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
waukee, ia
Obama Appearances
September 12, 2007 - Policy Speech, Clinton, IA September 12, 2007 - Townhall Meeting, Davenport, IA September 13, 2007 - Townhall Meeting on Iraq, Maquoketa, IA September 13, 2007 - Townhall Meeting on Iraq, Anamosa, IA September 13, 2007 - Townhall Meeting on Iraq, Dubuque, IA September 15, 2007 - Countdown to CHANGE Houseparties (NATIONWIDE) September 18, 2007 - Coundown to Change, Washington, D.C. September 19, 2007 - Michelle Obama, Dallas, TX September 20, 2007 - Countdown to Change, Atlanta, GA September 25, 2007 - Countdown to Change, Portland, ME
Barack Obama would clean up in a Whole Foods straw poll.
"He's the got the classic 'wine track' candidate problem," said Tom Schaller, a University of Maryland political scientist who writes for The American Prospect.
Schaller was referring to the Volvo-driving wing of the Democratic Party, or what Jennifer Duffy, another political analyst, called the "idealist-romantic" wing of the party.
Unfortunately for Obama, wine candidates have a long history of failure in Democratic primaries - Gary Hart, Howard Dean, et al . - because not enough of these educated, upper-middle-class voters exist to carry the candidate.
"A union voter's vote counts just as much as Matt Damon's," Schaller quipped.
So Obama, the youthful first-term senator from Illinois with a legitimate chance to be America's first black president, came to a working-class black neighborhood in Las Vegas to win support from voters he'll need to win the Nevada caucus in January.
With the campaign entering its most intense phase, Obama must break through with working-class voters, and he's clearly begun to re tool his campaign to do so. more
"The Administration's failure to lead while thousands of Americans found themselves in danger of losing their homes is now affecting the broader economy, as thousands of workers lost their jobs this month for the first time in four years. To build an economy that spreads opportunity to every corner of this country, we need to invest in our workers, our infrastructure, and help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure by cracking down on unscrupulous lenders with new penalties and disclosure requirements."
las vegas, nv, townhall, august 6
Money Barack on Broadway; Charlottesville, VA; Obama the Investor; Generation for Obama Fundraiser in Hawaii
This year's presidential candidates are aggressively working to avoid soft-on-security images, keeping in mind the ridicule Republicans heaped on nominees Dukakis for posing as a tank commander in 1988 and Kerry when he tried in 2004 to explain contradictory votes on funding for the war.
``The first threshold that every Democrat has to pass through is they have to be able to table unimpeachable credentials on national security,'' Senator Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat who is staking his own campaign on foreign policy and defense issues, said in an interview. ``I hope to God we don't make the mistake again thinking that we don't have to compete directly and right in the face of the Republicans.''
Hillary Clinton wants to add 80,000 soldiers to the Army; Barack Obama calls for 65,000 more soldiers and 27,000 more Marines; Biden proposes establishing local counter-terrorism units in large cities; John Edwards would double the budget for military recruiting; and Bill Richardson says the National Guard should patrol U.S. borders to block nuclear weapons smugglers. more
Videos
Camp Obama; Labor Day Speech, Manchester, NH; Labor Day, Again; Iowa Change Ad; Waukee, IA part one; Waukee, IA part two; Waukee, IA, part three; San Franciso Women for Obama, Speech
Democrat Barack Obama on Monday sharpened his critique of lead rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, warning against a return to "divisive, special interest politics" that had demoralized the country even before President Bush took office.
"As bad as this administration has been, it's going to take more than just a change in parties to truly turn this country around," Obama told supporters at a Labor Day rally.
"George Bush and Dick Cheney may have turned divisive, special interest politics into an art form, but it was there before they got to Washington. If you and I don't stand up to challenge it, it will be there long after we leave." more
Sen. Barack Obama said yesterday he's found the right prescription for health-care reform - don't do it the Hillary way.
In a stunning putdown of the front-running Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama vowed to have an "open process" for crafting a universal health-care plan and rapped the former first lady's failed 1993 effort as a secretive attempt that shut out the American public. "We will convene an open process which the American people will be watching," Obama said at a coffee sitdown in Iowa.
"What the president can do is shine a spotlight on the process and [involve] the American people and keep the pressure on, and that is something that didn't happen. In many ways it didn't happen in '93."
Obama was talking about his own plan to revamp the system and provide universal health care when someone mentioned Clinton's aborted plan.
"It was a closed process and not everybody understood what was taking place, so when the insurance companies and the drug companies started running those 'Harry and Louise' ads, nobody really knew what was what," he said. "That's why the American people have to be involved." more, AP
Change, what is this really about? Now, Senator Clinton is on the change road. Yes, she has snatched a page from Obama, and put change with her experience speech. Will this work? Is she the change candidate? And why, is she throwing up change, when she is not the change candidate? Well, ask the Gallup poll.
It's a tricky pivot for the Democratic front-runner and the darling of the party establishment. A Gallup Poll released this week found 73 percent of Democratic voters say they favor a presidential candidate who advocates changing the system, while only 26 percent opted for experience.
Yes, this is what it really is about. And brings us back to the Obama argument about, experience. Look at who voted for the authorization of Iraq. Many who are currently running for this office. Look at who is the President of the United States, along with the Vice-President of the United States, entrenched with experience. And now look where we are at, with all this experience. Nuff said, on that one. This does bring the argument of Barack Obama, about judgment, a valid one. We do have to critique and look at these same people who voted for authorization for the Iraq War, who tells us about their “experience”, but shy away from answering the question of their judgment.
Bringing us back to why Clinton is not the change candidate with this statement:
In a new campaign speech, and in ads airing in Iowa and New Hampshire, Clinton tries to bridge the two. She argues that only a president well-schooled in the ways of Washington can achieve the results voters seek. "I've learned you bring change by working in the system established by the Constitution. You can't pretend the system doesn't exist," the New York senator said in New Hampshire, her husband at her side.
Predictably, Obama and Edwards have harshly criticized that argument. Campaigning in New Hampshire this week, Obama told voters "the problem is that the system in Washington isn't working for us and hasn't for a long time."
Edwards, who picked up a union endorsement in New York Thursday, was more direct.
"We fundamentally disagree about this," when asked whether change requires compromise or the more confrontational style he favors. "Democratic voters will have a choice in this election. Senator Clinton is entitled to her view, and I'm entitled to mine."
This reminds me of sitting at the Yearly Kos Convention with Clinton telling us that “lobbyists represent the average Americans”. Well that statement above is so beltway, so entrenched in Washington, and so delusional, that it is laughable. Do you really think people want to continue “working the system”? NO. This system is broken, period. The public want a system that works for them and is removed from the “K Street Gang's” grasp.
If this is the change Clinton is peddling, then Lord help us all. It will continue to be business as usual.
icebergslim's last word: leadership and the "o" factor This week has been a busy one for Senator Obama. Since New Hampshire on Monday, he has crissed-crossed the country. Mostly meeting with grassroots support, fundraising, and the Oprah Celebration.
This week also was the week of the dreadful, upcoming Petreaus, White House report on Iraq. And there has been much debate on the boards about these presidential candidates and “leadership”. This is a valid point, one that cannot be swept under the rug. With all our eyes open, we must be totally frank. 2006 flip of the congress would not, repeat, not have happened without the 800 pound gorilla in the room called, IRAQ.
Yes, there were other issues thrown in this jambalaya, but let’s face it, IRAQ, got everyone to the polls. So, with this bogus report about to be presented, we do want to know where these presidential candidates, stand. Clinton stated that she want a withdrawal bill with “teeth”. Meaning, this is thrown back into the wonderful senate. One that is slower than a turtle, when it comes to Iraq. Edwards says, “No timeline, no funding, no excuses.” Chris Dodd said, straight up, "I cannot and will not support any measure that does not have a firm and enforceable deadline to complete the redeployment of combat troops from Iraq. Rather than picking up votes, by removing the deadline to get our troops out of Iraq you have lost this Democrat's vote." And Senator Dick Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois, stated he is not voting for this authorization of funds, unless troop withdrawal and a timetable is in the bill.
So, it is only warranted that we know what Senator Obama’s intentions are when this bill approaches for a vote. He has been silent. It has been frustrating to many supporters, and rightfully so, when you are silent. This does bring the question up about leadership. For me, leadership is standing up and believing what you state, whether popular or not. It is being a maverick and not falling for the typical, status quo, which is the easy road to walk. It is taking hits, as Senator Obama did after his Pakistan Speech, not withdrawing, because you are right. This is what it means to me. That is why when Senator Obama speaks about this upcoming bill, it must be unwavering, attention getting and totally about LEAVING IRAQ.
Now, we come upon the “O” affect, as in Oprah Winfrey. I wrote a diary about the ”Oprah Poll”. Yes, there is one out already. Anyway, the larger argument is what will Oprah bring to the Obama Campaign?
There are numerous things she can bring, but this is the comment that sums it up for what Oprah’s intentions are: "I call my home the Promised Land because I get to live Dr. King's dream," Winfrey told her guests, a source inside the event recalled Winfrey saying. "I haven't been actively engaged before because there hasn't been anything to be actively engaged in. But I am engaged now to make Barack Obama the next president of the United States."
That is a huge statement. We don’t know if Oprah will have an effect, one way or the other, but I do know this. She has the best credentials with the public, than any politician running for this office. She is trusted, beloved, and honest and believed by the public. So, what she can do immediately for Barack Obama is to introduce him to the masses, give many a second chance to look him over, and possibly convince many to give him a chance. By no means can Oprah bring them to the polls, or can she? But she has enough media influence to tap into the millions of “lower informed women” that the Clinton Camp are embracing right now, and have them to look at this candidate, compare, and switch.
Will it work? I don’t know, if it will. But, I must say, "Welcome to the Campaign, Oprah Winfrey".
the horserace is on, the stump speech retooled, the grassroots is building......
the race has started, remember to focus on obama and not the drama
September 9, 2007 - Univision Forum (Spanish) 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 biggest offender of katrina, the insurance companies, and this administration was silent
Obama Appearances
September 4, 2007 - Rally with Obama, Waukee, IA September 4, 2007 - Meet Barack Obama, Guthrie Center, IA September 4, 2007 - Evening With Barack, Carroll, IA September 5, 2007 - Meet Barack Obama, Storm Lake, IA September 5, 2007 - Meet Barack Obama, Spencer, IA September 6, 2007 - Meet Barack Obama, Las Vegas, NV September 7, 2007 - Countdown to Change, Portland, OR September 7, 2007 - Women for Obama, Generation Obama, San Francisco, CA September 8, 2007 - Oprah Celebration, Montecito, CA (SOLD OUT) September 15, 2007 - Countdown to CHANGE Houseparties (NATIONWIDE) September 18, 2007 - Coundown to Change, Washington, D.C. September 19, 2007 - Michelle Obama, Dallas, TX September 20, 2007 - Countdown to Change, Atlanta, GA
all about katrina
Katrina What can any of us say or write about Katrina? We sat in complete horror as our fellow citizens were stuck in water, rooftops, no drinking water, food, baths, for DAYS. Now, two years later we are still angered out of our wits, and not much has been done for most of the citizens in the gulf coast region. I remember, as if it was yesterday, Jeanne Meserve from CNN, describing the sounds of people, animals begging for help but nothing could be done because it was night fall. I will never, as long as I live, forget what Jeanne Meserve said, the way she said it, and the choking of tears in her voice. I then knew, without a shadow of a doubt, this administration under George W. Bush do not care for POOR PEOPLE. If these people were from Beverly Hills, Manhattan, Lake Forest, LaJolla, the areas with money, the Calvary would have been there faster than any of us can type, but these were poor people, and they just did not care.
Now we have elected politicians who have the gall, straight up nerve to make these statements:
GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) said Friday it is “time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station” and urged an end to the federal aid to the region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina two years ago.
“The amount of money that has been wasted on these so-called ‘recovery’ efforts has been mind-boggling,” said Tancredo, who is running a long-shot presidential campaign. “Enough is enough.”
Well, tell that to the thousands of residents who are still WAITING for the monies allocated to New Orleans to rebuild!! Where is it??? Can the Bush Administration answer this? Can Governor Blanco in Louisiana? What about C. Ray Nagin? Yeah, the people really want to see you, and ask YOU, to answer this. But, nobody has an answer to anything. Guess what? Halliburton did not waste any time getting to the Gulf Coast to keep those weekly million/billion dollar checks coming in. Are we surprised? And what have THEY DONE? Can anyone answer that?
The Citizens of New Orleans only want to be treated fairly, Mr. President.
Obama Going Into theHomestretch I know many are complaining about the Obama Campaign restricting its debates/forums. Some complaints are warranted, but I agree with the campaign. Ever since the NAACP Forum, Obama has turned the corner. He is more precise, on point, and decisive. His debate performance in Des Moines, IA a few weeks ago, showed this. And of course, he was the winner. Now in the home stretch, he is all about being with the people of the early states. These are the folks that will decide the early momentum in these campaigns. Now the horserace has officiallly started, after Labor Day. Look for this campaign to be on a full tilt boogie until the Iowa Caucuses.
All Three Top Contenders, Bow Down to the DNC I diaried this, and yes, they did “bow down”. Totally. And quite frankly it came down to this. Candidates you either abide by the DNC Rules or you just may be penalized by the early states. Backing the DNC to the hilt was the heavy hitters of the Democratic Party, who sent each candidate a letter stressing the importance to abide by the DNC’s ruling and also the importance of the early state strategy. The letter was signed by the heavy hitters of these early states, who have endorsed no one, yet.
Our nominating process is supposed to yield the best possible candidates for the most powerful position in the world. Unfortunately for all of us, it is a deeply flawed system in desperate need of reform. Recent proposals to create a regional rotation system in 2012, or the "Delaware Plan" to allow smaller states to go first, should be on the table for discussion starting this fall.
Once upon a time, presidential candidates and campaigns could rely on a nominating system that was easy to understand. Though envious of the role that Iowa and New Hampshire played in winnowing the field, most states abided by the calendar set by national party rules and waited their turn. But while the rules afforded clarity, they lacked inclusiveness. Everyone knew that when showtime started, only a few voters would be allowed on stage. And those folks, while deeply knowledgeable and passionate about their responsibility, just didn't represent the diversity of our party and our country.
The DNC tried to address this problem by letting two states join Iowa and New Hampshire in the coveted "pre-window" period before Feb. 5. States were invited to apply, and 12 of them, plus the District of Columbia, did so. The process was fair and democratic. Florida, which had a chance to become "first in the South," did not apply. Now it is asking for another chance.
Several top-tier presidential candidates in both parties have spent heavily on private security firms in the early months of the 2008 race, and their reliance on bodyguards, security consultants and even private investigators has led some campaigns into uncharted territory.
A Maryland security firm was paid more than $380,000 by the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and provided bodyguards and intelligence for three months, until Obama was assigned Secret Service protection in May.
Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) -- the only presidential candidates under federal protection -- have each spent more on private security than any other candidate. Two Republicans, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have also had extensive private protection.
Such moves to tighten security have led to staffing and spending decisions that some campaigns later reversed or revised.
Despite her record as a gun control advocate, Clinton's campaign headquarters is protected by a security consortium that carried online advertising for assault weapons and sniper training. more
Quarter Three Ends September 30, 2007 The Obama Campaign is promoting a nationwide Countdown To Change. During this houseparty everyone will be conferenced into the headquarters and updates will be given, as well as some questions answered. To sponsor this houseparty, click on the link above. You must be registered by September 6, 2007, to receive additional instructions and materials. And to attend this event in your area, click here, log onto mybarackobama and type in your zip code. I will DEFINITELY be at the one in my area, and I hope that you will too. But, if you cannot attend or participate, you can always tip my Obama jar, here. Whatever you do, make sure you donate by September 30th.
Increasing Pressure on Iran
Americans need to come together to confront the challenge posed by Iran. Yet the Bush administration and an anonymous senator are blocking a bill with bipartisan support that would ratchet up the pressure on the Iranian regime. It's time for this obstructionism to stop.
The decision to wage a misguided war in Iraq has substantially strengthened Iran, which now poses the greatest strategic challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East in a generation. Iran supports violent groups and sectarian politics in Iraq, fuels terror and extremism across the Middle East and continues to make progress on its nuclear program in defiance of the international community. Meanwhile, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that Israel must be "wiped off the map."
In response, the Bush administration's policy has been tough talk with little action and even fewer results. While conventional Washington thinking says we can only talk to people who agree with us, I believe that strong countries and strong Presidents shouldn't be afraid to talk directly to our adversaries to tell them where America stands. The Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to Iran has not worked. As President, I will use all elements of American power to pressure the Iranian regime, including the power of tough, smart and principled diplomacy.
For diplomacy to work, we need to dial up our political and economic pressure - not just our tough talk. Iran's troubling behavior depends in large part on access to billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue. That is why I introduced the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act last May, to build on a movement across the country to divest from companies that do significant business with Iran. This would send a clear message about where America stands, increasing Iran's isolation and hitting the Iranian regime where it hurts. Barack Obama Op-Ed New York Daily News
The Obama Store I decided to click on the Obama Store and was really surprised at the number and variety of goods he has stocked since his announcement. The merchandise line is long and extensive, much more to offer than his competitors. And got to again, give kudos to the Obama Team, for thinking of purchasing their goods and selling it themselves. Yes, we heard major sour grapes from other camps, but hey, if the role was reversal they would have nothing to say. Stop buy and shop.
Wilder for Obama
L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who made history as the nation's first elected black governor, is preparing to campaign aggressively for Barack Obama, and predicted in an interview that the charismatic young candidate could shatter the Republican Party's virtual lock on the South.
"He's not race-less," Wilder said of Obama, "but the skin color is of no moment. I don't think he would be an easy target for the Republicans."
The unstinting embrace by Wilder, now the mayor of Richmond, could be important in Virginia and other southern states, where his reputation still looms large and the African-American vote could prove decisive in the Democratic nominating contest.
His lavish praise was also surprising. Wilder's frequent practice has been to haze fellow Democrats, either with public digs or a mischievous silence, if he believed they had not paid their dues or could challenge him for influence. Politico, Nasdaq, Nuisance Industry
Great read on the whole concept behind Camp Obama by Zack Exley. Detailed information how this concept started in Chicago and is now nationwide with over a thousand trained grassroot organizers. Ready to go all over the country to mobilize and get the vote out. This race will be won on the ground, and it will be through a heavy grassroots organization. A must read.
Near New York? The NYC4Obama Group is sponsoring a weekend in New Hampshire trip to view the fall foilage and, of course, canvass for Obama. If you are interested, click here. And if your group is planning a trip to the early states, email me at icebergslim1047@hotmail.com and I will put it in the weekly for Obama.
new hampshire, august 19-21, 2007
Obama the Pragmatic Leader Not only is the article correct, but spot on about Obama. Which reinstates how his commitment to the grassroots will play out, and how Barack Obama became the man he is today.
Far from the centers of power and privilege that have spawned so many commanders in chief, it's an unlikely place to incubate a future president. But the seemingly endless clumps of drab brick apartment buildings and patchy lawns on Chicago's South Side are where Sen. Barack Obama learned some of his most enduring lessons about politics, leadership, and the paths to social change. His experiences here, in fact, amount to a Rosetta stone that reveals the essence of the man who has catapulted out of nowhere into contention for the Democratic presidential nomination for 2008.
As a community organizer in the Altgeld Gardens public housing project in the mid-1980s, Obama, then 23, quickly emerged as a tireless and pragmatic advocate for the community—traits that characterize the kind of president he says he wants to be. "His work as a community organizer was really a defining moment in his life, not just his career," his wife, Michelle, told U.S. News. It helped him decide "how he would impact the world"—assisting people in defining their mutual interests and working together to improve their lives.
7 Questions as the Race for the White House Accelerates
Labor Day is the traditional starting date for presidential campaigns -- but Labor Day the year before the election?
That's the reality of the 2008 campaign, a contest that has been barreling ahead since January. The weekend will find candidates crisscrossing Iowa and New Hampshire as if the election were weeks away.
What happens from here on will matter far more than what has happened up to now, but the first eight months of 2007 have delivered on predictions that this would be one of the most interesting and consequential campaigns of modern times.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York remains the front-runner, but Barack Obama's prodigious fundraising and passionate crowds continue to make the senator from Illinois an intriguing rival. Former senator John Edwards of North Carolina has staked his hopes on Iowa, and so far Iowans remain open to him. The rest of the field is starting to make noise, though their odds remain long. more
Obama and The Subprime Lenders
This all started as a good idea - helping people buy homes who previously could not afford to. But over time, lenders began pushing low-income buyers into homes they could not possibly afford, abusing the system by lowering their lending standards, making loans that required no money down and offering low, teaser interest rates that explode after the initial grace period. Some borrowers were also lying to get mortgages or engaging in irresponsible speculation.
Nearly everyone - from lenders to investors to borrowers - fooled themselves into thinking that what they were doing was low risk when it in fact involved a lot of risk.
But we also know that Washington played a role. At a time when non-bank lenders were offering new kinds of mortgage, the federal government should have made sure it was all being done on the level. Instead, our government failed to provide the regulatory scrutiny that could have preventedthis crisis. Barack Obama Op Ed in Financial Times, Jerome a Paris, Response to Bush's Speech
Democrats Seek Change With Style
All across the country, they appear ready to overlook such historically deal-breaking issues as race and gender and under-nourished resumes, focusing instead on personality and character in their quest for something new.
Exactly how much change voters want, and whether the attitudes of Democrats choosing a nominee in early 2008 will reflect the feelings of voters as a whole come election day are open questions.
But at least for now, the unusual and the unexpected are the winning combination, as Priscilla King, 67, of Bow, N.H., suggested during an Edwards event last month.
She turned out to hear Edwards, but she's partial to Obama -- for a reason most analysts had considered a potentially disqualifying handicap: the first-term Illinois senator's lack of experience.
"He's fresh," she said in an interview. "He's inexperienced, and so far, experience hasn't gotten us too far." more
Obama Will Bring Much Needed Change Justin Tresnowski, a political science major, is a senior at the University of Notre Dame. He is the communications coordinator for Indiana Students for Barack Obama.
In last month's Democratic CNN/YouTube debate, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., distinguished himself from his fellow presidential hopefuls and stood out as a different kind of Democratic candidate. Doing so in a presidential primary debate can be difficult, especially when each candidate receives a minute or less to produce a sound-bite answer. But while each candidate lamented the ongoing war in Iraq and the failures of the American health care system, Obama showed why many in the country think the Illinois senator is a unique politician who can bring real change to Washington.
Throughout the debate, Obama derided the disproportionate influence lobbyists and special interest groups have on policy decisions, and he insisted that politicians should respond to the needs and concerns of the American people instead of wealthy individuals and corporations. According to Obama, these public concerns include bringing American troops home from an Iraq war he opposed from its beginning, providing all Americans access to health care and ending American dependence on foreign oil. As Obama noted, however, most of his fellow candidates have strong proposals to deal with these problems and others have had similar proposals in the past, but partisan bickering and the influence of outside groups impeded actual change. more
icebergslim’s final word: I was inspired and challenged by the diary written by PsiFighter37.
This diary was about the upcoming request of the Bush Administration to continue funding the Iraq War. Joe Biden made it clear that he will vote for this supplemental. But PSI brought up significant points in questioning the “exact” stand of Clinton and Obama.
I have been troubled with Clinton’s convoluted responses in regards to Iraq, lately. She has continuously said one thing and then another thing, depending what special interest group she was addressing. This diary by clammyc outlines what she said at the VFW Forum. After listening and reading the statements, it is confusing. Then alegre posted a diary that states Clinton calls for withdrawal of troops. Then we are questioning why Clinton is even stating, slightly that the surge is working? Clinton is on record, as Obama, is for keeping troops in Iraq. But for how long? And for the record, this has not been answered.
Iraq is coming down to what Markos stated on the Charlie Rose’s show. He said that after Labor Day these candidates will have to tell us, with no spinning and parsing of words, where they stand on Iraq. It is now September. We are waiting for the Petreaus, White House report to congress and the public where this surge really stands. We already know that the Iraqi Government has only met three of the 18 mandated benchmarks. And wasn’t this the same number as before?
Though Obama is more direct in how he feels about Iraq, the big question is how will he vote? I remember in an interview that Obama stated that the senate was made for you to vote for bad legislation, pieced together, that will make you vote badly. Resulting in your opponent to campaign against your record. I agree with this, which is why many senators do not get to the White House. But now is the time to let the public know, how you will vote on this request coming up from Bush. Over 200 billion is being requested. What will you do? We know that this White House report will be pumped up and bogus, in other words, not the truth. So, what will you do?
We have been in Iraq for over four years and have been beaten at every juncture. Just because we move more troops in Baghdad or Anbar Province, does not mean that these insurgents do not move somewhere else to cause chaos. Because they have been doing this for four years now. It is time to move on and as Obama says, turn the page. That means making a strong, unequivocal statement that it is time to get out of Iraq, and that time is now. Now the question is, what will it be? Continuing this war? Believing the “surge” is working? Or take a stand, without parsing of words, and tell the country it is time to LEAVE NOW. Whatever Obama’s response will be, one thing is for sure. If you are looking for honesty and straight talk, he will give it to you. Hopefully, it will be what we want to hear.
we must never elect another president to allow this to happen again. katrina 2 yrs later, nuff said.
email me at icebergslim1047@hotmail.com, and remember to focus on obama, not the drama
Update [2007-9-3 22:45:46 by icebergslim]: A great diary by Democratic Luntz on Obama being the best winner in the polling. Thorough analysis. Here it is.
September 9, 2007 - Univision Forum (Spanish) 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 and clinton during a break on This Week's Sunday Debate
Obama Appearances
August 26, 2007 - Bluegrass for Barack, Lexington, KY September 7, 2007 - Countdown to Change, Portland, OR September 8, 2007 - Oprah Celebration, Montecito, CA (SOLD OUT) September 18, 2007 - Coundown to Change, Washington, D.C.
Obama and This Week’s Debate No doubt, to anyone, who won, this debate. Barack Obama.
His best debate performance so far. Stood up to sustained questioning on his alleged inexperience, which led the first seven minutes of the event, without losing his cool or backing down. He even made a well-received joke about preparing for the debate by riding the bumper cars at the Iowa State Fair. Tripled down on standing up for his recent controversial foreign policy statements on nuclear weapons, meeting with foreign leaders, and hunting al Qaeda, with firmness and good humor. Drew audience applause for again playing the I-opposed-the-Iraq-War card to tout his judgment. Sounded almost (Bill) Clintonesque in talking about trade and merit pay for teachers. Displayed the confidence of a leader. Iowa Politics, David Yepsen, Roger Simon, Debate Transcript
And if you missed the focus group’s win for Obama, here.
Well, the Obama Campaign is staying firm and true to form, when announcing, no more debates. That is unscheduled debates and forums. Now the nudging question is, who else will sit on the sidelines? It is no secret that Clinton and Edwards were complaining about the frequency of these debates/forums, now who is next to throw in the towel? My bet is on Clinton. Though she may just decline, without the formal announcing of not participating. I know this is a drag on many special interests groups, but as this topic has been written about, it only makes sense to decline these upcoming forums. With the primaries so close in 2008, these candidates really have to focus on getting it together in the early states. Besides we do have 10 more lovely debates before January 1, 2008. If that is not ample enough, then what is?
Obama Presidency a Stretch forVoters I can understand this sentiment. Why? Because Senator Obama is asking you to go beyond the conventional ways of thinking. He is asking you to pay attention, to not what he has to say, but to what all the candidates have to say. That is a stretch. Many voters are not informed on the basics of these candidates. Like, how do they vote? What is their stand on healthcare? What about Iraq? Many people don’t know the specifics. People get their information from 10-15 second sound bites like, “I’m Your Girl”. Well, I got a lot of girls, but I know what they are about. I know where they stand on personal and political issues. But the public only hears what the MSM want you to hear, the notorious sound bite.
What is happening in the Obama Camp is a turn in the campaign. He is more relaxed, gotten the stump down, out there with the people. This showed on last Sunday’s This Week Debate. The beating that he took only made him shine. And made the other candidates look very yesterday. It did. But Obama does not have much time to make the case. He has to turn it up, as he is doing.
Just 46 years old and three years out of the Illinois legislature, the freshman senator also understands that the clock is ticking on his chance to surmount that ''certain threshold'' and convince voters he's ready for the White House.
''The challenge for us is to let people know what I've accomplished at a time when the campaign schedule is getting so compressed,'' Obama said in a recent interview. ''I just don't have much time to make that case.''
Does he have enough time? That is a good question. But for right now, he is right where he need to be, with the people who will make the decision in January. The early states.
Oprah/Obama's PartyInstructions Obama Girl is "No Hit" WithObama, No, Kidding
Obama Calls for Ease of Cuba Embargo
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is leaping into the long-running Cuba debate by calling for the U.S. to ease restrictions for Cuban-Americans who want to visit the island or send money home.
Obama's campaign said Monday that, if elected, the Illinois senator would lift restrictions imposed by the Bush administration and allow Cuban-Americans to visit their relatives more frequently, as well as ease limits on the amount of money they can send to their families.
``Senator Obama feels that the Bush administration has made a humanitarian and a strategic blunder,'' spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in an e-mail. ``His concern is that this has had a profoundly negative impact on the Cuban people, making them more dependent on the Castro regime, thus isolating them from the transformative message carried by Cuban-Americans.'' more, Barack Obama's Miami Herald Op/Ed Piece; viralvoice
Obama: He can turn out black voters I diaried this, earlier in the week. The perception or question being raised is really coming from the main stream media. Like the "is he black enough" question. Which is just laughable, to be frank, but go into the African-American community with all this. You will get your answers. Nuff said.
Obama gets direct: Why vote for me?
The voters who were gathered to question Barack Obama had their hands thrust in the air hoping to be called on. Instead, the Democratic presidential candidate decided to wrap things up by addressing the unmentioned elephant in the room.
"This last question I will prompt myself, and that's, 'Why you instead of Hillary?'" Obama said during a supporter's house party this week. "That's in the back of minds of a lot of people."
That direct approach was part of a new Obama campaign style during his visit to the nation's first primary state, where he has stalled in the polls behind Hillary Rodham Clinton. He still talked about the politics of hope and the need for change, but he also was eager to address whatever concerns might be keeping voters from signing on. more
Obama To Give Speech in New Orleans, Marking 2nd Katrina Anniversary
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is scheduled to be in New Orleans on Sunday to mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The freshman Illinois senator will speak Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on "Restoring and Remembering the Gulf Coast" during services at the First Emanuel Baptist Church at 1829 Carondelet St. He is scheduled to meet later with community representatives at a yet undetermined location. more
Grassroots CampaigningIntensifies Obamaat the Ballpark in New Hampshireslideshow
No Military Solution in Iraq
Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday the recent increase in American troops in Iraq may well have helped tamp down violence, but he insisted there is no military solution to the country's problems and U.S. forces should be redeployed soon.
Obama spoke a day after his main Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made similar comments. She said the tactics of the short-term troop increase were working but political progress did not seem to be in sight and the U.S. should begin bringing some troops home.
Obama said in a telephone briefing, "If we put 30,000 additional troops into Baghdad, it will quell some of the violence short term. I don't think there is any doubt about that."
But that won't solve Iraq's critical political problems, he said in the call and again later in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. more
Ignore those nationwide polls that show Hillary Rodham Clinton leading the Democratic pack by 20 points or more. Forget the debates and forums that have already taken place. Discount even the jaw-dropping fundraising figures Barack Obama has posted.
Pay attention to Iowa.
That, at least, is the message six Democratic hopefuls sent this week as they chomped and grinned and hugged and autographed their way from one end of the state to the other. more
California Steering Committee Announcement; Former Brown Spokesman Working for Obama; Congressman Patrick Murphy Endorses Obama; Iowa Women for Obama Announce Leaders in 50 Iowa Counties; NYC Elected Leaders, Grassroots Organizers, Activists; Launching of Generation Obama; Zbigniew Brzezinski Endorses Obama; Kathleen Turner
Hypotheticals,Again? This is an ongoing debate battle of “what if”. Obama has been attacked for stating publicly what all politicians’ state, privately. This was an attempt to drag him through the mud and show the world how ineffective and inexperienced he would be. What has happened is called “flip the script”. Not only have all the “naysayers” been silenced, but the critics have agreed with much of what Obama has said.
After being scolded and told not to use hypothetical’s, Obama’s rival, Senator Clinton not only uses hypothetical’s, but boldly embraces her statement and concedes this to the Republicans:
"It's a horrible prospect to ask yourself 'What if? What if?' " Clinton said. "But if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made the world. So I think I'm the best of the Democrats to deal with that as well."
Well, that is the statement, you decide. Personally, leave the what if’s alone, especially if the Democratic Party is trying to be perceived as the party who will protect and defend the public against any domestic, foreign attacks and terror plots. Let us not concede this to the Republicans. You see where we have gone with them at the helm. To give them any credit is moving two steps backwards, not any steps forward.
obama in brooklyn (for the record, it was sold out) Brooklyn is for Barack Obama
..."Every single place we go it looks like this, people from all walks of life, you got black folks, white folks, Asian folks, Latino folks, and Native American folks and disabled folks," Mr. Obama said, NY1 reported.
At the Marriott Hotel fund-raiser, a man identified by Fox-5 News as an "immigrant doorman," Gregory Smith, introduced the senator and said he would give Mr. Obama his last dollar.
"Gregory giving me the money that he gave meant more than anybody writing a $2,300 check where it's a lot easier for them to write $2,300," Mr. Obama said. A ticket to the fund-raiser cost $25, and the event was standing room only and supporters also filled an overflow room at the hotel.
A grassroots political organization, Brooklyn for Barack, has been stirring up excitement for the candidate over the past few months, and political analysts say Mr. Obama's best shot at winning delegates from Mrs. Clinton may be in the city's most populous borough. more, NY Times
University of Missouri to Turn It Out forObama Iowa Caucus:Wooing One Voter At A Time
U.S. Can't Fail New Orleans Again
...Obama, whose day began at First Emanuel Baptist Church, said that long before Katrina, the nation had failed to lift up New Orleans, a city with persistent struggles such as poverty and poor public schools. He said that cannot happen again and that Americans have a "collective responsibility" to each other.
"Racial discord, poverty, the old divisions of black and white, rich and poor, it's time to leave that to yesterday," he said.
"In rebuilding, we've got an opportunity to do more than put up a foundation that for too long failed the people of New Orleans," he told congregants. Some snapped photos of him at the pulpit with their cell phones.
"In rebuilding, we've got an opportunity to build something better, a foundation that can put up with a lot, upon which the children of New Orleans can build their dreams." more, brooklynbadboy
icebergslim’s last word:Michelle Obama, my SHE-RO....
Yes, men have HEROES, women have SHEROES, and that is what Michelle Obama is, to me.
Why? Well, after watching the bombardment of an outrageously, wrongfully, categorically, outlandish report of a non-story, Michelle Obama is my Shero. And if there is an award to be given for dealing with the contortion of the truth, give it to Michelle Obama, NOW.
The one thing out of all of this is that the Main Stream Media has put The Drudge Report, on their level. Yes, they reported and rehashed a story from a “blog”, and a yellow journalism, one at that. The story started at the Chicago Sun-Times, which was a blog type, stump type report. But the thing that stuck out was this:
At another stop, in Atlantic, Michelle said she travels with her husband in part "to model what it means to have family values," adding "if you can't run your own house, you can't run the White House." She didn't elaborate, but it could be interpreted as a swipe at the Clintons.
But what the writer of the Sun-Times forgot to include was the whole context of Michelle Obama’s stump speech, which is on this video, from beginning to end. This is a speech that she has been using on various occasions, but all of a sudden it is catapulted onto the front page of The Drudge Report as "Michelle Obama Attacking Hillary". Thanks to the main stream media, The Drudge Report is now catapulted to the equivalence of them, because they are repeating the story, showing the clip minus the full context, and filling up their empty television shows, news shows with misinformation. Can we say, that the main stream media at this juncture is totally discredited? I know they are to me.
So, for walking through the bogus media fire, Michelle Obama is my Shero. She did not have to denounce anything because she did not do or say anything wrong. As First Read, Salon, the video above, and many others have reported the story was taken totally out of context. A story, run amuck, as we shall say, due to total irresponsibility of the Main Stream Media. Which at this point is totally untrustworthy and should be looked upon with cynicism and great skepticism, and that is the bare minimum they are getting from me.
Michelle Obama, wife, mother, professional, she is our “grace under fire”.
okay all, we are coming into the seventh inning stretch, "remember to focus on obama, and not the drama"
contact me at icebergslim1047@hotmail.com and register to vote, here
August 27-28, 2007 - Cancer Forum, Cedar Rapids, IA (MSNBC & Live Streaming) September 9, 2007 - Univision Forum (Spanish) 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....
missed the debate, Sunday, August 19th in Iowa? replay on C-Span, 6:30 & 9:30 PM ET/PT
thanks, lovingj
Obama Appearances
August 22, 2007 - KICKOFF, Brooklyn, NY August 23, 2007 - Conway, SC August 24, 2007 - KICKOFF, Tallahassee, FL August 26, 2007 - KICKOFF, Lexington, KY
Democrats Questioning Clinton's Electablity, Is She a Drag? Are we surprised? No. But now what was being discussed "privately" is now being discussed "openly". That is, does she have "coattails"? Many think she does not and will be a drag on the other congressional, senate races. Especially in tough districts and swing states. This has many insider, state officials and activists, democrats, uneasy. Simply, many do not like her negatives, which they feel is a huge problem. Even Karl Rove jumped in on this one. I never cared for his type of divisive politics, but you can not side step the man as an analyst, genious even, when it comes to political strategy. Remember, he got Bush in there not once, but twice. He made a statement, whether you like the man or not, that is true: "She enters the general election campaign with the highest negatives of any candidate in the history of the Gallup poll," he said. "It just says people have made an opinion about her. It's hard to change opinions once you've been a high-profile person in the public eye, as she has for 16 or 17 years."
Looking past the presidential nomination fight, Democratic leaders quietly fret that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the top of their 2008 ticket could hurt candidates at the bottom.
They say the former first lady may be too polarizing for much of the country. She could jeopardize the party's standing with independent voters and give Republicans who otherwise might stay home on Election Day a reason to vote, they worry.
In more than 40 interviews, Democratic candidates, consultants and party chairs from every region pointed to internal polls that give Clinton strikingly high unfavorable ratings in places with key congressional and state races.
"I'm not sure it would be fatal in Indiana, but she would be a drag" on many candidates, said Democratic state Rep. Dave Crooks of Washington, Ind.
"The argument with Hillary right now in some of these red states is she's so damn unpopular," said Andy Arnold, chairman of the Greenville, S.C., Democratic Party. "I think Hillary is someone who could drive folks on the other side out to vote who otherwise wouldn't."
"Republicans are upset with their candidates," Arnold added, "but she will make up for that by essentially scaring folks to the polls."
Democrats Say Leaving Iraq May Take Years I don't like this, one iota. Here we have, what, three candidates that voted for this war running for president and we are suppose to think this is alright? In fact, they are part of the reason we are in the "quagmire" or "messed up situation", that we are in now. But they want us to trust their judgement. No, this makes me even MORE SKEPTICAL, of them all.
Even as they call for an end to the war and pledge to bring the troops home, the Democratic presidential candidates are setting out positions that could leave the United States engaged in Iraq for years.
John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, would keep troops in the region to intervene in an Iraqi genocide and be prepared for military action if violence spills into other countries. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York would leave residual forces to fight terrorism and to stabilize the Kurdish region in the north. And Senator Barack Obama of Illinois would leave a military presence of as-yet unspecified size in Iraq to provide security for American personnel, fight terrorism and train Iraqis.
These positions and those of some rivals suggest that the Democratic bumper-sticker message of a quick end to the conflict — however much it appeals to primary voters — oversimplifies the problems likely to be inherited by the next commander in chief. Antiwar advocates have raised little challenge to such positions by Democrats.
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico stands apart, having suggested that he would even leave some military equipment behind to expedite the troop withdrawal. In a forum at a gathering of bloggers last week, he declared: “I have a one-point plan to get out of Iraq: Get out! Get out!” more
First, Politician on the cover ofGQ Magazine, in 15 Years
Camp Obama in Missouri One unique thing about the Barack Obama Campaign is their training for GOTV in this campaign. His Camp Obama, has been staffed and full since the conception in Chicago, and now he is going nationwide. But the thing about this is that these supporters are committed. Many a first campaign. For me. The more the merrier, because we need the young to move the party. This is just the beginning.
It's been about 100 degrees here this weekend in muggy St. Louis, so perhaps it's fortunate that the Camp Obama campground was actually a nicely air-conditioned function room in the basement of the Missouri Historical Museum. For the past two days, more than 60 ardent supporters of Barack Obama have huddled here to learn how they can put their passion to use.
It's been more boot camp than summer camp: Yesterday's session was a 12-hour marathon. Participants learned how to canvass. They learned how to raise money by throwing house parties in their neighborhoods. They learned how the Iowa caucus works. They learned how to use the press. They learned how to talk on people's doorsteps about Obama's policy positions.
"You are our base," Patrick Green, a local official who is supporting Obama, told the group. "You are our foot soldiers."
Indeed, a lot is expected from these groups of volunteers, who are being carefully groomed around the country by Obama's campaign. The strength of Obama's grass-roots network has mostly been measured by his many campaign contributors -- nearly 260,000 people through June. But Camp Obama shows that his base of volunteers is big and growing, a force that his campaign hopes will make the difference by the time the primaries begin next year. more
Interesting, I was looking at the list of primary dates for 2008. I am not going to get into IA, NH, NV, SC, that is just all over the place. But the other states on February 5th. Which coincides with what I wrote above about the Obama Campaign and the national training that the Obama Camp is doing. Here are the following states for February 5th:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas. Utah
Obama Campaign has huge grassroot support and going onto the campuses to get many trained for states with caucuses. I have worked on campaigns, and many you have to drag folk to participate in the process, this campaign, is not that kind at all.
Michelle Obama says stop with the is he "Black Enough", and total ditto from me. Why is the question even out there? Is anyone asking Clinton is she "Woman Enough", or Richardson is he "Mexican Enough", and if they are getting the same questions, again WHY? All the African Americans, I know, and I know a plenty, are not even asking about this. Why? Because we can see he is Black and that is enough, NEXT. The questions we are asking is on the issues, where does he stand with the war, healthcare, education (huge issue in the African American communities), crime (another big one). So, if the media is wondering if he is black enough, that is one YOU. We can see, hopefully, you can, too.
...So it was left to our imagination here the other night inside the Ironwood Country Club, with Mr. Buffett standing at the front of the room, when the first question rang out from the crowd of Democrats who were gathering for a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama.
“Why you and not Mrs. Clinton?” a man standing near the side of the room asked.
“Boy,” Mr. Obama replied with a grin, “you really get to the point.”
Mr. Buffett, the wise sage of money and finance, had a far broader smile on his face. He, of course, doesn’t have to answer the question. He has contributed to both candidates, held fund-raisers for both candidates and offered advice to both candidates.
And in the Clinton-Obama contest, he has no intention of taking sides until the race is over. While the billionaire investor knows a growth stock when he sees one, he is also prone to invest in the traditional product. Even more, he knows better than to get entangled in a political brawl. NY Times
From an Obama Supporter, Keep it Nice Well, can you? You just can not sit by and let your opponents, state whatever they wish, nor smear you. I totally, understand this supporter's sentiment, but Obama is correct, because basically, "this ain't gonna be won on tea & crumpets", u dig?
Maggie North of Claremont told Obama he risks becoming part of the usual political scene if he keeps being drawn into well-publicized disputes with rivals. He and chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton have jabbed at each other over foreign policy, the war on terrorism and the use of nuclear weapons.
"You can be it," North said at a small gathering at a Hanover restaurant Monday morning that drew eight people. "But you've got to stop excuse me for being blunt you've got to stop getting involved in the way people are fighting each other, chewing you up a little more."
"That's what you do when you run for president," Obama responded, getting a laugh.
At the conference of the National Association of Black Journalists in Las Vegas last week, Obama continued to defend his earlier call for unilateral American action in Pakistan but said he opposed using nuclear weapons in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance," he told the Associated Press.
Clinton responded: "Presidents should be very careful at all times in discussing the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons. Presidents since the Cold War have used nuclear deterrence to keep the peace. And I don't believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons."
It didn't take long for the AP to catch Clinton in a reversal, reporting that she had disavowed the use of nuclear weapons against Iran in April 2006. "I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table," she told Bloomberg Television, referring to reports that the Bush administration might be contemplating such a strike. "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," she said. "I think that's a terrible mistake."
Clinton's spokesmen lamely defended her April 2006 statements, insisting that they are not inconsistent because they are not hypotheticals about foreign policy and deterrence but specific responses to a policy option. The campaign was quick to cast Obama as too inexperienced to be commander in chief.
Well, I'll take that inexperience, if that's what you want to call it. more
Obama on Karl Rove:
Karl Rove was an architect of a political strategy that has left the country more divided, the special interests more powerful, and the American people more shut out from their government than any time in memory. But to build a new kind of politics, it will take more than the departure of a man or even an Administration that constructed the old -it will take a movement of everyday Americans committed to changing Washington and reclaiming their government. Link
Check out the new tool from the Obama Web Site. It is the My.Barack Obama Action Center. It is giving you tools as to what to do in organization, every two weeks until the primaries. The first event is a nationwide barbeque, August 25, 2007. All the information is here. The Obama Campaign has been extremely successful in not only having a large donor base, but foot soliders to boot. I will definately be at one of these events. Find one near you, links above. Let's do this!!!!
So what are the current presidential candidates saying about policy, and what does it tell us about them?
Well, none of the leading Republican candidates have said anything substantive about policy. Go through their speeches and campaign materials and you'll see a lot of posturing, especially about how tough they are on terrorists -- but nothing at all about what they actually plan to do.
In fact, I suspect that the real reason most of the Republicans are ducking a YouTube debate is that they're afraid they would be asked questions about policy, rather than being invited to compare themselves to Ronald Reagan.
We know the Republican are not going to do anything about Healthcare. Healthcare Accounts, Anyone?
There is, by contrast, a lot of substance on the Democratic side, with John Edwards forcing the pace. Most notably, in February, Edwards transformed the whole health care debate with a plan that offers a politically and fiscally plausible path to universal health insurance.
Whatever the fate of the Edwards candidacy, Edwards will deserve a lot of the credit if and when we do get universal care in this country.
We must commend John Edwards for being the first and forcing other candidates to put a UHC on the table.
Hillary Clinton, however, has been evasive. She conveys the impression that there's not much difference between her policy positions and those of the other candidates -- but she's offered few specifics. In particular, unlike Edwards or Obama, she hasn't announced a specific universal care plan, or explicitly committed herself to paying for health reform by letting some of the Bush tax cuts expire.
For those who believe that the time for universal care has come, this lack of specifics is disturbing. In fact, what Clinton said about health care in February's Democratic debate suggested a notable lack of urgency: "Well, I want to have universal health care coverage by the end of my second term."
I did not know that Clinton did not have a total plan, so why is she talking in a vacumn? But, why wait until term two before even addressing the healthcare crisis in this country?
On Saturday, at the YearlyKos Convention in Chicago, she sounded more forceful: "Universal health care will be my highest domestic priority as president." But does this represent a real change in position? It's hard to know, since she has said nothing about how she would cover the uninsured.
And even if you believe Clinton's contention that her positions could never be influenced by lobbyists' money -- a remark that drew boos and hisses from the Chicago crowd -- there's reason to worry about the big contributions she receives from the insurance and drug industries. Are they simply betting on the front-runner, or are they also backing the Democratic candidate least likely to hurt their profits? more
This answers everything for me. Clinton made it crystal clear that she is not going to stop taking monies from lobbyists. And it is clear the lobbyists are backing the "horse" who will have the "least affect" in "business as usual". We need change.
How many children does Barack Obama have? In what foreign country did he live as a boy and why did the senator from Illinois decide to run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president?
The trivia quiz is designed to introduce the first term senator and White House hopeful to American voters in places like Grinnell, tucked away in central Iowa, the state that holds the first contest of the 2008 presidential election.
Some questions were answered easily by Democratic activists crammed into a coffee shop on Friday morning. They yelled out that Obama and his wife Michelle have two daughters and that he lived in Indonesia when he was growing up.
But even some diehard supporters appear stumped by a few questions, like why Obama decided to run for president. more
As we predicted this morning, this Obama statement yesterday regarding Afghanistan -- "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there" -- drew a response from the Republicans. "It is hard to imagine that anyone who aspires to be commander-in-chief would say such a thing about our brave men and women in uniform," RNC chairman Mike Duncan said today in a statement. "Obama owes our armed forces an apology -- today.”
Yes, the Republicans were up in arms of over Obama's statement. Boy, isn't this just "fascinating", the Republican must really love them some "Obama", becuase they just can't quite, keep from not talking about him!! Anyway, proved that the statement/comment was on point and factual from Obama:
THE SPIN:
The suggestion whispered by Obama's opponents was that he was maligning the efforts of troops fighting in Afghanistan by stating they are "just" out there killing civilians.
THE FACT CHECK:
A check of the facts shows that Western forces have been killing civilians at a faster rate than the insurgents have been killing civilians.
The U.S. and NATO say they don't have civilian casualty figures, but The Associated Press has been keeping count based on figures from Afghan and international officials. Tracking civilian deaths is a difficult task because they often occur in remote and dangerous areas that are difficult to reach and verify.
As of Aug. 1, the AP count shows that while militants killed 231 civilians in attacks in 2007, Western forces killed 286. Another 20 were killed in crossfire that can't be attributed to one party.
Obama Says He Can Unite U.S. 'More Effectively' Than Clinton This is coming down to two decisively different themes, "throwback times" and "moving, change times". Throwback to the Clinton Dynasty. Which, I will be the first to claim was a good time for me. The technology times were booming, can we say "venture capitalist monies"? But it was hard times, too. We lost the house after holding it since 1954. Bill Clinton governed from the center leaning right, after loosing congress. Welfare Reform came upon us, Don't Ask Don't Tell (can we get rid of that), NAFTA to name a few. And the infamous impeachment theatrics from the Republicans. Bringing and heightening personal behaviour from behind the curtains, to full view on stage, to the American pubic. Totally, distasteful and exhausting, I am confident to write, we all were glad Mr. Clinton was not impeached, and glad that the Clintons were leaving the White House.
Now after the Bush Beating that this country has had, really from September 1, 2001, until now "change" is the word that many want. But how much change? The feeling for many is that we must move forward, many feel that Americans must become more involved in the government, which means that this presidential campaign will be scrutinized by many.
Currently, the national polls show Clinton in the front, which at this state I do believe it is more name recognition. Why? If anyone goes to a state and campaign continously as Clinton, Edwards and Obama is doing in Iowa, of course, the polling numbers are close. And they are. But if you are not out there with ads up, not campaigning, and a pollster call you, the only name you will be familiar with or know, is the one with name recognition. I state this because much of the country are not engaged as us, "political junkies". Yes, they may hear a poll number here or there, but go to your local "bar", bowling lane, family picnic, people are not engaged, yet. Which is why you see the early state polling, drastically different from the national polling, and I am not surprised.
Obama wraps it up, about what the distinct differences are for me: "All the people who were on that stage in Chicago talking about their experience and criticizing me for the lack of it were the same people who went along and displayed incredibly poor judgment in going along with a war that I think has been a disaster."
Judgment vs. Experience, or the "throwback years" vs. "real change". That will be up to us come January.
Obama and Ads
The Obama campaign has produced a second ad targeted to a minority audience stressing his Christianity, on Tuesday releasing a Spanish language radio spot to run in Nevada, one of the early presidential vote states. Why the emphasis on Obama’s Christianity? Is there a worry that in some precincts there is confusion about his faith because of the Islamic heritage of his father and stepfather?
The Nevada Spanish language spot: A narrator says, “Let us tell you Barack Obama is a Christian man committed to our community, his wife and his daughters,” according to the English translation provided by the Obama campaign.
A July ad aimed at African Americans in South Carolina, another early primary state: A narrator says, “It’s Barack Obama time. A Christian family man, community organizer, civil rights lawyer, courageous legislator, and U.S. senator who’s told the truth as a soldier for justice.” more
America can overcome petty politics that are bogging down the nation’s world standing, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said here this morning.
"Part of what ordinary Americans talk to me about every single day is their hope and their desire to overcome the polarization and the pettiness and the trivialization,” Obama told a crowd of about 75 people at Saints Rest Coffee House. He said it's “still possible for us to come together around a sense of common purpose, higher purpose.”
It was the second time Elizabeth Yang, a recent Grinnell University graduate, had attended an Obama event. She’s still considering other Democratic candidates.
“I’m not really sure if I’m going to vote for him but I’m definitely in support of a lot of his policies” such as his stand against the Iraq war and goal to create universal health care, Yang said. Des Moines Register
Below is a video and is a must watch, because this is what we have KNOWN but pundits are just catching up to. Obama is getting better in these debates and the public is/has caught onto Hillary Clinton and her non-answers. Another "key" that came out of this is that the democrats do not like these candidates "ganging up" on Obama, they stated SO. And many were disappointed in Clinton, too cold, scripted, and they have, again, caught onto her "not answering questions".
icebergslim's last word: Obama and Debates or Forums or Whatever On the blogs was an ongoing tether about the Obama Campaign taking a stand and limiting any forums and debates, henceforth. Noted from David Plouffe, that Obama has participated in seven debates and nineteen forums.
I was not shocked, nor surprised. It is not like these debates are #1 in the Nielsen Ratings, nor that the public is paying attention and watching. Case and point, this debate at Drake University, at 8am-ish today, who made sure they were up watching this one? I was not. If I had not TIVO’d it, I would be watching it on C-Span, later today. My point is this, “are we learning anything new, different?” Not much. Yes, some candidates are better at some debates than other. Yes, all these debates, forums get candidates more honed in on answering questions in this format. But as far as information, there is none. Not when you have eight candidates on the stage, with limited time, at that. So, I cruised the news on the net and found a write up from Time Magazine:
Like all the leading campaigns, Obama's team has felt some frustration at having their schedules tied up by the debates and forums already held. They have had to share the stage in those events with six or seven other candidates, allowing the candidates only a limited period to make an impression. The campaign of Obama's chief rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, has also been frustrated by the time-consuming, low-impact debates, but declined to comment publicly on the announcement. Democratic sources say that there have been long-running informal talks about the course of the debates between the Clinton and Obama camps, sometimes also including representatives of former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the other leading contender for the nomination. But these sources say that no unified position on the invitations emerged, and Obama's campaign decided to move unilaterally.
So, reading this why are the posters on these blogs up in arms? Clinton, we all know, wanted to stick with the mandated DNC Debate schedule from the start, but has been “hoodwinked” per se, to participate in all these other “last minute” forums because her counterparts were. Look for Clinton to follow suit, as well. Why? Look at the calendar. The first caucus is in January, the frontloading on February 5th, these candidates need to campaign in early states, fundraise, and get their ground game and infrastructure ready to compete in these states. To participate in every forum, which 99% won’t be televised for the general public, is just too time consuming. Yes, many special interests will be angered, but this is the 7th inning stretch here, and you need to decide how you are going to swing the bat. So, this is not, nor should be a shocker to anyone.
Lastly, a poster posted on Daily Kos about the viciousness of an “unnamed blog/website” whose posters attack towards Senator Obama was very close to race baiting. And for her, to be an African-American this was an issue. I don’t blame her. As, I, too am African-American, her concern is warranted. It is understandable to get hyper, enthusiastic, euphoric for your candidate (yeah, euphoric), but to attack Senator Obama, close to race baiting, is another. All blogs are not constructed as such, and will not tolerate it one iota, but after reading some of those comments on that “unnamed blog”, the Daily Kos poster issue is warranted. And my suggestion to the poster is to not frequent that site, any longer. If that site owner want to let his/her site be run rampant by such posters, that is that site’s issue. The blogosphere does not have many minority voices and although we are under the wonderful “Big Tent” of the Democratic Party, does not mean that bigots are not running rampant among us as well. And as my husband has always told me, “you can’t win the war, but you can pick you battles, and win those”, and that means leave that site alone, as others will eventually if it continues in that manner.
supporters for sunday, this week debate, @ the "wee hours" of the morning
alright, a very busy week for Obama in Iowa, and a great debate performance from Obama this morning....keep your powder dry, and remember to focus on Obama and not the drama....
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