Wednesday, 7th January 2009
Washington, D.C.
www.change.gov
Whistle Stop Tour: Special Guest Mark Dowell
When President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden take their historic train ride from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. on January 17th, they will be riding in the company of everyday Americans who have been invited to make the journey based off their extraordinary stories. This is one of those stories.
Mark Dowell is a second-generation Ford Motors employee. He and his wife Melinda both work at the Ford plant in Louisville, Kentucky, a few miles from their town. He’s a University of Kentucky fan, while she roots for Louisville.
The Dowells live in Crestwood, a small rural community, less than four miles square, with a few thousand residents. It was the highest ranked city in Kentucky on a recent list of the “Best Places to Live in America.“ Yet despite their homey surroundings, 2008 was a turbulent year for the Dowells, just as it was for millions of Americans.
Melinda lost her job early in the summer and was called back to work just three weeks ago, after six months of unemployment. They are among the thousands of Ford employees coping with rotating layoffs and the possible shutdown of the local plant.
Yet, despite these challenges, Mark is hopeful about the next four years:
The economy took a toll not just on me but on my extended family too. But this is definitely the man that can get us back on track.
Mark, Melinda and their two daughters will have the experience of a lifetime, as they join the President-elect and Vice President-elect on the train ride to our nation’s capital.
Says Mark:
We’re still stunned by it. I’m very honored to meet the President-elect and Vice President-elect, and to be a part of history right as it’s taking place. To ride the train into Washington, D.C. with them is really an honor.
The Dowells will join a number of other guests invited by the President-elect and Vice President-elect which together represent the diversity of our country and the different life experience of the Americans who make up our great country.
I am forwarding this post to those in the Philadelphia area who may know of someone in need on Thanksgiving Day.
Subject: Thanksgiving Dinner> > Pass it along. This is wonderful information.> > Maybe you know some family that need a place to eat on Thanksgiving> Day!! Be a blessing!!!!!!> > Pass it on!!> > On Thursday, November 27th from noon to 4pm The Manayunk Brewery and> Restaurant will be hosting a Thanksgiving meal for any families or> singles in need. There is no cost and the meal will be a traditional> Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the fixings as well as live jazz> music to enjoy. We are able to accommodate approximately 300 people.> > We are having some trouble finding people to actually come out and dine> with us on that day. We were wondering if you might have anyone that> would be interested or if you can refer us to anyone that could help us> out with this. Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.> > Thanks!> > Nicole Healy> Marketing Director> Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant> 4120 Main Street, Philadelphia , PA 19127> P: 215.482.8220 ext. 22> F: 215.483.0266> E: _nicole@manayunkbrewery.com_ <mailto:nicole@manayunkbrewery.com>> W: _www.manayunkbrewery.com_ <http://www.manayunkbrewery.com/>>
For Pennsylvania And Particularly Philadelphia:
I received an email saying that some people have not received their Absentee Ballots in the mail. Anyone who is going to be out of town on Election Day can go to Room 142 in City Hall and submit his/her absentee ballot on the spot. They don't have to go through the process of waiting for the ballot to come back in the mail. (County Board of Elections: 215-686-3469 or 215-686-3943) Bring acceptable I.D. Acceptable I.D. from http://votespa.com/HowtoVote/GuideforFirstTimeVoters/tabid/77/language/en-US/Default.aspx: Pennsylvania driver's license or PennDOT ID card ID issued by any Commonwealth agency ID issued by the U.S. Government U.S. passport U.S. Armed Forces ID Student ID Employee ID
If you do not have a photo ID, you can use a non-photo identification that includes your name and address. Approved forms of non-photo identification include:Confirmation issued by the County Voter Registration Office Non-photo ID issued by the Commonwealth Non-photo ID issued by the U.S. Government Firearm permit Current utility bill Current bank statement Current paycheck Government check
There are special provisions for people who miss the deadlines as well as military personnel.
(Reference: http://votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingbyAbsenteeBallot/tabid/78/language/en-US/Default.aspx) Absentee Ballot Applications must be received by the Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on October 28th. Absentee Ballots must be received by the Board of Elections by 5:00 PM on October 31st. Postmarks are NOT honored; applications must be in the office before the deadline. (See: http://www.phillyelection.com/abeng.htm) The mailing address for Philadelphia County on the state's two websites is incorrect. The correct address, which is printed on the Absentee Ballot forms from the Philadelphia Board of Elections is: Philadelphia County Board of ElectionsRoom 142 City HallPhiladelphia, PA 19107-3211 For additional help, please see this website: https://www.myfamilyvotes.com/Absentee_Ballot.html. Further instructions at https://www.myfamilyvotes.com/Ab.html. (Thank you, Emma Tramble.) First-time voters and those who have moved should confirm that they are registered to vote by searching Pennsylvania's voter registration database. You also can confirm your registration by contacting your County Board of Elections (County Board of Elections: 215-686-3469 or 215-686-3943) or by calling 1-877-VOTESPA. Print out an Absentee Ballot Application here:
https://www.myfamilyvotes.com/uploads/absentee_ballot_application_for_PA.pdf (Reference: http://votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingbyAbsenteeBallot/tabid/78/language/en-US/Default.aspx)
www.barackobama.com
Poll: Obama leads in 3 of 4 key Bush countiesBy: Alexander Burns October 14, 2008 12:28 PM EST
Barack Obama has erased traditional Republican advantages in four key bellwether counties that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004, according to a new Politico/InsiderAdvantage survey. Each county is critical to the outcome in the battleground state where it is located. In Washoe County, near Reno, Nev., Obama leads McCain 46 percent to 45 percent , with 6 percent undecided. Obama posts a wider 50 percent-44 percent lead with 5 percent undecided in Raleigh, North Carolina's Wake County, and another 6 point lead in Hillsborough County, Fla., where Tampa is located. There, he edges McCain 47 percent to 41 percent, with 11 percent undecided. Among the four counties tested, McCain leads in only one: Jefferson County, Colo., a populous Denver suburb. McCain is ahead there by a margin of 45 percent to 43 percent, with 8 percent undecided. At first glance, these Politico/InsiderAdvantage numbers might not look so troubling for McCain, who trailed Obama by 10 points in an ABC/Washington Post national survey, released Monday. But these four counties are crucial battlegrounds in four of the most competitive states in the presidential race. In recent years, the Republican path to the White House has run through these areas.
In 2004, President Bush won Washoe County, Nevada's second-most populous county, by a four-point margin over Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry. This year, when Obama is expected to run up a big vote lead in Las Vegas' Clark County, McCain is unlikely to be able to afford a loss in Washoe. Colorado's Jefferson County supported GOP presidential candidates by an average of almost 18 points between 1976 and 2004. While it hasn't supported a Democrat since 1964, Jeffco has become much more politically marginal in recent years — in 2004, Bush beat Kerry there, 52 percent to 47 percent. It was no coincidence that McCain running mate Sarah Palin made her first solo campaign appearance after the Republican National Convention in Jefferson. Tampa's Hillsborough County, which Bush carried 53 percent to 46 percent in 2004, and Raleigh's Wake County, which Bush won 51 percent to 49 percent in 2004, have been more evenly divided historically. With substantial minority populations and, in Wake County's case, a more affluent and educated electorate, they began this campaign as less friendly territory for McCain. Still, Bush carried both counties in his two presidential bids and Obama's strong performances in these areas represent a troubling sign for the McCain campaign. InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery, who conducted the survey, said McCain's lagging numbers could be largely attributed to weak showings among independents and male voters. "When you begin to see McCain fall apart in these states, it's because that male split becomes less and less," said Towery, who emphasized that McCain would have to perform well among men to make up for Obama's strong advantage with women voters. Nevada's Washoe County features a dramatic gender gap, with women favoring Obama, 54 percent to 36 percent, and men choosing McCain, 55 percent to 38 percent. But in Florida's Hillsborough County, Obama not only won 49 percent of women voters, to McCain's 43 percent, but he captured a plurality of male voters, beating McCain 45 percent to 39 percent. In North Carolina's Wake County, the state's second-most populous after Charlotte's Mecklenburg County, McCain came closer to Obama's share of the female vote, with the Democrat leading by just over four points. But among men, Obama led McCain 51 percent to 43 percent — an untenable split for the Republican nominee.
Hillsborough County's trend toward Obama mirrors the overall GOP slippage in the Sunshine State in recent polls, as Florida Hispanics, a demographic once dominated by conservative Cuban-Americans, flirt with the Democratic Party. Hillsborough County Hispanics support Obama over McCain, 60 percent to 40 percent. That's a smaller margin than Obama's national margin among Hispanics. But given the historically Republican tilt of Florida's Hispanic population it's a margin that should worry McCain, Towery said. "I would say a majority of the Hispanic vote in Florida is not the anti-Castro, Cuban-American vote," said Towery, citing both Florida's growing Puerto Rican and Mexican-American populations, as well as the increased presence of younger, more liberal Cuban-Americans as reasons for this trend. Exit polls in 2004 showed Bush defeating Kerry among Florida Hispanics, 56 percent to 44 percent. In North Carolina, the growth of college-educated, high-income voting areas has helped move the state toward the Democratic column. The state's large African-American population gives Obama an extra demographic boost that could make the difference on Election Day. "Wake was very marginally Republican in 2004," Towery said. "[Obama] carried it almost 2-to-1 over Hillary Clinton, and that is because it's located in the Research Triangle and it has basically the sort of demographics you would expect to see for the profile that Obama does well in." Even outside the Research Triangle, though, North Carolina has drifted toward the Democrats this year, with Obama establishing a narrow lead in most statewide polling and Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan, a state legislator, locked in a tight race with GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who is seeking reelection to a second term.
Where the other Politico/InsiderAdvantage county-level polls showed similar results to statewide polling, only in Jefferson County did the result — a razor-thin edge for McCain — clash with the results of recent state-level surveys. An InsiderAdvantage poll released last week showed Obama ahead in Colorado, 51-45 percent. McCain's lead in Jefferson, Towery said, was in part an expression of the county's Republican lean. Forty percent of Jefferson County voters identify as Republicans, with just 28 percent calling themselves Democrats. But even in spite of this identification edge, and the county's Republican voting history, Obama is competitive there thanks to strong support among independents, who favor him by a 48 percent to 30 percent. Among the bellwether counties surveyed, there is still some promise for McCain. While Obama is leading or tied in these places, his strength is based on support among groups that would typically vote Republican — and who might be easier for McCain to take back. In theory, McCain should have an easier time winning over male voters or white independents than women voters or Hispanics. "If somehow John McCain should pull something off that turns things around," Towery said, or if the markets find steadier footing, "then there is the possibility that McCain's numbers could start to tick up." For now, though, this snapshot of four of the country's most competitive counties shows Obama peeling off voters who once made these areas reliably Republican in presidential elections and exploiting political and demographic trends that were already sending these counties in his direction. The Politico/InsiderAdvantage telephone surveys in Jefferson County and Hillsborough County were conducted Oct. 12. The Hillsborough survey included 638 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent.The Jefferson survey included 408 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. The Politico/InsiderAdvantage telephone surveys in Wake County and Washoe County were conducted Oct. 9. The Wake survey included 646 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent. The Washoe survey included 586 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14556.html
14 Sep 2008 10:57 pm
Another absurd ad repeating the absolute lie that Sarah Palin stopped the "Bridge To Nowhere." As everyone knows by now, she lobbied for the bridge to nowhere, and the federal Congress killed it, and then she kept the money for other projects anyway. But McCain is still airing ads telling the same lie.
He has also still not retracted his lie on The View when he point blank said that Palin has refused all earmarks as governor. I cannot remember a candidate for president telling such a bald-faced lie on national television and not retracting. And I cannot remember a press corps so pathetic they cannot badger his campaign for a retraction after two days.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/
I just submitted this letter to the Inquirer and Daily News:
It has taken me the last week to fully digest the depravity of the McCain/Palin ad accusing Obama of teaching kindergartners sex. According to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, 15% of those raped are aged 12 and under. I have three girls within that age range, and I am deeply grateful that legislators like Barack Obama, and the educators who implement their policies, have considered the importance of teaching our children how to protect themselves from child sexual abuse. I am outraged that John McCain would approve an ad twisting such policy into a blunt instrument designed to trigger fear and win the presidency. The irony and depravity is extraordinary and I am thankful that Obama has the courage to address true issues of child safety.
We live in West Philly, not Miami or New Orleans, so we do not spend a lot of time thinking of flood prevention, and keeping flood debris out of our waterways, but, as a native Floridian, when a storm approaches, I worry a little, then I think and act.
Some areas of West Philly and U City have underground creeks and streams. An example is 43 and Locust, which tends to flood. If you live on one of these corners, you probably already clear out your corner storm drains. The City of Philadelphia will not do this for you, it's up to the neighbors.
The "Drains to River " medallions seen all over our area mean just that. In storm conditions, all flows to the river. Untreated. Anything clogging the drain may cause a flood in your street. Any trash or object pushed down the storm drain by the force of water will empty into the Schuylkill River.
This is easy to look out for. A pair of rubber gloves, an old broom, a garbage bag , and the willingness to do about 15 min. of icky work is all you need to help keep your block dry and the rivers clean.
My Dear Fellow Obama Supporters,
Thank you so much for what you have done!! Think about this clearly. You in Philadelphia gave Barack Obama a 30 point victory in our City. You gave Barack Obama such a tremendous boost in numbers. Remember, the media is going to try to push this all the way to the convention. PA was the last major State for Hillary Clinton to try to ignite a "catching up" in any possible way. Now she can ONLY win by negating the Democratic process, overthrowing the will of the people. That WILL NOT HAPPEN. It just won't. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Superdelegates are not going to overturn the will of the people. All this has been sealed by PHILADELPHIA. We negated Hillary Clinton a substantially greater victory.
We canvassed hard! We got the vote out! We put door hangers out! We rallied! We marched! We mobilized time after time, and delivered Philadelphia to Barack Obama, all over, and not just in the African American community. I am so proud of the Philadelphia grassroots Obama movement!
Now, lets talk frankly my friends, because in the end I am going to ask you to do something.
Can we agree that a substantial number of White Blue Collar Pennsylvanians showed great resistance in voting for Barack? I think I saw this in my canvassing in South Philly. Also, we can agree that negative campaigning does not help. <b>Some</b> folks motivated by an irrational negative bias are not swayed by negative campaigning. When an individual's conscience is compromised by a negative bias, they know it almost always. So they look for reasons to justify and validate themselves. Often, negative campaigning gives them that justification, not because they resolve their moral dilemma, but because they can accuse the object of their bias of being immoral, negative, a bully, etc. We all probably were jumped by out of State Hillary people on the street telling us how negative Barack was, and we just chuckled, right? People see what they want.
So, what is the solution? We have to return to promoting the Obama revolution of hope, positivity, unity, and higher destiny for our country. Hillary wants to go even more negative? Let her. We know she is negative, divisive, lying, and disingenuous. So does everyone else... more than 60% of Americans think of her as dishonest. That statistic was valid in PA too... and yet 55% voted for her. Why? Because many consciences were not swayed to a better place. They accepted a liar rather than vote for Obama. Why? Because he hasn't reached them enough to move them. I think he can. He has to bridge the racial divide. He has to reach out and touch the conscience and bring us to a better place.
He got an immediate boost after his speech on race. Why? Because he touched consciences. That is what we need. He must dig into the deep resources his soul abounds in. He must talk about the possibilities we have when we transcend racial barriers. He must talk about the possibilities we have when we transcend and overcome poverty, disease, global conflicts and perils. He must talk about how he is more qualified to offer sticks and carrots in our difficult foreign policy... While Clinton is talking about annihilating Iran, he needs to be talking about forming a positive coalition of Arab and non Arab nations around Iran exerting pressure on it to stop its provocations.
In essence, Barack needs to verbalize all those things which we sense he will be great at, and that Hillary could never do.
There is word that some in Barack's campaign want him to go even more negative in the next two weeks. I think he should announce a major speech and announce that he will abandon all negative campaigning with Hillary Clinton and give a series of policy speeches about race, gender, peace, national security, foreign policy, etc.
I know he has a tight two weeks ahead of him. I ask all of you to write in your blogs, and to your contacts in the campaign to exert our pressure to abandon the negative campaign.
Look, I was the first to say a month and a half ago that he needed to hit back hard. I believe now that I was wrong... and its not the first time. It doesn't work because Obama is not a negative person nor is this movement, and because the people he needs to convince most need to be touched in their conscience and heart, which requires a tremendous positive force, almost, in fact, an internally healing one. Plus, we need this to get the Clinton followers to abandon their Obama-hate. He needs to reach out NOW to the Hillary people, because he, in fact, will be the nominee, and we need them before November. We can't wait to be united in November. We need to be united in July.
Can you reach out with me by blogging a push for abandoning negative campaigning? I sense clearly that Barack is more intelligent and deeper than I am, and he senses this need to go positive, and I don't want him to feel pressured by his campaign too much, and I think he will feel our support if we voice it.
Thanks
Jack Livigni
I'm heading over to the Clinton rally at the Palestra (Univ. of PA) to give them a Barack-O welcome. Hope I see some fellow Obamanians over there tonight!!
GOBAMA!!!
Hill-Billy and Chelsea will all be at the University of Pennsylvania Palestra tonight at 10PM (doors open at 8PM).
How's about we give them a big Barack-O welcome at the entrance??
C'mon down and bring your Obama 08 signs!!
Dem voter surge could cut Clinton marginBy: Jeanne Cummings April 21, 2008 09:57 AM EST
An historic spike in Democratic voter registrations in Pennsylvania could help Barack Obama www.barackobama.com cut into Hillary Clinton’s vote in Tuesday’s primary, robbing her of the big victory margin she needs to justify continuing the primary fight. The changing party demographics also are contributing to an overall bluing of the Keystone State that could dim Republican John McCain’s hopes of competing there in the fall. A county-by-county analysis by Politico suggests that the hard-fought primary between Obama and Clinton has accelerated an ongoing partisan shift in Pennsylvania that could soon move it out of the battleground presidential states and ripple across congressional races this fall, as well. “We may have one or two more competitive presidential races, but I’m not sure what will come after that,” said Terry Madonna, a political scientist and director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. The first evidence of the changing Democratic demographics could be on display Tuesday.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, since January about 217,000 new voters have registered for the April 22 primary, the vast majority of whom signed up as Democrats. In Philadelphia, by far the state’s largest city, more than 12,000 new Democrats were added to the rolls in the final week before the March registration deadline, compared to just 509 Republicans. That statewide Democratic surge has been accompanied by a flood of party-switching. More than 178,000 voters have changed their party status since January — and the Democrats have captured 92 percent of those voters. In Delaware County, a Philadelphia suburb once home to a storied Republican machine, nearly 14,000 voters have switched their party affiliation to Democratic since January compared to just 768 who became Republicans. Those party-switchers now represent about 7 percent of the roughly 2 million Democratic voters expected to turnout Tuesday, said Madonna. A poll of those switchers and new registrants released by Madonna last week found that Obama was the preferred candidate for 62 percent of them. Clinton insiders said they are also bracing for the same 60-40 split among newly registered Democrats. Depending on turnout, Madonna said, those newcomers could help Obama cut a Clinton victory margin by 2 to 3 percentage points and keep her below a double-digit win that would breath new life into the hard-fought race. “It’s another important factor working in his favor,” Madonna said. Clinton is still favored to win the state. But Politico’s analysis illustrates how the geographic concentrations of new Democrats could make a difference, if turnout is high among them. For instance, about 143,400 Democratic newcomers – including newly registered and party switchers — are in Philadelphia and its suburbs. Those numbers could help Obama rack up big margins in what is considered his strongest turf. About 28,400 of them are in or around Pittsburgh, an urban area Clinton needs to counter Obama’s Philly support. Another 30,000 of them hail from the generally smaller, conservative counties in the state’s northwest and southwest, a region that Clinton is hoping to draw Reagan Democrats back to the party and to her cause. Finally, the Clinton-friendly sections of central Pennsylvania are now home to more than 70,000 of the Democrats’ new recruits, including more than 6,000 in Centre County which is home to Penn State University. An area where Obama and Clinton are likely to battle for voters is the state’s northeast corridor. Those ten counties, ranging from Carbon to Wyoming, have recorded more than 40,000 newly registered Democrats and party switchers. In Lehigh County, for instance, Clinton is expected to have an edge in working-class Allentown. But Obama could tap a vein of votes from the host of small universities and liberal arts colleges based in the county.
Pennsylvania voters are allowed to switch their party affiliation back to a previous one after an election, and some of these voters may not stick with the Democratic nominee come November. But history suggests many of them will. Gov. Ed Rendell lured about 20,000 moderate Republicans to switch parties in 2002 to help him beat Bob Casey, now a U.S. senator, in a bitter Democratic gubernatorial primary. Many of those voters have continued to support him, providing two easy general election wins. The trend toward Democrats also had a big impact in 2006 when two of three Republican House incumbents from districts outside of Philadelphia were ousted. This cycle, the last Republican standing outside Philly could be at greater risk. Chester County, the home turf of Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach, now has more than 17,900 new Democratic voters on its rolls. Republicans still hold an edge in Chester County, but there are 10,000 fewer of them compared to 2004. Among the six counties that have flipped from Republican to Democratic majorities since 2004 are Bucks and Montgomery, two historic Republican suburban stalwarts that were once part of the foundation for statewide Republican victories. In 2004, Bucks included 208,638 Republicans voters and 173,803 Democrats. Today, it has 181,696 registered Republicans – a drop of nearly 27,000 – and 185,381 Democrats – a gain of more than 11,500. Meanwhile, eight Democratic counties are turning darker blue. Four years ago, there were 74,004 Democrats and 59,688 Republicans registered to vote in Easton’s Northampton County. Today, there are 96,978 registered Democrats compared to 68,759 Republicans. The Politico analysis also found that about a half dozen Pennsylvania counties are now much more competitive. In Delaware County, Republicans had a clear voter registration advantage four years ago, 213,030 to 131,317 respectively. Today, the margin is much tighter with 188,834 Republicans compared to 156,608 Democrats. The upshot is that Democrats have managed to double their partisan advantage in the Keystone State to 1 million registered voters today compared to a 500,000 edge in 2004. Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortes is trying to prepare both the county registrars and the voters for huge turnout – as much as 50 percent -- in the primary. In 2004, just 21 percent of the state’s Democrats showed up to vote in the primary. “We have communicated to the counties what they know: this is a historic election, they are likely to see a larger percentage of voter participation,” said Cortes in an interview. “We have advised that they ensure they provide adequate staffing and adequate ballots. I’m fairly sure they have heeded that advice,” he said. “People will face larger lines than they usually would for a primary. We’re asking our voters to prepare for that.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9735.html
As I drove in today, I noted that someone has plastered ALL of the trees and light posts with like 5-6 Hillary posters each.... EVERY tree... EVERY lightpost.... it's like driving down "Hillary Boulevard".
Someone (if they can) needs to post some Obama posters there.
The site: Service road of 76 between Passyunk - Vare - University Avenue exits.
HELP - Someone get some posters for Barack out there STAT!!
New York Times | April 19, 2008
With the Pennsylvania primary only days away, the New York Times delivers a look at the challenges the Clinton campaign faces with regards to maintaining support among past supporters and increasing its fund-raising capabilities.
Former Supporters:
After nearly two decades building relationships with a generation of Democrats, Mrs. Clinton has recently suffered a steady erosion of support for her presidential campaign from the party stalwarts that once formed the basis of her perceived juggernaut of "inevitability." Some of it is just business, practical politicians putting aside ties to the Clintons to follow the will of the voters in their states or making a calculation about who seems best positioned to win.[...]But there is something more wrenching at work as well, a reckoning of whether the Clintons, on balance, have been good or bad for the party. It has the feel of a very personal testing of loyalties to a former president who once always seemed to be adding to the "Friends of Bill" list, and to a sitting senator who, if not so driven as her husband to win over everyone, used her fame to help elect other Democrats.
Some of it is just business, practical politicians putting aside ties to the Clintons to follow the will of the voters in their states or making a calculation about who seems best positioned to win.[...]
But there is something more wrenching at work as well, a reckoning of whether the Clintons, on balance, have been good or bad for the party. It has the feel of a very personal testing of loyalties to a former president who once always seemed to be adding to the "Friends of Bill" list, and to a sitting senator who, if not so driven as her husband to win over everyone, used her fame to help elect other Democrats.
Fund-raising:
Senator Barack Obama is swamping Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with television advertising in their prolonged battle for the Democratic nomination, putting fresh pressure on Mrs. Clinton's fund-raising machine to find new sources of money to help her keep pace. But her big-dollar fund-raising apparatus that was once the envy of the political world is encountering obstacles as many of those in its regular networks of donors have reached the maximum on their personal contributions or grown tired of the relentless press for donations.The campaign is actively hunting for new wellsprings of cash, while tapped-out donors who want to give more are contemplating financing independent efforts on her behalf that are not bound by contribution limits. So far, however, the independent efforts have been halting at best.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/19/clinton-faces-steady-eros_n_97569.html
But her big-dollar fund-raising apparatus that was once the envy of the political world is encountering obstacles as many of those in its regular networks of donors have reached the maximum on their personal contributions or grown tired of the relentless press for donations.
The campaign is actively hunting for new wellsprings of cash, while tapped-out donors who want to give more are contemplating financing independent efforts on her behalf that are not bound by contribution limits. So far, however, the independent efforts have been halting at best.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/19/clinton-faces-steady-eros_n_97569.html
Endorsement: VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA
Daily News Editorial Board
THE CHOICE in Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary is not only the one between a white woman and a black man. It's a choice between the past and the future. More specifically, the nation must decide how to face the future racing toward us in the form of slumping home sales, unstable financial markets and increased joblessness - and staring at us from the Green Zone in Iraq and the beds at veterans hospitals. ...Contrary to Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign slogan, we believe Barack Obama www.barackobama.com is more likely to be "ready on Day One" to lead us in a new direction. Because of his experience. ... THERE IS a way to match Clinton's and Obama's performances on a relatively equal playing field: their campaigns. A candidate's campaign may be the best indicator of how she or he will govern. If so, an Obama administration would be well-managed, inclusive and astonishingly broad-based. It would make good use of technology and communicate a message of unity and, yes, hope. Read the full article from The Philadelphia Daily News | April 17, 2008
THE CHOICE in Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary is not only the one between a white woman and a black man. It's a choice between the past and the future.
More specifically, the nation must decide how to face the future racing toward us in the form of slumping home sales, unstable financial markets and increased joblessness - and staring at us from the Green Zone in Iraq and the beds at veterans hospitals.
...Contrary to Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign slogan, we believe Barack Obama is more likely to be "ready on Day One" to lead us in a new direction. Because of his experience.
... THERE IS a way to match Clinton's and Obama's performances on a relatively equal playing field: their campaigns.
A candidate's campaign may be the best indicator of how she or he will govern. If so, an Obama administration would be well-managed, inclusive and astonishingly broad-based. It would make good use of technology and communicate a message of unity and, yes, hope.
Read the full article from The Philadelphia Daily News
US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty
Friend --
You've probably heard about the latest dust-up in the Democratic race.
A few days ago, Barack spoke about the frustrations that working people in this country are feeling and said what we all know is true: that many people are bitter and angry because they believe their government isn't listening to them.
You and I both know that the hope of changing that reality is what drives the unprecedented support for this campaign from ordinary people in every part of the country.
But our opponents have been spinning the media and peddling fake outrage around the clock. John McCain's campaign, which will continue the George Bush economic policies that have devastated the middle class, called Barack out of touch and elitist. And Hillary Clinton, who is the candidate who said lobbyists represent real people, didn't just echo the Republican candidate's talking points: she actually used the very same words to pile on with more attacks.
These comments show just how out of touch Senator McCain and Senator Clinton are with the reality of what's happening in this election.
We've built the broadest campaign of ordinary people in the history of presidential politics -- and more people across this country have voted for Barack Obama than either one of them.
And we've done it the right way: our campaign is funded by everyday people giving $5 or more. That's distinctly different from Senator McCain and Senator Clinton, who both rely on money from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.
There's nothing elitist about a movement of more than a million people standing up for a different kind of politics.
If you're fed up with these kinds of tired attacks, you can do something about it right now. We're setting a goal of 1.5 million people giving to this campaign by May 6th.
Right now, one of those million people who have already given to our campaign is waiting to match your first donation. No matter what amount you choose to give, our system will match you with a supporter who has promised to match someone's first donation today.
You can see for yourself exactly what kind of movement this is. When you make your donation, you'll see the name and town of the person just like you who matched your gift. You'll also see a note from them with their story and why they gave, if they chose to write one.
You'll double the impact of your donation if you make a matching gift right now. Will you help fight back now?
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
Barack Obama's own life and story are reflected in the character of this grassroots campaign. He was raised by a single mother with help from his grandparents. He has a family he loves, not long ago finished paying off his student loans, and he's doing what he can to help change this country.
That's what he's done for his entire career. After graduating, he became a community organizer, working with people in Chicago who -- like many people across the country right now -- felt left behind by their leaders.
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The attacks from the Clinton campaign -- on Barack Obama himself, and on supporters like you -- can be expected to increase as her chances of winning dwindle further.
A few weeks ago, one of her top aides tried to diminish our success by referring to the places we've won as "boutique" states and to our supporters as the "latte-sipping crowd."
That means 30 states and territories -- twice as many as Senator Clinton has won -- qualify as "boutique." And the nearly 15 million people who have voted for us (again, more than Senator Clinton) must drink a lot of latte.
It's clear that Senator Clinton will continue to say or do anything as her campaign gets more and more negative.
But 1.5 million donors will be an astonishing and undeniable signal that it isn't the elites fueling this movement -- it's the American people.
That starts with you.
Thank you,
David
David PlouffeCampaign ManagerObama for America
Paid for by Obama for America
http://origin.barackobama.com/resultscenter/
I have spoken to a lot of folks in PA in the last 48 hours. We have all been so upset at the media for their distortions about the SF comments, etc. People are asking themselves "why" reporters would do what they have. Why can't they just accept Obama's clarification? Why can't they accept that "clinging to religion" is not meant in a negative way, but rather as a positive, especially coming from one who has done exactly that very thing? Given, he misspoke in that he lumped together positives and negatives - religion with antipathy, etc., but it is clear to anyone who actually wants to see based on the facts of the man's life.
People see what they want to see, and reporters want to be famous for bringing down the famous Black guy who almost became President... these news outlets are as far from embodying the 4th Estate as ever in American history!
I would not be too worried about all this. As soon as they see that people are too smart for their attempts at steering this Primary all the way to Denver (their pathetic quest for ratings, money, and self-importance) and their manipulations, they will abandon this story for another.
We should never give too much weight to any of these news channels. Its a pathetic state of affairs.
I haven't had a chance to review it extensively, but I wanted to at least share my initial thoughts on the timeliness of Clinton's crime plan as it relates to her campaign in a state that has one of the most violent cities in America.
CNN reported over the weekend that Clinton has released her new crime plan, a 4 billion dollar plan targeting "anti-crime" measures. As a native Philadelphian, I'm hoping folks understand the strategy of this announcement and take the time to ask serious questions about it as opposed to immediately assuming she's considering something no other candidate has.
In each state, I watch her focus shift, her passions shift, her motivations shift. I got a good chuckle out of Senator Obama's Shame on Clinton remarks during one of his conversations with the voters of Pennsylvania after Clinton spent the end of last week and the weekend bashing Obama about his use of the word bitter. More and more, it feels like the Clinton campaign continues to implode.
I'm really beginning to think that April 22nd may mark the dawning of a new day. The audacity of hope, indeed.
On the Indiana Road to Change tour yesterday, Barack www.barackobama.com stopped in for a glass of orange juice at the Sunshine Café in South Bend, Indiana. While there, he sat down with some of the diners to discus the harsh economic realities of job loss, and what needs to be done to rebuild communities and strengthen the middle class.
Before we get started today, I just want to say a few words about the troubling economic situation we've got in this country. This is the number one issue on lots of people's minds these days. And we all know why - because the cost of everything from health care, to a tank of gas, to college tuition has gone up while wages have stayed the same. Millions of Americans are facing foreclosure, and millions more are unemployed. And yet, we also know that times haven't been too tough for everyone in our economy - because the top Wall Street CEOs have been doing just fine. In this morning's USA Today, there was a story about how much the top CEOs have been making. They did a study and found that the top 50 CEOs made somewhere around $15.7 million last year - despite the fact that many of their companies were having a bad year. Think about that. It doesn't matter whether they're doing a good job or not - Wall Street executives are being rewarded either way.
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