Jonathan Singer’s MyDD Interview with Obama

Obama: So those are all procedural forms that could make a difference. Now ultimately, though, elected officials and candidates themselves need to break down some of these barriers. I think the internet has been an invaluable tool to help connect candidates to potential supporters.

But I think there is still a hesitancy on the part of a lot of campaigns because they want to control the process themselves. I’m leaving George Mason University where a group called Students for Barack Obama just organized a 3,000-person rally. We had nothing to do with it. There’s no way we could have given the time constraints we were under to organize something that good. But if candidates are willing to loosen the reins a little bit then that encourages people - especially young people - who will have other opportunities for public service to get involved.

And then the final aspect of it is message. I don’t care how open your process is. If politics are timid, people aren’t going to be excited, they’re not going to get involved.

Obama Off and Running
Roger Simon - Politico.com

From the Simon interview that provides the basis for the "Off and Running" article above…

Q: But can we expect boldness to be a hallmark of your campaign?

Obama: I hope so. Some of it by necessity. If I am running for president against some very capable, well-organized individuals who have had years to set up an infrastructure, then we are going to have to do things differently to be successful. I can’t just paint by the numbers. And I think part of that difference has to be is allowing our campaign to be a vehicle to be a participation to a lot of people who have been turned off by the process or haven’t been fully engaged.

A great example was after the DNC winter meeting I went over to George Mason University. These college kids had organized a rally without any involvement by our staff. We figured there would be a couple of hundred people there, and there were 3,500 people. They had just organized it through Facebook on the Internet.

That kind of grass-roots efforts can be scary, in that I think it is hard for any campaign to give up any kind of control and there is a tendency to try to do things top down. I think we are in a moment where there is a possibility, not a certainty, but a possibility, of bottom-up activism that I think could reshape the political landscape.

And I think technology and the Internet have facilitated that. You started seeing that in obviously the Dean campaign in the last election cycle. But I think that is going to continue to grow and it will be important for us to channel that energy in a creative way.

The Next Bob Shrum? (about David Axelrod)
Ben Smith | Politico.com

Axelrod said he learned from the Edwards campaign not to sign on with a candidate he does not know well, and his friend Maslin quipped that the consultant’s 2004 experience is not likely to repeat itself this year.

Axelrod has known Obama since 1992, and he worked for his 2004 Senate campaign. Now Obama, like Axelrod’s former client Paul Simon 20 years ago, is making his bid for the presidency. But this is no quirky long-shot.

"He has qualities that I think this country needs right now. He has the greatest ability to move an agenda of change and progress," Axelrod said.

And as the conversation turned back from the candidate to the guru, he professed a bit of unease at the attention.

"There have been some pieces written and there are others being written and I’m trying to tamp that down because I don’t really believe the consultant should be the focus of interest, but I understand that there’s a need to have those characters in the play," Axelrod said. "This is such a screwy business. Bob Shrum’s a really bright guy, Karl Rove’s a really bright guy, and if Al Gore had gotten 200 more votes in Florida, Bob would have been lionized as a genius and Karl would have been back doing direct mail in Texas. All of us get far too much credit and, along with the credit, we get too much blame," he said.

Obama drawing worldwide attention
The Register-Mail - Galesburg,IL,USA
Barack Obama. At least, that’s the word from European reporters on their way to Springfield this weekend to cover the Illinois Democrat’s formal entrance …

Indonesian school still smarts from Obama link
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
The school that US presidential candidate Barack Obama attended in a posh, leafy district of Jakarta was founded by Indonesia’s former colonial rulers as a …

Obama Shows Leadership on Ending the Iraq War
Bay Area Indymedia, CA - Feb 7, 2007
Senator Barack Obama, along with House members Mike Thompson and Patrick Murphy, has introduced the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007. …

Wounded numbers obscured
Bangor Daily News - Bangor,ME,USA
Olympia Snowe and Barack Obama and veterans groups say government officials are obscuring the actual number of wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars by …

Obama-Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation
New York Times, NY - Jan 31, 2007
Joining Obama and Schumer at news conference Wednesday about the bill were leaders of the NAACP; the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; …

The Obama boomlet in Mass.
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
… friend and supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, rocked the local political boat when he signed on to help Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. …

Local Leaders Give Views On Obama’s Run
Southwest News-Herald - Chicago,IL,USA
Barack Obama, poised to officially announce that he is running for president on Saturday, Feb. 10, appears to have the solid support of local politicians, …

Punahou left lasting impression on Obama
Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Honolulu,HI,USA
Long before he became Barack Obama — junior senator from Illinois and presidential candidate — he was just Barry, the good-natured, unassuming kid. …

courtesy of the Oahuan