From today’s Burlington Free Press…

Vermont’s ’superdelegates’ lean Obama’s way

February 13, 2008
By Sam Hemingway

Vermont’s presidential primary is three weeks away, but Democrat Barack Obama already has an advantage over Hillary Clinton among the seven “superdelegates” allotted to the state party.

Of the seven superdelegates, Obama has the stated or implicit support of five. Clinton has the backing of just one, Vermont National Committeewoman Billi Gosh of Brookfield said.

Party officials said the seventh Vermont superdelegate, former Gov. Howard Dean, is expected to remain neutral because of his position as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Read the whole thing.

What a night!

Sen. Patrick Leahy sent the following letter to Vermonters this week…

February 1, 2008

Dear Fellow Vermonter,

I ask you to join me in supporting Senator Barack Obama for President.

Barack Obama has the uncommon ability to lift us up, pull us together, and lead us forward at
a time when the challenges seem to be multiplying by the day. For the good of our country,
and for the good of our children and grandchildren, I hope you will join me in embracing this
opportunity.

The biggest national security test of recent years is the war in Iraq. It is important to me
that Barack Obama opposed the war from day one. Like so many of my fellow
Vermonters, Senator Obama knew from the beginning that the case for war was not made, it
would not make us safer and it would distract our armed forces from bringing Osama bin
Laden to justice. This is the kind of judgment we need from our next president.

One of the first challenges our next President will face is to reintroduce America to the
rest of the world, no one is better prepared for that mission than Barack Obama. Barack
believes that America must lead through strength, a strength that includes the finest military
force in the world. But Barack has also pledged to be a world leader who will talk to our
adversaries as well as our friends, a president who put diplomacy first and military intervention
as our last resort. This is the kind of world leader we need in our next president.

John F. Kennedy once said that we should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our
hopes. Barack Obama offers us the hope that we will end the war in Iraq, that our children
will have the education they need to succeed in an economy that continues to change all
around them, that access to quality health insurance will become available to all and that our
great resources will be harnessed to finding cures for cancer, diabetes, AIDS and Alzheimer’s.
It is long past time we replaced the politics of fear with the politics of hope. Barack
Obama is a different kind of leader – he would be a President who lifts us up to confidently
meet the challenges of our times, enlisting our better angels in pursuit of goals worthy of this
good and great nation, goals that are bigger than ourselves.

Many spoke early on about the improbability of Senator Obama’s candidacy for President. I
know a few things about improbable campaigns. I was a 34-year-old prosecutor from a state
that had never elected a Democrat to the Senate when I made the decision to run. I did so
because I believed that in the wake of Watergate our nation needed fresh leadership that could
help move our country out of those dark days.

The American Dream is based on a belief that we can turn improbabilities into possibilities.
Our nation is moving out of another dark time in its history, and I believe the improbable
campaign of Barack Obama offers just the sort of possibility our nations needs. I believe we
will look back at this time and see even more clearly than we do today the convergence
of this leader and this moment.

Please join me in supporting Barack Obama today by making a contribution to his campaign
$250, $100, $50 —- whatever you can afford:

DONATE ONLINE

Barack Obama represents the America we once were and want to be again—leading with
hope, opening the doors of opportunity to all, realizing the potential of our great nation for its
citizens and as a leader of the free world. Barack Obama will be a President who once again
helps us believe, “Yes, we can.”

Thank you for your support and friendship. Marcelle and I look forward to seeing you again
soon.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY
UNITED STATES SENATOR

It was great to see everyone last night, and great to watch the delegates roll in on the big screen.

It was even better to get up at 6:00 to a blanket of new snow, nervously peek at politico.com while the coffee was brewing, and see the percentages in California up from the 32% I went to bed with …

I just loved the line “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”.

And it got me thinking … Vermont is a small state … and we are a pretty lively group … what if we wanted to knock on every door in Vermont?

According to the most recent projections from the US Census, there are 309,557 dwelling units in Vermont. Run that through the 82% occupancy rate from the ‘00 census and you get roughly 253,800 doors to try.

Now, all you GOTV vets know that we target Dems and Independents. But here in Vermont we have the TVI - the True Vermont Independent - who will put a Republican governor in office, but send a Socialist to the US Senate. Go figure. But this means you never know which door a vote might be hiding behind, so we’ll skip the targeting.

Besides, we don’t want anyone to feel left out. Bad for business if word gets around we skipping some folks.

Now our volunteer list here has about 128 people on it. A quick survey of the other VT lists shows that they are smaller, around 50 - 30 folks each. Add ‘em all in, adjust for overlap, and we get, say 175 people. If everyone brings a friend, that goes to 350, maybe pick up some strays and call it 400.

Now, for the big calculation. 253,800 door by 400 people gives us each 634 doors. 634 chances to figure out how to get that get that piece of campaign lit to sick in the screen door with the dog barking, have a great conversation with a new voter, hear stories of elections past, share thoughts & concerns, argue, be told “get out of my dooryard” …

634 doors. That is a lot. But not impossible, in the next four weeks, if we gather some help.

What do think? Willing to give it a go? Imagine all 30 VT delegates for Obama … It could tip the balance. It could send a powerful message: We are the one we are waiting for.

OK, who’s got those voter lists?