This Week With Barack Obama, April 7-12, 2008

cross-posted @ This Week With Barack Obama and One Million Strong

                         
                                                         barack in south bend, in

Democratic Debate
April 16, 2008 – Philadelphia, PA, ABC
                 
                                                   michelle in harrisburg, nc, april 8, 2008

Voting Registration Deadlines for the Following States and Early Voting Information

Indiana:  Early Voting for Indiana is through noon, May 5, 2008.  For information of your location for early voting, click here.

Kentucky:  Deadline April 21st.  All registration forms should be submitted to your county and received by April 21st.  Download registration form here.  List of counties to mail form here.

West Virginia:  Deadline April 22nd.  All registration forms must be submitted on and received by April 22nd.  Download the registration form here.  Forms must be mailed or hand delivered to your local county office, list of county offices here.

Oregon:  Deadline April 29th.  Registration form must be received by April 29th, the downloadable form and where to mail to your county is available here.

Montana:  Deadline May 5th.  Registration form must be received by May 5th.  Registration form and your county address is available here.  Additional information is here.

South Dakota:  Deadline May 19th.  Downloadable form here.  Fill out the form on-line, print and send here.  List of counties to mail your form is here.

Obama at the Helm
Family precedent: Obama’s grandmother blazed trails
The Story of Barack Obama’s Mother
Obama Calls on Parents to Help Students
Obama’s charisma may be the determining factor

                         
                                   barack in gary, indiana, roosevelt high school

Dem hopeful Obama says he wants to restore diplomacy to foreign policy

Democrat Barack Obama said he would pull U.S. combat troops out within 16 months under his plan to end American military involvement in Iraq.

“We will do it carefully … I am talking about one to two brigades per month and that will take 16 months from the time I take office” if elected president, Obama told more than 2,000 people Friday evening in the gym at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.

“George Bush isn’t going to pull out more troops. That means we’re talking two years from now. This war has lasted longer than World War I, Word War II and the Civil War.  continue

                                 
                                             obama with senator casey’s family

Audio/Video

NPR: Covering the Coverage of the 2008 Campaigns;  NPR:  The Obama Franchise: Harnessing Activists’ Energy; NPR:  What’s with That Obama Poster?; New Pennsylvania Ads;  Another Pennsylvania Ad; Town Hall Meeting in Malvern, PA; Radio Ad in PA called “Fill”; Obama in South Bend, IN; Town Hall in Gary, IN; NBC5 Interview with Obama; Barack in Lafayette, IN; Barack in Columbus, IN; Full video of Obama at the North Dakota Convention; Obama on the Today Show about Iraq; Obama questioning General Petraeus at Iraq Senate Hearings; Barack’s Statement on American Idol

                             
                                    obama serving burgers at ball state university, muncie in

White women begin to turn away from Clinton
In The End, Superdelegates Will Vote Almost Unanimously For Obama
Ouster Opens Opportunity for Obama
Obama closing superdelegates gap
Obama denounces big corporate pay packages

                             
                                      obama addressing CWA in Washington, D.C., April 8, 2008

shoutouts:

Green Zone Under Attack – Again by Maureen; Al Gore by Steven D; Lessons Mark Penn Never Learned by Tracy Russo; Bitter and Angry in Rural Pennsylvania: Obama’s Reality vs. Hillary’s Fantasy by astral66; We Can’t Afford The War Anymore by bonddad; time to take a stand by kid oakland; ABC: BUSH Says He APPROVED TORTURE. What About SEXUAL Torture? by Troutfishing; ‘Out of Touch?’ Obama Schools Clinton/McCain by turneresq; Don’t Forget Tuzla by BooMan; The Clinton Campaign: Too Arrogant to Work for the Nomination by Bob Johnson; Congressional Republicans, Afraid of Obama, Throw Hail Mary Pass to Try to Keep Him From Nomination by DHinMI; Contemplating the Unity Bounce by poblano; “We don’t have insurance.” by StrangeAnimals; Dr. James Hansen: “A Guaranteed Disaster” Planned CO2 Cuts Too Little, Too Late by FishOutofWater; Report: Carter, Gore to endorse Obama, or ask Clinton to concede by poblano; Clinton to Rural Pennsylvanians: “You Can Be Victims, Too!” by The Field; Obama: Small Dollar Online Fundraising Akin to Public Financing by Jonathan Singer

                             
                                                                 obama everywhere

Obama’s happy, drama-free appeal

In the days and weeks ahead, the Barack Obama campaign is going to pose a simple question to the undecided voters and undeclared superdelegates who will decide the Democratic nomination for president: If Hillary Clinton can’t run a good primary campaign, how is she ever going to run a good campaign against the Republicans?

And while she says she is ready from Day One to be president, she is at something like Day 430 into being a presidential candidate and her campaign seems to be going from bad to worse to train wreck.

Mark Penn, who just got booted as her chief strategist, is only the latest problem in a campaign that has been heavy on drama and light on results.

“None of these folks have ever run anything, other than Hillary running a health care task force,” David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, told me Monday. “But these campaigns are big, complicated, pressure-filled enterprises, and it is an important proving ground.”  continue

                             
                                    obama at the senate foreign relations hearings

Statement of Barack Obama on President Bush’s Stay the Course Iraq Strategy

President Bush gave no answer to the most important question about the way forward in Iraq: how will we end this war that is not making us safer? After five years, over four thousand lives, and over half a trillion dollars, we have a blank check strategy in Iraq that is overstretching our military, distracting us from the other challenges we face, burdening our economy, and failing to pressure the Iraqi government to take responsibility for their future. We cannot press Iraq’s leaders to resolve their differences and spend their money if our plan is to stay in Iraq indefinitely. We cannot relieve the enormous strain on our military and our military families unless we restore adequate time at home for our troops – 12 month deployments represent a step forward, but we need to give our troops adequate dwell time at home. We cannot finish the fight in Afghanistan and focus on Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda’s core leadership unless we end this war that should’ve never been authorized. The decision to go to war in Iraq was an enormous strategic blunder, and President Bush is only adding to his disastrous legacy by refusing to show the American people any clear goal or any clear plan to end the war. When I am President, I will bring our combat brigades home in 16 months, engage in the direct diplomacy in the region that is necessary to stabilize Iraq, restore our military strength, and renew our security and standing in the world. Our heroic troops have accomplished every mission that we have given them in Iraq and they have done so brilliantly; it is time to bring them home, and to ask the Iraqis to take responsibility for their country.

                             
                 obama @ little 500 women’s bike race @ university of indiana, bloomington, in

                                 

Photo Diaries

On the ground in Philly — canvassing and “Weekend of Women” by casperr; Obama in Lafayette, IN by Praxxus; Levittown Lovin’ Obama – Seriously by speck tater; Photo Diary of Obama in Malvern, PA by BooMan23; Bill Clinton “Estoy a favor” the Colombian Trade Deal by Billary Redux; Obama supporters bowl me over by Scott Kleeb

Obama Says Real-Life Experience Trumps Rivals’ Foreign Policy Credits
Obama: Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask’ Possible
Pelosi: Democrats need unity
Obama rips McCain in Gary
Obama Speaks to Gay Community in “Advocate” Interview

Blogs and Websites

Greek Americans for Obama; Edwardiansforobama.com; Obama Cycle; One Million Strong; This Week With Barack Obama; Brown Iowa; The Populista Report; Relentless Liberal; Washington State; Obama Dallas; NYC4OBAMA; NewYork4Obama; Texans for Obama; Republicans for Obama; Vermont for Obama; Independents for Obama; Seattle for Obama; Idaho for Obama; Asians for Obama; Bay Area for Obama; Sacramento for Obama; Families for Obama; Irish Americans for Obama; D.C. for Obama; Obama NH; Obama News Vine; Black Women for Obama; Obama Santa Cruz; Think on These Things; Iowa Republicans for Obama; Another Democratic Woman for Obama; RENObama!; Go Barack Obama; Netroots for Obama;  Economists for Obama; Why We Need Obama

Obama States A Truth, Media & RivalsTwist It by Maureen
The end is near by PsiFighter37
I’m Not Bitter – I’a Outraged One Pissed Off Liberal
Obama IS Fighting Back & He’s Using his Best Weapon! by Muzikal203
Fox News: Are People Bitter in PA? ANSWER: Yes. by inthecolour
Hillary Clinton: I’m More American Than He Is by JedReport
The Cost of Letting This Go On…and On by BooMan
Obama earned my vote, Hillary lost it. by Janeo

                             
                                                obama at the sunrise cafe, south bend, in

Endorsements

Scranton Times Tribune Endorses Obama; Allentown Morning Call Endorses Obama ; Obama picks up a superdelegate in Minnesota; South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke Endorses Obama; Obama Picks up Endorsement from Pennsylvania Politicians; Superdelegate Pickup from Utah; Two Former Oregon Governors Endorse Obama; The American Postal Workers Union Endorses Obama; Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette Endorses Obama; Portland Tribune Endorses Barack Obama; The Daily & Sunday Review (Towanda, PA) Endorses Obama

Deal Behind Sen. Klobuchar’s Endorsement of Obama
What Went Wrong with the Clinton Campaign
Obama Confidante Jarrett Wields Clout of Campaign Inner Circle
Obama knows the way to young voters’ hearts
Obama continues to enchant Americans
Poll suggests Canadians love Barack Obama despite NAFTA controversy
Obama Urges Bush to Boycott Beijing
Obama Poised To Turn Down Public Financing
The Broker: Vernon Jordan

                             
                                           signing the wall at nick’s pub in bloomington, in

Michelle Obama talks couple’s finances

It wasn’t until Barack Obama wrote a pair of best-selling books that he and his wife escaped their student loan debt, an experience Michelle Obama said Tuesday helps the couple understand everyday challenges better than policymakers in Washington.

“We are not so far away from life that we don’t understand and get it,” said Michelle Obama, wife of the Democratic presidential candidate.

Obama met with a group of about 50 women at a town-hall meeting in Harrisburg, just north of Charlotte. It was part of a daylong tour of North Carolina ahead of the state’s May 6 primary.

At the Tuesday morning forum, the women said increases in the cost of gas, education and health care — along with an unstable job market — have taken a toll.  continue

icebergslim’s last word:  bitterness and out of touch politicians

There has been a manufactured kerfuffle over the remarks Barack Obama made at a fundraiser in San Francisco last weekend.  To start with, these events are restricted from media but one blogger from the Huffington Post recorded an answer from Obama to a contributor.  Before getting into that, I think what the blogger did was wrong.  Why?  These events are restricted to politicians and donors, period.  The politician is free to answer questions without the pressure of media.  I personally think the blogger should have identified herself.  Since she did not, the story is somewhat one-sided, but the remarks about Americans in small towns all over this country is bitter and the truth.

The story was posted on Huffington Post by the blogger named, Mayhill Fowler,  the story can be read with the full transcript and audio from Fowler’s cell phone.   The feign upset is to the following:

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

If you read the whole transcript you understand what Obama is stating.  But the mainstream media along with Hillary Clinton and John McCain now are stating Obama is “out of touch” and an “elitist”.

Let’s review who is really an elitist and who is really out of touch.

Hillary Rodham Clinton grew up in an upper middle class family in Park Ridge, Illinois a suburb of Chicago.  Her family owned their own business.  Hillary Rodham Clinton has had every advantage a person growing up in this type of family can provide.   She graduated from Wellesley College, and received her law degree from Yale University.  In fact one has to wonder if Hillary Clinton ever had to worry about repaying any college tuition debt.  If so, she has never conveyed it in any of her stump speeches, which makes you wonder if she ever had to worry about any financial repayments or debt.  In fact if you look over Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life she has lived a very elitist one.  Most of her adult life she has lived in mansions from the governor’s mansion in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the White House mansion in Washington, D.C., to the D.C. mansion she now has while in the senate, along with her multi-million dollar home in New York State.  Also, Hillary Rodham Clinton belongs to the most elitist club of all, it is called “former first lady club who is married to a former president of the United States”.  How many folk are walking around this country belonging to this elitist club?  Not many.  And there is nothing wrong with it, but this club gives you all the advantages and perks any person in this country could just wish for.  So, who is really the elitist here?  Oh, we must not forget The Clintons 100 million dollar figure that they now maintain.  They have truly entered the 100 Million Dollar Club.  Hip-Hip-Hooray, for not being elite!!!

John Sidney McCain III comes from a privileged family one which includes a former father and grandfather who were 4 star admirals in the Navy.  His name alone opens up any opportunity he could ever wish for.  John McCain has served his country well, was a POW during the Vietnam War.  He survived and has led an admirable military life, but privileged and elite none the less.  He has lived the majority of his post military life in Washington, D.C.  For anyone to believe that he is not mired in the Washington, D.C. ways are in for an eyeful.  He started an affair with his current wife, Cindy McCain, while still married to his former wife.  Nothing wrong with that, he is open about it, but his latter wife had much to offer the privileged McCain.  Money.  Cindy McCain is the Beer Queen who is worth upwards and possibly beyond 100 million dollars.  There is nothing that Mrs. McCain has ever wanted monetarily, because she was always able to get it.  This couple has lived the bulk of their lives with Washington, D.C. insiders and to even think they understand what it means to struggle is laughable at best.

Yet, these two out of touch politicians have the nerve to state that Barack Obama is out of touch with the average American because he stated the truth that many Americans are bitter???

Barack and Michelle Obama just paid off student loans due to Barack’s book sales.  They only moved from a small condo into a home, due to his book sales, and if you looked at his tax returns he is no where near Clinton or McCain in personal wealth.  Yet, The Obamas are talking about kitchen tables issues because they have been there and done that.  They are not far off the mark in relating to the average American, in fact they are very much in tune.  Which is why many Americans are listening to them and can relate to them.

For Hillary Clinton to play tag team with John McCain in feigns outrage is despicable in itself.  Is she a Democrat or Republican?  She surely has used the Republican playbook throughout this whole primary process with disastrous results.  So, why can’t they understand the bitterness and frustration of the average American?

Let us look at a few things we are bitter about:

The Iraq War; The Bush Administrations handling and lies involved with The Iraq War; Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General, who was not an Attorney General at all; Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense and his abysmal handling of The Iraq War; Abu Ghrab and the embarrassment and horror associated with it; NAFTA and how the Chinese have railroaded its goods in this country; Lead poison toys from China (and lead paint has been disbanded in the United States of America since the 1970s); Pet food from China that have killed our pets; Food from China which clearly makes one wonder WTF?; Goods from China, including clothes that don’t hold up, dinnerware like Pfalzgraff is now made entirely in China; The Educational System under the Bush Administration which now have drop-out rate at more than 50% in this country (yeah, and No Child Left Behind have and is leaving many behind); Gas prices, soon to be 4.00 a gallon, near you; Food prices are skyrocketing; College tuition is now for the rich and not for the lower and middle class kids; The crash of the housing market and millions who and will lose their homes; Lack of good paying jobs and lack of raises from most jobs, which can’t even match inflation;  The corporate greed, example the bailing out of the sorry airline industry and now Bears Stearn; The lack of job security and many Americans working 2/3 jobs to make ends meet; and most of all lack of trust of government since they continually lie and take care of its own, also known as the elite ones.

So, if Hillary Clinton and John McCain cannot understand the entire above, why are they running for President of the United States?  If you cannot understand the bitterness and frustration of the average American, only one conclusion is left, you are out of touch.  Sad, but true.

Obama response to Clinton and McCain, along with CNN analyst response backing Obama and Bitter Voters for Obama08

note Obama is not backing down….

                         

Campaign Appearances

April 15, 2008 – Community Event with Michelle Obama, York, PA
April 15, 2008 – Stand for Change Rally with Michell Obama, Havorford, PA

                         
                                   “feelin’ the love for michelle @ north carolina state, raleigh, nc

see the folks are geared up to see michelle in raleigh!!!  this event was sold out to over 5700 people and the word is that she was fantastic!!  the obama campaign is truly people-powered from the grassroots, we own a piece of this campaign to make it the model of campaigning to come.  please donate to the best run campaign this primary season, going into the general election, The Obama Campaign.

::
This Week With Barack Obama
icebergslim1047 (at) gmail (dot) com

{Late Edition} This Week With Barack Obama, March 31 – April 6, 200

cross-posted @ This Week With Barack Obama and One Million Strong

                             

                                                 “The Happiest Day of my Life”

Democratic Debate
April 16, 2008 – Philadelphia, PA, ABC
                                 
                                    walking through claudio’s specialty  foods in philadelphia, pa

Voting Registration Deadlines for the Following States

North Carolina:  Deadline April 11th.  Form must be received on or by April 11th.  Download form in English, here.  Download form in Spanish, here.  Registration form must be postmarked, faxed or hand delivered to your county office by April 11th.  Here is the list of county offices to mail or hand deliver your registration form to here.

Kentucky:  Deadline April 21st.  All registration forms should be submitted to your county and received by April 21st.  Download registration form here.  List of counties to mail form here.

West Virginia:  Deadline April 22nd.  All registration forms must be submitted on and received by April 22nd.  Download the registration form here.  Forms must be mailed or hand delivered to your local county office, list of county offices here.

Oregon:  Deadline April 29th.  Registration form must be received by April 29th, the downloadable form and where to mail to your county is available here.

Montana:  Deadline May 5th.  Registration form must be received by May 5th.  Registration form and your county address is available here.  Additional information is here.

South Dakota:  Deadline May 19th.  Downloadable form here.  Fill out the form on-line, print and send here.  List of counties to mail your form is here.

               
                               Michelle and Teresa Heinz Kerry at Carnegie Mellon University

shoutouts:

The United States of Torture by Maureen; Dear Senator Clinton by Meteor Blades; The Promised Land by DHinMI; The Bush Boom Was a Complete Bust by bonddad; The ‘stumble’ by Jerome a Paris; Eco-Diary Rescue 4.5 by Meteor Blades; Hillary: I started criticizing the war in Iraq before he did by First Amendment; McCain Waits 25 Years to Apologize for Voting Against the MLK Bill by Congressman John Conyers; Economy Loses 80,000 Jobs, Biggest Loss in Five Years by bink; I’ve been to the mountaintop by teacherken; Body armor: BILLIONS in contracts awarded improperly by occams hatchet; I’ve been waiting forty years by Audio Guy; Black Kos, Week In Review by Black Kos; He Can’t Win by wmtriallawyer; Iraq Is Hurting The Economy by Chris Bowers; How We Changed a Delegate Slot from Clinton to Obama (check the math!) by howardpark

Democratic Super Delegate Tracker
Fascinating New Obama Ancecdote-Use It! by maxnyc
I Shook Hands with the Next President Today by not a cent
Obama “Fellows” will Organize Regardless of Nominee by Steven R
Barack Obama = Party Builder; Hillary Clinton = ??? by Jonathan Singer

                         
                                                  at wilbur chocolate in lititz, pa

It is Over….

It is simple as that.

We are recognizing the slow pattern of drip-drip-drip or the slow creaking of a door closing.  That is the Hillary Clinton Campaign.

The hill that Hillary Rodham Clinton must climb to beat Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination will grow a little steeper on Monday, as it has most days lately.

Margaret Campbell, a Montana state legislator, plans to declare her support for Senator Obama, of Illinois. She becomes the 69th superdelegate he has picked up since the Feb. 5 coast-to-coast string of primary elections and caucus votes.

This is the slow dripping that Clinton is feeling.  The slow departure of the superdelegates to Barack Obama.

                             
                                                       The American Prospect

Yet Mrs. Clinton’s once formidable lead among superdelegates who have announced preferences has shrunk to 34 by the Obama campaign count. The pool of remaining uncommitted superdelegates for her to draw from has dwindled to around 330, fewer than half the overall total of 795 superdelegates.

Mrs. Clinton tried again this weekend to stem the erosion, speaking to Ms. Campbell on a campaign swing through Montana. But Ms. Campbell declined to hold out any longer, saying, “Senator Obama reminds me of why I’m a Democrat.”

Clinton is behind by more than 160 delegates.  The number of superdelegates are moving towards Obama.  This means that unless the superdelegates overturn what folks voted for in the states Obama won, mathematically Hillary Clinton can not and will not win the Democratic Nomination.

What next?  Well, not up to us, but up to Hillary Clinton.  She has every right to continue her campaign but as she does for many, she becomes more irrelevant as the days go on.  Sad, but true.

Time to look at McCain, that is what we all need to be doing from this point onward.  It is time to look towards November, 2008.

                       
                                                         obama on the today show

Blogs and Websites

Edwardiansforobama.com; Obama Cycle; One Million Strong; This Week With Barack Obama; Brown Iowa; The Populista Report; Relentless Liberal; Washington State; Obama Dallas; NYC4OBAMA; NewYork4Obama; Texans for Obama; Republicans for Obama; Vermont for Obama; Independents for Obama; Seattle for Obama; Idaho for Obama; Asians for Obama; Bay Area for Obama; Sacramento for Obama; Families for Obama; Irish Americans for Obama; D.C. for Obama; Obama NH; Obama News Vine; Black Women for Obama; Obama Santa Cruz; Think on These Things; Iowa Republicans for Obama; Another Democratic Woman for Obama; RENObama!; Go Barack Obama; Netroots for Obama;  Economists for Obama; Why We Need Obama

                               
                                                    obama @ m&m’s cafe in butte, mt

More Than 442,000 Donors Help Obama Raise Over $40 Million in March
Obama Media Center
Dave Matthews Band in Bloomington, Indiana for Obama
Obama, McCain seen as more trustworthy than Clinton
Carter Hints at Support for Obama

                           
                                       obama @ thaddeus stevens college, lancaster, pa

To Reach Pennsylvania’s Blue Collar, Obama Loosens Up

Barack Obama hit the bowling lanes and walked the factory floor, hoisted the local brew and even nursed a calf as he introduced himself over the weekend to the working-class residents of hardscrabble towns in the valleys and mountains of southern Pennsylvania.

In the first days of a bus tour that marks the opening of Obama’s campaign in the Pennsylvania primary, a candidate who has done best among the young, the well-educated and African-Americans devoted much of his time to well-publicized visits to habitues of blue-collar America.  continue

Clinton-backer Rudd to call Obama
Old-School Politician Mentored Obama
Obama ‘flooding’ Pennsylvania with TV ads
The Blueprint for Change
Democrats Will Be Unified Behind Nominee, Obama Says

                       
                                obama @ North Dakota Democratic Convention

Endorsements

PA: Three Mayors Endorse Obama by dmsdbo; Wyoming Governor Endorses Obama by icebergslim; Another Montana Superdelegate for Obama – John Melcher by BoBo2020; Lee Hamilton Endorses Obama; Mayor of Missoula, MT Endorses Obama; Pa. Jewish Leaders for Obama; Pennsylvania AFSCME affiliate breaks with National Union to Endorse Obama; Obama Picks Up 26 Endorsements in Oregon

                         
                                            obama on hardball with chris matthews

Superdelegates turn increasingly to Obama
Clinton and Obama Fight for N.D. Votes — Again
Louisville for Obama: Kentucky HQ Opening
Obama’s S.E.I.U. Boost in Pennsylvania

Audio/Video

Road to Change Slideshow;  Obama’s Basketball Family; Wallinford, PA Town Hall Meeting; AFL-CIO Convention Speech in Philadelphia; obama at the Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner, Butte, MT; Forget Bowling: How About Some Hoops?; NPR – In Kenya, Obama Enjoys Enthusiastic Support; NPR – Swing Voters in the Heart of Pennsylvania; Michelle Obama @ CMU; Audio of the Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner in Montana

Holding down the Obama family fort

he is the linchpin of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and yet she does not raise money, plot strategy, lead conference calls, or carry a BlackBerry, which, in her day, was an unassuming fruit that grew on bushes.

Marian Robinson does, though, carry an exalted title in this race: mother-in-law. And from that perch, she makes the whole thing run.

A steely 70-year-old matriarch with a raspy voice and seen-it-all laugh, Robinson manages the family while Obama and his wife, Michelle, venture to the far reaches of the campaign trail. Amid the daily chaos of the marathon primary campaign, it often falls to Michelle’s mother to keep the Obamas’ two daughters – Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6 – grounded, not to mention fed, bathed, and in bed by 8:30 p.m.  continue

                           
                                     remarks in Ft. Wayne, IN on Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr

Obama found a home in his church
Obama focuses on McCain, not Clinton
Obama looking ahead to November
Obama and the ‘L’ Word

                             
                                          obama at sold out arena in missoula, mt

Barack Obama: I’d Hire Al Gore
McCain eyes battle with Obama
Obama vows to support unions
Obama a ray of hope in dark political times
Get the Facts Correct on Barack Obama

::

Clintons — a last stand that lacks class

AS HER ham-handed handlers insult entire states, and her self-absorbed husband indulges in red-faced, finger-wagging outbursts, Sen. Hillary Clinton soldiers on.

It is a joyless campaign, with stump speeches that carry tales of woe and get delivered in a booming voice that could open a wall safe.

A full three months after the Iowa caucuses, nearly two months after Washington’s caucuses, the Clintons seem bent on turning the Democrats’ fertile ground into scorched earth.  continue

icebergslim’s last word:  pennsylvania

                             

nuff said….

Campaign Apperances

April 8, 2008 – Rally with Michelle Obama, Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, NC
April 8, 2008 – Rally with Michelle Obama, Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC

                               
here is obama, all over the country.  no matter what you may think about him, he has never cherry picked any states.  we have pennsylvania coming up april 22nd and then north carolina and indiana on may 6th.  we still have much work to do.  it starts with volunteering, canvassing, phonebanking and all the information is here.  and as always, your donations to the best run, people-powered campaign out there right now, is the obama campaign.  continue to donate.  thanks.

::
This Week With Barack Obama
icebergslim1047 (at) hotmail (dot) com

This Week With Barack Obama, March 16-22, 2008

cross-posted @ This Week With Barack Obama & One Million Strong

                         
                                 obama endorsed by gov. bill richardson in portland, or
                             
                                           obama links effects of war costs to fragility in the economy

Voting Registration Deadlines for the Following States

Pennsylvania:  Deadline March 24th.  Form must be received on Monday, March 24th to your local county office, here is the form and a list of county offices to drop your form off.

Indiana:  Deadline April 7th.  Form must received on or by April 7th to your county office.  All mailing information and form with addresses to your county office is available here.

North Carolina:  Deadline April 11th.  Form must be received on or by April 11th.  Download form in English, here.  Download form in Spanish, here.  Registration form must be postmarked, faxed or hand delivered to your county office by April 11th.  Here is the list of county offices to mail or hand deliver your registration form to here.

Kentucky:  Deadline April 21st.  All registration forms should be submitted to your county and received by April 21st.  Download registration form here.  List of counties to mail form here.

West Virginia:  Deadline April 22nd.  All registration forms must be submitted on and received by April 22nd.  Download the registration form here.  Forms must be mailed or hand delivered to your local county office, list of county offices here.

Oregon:  Deadline April 29th.  Registration form must be received by April 29th, the downloadable form and where to mail to your county is available here.

Montana:  Deadline May 5th.  Registration form must be received by May 5th.  Registration form and your county address is available here.  Additional information is here.

South Dakota:  Deadline May 19th.  Downloadable form here.  Fill out the form on-line, print and send here.  List of counties to mail your form is here.

Sunday’s News
Obama to Clinton:  Your Turn
As Campaign Drags On, Aides Put Lives on Hold

                             
                   michelle obama, valerie jarrett and marty nesbitt awaiting obama’s speech on race

Democratic superdelegates hope the end is near

Lacking a clear road to a Democratic presidential nominee, the party’s uncommitted superdelegates say they are getting more concerned about the risks of a prolonged fight between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and don’t know how to solve the problem.

Interviews with dozens of undecided superdelegates – the elected officials and party leaders who could hold the balance of power for the nomination – found them uncertain about who, if anyone, would step in and help guide the contest to an end that would not weaken the Democratic ticket in the general election.

While many superdelegates said they intended to keep their options open as the race continued over the next three months, the interviews suggested that the playing field was tilting slightly toward Mr. Obama in one respect. Many of them said that in deciding whom to support, they would look to the essential principle advocated by Mr. Obama: reflecting the will of the voters.  continue

                           
                                    Barack Obama delivering “A More Perfect Union”

On Tuesday, March 18, 2008, Barack Obama gave a speech titled, “A More Perfect Union.”

This speech was brought on by the repeated questions about the snippets of Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s past sermons at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois.  Anyone who is not familiar with the church or pastor does have valid questions if you only saw the snippets of prior speeches.

I always knew that Barack Obama would have to give a race speech.  I also knew that he was the only one qualified to address the issues on sides, black and white, being bi-racial and living in both worlds.

It was an honest, real and stellar speech, one that will be remembered for many years to come.  But politically what does it mean?  Well, a number of things.  It means the 527s of the GOP are salivating at the mouth to make the general election about race and not about the failed presidency of George W. Bush.   It also means that we, as Americans have a choice.  To continue to get caught up in wedge issues and fall for the race baiting or to reject it and elect a leader who can heal the divide in this country.

I am not afraid of the 527s or their race baiting to come.  Why?  Because they are pidgeoned holed.  They cannot see outside a racial context that is larger than this.  People are losing their homes, right now, on the streets.  People are losing and have lost jobs due to the weak trade agreements in this country, these jobs will never come back.  Many are not getting raises, have not in months or years, but inflation and the cost of everything does not go down but up.  Utility prices are astronomical right now; there are millions of Americans without heat, lights because they cannot afford it.  The infrastructure in this country is collapsing daily, as we saw with the Minneapolis Bridge fiasco.  And no one could explain how a bridge that was granted safe suddenly collapsed.  We are complicit, as a country, to continue to provide corporate welfare to the same companies that do not care about Americans and their jobs, case and point, bailing out Bear Stearns.  College is becoming unaffordable for many in this country.  For the young, if your parents do not have the means, rich many are left without a chance to further their education.  Healthcare in this country is becoming so expensive that it is becoming a class divide of rich and poor.  The Iraq War is the elephant in the room, the largest one sucking all the oxygen and money from this country.  We are in a war that is bankrupting our very existence as a country, yet this president is stubborn, ignorant and too in bed with his cronies to care for the good of the country.  Lastly, we have a government that is dysfunctional, hardened by partisan hirings and tactics, mired with hardness in congress and has not worked for the good of the country in many years.

All listed above is what the Republicans must defend.  And right now, show me a path as to how they can.  We can be afraid all we want, but I am not.  Reverend Jeremiah Wright represents a generational divide in this country that is not representative of many Americans, black, white, asian and hispanic.  I am not going to blame Barack Obama for words his pastor said; he is not responsible for that.  If so, we need to start digging up the sermons of McCain’s minister and surrogates, Hillary Clinton’s pastorate problem and her surrogates.

In the end, if all the GOP has is a race baiting tactic, they will come off looking as the party of hate, bigotry, anger, bitterness and racists.  If that is the image, which will be broadcast worldwide, that they want to show, go ahead.  This campaign is not just being watched by local eyes, but worldwide eyes.  This is the country that does not tolerate all I wrote above, but have allowed the GOP to divide and separate this country as no one else has.

If you are tired of the entire above, no need to worry, because there are in the tens of millions who are tired of this too.

                           
                                                          video of “a perfect union”

Democrats risk losing a generation

If — and it’s still an if — the numbers just don’t add up for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic presidential nominee, but the party, through its arcane rules and superdelegates process, gives it to her anyway, Democrats will pay dearly, for a generation or more.

Instead of re-establishing themselves as the party in power for perhaps the next 20 years, Democrats could be effectively handing the White House to Republican John McCain and alienating up to 30 million young voters who have gotten engaged in politics this year for the first time because of Barack Obama. If these voters feel that Obama has been cheated out of a chance to run for president, they and the hordes more of them becoming eligible to vote in the years ahead, will not easily return to the Democratic fold. Even if they like the party’s principles, they will distrust its processes.

In this scenario, Clinton mitigates the damage only somewhat by choosing Obama as her vice presidential candidate — a role he has said he doesn’t want anyway.

More likely, young voters sit out the election (as they have in the past) and McCain wins and Democrats dissolve again into their bickering, finger-pointing ways while an emerging generation that desperately wants to see a stronger, safer and better America backs out of the political system.  continue

The Blueprint for Change
What Obama Means
Obama Gains 14 More Delegates
In the Clinton-Obama Race, It’s the Pollster vs. the Ad Man
Clinton, Obama backers tone down rhetoric

                             
                                                     “the world beyond iraq”

Obama’s Speech on Race Played Well, a Poll Finds

A national poll released Friday showed that voters who had heard or read about Senator Barack Obama’s speech this week on race relations and on his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. broadly approved of it.

Seven in 10 said Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, did a good job talking about race relations, and as many said he did a good job explaining his relationship with Mr. Wright, according to the CBS News poll.

More than 6 in 10 said they mostly agreed with what he said about race relations in the United States, including a broad majority of Democrats and independents.  A national poll released Friday showed that voters who had heard or read about Senator Barack Obama’s speech this week on race relations and on his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. broadly approved of it.

Seven in 10 said Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, did a good job talking about race relations, and as many said he did a good job explaining his relationship with Mr. Wright, according to the CBS News poll.

More than 6 in 10 said they mostly agreed with what he said about race relations in the United States, including a broad majority of Democrats and independents.   continue

Three new Obama ads in Pennsylvania
The Obamathon (2.0) Begins by Populista
Rifling Obama’s passport file by smintheus
Barack Obama Nedds You. NOW. by kath25

                           
                                              obama at american dream pizza in corvallis, or

must reads:  

Let’s Face It….by wmtriallawyer; Obama brought me to tears by RFK Lives; Obama’s ripple effect working by chiri; The Pros and Cons of the Fed’s Action Last Week by bonddad; White House”  Computer hard drives tossed The Baculum King;  Media Drip: The Way this Ends by BooMan23; Media Narrative and Hard Financial Facts Turning Against Clinton by DHinMI; Obama’s Promise–And Its Limits by teacherken; Carville: “Richardson a Judas” by CKDexterHaven; Murder By Spreadsheet: Amputees have it it real bad by nyceve; Pat Buchanan: Slavery Best Thing to Happen to Blacks by D Wreck; Overheard on the bus by dmsilev; Is Hillary Positioning for 20112? by Cenk Uygur; Obama Encounter in Salem, OR: Wow! by mamabigdog; My last Black Kos week in review diary by dopper0189

The accent of Barack Obama, Mr. Charisma
Race, Reconcilation & American Unity:  Barack Obama Speaks by Maureen
Ultimate Delegate Math by Chris Bowers
Not This Time by TocqueDeville

                             
                                          governor bill richardson, (d-nm) endorses obama

UFCW Local 1776 Endorses Obama
The Obama Bargain
Bill and Hillary Clinton and the 22nd Amendment by kid oakland
Discovering Obama

                                   
                                      obama in medford, or townhall meeting

Obama Statement Congratulating Taiwanese President-Elect Ma Ying-Jeou

On March 22, the people of Taiwan went to the polls for the fourth time in 12 years to elect their President.  I offer my congratulations to President-elect Ma for his victory, and best wishes for his presidency.  

The people of Taiwan deserve our respect and admiration for this free and fair election, which is just the latest step in consolidating a democracy that has advanced over the last two decades.  I hope the People’s Republic of China responds to this election in a positive, constructive, and forward-leaning way.  It is important for Beijing to demonstrate to the people of Taiwan that the practical and non-confrontational approach that President-elect Ma promises to take toward the Mainland will be met with good faith and progress.  The PRC should reduce the military threat to Taiwan by drawing back the missiles it has deployed in southeast China and by other security confidence-building measures.  And on issues such as Taiwan’s observer status in the World Health Organization, where the health of all Chinese people is at stake, it should allow Taiwan greater international space.

The United States should respond to Ma Ying-jeou’s election by rebuilding a relationship of trust and support for Taiwan’s democracy.  The U.S. should reopen blocked channels of communication with Taiwan officials.  We should continue to provide the arms necessary for Taiwan to deter possible aggression.  And we should encourage both Taipei and Beijing to build commercial, cultural, and other ties, laying the groundwork for a closer relationship and ultimately movement toward resolution of their differences.  We should maintain our “one China” policy, our adherence to the three U.S.-PRC Joint Communiques concerning Taiwan, and observance of the Taiwan Relations Act, which lays out the legal basis for our relationship.  

March 22nd was a good day for the people of Taiwan, for the forces of democracy around the world, and for peace and stability in the western Pacific.  I will do all that I can to support Taiwan’s democracy in the years ahead.  Link

Blues for Obama
Obama: Trust Me to End the War
Obama criticizes his rivals on Iraq
A Thinking Man’s Speech
Obama invites Pennsylvanians to join the party
Condoleeza Rice apologizes for passport breach
The Real Value of Obama’s Speech


Michelle Obama and Marti Nesbitt, listening to Senator Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia.

::

icebergslim’s last word:  the fat lady’s aria is completed

Time is up for Hillary Clinton, now it is about how she will leave this race.  Will she leave with anger and rancor or will she exit with style and grace.  This is something she must face.

Let’s face it.  The Wright story was pushed by the Clinton’s they never disavowed that, in fact in a press conference Hillary Clinton was asked pointedly and she skipped answering the question.  What was supposed to happen by pushing this story is the demise and fall of Barack Obama.  It did not happen.  In fact he turned this bad situation into an opportunity to talk candidly about race in America.  He addressed it from both sides, by being a bi-racial man in America.

He gave a stellar speech, one to go down in history.  He walked away tougher and grittier than before.  Hillary Clinton limped back to her war room in angst and now has to face and wonder how to get out of this race.

No one can state that the Clintons did not weigh in their damage, from the Billy Shaheen snafu to just a few days ago Bill Clinton questioning Obama’s patriotism.  Folks, the fat lady have completed her aria and it is TIME for the Clinton’s to leave the stage, exit right, please.  Why leave?  A few things, Michigan and Florida are history, no revoting for them, it is done.   Hillary Clinton’s money advantage is null and void.  There is no advantage, she is in debt and had only 3 million in the bank end of February compared to Obama’s 30 million.  The Reverend Jeremiah Wright story was a hit for Obama in the polls, but his speech stopped the bleeding and he is now leading, again.  Governor Bill Richardson not only endorsed Obama but came out publicly in stating he has the most delegates, the fighting need to stop and the party need to come together.  Believe me, those are words Clinton did not want to hear.  This is the opening of the doors to the train folks, all those superdelegates will be making announcements for Obama from now until Pennsylvania.

I know for many Clinton supporters this is something that no one wants to address or come to realization to, but it is the fact.  Now we are waiting to see how Clinton leaves, with dignity and legacy intact, or as one who must be forced from the stage and will never be considered for a major political job in the Democratic Party, again.

The choice is up to her.

Time to donate to the only people powered, energetic, motivated campaign around.  Donate to the The Obama Campaign.

                                     
see barack making his ncaa picks above?  have you made yours?  anyway this was a tough week that ended up being a brilliant week.  the train is moving and watch many start to get on board.  we have much work still to do, including phone banking, canvassing, etc.  everything you need to know is right here in kath25’s diary.  always remember the premise of barack’s campaign is to bring us together, not divide us or tear us apart.  what happened these past few weeks will not only make barack a better candidate, but for us stronger supporters.  ok, always remember to focus on obama, but not the drama…

::

icebergslim1047 (at) hotmail (dot) com
This Week With Barack Obama

This Week With Barack Obama, October 21-27, 2007

cross-posted @ One Million Strong

                       
                                                    obama in new hampshire

Debate Schedule

October 30, 2007 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 15, 2007 – Las Vegas, Nevada
December 10, 2007 – Los Angeles, California
January 6, 2008 – Johnson County, Iowa
January 15, 2008 – Las Vegas, Nevada
January 31, 2008 – California
Obama Campaign Close the ($$$) Gap!!!  We did, only the gap was closed in 3 days versus the 5 days that FirstRead is reporting.

                               
                                             obama, ridin’ that bike to where?

Read kid oakland
For Obama, Not Politics as Usual
Obama Faithful

Excerpts From an Interview with Barack Obama

Q. Why have you not been more aggressive distinguishing yourself from Senator Clinton?

A. “We never planned on winning this thing in September. Our strategy has always been based on making the case to voters when they were paying attention and that is in late October, November, December. We feel like we’re on schedule. There’s no doubt that it’s important for us to make the case to the voters as to why I would be the strongest nominee and, more importantly, why I would be the best president for this particular time in history. I expect to make that case forcefully over the next couple of months.”

Q. How are you reassuring contributors?

A. “People who signed up for my race, I think, were pretty clear and have always been pretty clear that I was going to be the underdog. It’s not like that people got into this race with blinders on. We’re running against the most established brand in the Democratic Party for the last two decades, as well as strong candidates like Edwards who have been running for the last four years. So I think our supporters, our donor base, always understood that this was going to be a tough fight.”

Q. But if you’re running against an established brand, don’t you have to draw contrasts?

A. “Our first job was just getting known, and we’ve been able to do that in the early states. It’s interesting. I think what we’ve found was there was a lot of awareness of me as someone who delivered a speech in 2004, not much awareness of my track record as a community organizer, as a civil rights lawyer, a law professor, a state senator, a U.S. senator. There has been a lot of biographical work that we’ve had to do over the last several months, and where we’ve done it is in the early states; we’ve found ourselves in a very strong position to win.”

Q. Why would you be a better uniter than Senator Clinton?

A. “There is a legacy that is both an enormous advantage to her in a Democratic primary, but also a disadvantage to her in a general election. She, I think, represents a lot of old arguments.

“I recognize that she has reached out to Republicans in a very deliberate way in the Senate, but if you look at how she is perceived nationally, I think people perceive her as a tough, competent, intelligent person. But there’s no sense among independents or Republicans that she’s going to bring a new language to our politics.

“On the one hand, I think people know what they are going to get with Senator Clinton. On the other hand, if you believe that the country needs big change, if you believe that business as usual is not sufficient to solve health care or institute a major energy policy or help to heal racial divisions or religious divides in this country, then my candidacy looks more appealing.”

Q. Has she been truthful to voters about what she would do as president?

A. “No.

“I don’t think people know what her agenda exactly is. On Social Security, in the last debate, she was very explicit about not wanting to disclose how she would approach it. On Iraq and Iran, I think there has been a tendency to go back and forth in her positions. Now, it’s been very deft politically, but one of the things that I firmly believe is that we’ve got to be clear with the American people right now about the important choices that we’re going to need to make in order to get a mandate for change, not to try to obfuscate and avoid being a target in the general election and then find yourself governing without any support for any bold propositions.” more

Obama Lashes Out at Clinton
Buttery Voice for Obama
Question and Answer with Michelle Obama

Obama Apperances and Campaign Events

October 29, 2007 – Michelle Obama with Congressman Patrick Murphy, Philadelphia, PA
October 29, 2007 – Conversation with Barack Obama, Cedar Rapids, IA
October 29, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Charlottesville, VA
November 1, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Durham, NC
November 14, 2007 – Countdown to Change, San Franciso, CA

Obama’s Opposition Mailer for The Iraq War
Michelle Obama in Slate

                       
                                       new new hampshire ad, “change we can believe in”

Hillary Clinton is Wrong For This Country
No More, Mr. Nice Guy
Black Farmers and Obama

Clinton v. Obama, Gallup, and Historical Precedent

Regular readers of mine know that I am not at all inclined to write off Barack Obama. This is not to say that I think he is the likely nominee of the Democratic Party. My point has simply been that people are underestimating his chances.

The reason I think this is three-fold:

(a) The guy has a real message that he has honed over the last few months. It could resonate with Democrats, who presumably are the most desirous of a national course correction. As evidence of this, we cannot overlook the fact that he has had donations from more than 300,000 individuals.
(b) He has raised $80 million to date. He will be able to compete as well as any presidential candidate ever has.
(c) He is fully staffed in Iowa and New Hampshire. He’ll be blitzing both states with advertisements. He could win one or both states and turn those national numbers upside down.

Most pundits who are favoring Hillary Clinton so heavily (and remember – I am not saying that she is not favored; my objection is that people are favoring her too heavily) are using the polls – most often the national polls – to support their point. I have argued that this line of analysis is problematic because the national polls are too volatile. more

Obama Loggin’ the Most Time in Iowa
Heart and Mind of Michelle Obama

Audio/Video

Clinton/Obama Battle for Black Voters Heats Up; Ben Affleck; History Repeating; The Women’s Conference in California (look under Presidential Spouses); New Iowa Ad “Wind”

Convincing Voters is Key to Victory

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said convincing enough voters he can bring about systemic change to the politics of Washington – not race – is the greatest obstacle to victory in 2008.

“I have a stronger track record than any candidate in the race in consistently working to open up a government and making it more accessible to the people,” Obama told reporters, after formally signing up Monday to appear on the first-in-the-nation primary ballot.

On that score, Obama wrote the following on a souvenir election notice Secretary of State Bill Gardner has candidates sign every four years, which is placed in the state archive: “It’s time for a real change.”  more

                               
                                                         obama in st. louis, mo

shoutouts: L C Johnson on valerie plame wilson and the ultimate betrayal; bonddad, on it, as usual; black kos; evangelical crackup; dengre on hillary and the tan family; turkana; perspective people! by cosbo; teacherken, keepin’ it real; dishwashers for hillary; clammyc; FishOutofWater; fema and their fake reporters; obama in st. louis, wonderful photos

Announcements/Campaign Events

Obama opens up two more offices; Colorado Straw Poll; Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman Endorses Obama; Columbus Rally; SEIU Wisconsin Endorses Obama

Obama and Mountain Top Coal Removal
Democrats Invest Heavily in Iowa

                               
                                                           obama in ohio

Iraq War, No. 1 Issue in Presidential Race
Obama Fights to Overcome View He’s Inexperienced
Myths and Facts in Iowa

Most Money in Utah
Candidates Cash

Govenor Deval Patrick Endorses Senator Barack Obama
Over 9,500 attended the rally.  One that will be remembered for many.  I diaried the event here.

                         
                                                       inevitability

Obama Go On Offense

Nobody is saying American voters are crazy, just that we are not especially rational. When reason and emotion collide, we go with our gut–roughly four out of five times. That is the core message from “The Political Brain,” a recently published book by Drew Westen, a clinical psychologist at Emory University. Westen is one of a small group of liberal social scientists who believe they may hold the key to the Democratic Party’s future. Democrats, they say, must do what Republicans have excelled at: appealing to people’s prejudices and hearts instead of their brains. That insight may be particularly important this political season, when Barack Obama’s skin color makes it impossible for him to avoid talk of race and John Edwards has chosen to define himself largely by issues of class.

Race and class are among the most loaded issues in politics, as Republicans well know. Many candidates have tried to walk a delicate line where they benefit from racial fears and yet appear to be nonracist. Ronald Reagan managed to do that in 1980 by taking his crusade for “states’ rights” to Philadelphia, Miss., best known as the place where civil-rights workers were murdered in the 1960s. “Republicans talk about race, but they talk about it through code … and put the Democrats on the defensive,” says john powell, executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. (powell does not capitalize his name as a nod to e. e. cummings and to the political consciousness of the 1960s.) Democrats ought to engage, says powell. Just as many Republicans have relied on negative, latent racial appeals, Democrats should rely on positive, explicit racial appeals by evoking ideals like fairness, equality and common destiny.  Newsweek

Obama:  Role for Gore if He Wants
A Social Security Swing
Obama Will Take Up Arms to Protect You

                             
                  obama at the national summit on agriculture and rural life in ames, ia

::

icebergslim’s last word:  tolerance.  stank ho’ bitch.  and daily kos.

Much has been written in this diary, about what happened in our community, yesterday.  In fact I visited the diary in question, which is now deleted, and could not get past the images.

The first thing in my mind was WTF?  For real.  I mean, how anyone can post something like that, is beyond my senses.  Then yes, of course, the reason is all about Barack Obama and the McClurkin controversy.  But what happened is that the diarist used this moment, to not open dialogue, but to create another wedge issue.

The only reason he chose those particular images was to incense and open dialogue for racist and hate mongering.  He was successful.  Yesterday.  A sad and bad day on Daily Kos.

This brings me to another painful incident in my life.  I used to work for Washington Mutual.  I travelled.  In Irvine, California through the week, though my home office was in Illinois.  Yes, I travelled on Sunday and was home Thursday evening or Friday afternoon.  Ouch.

Anyway, the company had a big, huge project to bring their mortgage boarding to Windows compliance.  This meant traveling around and training lending centers in the United States, etc.

It was a great job and I loved my co-workers across the United States.  But an incident that happened changed me about Washington Mutual.

I and two other women had finished having drinks and dinner.   We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Irvine, and we all decided to call it an evening and go to our rooms.  There was a gentleman who was with the group, others were with us, as well.  Anyway he asked if we (three women) would like to go to a sports bar and continue the conversation.  We all declined and was at the elevator, practically pushing the button when all of a sudden the words, “You are nothing but a bunch of stank, ho, bitches anyway.”, was hurled at us.  Stunned.  We looked at each other and the man turned beet red.

One of the young ladies in our group was outraged, so much; tears were spilling from her eyes.  I put on my “civil rights” hat and called my manager, woke him up.

What happened after this is what shocked me.  We wanted this man fired.  But the manager in Illinois “protected him”.  He went to anger management classes, recused from flying anywhere but kept his job.  But what happened to the three women was far worse.

We were retaliated against, written up bogusly, and one woman force from her job.

We got together and had to sue Washington Mutual for sexism, racism, job retaliation.

In the end, after having to file in federal court, the Bank settled.  And it was not until a lot of dirty laundry about this department, manager and supervisors was revealed.  All complicit were fired, the department totally revamped, and the three of us walked away, with a check from Washington Mutual.

Was this adventure nice?  Worth it?  No.  I had a great job with wonderful friends and had to fight for basic respect and decency in the workplace.  And yes, Washington Mutual had on the books, as long as the company paid for you in another city; you represented the company, after hours.

This brings me to daily kos.  kid oakland is right on this statement.

It is not the whole statement that got me, but what does this mean about Daily Kos to allow such material on its site?  That is what he questioned.  What does it mean?  Does it mean the next diary talking about Hispanics as “wetbacks” is acceptable?  I would think not, but after yesterday, I think different.

Either the admins were asleep or did not deem it necessary to do anything.  And are there any minority admins on kos?  If not, believe me, if they were on board that diary would have been deleted.  But the damage is done and it is too, late.

All this brings me to this.

Many need to remember that if not for the fight and death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. there probably would not be an avenue for Daily Kos, today.  The man walked and talked tolerance.  His followers, followed the lead.  That is how they made a difference.   And for this we have the Civil Rights Act, which many fall under, for which many are “protected” to this day.

We need to remember what tolerance is about.  We all need a reminder and dose of it.

And we need to start right, now.

After you listen, remember, tomorrow is a new day for us all.  Peace.

::

If you appreciate the weekly Obama Roundup, then Tip My Obama Jar!!  Minimum five dollars.  This contribution goes directly to the Obama Campaign.  We are in the last stretch of fundraising, Quarter 4, it ends December 31st.  Remember to make your contribution.

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Blogs and Websites

This Week With Barack Obama; Washington State; Obama Dallas; NYC4OBAMA; NewYork4Obama; Texans for Obama; Republicans for Obama; Vermont for Obama; Independents for Obama; Seattle for Obama; Idaho for Obama; Asians for Obama; Bay Area for Obama; Sacramento for Obama; Families for Obama; Irish Americans for Obama; D.C. for Obama; Obama NH; Obama L.A.; Obama News Vine; Black Women for Obama

::

                         
                                                               michelle in algona, ia

fall is here, the trees are changing, i am raking leaves….remember to focus on obama and not the drama

email me @ icebergslim1047@hotmail.com

This Week With Barack Obama, October 14-20, 2007

cross-posted @ daily kos

                   
                                        senator obama with gary lamb in chelsea, ia

Debate Schedule

October 30, 2007 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 15, 2007 – Las Vegas, Nevada
December 10, 2007 – Los Angeles, California
January 6, 2008 – Johnson County, Iowa
January 15, 2008 – Las Vegas, Nevada
January 31, 2008 – California

                                 
                              a blast from the past, a very young barack with his grandpa

Obama Apperances and Campaign Events

October 22, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Newark, NJ
October 22, 2007 – Meet the Candidate, Dover, NH
October 22, 2007 – Lunchtime with Barack Obama, Concord, NH
October 23, 2007 – Rally in Boston with Barack and Govenor Deval Patrick, Boston, MA
October 26, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Columbus, OH
October 26, 2007 – Countdown to Change, St. Louis, MO
October 26-28, 2007 – Gospel Concert Series, South Carolina
October 29, 2007 – Michelle Obama with Congressman Patrick Murphy, Philadelphia, PA
October 29, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Charlottesville, VA
November 1, 2007 – Countdown to Change, Durham, NC

2.1M Raised in 3 Days!!!  Obama Asked, We Responded
Former Denver Mayor Federico Peña in Iowa
Michelle Obama in London
Second Choices, Critical in Iowa

                             
                                                   obama in madison, wi, 4000+

Obama to Participate on MTV/MySpace Forum, October 29th

Illinois Senator Barack Obama will be the next presidential candidate to participate in a MySpace/MTV dialogue when he takes the stage on October 29 at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Following on the heels of the first forum with candidate John Edwards on September 27, Obama will answer questions from the live audience and watch as his responses are rated in real time by users weighing in over the Internet.

The forum, which will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET, will stream live on MySpace.com, MTV’s ChooseOrLose.com and MTV Mobile, and will air at 7 p.m. ET that evening on MTV. The dialogue will be moderated by MTV News correspondents Gideon Yago and Sway Calloway, as well as WashingtonPost.com political reporter Chris Cillizza, who kept Edwards on his toes during the first forum by feeding him instant audience reaction to his responses with a polling tool supplied by Flektor.  more

Obama Comes Out Against Telecom Immunity Bill
Barack Obama’s campaign has just sent us a statement condemning the Senate FISA bill granting retroactive immunity to the telecoms:

“I have consistently opposed this Administration’s efforts to use debates about our national security to expand its own power, whether that was on the Iraq war, or on its power grab to curb our civil liberties through domestic surveillance programs. It is time to restore oversight and accountability in the FISA program, and this proposal — with an unprecedented grant of retroactive immunity — is not the place to start.”

                             
                                            obama on the late show with jay leno

Audio and Video

Bill Moyers on Blackwater, a must see video; Obama on Cappy McGarr Show; Obama in North Las Vegas; Armstrong Williams; NPR on Obama and Cheney Being Distant Cousins; Samantha Powers

Obama Touts Foreign Policy Record

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama said his foreign policy record leaves him immune to Republican attacks likely to be lodged in a general election campaign.

“My Republican opponent won’t be able to say that we both supported the war in Iraq, because I didn’t,” Obama told a crowd packed into a high school gym.

“My opponent won’t be able to say that I haven’t been open or straight with the American people or that I’ve flipped and flopped my positions, because I haven’t. I’ve been consistent this whole time.”  more

DNC Chairman Howard Dean
The Nuts and Bolts of Winning Iowa, by psericks

                                 
                                       obama at Arizona State University, 6000+

Announcements

Arizona Office Openings; Major Owens Endorsement; New Hampshire Activists Join Obama; Iowa State Representative Mark Smith Endorses Obama; New Jersey Office Opening; Latinos for Obama; Obama First on the Ballot in Vermont; Kansas City Office Opening; Child Advocacy Task Force; Missouri-Kansas SEIU Backs Obama

Pulitzer Winner Roger Wilkins Hits the Campaign Trail for Obama
Quick Notes on Obama
REGISTER TO VOTE HERE, DON’T WAIT, OR IT WILL BE TOO LATE!!

Govenor Deval Patrick Endorses Obama

In an e-mail sent Wednesday to his supporters, the contents of which were read to The Associated Press, Patrick praised Obama’s “unifying, visionary leadership.”

He added: “As a Democrat, I am proud that the field of Democratic contenders is so strong. Many are friends and colleagues with whom I have worked over the years. But frankly, I believe the importance of this election transcends friendships and party. I believe we need unifying, visionary leadership. I believe we need a president who would level with the American people. I believe we need Barack Obama.”

The governor declared that “not just national policy but the national character is at stake.”  more

                               
                                                      obama in reno, +2000

Money

Hollywood; State of Washington; State of Wisconsin; Military Voters; State of Indiana; State of New Hampshire; California, East Bay; Fundraises in Los Angeles; State of Massachusetts

Obama to Attend Congressman Braley’s Fundraising Event in Cedar Falls
Reporting the Obama Campaign Coast-to-Coast

                                 
                                         obama in north las vegas, nv

Blogs and Websites

This Week With Barack Obama; Washington State; Obama Dallas; NYC4OBAMA; NewYork4Obama; Texans for Obama; Republicans for Obama; Vermont for Obama; Independents for Obama; Seattle for Obama; Idaho for Obama; Asians for Obama; Bay Area for Obama; Sacramento for Obama; Families for Obama; Irish Americans for Obama; D.C. for Obama; Obama NH; Obama L.A.; Obama News Vine; Black Women for Obama

                         

Barack Obama’s Black Wakeup Call
Lincoln Chaffee and Obama?
The Peru Free Trade Agreement and “Fair Trade”, by Elise

Obama Demands that DoJ Fires Voting Rights Chief
Obama demanded that the Department of Justice fire Voting Rights Chief, John Tanner.  As Tanner argues the voting id laws discriminate against whites.

When Justice Department lawyers and analysts found in 2005 that a Georgia law requiring voters to have photo ID would disproportionately discriminate against African-Americans, they were overruled by John Tanner, the chief of the Civil Rights Divisions’ voting rights section. The law was subsequently halted by a federal appeals judge, who compared it to a Jim Crow-era poll tax.

This past weekend, Tanner showcased his own analytical skills, telling an audience that voter ID requirements actually disproportionately affect whites.

Tanner explained that “primarily elderly persons” are the ones affected by such laws, but “minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do: They die first.” So anything that “disproportionately impacts the elderly, has the opposite impact on minorities,” he added. “Just the math is such as that.” Video of Tanner’s remarks were posted yesterday by The Brad Blog. We’ve supplied a transcript below.  joy sinha, AP

I have read a many statements of total displeasure at something or the other, but with such flippance and ease this man had the audacity to make this statement as if minorites had no consequence, or importance.  Yes, this man does need to be fired, but more importantly, Democrats 2008, I hope you have all your election law attorneys ready and set to go.  If we think the antics of 2000, 2004 are going to stop because we are perceived as the the party of choice, think again.  All mud and dirt will be slung to win at all costs.  Look who is in charge!

                           
                                              obama gettin’ a haircut in south carolina

Obama’s Gospel Tour

As religious conservatives gather in Washington this weekend for the “Values Voters Summit,” Senator Barack Obama’s campaign announced its latest effort to attract people of faith to the campaign: a gospel concert tour.

All three of the dates of the “Embrace the Change” tour are in South Carolina, where Mr. Obama is locked in battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for black voters

Gospel acts including Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and Hezekiah Walker, Byron Cage and the Mighty Clouds of Joy are scheduled to appear.

“This is another example of how Barack Obama is defying conventional wisdom about how politics is done and giving new meaning to meeting people at the grassroots level,” Joshua DuBois, the campaign’s religious affairs director, said in a release. “This concert tour is going to bring new people into the political process and engage people of faith in an unprecedented way.”  more

Federico Peña Launches Nevada Latinos for Obama with Events in Reno
Democratic Luntz, Hillary Clinton vs. Barack Obama: Parts I, II, III
Obama Joins Fight Over GI Benefits

                               
                                    michelle obama in londonderry, nh

shoutouts:  missed last week’s weekly roundup, here; jeffrey feldman; rudy g’s campaign official’s “n” word problem; paul hogarth; teacherken, is it too late for outrage?, my answer no; voting information; notice a pattern here?; FishOutofWater; bonddad; black kos; is bush relevant?; sen. vitter, hypocrisy and creationism; pontificator; kos on stark; kid oakland; nyceve

                               
                                                      obama on tavis smiley

Obama in East Los Angeles

Barack Obama dived into California’s most contentious policy debates Saturday at an East Los Angeles appearance where he defended immigration reform and affirmative action and criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto of a measure to extend college scholarships to students in the country illegally.

“That was wrong,” the Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate told several hundred gathered at Garfield High School. “Instead of driving thousands of children who were on the right path into the shadows, we need to give those who play by the rules the opportunity to succeed.”

Later, during a question-and-answer session, he returned to the topic, declaring that if a student had been brought to this country illegally but had been going to school “like every other American child, it is cruel and stupid for us to suddenly say to them: ‘We’re not going to give you college scholarships. We’re not going to let you finance your college education.’ “

Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 1, the California Dream Act, on Oct. 13, saying that the Cal Grant financial aid program and community college fee waivers should be for legal residents, not illegal immigrant students.

Schwarzenegger’s office did not respond to Obama’s remarks.  L.A. Times

If you appreciate the weekly Obama Roundup, then Tip My Obama Jar!!  Minimum five dollars.  This contribution goes directly to the Obama Campaign.  We are in the last stretch of fundraising, Quarter 4, it ends December 31st.  Remember to make your contribution.

::

icebergslim’s last word:  Sincerity.  Honesty.  Trust.  Change.

The campaign is now ramping up and everyone is in combat mode, but other things are going on to question, judgment.

I wrote a diary about Obama and Iowa.  This diary was about how Obama is doing in Iowa.  But my conclusion of this diary was that we need a candidate who is sincere, honest, and trustworthy and a change.

Over this past week all of the attributes I wrote about has come to bear, why we need total change and not lip service.

The Clinton Campaign seems fit to continue in the lobbyist mode.  Which for that campaign is ok, fair, because she has publicly stated that she will not preclude from accepting lobbyist monies, and she feel that lobbyists are representative of the average American.  Ok, one word for this, “whatever”.

Next, we have to deal with the Lobbyist Luncheon, with members of congress who sit on the Homeland Security Committee, and lobbyists that paid minimum $1000 for access.  After the luncheon breakout sessions, with members of congress, with lobbyists.  Again, ok?  Another statement, “pay to play?”

Then there is the money from the weapons defense industry, another unnerving money scandal, and I can’t keep up because something is always going on with her fundraising, but now the ultimate insult.

The Rural Americans for Hillary Luncheon.  Yes.  Rural Americans.  Only the luncheon is in Washington, D.C. at the lobbyist office of Monsanto.  Ok, again, I am scratching my head.  “Why is this being held in Washington, D.C., at a lobbyist office?”  Why is this not in the middle of some farmland in Iowa?  With farmers?  And for reference here is the invite.   Former Iowa Farmer’s Union President and Clinton Administration appointee Gary Lamb had this to say about this luncheon:

Why the Clinton campaign is talking with Washington lobbyists about rural issues instead of listening to Iowa farmers?  Lamb issued the statement in response to reports that the Clinton campaign is hosting a “Rural Americans for Hillary” event at a lobbying firm in Washington, DC.

“When it comes to the issues facing rural America, it seems like Senator Clinton is listening to Washington lobbyists instead of spending time in Iowa with folks who have been farming for decades,” Lamb said. “I know Senator Clinton said that she believes Washington lobbyists represent real Americans, I just can’t believe that she thinks they know how to farm.”

Now we have a letter sent to Iowans from Clinton, explaining her vote of Kyl-Lieberman amendment.  This letter defends her position and refers to her actions as “stepped up diplomacy.”

Ok, take a deep breath after all those links with information and video.

Now become outraged.

I don’t know what is going on, but all this stinks.  

This cycle is about voting, caucusing for the best person to bring this country together.  The best person to fill the gap.  The best person to make us part of democracy.  The best person to make us feel we are part of the process.  Not for all the above.

If you want change.  You got to fight for it.  And folks, all the above is not change, it is business as usual.

Sincerity.  Honesty.  Trust.  Change.  Barack Obama.

                       
                                                            obama in east l.a.

fall is in full swing, as we prepare for iowa, remember to focus on obama and not the drama

contact me @ icebergslim1047@hotmail.com

This Week With Barack Obama, August 5-11,2007

Debate Schedule

August 19, 2007 – Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa  (ABC) 8PM

August 27-28, 2007 – Cancer Forum, Cedar Rapids, IA (MSNBC & Live Streaming)

September 26, 2007 – Hanover, New Hampshire

October 30, 2007 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

November 15, 2007 – Las Vegas, Nevada

December 10, 2007 – Los Angeles, California

January 6, 2008 – Johnson County, Iowa

January 15, 2008 – Las Vegas, Nevada

January 31, 2008 – California

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly….

he’s only human, guys….let’s go….

Obama Appearances

August 12, 2007 – Michelle Obama, Chicago, IL
August 13, 2007 – Keene, NH
August 13, 2007 – Nashua, NH
August 15, 2007 – Cedar Falls, IA
August 16, 2007 – Council Bluffs, IA
August 16, 2007 – Atlantic, IA
August 17, 2007 – Clear Lake, IA
August 18, 2007 – Waverly, IA
August 22, 2007 – KICKOFF, Brooklyn, NY
August 24, 2007 – KICKOFF, Tallahassee, FL
August 26, 2007 – KICKOFF, Lexington, KY

Well, I am back with the weekly roundup.  I took the week off, due to being at the Yearly Kos Convention in Chicago.  I thought I “might” be able to provide last week’s roundup, but was tired, drained, and reflective of the events when I got home.  So, I posted a diary about my reflections of the convention, instead.  All I have to say is, GO NEXT YEAR, start saving your pennies, NOW.  Next year is critical, it is the year of the presidential election, but more importantly we must work hard to get more democrats in the congress, in our state houses and state races.  Yes, we were fired up this year, but next year the flame is ON!!

August 5, 2007
                             
                                                         Thanks, lovingj!!!!

Senator Obama was in Park City, Utah for a fundraiser, but held an impromptu rally of over 500 and expected just a small number, at Utah Olympic Park.  Kudos to the Obama Campaign for getting this together on the “fly”, and just look at the people grateful to see him.

Obama was next in Elko, Nevada, the senator’s first trip to rural Nevada.  Attending a townhall type meeting of 900, Obama again, backed up his statements about Pakistan.  And the crowd loved it:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Sunday stood by foreign policy comments that sparked an anti-U.S. protest in Pakistan and attacks from his opponents this week.

Obama told a group in Elko, Nevada that he didn’t think he’d made a mistake in suggesting that he would use military force in Pakistan if necessary to root out terrorists.

Pakistan has been considered a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.

Obama also sought to clarify his assertion, prompted by a reporter’s question, that nuclear weapons would be “off the table” in such an attack.

Senator Hillary Clinton criticized him by saying leaders should not discuss hypotheticals involving nuclear weapons. Obama portrayed the question and Clinton’s critique as absurd.  more, My Silver State

The ongoing “flux” with Senator Clinton’s answer about lobbyists, their monies, “our friends”, “don’t influence”, me answers from Yearly Kos.  And the stepping up of ousting Clinton by Obama and Edwards.

…”A lot of those lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans,” the New York senator said. “They represent nurses, they represent social workers, yes, they represent corporations that employ a lot of people…I don’t think, based on my 35 years of fighting for what I believe in, I don’t think anybody seriously believes I’m going to be influenced by a lobbyist.”

A less hypocritical answer to the question might have looked something like this: “Yes, I am taking lobbyists’ donations and I too am concerned about the disproportionate influence wealthy interest groups have on the political process. I have often had to compromise my beliefs for lobbyist cash and that troubles me as a Senator, as a citizen, as a human being. And that’s why we desperately need to switch over to a public campaign finance system. But with the system we have, in order to win, I need to take their money. If I elected, I will do my utmost to enact a public campaign finance system.”

But Clinton seems to be in denial about the power of campaign cash even though, as a matter of historical record, she has flip-flopped like a trained marine mammal at Sea World for major contributors. For example, as First Lady, Hillary Clinton convinced her husband to veto a credit card company-backed bill to make it harder for Americans to declare bankruptcy. Inspired by Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren’s speech about the devastating impact the legislation would have on single mothers and their children, Hillary informally lobbied the president on what she termed “that awful bill.” Yet a few years later, Hillary, now in the Senate with the help of copious contributions from the credit card companies, voted for the same bill. “The financial services industry is a big industry in New York, and it’s powerful on Capitol Hill,” Warren later explained. “It’s a [testament to] how much influence this industry group wields in Washington that…they can bring to heel a senator who obviously cares, who obviously gets it, but who also obviously really feels the pressure in having to stand up to an industry like that.”

So please, Hillary, let’s not pretend that Washington lobbyists defend the interests of social workers — or single mothers — and that their contributions don’t affect your positions anyway. The power of entrenched wealth perverts the political process and turns politicians–even those whose hearts are in the right place, as Hillary’s often is — into paid corporate spokespeople.  more

Obama is criticizing Clinton over her “lobbyist snafu” and the criticism is warranted.  Americans need to have their eyes wide open about these candidates.  We must select the right candidate who is supporting us, not the corporations who are the largest recipients of corporate welfare in the history of this government.  Those are the real welfare “kings and queens”, and not the people.

…In an interview with The Associated Press and later at a town hall-style event, Obama said the matter would be a critical issue in his campaign for the party nomination.

Obama pointed to Saturday’s bloggers forum in Chicago where he touted his promise not to take money from lobbyists. Clinton argued at the event that taking money from lobbyists was acceptable because they represented real people and real interests.

Obama declined to use Clinton’s name, though he told the AP, “I profoundly disagree with her statements.”

“If lobbyists for well-heeled interests in Washington are setting the agenda on the farm bill, in the energy bill, on health care legislation and if we can’t overcome the power of those lobbyists then we’re not going to get serious reform in any of those areas,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they don’t have a seat at the table. We just don’t want them buying every chair.”  more, KC Star, Ari Melber, Newsday, Politico

                         
Al Sharpton on Barack Obama
Obama a Working Birthday
Obama to be on the Daily Show
Michelle Obama

August 6, 2007

Barack Obama has been in the hotseat for his position on Pakistan, but many are coming around and agreeing on his position,  Atlanta Constitution Journal, Washington Post, to name a few.  Now the pundits are talking and discussing the “same policy” as Obama.  Relevant it was on ABC, for the Republican Debate in Iowa on Sunday Morning, when Giulilani was pressed and “quoted verbatim” of agreeing with Obama’s stance on Pakistan, Giuliani, squirmed the question away.

So, while Obama may have gotten folks upset, as they grilled him in Iowa, the fact of the matter is that Osama bin Laden is still running amuck.  He is being harbored in PAKISTAN, the United States know it, Musharraf knows it, and the man should be caught or killed, period.  You can not play two sides of the fence on this.  And for those afraid of Pakistan retailiating, they won’t.  We have harbored and aided Musharref for too long.  He can “publicly” denounce the United States, but he will play politically and hand this man over. Why?  He is in a hot seat, as well.  While re-emphasizing, strongly, that Pakistan is not harboring or aiding al-Qaida.

The Republicans are on their last gasp of breath coming into 2008, they know it, but more importantly, we know it.  For any kind of public ratification of this party, they must get Osama bin Laden, in hope of regaining public trust and retaining the White House.  Clear and simple.  So clear, that this should have been done in the beginning, or we would not be in Iraq.  But of course, Iraq is all about lining corporate purses, period.  Isn’t it?

Obama’s Camp is reassuring its base that the national numbers are not important.  And realistically, these nubmers are not.  Not this far out.  This all comes about from the Clinton Camp releasing another “inevitablity poll number memo”.  David Plouffe has reminded the base that it is the “early states” in which polling is important.  And this statement is true.  Because if you look at the individual state polling the numbers are solidifying and he is doing well.  And from the Obama Camp, it does not look like the money train has “stopped”.

“As the Washington insiders focus on irrelevant and wildly inconsistent national polls, there are strong signs in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina of the growing power and potential of this candidacy,” Plouffe wrote.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll last week showed Clinton, Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards in a virtual tie in Iowa.

A recent poll by the American Research Group in New Hampshire put Clinton and Obama at 31 percent apiece, and a poll by the same group in South Carolina gave Obama a 4 percent lead over Clinton in that state.

“Remember, each contest affects the next,” said Plouffe. “Our strategy has always been to focus like a laser on the early states to create the momentum crucial to later contests.”

Plouffe also pointed to Obama’s prowess at raising money from 258,000 individual donors as a sign of his strength. Obama raised about $5 million more than Clinton during the second quarter.  more

‘You blew it,’ student tells Obama, yes a student told Obama over the controversy of meeting with leaders of hostile countries from the YouTube Debate.  And you know what, Obama is not going to have everyone agree with him.  That is a fact.  When I was in Edwards’ breakout at Yearly Kos, there was a person who did not agree with one of his points, and he stated, I don’t expect you too.  And I don’t expect folk to agree with Obama on everything.  But if you want change, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.

Strategist Says Blacks Are Obama’s ‘Base’
Obama Vows to Stand Up Against Corporate Mega-Farm Lobbyists

Why are the GOP candidates, ganging up on Barack Obama?  What does that tell you?  Obviously, he has hit a nerve with somebody, somewhere?  And why aren’t the GOP candidates worried about “their” nomination and trekkin’ over to spit in our pool?  Yes, these are the questions, one must ask and try to answer.  I have been saying alot about poll numbers and to start looking at them in the fall, and I still mean it.  But their poll numbers must be awful to come sniffin’ around Obama.  Especially, Mitt Romney.  Matthews, from Hardball on Today Show, stated something that caught my attention, quick.  He stated that Brownback has been coming after Romney “hard” about his “flip/flop” on the right to life and questioning his “religion”.  Matthews stated that Romney’s anger was real in his response and that his gut feeling is that Romney’s “poll numbers” must be slipping in Iowa.  

Well, Matthews was RIGHT.  The current polling numbers for Republicans by the University of Iowa, Obama comes in THIRD, as the candiate Republicans will caucus for.  Unbelievable?  NO.  We know that Clinton is the candidate the Republicans want to run against, Obama is the one they do not want to run against.  If Obama gets the nomination, he will win.  He will siphon off enough Republicans, get the independents and the Democrats will be behind him.  No wonder Romney spewed all those “cheap shots” against Obama on Sunday, he knew what the polling numbers, would be.  Oh, and who won on Sunday?

Barack Obama: Obama was all over this debate and was even the basis of one of the questions. That’s great news for the Illinois Senator. It shows he has become a major center of gravity in this race although he has not yet reached the villain status enjoyed (and we do mean enjoyed) by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) It also allowed him to put out a statement of his own that drew a bright line between him and the GOP candidates on the war. “The fact that the same Republican candidates who want to keep 160,000 American troops in the middle of a civil war couldn’t agree that we should take out Osama bin Laden if we had him in our sights, proves why Americans want to turn the page on the last seven years of Bush-Cheney foreign policy,” Obama said.  more

Pure Horserace

Obama Rising? Agree with him or not, Barack Obama has become the hot candidate over the past week, gaining the attention of presidential candidates from the other party as well as his own. Obama and Hillary Clinton have sparred recently over what conditions they would or would not set for a presidential-level meeting with some of the world’s most shady characters. And at yesterday’s Republican debate in Iowa, the Illinois senator’s insistence that, as president, he would attack terrorists in part of Pakistan — with or without that nation’s cooperation — triggered discussion.   more

Obama and Vote Hope
Media Matters On It
Obama Goin’ to Miami
Warren Buffett to Host Obama Fundraiser
Visting all 50 States?
Pandering the Teachers Union

August 7, 2007

Fundraising Bundlers
Not So Nice, Uh?

Will Clinton Sever Ties With Penn?
No.  My take on all of this with the Penn/Clinton association is that he has been effective for her, period.  He is associated with a firm that prides itself with parrying union pressure.  When I look back on growing up, I grew up in a union home.  A home that allowed my parents to become middle class, to afford the dream home, to purchase a new car every 3-4 years, a home that produced four children who graduated from college.  We need more than a tax break and lip service.  We need “living wages” for workers in America, along with “living wage jobs”.  We need a president who is not a sell-out to corporate America.  We need a leader who will stand with us and beat back the influx of China in this country.  We surely do not need anymore Penn’s, and I am confident many will agree with me on this one.

Obama: Part Hawk, Part Dove?
Obama’s Heritage
What The Polls Say V. What They Mean

AFL-CIO Debate, Soldiers Field, Chicago, IL
I watched the debate and came to this conclusion.  Chris Dodd and Joe Biden want a “cabinet position” with the “hopeful president to be”, that is Clinton.  The way they went after Obama was comical, at best, with tints of desperation, to be nice.  But this gave Obama a chance to speak and clarify (video here) his position on Pakistan.  As Ben Smith from Politico wrote:

…”Well, look, I find it amusing that those who helped to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me for making sure that we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war against terrorism,” Obama said to applause for the crowd.  more

One shameless moment came from Senator Biden.  This was during the union members Q&A, when the widow, Deborah Hamner, whose husband died at the Sago Mines, addressed Senator Biden about federal safety regulations for mine workers.  Instead of him answering the question, he was still in tag team form of answering a question about Pakistan!!!  He was booed soundly and loudly.  The most stupid question of the night went to Senator Obama from Keith Olbermann.  Will you invite Barry Bonds to the White House?  Umm, can I categorically let you know that we don’t give a damn.  The most passionate and one that left impressions was Dennis Kucinich.  Even my husband, had to sit up and take notice.  Kucinich was the only one who would ban NAFTA for good.  And wouldn’t any union household cheer that?

During the analysis on MSNBC former Mayor Willie Brown stated something that stuck with me, and I have been writing about it on the boards.  He stated that Senator Clinton need to address and put to bed, the “lobbyist” snafu.  She had an opportunity to address this tonight and her answer was everthing but the “right answer”.  The former mayor also stated that this issue could run like a “virus”.  I have posted my comments on this and agree.  Everyone must understand this.  We follow these candidates, polls, campaign stops, etc.  The average public does not.  So, when hearing about this “lobbyist snafu”, they only have one reminder, the Jack Abramhoff lobbyist scandal.  To publicly, admit, that it is “okay” to take monies from lobbyists, puts you in the bed of “business as usual”.  This is something her campaign need to address and expect ads out “very soon”, on this issue.

Overall, Clinton is unscathed.  Obama held his own and scored some points on foreign policy.  Biden and Dodd are riding out to “Desperado”.  Edwards was just OK for me.  With the exception of calling Clinton out for being on the cover of “Fortune” or is it “Money” magazine?  Richardson better, but forgettable.  And the winner is Dennis Kucinich.  The only candidate that will send NAFTA out to pasture, and kick WTO to the curb.  AP, Washington Post, Newsday, Chris Cillizza, Full Debate Transcript
And the moment of the debate, was here, Steve Skvara, retired LTV Steel Worker:
                               

Obama Will Be in Oakland for Walk A Day In My Shoes
Using PAC Money

August 8, 2007

Seeking the Hispanic Vote

…Despite becoming this presidential race’s phenomenon, with the power to draw huge crowds and raise millions of dollars, Mr. Obama remains relatively unknown among the country’s fastest-growing electorate: Nearly half of Latino voters have never heard of him, according to a June Gallup poll.

Even as he gains awareness among Hispanics, he may find wooing them to his campaign a challenge. Across the U.S., tensions simmer between Hispanics and blacks who regard each other as rivals for jobs, educational resources, housing and political power. In Los Angeles, Hispanics have become the majority in traditionally black enclaves and clashes have erupted between the groups in schools and on the streets.

For Mr. Obama, this has created a tricky situation. The fiery debate over immigration in Congress alienated many Hispanics, pushing conservatives among them into the Democratic camp and encouraging others to register to vote. But to tap into that, Mr. Obama must navigate past Democratic primary opponents who are better positioned to capitalize on those voters.

“If Obama were the Democratic presidential nominee, he would do well in the Hispanic community,” says Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster. But “he will have to fight for their support in the primaries.”  more

Rasmussen 24 Hour Trend Reversal
Obama, an Opportunistic Hawk?

Well, the Yearly Kos Presidential Forum has unleashed the “real”.  From new polling data 48% believe Senator Clinton will be “influenced” by lobbyist monies.  Since this blunder, or we can say the “keepin’ it real Hillary moment”, this put the pause in folk to say, “hold up, lobbyist represent average americans”?  Yes, folk are questioning this.  See, when you are in the “beltway”, you do get “disconnected” with how people feel.  That is why I do give kudos to Clinton for consistantly polling to keep up with the “pulse” of people.  But to come out and say that “lobbyist” gaffe is just another question to throw onto the “who is Hillary” pile.  Lastly, former Mayor Willie Brown from San Francisco summed it up.  That Hillary Rodham Clinton need to address the lobbyist issue, if she does not it will be come a virus.  And this may just be the start.

Read, Glenn Greenwald
Obama, Clinton Fighting for the Gay Vote
Gay Community Want Action, Not Just Talk

Clinton Rivals, HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

Hillary Clinton has surged to a big lead in national polls for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination but her chief rivals say the polls are overblown and the race is far from over.

According to a realclearpolitics.com average of recent polls, the New York senator and former first lady is enjoying a gap of 18 percentage points over her closest challenger, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, 41 percent to 22 percent, while former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has 11.5 percent.

Democratic strategist Jenny Backus, who is neutral in the 2008 nomination race, said the national polls are important but that Obama and Edwards are making the race a more difficult one for Clinton than her camp had anticipated.

“I think Hillary is the front-runner but not the front-runner she thought she was going to be when this race started. She was supposed to be this colossus striding over a field of pygmies. But instead she’s in a hand-to-hand battle with one very ferocious competitor and a couple others breathing on her heels,” said Backus.  more

Fundraising in Sacramento, California

Sympathy for Musharraf

“President Musharraf has a very difficult job, and it is important that we are a constructive ally with them in dealing with al-Qaida,” the Illinois senator said.

Obama did not repeat the most incendiary line from his foreign policy speech last Wednesday, when he promised: “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”  more

Obama Blasts Fundraising Group
Michelle Obama to Campaign in Reno, Nevada

                                     
                                                      Good interview here….Mike Lux, Open Left

Obama does housework, homecare for labor support

With a television crew and photographers in tow, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spent Wednesday morning mopping floors, cleaning cobwebs and preparing breakfast for an 86-year-old wheelchair-bound amputee, as he accompanied a home health care worker on her daily duties.

A day on the job has become a new ritual of the Democratic presidential campaign this year, after the powerful 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union demanded that candidates “Walk a Day in My Shoes” with a union member in order to be considered for endorsement.

On Wednesday, it was the Illinois senator’s turn. Obama joined 61-year-old Pauline Beck, an African-American woman with gray hair and an easy manner, as she cared for John Thornton, a retired cement mason and widower who lives in a modest clapboard home in a low-income neighborhood of Oakland.

“I’m not going to lie to you. It’s been a while,” Obama said, after mopping the kitchen and bathrooms.

“I probably haven’t mopped a floor since I started my Senate race,” Obama continued, though he quickly added, “Before that, that wasn’t something I was averse to doing.”

Obama gamely assembled Thornton’s customary breakfast of coffee, frosted flakes and watermelon cubes, washed and folded laundry and gingerly approached the task of making the bed.

“Is this the way he likes it?” Obama asked. “This is the hard part for me. My wife says I’m kind of shaky.”  more, Barack Walked A Day in Pauline Beck’s Shoes

New Radio Ad in South Carolina
                                     
                                                                 New Ad in Iowa, “What If”

To naivesayers: Can’t Obama be new blood?

The conventional thinking – especially in Washington – is that Barack Obama is flunking foreign policy. But this is one case where conventional thinking may be too closely tied to convention and not all that well thought out.

Yes, we’ve had a glimpse of the world according to Obama. And it doesn’t look half bad.

Not the world itself, which is as dangerous and unpredictable as ever – full of petty tyrants, enemies posing as friends, and rogue states in search of nuclear weapons.

I’m talking about the worldview of the junior senator from Illinois. What seemed like a rookie mistake – i.e., suggesting that, as president, he’d meet with dictators from countries such as Cuba, Iran or North Korea – may actually wind up serving Obama well.

First, it let him draw a distinction between himself and the front-runner. Hillary Clinton helped the cause when she blasted Obama’s comments as “irresponsible and frankly naive.”

That’s baby boomer code for “young and immature.” The 46-year-old Obama stresses the fact that he’s of a different generation than his opponents. This was Clinton pushing back. She might as well have sent the whippersnapper to his room without dessert. After all, Clinton lectured, the president of the United States must be careful not to be used “for propaganda purposes.”  more

Trying to Seal the Deal With Hispanics

August 9, 2007

Obama Against the GOP
Obama’s Rise and PAC Monies
Race for ’08: Devotion, dollars for Obama

Obama Commander-in-Chief

..Over the past few weeks, Obama has been working to create a commander-in-chief moment, and it has resulted in a rough patch for his campaign. But if he wants to win the nomination, he can’t give up working for this moment.

Obama made the right decision in not backing off his comments about pursuing terrorists in Pakistan. At the AFL-CIO debate earlier this week, Chris Dodd urged Obama to admit that his statement about Pakistan was a mistake — but Obama forcefully defended himself.

Obama is correct to stand by his statement because what he originally said makes perfect sense:

“It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”

Since when did going after al-Qaida become a controversial platform? Bush, Cheney and Giuliani have based their entire political identities on the vague assertion that they will hunt down the terrorists and kill them, but Obama suggests we might actually want to do this and he is hit for being naïve.

The truth is that Bush and Company gave up on catching bin Laden four years ago to focus on what they thought would be an easier time in Iraq. Intent on solidifying her hawkish credentials, Hillary went along for the ride.  more

Obama and Pakistan
Candor in the Age of Spin
Eric Michael Dyson Video, a must see

As ABC says:  “She said vs. She said?”
Hillary Rodham Clinton need to hire a staff just for canvassing “youtube, “audio, “print”, files before she opens her mouth, for criticism.  In fact, I would hope “all these campaigns” are doing just that, if not, “heads up”, you should.  Back to Clinton, who publicly “berated” Obama stating that he would not resort to using “nukes” to rule out terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The bait and switch is that Clinton said almost the exact same thing.

“I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table,” Mrs. Clinton told Bloomberg Television in an interview in April 2006, responding to a question about how the Bush administration would try to prevent Iran from building up its nuclear program.

Last week, Mr. Obama said it would be a “profound mistake” for the United States to use nuclear weapons to fight terrorism in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Asked to reply, Mrs. Clinton said: “I think that presidents should be very careful at all times in discussing the use or non-use of nuclear weapons.”

For weeks, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama have tangled over their foreign policy views, judgment and experience in their quest to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Mrs. Clinton has challenged Mr. Obama – at one point, calling his foreign policy stands “irresponsible and frankly naïve” – while he has sought to portray his positioning as an example of how he would change Washington.

But during the television interview more than a year ago, the comments of which were reported by The Associated Press, Mrs. Clinton also discussed the role of nuclear weapons.

“I have said publicly no option should be off the table, but I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table,” Mrs. Clintons said. “This administration has been very willing to talk about using nuclear weapons in a way we haven’t seen since the dawn of a nuclear age. I think that’s a terrible mistake.”  more, ABC, Bloomberg

Republicans for Obama

Obama argues for civil unions for gays

Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday he wanted to tap into the “core decency” of Americans to fight discrimination against gays and lesbians, and argued that civil unions for same-sex couples wouldn’t be a “lesser thing” than marriage.

At a televised forum focusing on gay rights, the Illinois senator was asked to explain how civil unions for same-sex couples could be the equivalent of marriage. He said, “As I’ve proposed it, it wouldn’t be a lesser thing, from my perspective.

“Semantics may be important to some. From my perspective, what I’m interested (in) is making sure that those legal rights are available to people,” he said.

“If we have a situation in which civil unions are fully enforced, are widely recognized, people have civil rights under the law, then my sense is that’s enormous progress,” the Illinois Democrat said.  more, post conference

Rasmussen Poll, Obama Cut Clinton’s Lead to 12

August 10, 2007

Over on mydd bloggers for their “candidate” will be given featured author status.  This event starts Monday, and on Wednesday check out psericks and Max Fletcher, blogging for Barack Obama.  Don’t miss it.

Owner of the Utah Mine Fiasco Uses Media Against Union for Safety Conditions, a must read

Being on the Outside

Obama was compared to a rock star at the LGBT forum and received a strong welcome from the crowd. He acknowledged his experience as an African American, and how it helps him relate to the LGBT community. “When you are a black guy named Barack Obama, you know what it’s like to be on the outside.” He also said, “It is important not to look at the black candidate and wonder whether or not he’s going to be more sympathetic, or less sympathetic to these issues. I’m going to be more sympathetic not because I’m black, but because this has been the cause of my life and will continue to be the cause of my life making sure that everybody is treated fairly and we have an expansive view of America, where everybody is invited in and we are all working together to create the kind of America we want for the next generation.”
Link

Michelle Obama in Reno, NV
Emulating Bush?

Obama at National Association of Black Journalists

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday that rival Hillary Rodham Clinton was wrong when she said politicians shouldn’t discuss hypothetical decisions on foreign policy.

Speaking at a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Illinois senator defended his recent call for military action to hunt down terrorists if Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf doesn’t act. Obama also said it would be “a profound mistake” to deploy nuclear weapons in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Clinton, who has tried to cast her rival as too inexperienced for the job of commander in chief, said presidents shouldn’t make “blanket statements” with respect to the use or non-use of nuclear weapons.

“She said, I don’t I think we should talk about it. Well, I think we should talk about it. I think the American people ought to have a debate about our foreign policy because it’s so messed up and if we don’t talk about it we’re going to end up repeating the same mistakes,” Obama told an audience at a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists.

“Being experienced is not enough. The question is, what lessons do you learn from your experience?” he said. “Nobody had a better track record in experience than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, but they had bad judgment … The people who have been criticizing me over the past two weeks are the people who engineered what is the biggest foreign policy fiasco in a generation.”

 more, audio of the event, psericks

Obama Fires Up Culinary Union Rally
Obama Can SING!!!
The One Catch All Candidates Are Trying To Snare”
                                 
                                                 Obama and his girls in Las Vegas, Nevada

Barack Oblogger

August 11, 2007

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday served as grand marshal of the annual Bud Billiken Parade, an event founded in 1929 by the Chicago Defender newspaper to celebrate area children.

Before the parade began, Obama said he was glad to be on the South Side.

“Everybody here has looked after me for years,” Obama said.

Asked if participating in the parade was part of a strategy to court black voters, Obama said, “This is my crew. I don’t worry about them. We’re doing fine.”   more, ABC7 Chicago, Video

Fighting the Arugula Factor

Professors Like Obama

Barack Obama appears to be winning the faculty lounge straw poll — his presidential campaign is cultivating academics and pacing the field in collecting cash from them.

Obama, whose website features an “Academics for Obama” page, raised nearly $1.5 million in the first half of the year from people who work for colleges and universities, according to an analysis of campaign finance data by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. And that’s 55 percent more than the $939,000 brought in by the next biggest professor’s pet, fellow Democratic senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.  more

Clinton, Obama and DOMA
Tucker, the Tool

A Series of Fortunate Events
This piece is slated for August 12, 2007, Washington Post.  I decided to include this piece with this week’s roundup because it is a facisnating read about Obama’s rise in politics.

In the summer of 2002, a little-known Illinois state legislator named Barack Obama thought he saw the political opening he’d been looking for. It was a long shot, a flier — a race for the U.S. Senate against a sitting Republican. Obama believed he could beat the incumbent, Peter Fitzgerald. The immediate and, in some ways, harder challenge would be getting the Democratic nomination.

Obama was about to turn 41. An attorney and law lecturer at the University of Chicago, he had been elected to the state Senate in 1996, but had been chafing for some time at the limitations of legislating in Springfield. In 2000, he’d overreached by challenging former Black Panther Bobby Rush for the seat Rush held in the U.S. House of Representatives. It had been a disastrous bid, but understandable given that in Illinois, as around the country, paths to higher office for black politicians are few.
                             
But this new opportunity looked, to him, feasible. In 1992, another Chicago politician, Carol Moseley Braun, had demonstrated that it was possible for an African American to win a statewide U.S. Senate primary, as long as there were at least two white Democrats to split the white vote. And several were already lining up to take on Fitzgerald.

There was just one problem, and it was a big one: Moseley Braun was talking about running herself. Only the second African American U.S. senator since Reconstruction, she had lost to Fitzgerald in 1998, in part as a result of allegations, never proved, that she had misused campaign funds. After the loss, she had been appointed U.S. ambassador to New Zealand. But now she was back in Hyde Park, the neighborhood that surrounds the University of Chicago, where Obama also lived. If she did run, there would be two credible black Democrats in the primary — one far better known than the other.  more

Leave it to Barack Obama

Leave it to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to stir up an international incident by acknowledging something everyone already knew.

Obama’s bombshell: If the Obama administration knows Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan and President Pervez Musharraf doesn’t act to take him out, President Obama will. Obama’s rivals in the race for the White House pounced, calling his stance naive and a sign of his lack of foreign policy experience. They didn’t disagree with the policy. They didn’t like the way he said it.

The gloves are coming off. We’re seeing a new debate emerging in the dog days of summer that’s centering on how much Obama has to learn about foreign policy. The former first lady and second-term senator, who has been widening her lead over Obama in polls, certainly has the edge on experience. But Obama has a big comeback of his own: If experience got us into the foreign policy mess we face today, that kind of experience is overrated.

Yet, Clinton and other leading Democratic rivals, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware and Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, saw an opportunity to criticize Obama and they took it. So did former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the Republican roster.

Yet, Obama’s critics acknowledged that his policy is already the Bush administration’s policy. Furthermore, none of the leading candidates disagreed with it.

So what was the problem? The issue quickly became a question of international etiquette.   more

Obama Gets His Groove Back
                             
If you want “business as usual”, and believe “lobbyists represent the average american”, well you know who your candidate is.  If you want change, real change, you know WHAT TO DO.

Shoutouts:  a must read foreclosures; harold ford, exposed; glenn w smith, on the dlc; did you miss hillary and the lobbyists?; read my entitlement diary; iowa caucus in december?; apology for my gaffe, giuliani; a must read by FishOutofWater; clammyc; giuliani’s daughter backs barack; more katrina; govenor spitzer; NYTimes video of Yearly Kos; yearly kos photos; mike lux; we still do need unions;  minnesota bridge update; the gloves are off!!!; my partner in crime, lovingj; another lovingj video; kos and cafe standards; amen, kos, amen; cowards; more troops in iraq, than ever; a message for us; iraq casualty list; army recruiting incentives; general wesley clark; cenk uygur, not once but twice; jeffrey feldman; psericks afl-cio recap; no endorsement from labor; brooklynbadboy, great diary; jerome a  paris; soldier field’s tailgating parties by bored now; kos is right, mitt romney is full of it!!; canvassing in NH; and donate to the obama campaign, here

Missed YKos Presidential Forum?  Right Here
yearly kos presidential forum part I and part II;

Missed AFL-CIO Debate?  Right Here
afl-cio debate part I, part II, part III, part IV; part V; part VI; part VII; part VIII; part IX

icebergslim’s final word:  This week’s final word is about a “supposed to be” Democrat by the name of Harold Ford, Jr.

I don’t really know where to begin.  One thing I do know for sure, we can have knockdown, drag out fights, arguments, amongst each other.  Even when our candidate does not win the primary, we begrudgingly rally behind the Democrat.  Now this is something I have not witnessed in a while, a “Democrat” assaulting a Democratic Progressive Website, Daily Kos.

I don’t know what Mr. Ford is trying to accomplish by “bashing us”, but let me remind him a tad bit of what this community is about.  During his campaign he got a “hell of a lot of money” from the community of that site and all through the progressive community.  Many did not believe he could win, but many of us, did.  He may not be on the same “page” as many of us, but he is a Democrat and thus so, we supported him.

Now, since Mr. Ford did not win, he is working as a correspondent with the Fox News Channel, Vice Chairman and Senior Policy Advisor for Merrill Lynch, and is Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Conference.  

He started with an op-ed piece, tag-teaming with Governor O’Malley of Maryland titled, “Our Chance to Capture the Center”, and his opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal.  I am not going to comment about these articles, it speaks for itself.  But, what I found rather “odd” is that this is not how most Democrats think.  It is not.  Nor are we trying to get back to “center”, look what that has done for us?  Nothing.  So, is he out of touch?   Is he ranting because the presidential candidates decided to support and address, the Yearly Kos Convention, instead of the DLC, which they did a “no-show”?  If so, what kind of “cheese” do you wish with your “whine”?

Moving on, Mr. Ford presumes that we think next year will be a “cakewalk”, I hardly think so.  Every vote will be fought for, we totally get that.  We, Democrats, have been fighting this battle for as long as I can remember, which includes for me, my mother, dragging me and my brothers and sister, through the neighborhood knocking on doors, for DEMOCRATS.

What I am getting from Mr. Ford’s article is a “throwback” to the “Clinton Years”, the “90’s”.  That reads well on paper, but this is 2007, driving into 2008.  People are different, times are different, and issues are different, period.  And to think “that time” will fit into “this time” is wishful thinking, at best.

Mr. Ford can continue to go on Bill O’Reilly’s show, continue to write op-ed pieces, rant and rave, all he want  Oh, by the way, Mr. Ford, did you read Markos’ op-ed, by chance?  Anyway, he has assaulted us, the many of us who commune at Daily Kos because many do not agree with him, and many of us are Democrats.  And he has taken it public.  On this note, for me, he is just like Joe Lieberman, ’nuff said on that one.  Mr. Ford has lost any support or admiration he got from me, and if it was up to my husband this would not be “readable”.  So, in closing, Mr. Ford definately will not get another check for his endeavors from, icebergslim, again.

                                               
                                   Obama @ YKos breakout, thanks casperr for the pix!!

email me for any questions, read ya next week, remember to focus on Obama, not the drama….

donate to next year’s netroots nation conference/convention, (a.k.a. Yearly Kos) here

p.s. a wonderful shoutout to pastordan