historic

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of America.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

Barack Obama (28 August 2008 at the Democratic National Convention)


Barack Obama Hits McCain, Sets Tone for Campaign with Historic Speech

BY MICHAEL McAULIFF, MICHAEL SAUL and DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

DENVER - Barack Obama claimed his spot in history as the first African-American standard bearer of a major party Thursday night, rallying Democrats with his sharpest-ever assault on Republican leadership.

"Sen. McCain likes to talk about judgement, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90% of the time?" he said of the Republican nominee-to-be.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10% chance on change," Obama said in his prime-time speech.

Before a raucous, flag-waving crowd in Denver's 75,000-seat Invesco Field, Obama crafted a message that was both more personal and more pointed as he kicked off his fall campaign.

With Republicans suggesting his improbable run has been long on hype and short on specifics, the Illinois senator used the opportunity of a massive audience - both in the stands and on television - to forcefully lay out the choice ahead.

"Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it," he said.

"Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

"I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class."

Forty-five years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, an electrified throng was on hand to be part of history - to see and hear the man who could be the first black President, and to be part of the largest crowd to witness a convention acceptance speech.

"Obviously it's a very proud moment for me to see this happen," said City Councilman Bill Perkins (D-Harlem), an early Obama supporter. "If I wasn't so macho, I'd probably break down and cry a little bit."

Before his big moment, the Illinois senator found time to shoot some hoops at a local basketball court.

Adding a touch of celebrity to the convention's final night, the singer will.i.am led the diverse crowd - young and old, black and white - in a rousing version of "Yes We Can," a campaign theme the singer transformed into a song.

Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson kicked the celebration off with a thunderous version of the national anthem.

The stakes Thursday night could not be much higher for the 47-year-old Obama, who - despite a campaign marked by huge crowds, record fund-raising and scores of new voters - remains essentially tied in most polls with McCain.

The GOP has cast Obama as too young, too inexperienced and too liberal to lead the country, especially at a time of war and international unrest.

Obama forcefully contrasted the Democrats' handling of foreign affairs over time to the Republican's stewardship of the last eight years.

"We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country," Obama said. "The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans - Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are to restore that legacy."

An American story

The son of a black Kenyan father and a white mom from Kansas, reared in Hawaii and educated in the Ivy League, Obama's biography is unquestionably unique among anyone who has ever run for the White House.

It's a humble story, Obama suggested, that could only be written in America and had left him with a deep appreciation of the nation's enduring values.

"It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well," he said.

Obama accepted his party's nod on a day that few might have imagined back in 1963, when King dreamed of a nation where his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Obama - whom many see as the realization of that dream - made note of King's speech and another historic marker that he says shows the government's lingering indifference to blacks: today's third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The disaster struck many of New Orleans' black residents particularly hard and has become symbolic, many believe, of Republican indifference toward minorities.

The speech marks the capstone of a week when Team Obama ceded much of the spotlight to his one-time primary rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Critics have mockingly called it "the Clinton convention." But Obama insiders said Thursday they had long viewed the convention as their last best chance to unify the Democratic Party - a mission they now consider accomplished.

"One of our principal goals of the campaign was to come out of Denver as a unified party," said Obama spokesman Josh Earnest. "And I think everybody would agree that our party is 100% unified behind Barack Obama as the nominee."

Well, maybe not everybody.

At a morning breakfast of the DNC's women's caucus, several protesters carrying "Hillary: Smart Choice" signs were quietly ushered from the room.

But most in the room were like former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin, who sported a button that read, "Hillary supports Obama, and so do I."

"The choice is no longer between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton," said Kunin. "The choice is between John McCain and Barack Obama."

britney spears, paris hilton and john mccain!

When a man realizes his defeat is near, a primal urge sparks his brain and he refuses to return to his darkened corner without a fight.

Case in point: John McCain. Mr. McCain's latest political advertisement, which was posted earlier today on his official YouTube space, opens with flashes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. McCain attempts, however futile, to attach the aforementioned "celebrities" to the popularity, or celebrity-like status, of the next President of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Obama.

McCain has flipped on the Iraq timetable issue (read the story HERE) and now he has produced a "hip" ad featuring two "glamorous celebrities." (Tongue firmly planted in cheek.)

Mr. McCain, you are a sad and desperate man -- and your darkened corner awaits you.

McCain's latest political ad with Britney and Paris

(Direct link to Mr. McCain's YouTube site: http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnMcCaindotcom)

a first

Despite my current financial situation, I -- for the first time in my life -- made a monetary contribution to a political campaign. I donated $50 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and I hope to make further contributions in the coming months.

If you are a supporter of Barack Obama, put your money where your mouth is AND DONATE! If you choose to donate (regardless of the amount, every dollar helps!), this is the perfect time: Every donation made will be matched by a fellow supporter. You will receive the name and hometown of the individual who matched your donation, and, if you choose, you can send him or her a personal message about why you have chosen to take action and help CHANGE the direction of this country.

finally (for real this time)

After demonstrating the class and grace of a two-bit politician Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton will concede this Friday according to ABC News.

You can find the complete story H E R E.

historic

The major television networks are projecting that Senator Barack Obama has enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination!

The 46-year-old Senator from Illinois is the first African-American in history to lead a major-party ticket in the Western world.

Obama will claim victory during a speech tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota, which will be the site of the Republican National Convention in September.

Tonight is not just a historic moment for our country and the world; it's also a night in which millions of Americans can celebrate the beginning of a new America. The shift has begun . . .

finally UPDATE

AP Tally: Obama Effectively Clinches Nomination

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.

Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial divisions within the party.

The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.

The 46-year-old first-term senator will face Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the fall campaign to become the 44th president.

Clinton was ready to concede that her rival had amassed the delegates needed to triumph, according to officials in her campaign. These officials said the New York senator did not intend to suspend or end her candidacy in a speech Tuesday night in New York. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to divulge her plans.

Obama's triumph was fashioned on prodigious fundraising, meticulous organizing and his theme of change aimed at an electorate opposed to the Iraq war and worried about the economy—all harnessed to his own innate gifts as a campaigner.

Clinton campaigned for months as the candidate of experience, a former first lady and second-term senator ready, she said, to take over on Day One.

But after a year on the trail, Obama won the kickoff Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, and the freshman senator became something of an overnight political phenomenon.

"We came together as Democrats, as Republicans and independents, to stand up and say we are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come," he said that night in Des Moines.

A video produced by Will I. Am and built around Obama's "Yes, we can" rallying cry quickly went viral. It drew its one millionth hit within a few days of being posted.

As the strongest female presidential candidate in history, Clinton drew large, enthusiastic audiences. Yet Obama's were bigger still. One audience, in Dallas, famously cheered when he blew his nose on stage; a crowd of 75,000 turned out in Portland, Ore., the weekend before the state's May 20 primary.

The former first lady countered Obama's Iowa victory with an upset five days later in New Hampshire that set the stage for a campaign marathon as competitive as any in the last generation.

"Over the last week I listened to you, and in the process I found my own voice," she told supporters who had saved her candidacy from an early demise.

In defeat, Obama's aides concluded they had committed a cardinal sin of New Hampshire politics, forsaking small, intimate events in favor of speeches to large audiences inviting them to ratify Iowa's choice.

It was not a mistake they made again—which helped explain Obama's later outings to bowling alleys, backyard basketball hoops and American Legion halls in the heartland.

Clinton conceded nothing, memorably knocking back a shot of Crown Royal whiskey at a bar in Indiana, recalling that her grandfather had taught her to use a shotgun, and driving in a pickup to a gas station in South Bend, Ind., to emphasize her support for a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax.

As other rivals quickly fell away in winter, the strongest black candidate in history and the strongest female White House contender traded victories on Super Tuesday, the Feb. 5 series of primaries and caucuses across 21 states and American Samoa that once seemed likely to settle the nomination.

But Clinton had a problem that Obama exploited, and he scored a coup she could not answer.

Pressed for cash, the former first lady ran noncompetitive campaigns in several Super Tuesday caucus states, allowing her rival to run up his delegate totals.

At the same time, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., endorsed the young senator in terms that summoned memories of his slain brothers, yet sought to turn the page on the Clinton era.

Kennedy said in a reference to former President Clinton: "There was another time, when another young candidate was running for president and challenging America to cross a new frontier. He faced criticism from the preceding Democratic president, who was widely respected in the party."

Merely by surviving Super Tuesday, Obama exceeded expectations.

But he did more than survive, emerging with a lead in delegates that he never relinquished, and proceeded to run off a string of 11 straight victories.

Clinton saved her candidacy once more with primary victories in Ohio and Texas on March 4, beginning a stretch in which she won primaries in six of the final nine states on the calendar.

It was a strong run, providing glimpses of what might have been for the one-time front-runner.

But by then Obama was well on his way to victory, Clinton and her allies stressed the popular vote instead of delegates. Yet he seemed to emerge from each loss with residual strength.

Obama's bigger-than-expected victory in North Carolina on May 6 offset his narrow defeat in Indiana the same day. Four days later, he overtook Clinton's lead among superdelegates, the party leaders she had hoped would award her the nomination on the basis of a strong showing in swing states.

Obama lost West Virginia by a whopping 67 percent to 26 percent on May 13. Yet he won an endorsement the following day from former presidential rival and one-time North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

Clinton administered another drubbing in Kentucky a week later. This time, Obama countered with a victory in Oregon, and turned up that night in Iowa to say he had won a majority of all the delegates available in 56 primaries and caucuses on the calendar.

There were moments of anger, notably in a finger-wagging debate in South Carolina on Jan. 21.

Obama told the former first lady he was helping unemployed workers on the streets of Chicago when "you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."

Moments later, Clinton said that she was fighting against misguided Republican policies "when you were practicing law and representing your contributor ... in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

And Bill Clinton was a constant presence and an occasional irritant for Obama. The former president angered several black politicians when he seemed to diminish Obama's South Carolina triumph by noting that Jesse Jackson had also won the state.

Obama's frustration showed at the Jan. 21 debate, when he accused the former president in absentia of uttering a series of distortions.

"I'm here. He's not," the former first lady snapped.

"Well, I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes," Obama countered.

There were relatively few policy differences. Clinton accused Obama of backing a health care plan that would leave millions out, and the two clashed repeatedly over trade.

Yet race, religion, region and gender became political fault lines as the two campaigned from coast to coast.

Along the way, Obama showed an ability to weather the inevitable controversies, most notably one caused by the incendiary rhetoric of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

At first, Obama said he could not break with his longtime spiritual adviser. Then, when Wright spoke out anew, Obama reversed course and denounced him strongly.

Clinton struggled with self-inflicted wounds. Most prominently, she claimed to have come under sniper fire as first lady more than a decade earlier while paying a visit to Bosnia.

Instead, videotapes showed her receiving a gift of flowers from a young girl who greeted her plane.

finally

Clinton Set to Concede Delegate Race to Obama

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer


Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. Obama is 40 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, but he is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana. Once he reaches the magic number of 2,118, Clinton will acknowledge that he has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee.

She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.

Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid through June 15, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge her plans.

The advisers said Clinton has made a strategic decision to not formally end her campaign, giving her leverage to negotiate with Obama on various matters including a possible vice presidential nomination for her. She also wants to press him on issues he should focus on in the fall, such as health care.

Universal health care, Clinton's signature issue as first lady in the 1990s, was a point of dispute between Obama and the New York senator during their epic nomination fight.

i might be wrong

And I thought white trash reigned supreme in Indiana . . .

As a fan of Curious George and an avid supporter of Senator Barack Obama, I found this story particularly disturbing:

Curious George Publisher May Sue Over T-Shirt

By JAMIE GUMBRECHT, CHRISTIAN BOONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/13/08

The publishing company that owns the Curious George image says it is considering legal action to stop the sale of a T-shirt depicting Barack Obama as the monkey from children's books.

The T-shirts are being peddled by Marietta bar owner Mike Norman at his Mulligan's Bar and Grill in Cobb County. They show a picture of Curious Georgie peeling a banana, with the words "Obama '08" underneath.

Rick Blake, a spokesman for publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which owns Curious George, said Wednesday that the company didn't authorize the use of the character's image, but hasn't been in touch with anybody selling or manufacturing the shirts.

"We find it offensive and obviously utterly out of keeping with the value Curious George represents," Blake said. "We're monitoring the situation and weighing our options with respect to legal action."

Norman has said he got the T-shirts from someone in Arkansas. He started selling them at his bar -- known for the provocative, ultra-conservative political slogans often posted on signs out front -- in April but said he has no plans to mass market them.

The sales came to light this week when a loose coalition of local groups called a protest of the T-shirts.

About a dozen protestors rallied against the shirts Tuesday afternoon, condemning them as racist and asking Norman to stop selling them.

Norman acknowledged the imagery's Jim Crow roots but said he sees nothing wrong with depicting a prominent African-American as a monkey.

"We're not living in the (19)40's," he said. "Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears -- he looks just like Curious George."

Marietta native Pam Lindley, 47, joined Tuesday's protest after reading about the controversy.

"I don't want people to think this is what Marietta is all about," she added, motioning towards the tavern. "This is what some people think the South is still like. Marietta's come a long way but I guess it's still got a little ways to go."

She said she'd like to see the city ban Norman's provocative musings regularly posted on a sign out front of the bar, which is near Marietta's downtown square. Those who gathered Tuesday say they will continue their campaign against Norman's "hate speech."

But his defenders are just as resolute. Mulligan's is a refuge, they say, in an otherwise hypersensitive world. Smoking isn't only allowed at the bar, it's expected.

"This place is a diamond in the rough," said Gene McKinley, a Woodstock engineer among the patrons Tuesday. "People here are genuine and honest. It's the one place I can go without having to worry if I'm offending someone."

Norman said he fielded calls throughout Tuesday about his T-shirts. An ajc.com story about the controversy was picked up on the Drudge Report. "One guy in New Jersey wanted me to send him 100 shirts," said Norman, 63.

He said he noted physical similarities between the Democratic frontrunner and the cartoon monkey while watching a Curious George movie with his grandchildren.

Someone -- "probably a customer, I don't know" -- from Arkansas sent him the shirts, Norman said.

The Tennessee native said he's providing a public service of sorts, reminding people they have a right to offend.

"This is my marketing tool," he said.

---------------------------------------------------------------

West Virginia separated itself from Virginia during the Civil War and became a Union state in 1863. Maybe they're having second thoughts . . .

Ignorance Runs Wild in West Virginia

Two in 10 Whites Cited Race as Factor in Tuesday's Vote;
One-Third of Whites Citing Race in Vote Would Support Obama Over McCain

ANALYSIS By GARY LANGER of ABC News
May 13, 2008

A confluence of groups inclined toward Hillary Clinton gave her an easy victory in the West Virginia primary, with less-educated, lower-income whites predominating in this Southern state.

In a trouble sign for delegate-leader Barack Obama, barely half said they would vote for him in November if he is the party's nominee.

The Race Factor

Racially motivated voting ran somewhat higher than elsewhere: Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi. Just 31 percent of those voters said they'd support Obama against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, fewer than in other primaries where the question's been asked.

Indeed, as noted, among all West Virginia primary voters, only 49 percent said they would support Obama vs. McCain, far fewer than elsewhere and one of many signs of antipathy toward Obama in the state.

Among Clinton's supporters, just 38 percent said they would vote for Obama against McCain; nearly as many said they would back McCain; and the rest said they would sit it out.

Find Langer's complete analysis here: http://www.abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=4844868&page=1

clinton narrowly wins indiana, but has her death knell sounded?

By DAVID ESPO and LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Barack Obama swept to a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary Tuesday night and declared he was closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton eked out a win in Indiana as she struggled to halt her rival's march into history.

"Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for president of the United States," Obama told a raucous rally in Raleigh, N.C. - and left no doubt he intended to claim the prize.

Clinton stepped before her own supporters not long afterward in Indianapolis. "Thanks to you, it's full speed on to the White House," she said, signaling her determination to fight on in a campaign already waged across more than 16 months and nearly all 50 states.

Returns from 99 percent of North Carolina precincts showed Obama winning 56 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Clinton, a triumph that mirrored his earlier wins in Southern states with large black populations.

That made Indiana a virtual must-win Midwestern contest for the former first lady, who had hoped to counter Obama's persistent delegate advantage with a strong run through the late primaries.

Returns from 99 percent of the precincts showed her with 51 percent to 49 percent for her rival, a margin of little more than 22,000 votes out of more than 1.2 million cast. The outcome wasn't clear for more than six hours after the polls closed, the uncertainty stemming from slow counting in Lake County near Obama's home city of Chicago.

Obama won at least 69 delegates and Clinton at least 63 in the two states combined, with 55 still to be awarded.

Voters in both states fell along racial lines long since established in a marathon race between the nation's strongest-ever black presidential candidate and its most formidable female challenger for the White House.

The economy was the top issue by far in both states, according to interviews with voters as they left their polling places.

Two weeks after a decisive defeat in Pennsylvania, Obama sounded increasingly like he was looking forward to the fall campaign.

"This primary season may not be over, but when it is, we will have to remember who we are as Democrats ... because we all agree that at this defining moment in history - a moment when we're facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril - we can't afford to give John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush's third term."

Clinton was joined at her rally by her husband Bill, his face sunburned after hours spent campaigning in small-town North Carolina, and their daughter, Chelsea.

She stressed the issue that came to dominate the final days of the primaries in both states, her call for a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax. "I think it's time to give Americans a break this summer," she said.

She added that no matter who wins the epic race for the nomination, "I will work for the nominee of this party" in the fall campaign against the Republicans. To emphasize her determination, Clinton announced plans to campaign Thursday in West Virginia, South Dakota and Oregon, three of the remaining primary states.

Obama was gaining more than 90 percent of the black vote in Indiana, while Clinton was winning an estimated 61 percent of the white vote there.

In North Carolina, Clinton won 60 percent of the white vote, while Obama claimed support from roughly 90 percent of the blacks who cast ballots.

Obama's delegate haul edged him closer to his prize - 1815.5 to 1,672 for Clinton in The Associated Press count, out of 2,025 needed to win the nomination.

As he told his supporters, Obama was on pace to finish the night within 200 delegates of the total needed. There are 217 delegates at stake in the six primaries yet to come. Another 270 superdelegates remain uncommitted.

He has long led Clinton among delegates won in the primaries and caucuses, and has increasingly narrowed his deficit among superdelegates who will attend the convention by virtue of their status as party leaders. The AP tally showed Clinton with 269.5 superdelegates, and Obama with 255.

The impact of a long-running controversy over Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was difficult to measure.

In North Carolina, six in 10 voters who said Wright's incendiary comments affected their votes sided with Clinton. A somewhat larger percentage of voters who said the pastor's remarks did not matter supported Obama.

The questionnaire used to learn about voter motivation did not include any questions about the gasoline tax.

In Indiana, about one in five voters said they were independents, an additional one in 10 said Republican.

Only Democrats and unaffiliated voters were permitted to vote in North Carolina.

Voting in Indiana was carried out under a state law, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, that requires voters to produce a valid photo ID. About a dozen nuns in their 80s and 90s at St. Mary's Convent in South Bend were denied ballots because they lacked the necessary identification.

Obama leads Clinton in delegates won in primaries and caucuses. Despite his defeat two weeks ago, he has steadily whittled away at her advantage in superdelegates in the past two weeks and trails 269.5 to 255.

Clinton saved her candidacy with her win in Pennsylvania, and she campaigned aggressively in Indiana in hopes of denying Obama a victory next door to his home state of Illinois. Indiana is home to large numbers of blue-collar workers who have been attracted to the former first lady, and she sought to use her call for a federal gas tax holiday to draw them and other economically pinched voters closer.

Inevitably, the issue quickly took on larger dimensions.

Obama said it symbolized a candidacy consisting of "phony ideas, calculated to win elections instead of actually solving problems."

Clinton retorted, "Instead of attacking the problem, he's attacking my solutions," and ran an ad in the campaign's final hours that said she "gets it."

The balance of the primary schedule includes West Virginia, with 28 delegates on May 13; Oregon with 52 and Kentucky with 51 a week later; Puerto Rico with 55 delegates on June 1, and Montana with 16 and South Dakota with 15 on June 3.

Sen. McCain of Arizona, the Republican nomination already in hand, campaigned in North Carolina and assailed Obama for his vote against confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts.

"Senator Obama in particular likes to talk up his background as a lecturer on law, and also as someone who can work across the aisle to get things done," McCain said. "But ... he went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee."

Clinton also voted against Roberts, but McCain, as is often the case, focused his remarks on Obama.

Obama's campaign responded that the Republican would pick judges who represent a threat to abortion rights and to McCain's own legislation to limit the role of money in political campaigns.

---

© 2008 The Associated Press.

the moment is now -- get out and vote

decision day

For the first time in 40 years, Indiana is a battleground state -- and tomorrow is Decision Day.

I urge all of my fellow Hoosiers to make your voice heard. Visit your local polling place and vote.

Vote for CHANGE.

Vote for HOPE.

Vote for Barack Obama.



Click the above button to find your polling place and learn more about Barack.

hillary strikes back (sort of) DELEGATE UPDATE

*Data provided by CBSNews.com

hillary strikes back (sort of)

(CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton got her campaign back on track with projected wins in the Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries.

Delegate-rich Texas and Ohio were considered must-wins for her campaign.

Obama had won 12 straight contests since Super Tuesday on February 5.

Obama won in Vermont.

Texas also held Democratic caucuses Tuesday, but it was too close to declare a winner.

"For everyone here in Ohio and across America who's been ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone who works hard and never gives up -- this one is for you," Clinton said before supporters in Columbus.

"You know what they say," she said. "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Well, this nation's coming back and so is this campaign."

Obama congratulated Clinton on her victories but downplayed his losses.

"We know this: No matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead as we had this morning, and we are on our way to winning this nomination," Obama told supporters in Texas.

In Texas, Clinton holds a two-to-one advantage over Obama with Hispanic voters, while Obama has the overwhelming advantage with black voters in the state's Democratic primary, according to CNN's exit poll.

These early surveys provide a snapshot of the race, but are not conclusive on who will win the critical contest.

Eighty-three percent of blacks voted for Obama, while 16 percent supported Clinton, according to the exit poll.

Meanwhile, 64 percent of Hispanics backed Clinton, while 32 percent went for Obama.

Early exit polls indicate a distinct "age gap" in both states.

Obama appeals most strongly to younger voters while older voters favor Clinton. Among Ohio Democratic primary voters aged 17 to 29, 65 percent went for Obama, and 34 percent went for Clinton. Among those age 60 and older, Clinton leads Obama 67-31 percent.

The same pattern holds true in early exit polling from the Texas Democratic primary. Among voters aged 18 to 29, Obama leads Clinton 61-39 percent, and among voters 60 and older, Clinton leads Obama 63- 36 percent.

10

Obama is a Buy; Clinton is a Sell
Here's Why

\/ Below: The Delegate Math

By CNN.com's John Helton

If Ohio and Texas weren't already must-win states for Sen. Hillary Clinton, they certainly are now.

Sen. Barack Obama is swaying away the core parts of Sen. Hillary Clinton's voter base.

Sen. Barack Obama continued his winning streak since Super Tuesday two weeks ago, picking up his ninth and tenth states in a row -- Wisconsin and Hawaii.

But as significant as Obama's accelerating momentum is how he is increasingly swaying voters that Clinton could count on at the beginning of February.

While Obama has been solidifying his base of younger, college-educated, higher-paid voters, he has steadily been chipping away Clinton's base of blue-collar, older, working-class voters.

On Tuesday, Obama captured 53 percent of Wisconsin's white voters compared to 41 percent of those voting on Super Tuesday. He won 48 percent of women in Wisconsin compared to 41 percent on Super Tuesday.

He increased his standing with white seniors by 8 points, from 31 percent to 39 percent since Super Tuesday. He split the non-college-graduate vote 50-50 with Clinton compared to getting 42 percent of it on Super Tuesday.

Obama won almost half of the Catholic vote compared to a third of it two weeks ago, and he did the same thing with the rural vote.

He also seems to be taking the economy away from Clinton as an issue. He won 44 percent of those voters who said that was the most important issue for them on Super Tuesday, but he won 55 percent of those voters on Tuesday.

Obama also scored a projected win in the Hawaii Democratic caucuses, the state where he was born and still has family. There were 20 delegates at stake in that race.

Heading into Wisconsin, most thought the contest was a toss-up. Obama's sweeping win there Tuesday can't be encouraging for the Clinton camp heading into Ohio as there are a lot of similarities between the blue-collar, Rust Belt states.

If the demographic trends continue, it doesn't look good in Texas. Obama won the Latino vote in Maryland and Virginia last week, a segment of the electorate that was solidly in the Clinton camp at the beginning of the race.

Polls in Texas show the contest there being a dead heat, but they showed the same thing in Wisconsin. The two Democratic candidates will both be in Texas Thursday night for a live debate on CNN at 8 p.m. ET.

Clinton's post-primary speech on Tuesday might be setting the tone for the next two weeks. She says Obama is offering rhetoric while she's offering solutions.

On Tuesday, she told a crowd in Ohio that the Democratic race is "about picking a president who relies not just on words, but on work."

Obama was also the focus of part of Republican Sen. John McCain's victory speech on Tuesday. While not mentioning Obama by name, he suggested the general election would be a choice between his experience and the "confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate."


The Delegate Math

(Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/)

After last night’s contests, here’s where things stand: The NBC News Hard Count is Obama 1,168, Clinton 1,018. There are 53 delegates unallocated, including 19 in MD, 10 each in CO and GA, 6 in WI, 4 in HI, and one each in DC, TN, NY and IL. We estimate a conservative 27-26 split here.

The Superdelegate Count: Clinton 257 versus Obama 185. That’s a grand total of: Obama 1,355, Clinton 1,276.

Counting only the superdelegates he has now, plus his pledged delegates, Obama needs 65% of remaining PLEDGED delegates to hit the magic 2025 number. Reaching that is probably unrealistic, but when you add in the unaffiliated 353 superdelegates (76 of whom are not yet known yet and won't be appointed until April, May and June), his magic percentage number is down to 48%.

On the flip side, Clinton needs to win 58% of all remaining pledged delegates simply to get the pledged delegate lead back. Forget 2025. And if you assume Obama wins Vermont, Wyoming, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, then the magic percentage number in the states Clinton wins rises to 65% -- SIMPLY TO GET THE PLEDGED DELEGATE LEAD BACK.

saturday night trifecta for obama

Sen. Barack Obama is projected to win all three Democratic contests tonight. Caucuses were held in Nebraska and Washington; the night's lone primary took place in Louisiana.
As of 11:08 PM EST, Sen. Hillary Clinton has 1099 delegates, Obama 1039. A candidate must receive a total of 2025 delegates to win the 2008 nomination.

"The stakes are too high and the challenges are too great to play the same old Washington game with the same old Washington players and expect a different result," Obama told a hugely pro-Obama crowd of Democrats at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond, Virginia.

"People want to turn the page. They want to write a new chapter in American history."

chaos at camp clinton and more numbers from super tuesday

Chao$ at Camp Clinton

The New York Times Politics Blog on Wednesday reported that Hillary Clinton lent her own campaign $5 million -- and her advisers said she's considering another loan because of the financial drain of Super Tuesday's primaries!
Additionally, a source close to the Clinton team has told Time magazine's thepage.time.com that some senior staff have "voluntarily chosen to work without pay this month."
Meanwhile, Barack Obama's team is on pace to raise $30 million in February, politico.com is reporting.

Just How Close Was Super Tuesday?

According to Time magazine's time-blog.com, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 0.4%. Here are the raw numbers:
Clinton: 50.2% (7,427,942)
Obama: 49.8% (7,370,023)


Road to the White House -- Delegates Scorecard
2,025 delegates needed to win

Clinton -- 823
Obama -- 741

super tuesday 2008 - jigsaw falling into place?

McCain is Front-Runner; Dems' Race Not Settled

(CNN) -- Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain will win California, Super Tuesday's biggest prize, CNN projects.

McCain padded his lead in the Republican presidential race, capped by taking California's 170 delegates.

While most Republican contests are winner-take-all, most Democratic contests are awarded proportionally based on the number of congressional districts won.

Clinton took the larger share of California's 370 Democratic delegates.

After having been nearly written off last summer, McCain finally felt comfortable enough to call himself the front-runner.

"Tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination of president of the United States. And I don't really mind it one bit," he said as results came in Tuesday.

McCain also won Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Delaware and Arizona, his home state, according to CNN projections.

McCain has gathered 475 delegates so far in his presidential campaign, including tonight's projections. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 151 delegates, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has 105.

In Georgia, Huckabee edged out McCain, who held a slim margin over Romney.

Romney got wins Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Utah.

In addition to Georgia, Huckabee picked up Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia.

In all, 1,020 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday. To clinch the nomination, a candidate must win 1,191 delegates.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama was winning more states, but Clinton was winning the states with higher delegate counts.

Clinton was also projected to win her home state of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the larger share of the 329 delegates at stake in those states.

Clinton also won Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and the larger share of the 235 delegates in those states.

The biggest prizes that Obama won were his home state of Illinois and Georgia, and a larger share of the 288 delegates in those states.

Obama also won Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah. Between those states, he would be awarded the larger share of 278 delegates.

Republican conservative voters appear to be evenly split between Romney and Huckabee, according to preliminary exit polls of Super Tuesday voters.

Of those who voted for Huckabee or Romney, about 80 percent identified themselves as conservative, according to the polls.

Only 49 percent of McCain's voters said they were conservative, a sign that the Arizona senator's efforts over the last week to placate conservative voters has not paid off.

On the Democratic side, those who made up their mind in the last three days appear to be torn between Obama and Clinton. According to the exit polls, Obama and Clinton are essentially splitting those voters, with 47 percent going for Obama and 46 percent for Clinton.



Road to the White House
CNN total delegate estimate as of 2.06 AM, 6 February 2008

2,025 delegates needed to win

Clinton -- 657
Obama -- 541

obama scores crucial victory in south carolina

Barack Obama is projected to win the South Carolina Democratic primary by a wide margin.
Going into today's primary, many political analysts considered South Carolina a must-win state for Obama, who finished second to Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and Nevada.
Clinton is projected to finish second and John Edwards a distant third.

after loss in new hampshire, obama eyes south carolina

Obama, Clinton Fight for South Carolina

(CNN) Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in an intense battle to win South Carolina voters.

Sen. Barack Obama won in Iowa, but came in second in New Hampshire.

So far, the score is even between the two -- Clinton narrowly edged out Obama in New Hampshire, and Obama finished first in Iowa.

In South Carolina, the two are in a tight race heading into the state's January 26 Democratic primary.

Key to winning South Carolina is winning its African-Americans, who make up about 50 percent of the state's Democratic primary voters.

"If a Democratic candidate is going to make headway in the Deep South -- and this being a bellwether Deep South state -- you need the black vote to do that," said Todd Shaw, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina.

The state's black population has been divided between loyalty to the Clintons, longtime allies of the black community, and Obama, the newcomer.

But the latest polls suggest support could be shifting. In July, 52 percent of black Democratic primary voters said they favored Clinton, compared to Obama's 33 percent. In December, Obama's support had risen to 45 percent while Clinton's dropped to 46.

Campaigners for the New York senator hope the momentum from her New Hampshire win will carry her through South Carolina.

"We are ready. New Hampshire of course gave us a springboard to take us right into January 26," said Kelly Adams, Clinton's South Carolina campaign director.

A few blocks away from Clinton's Columbia headquarters, volunteers for Obama spread the Illinois senator's message of change to anyone who will listen.

"People are just fired up. They're ready to make this state the next win," said Obama adviser Rick Wade.

Obama received a big boost in South Carolina on Thursday when Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate four years ago, announced he's endorsing Obama.

Obama supporter Damon Hardy said some blacks are still waffling because they are unsure of his long-term chances.

"It's like they want Obama to win, but they don't want their vote to be wasted on someone who they don't think is going to win. They don't really think Obama has a chance. So, they're voting Hillary Clinton because of her experience," he said.

But the other half of the equation can't be ignored. The white Democratic vote makes up the other 50 percent of the vote.

"You see something with younger, white voters and older, more established high income white voters favoring Obama. Clinton does well, of course, among women," said Ray Chapman, political editor of The State.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, while a distant third, is still in the race.

The South Carolina native seems to be resonating with working-class voters who have suffered in the hard-hit textile industry.

At a campaign stop in Clemson, he used his roots to bolster his appeal.

"I was born here. I know what your lives are like. I do not have to read this in a book. I know it firsthand," he said.

When Edwards took South Carolina in the 2004 primary, he captured 37 percent of the black vote.

* From CNN's Dan Lothian

obama notches big win in iowa caucuses

Huckabee, Obama Enjoy Huge Night in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have claimed victories in Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

With all Democratic precincts reporting, Obama had the support of 38 percent of voters, compared to 30 percent for John Edwards and 29 percent for Hillary Clinton. "The numbers tell us this was a debate between change and experience, and change won," said CNN political analyst Bill Schneider.

Iowa delivered fatal blows to the campaigns of Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. Both have decided to abandon their White House runs.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who finished fourth, said his campaign plans to "take the fight to New Hampshire."

New Hampshire holds the nation's first primary Tuesday. Clinton and Obama are in a statistical dead heat in New Hampshire, according to the latest CNN/WMUR poll.

On the GOP side, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose campaign was languishing six months ago, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are now tied for first place in New Hampshire, according to the poll, which was released Wednesday.

McCain left Iowa before caucus night even began. He was already in New Hampshire by Thursday afternoon, trying to get a jump on his rivals. For the winners of both party's caucuses in Iowa, it's an age revolt for Democrats versus a religious revolt for Republicans, Schneider said.

Among Democrats, Obama took 57 percent of the under-30 vote, according to CNN's analysis of entrance polls. Speaking to supporters, Obama called the night a "defining moment in history."

"You came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents to stand up and say that we are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come."

Huckabee's victory can be attributed to his overwhelming support among evangelical voters and women, the polls indicate.

With 92 percent of Republican precincts reporting, Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, had the support of 34 percent of voters, compared to 25 percent for Romney.

Fred Thompson had 13 percent, McCain had 13 percent and Ron Paul had 10 percent.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has turned the focus of his campaign to the February 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries, trailed with 4 percent.

"We've paid a lot of attention to states that some other candidates haven't paid a lot of attention to," Giuliani said, adding, "Time will tell what the best strategy is."

Huckabee was vastly outspent by Romney, who poured millions of dollars into a sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation.

"People really are more important than the purse, and what a great lesson for America to learn," Huckabee said in thanking his supporters.

For most of 2007, Huckabee languished in the single digits in the polls and had very little success raising money. But his momentum picked up in the final six weeks of the year when social conservatives -- an important voting bloc in Iowa -- began to move his way.

"We won the silver ... You win the silver in one event. It doesn't mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in the final event, and that we are going to do," Romney said.

Clinton, speaking with 96 percent of the vote in, portrayed herself as the candidate who could bring about the change the voters want. "I am so ready for the rest of this campaign, and I am so ready to lead," she said.

Clinton had worked to convince Iowa caucus-goers she has the experience to enact change, while Edwards and Obama preached that she is too much of a Washington insider to bring change to the nation's capital.

Edwards, in a tight race for second, said Iowa's results show that "the status quo lost and change won."

"Now we move on ... to determine who is best suited to bring about the changes this country so desperately needs," he said.

McCain, who had largely abandoned Iowa to focus on the New Hampshire primary, said, "The lessons of tonight's election in Iowa are that one, you can't buy an election in Iowa; and two, that negative campaigns don't work."

With such a close race on both sides, voter turnout was key. The Iowa Democratic Party reported seeing record turnout. The party said there were at least 227,000 caucus attendees.

The Iowa GOP projected that 120,000 people took part in the Republican caucuses. The Iowa Democratic Party said 124,000 people participated in the 2004 caucuses, while the Republican Party of Iowa estimated that 87,000 people took part in the 2000 caucuses. (President Bush ran unchallenged for a second term in 2004.)

Caucus-goer Kathy Barger, inside a Democratic caucus site in Walnut, Iowa, said the room she was in was packed to the brim with a line out the door.

"I don't know how they are going to be able to fit everybody in the room, much less count the votes," she said. "There are bodies in every available space in the room."

The White House hopefuls campaigned down to the wire in Iowa, determined to reach as many people as possible before the 1,781 caucuses that started at 7 p.m.
advertisement

Iowa Democrats, unlike Republicans, use a more complicated system to determine a candidate's viability. Republican caucus-goers are asked for their support for a candidate only one time during the event. Democrats are asked twice: an initial question of support, and a second if their first-choice candidate does not reach a 15 percent threshold to achieve viability.

Among Republican candidates, Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California needed strong showings in Iowa to keep their campaigns going, while Paul, a representative from Texas, is likely to ride his surge of popularity through February 5 -- "Super Tuesday," when 24 states hold their primaries -- no matter where he places in the early contests.

*From CNN.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Impressive Numbers for Obama

Some facts about last night's victory in Iowa
by Sam Graham-FelsenFriday, January 04, 2008 at 01:38 PM

Last night, Barack Obama made history in Iowa with a dramatic and decisive victory. He won by bringing an unprecedented number of voters into the process, including thousands of Republicans and Independents who registered as Democrats in order to support Obama.

The entrance polls show just how dominating Obama’s win was and dispel some myths about his candidacy:

* Obama beat Clinton among women 35% to 30%
* Obama beat Edwards among voters in union households 30%-24%
* Obama beat Clinton and Edwards among voters of almost every income level (Obama and Clinton tied among voters who make $15-30,000)
* As many voters age 17-29 as voters 65 and older participated last night -- in previous years senior participation has been 5-times greater than younger voters.
* Obama beat Edwards and Clinton among voters who want change (51%-20%-19%)
* Despite countless attacks and hundreds of thousands of dollars in negative mail, TV, and radio, Obama beat Clinton and Edwards (34%-30%-27%) among voters who say health care is the most important issue
* Obama won among those who said the economy was the most important issue (36%-26%-26%)
* Obama won over Clinton and Edwards (35%-26%-17%) among those who said Iraq was the most important issue
* Won across the ideological spectrum – winning among liberals, moderates and conservatives
* Won among high income and lower income voters among voters with household income below $50,000 (34%-32%-19%) and among those over $50,000 (41%-19%-28%)
* Also won among the 82% of voters who said Pakistan was “very or somewhat important”

* From ObamaBlog at barackobama.com