Whether you were offended or intrigued by the 1984 Obama/Hillary ad, I think you might be interested in hearing from the maker, Phil De Vellis, directly. At the very least, I think it pretty clearly removes any doubt of the ad being an orchestrated conspiracy.

Here are two different but equally interesting interviews (thanks to MyDD)…

From an interview with YouTube…

And from PoliticsTV…

Obama’s Community Roots
The Nation. - New York,NY,USA
In 1985, freshly graduated from Columbia University and working for a New York business consultant, Barack Obama decided to become a community organizer. …

Obama’s organizing history may give few clues about what policies he would pursue as President, but Obama the presidential candidate still shows his roots–a faith in ordinary citizens, a quest for common ground and a pragmatic inclination toward defining issues in winnable ways. Even when Obama was an organizer, Augustine-Herron told him he would be the nation’s first black President. Now the Rev. Alvin Love, whom Obama recruited to DCP, looks at his candidacy and says, "Everything I see reflects that community organizing experience. I see the consensus-building, his connection to people and listening to their needs and trying to find common ground. I think at his heart Barack is a community organizer. I think what he’s doing now is that. It’s just a larger community to be organized."

Obama hits Chicago during ‘Council Wars’
Chicago Tribune

The path to his party’s nomination, though, runs through Democratic primary voters still chafing from years of conservative Republican rule. And what Obama highlights as an eagerness to plow common ground with political opposites, some voters may view as a sign that he lacks firm principles or an ability to stake and hold his ground.

Obama firmly rejected that notion. "There are a set of principles that I care about. And there are people I’m fighting for in this campaign," he said in a recent interview. If any Republican, or Democrat for that matter, opposes those principles, Obama vowed to "go after them with everything that I’ve got."

Obama’s heritage a boon to blackness
Yahoo! News - USA
Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., black enough to earn the support of African-Americans in his quest to become president of the United States …

Jesse Jackson Endorses Barack Obama
CBS News - New York City,NY,USA
(AP) Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said Thursday he’s backing Democrat Barack Obama in his presidential bid, giving his support to a new generation of …

Barack Obama Talks About Gay Marriage and Immorality
Bgay.com - Fort Lauderdale,FL,USA
Barack Obama appeared on CNN’s Situation Room yesterday where he talked to Wolf Blitzer about his view on gay marriage and about what happened following the …

Obama’s Hawai’i supporters open homes for meetings
Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu,HI,USA
"Barack Obama believes this campaign is about everyday Americans and the discussions that take place in living rooms, coffee shops and community centers," …

Spanish edition of Obama’s ‘Audacity of Hope’ to come out in June
WQAD - Moline,IL,USA
NEW YORK US Senator Barack Obama’s (ber-AHK’ oh-BAH’-muhz) book "The Audacity of Hope" is already a million seller in English, and now it will be coming out …

Barack Obama attempts to sell his 2008 presidential campaign
University of Central Oklahoma Vista - Edmond,OK,USA
If Illinois senator Barack Obama isn’t sworn in as President come January 2009, it won’t be because of his public speaking abilities, which were prominently …

Fox Goes After Barack Obama Again
News Hounds - Newport Beach,CA,USA
Scott then gave Malek an example where Barack Obama had said his parents had gotten together because of what happened in Selma, Alabama. …

Before I get to the links, I just wanted to mention that this has been a sad week for political reporting on Barack Obama. But, it has also been inspiring to see the impressive work being done by Glenn Greenwald, Greg Sargent, Media Matters, Will Bunch, Obamarama, Steve Benen and many others who’ve gone to bat for Obama to push back on the inanity.

Regardless of who these folks support for president, at least they recognize that these kinds of Gore 2000-like smears and innuendo are deeply injurious to the goals of all Democrats and progressives.

But, here’s one thing to ponder. After the mini Edwards BloggerGate from earlier this year, the folks at MyDD used their considerable clout and energy to push back against the Noise Machine, mobilizing people through the MyDD site, Daily Kos, and BlogPac.

But, for Obama? Near complete silence.

OK, now the Link Party…

Obama’s K Street project
The Hill - Washington,DC,USA
Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is benefiting from the support of well-connected Washington lobbyists even though he has prohibited his campaign from accepting …

Obama prepares to show the money
Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA
Preparing his supporters for his own report, Barack Obama is trying to lower expectations. He’s telling backers not to get caught up as the "press and …

Ian McMillan on US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s poetry
Guardian Unlimited - UK
This week two poems by Barack Obama, published in a student magazine when he was 19, came to light. So did the US presidential candidate miss his true …

Obama to hold Portsmouth meeting on health care
Foster’s Daily Democrat - Dover,NH,USA
PORTSMOUTH — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is hosting a forum on health care in the Port City next week, but tickets to the event are …

BET Co-Founder Endorses Obama’s Campaign
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
NEW YORK — Democrat Barack Obama has picked up the endorsement of Sheila C. Johnson, the ex-wife of media pioneer Robert Johnson who is backing rival Sen. …

Gauging Obama’s YouTube Numbers
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
The folks over at techPresident, a blog run by a think tank that studies the internet’s impact on politics, noticed some numbers on Senator Barack Obama’s …

The Barack Obama Surge
Black Star News - New York,NY,USA
Every Sunday the Independent Party’s political director Jacqueline Salit and strategist and philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and …

Morton Kondracke: Can Barack Obama deliver the real deal?
Pasadena Star-News - Pasadena,CA,USA
Barack Obama, D-Ill. There are reasons to think that he’s the real deal - a "post-partisan" reformer who can free politics from the zero-sum ideological …

Obama, Clinton: Watch Out For Republican Attack Dogs
Black Star News - New York,NY,USA
Correspondents covering President Hilary Clinton or Barack Obama would write about how sex and/or race impacts certain decisions. …

Dear Supporter,

Here’s how it usually works. As we approach March 31st, when campaigns have to file their quarterly fundraising reports, the press and pundits start to obsess over the chase for money.

They value dollars more than people, and bottom lines more than ideas.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Like every campaign, this one needs the resources to compete.

But while others may set goals based on raising tens of millions of dollars, we’re going to reveal two numbers that say more about what kind of campaign we’re running:

• the number of people donating to the cause
• the number of donations we’ve received from them

And we’re not going to talk about the dollars raised until the reporting period is over.

It’s simple: get more people involved, more deeply than ever before. Those are our goals for the end of the quarter, and for the rest of this campaign. Whether you’ve given before or this will be your first time, you can make a statement that people count.

I’m asking you to stand up and be counted — will you make a donation now?

http://www.barackobama.com/peoplecount

So why these two figures?

The number of people giving shows the wide breadth of support for a campaign that seeks a new kind of politics.

The number of donations reveals the depth of people’s commitment, because so many people give small amounts again and again.

If we really hope to meet the challenges of our time, we have to change what our politics is about, and that means changing what campaigns are about — not just dollar amounts and million-dollar goals, but millions of people working for a cause bigger than themselves.

That’s why we’re not accepting contributions from Washington lobbyists or political action committees.

So who are our donors? See for yourself. Election law requires that we ask every donor to the campaign for their occupation and their employer. That information will be made public in the quarterly report filed on March 31st.

Just this week we’ve gotten donations from the following people:

• a salesperson in Alabama
• a nurse in North Carolina
• a truck driver in Minnesota
• a firefighter/paramedic in Texas
• a homeless shelter director in Virginia
• a special education teacher in Florida
• a bartender in Colorado
• a minister in New York

The two most common occupations of our donors this week? "Student" and "Retired" — and we’ve got thousands in between.

Will you be the next person to be counted?

http://www.barackobama.com/peoplecount

There’s serious work ahead for our next president, and the process of choosing him or her should not descend into an insider game of who can better manipulate the "conventional wisdom" in Washington.

We have an opportunity to use this fundraising deadline to turn the story of money and politics on its head.

You can show the pundits covering this presidential race that a grassroots movement for change can trump all the money and influence in Washington.

Give them something to talk about — be counted now:

http://www.barackobama.com/peoplecount

For six years we’ve had a president out of touch, on the wrong track, and increasingly unwilling to even pretend to care about the concerns of ordinary Americans.

The process of choosing our next one should focus on mobilizing and energizing the people.

As we approach this fundraising deadline on March 31st, you have an opportunity to send a message by participating in a different kind of fundraising drive:

In a democracy, it’s the people that count.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

Thompson Tied with Clinton, Trails Obama
Rasmussen

The first Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey involving Thompson shows the former Senator from Tennessee essentially tied with the Democratic frontrunner, Senator Hillary Clinton. It’s Thompson 44% Clinton 43%.

However, Thompson trails another leading Democrat, Illinois Senator Barack Obama by twelve percentage points, 49% to 37%. When matched against Thompson, Obama outperforms Clinton among men, women, white voters, and unaffiliated voters. He even attracts more crossover support from the GOP.

Barack Obama calls for war’s end in South Florida fundraising stop
Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale,FL,USA

New Then and now: Obama’s views on gay rights
Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago,IL,USA
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama took a bit of heat from gay supporters last week for being initially reluctant to say whether he agreed with …

Candidates turn focus to technologically savvy donors in California
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
And it has shaped the appeal of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois to a new generation of young, tech-savvy donors. "It’s just a totally different model" for …

On Barack Obama’s Church and its Senior Pastor
BlogHer - San Jose,CA,USA
And to be sure, there are those who vehemently disagree with the way TUCC and Barack Obama proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. …

JP operative hits the road for Obama
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
As the new director of special events for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, Fisk is part of a parade of Bay State politicos who have given Massachusetts …

Race for ‘08: Multiple messages attract Obama’s crowds
Sacramento Bee - Sacramento,CA,USA
It was a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in this heavily African American city, and the rally for presidential candidate Barack Obama hopped to a …

For Clinton and Obama, a Common Ideological Touchstone
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
Saul D. Alinsky, the Chicago community organizer whose ideas intrigued and influenced Hillary Rodham and Barack Obama as they began their careers. …

Southwest residents organize state campaign for Obama
Minneapolis Southwest Journal - Minneapolis,MN,USA
“I hadn’t felt motivated enough about a candidate to get up off the couch and do anything until Barack Obama,” he said. Provost said he thinks Obama can …

Don’t sell Barack ‘Obambi’ short
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
BARACK OBAMA is learning — the hard way — that no good deed goes unpunished. Hillary Clinton’s campaign has already gone after him with charges of negative …

With its efforts to paint Obama as a negative campaigner showing so little promise, the Clinton campaign is shifting to a new tack. Now it is going after Obama for having tried to be polite about an issue that’s become one of Clinton’s greatest liabilities.

That would be her October 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq. That vote — and her continued refusal to call it a mistake — has many Democrats wondering just why she was so very wrong about the Bush administration’s case for war when a political newcomer like Obama was so very right.

Obama wasn’t in the Senate in 2002. But he made his views crystal clear in a speech on the same day that Clinton and 28 other Senate Democrats voted to authorize the use of force against Iraq: "I don’t oppose war in all circumstances…. What I do oppose is a dumb war…. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics."

Today, Obama’s speech looks prescient. He got it right on everything: Saddam Hussein’s lack of WMD; the costs in lives and money of an indefinite occupation; the likelihood that war in Iraq would divert resources from Afghanistan and "fan the flames of the Middle East … and strengthen … Al Qaeda."

Adding insult to injury, Obama still seems to be getting it right, nearly five years later. Congressional Democrats have coalesced around a version of Obama’s proposed Iraq plan. Clinton, meanwhile, finds herself in the galling position of watching Obama, a political babe in arms, emerge as the new standard-bearer for the Democratic Party.

Obama fights back on Iraq charges
Newsday

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pushed back yesterday against accusations by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign that his oft-repeated opposition to the Iraq war was not borne out by his Senate record.

In a conference call with reporters, Obama sought to squelch the charges by saying his Senate votes to continue funding the conflict don’t contradict his long-standing opposition to it.
"Once we were in, we were going to have some responsibility to try to make it work as best we can. More importantly, you make sure the troops are supported," the Illinois senator said. "I don’t think there’s any contradiction there whatsoever. We should not get in, once we were in we had to make the best of a bad situation."

Obama’s church asks reporters to play by the rules
Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA
Barack Obama’s decision to ask his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, not to deliver the benediction at his announcement to run for president in February. …

Obama gaining steam in Ohio
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Cleveland,OH,USA
There’s good news for Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy: The senator from Illinois is getting more popular in Ohio, while Democratic rival Sen. …

There’s good news for Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy: The senator from Illinois is getting more popular in Ohio, while Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is holding steady at best.

Clinton still leads Obama by 10 points, however, 32 percent to 22 percent, in a poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University. So if the Ohio primary were held today, Clinton would win.

That presumes a lot. The dynamics of the primary race could change dramatically in the next year. They’ve already changed dramatically since January, when Quinnipiac put Clinton at 38 and a lesser-known Obama at only 13.

OFF THE BLOCK: The First Black President
Eurweb.com - Los Angeles,CA,USA
Barack Obama is the man and the time has finally come where, as Dr. King prophesied that a black person could be exclusively judged by the content of his …

Obama’s background boasts an unprecedented pedigree new to American presidential aspirants and his personal genetic makeup and early schooling is the epitome of cultural diversity and globalism. Obama’s potential as leader of the free world gives a whole new meaning to the term “The New World Order” given the changing circumstances in Asia, South America and Africa. Let us share his “audacity of hope” in believing that he can go all the way. His election as the first black president of the United States of America will validate the hopes and dreams of our ancestors while at the same time give our people, our country and even possibly the world the best chance to avert total planetary catastrophe that we have had since the presidential candidacy of Bobby Kennedy.

To help inspire all you Vermonters to create or attend an Obama house party on March 31st — and to join the Vermonters for Obama group at the official Obama site, here’s an email I just got from Obama Campaign Manager, David Plouffe…

Dear Supporter,

The largest grassroots event in the very short history of this campaign will happen in a few days. And I am hoping you will be participating from your home or apartment.

We’re asking you, one of our strongest supporters and most dedicated volunteers, to consider throwing a get-together with a few of your family, friends, and neighbors for Barack Obama on March 31.

This is the easiest way you can help our grassroots campaign reach out to people across the country with our message of hope and change.

This is all you have to do:

• Bring a few of your friends together on March 31 in your living room to talk about the challenges we are facing as a community; as a country.
• Use your computer or phone to listen to Barack live in Iowa.
• Watch the DVD we’ll send you with a special message from Barack to help your friends learn more about him and what our grassroots campaign is all about.
• Talk about what you can do as a community to be a part of this campaign.

We want you to bring people together to learn more about this campaign and, ultimately, to go out and share Barack’s message with others in your community.

We’ve set up several resources to help you along the way.

Click here and register your get-together now

Once you register at My.Barackobama.com, you will receive a packet of information including:

• A Barack Obama DVD presenting Barack’s story, message, and positions, which you can show at your get-together.
• Information about a live webcast that will allow you and your friends to converse with Senator Obama, live, at a similar event in Iowa.
• Suggested actions that people can take after the party to organize and spread Barack’s message.
• Resources that will enable your group to not only send in contributions, but suggestions and ideas discussed — so that this campaign can continue to be about you.

There are already events happening in all 50 states, but we want to make sure that you get a chance to be a leader in your community and participate in this historic campaign.

People keep asking us, “What Can I Do to Help?” Well, this is it. Be a part of this day. Be a leader of this campaign. Be a host of an event and reach out to people around you to learn about how we are changing politics in this country. Sign up today:

http://my.barackobama.com/hopeactionchange

With your help, this will be our biggest day yet. 

Thanks, 

David Plouffe 

Campaign Manager 

As VDB says…

No need to rehearse the fact that the 2008 cycle is moving at an incredibly rapid pace. You know it, and you know the major players at this point. And you also know that this site has been pulling behind Barack Obama for months, in an early, exploratory sort of way.

Cut to hard-core organization. Fundraising reports are out at this end of this month, and all of the major Democratic campaigns are pushing like mad to raise money. But as much as money, they need muscle: people willing to provide early help. Lots of people.

The Obama campaign has called for a nationwide day of house parties on the 31st of March. They call it Community Kick-Off day. Obama will be at a party in Iowa, and the idea is to mirror that small, retail event with thousands of others around the country.

Vermonters for Obama (V4O) — the group established back in December in northern Vermont — has adopted two goals to coincide with Community Kick-Off Day. First, we’re looking to double our own email list, from 60+ to something over 120. Ambitious, but achievable, we think. Second, we want to shoot for 20 house parties in Vermont, gatherings registered with the Obama folks and tied in to the conference call that will go out at 3:00 pm on March 31.

It’s unbelievably easy. Go here: my.barackobama.com. Once there, you’ll be able to click to sign up and create a profile.

Then you can search by Zip (05401) to find Vermonters for Obama, or go directly to: my.barackobama.com/page/group/VermontersforObama

On this actual group page, you just need to click the “Join Group” button in the upper left under the group name to add yourself (and to boost our group number).

I know: it’s early to commit. Not everyone’s there yet. But ask yourself this: are you far enough along in your thinking to give your email address? It’s a big step, of course, but not exactly selling your house.

Updates as the 31st draws near.

Obama Senate floor speech on start of 5th year of Iraq war …
Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA
WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator Barack Obama today delivered remarks on the Senate floor marking the start of the fifth year of the war in Iraq and reflecting …

On Thursdays, Senator Durbin and I hold a constituent coffee so we can hear from the folks back home. A young man came a few months ago who was about 25, 26 years old. He had been back from Iraq for a year. The first months of that year he spent in a coma. An explosion had shattered his face, blinded him in both eyes, and has left him without the use of one arm.

He told us about how he was going through rehab, and he introduced us to his family. He has a wife and two young daughters like I do, and his wife talked for a bit about the adjustments they were making at home since dad got hurt. And I found myself looking at not just him, but at his wife, who loves him so much, and I thought about how their lives were forever changed because of the decision that was carried out four years ago.

The sacrifices of war are immeasurable.

I first made this point in the fall of 2002, at the end of the speech I gave opposing the invasion of Iraq. I said then that I certainly do not oppose all wars, but dumb wars – rash wars. Because there is no decision more profound than the one we make to send our brave men and women into harm’s way.

I’ve thought about these words from time to time since that speech, but never so much as the day I saw that young man and his wife.

Barack Attack (great detail on the campaign staff)
New York Observer - New York,NY,USA
CHICAGO—The field-operations office for Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign is cramped into a small corner room overlooking downtown Chicago and the river …

The entire campaign is going to move within the next few weeks to a larger space on the building’s 11th floor, filled with bullpens, conference rooms, cushioned orange seats and ample electrical outlets.

The only campaign workers to have made the move so far are the new-media team, a small group of techies under the leadership of Blue State Digital founder Joe Rospars.

The youngest—and no doubt richest—of the group is Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, whose floppy blond hair and breezy manner have made him a dot-com poster boy.

“I wouldn’t have left Facebook for any other candidate—this is a once-in-a-generation-type thing,” said Mr. Hughes, who is all of 23. He said that the “My.BarackObama.com” section of the campaign Web site constituted “the only social-organizing tool on this scale that has ever been rolled out in any campaign ever.”

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fight over Iraq war
Pravda - Moscow,Russia
The Iraq war, a defining issue of the 2008 US presidential race, has turned into a proxy fight between Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama …

Obama Returns For Harvard Love
Harvard Crimson - Cambridge,MA,USA
Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the Harvard Law School graduate and presidential candidate, arrived at the home of Kirkland and Ellis Professor of Law David B. …

Is FOX News Wooing the Obama Campaign?
News Hounds - Newport Beach,CA,USA
After being trashed by FOX News earlier this year, Senator Barack Obama has refused to grant FOX News access to his campaign. In the interim the Senator has …

Grassroots committing to Obama
smudailycampus.com - Dallas,TX,USA
The man in black was Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. He made his Texas campaign premiere at a political rally on Feb. 23. …

Myths and falsehoods about Barack Obama
Media Matters for America - Washington,DC,USA
Barack Obama (D-IL) has been the target of attacks, smears, and innuendo throughout the media. He has been called a Muslim who attended a madrassa and has …

Latching onto LA Times op-ed, Limbaugh sings "Barack, The Magic Negro"
Media Matters for America - Washington,DC,USA
And the term ‘Magic Negro,’ as applied to Barack Obama has been done by an LA Times columnist, David Ehrenstein." Limbaugh later asserted: "I’m going to …

Barack Obama Fever Puts Hillary Clinton In Cold
Bayou Buzz - Metairie,LA,USA
This dissatisfaction has helped US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) make his incredible journey forward in the presidential race. In 2004, Obama was an unknown …

Well, in early returns from what will probably be one of the few surveys taken on Vermonter’s presidential primary voting preferences, Obama is clearly the favorite…

The survey is done at Vermont Town Meetings across the state by State Senator Bill Doyle.

With about half of the surveys in (~5,000)…

Illinois senator Barrack Obama led New York senator Hillary Clinton by a margin of 46 to 33 % for the Democratic nomination:

(Doyle) “Vermonters have taken to Obama, there’s not even any question about it. That’s a pretty strong lead with all the name recognition that Hillary Clinton has and the fact that Obama’s a newcomer.”

On the Republican side, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani edged out Arizona senator John McCain 43% to 39%.