Obama: Immigrants need chance to become citizens
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA

Millions of unauthorized immigrants should be given the opportunity to become US citizens, presidential candidate Barack Obama said during a campaign stop …

Echoing points he made on the Senate floor earlier this week, he said the United States needs stronger border control and must create tougher penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers.

Forcing millions of families who currently live in the United States to leave is impractical, he said. Obama told the crowd that unauthorized immigrants should be given a chance to become citizens, but he said his ideas would not grant "amnesty."

Undocumented residents should face fines, have no other criminal records, be required to learn English and be placed in the legal immigration process - but not ahead of others already in line - to become legal citizens.

Tim Wynes, the chancellor of the college, attended the speech. Many people in the city are looking for ways to embrace its Latino population, not looking for deportation, he said.

"The question is, how do you make this work for your family, community and state, and that’s what I think Barack Obama did a phenomenal job addressing," Wynes said.

Obama has plan to house veterans
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
Senator Barack Obama greeted Frank Larsen in a cafe Friday in Colo, Iowa, where he also visited the state-run veterans home and said it should be a model …

Obama Slowly Plans Health Care Proposal
ABC News - USA
Barack Obama said Thursday he’s moving cautiously to assemble a health care proposal to ensure he can build the political support needed to move the plan …

Obama acknowledged he was moving cautiously in assembling a health care proposal to ensure he can build the political support needed to move the plan forward if he’s elected president.

Obama noted that in previous campaigns, presidential candidates have offered detailed proposals without building that political support, only to see the issue fade after the election.

"Every four years presidential candidates trot out their plans, then nothing happens," Obama said. "How do we build a movement for change so that when a president is elected there is actually a constituency and a consensus that is built so we can move the agenda through Congress."

2 Years After Big Speech, a Lower Key for Obama
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
COLO, Iowa, April 6 — Senator Barack Obama is not big on what he calls red-meat applause lines when he campaigns in small communities like this one, …

[This is a good article, but can anybody explain the first sentence of the third paragraph below? How can the audience be "a tad restless" when "long periods can go by when there is not a rustle in the crowd"? Just saying…]

He is cerebral and easy-going, often talking over any applause that might rise up from his audience, and perhaps consciously trying to present a political style that contrasts with the more charged presences of John Edwards, the former trial lawyer and senator from North Carolina, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

He rarely mentions President Bush, as he disparages the partisan quarrels of Washington, and is, at most, elliptically critical of Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Clinton when he notes that he had opposed the war in Iraq from the start; the two of them voted to authorize the war in 2002.

His audiences are rapt, if sometimes a tad restless; long periods can go by when there is not a rustle in the crowd. Yet Iowa is not the Fleet Center, and this appeal — “letting people see how I think,” as Mr. Obama put it in an interview — could clearly go a long way in drawing the support of Iowans who are turning out in huge numbers to see him in the state where the presidential voting process will start.

“He’s low-key; he speaks like a professor,” said Jim Sayer, 51, a farmer from Humboldt. “Maybe I expected more emotion. But the lower key impresses me: He seems to be at the level that we are.”

Mary Margaret Gran, a middle-school teacher who met him when he spoke to 25 Iowans eating breakfast at a tiny diner in Colo on Friday morning, summed up her view the moment Mr. Obama had moved on to the next table.

“Rock star?” Ms. Gran said, offering the description herself. “That’s the national moniker. But dazzle is not what he is about at all. He’s peaceful.”

Barack Obama Calls For Investigation Into Long Term Health Care …
All Headline News - USA
"Barack Obama has it right, and it is encouraging to see a presidential candidate focusing on truly helping hard working senior Americans. …

Letterman to host Obama appearance tonight
Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA
Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama guests on CBS’s "Late Show with David Letterman" tonight. Actress Halle Berry, promoting her movie "Perfect …

Obama confounds East Coast pundits
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Seattle,WA,USA
As political junkies buzzed over the $25 million collected by his campaign, a Barack Obama donor from our town’s Capitol Hill voiced quiet amusement at "the …

Brave bid by Barack Obama
The Nation Newspaper - Bridgetown,St. Michael,Barbados
WEST INDIAN MIGRANTS and their descendants in the United States tend to support the Democratic Party; so too do most African Americans. …

Obama’s new HQ has room to move
Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA
Moving from cramped, temporary space a few days ago, Barack Obama’s national presidential campaign headquarters on Thursday was settling in to its new home …

Obama works his magic on three more voters
The News-Press - Fort Myers,FL,USA
On March 25 a bus bearing concerned citizens left Fort Myers to hear Barack Obama in Palm Beach. Some on the bus were like Will Prather, …

After attending Senator Obama’s rally, I have a restored faith in American government. Senator Obama addressed issues such as universal health care, ending the Iraq situation, improving education, and environmental issues. I know these are pretty common, run-of-the-mill issues, however, I must say that Senator Obama came across with a sense of sincerity, authenticity, and genuineness that I feel is lacking from many of today’s politicians.

I was particularly touched when Senator Obama spoke of restoring the faith and trust of American voters. I could not agree with him more. It is a shame that there is an air of suspicion surrounding American politics. I am grateful that Senator Obama is sincere enough to address this issue openly and do something about it.

Obama talks about health care in New Hampshire
Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA
PORTSMOUTH, NH — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday turned to both the durable tradition of the New England town meeting and the …

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the campaign would consider the contributions as it develops health care policy and would seek to foster a discussion on its web site by featuring some of the contributions and inviting comments.

The approach is in keeping with the Obama campaign’s efforts to style itself as a decentralized, grass-roots movement and its emphasis on drawing supporters to participation on a tech-savvy web site. The campaign web site includes a social networking component that resembles such popular sites as MySpace.com and Facebook.com.

Obama could restore US prestige in world
Statesman Journal - Salem,OR,USA

Barack Obama, in my opinion, is by far the best, most qualified person to head our nation. I fully support Sen. Obama in his run for the office of the …

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, in my opinion, is by far the best, most qualified person to head our nation. I fully support Sen. Obama in his run for the office of the president of the United States.

Barack opposed our misguided efforts in Iraq all along and opposed the appointment of Alberto Gonzales for good reasons. The international disappointment we see over our behavior reflects the high expectations other nations hold for us.

The U.S.A. is truly a great nation, and Barack wants to restore our standing in the eyes of the world. The Illinois senator declares his intention to restore a sense that government operates with competence and honor.

Sen. Obama says, along with many Americans, that it is time to clean up the culture of corruption in Washington.

Barack speaks so clearly with very organized thoughts and has the true character of a good, strong leader.

When I see my president speak while the world is listening, I want to be proud of what he says and how he says it. The United States of America needs smart leadership for a change.

– David Pearl, Salem

Chuck D vs. Obama
East Bay Express - Berkeley,CA,USA
… ice queen Hillary Clinton and long-lost Duke of Hazzard John Edwards, Barack Obama seems the only logical choice for hip-hop generationers in 2008. …

At the Oakland rally, Obama spoke in a soothingly Midwestern "Farmer Jim" voice, a folksy cadence that resonated with confident leadership. This could prove to be his secret weapon as far as the all-important issue of electability is concerned. Both G.W. Bush and Bill Clinton plain-talked their way into the White House; Obama’s ability to twang like a geetar-picker might make statements like "we can’t continue this occupation" seem sensible to America’s heartland, while still appeasing progressive pockets like the Bay Area.

Barack’s speech told only half the story. His visit generated excitement in an Oakland crowd estimated at twelve thousand, many of whom brought their children. At the end of his 45-minute oration, instead of jaded cynicism, a palpable sense of optimism resonated through the venue. Yet hip-hop’s political observers are divided over whether Obama can be what Jackson and Kucinich weren’t.

Obama Built Donor Network From Roots Up
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
Senator Barack Obama, campaigned Monday in Peterborough, NH Valerie Jarrett, left, who led his Senate finance committee in 2004, was one skeptic Mr. Obama …

CHICAGO — When Barack Obama announced to friends over brunch in 2002 that he planned to run for the United States Senate, one of their first questions was how he could possibly raise the necessary millions.

After all, two and a half years after he had taken quite a “spanking,” as he put it, in his bid to unseat an incumbent congressman, he was still struggling to pay off a $20,000 debt, eking out donations of $1,000 here, $2,000 there.

Improbably, Mr. Obama, running as something of an outsider, wound up raising $15 million and winning that 2004 Senate race. Now that he is running for president, his fund-raising prowess has helped make him the chief rival to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Obama Supporters in Hawaii Use Internet As Campaign Weapon
KHNL-TV/KHBC/KOGG - Honolulu,HI,USA
(KHNL) - Hawaii born Senator Barack Obama is joined by thousands of supporters in Iowa and around the country as he hits the campaign trail. …

"We’ve got this ability here in Hawaii to use this technology to connect with voters on the mainland, to help build the Barack Obama campaign from the ground up here in Hawaii as well," said Fry.

And with this new campaign weapon, supporters say Obama is armed and ready.

"They understand what he stands for, they’ve been waiting for candidates like him that can speak his mind, and can have some principals behind what they’re saying, and I think he’s gonna run away with it," said Fry.

Obama greets fans at NH diner, declines "Hillary" sandwich
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
… to go and ate a few bites of blueberry for the cameras, but there was one thing on the menu at the Peterborough Diner that Barack Obama wouldn’t touch. …

The headlines on the Obama campaign’s April surprise have been very positive, by and large.

Most outlets have been genuinely impressed with the depth and breadth of the candidate’s rapidly expanding small-donor base. And they have pointed to the fact that in essence Obama was competing against not just Hillary Clinton, but Bill Clinton as well, the largest single fundraiser the Democratic Party has ever known.

But not everyone is a convert.

Thoughtful VDB-reader Chris wants to know what all the fuss is about, really:

Dear Vermont Daily Briefing,

Chris

An excellent suggestion. And no, it would not be legal.

But to the Substance Question, which will be the natural movement of the media’s interest, from this point forward.

Having showcased the phenomenon — the massive crowds, the 100,000 donors, many of whom are newcomers to the political process, not to mention the primary cycle — reporters will now be looking to parse the Obama Effect.

But before we leave the Effect itself, it’s worth pausing a moment to appreciate it. It’s easy to deride a candidate with mass appeal as either shallow or scary, Sonny Bono or Adolph Hitler.

But to a certain extent, politics is empathic in nature, building a connection to an audience that exceeds the bottom line. You can’t rally a nation during a Depression without it; you can’t send a man to the moon without it; and anyone who thinks we can provide Universal Health Care or restore our standing in the world or end the war in Iraq without it is dreaming. Dreaming and will never wake up.

So it means something that Obama can walk into Oakland, and rally ten thousand people, black, white, brown, yellow, red. And he can do that a year before the first primary.

By November this year, he’ll be holding rallies for fifty thousand, mark VDB’s words. And many of those people, as with his donors, will be the previously disaffected, the terminally disadvantaged.

But moving closer to substance. All campaigns are faced with a classic political Catch-22: the more detailed their policy releases, the more fire they draw in the run-up to election day.

Every campaign has to hit a certain level of specificity, or be mocked as substance-free, but each makes their own determination on how specific to get beyond that point, based on their particular situation.

Take Bill Clinton, circa 1992. As an unknown Governor from Arkansas, competing against policy wonks like Paul Tsongas, Clinton felt he had to show his chops. And so he released a highly detailed sheaf of policy papers, including a very intricate set of ideas on health care.

And George Stephanopoulos famously declared, “Specificity is the character issue this year.” Which was a handy reframing for obvious related reasons.

Take John Edwards, circa 2007. Struggling against two very powerful opponents, Edwards has clearly decided to move further left in a bid for party activists, and to roll out specifics earlier than he might otherwise have liked.

And the results have been predictable: Edwards’s call to raise taxes as a means of funding his health care plan has lost him party moderates, and garnered some bad press, but it has cemented the affection of health care die-hards.

Because of the Obama Effect itself, the junior Senator from Illinois is facing very early pressure to move to substance. In part, he is resisting that, and in part he is wise to do so.

It’s never a good idea to be moved out of your own timetable in a Presidential race, and in this case — with a very hungry Right-wing media cruising always just off the horizon — it could be disastrous to jump the gun.

All of this, of course, has been by way of reframing the question. But that’s not to say that Obama’s campaign has been substance-free. Far from it.

On the Iraq War, Obama likes to say that he has “opposed it from the start,” and he has: Obama spoke publicly, early and often, against Bush’s drive to invade Iraq. And that matters.

Why? If we’re going to repudiate the central tenets of Bush’s foreign policy, it’s best to be clear in doing so, as clear as we can get.

And to clarify his stance further, in January Obama introduced the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007. It commences redeployment of troops by May 1 this year, and it puts in place a process for having “all combat brigades” out of country by March 2008.

On the positive side, the legislation caps the number of troops at January 2007 levels; contains triggers for speeding up or slowing down deployment, with those triggers firmly in Congressional hands; and it anticipates the Iraq Study Group on diplomatic means to end the crisis.

On the negative side, Obama is not calling for defunding the war. And his legislation looks to leave a small number of troops in Iraq to conduct counter-insurgency, and the training of Iraqi forces. But nothing like the force strength that Hillary Clinton has talked about leaving in place to continue to occupy the Northwest sector of the country.

And in these positions Obama is all but indistinguishable from John Edwards, who also calls for bringing home all “combat troops” within a year.

But Obama has also been active on the voting question, and that’s key for VDB.

Republican operatives have flirted openly with questionable technologies over the last several years: touch-screen voting without verifiable vote counts or source codes; requiring additional picture ID’s in rural counties, where low-income voters might be disadvantaged; and phone-bank operations designed to harrass and annoy, and leave the impression that they are run by Democrats.

And Obama has been active on this front, at the national level. The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, which he introduced in the Senate, targets the broad spectrum of dirty tricks that the information age has made available to unscrupulous operators.

There is more, of course. If you saw Obama’s webcast on the 31st, you know he can more than hold his own on the intricate details of health care. And he’s called for universal health care for all Americans by the end of his first term.

But as the mainstream press points out, he has yet to say precisely how he will pay for it. Does that disqualify him, a year before the first primary? Hardly.

As we said above, Obama is engaged in managing a delicate balance: enough detail to attract activists, field workers, and those with important single issues, but not enough to leave himself open to a full year of pounding on the fine print.

See McGovern, George; Welfare Proposal; 1972 Campaign

And a pronounced hat tip to Chris, for throwing the debate into second gear.

	Explore more about what you’ve made happen Video: Springfield Announcement Video: Oakland Rally Video: Man on the Street, Concord NH Video: Hope. Action. Change. In Iowa On the Blog: Michelle Obama in Iowa On the Blog: Hope Action Change: Hawaii to Alaska Donor Stories: This Campaign Is Different Donor Stories: Rashed: Our 75,000th Donor Donor Stories: Beyond the Numbers: North Carolina

Dear Supporter,

Ten weeks ago, on an icy day in Springfield, we launched an audacious campaign to change our politics and lift our country.

Today, I have some exciting news to share about the phenomenal progress we’ve made. And I wanted you to hear it first.

I’m proud to tell you that, after the first quarter of the campaign, we’ve exceeded all of our hopes and expectations.

In less than three months, a staggering 100,000 Americans have contributed to our cause — tens of thousands more than the number reported by any other campaign. That’s on top of the hundreds of thousands who have attended rallies, started groups and shared their ideas and energy.

It’s been a truly historic response — a measure of just how hungry people are to turn the page on this era of small and destructive politics and repair our American community.

And because of that extraordinary base of support, we were able to raise an astonishing $25 million — $23.5 million of which can be used to help us in the upcoming primary contests.

What makes this achievement even more noteworthy is that we did it without taking any money from PACs or federal lobbyists. Instead, we’re counting on you; on folks across America who want to take their country back and steer us to a better course.

You’ve sent an unmistakable message to the political establishment in Washington about the power and seriousness of our challenge.

But for all the impressive numbers by which pundits will judge this campaign, we know that every step of our progress happens one person at a time.

One person sharing their story of why they decided to get involved in the political process, one volunteer deciding to have a conversation about the campaign with their neighbor, one donor owning a piece of this campaign for as little as $5.

I’ve been struck by how personal this campaign experience has been for so many of you.

You heard last week from Rashed, a veteran and father who made his first-ever donation to a political campaign because of his hopes for his daughter. This campaign is the story of hundreds of thousands of people like him — people participating because they believe that politics can mean something again.

We’ve put together a small presentation about all we’ve accomplished together so far, and links to a few of the personal stories from people who donated to the campaign or hosted a community get-together this past weekend. You can see it here:

http://my.barackobama.com/wherewestand

I want to thank you for all that you have done so far. This milestone for our campaign proves something I learned as a community organizer long ago: that together a whole lot of ordinary people can achieve something extraordinary.

And we’re only just getting started.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

Now the mystery is revealed.

VDB had been wondering about the Obama campaign’s very deliberate coyness with their Q1 funding numbers. They let Hillary Clinton dominate news coverage with her 26$ million bonanza, and we began to wonder about two possibilities.

We wondered if a) they had somehow missed the 20$ million figure the Obama folks had tacitly allowed to become their bar; or if b) they were sandbagging, letting the Clinton folks hype their numbers, letting expectations build, because they had beaten or tied Clinton.

And it turns out it’s more or less the latter: the New York Times is reporting that Obama raised 25$ million this quarter.

Not too shabby for a newcomer competing against both Clintons, and Terry McAuliffe. Not too shabby at all.

More as details warrant. Much more.

Obama’s Narrator (really excellent piece on David Axelrod)
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
When Barack Obama decided in January that he would run for president in 2008 and quietly began calling up his staff members and close supporters to tell …

Obama’s Online Strategy Seeks Big Bonus From Small Turnout
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
Ron Lussier of San Diego, far right, a supporter of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential bid, welcomed 12 guests to a campaign event in his home. …

“Size, for what it’s worth, is not a good measure of the quality of an event,” said Zephyr Teachout, who served as director of online organizing for Howard Dean’s presidential bid. She said she would rather have many small groups than a few big ones, because in small groups everyone meets each other but at larger events participants can be passive.

Obama Campaign Aims to Turn Online Backers Into an Offline Force
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
Barack Obama of Illinois will rally thousands of voters in cities and towns across the country today, part of an effort to ensure that the surge of interest …

At home with Obama
Tracy Press - Tracy,CA,USA
One Tracy woman will turn her home into one of 5000 nationwide kick-off events for presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Press staff report …

Despite difficulties, Obama event goes on
Portsmouth Herald News - Portsmouth,NH,USA
Barack Obama over a Webcast. Around 4 pm, about 15 Seacoast residents mingled in her Portsmouth living room, eating shrimp, sipping wine and champagne. …

Obama rally watched nationwide
WJBC News - Bloomington,IL,USA
Senator Barack Obama’s appearance in Onawa, Iowa, Saturday was streamed on his presidential campaign’s Web site. Aides to the Illinois Democrat said the …

Eastchester house party tunes in Obama webcast
The Journal News.com - Westchester,NY,USA
Barack Obama and one of his top fundraisers, music mogul David Geffen. "The David Geffen incident was the one that told me that Hillary was prepared to do …

Obama dazzles lawmakers, regular folks
Palm Beach Post - Palm Beach,FL,USA
TALLAHASSEE — Illinois Sen. and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama brought his campaign to the state capital Friday, eliciting star-struck …

Monroe man is sold on Obama
HeraldNet - Everett,WA,USA
Archibald formed the grass-roots group Sno-Sky Valley for Barack Obama shortly after the first-term Illinois US senator in February announced a bid for the …

Obama finds support among former Clinton backers
The Journal News.com - Westchester,NY,USA
Unequivocally and without apology to Hillary or Bill Clinton, she writes, she supports Barack Obama for president. Ashhurst, an administrator at Sarah …

In questioning Obama’s "policy credentials," Wash. Post’s Cillizza …
Media Matters for America - Washington,DC,USA
Barack] Obama [D-IL] will move beyond his rosy rhetoric and into real-world policy proposals have begun to crop up." Cillizza also asked his readers: "So, …