Obama stirring in his KC visit
Kansas City Star - MO,USA
After candidate Barack Obama’s impressive showing last weekend, the buzz is only going to grow louder. First of all, Clinton should just go ahead and …

It was clear from the outset that Obama brought his A game. While fatigue was blamed for a few flubs he made on the campaign trail in recent weeks, Obama seemed energized Saturday.

After a few opening remarks, he found his rhythm, his cadence.

“Politics seems as if it’s become a business and not a mission,” Obama said. “It seems that power is always trumping principle, especially in Washington. It seems our leadership is long on rhetoric but short on substance.”

The crowd’s response seemed to rise each time he mentioned a theme associated with middle America.

“We’ve had a government that basically ignores the realities of ordinary people,” Obama said. “They say the economy has never been so good … even though families are living from paycheck to paycheck. People are trying to figure out everything from how to fill up the gas tank to saving for retirement to sending their kids to college. People are living hand to mouth, trying to make ends meet.”

Of course, his disdain for the war in Iraq drew vociferous applause.

“We have a government that thinks that our foreign policy can be determined by ideology and bluster instead of strategy and foresight,” he said.

Yet, it was when he invoked a sense of optimism reminiscent of the 1960 presidential campaign that he seemed the most genuine.

“I just get a sense that a new wind is blowing,” Obama said. “The American people are paying attention like they haven’t paid attention in a lot of years. People are standing up all around this country saying, ‘We want our country back.’”

No one in the audience was left feeling cheated.

“You can tell in peoples’ faces that they really were feeling for what Obama’s message was,” said Nancy Pinkston, a student leader with University of Missouri Students for Obama. “So many politicians can talk the talk. But Obama’s the real deal.”

Sarah Taylor, another supporter, was not disappointed either.

“He has incredible charisma,” Taylor said. “He’s got a broad appeal. I think he’ll be a real strong contender. I want to support someone who’s different.”

Obama was on his game in Kansas City. It was as if he were 10 for 10 from the field.

But no one should underestimate Hillary Clinton, especially when she has her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in tow. But minus Bill, she would have a hard time in Kansas City drawing a larger, more diverse and more enthusiastic audience than the one Obama drew last weekend.

Senator Obama Leads In South Carolina
AHN - USA
… a new poll shows Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is running in second place against fellow Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in South Carolina. …

Obama scores points with workes on health care, Iraq
NorthJersey.com - Hackensack,NJ,USA
A union crowd gave Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama repeat standing ovations Monday as he called for universal health coverage, …

Over the course of more than an hour, Obama said he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country, opposes private school vouchers, supports legislation that would lower barriers to unionization and favors more research on alternative energy sources. The crowd was particularly pleased with his unqualified call for a phased withdrawal from Iraq, starting "last week."

"If we organize, we can bring an end to a war that never should have been authorized," Obama said, raising his voice over cheers. He added, "I’m proud that in 2002 I stood up, when it wasn’t popular to be against this war."

One of Obama’s chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, voted to authorize the invasion, which necessarily complicates her stance on the war.

New Jersey is supposed to be Clinton country: Polls put the New York senator in the lead for the nomination among New Jersey Democrats, and she also has won the endorsement of Governor Corzine and other party leaders in the state.

However, during his swing through the state Monday, Obama gained some endorsements of his own from the mayors of the state’s two largest cities, Newark’s Cory Booker and Jersey City’s Jerramiah Healy. Democratic Assemblyman Gordon Johnson of Englewood also announced his support for Obama on Monday.

"I believe he is a breath of fresh air," Johnson said. "I believe he is what we need."

Barack Obama: Obama Bill on Climate Change Education
All American Patriots (press release) - Taeby,NA,Sweden
May 14, 2007 — WASHINGTON, DC – US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was today joined by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing …

U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was today joined by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing legislation that would create a national education program to build awareness about the causes and effects of global climate change. This bipartisan bill, the Climate Change Education Act, will educate students and all Americans about the troubling consequences of climate change, greenhouse gases, and carbon emissions, as well as suggest steps they can take to conserve energy and reduce their environmental impact.

“The power to fight back against climate change lies in the hands of all Americans,” said Senator Obama. “As we develop national solutions to reduce carbon emissions from our factories and motor vehicles, every student should know that lifestyle choices like changing a light-bulb or driving a fuel-flexible car can help our progress.”

Obama Proposes Changes in Student Loans
ABC News - USA
Barack Obama, D-Ill., gestures as he speaks to a large gathering of mostly union members Monday, May 14, 2007, in Trenton, NJ The town hall-style meeting …

Missouri happy to show Obama the money
Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA
Why did Barack Obama fly to Missouri last weekend, stopping briefly in the state’s biggest urban centers, St. Louis and Kansas City? …

But looking around the ballroom one could also see that the crowd here was in many ways a cross-section of America: babies, seniors, young, black, white, students, and the curious. "Missouri is close to the median of the United States in terms of the economy and the population," John Petrocik, head of political science at the University of Missouri-Columbia, explained to me later.

In this state, plunk in the middle of the continental U.S., there remain traces of a southern tradition, a rural white population in the Ozark mountains, a rust-belt industry in St. Louis, a large Christian conservative population and important universities. Missouri is an atypical Midwest state that has it all; it is a microcosm of the USA. As Petrocik says, it wasn’t a bad place for Obama to have "an off-Broadway tryout."

And, yes, it is a swing state where shifts between Democrats and Republicans are not rare occurrences. Missouri has more often voted for the winning presidential candidate than any other state, whether he’s Democrat or Republican. It is the state of Harry Truman but it elected George W. Bush the last time around. As the state slogan suggests: "Show Me." And that’s likely what Missourians were asking of Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to visit their state: "Show Me" before I give you my vote.

Obama names NH co-chairs
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
Three former Congressional candidates and a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair will head up Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in the state where …

Poor grades help Barack Obama learn about campaigning
McClatchy Washington Bureau - USA
Barack Obama of Illinois is going to school on the presidential campaign trail, and he just got a lesson from what’s arguably the most important trade union …

"There was a view that Senator Obama seemed to be a little somber, a little sobering," Schaitberger said, referring to a survey he took of the roughly 1,000 union leaders who heard Obama and 10 other candidates that day. "The issues he shared weren’t necessarily on point.

"Senator Obama was probably not overly pleased with my opinion," Schaitberger added. "But I was being honest."

…

On Friday, Obama got a chance for a makeover. The firefighters invited him and the five Democrats who did well to meet for follow-up interviews with about 80 union leaders gathered in Portsmouth, N.H.

…He got more specific about firefighter issues and ended up with a much better grade.

"Obama did a much better job," Schaitberger said. "He was more on point. He acknowledged this. He made it clear that he really wanted to pursue our support. Today was a very different presentation."

Obama Joins Booker and Healy to Call for Creation of Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
TETERBORO, NJ–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Barack Obama joined Mayor Cory Booker of Newark and Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City today to call for the creation of …

___________________________________________________

Begun in January 2007, the Barack the House Link Party is a regularly produced compilation of news items highlighting the many reasons why Barack Obama will be a great President of the United States.

It’s also intended as a resource for people working to ensure that accurate and positive information about Barack gets out to the public. If you’re interested in helping out with this effort, please consider joining the Obama Rapid Response group at my.barackobama.com.

Come help Barack on May 19th!

Barack Obama needs your help in New Hampshire. And I don’t need to tell you how important the New Hampshire primary is in selecting the next president.

That’s why on Saturday, May 19th, at 8:30 AM, Barack will be joining volunteers, supporters and campaign staff for the kick-off and first canvass of the campaign. We will gather in Manchester for a send-off with Barack before we fan out across the state to share his message with New Hampshire voters.

Transportation and other logistical details:
We will be meeting at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester at 8:30 A.M. on Saturday, May 19th. Barack will speak in the morning and we will head out to knock on doors at 10:00 A.M. 

Bus transportation will be available from Keene, Portsmouth, and Boston, MA.

Canvassers who take buses from Keene and Portsmouth will return to those cities to knock on doors. Canvassing will conclude by 2:00 P.M. and social activities will follow.

All others will finish canvassing by 1:00 P.M. and are invited back to Manchester for a post-canvass cookout at our launching area. Buses will return to the Boston area no later than 6:00 P.M.

Bus Transportation

Portsmouth

Buses leave at 7:30 A.M.
Meet at the Municipal parking lot at 143 Pleasant St. (across from the John Landon House and Citizen’s Bank)
Portsmouth, New Hamphsire
Click here for map

Keene

Buses leave at 7 A.M.
2 Eagle Court
Keene, New Hampshire
Click here for map

Boston Area

Buses leave at 7:30 A.M.
Wellington T Station
Medford, Massachusetts

Wellington Station is located on the Orange line, one stop north of Sullivan Square.
On site parking is $3.50 for the day.
T map and schedule
Driving to Wellington Station  

We will be meeting at McIntyre Ski Area
50 Chalet Court
Manchester, New Hampshire

From the North

Take 93 South to exit 8
Turn right off the exit onto Bridge Street (443 ft)
Turn right at Mammoth Road (there is a sign for McIntyre Ski Area) (0.8 mi)
Turn left at Kennard Road (0.4 mi)
McIntyre Ski Area is 0.4 miles up on the left

From the South

Take 93 North to exit 8
Go right off the exit onto Wellington Road (0.8 mi)
Wellington Road becomes Bridge Street
Continue on Bridge Street to intersection with Mammoth Road (443 ft)
Turn right at Mammoth Road (there is a sign for McIntyre Ski Area) ( 0.8 mi)
Turn left at Kennard Road (0.4 mi)
McIntyre Ski Area is 0.4 miles up on the left

From the East

Take Route 101 East to Route 93 North
Follow directions from south

From the West

Take Route 9 East to Route 89 South
Take the exit to Route 93 South
Follow directions from north

 *If you have trouble finding McIntyre Ski Area, call Obama NH HQ at (603) 668-2008*

Obama does it Truman style — giving ‘em hell over Iraq
Chicago Sun-Times Sun, 13 May 2007 2:20 AM PDT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This is former President Harry Truman’s stomping ground, "give ‘em hell" country, and that’s exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave ‘em hell.

This is former President Harry Truman’s stomping ground, "give ‘em hell" country, and that’s exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave ‘em hell.

He played off the enthusiasms of a fervent crowd of 2,000 in a downtown hotel ballroom to lambaste President Bush’s policy in Iraq, noting the Democratic effort to use legislation to bring troops home in a phased withdrawal is meeting an impenetrable stone wall: the president’s veto.

"I don’t think we are going to change George Bush’s mind," Obama said. "He doesn’t seem to be someone who examines the facts."

Obama has been arguing all along that the solution to the war in Iraq is a political one and the lengthy presence of American troops will do nothing to solve the impasse among the various Iraqi ethnic groups. He asserts the solution is political, not military.

…

Obama reiterated his own theme that Americans need to find a unity of mind amongst themselves and also to reach out to the rest of the world to resolve issues such as global warming, the debacle in Darfur and nuclear proliferation. We need to mend our relationships abroad, he explained.

"The day this president steps down, the rest of the world will breathe a sigh of relief," Obama said.

He also called for the closing of Guantanamo — the American military base in Cuba where putative al-Qaida terrorists are imprisoned: "Why don’t we say we don’t do torture, we don’t do rendition, that’s not who we are as a people."

He concluded with another theme he regularly invokes: that America needs to be transformed into a country that expresses humanity and "core decency" so it can remain a "beacon of hope" to the rest of the world.

Trail is new place for Michelle Obama
Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA
Barack Obama of Illinois, said he is running for president. After she ends her duties as vice president of community and external affairs at the University …

Glamour, grit and homespun charm: Mrs Obama gets another day job
Times Online - UK
Michelle Obama, the Harvard-educated African-American wife of the Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, announced yesterday that she was quitting …

Obama assails private Medicare plans
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
DES MOINES, Iowa –Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Friday proposed cutting government subsidies to private insurance companies under …

Grassley-Obama sparring continues over veto override
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA
Washington, DC - Barack Obama and Iowa’s senior US senator continued to spar Friday over a call to bring troops home from Iraq. …

Corporate gifts to Obama? It never happened …
Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA
I have watched Barack Obama since he entered the state Legislature many years ago. I have compared him and his ethics with those of people I have known in …

Corporations did not give any money to Obama and they are not going to have any hold on him in his public life. I have watched Barack Obama since he entered the state Legislature many years ago. I have compared him and his ethics with those of people I have known in political arenas over the last 50 years that I have been active in public life. He is in the mold of the late Senators Paul Douglas and Paul Simon. The only "Inc." you can put after his name is if you are starting to spell the word "incorruptible."

Jesse Jackson Jr. asks black Dems to back Obama
The Decatur Daily - Decatur,AL,USA
Barack Obama in the state’s presidential primary. The ADC, the state’s oldest and most influential black political organization, will not formally endorse a …

Jackson said it’s time to come together and build a more perfect union.

Instead of questioning whether a candidate is “black enough,” some people need to let go and move on, Jackson said.

That would mean some people will have to stop holding onto the past and start looking to the future, he said.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, rich or poor,” Jackson said. “We need to build a more perfect union for everybody.”

The ADC convention theme was “Taking Back Alabama in 2008.”

ADC Chairman Joe Reed said he looked forward to October when the group will meet in Birmingham to make its endorsements.

Obama’s candidacy raises, answers myriad concerns
The Argus - Fremont,CA,USA
THE PICTURES I took at the Oakland rally for Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama include about four of the Rotunda building across from where he …

In recent weeks, Obama has been gaining in the polls. Most show him making steady progress.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been running a parody that calls Obama "the Magic Negro" white liberals can support and assuage their racial guilt. Some have called it offensive, particularly with the increase in hate mail and Web postings. Obama’s campaign has called it simply dumb.

I have another take on the racial angle. The Limbaughs of the world would dismiss it as white liberal guilt, but I wonder if electing a black man as president wouldn’t help our country begin the process of racial healing. It wouldn’t negate the need to continue the work to eliminate entrenched discrimination and racial disparities in health, education and wealth.

However, if we can send a black man to the White House and he can serve his term or terms, we’ve made progress I didn’t think I’d see in my lifetime.

Obama’s half-sister helps kick off local campaign
Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Honolulu,HI,USA
Hawaii-born presidential candidate Barack Obama sees Hawaii as "a fabulous model for the kind of America I hope this campaign will bring about." …

"He was instrumental in helping me make good decisions, and reminding me of my strengths," she said.

Race and Obama’s Kenyan heritage have been the focus of many discussions around his candidacy, and Soetoro-Ng said it gets frustrating because Obama comes from a culturally diverse family.

"I think to focus on that is to cheapen things," she said. "He has enough complexity so that when he acts or speaks, he’s thinking of people of all races and creeds."

Locally, the campaign hopes to recruit as many as 7,000 supporters to join the Hawaii Democratic Party and vote in the Feb. 19 precinct caucus, campaign coordinator Andy Winer said.

More than 100 people showed up at yesterday’s kickoff and planning session.

State Sen. Clarence Nishihara said Obama reflects Hawaii’s aloha spirit.

"Internationally, if people find you come from Hawaii, somehow they think we’re something special, something out there," Nishihara said. "We provide a different kind of American … the kind we need to work toward."

The easy case for President Obama
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg,FL,USA
Anyone who underestimates the Illinois senator’s …

In a crowded field where at least 20 states may vote on Feb. 5, 2008, campaign money can’t be underestimated. As the field of aspiring Hillary alternatives winnows, that only helps Obama.

"We’re going to be competing everywhere on Feb. 5. The only other person that can say that is Hillary, " said Miami lawyer Kirk Wager, Obama’s Florida finance chairman.

Given his lack of experience on the national stage, Obama, of course, must hope that the 2008 election is more about change than it is about the war on terror. But even there judgment may trump experience; unlike his leading rivals, Obama opposed invading Iraq from the start.

"I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. … I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida, " Obama said in 2002.

"In some ways, Obama’s redefining what experience is. His line - ‘look what experience has gotten us’ - I think that resonates, " said Bernie Campbell of Tampa, a veteran Democratic consultant who sees Obama as a strong contender.

"He’s got a message that competes, he’s got a staff that competes, and he’s got the money that competes, " said Campbell.

Once he beats Clinton in the primary, the general election looks almost easy given the state of the Republican image lately. That Obama is winning over his share of Republicans at the same time he’s pulling liberals from Clinton’s camp, shows how strong he could be in the general election.

Never underestimate the strength of a candidate that a broad array of people feel good about supporting. Barack Obama, the embodiment of the American dream, may prove the perfect candidate for an electorate hungry for optimism.

Newark mayor to back Obama
Chicago Tribune Sun, 13 May 2007 3:53 AM PDT
Sen. Barack Obama will pick up a significant endorsement Monday when Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J., is expected to formally announce his support for the Illinois Democrat in the 2008 presidential primary.

Obama Draws 3000 in Missouri
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama urged about 3000 supporters Saturday to help send members to Congress who will oppose the war in Iraq. …

Ireland Claims Obama as Its Own
Washington Post Sat, 12 May 2007 7:23 PM PDT
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is the talk of the tiny Irish village of Moneygall.

_________________________________________

The Barack the House Link Party is a regular compilation of news items that highlight the many reasons why Barack Obama will be a great President of the United States.

It’s also intended as a resource for people working to ensure that accurate and positive information about Barack gets out to the public. If you’re interested in helping out with this effort, please consider joining the Obama Rapid Response group at my.barackobama.com.

Here’s a recap of some of the things we discussed at our Vermonters for Obama meeting on Wednesday evening…

On Tuesday, May 15th, there will be a fundraiser with Obama for America’s New England Finance Chair, Alan Solomont. And there is a very good chance that Senator Obama will be calling in to the event, as well. Please note: there is a $115 minimum suggested donation for this initial Vermont fundraising event.

Here are the details…

Burlington Fundraising Event
Tuesday, May 15th
5:30 PM At the Home of
Sarah Muyskens & Michael Green
276 South Union Street
Burlington, VT

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE EMAIL JIM AT
jdinneen@barackobama.com

To make an online donation in advance of the event, please go here:
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/Vermont

To download the current event flyer, click here.

And to download a PDF version of the event’s donation form, click here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Saturday, May 19th, there is a big canvassing event beginning at 9:00 AM, in Manchester, NH. Barack will be joining volunteers, supporters and campaign staff for the kick-off and first canvass of the campaign. You’ll meet in Manchester for a send-off with Barack before fanning out across the state to share his message with New Hampshire voters. And I believe there will be a cookout for all the canvassers at the end of the day.

If you can assist in providing transportation to New Hampshire for this event, please contact me at info@vermontersforobama.org with the number of seats you have available. And, if you’re instead looking to hitch a ride, please contact me at the same address with the number of seats you’re looking for. I will do my best to help connect people so that we can maximize our numbers on what will be a great day for the Obama campaign in New Hampshire.

I’ll also update you all as more information becomes available.

For more details and to RSVP, please go here:
http://nh.barackobama.com/page/s/nhcanvass

Mrs Obama steps into the spotlight
Times Online - UK
The wife of Barack Obama, the presidential candidate who is tussling with Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic choice to succeed President Bush, …

And in recent weeks Mrs Obama, who is tall and striking, has also deployed alone on the campaign trail, making speeches in churches in Illinois and Carolina. In a letter sent to potential donors earlier this month she wrote: "I’m now one of those ‘other’ kind of people Barack talks about — the people who believe democracy can live up to its promise, who are not just willing to do their part to make it work but who are enthused about the prospect."

Michelle Obama: Campaigning her way
USA Today - USA
Barack Obama, is a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, but in an interview with USA TODAY, she admits she hasn’t thought much about …

Obama, 43, says she has overcome the qualms she once had about her husband’s political career and presidential ambitions. She says she’s comfortable being his emissary, collecting the concerns and hopes of the voters she meets and sharing them with him. A vice president of the University of Chicago Hospitals, she now works part time and limits her campaigning to day trips so she can make breakfast for their daughters — Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5 — and be home in time to tuck them in at night.

She used to have a cynical view of politics, she says, because politicians she admired — but won’t identify — were "afraid of taking a stand because they don’t want to lose their seat or their position."

"I never had doubt about what Barack could offer, and that’s what kind of spiraled me out of my own doubt," she says. "I don’t want to be the person that holds back a potential answer" to the nation’s challenges. She had to overcome concerns that her husband could get "chewed up" by the whole "messy business" of politics, she says.

Obama Renews Pressing Grassley on Iraq
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
INDIANOLA, Iowa — Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters …

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters should urge the Iowa lawmaker to help override President Bush’s veto of a bill that would set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Obama addressed the issue during the eighth campaign swing through Iowa since he declared his candidacy for president.

"It isn’t personal," Obama told about 300 people at a town hall meeting at Simpson College. "I respect him greatly. But I said then and I say now that he needs to hear from you and people across Iowa who understand that it’s time to change course."

Obama has made his opposition to the war in Iraq a central theme of his campaign.

Barack Gets It Right On Limbaugh’s "Barack The Magic Negro" Parody
Huffington Post - New York,NY,USA
That’s how Presidential candidate Barack Obama responded when Paul W. Smith with Detroit’s WJR Radio asked him about the Rush Limbaugh’s parody song "Barack …

Obama didn’t take Limbaugh’s bait. Good for him. Obama understands that the continuing name calling from the right further confirms his skyrocketing viability as the Democratic nominee.

Obama also understands that talking about race is a scary thing in America. Especially for a politician. Race is a third rail issue that can end a career. Obama knows that race is a huge elephant in his room and both the Obama haters and the Obamaniacs are watching his every word on all things racial. Obama also understands that he doesn’t need to care what Limbaugh’s listeners think. They aren’t voting for him.

So, instead of a even criticizing Limbaugh, Obama deftly swats off the controversy with humor, which shows leadership. Obama knows to win that it’s not worth making Rush’s molehill more of a mountain. Like the Rutgers’s ladies, Obama is a class act.

Obama Has Harlem Locked
New California Media - San Francisco,CA,USA
Senator Barack Obama will have the Black vote solidly in his corner if street pundits along Harlem’s famed 125th Street are to be taken as a measure of how …

Senator Barack Obama will have the Black vote solidly in his corner if street pundits along Harlem’s famed 125th Street are to be taken as a measure of how African Americans are weighing their votes between the Illinois senator and New York’s Hillary Clinton. Coincidentally, top Harlem politician Bill Perkins today announced his endorsement of Obama.

Some of the people interviewed say they don’t want to see a Clinton dynasty, while others say she panders too much to the right with her stance on the Iraq war and unquestioned backing for Israel. At the end of the day, Obama will win Black votes because he’s the first Black presidential candidate with a realistic chance at winning the White House, many say.

Obama represents generational change
Coshocton Tribune - Coshocton,OH,USA
SAN DIEGO - As someone who could become the first African-American president, Barack Obama can’t help but make history - even the unwelcome kind. …

An Obama presidency would be a refreshing change and would almost certainly benefit from the fact that the candidate is not burdened by what he calls the "psychodrama of the baby boom generation" with its endless feuds, grudges and hard feelings dating back to the conflicts of the 1960s. If nothing else, it’ll be a nice change - from this point forward - not to hear every foreign policy challenge described as "another Vietnam."

OK, we get it. That war went a long way toward defining the baby boomers. But that doesn’t mean it has to define our nation’s foreign policy for the next century. It’s time to bury those ghosts.

Fifty years from now, people will look back and they won’t believe that during the 2004 presidential election - the first since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - the debate in America wasn’t really over the location of Osama bin Laden but over whether John Kerry was ever in Cambodia or whether George W. Bush spent the requisite amount of time in Alabama to maintain his status as a member of the Air National Guard. You would have thought we could have found something more urgent to focus on - like how best to combat the threat of global terrorism.

We need a new national mindset, and step one is to usher in a new generation of leaders. One waits in the wings.

Obama taps influential foreign policy experts
Chicago Sun-Times Thu, 10 May 2007 3:24 AM PDT
The inner circle of foreign policy experts advising Sen. Barack Obama is small but influential. If he is elected president, his secretary of state and national security advisers may come from this group.

For Obama’s presidential bid, Senate staffer Mark Lippert is the critical link between the campaign, the Senate staff and the senator. Lippert has accompanied Obama on the three international trips Obama has taken while in office. Lippert, who has a master’s from Stanford in international policy, has had a hand in every major Obama speech and statement on international affairs and deals with the senator daily.

Lippert, a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy Reserve, came to Obama after working on the Senate Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee for five years and has handled foreign policy and defense issues for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

Besides Lippert, the core Obama group consists of three people who worked in President Bill Clinton’s administration: former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and former senior State Department officials Susan Rice and Gregory Craig. They meet regularly in Washington. Lake was the NSA adviser during Clinton’s first term. Rice was the senior adviser on national security affairs for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004, an assistant secretary of state for African affairs and a special assistant to the president at the National Security Council at the Clinton White House.

Obama’s Economic Brain Trust Breaks With `Status Quo’
Bloomberg via Yahoo! News Thu, 10 May 2007 8:27 AM PDT
May 10 (Bloomberg) — Senator Barack Obama portrays himself as a new kind of leader who transcends conventional politics. Judging by the economists he has enlisted in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may just be.

May 10 (Bloomberg) — Senator Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) portrays himself as a new kind of leader who transcends conventional politics. Judging by the economists he has enlisted in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may just be.

Obama’s economic brain trust — a blend of up-and-coming academics and former officials in President Bill Clinton’s administration — displays a fondness for backing innovative solutions to the nation’s problems. Among them: offering ailing U.S. automakers aid in return for increased investment in hybrid cars and rewarding doctors for the improvements they make in patients’ health.

“They bring to the campaign some fresh thought on approaches that are non-status quo,'’ says Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.

EXCLUSIVE: George Stephanopoulos Interviews Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama
ABC News Thu, 10 May 2007 9:53 AM PDT
Obama Sits Down for First Sunday Morning Interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos

Obama Criticizes Automakers on Fuel Economy
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
DETROIT, May 7 — Senator Barack Obama of Illinois delivered a stern message to Detroit auto companies on Monday, saying they had done little to lessen the …

Michelle Obama says husband has moral compass
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
WINDHAM, NH –Presidential hopeful Barack Obama electrified his audience with his 2004 address to the Democratic National Convention and was heralded as the …

Voters pack Windham house party for Michelle Obama
The Union Leader - Manchester,NH,USA
WINDHAM - Michelle Obama, wife of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, stirred a house full of people yesterday with her personal stories of her husband and …

In Lincoln’s footsteps
Guardian Unlimited - UK
For even the most seasoned observers of American politics, Barack Obama is a phenomenon. In normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable for a politician …

I’ve met Barack on a number of occasions and consider him a friend. And I have been pleasantly surprised to see that his presidential bid has been met with such widespread warmth and enthusiasm. As Barack himself is frequently at pains to point out, all this excitement says as much about the mood of the American public as it does about the unusual talents of the junior senator from Illinois.

The British publication of his new book, The Audacity of Hope, therefore offers readers on this side of the Atlantic a window not just into the mind of one of America’s most exciting politicians, but into the political landscape of the post-Bush era.

Can Oprah push Obama into White House?
Houston Chronicle - Houston,TX,USA
Barack Obama, D-Ill. In an interview on Larry King Live on CNN, she said she was backing the senator "because I know him personally." …

Obama stories prompt racist postings
Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA
Stories about White House hopeful Barack Obama on CBS News.com have been attracting so many racist comments that staffers were told they should no longer …

Obama’s backers can’t get enough
Detroit Free Press - Detroit,MI,USA
Barack Obama’s supporters in Michigan want to hear more specifics, more details, more of his plans for the nation. But mostly, they want him. …

REPUBLICANS DEFECT TO OBAMA
Free Market News Network - Pompano Beach,FL,USA
DISILLUSIONED supporters of President George W Bush are defecting to Barack Obama, the Democratic senator for Illinois, as the White House candidate with …

Obama urges Iowans to lobby congress to end the Iraq war
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA
WATERLOO, IA — Presidential candidate Barack Obama called for Iowans to lobby their US senators to end the war in Iraq during a campaign stop here Sunday. …

For Barack Obama, Winning the White House Would Mean Bridging The …
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
Barack Obama’s white supporters, this is the dialogue of race, the parsing of perceptions and expectations as they watch their man campaign. …

Dear Supporter,

For too many people, politics is a bad word. It’s not surprising since for many people "politics" means talking heads screaming at each other on TV, or special interests stacking the deck in Washington.

We have an opportunity to change that. When politics gets local, when the person talking is your neighbor standing on your front porch, things change.

On June 9th, hundreds of thousands of people will have that experience as we take our campaign to the streets in all 50 states for a nationwide neighborhood walk.

We’re calling it Walk for Change, and its success depends on you. I’m asking you for something extraordinary. I’m asking you to lead a group of supporters in your community in a neighborhood walk to let people know about our campaign.

If you agree to organize a walk, we’ll mail you the materials you need to start a conversation with your neighbors about being part of this movement for change. But it can only happen if you’re willing to take the leap and put together a June 9th Walk for Change event where you live:

my.barackobama.com/page/content/0609create

It’s not common these days to reach out to a neighbor.

We’re more likely to nod quickly and smile when unloading the groceries or walking the dog than we are to stop and talk about the things that shape our common destiny.

But the great issues of our day shouldn’t just be topics to fill time between commercials on cable news. These challenges — ending the war in Iraq, solving the health care crisis, tackling climate change — affect each one of us personally.

And the solutions to each one will require personal investment from all of us.

That’s why it’s so important to create this dialogue in your community — to have a serious conversation about what matters most to your neighbors, and to share with them why this movement for change is personal for you.

We shouldn’t be afraid. Americans everywhere are hungry for change, and waiting for someone to show them where change will come from.

On June 9th, if you organize a Walk for Change event, that change will come from your community, and the person showing the way will be you.

Thank you.

Barack Obama

P.S. — As you read this, people across the country are planning their events using the My.BarackObama.com tools. If you’re not ready to host your own walk, there may already be one in your community that you can join. Use our interactive map to search for one near you:

my.barackobama.com/walkforchange

It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to compile the Link Party. But, I want to start off with a very good article by David Brooks, which shows Obama to be a true deep thinker. But, the odd thing is the title (which is derived from the last line of the piece), which clearly conflicts with what Brooks writes about him. Totally gratuitous attempt at some kind of balance, it seems to me, but the piece is still very worth reading…

Obama Insightful or vacant?
By David Brooks, May 3rd, 2007

I was interviewing Barack Obama and we were talking about effective foreign aid programs in Africa. His voice was measured and fatigued, and he was taking …

I was interviewing Barack Obama and we were talking about effective foreign aid programs in Africa. His voice was measured and fatigued, and he was taking those little pauses candidates take when they’re afraid of saying something that might hurt them later on.

Out of the blue I asked, "Have you ever read Reinhold Niebuhr?" Obama’s tone changed. "I love him. He’s one of my favorite philosophers."

So I asked, What do you take away from him? "I take away," Obama answered in a rush of words, "the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naive idealism to bitter realism."

My first impression was that for a guy who’s spent the last few months fundraising, and who was walking off the Senate floor as he spoke, that’s a pretty good off-the-cuff summary of Niebuhr’s "The Irony of American History." My second impression is that his campaign is an attempt to thread the Niebuhrian needle, and it’s really interesting to watch.

On the one hand, Obama hates, as Niebuhr certainly would have, the grand Bushian rhetoric about ridding the world of evil and tyranny and transforming the Middle East. But he also dislikes liberal muddle-headedness on power politics. In "The Audacity of Hope," he says liberal objectives like withdrawing from Iraq, stopping AIDS and working more closely with our allies may be laudable, "but they hardly constitute a coherent national security policy."

Oprah Endorses Obama
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
It’s a safe bet that Senator Barack Obama doesn’t mind playing second fiddle to the talk show icon, particularly when he has her endorsement at his disposal. …

Obama Reaches Out With Tough Love
Washington Post Wed, 02 May 2007 7:58 PM PDT
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is delivering pointed critiques of the African American community as he campaigns for its votes, lamenting that many of his generation are "disenfranchising" themselves because they don’t vote, taking rappers to task for their language, and decrying "anti-intellectualism"…

Obama security stepped up
Guardian Unlimited - UK
Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama (l) and Hillary Clinton take part in the first televised debate of the of the 2008 presidential campaign in …

Obama: Make Debate Video Public
Guardian Unlimited - UK
Barack Obama was close behind with $25 million. Strategists from both parties estimated last September that the White House race in 2008 could cost each …

Ford: Obama can win in South
Chicago Tribune Wed, 02 May 2007 4:54 AM PDT
Tennessee Democrat says race not hurdle Before Sen. Barack Obama was the rising star of the Democratic Party, there was Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee.

For Barack Obama, a careful courting of Jewish vote
Christian Science Monitor - Boston,MA,USA
‘Shoulder to shoulder with Israel’: Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, at a recent meeting of the National Jewish Democratic Council, pledged to defend …

Clinton, Obama to debate in NH
The Union Leader - Manchester,NH,USA
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton yesterday agreed to participate in the June 3 Democratic debate sponsored by the New Hampshire Union Leader, WMUR and CNN. …

Obama and wife impressive, inspiring
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette - Champaign/Urbana,IL,USA
Here it was, more than 40 years later, and she had just finished listening to Michelle and Barack Obama address 1200 women at the Chicago Hilton. …

Obama’s wife ‘commands a room,’ seen as an asset in ‘08
The Washington Times Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:01 PM PDT
There seems to be an instant connection people make with the wife of Sen. Barack Obama from the first words she speaks.

There’s been a lot of discussion over the last couple of days regarding the role of the grassroots in the Obama campaign. So, I thought some might be interested in reading the comments of Zephyr Teachout, who, as you may know, was the Director of Internet Organizing during the Dean campaign. In the comments section of an article on this week’s MySpace controversy at Tech President, she does a great job of providing a thorough account of the trials and tribulations of running a people-powered campaign.

In the interest of disclosure, I should probably mention that I did volunteer work with Zephyr during the Dean campaign and she was instrumental in helping to get Vermonters for Obama off the ground. And she’s a friend of mine.

Here’s what she had to say…

Some reflections

This issue reminds me of questions that we had to deal with all the time on the Dean campaign. We called people like Joe A’s "centers of gravity"– people who had built up their own Dean communities. We wanted centers of gravity as close to campaign as possible without imploding.

At first, it was very perplexing, and our tiny team debated options, but we ran into an odd clarifier–the law. Because of legal concerns of coordination, we were told early on by our lawyers that we had two choices: to have a manager/agent relationship with grassroots supporters, or to not direct grassroots supporters actions at all. In February and March, Dean Nation was blogging, and New York for Dean and others were creating posters and strategies of their own–some of them were clamoring for direction.

The question answered itself. We simply couldn’t have a manager/agent relationship and still have all this flowering of intelligent political energy, so we chose to be hands off, talking with people but not telling them what to do. As part of this, we had to train the press–when Georgia for Dean sends out a press release, it is not a Howard Dean press release, it is a Georgia for Dean press release. The training of the press took awhile, but they learned. Teaching people who’d worked in politics for a while that "no, we will not vet that flier you are going to pass out to 1,000 people" also took awhile, but led to what I think is the most important thing in a democracy: people taking responsibility. Local groups, centers of gravity like Joe Anthony, took responsibility because they knew we wouldn’t. Some got exhausted after a few months of intense work, others did not–and not all relationships were handled well, as we fumbled for solutions for the hardworking volunteers. The issues got more difficult when paid staffers, on the ground, would be working with unpaid supporters who had done far more extraordinary, creative, and difficult work for months–we found that grassroots growth often slowed in states once we put in a paid staffer (I have alot of theories about this, but not for this comment).

There were hundreds of mistakes. Here are two. In March 2003, we signaled that we were going to give a group an "official" status and then changed our position. Our first impulse was to provide the group what they wanted, but after realizing that the "official" group was far more bottlenecked than the unofficial ones, we reneged. We admitted we made a mistake, but people were understandably angry. The second was much later–the fall of 2003. A group started in order to help Dean develop policy positions, or at least do collective research. We effectively shut the door on them–I think we weren’t ready to open up that much, and didn’t know how to do collective policy, and the founders were annoyed, because I (and others) had initially been very excited. Of course they continued on their own, but without the active enthusiasm of our group.

But we also had some real successes. The most obvious is that Trippi–rage as he would over a few things Aziz might mischievously post–did not try to control the Dean Nation blog. The Friendster pages set up for Dean (yes, there were a handful) were one of our top referrers, and we had rare, but nice, interactions with the founders. The vast majority of our centers of gravity we communicated with, but did not try to control.

There were a few big exceptions. Students for Dean, an amazing group with 20,000 members by the time we started working with them, was created by three college students. It was clear it couldn’t keep up their site (which had many features ours didn’t) without some financial support–two of the founders were getting hired away by field staff (poached by our own campaign!) and the other couldn’t afford not to work for the summer. So we offered him jobs and brought them in, giving them more autonomy than most staffers because that is what they needed to be persuaded to work for the campaign. Of course nothing is that simple–as the campaign stiffened towards the end, Students for Dean lost the staff and autonomy they’d been promised–but the general approach really worked, and the on-site blending of Students for Dean and Dean Students (into Generation Dean, a name created by two South Carolina students–who we asked for permission to use). If Students for Dean had turned us down (which they almost did), then we would have continued to link to them, and gone forward.

I think a similar approach could have worked with the Obama campaign’s approach to Joe A.–figure out if they could give Joe what he wanted–and it sounds like they started down that path and then, inexplicably, stopped. If it is true that they asked him for an offer (and Joe Rospars’ blog post doesn’t contradict this), then why didn’t they counter offer?

If they did, I don’t care how much Joe A. asked for–the new media team probably didn’t have $40,000, but they should have counter-offered what they could. If he’d asked for $200,000 and they had $500 they should have returned with the $500 offer. Its difficult to figure out an amount in any bargaining circumstances, and money in politics is downright bizarre–whether or not the figure was too high, it should be generous with people trying to figure out how to interact with the campaign. I was happy to see that Rospars did not accuse Joe A. of over-asking. Relatedly an itemized list is presumably an effort to appear professional–an effort to show the campaign that you are not bilking them. My heart goes out to someone staying up all night, asking friends’ advice, trying to work out the key to the vague promised thing. How much should I ask for?

The mistake of the campaign, may be, perversely, a result of too much success–the brilliant social networking site and tools created a dependency on keeping a loose leash on the conversations, or on "having the conversation on our ship" as Matt Gross might say, so that it lulled the campaign into a habit of being able to make decisions about what could and couldn’t be said, and made them think it was possible to have mass support and and vetted statements about Obama. Its not. Rospars post about the success of the Obama web tools suggests that there is a desire (so understandable, if impossible!) for the web strategy of the campaign to live and breathe on the site, on the grounds, in the gardens built by the web team.

Joe Rospars is a friend of mine, and, as Micah said, a straight shooter, and I’m generally sympathetic with the open fumbling of campaigns towards making hard decisions. I wish his post was a little more open, but I know how hard that can be on a campaign with many vetters.

One thing his post reveals is that the Obama campaign had chosen a different general strategic approach than the Dean campaign did–one that would have our lawyers, among others, quaking in their boots. They had decided to create management/agent relationships with this particular center of gravity–the campaign had login access and control over content (at least for a while) and it basically, if gently, perceived itself as the agent finally responsible for the content.

Our lawyers advice was based on fear of FEC problems, but it turned out to be generally sound for grassroots relationships in general: for each relationship, choose whether it is one of absolute control, or no control. THAT won’t confuse the press and people writing–at first, perhaps, but they will learn. When in doubt, no control is better, just as it is in friendships–your friends will do everything they can to represent you well and be your supporter, until you start telling them what to say about you.

I hope this episode is a lesson for the Obama campaign, but also others - a reminder that having grassroots support means autonomous individuals who do not just work, but speak.

By Zephyr Teachout at Thu, 05/03/2007 - 3:16am

A really nice video from ShawnaV, a member of Barack Obama’s online community…