is going to hurt him. Many pundits have taken Iowa's "swing state" status away.
-New Hampshire has always been popular for McCain. But there has not been one poll this entire summer with him in the lead. NH borders two of the most liberal states in the entire union and I think Obama will end up winning there easier than some think.
-Polls have shown Montana and North Dakota to be close. I disagree and think they will end up red no matter how close it is.
-Missouri has trended red for the past 3 elections and I don't think they'll vote for Obama.
-Texas is the big prize for Republicans. McCain will get it this election barring an unlikely amount of supporters for Ron Paul or a Democratic initiative to register Latino voters that actually results in Latinos showing up to vote in Texas.
-Obama is trying to get a large amount of Black voters registered in MS, SC and NC. It won't work.

That leaves us with Barack Obama at 242 and John McCain at 200. McCain needs 70 electoral votes and Obama 28.

7 Remaining States are truly "Swing" states and will be the final decision-makers: Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada.

These 7 decide it. No one will be able to make anything other than a guess on any of these all the way up until election day. It's going to be close...my picks will surely change before then but this is how I see them shaping up as of the first week of September:

McCain: Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada
Obama: Michigan, New Mexico

UNDECIDED: Colorado

That gives Obama 264 EVs and McCain 265.

I think Florida and Virginia are the most likely to go red in the swing states. I think Michigan and New Mexico are the most likely to go blue.

Colorado, Ohio, and Nevada....flip a coin. They are definitely 50/50 right now.

Thoughts:
1. Obama supporters in Colorado are very enthusiastic. The state has also trended drastically blue since the 2004 Election. Colorado also has a high-profile senate race between Bob Schaffer (R) and Mark Udall (D). Udall's cousin is running for a Senate seat in New Mexico and is easily going to win. Although his chances aren't as for sure as his cousins, he is the probable winner of this senate race regardless of who wins the electoral votes. BUT if enough people show up to vote for him, Obama has a very good chance.
2. 6 of these 7 Swing States voted for George W. Bush in 2004. This is not a good sign for the GOP. They can realistically only hold on to 5 of the 6 at best. That would be enough to win, which is what they are going for...realism. Obama's camp is expecting no less than 5 of the 7. I think that's generous right now and this could find them in trouble if they don't play it carefully in the next 9 weeks.
3. Virginia has a high-profile senate race this year in which the Democrat is going to romp his opponent from anywhere between 12-22%. If he romps by enough there may be enough there for Obama to ride his coattails to victory in the state.
4. If Ohio goes blue the majority of these swing states will as well. There is no way Ohio goes to the Democrats and states like Michigan and New Mexico go red.
5. A lot of people are writing Florida off because McCain has maintained a lead there. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see it be close again. Not 2000 close, but within a hundred thousand votes or so. Unlike Texas, the Latino population in Florida has trended steadily Democratic this decade and is gaining a tremendous amount of power in the state.
6. In theory, Obama could win this election and not pick any electoral votes from Florida or Ohio. It would be the first time since 1960 that this has happened.
7. Barack Obama gets no less than 259 EVs in this election. McCain gets no more than 279. To win, Barack Obama needs to hold the states Kerry won and gain Iowa (likely), New Mexico, and one of either Ohio, Virginia, Colorado or Florida to win. Or he could just get Nevada and tie and let the House decide. McCain needs to hold on to OH, VA, and FL, which is entirely possible and wouldn't be surprising in the least. Playing the election game in the EC is harder overall for McCain, though, because he will have a limited amount of funds to spend in each state in comparison to Obama, who will have nearly a bottomless bank account to spend in all the states that McCain can't afford to lose. He has to spend more time defending states Bush won in 2004 than Obama does in states Kerry took in the last election...his campaign must use their funds wisely and look closely at each state and go where the best opportunity is. They are more than capable of doing this.

My outlook today has this race coming down to Colorado, where you can honestly not guess a winner right now. The only swing state that both candidates really "need" is Colorado. The winner of that state is definitely the winner of this election.

In the end, though, anyone thinking that this will be a landslide for either candidate is sadly mistaken. The politically polarized atmosphere that we find ourselves breathing in right now does not permit those kind of things. It will be close.

Virginia: Update on Warner

Daniel from Great Falls, VA — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:31:13 EDT

Yesterday the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police (VA FOP) said that they back VA democratic candidate Mark Warner, giving him credit for doing a great job as governor. Warner (who had been discussed as a VP candidate pick) is running for Senator of VA. The VA FOP backing notes the significant momentum the Democratic Party in VA: This is the first time the VA FOP has EVER backed a democratic candidate in the state

This is not the only sign that Virginia is a purple state this year, and Obama's campaign is making a concerted effort to win the state. Yet, I live in VA, and on the way in to class today there were over 30 McCain signs along the road and none for Obama. Warner is an exciting chance for VA, and voting blue in the national election will be that much more exciting. The momentum is there, we need to make an effort to the south of our SAIS borders (yes, some of you may have to leave Dupont Circle). I propose a bit of discussion on Thursday as to what the SAIS Students for Obama can contribute to really get VA with Barack Obama and Mark Warner as well. So, that is my two cents.

DISCLAIMER: SAIS Students for Obama is an independent group and it is not affiliated with SAIS or the Johns Hopkins University. Views expressed are on behalf of the group or the individual member, not of SAIS or JHU. SAIS and JHU do not endorse or oppose candidates for public office.

I did it!

HUGrad96 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:35:44 EDT

I finally took a step toward helping to make a change in this country. I signed up to help the Virginia campaign. It may not seem like much, but I feel like I need to do what I can to strengthen the campain and go for a win! Now my only question is...what took me so long?!

Phone Bank Day 1

Vance — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:33:40 EDT

I decided to really start to volunteer and get off of the bench. The election is just around the corner and the Republicans are having their convention this week. I made calls for the Arlington Office of the Obama Campaign for a couple of hours. Everyone there was both friendly and professional. I may canvas this weekend as well.

Virginian / Republican / Woman = Obamian

Amber from Mc Lean, VA — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:50:31 EDT

Like many other Republicans, I have grown increasingly disillusioned with the strong and irrational grasp of the extreme right wing and evangelical movement over the platform and candidate selection criteria of the Republican Party. John McCain may wish to position himself as a moderate and a maverick, but he’s not – and his selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate underscores the dangers of the Republican team winning the White House this year.

As with many other women, it’s crystal clear to me that Barack Obama is the candidate of choice – and the only choice for women who care about rational government with equal respect for all people, whatever their gender, race, nationality, personal and religious preferences or political party.

I remain far from enchanted with several of the initiatives promoted by Obama and Biden – including the potential of a national, bureaucratic, institutionalized medical system and higher capital gains taxes. I’m also not at all fond of the Obama-Biden penchant for denigrating profitable businesses and individuals who have worked hard to accumulate wealth. Capitalism is a wonderful and essential feature of our country. But I have confidence that our system of government can and will moderate the results of these initiatives and attitudes. However, should McCain-Palin take over the Executive Office, the danger of several extremist appointments to the Supreme Court ranks high among the significant long-term risks I’m not willing to take.

As a Virginian, I’m now quite excited about the prospect of delivering Virginia to President Obama. Let’s work hard to make it happen!

Day four – Gettin’ Fired Up and Ready to GO with Tim and Terry

Steve Cochran — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:17:11 EDT

What a way to start your day! No, I don’t mean the Eggs Benedict and French Toast we were treated to at breakfast. I mean by the speakers at our Wednesday morning delegation breakfast.

The featured guest for the morning was Governor Kaine. His Mom and Dad were in from Kansas for the convention and they came along with Anne to dine with us.

They say you can tell how people truly feel about political candidates based on what they say about them and how enthusiastically they say it. I’m that way about Tim, as any of you who have heard me introduce him or talk about him can attest. It’s easy to be excited and you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to say. Well, our governor feels the same way about Barack Obama.

It showed Wednesday morning. Tim was “Fired Up and Ready to Go”, and he proceeded to wake us all up in rapid fashion. He began by ticking off the progress of the Democratic Party in Virginia over the last several years and then shared his recipe for success for the party.

1 - Solve problems – citing the example of the Democrats in the General Assembly

2 - Stick together – don’t fall victim to infighting and present a unified front

His focus then turned to 2008. The Governor chided John McCain for not knowing how many houses he owns and for admitting that he doesn’t know much about the economy. He blasted the Republicans for calling Obama an “elitist” when his mother had to resort to food stamps to care for her family after Barack’s father abandoned them. He spoke about Michelle’s humble roots, growing up on the South Side of Chicago. Tim was in prime form!

In case any of you are saying to yourselves, “Gee, I wish I could have heard him”, I videoed the breakfast and plan to show it at our September MCDC meeting. Join us!

But, I promised you Tim and Terry. We were also treated to remarks from former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe. Terry, as you may know is good friends with the Clinton’s, and does a darned good imitation of Bill. Put Terry in front of a group of Democrats and the results are hilarious. (Have I hooked you yet? September 18th, 7pm)

After breakfast, Terry sat and autographed copies of his book “What a Party!” that he had given to each member of the delegation. Rumor has it he may be thinking about running for Governor in ’09. In my opinion, he hasn’t paid his dues in Virginia, even though he has been very active on the national scene. None the less, he’s a very engaging and entertaining guy.

This was the only day we had a planned luncheon. Other days, we were on our own after breakfast. Today, we would hear from Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. Governor Patrick is only the second African American ever elected to lead a state. Our own Governor Doug Wilder was first, and he was on hand to introduce Patrick.

After lunch, there was only a little time to work on my blog and then it was off to the convention. People who attend national conventions tend to do things differently, based on their interests and level of commitment. For example, my new friend Terry Frye from Bristol made it a point to attend every energy related forum and roundtable he could fit in to the schedule. I decided to make every effort possible to include my friends back home via blogging and to attend as much of the gavel to gavel convention proceedings as practical.

Wednesday night at the convention, we were going to hear from Joe Biden, our Vice Presidential nominee. But first, it was time for the second speech from the Clinton camp. Tonight, the world would be watching and listening to see how enthusiastically former President Bill Clinton would endorse Barack Obama. Anyone who saw the speech will attest to the fact that he didn’t disappoint us in any way. Not only was Bill vintage Bill, but he also unequivocally verbalized his support for the Obama-Biden ticket. The crowd responded with a rousing, enduring ovation.

Joe Biden’s son Beau, Attorney General of Delaware drew the task of introducing his Dad. It was a very emotional time, for Beau is preparing to return to active duty and ship out for the Middle East. The emotions were cranked up a notch as Beau related the story of how he and his brother were involved in a car accident with their Mother while their Dad was in D.C. preparing to take the oath of office after being elected to the Senate at the age of 29. His Mother was killed in the crash and his Dad debated whether or not he could take on the job of raising two boys while accepting the responsibility granted him by the citizens of Delaware in electing him to the Senate. When Beau finished, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Of course, Joe Biden showed us right away why Barack Obama picked him to be his Vice President. With decades of experience in the Senate and a natural way of connecting to people, Biden is the consummate statesman. He didn’t take long to cut to the chase and blast the Bush-McCain doctrine. Of course, we didn’t know it then, but now we know Joe will be up against Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the Vice Presidential debates. I’m sure they call the Governor Sarah Barracuda for a good reason, but my prediction is that Biden will chew her up and spit her out in little bitty pieces! He is without a doubt qualified to be Vice President and stand a heartbeat away from the top job.

Next – All But Over, The Last Day

Palin... More of the same

Tim — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 08:33:28 EDT

An article in Politico titled "Palin tough target for Obama to hit" suggests that Republican Sarah Palin (no relation to Michael Palin) represents an "unwelcome and unexpected challenge". Unwelcome? Unexpected? Yes. Challenge? No.

The ground war - The New Statesman

Christopher Martin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:58:55 EDT

Away from the glamour and glitz of the party conventions, a fierce battle for votes is already being waged on doorsteps across America. Thad Williamson reports on Obama efforts to capture the traditional red state of Virginia.

Link

The New Statesman is an English political magazine. Thad Williamson is a political scientist and an assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond.

Day Three Continued - On The Floor

Steve Cochran — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:02:33 EDT

I’m writing this entry on Thursday morning and I must admit, everything is starting to blur together. I think that’s because of a lack of sleep and everything going on. However, there is a slight chance that partying with the VA Delegation last night had something to do with it.

When last I wrote, I was leaving Mark’s pre-keynote party. I walked out the door with my good friend Joseph Hancock from Roanoke who is a critical part of the Grassroots Obama network in Virginia. I asked if he had any idea where the nearest shuttle bus stop was and he replied that it was back at the hotel. So, off we went, back toward the hotel. After talking and walking for several blocks, I asked him if he had credentials to get on the floor that evening. No, he replied, he was going back to the hotel to a Convention Watch Party. Huh? I thought we were going to the convention together. Nope. So – I bid him a farewell, did a U-turn, walked back past Alto’s restaurant and the rest of the way to the Pepsi Center.

Truth be told, walking is the best and quickest way to get to the convention and back. But, I’ve been scavenging signs every night and the walk back carrying an armload of those is no fun.

Back to Tuesday though. Mark truly had a tough assignment. He was competing with Hillary on the agenda. Mark rose to the occasion. He delivered a great message, cheered on by the entire VA Delegation at every turn. He introduced the world to Lebanon, VA and talked about the critical importance of electing Barack Obama as President. He looked Senatorial – and perhaps, one day, Presidential.

We all had a real treat sandwiched in between Mark and Hillary. Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana, who is described in his official on-line bio as a farmer and a rancher with no previous political experience, had the crowd roaring. Someone later said he reminded them a little bit of William Shatner doing the Priceline Negotiator commercials. When his term in office is up, he could become a stand up comic. What a HOOT!

Hillary! Need I say more? When she took the stage, the convention hall was a sea of cheering delegates waving white Hillary signs. She was fantastic! And she put it on the table in the first few seconds on stage. There should be no doubt – she’s 100% behind Barack. What a lady. She had everyone spellbound. And she didn’t take prisoners when it came to Bush – McCain, either. She made it clear that it is time for a change and a return to the peace and prosperity of the Clinton White House.

After the gavel dropped and we made it back to the hotel, it was time for “Late Night With Brian Moran” as his campaign billed the event. Drinks and food were on Brian in the hotel bar which was closed for our group. And believe me, we all took advantage of Brian’s generosity! When you go from breakfast until 11:00 at night with little or nothing to eat, you have a lot of hungry delegates. Of course, at this altitude, you have to drink a lot as well to stay hydrated. ;-)

Convention Watch Parties!

Disabled Vet 2000 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:58:46 EDT

This Thursday, August 28th, Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination in front of more than 75,000 supporters in Denver and millions of viewers at home.

To celebrate, the Virginia Campaign for Change is throwing Convention Watch Parties. At the Convention Watch Parties, you can help plan canvasses, phone banks, and other volunteer activities. To win in November, we'll need to register as many new voters and reach out to as many new supporters as possible in just a few short weeks.

Sign up today to attend an Organize for Change: Convention Watch Party in Virginia.

We can win this election and make things better for all Americans. But it's going to take all of us working together.

Sign up at:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/cwp1

Day Two – The convention begins

Steve Cochran — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:05:39 EDT

After a late night, it was an early morning. Credentialing began at 7:30am; the Virginia delegation breakfast at 8:30. Hint - if you ever go to a national convention, don’t miss the delegation breakfast or you won’t know what’s going on.

Our guest speaker at breakfast was soon-to-be Senator Mark Warner. Mark stressed to the crowd the importance of electing Barack Obama President while at the same time emphasizing his desire to work with other “Radical Centrists” as he puts it, to facilitate change in Washington. He emphasized the personal importance of his election citing his decision to drop out of the presidential race and his recent injury playing basketball (which landed him in UVA Hospital) as proof that he is slowly but surely eliminating other career opportunities and really needs the job.

Back in my room after breakfast, I worked on my blog entry. I have found it’s fun to gather my thoughts, refresh my memory and share with my friends back home. (It also would make me happy to see some comments – hint, hint).

After lunch with some friends and a brief exploration of the area around our delegation hotel, it was time to board the bus to the Pepsi Center and the opening session. The first impression that hits you as you get on the bus – there’s a police officer on every bus. I suspect that made an immediate impact on me because I had seen dozens of officers in riot gear in my short walk downtown. Scary, but somehow comforting to know that someone is paying attention.

After a circuitous route to the Pepsi Center, we left the buses to pass through security. There is a portable security checkpoint under a big tent where everyone has to pass to get in to the center. TSA agents checked us all out and made sure we were “clean.” We didn’t have to remove our shoes, but otherwise, it was a lot like going through an airport.

In the center we got to see just how important Virginia is to Barack Obama. Our delegation is on the floor, dead center, right behind Illinois! Elizabeth Chitwood, Rex McCarty and I staked out our seats on the center aisle, eleven rows from the podium. Elizabeth kept repeating over and over throughout the evening “This is crazy. This is crazy.” And she was right, the convention hall was a riot of enthusiasm and energy.

Our delegation is also sandwiched between Katie Couric and Richard Gregory, for all you news junkies. Wolf Blitzer is just on the other side of Katie. Joe Scarboro walked through the floor and posed for pictures with delegates. What a scene! It made me miss Tim Russert though.

I was also lucky to be seated directly in front of Governor Kaine’s parents and Ann and the kids. I had met Mr. Kaine when Tim was running, but never his mother. I told them how much Victoria and I think of Tim, not only as Governor, but also as a tremendous human being. I shared with them that in all my 35 years in politics, I had never known anyone who I held in such high regard. They were truly pleased, especially when I told them their son is a statesman, not a politician.

It was women’s night and family night at the convention. We heard from Barack’s brother in law and sister. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill’s children introduced her – and encouraged everyone (especially from their generation) to text in to the campaign to get the latest news from the campaign.

Caroline Kennedy introduced a tribute to Uncle Teddy, who gave a barn burner of a speech, giving us all inspiration to follow his example and do whatever it takes to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The big screens showed Senator Biden in the crowd several times during the speech and each time, the convention center erupted in cheers and applause!

Jimmy Carter appeared in a community service video and then he and Rosalyn took a quick tour around the stage. That was it. No speech, no stopping. It looked like one of those Swiss clocks where the little figures come out from the back and circle around the base of the clock only to disappear back into the other side as the clock chimes on the hour. Undoubtedly the strangest thing I’ve ever seen at a political convention.

But the main event of the evening was Michelle. What a beautiful, passionate, woman! She told us a lot about the man who will be our next President. She had the audience spellbound as she told about their first dates and how he drove the car home from the hospital when their first daughter was born at a snail’s pace, wanting to do everything possible to protect his new family and insure his daughter has a bright future. She is going to be an incredible First Lady!

After we adjourned, it was back on the bus and back through all the temporary barricades and riot police encircling the Pepsi Center. I heard yesterday that $40 million had been spent on security. The evidence is everywhere!

Back at the hotel, I dropped off my “stuff” and prepared to go to Governor Kaine’s party. Like all good Democratic Chairs, I know that campaign materials are hard to come by – especially in Southwest Virginia. So, I dutifully carried an arm full of rally signs from the hall to take back home for our HQ.

Then, it was off to Marlowe’s Restaurant where Moving Virginia Forward, Governor Kaine’s PAC, was hosting a late night party for our delegation. There was a live band, and of course, Tim whipped out his harmonica and joined them for a song. Folks, if you don’t realize it, we have THE coolest Governor in all fifty states! He brought the house down with his bluesy solo!

And since I wrote something for the news junkies, it’s time for something for the sports fans out there. Shortly after the Governor descended from the stage, a buzz went through the crowd. I looked toward the door, and there he was, easily recognizable because he was the biggest, tallest guy in the place – Charles Barkley. He was passing by, heard the music and decided to stop in. He and the Governor exchanged greetings and posed for pictures for the rest of the evening. What a Party! Thanks Governor!!

Next up – Cousin Jim at his best

Veterans Meeting on Saturday at 3:00 Virginia Beach

Disabled Vet 2000 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:15:36 EDT

If you are a Veteran or Military Family Member, please join us this Saturday at 3:00 at the Virginia Beach campaign office. http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpl2vb

Find out what you can do to help Senator Obama become the next President! We will be discussing our Veterans Outreach efforts for Hampton Roads. Please join us to share your ideas and let us know how you want to help.

We are still looking for local Veteran leaders and volunteers so if you are interested in helping call Stephanie Marushia at 757-650-6393 or email me at LearningInspire@gmail.com.

Thank You!

Stephanie Marushia

Hampton Roads Veterans & Military Families for Obama

Update Washington DC Event

Jeanie Schneider — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:09:57 EDT

GRASSROOTS FOR OBAMA IN WASHINGTON DC

FREEDOM PLAZA, PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

SEPTEMBER 6, 2008

This will be a rare opportunity for grassroots groups from all over the country to unite in the nation's capital.

There will be fund raising and voter registration. This is a high visibility event in Freedom Plaza close to the White House. There will be extensive media coverage as we host Mayors, Climate Change, members of Congress, Sierra Club, Veterans. Bands, performers, grassroots special guests.

French TV has contacted me and they will be filming for a special program about the election and our grassroots movement.

Our stage is being built. I am hoping to find an Obama banner for the stage if you know of any group who has one and can loan it for the event. If you live in the region, come to Washington DC to Freedom Plaza to share our grassroots enthusiasm. If you live across the country, it's a great time to visit your nation's capital and be apart of history.

A word about the ticket. I am so proud to be supporting such talented and inspirational candidates as Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Together they complement the spirit of Hope, Change, and Determination that America represents to the world. I have been fortunate to work with so many people across this country organizing this event. Grassroots have always been the spirit and good intentions of America.

I didn't know anything about organizing an event like this. I just knew I wanted to become involved. I just got onto the site and I began. With a little hard work and love for my country, I found out something about myself, and the other people I encountered.

YES WE CAN! Jeanie Schneider

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=25596901414

jeanieschneider@gmail.com