Endorsing Obama
- Thread starter VegasGuy
- Start date
Who saw Obama Oprah Rally Today ? Weigh In . .
It was streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv Finally a commentary free event ! ^5
Would you agree that Oprah put her brand name on the line by getting involved with politics ?
Watch it here > http://ustream.tv/channel/obama-rally-with-oprah-winfrey ( updating)
It was streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv Finally a commentary free event ! ^5
Would you agree that Oprah put her brand name on the line by getting involved with politics ?
Watch it here > http://ustream.tv/channel/obama-rally-with-oprah-winfrey ( updating)
Last edited:
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
I'm guessing here but generally speaking when it comes to Oprah and the reasons the Obama campaign welcomes her support is how she would impact black women AND women voters. You made no such distinction in your question.
Having said that, I would assume some of those who don't care for Oprah won't care for much for what she cares about but at the same time, most black woman are able to seperate those they respect from those they don't. Just going on personal observation. Why do you ask about such a poll? Do you assume african americans are that monolithic?
-VG
I'm guessing here but generally speaking when it comes to Oprah and the reasons the Obama campaign welcomes her support is how she would impact black women AND women voters. You made no such distinction in your question.
Having said that, I would assume some of those who don't care for Oprah won't care for much for what she cares about but at the same time, most black woman are able to seperate those they respect from those they don't. Just going on personal observation. Why do you ask about such a poll? Do you assume african americans are that monolithic?
-VG
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
It really doesn’t matter to me if Opra is pushing Obama. My biggest gripe is that people feel that because I’m black, I’m voting for Obama. There’s nothing further from the truth!!
It really doesn’t matter to me if Opra is pushing Obama. My biggest gripe is that people feel that because I’m black, I’m voting for Obama. There’s nothing further from the truth!!
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
It's kind of a normal reaction since the media being what it is, continues to shove a microphone in Sharptons face everytime some racial issue erupts; like he is the voice of black america. But seriously, you should be used to that association by now.
-VG
It really doesn’t matter to me if Opra is pushing Obama. My biggest gripe is that people feel that because I’m black, I’m voting for Obama. There’s nothing further from the truth!!
It's kind of a normal reaction since the media being what it is, continues to shove a microphone in Sharptons face everytime some racial issue erupts; like he is the voice of black america. But seriously, you should be used to that association by now.
-VG
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
[1] Simply curiousity, VG.
[2] On the contrary; we are quite diverse with an amalgam of opinions/views.
QueEx
[1] Simply curiousity, VG.
[2] On the contrary; we are quite diverse with an amalgam of opinions/views.
QueEx
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
Ok Vegas Guy, your now disparaging family (Hillary’s mom) for Hollywood celebrity. Hmmm, the illogic of the republican spin.
Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
Ok Vegas Guy, your now disparaging family (Hillary’s mom) for Hollywood celebrity. Hmmm, the illogic of the republican spin.
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
By James Rosen | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Friday, December 7, 2007
WASHINGTON — Prominent African-American supporters of John Edwards accused Barack Obama on Friday of performing a "publicity stunt" by bringing Oprah Winfrey to South Carolina and other early presidential primary states, saying that blacks won't vote for Obama just because of his race.
Winfrey, the billionaire TV star, was scheduled to campaign with Obama in Iowa on Saturday, South Carolina on Sunday and New Hampshire on Sunday night.
"John Edwards has committed himself to making rural communities' infrastructure a priority rather than have a celebrity come in," said South Carolina state Rep. Leon Howard. "It's insulting for anyone to think that African-Americans are automatically onboard with Barack Obama."
Candice Tolliver, a spokeswoman for Obama, said the Illinois senator welcomes Winfrey's high-voltage support.
"Oprah has universal appeal," Tolliver said. "She's earned a tremendous amount of respect not only here in the United States, but around the globe. It's fantastic that she has endorsed Senator Obama for president."
Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend Obama's rally with Winfrey in Columbia, S.C. Demand was so high that the Obama campaign changed the venue from an 18,000-seat indoor arena to an 80,000-seat football stadium.
Connie Johnson, a black legislator from Missouri, said Edwards is the only White House candidate talking about poverty, health care disparities and other issues of concern to African-Americans.
Competition for black supporters is especially keen in South Carolina, where African-Americans are projected to make up almost half the voters in the Jan. 26 Democratic primary.
Edwards, the former U.S. senator from North Carolina, was born in Seneca, S.C., and won the state's 2004 Democratic presidential primary on his way to becoming Sen. John Kerry's running mate.
Edwards, though, is having trouble catching fire in South Carolina this time. While the contest for the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus voters is a virtual dead heat among the top three Democratic candidates, Edwards trails New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama by significant margins in South Carolina, according to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday.
Clinton leads in South Carolina with 36 percent support among likely voters, the poll showed. Obama had 34 percent and Edwards claimed 13 percent.
Black legislators in South Carolina said Friday that Edwards would emerge victorious.
"We feel that when the dust settles, people are going to come to Edwards because they believe that he can win," said state Rep. William Clyburn.
Linda Dorgan, an African-American member of the Spartanburg City Council, dismissed Winfrey's appearances for Obama with pointed criticism.
"Don't come to me with someone who has more money than anybody," Dorgan said. "We (Edwards supporters) don't need to do publicity stunts."
Referring to Winfrey's extensive charity work in Africa, Dorgan added: "If you build a school in Africa, come and build one in South Carolina."
Edwards has struggled to match the high-profile endorsements of Clinton and Obama by black politicians, entertainers and other celebrities.
President Clinton, still hugely popular with African-Americans, addressed 2,600 cheering delegates in May on behalf of his wife at the annual gala of the NAACP in South Carolina.
Retired NBA legend Magic Johnson, musician Quincy Jones and Bob Johnson, founder of the Black Entertainment Network, are among the prominent blacks backing Hillary Clinton for president.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, actors Sidney Poitier and Will Smith, and musician Stevie Wonder have joined Winfrey and other influential African-Americans in supporting Obama.
Clinton and Obama each have a dozen or more backers in the Congressional Black Caucus.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and the highest-ranking African-American lawmaker in the U.S. House, has declined to endorse any White House candidate from his party.
McClatchy Newspapers 2007
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/104/story/22768.html
Oprah-Obama event a 'publicity stunt,'
black Edwards supporters say
black Edwards supporters say
By James Rosen | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Friday, December 7, 2007
WASHINGTON — Prominent African-American supporters of John Edwards accused Barack Obama on Friday of performing a "publicity stunt" by bringing Oprah Winfrey to South Carolina and other early presidential primary states, saying that blacks won't vote for Obama just because of his race.
Winfrey, the billionaire TV star, was scheduled to campaign with Obama in Iowa on Saturday, South Carolina on Sunday and New Hampshire on Sunday night.
"John Edwards has committed himself to making rural communities' infrastructure a priority rather than have a celebrity come in," said South Carolina state Rep. Leon Howard. "It's insulting for anyone to think that African-Americans are automatically onboard with Barack Obama."
Candice Tolliver, a spokeswoman for Obama, said the Illinois senator welcomes Winfrey's high-voltage support.
"Oprah has universal appeal," Tolliver said. "She's earned a tremendous amount of respect not only here in the United States, but around the globe. It's fantastic that she has endorsed Senator Obama for president."
Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend Obama's rally with Winfrey in Columbia, S.C. Demand was so high that the Obama campaign changed the venue from an 18,000-seat indoor arena to an 80,000-seat football stadium.
Connie Johnson, a black legislator from Missouri, said Edwards is the only White House candidate talking about poverty, health care disparities and other issues of concern to African-Americans.
Competition for black supporters is especially keen in South Carolina, where African-Americans are projected to make up almost half the voters in the Jan. 26 Democratic primary.
Edwards, the former U.S. senator from North Carolina, was born in Seneca, S.C., and won the state's 2004 Democratic presidential primary on his way to becoming Sen. John Kerry's running mate.
Edwards, though, is having trouble catching fire in South Carolina this time. While the contest for the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus voters is a virtual dead heat among the top three Democratic candidates, Edwards trails New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama by significant margins in South Carolina, according to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday.
Clinton leads in South Carolina with 36 percent support among likely voters, the poll showed. Obama had 34 percent and Edwards claimed 13 percent.
Black legislators in South Carolina said Friday that Edwards would emerge victorious.
"We feel that when the dust settles, people are going to come to Edwards because they believe that he can win," said state Rep. William Clyburn.
Linda Dorgan, an African-American member of the Spartanburg City Council, dismissed Winfrey's appearances for Obama with pointed criticism.
"Don't come to me with someone who has more money than anybody," Dorgan said. "We (Edwards supporters) don't need to do publicity stunts."
Referring to Winfrey's extensive charity work in Africa, Dorgan added: "If you build a school in Africa, come and build one in South Carolina."
Edwards has struggled to match the high-profile endorsements of Clinton and Obama by black politicians, entertainers and other celebrities.
President Clinton, still hugely popular with African-Americans, addressed 2,600 cheering delegates in May on behalf of his wife at the annual gala of the NAACP in South Carolina.
Retired NBA legend Magic Johnson, musician Quincy Jones and Bob Johnson, founder of the Black Entertainment Network, are among the prominent blacks backing Hillary Clinton for president.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, actors Sidney Poitier and Will Smith, and musician Stevie Wonder have joined Winfrey and other influential African-Americans in supporting Obama.
Clinton and Obama each have a dozen or more backers in the Congressional Black Caucus.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and the highest-ranking African-American lawmaker in the U.S. House, has declined to endorse any White House candidate from his party.
McClatchy Newspapers 2007
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/104/story/22768.html
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
It's what I figured QueEx. If I run onto something, I'll make sure I drop it here.
This message is hidden because thoughtone is on your ignore list.
-VG
It's what I figured QueEx. If I run onto something, I'll make sure I drop it here.
This message is hidden because thoughtone is on your ignore list.
-VG
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Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
Interesting piece. Those that are anti Hillary and claim to be Obama supporters and generally are pro republican have claimed that Hillary supporters are evil for criticizing Obama, some sort of Clinton machine that is out to consume the earth (the pot calling the kettle black, personified). How will they characterize the Edwards supporters’ criticism of Obama? I still think that the so called Black republicans are not genuinely behind Obama, they have gotten their marching orders from the RNC to do all they can to get a democratic candidate that the republicans think will have a possible chance of defeating. There is a sizable white population that will not vote for a Black person even if they were Jesus Christ himself. Republicans do have a history of election tampering, where is Karl Rove?
Interesting piece. Those that are anti Hillary and claim to be Obama supporters and generally are pro republican have claimed that Hillary supporters are evil for criticizing Obama, some sort of Clinton machine that is out to consume the earth (the pot calling the kettle black, personified). How will they characterize the Edwards supporters’ criticism of Obama? I still think that the so called Black republicans are not genuinely behind Obama, they have gotten their marching orders from the RNC to do all they can to get a democratic candidate that the republicans think will have a possible chance of defeating. There is a sizable white population that will not vote for a Black person even if they were Jesus Christ himself. Republicans do have a history of election tampering, where is Karl Rove?
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Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
Nice article QueEx. Seems as though fissures are widening in the Democratic Party before the first vote has been cast. Looks like it's gonna be a long and bloody primary season. Should be interesting to watch.
Oh yeah , interesting question you posed. I have to say now I'm curious about that also
Nice article QueEx. Seems as though fissures are widening in the Democratic Party before the first vote has been cast. Looks like it's gonna be a long and bloody primary season. Should be interesting to watch.
Oh yeah , interesting question you posed. I have to say now I'm curious about that also
Re: BREAKING: Caroline Kennedy Endorses Obama
Here It Is . . .
<font size="6"><center>
A President Like My Father </font size></center>
New York Times
By CAROLINE KENNEDY
Published: January 27, 2008
OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.
Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.
I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.
Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.
I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.
Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Here It Is . . .
<font size="6"><center>
A President Like My Father </font size></center>
New York Times
By CAROLINE KENNEDY
Published: January 27, 2008
OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.
Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.
I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.
Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.
I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.
Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Re: BREAKING: Caroline Kennedy Endorses Obama
Here It Is . . .
<font size="6"><center>
A President Like My Father </font size></center>
New York Times
By CAROLINE KENNEDY
Published: January 27, 2008
OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.
Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.
I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.
Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.
I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.
Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Here It Is . . .
<font size="6"><center>
A President Like My Father </font size></center>
New York Times
By CAROLINE KENNEDY
Published: January 27, 2008
OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.
Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.
I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.
Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.
I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.
Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Re: BREAKING: Caroline Kennedy Endorses Obama
I would have expected someone like you to hate Teddy Kennedy. The way you have jointed the bash wagon for Hillary. You know the republicans put the Kennedys and Clintons on their demon list.
They call them the ultimate liberals.
I would have expected someone like you to hate Teddy Kennedy. The way you have jointed the bash wagon for Hillary. You know the republicans put the Kennedys and Clintons on their demon list.
They call them the ultimate liberals.
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
<font size="4}"John Kerry endorses Barack Obama</font size>
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Thursday January 10, 2008
Guardian Unlimited
John Kerry, the senator who ran against George Bush in 2004, today endorsed Barack Obama in a slap in the face to Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, who was his vice-presidential running mate in 2004.
"Martin Luther King Jr. said the time is always right to do what is right," Kerry told a rally in South Carolina. "This is the right time to share with you ... that Barack Obama can be, will be and should be the next president of the United States."
He added: "I believe more than anyone else, Barack Obama can help our country turn the page and get America moving by uniting and ending the division we have faced."
Edwards said in a statement that he respected Kerry's decision.
While Kerry was close to Bill Clinton, he fell out with Hillary last year when she criticised him over a gaffe in which he told students to study hard or they might end up in Iraq. The remark forced him to abandon his bid to seek the Democratic nomination this time round too.
The Democratic race is set to narrow with Bill Richardson, who had hoped to become the first Hispanic president, shelving his campaign after coming fourth in the Iowa and New Hampshire contests.
A formal announcement was expected from his campaign headquarters in New Mexico, where he is governor. He is likely to suspend his campaign rather than abandon it, though the end result is essentially the same.
Richardson, 60, took only 2% in the Iowa caucuses last week and less than 5% in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
However he still harbours ambitions of becoming vice-president and hopes he will be the running mate of the eventual Democratic winner, almost certainly Clinton or Obama.
As he put his bid for the nomination on hold, there were increasing signs that the mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg, is seriously considering a run even at this late stage as an independent. In spite of repeated denials that he would stand, he is spending millions of dollars on polling in 50 states to gauge his chances of winning the White House.
Bloomberg's entry would complicate the contest, taking votes from both Democratic and Republican candidates and potentially influencing the final outcome.
A former Bloomberg political strategist, Douglas Schoen, told the Associated Press that Bloomberg has hired research companies to create a national database that not only would gauge potential support for a White House run but would be used to target campaign messages if he joined the race. "I am not a candidate for being president of the United States," Bloomberg insisted, leaving open at least the possibility he might be in future.
The Democratic contest has now become basically a two-horse race, between Clinton and Obama. John Edwards's best chance was to win in Iowa but he ended up in third place.
When he entered the race early last year, Richardson presented himself as a representative from the increasingly influential American West and Hispanic population, the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US.
At the start of the race last year, journalists regularly described the contest as offering the chance of the first woman president, the first African-American or the first Hispanic.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/barackobama/story/0,,2238806,00.html
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<font size="4}"John Kerry endorses Barack Obama</font size>
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Thursday January 10, 2008
Guardian Unlimited
John Kerry, the senator who ran against George Bush in 2004, today endorsed Barack Obama in a slap in the face to Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, who was his vice-presidential running mate in 2004.
"Martin Luther King Jr. said the time is always right to do what is right," Kerry told a rally in South Carolina. "This is the right time to share with you ... that Barack Obama can be, will be and should be the next president of the United States."
He added: "I believe more than anyone else, Barack Obama can help our country turn the page and get America moving by uniting and ending the division we have faced."
Edwards said in a statement that he respected Kerry's decision.
While Kerry was close to Bill Clinton, he fell out with Hillary last year when she criticised him over a gaffe in which he told students to study hard or they might end up in Iraq. The remark forced him to abandon his bid to seek the Democratic nomination this time round too.
The Democratic race is set to narrow with Bill Richardson, who had hoped to become the first Hispanic president, shelving his campaign after coming fourth in the Iowa and New Hampshire contests.
A formal announcement was expected from his campaign headquarters in New Mexico, where he is governor. He is likely to suspend his campaign rather than abandon it, though the end result is essentially the same.
Richardson, 60, took only 2% in the Iowa caucuses last week and less than 5% in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
However he still harbours ambitions of becoming vice-president and hopes he will be the running mate of the eventual Democratic winner, almost certainly Clinton or Obama.
As he put his bid for the nomination on hold, there were increasing signs that the mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg, is seriously considering a run even at this late stage as an independent. In spite of repeated denials that he would stand, he is spending millions of dollars on polling in 50 states to gauge his chances of winning the White House.
Bloomberg's entry would complicate the contest, taking votes from both Democratic and Republican candidates and potentially influencing the final outcome.
A former Bloomberg political strategist, Douglas Schoen, told the Associated Press that Bloomberg has hired research companies to create a national database that not only would gauge potential support for a White House run but would be used to target campaign messages if he joined the race. "I am not a candidate for being president of the United States," Bloomberg insisted, leaving open at least the possibility he might be in future.
The Democratic contest has now become basically a two-horse race, between Clinton and Obama. John Edwards's best chance was to win in Iowa but he ended up in third place.
When he entered the race early last year, Richardson presented himself as a representative from the increasingly influential American West and Hispanic population, the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US.
At the start of the race last year, journalists regularly described the contest as offering the chance of the first woman president, the first African-American or the first Hispanic.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/barackobama/story/0,,2238806,00.html
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Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
<font size="5"><center>Philadelphia Inquirer Endorses Obama, McCain</font size></center>
January 26, 2008
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain Saturday for their parties' presidential nomination.
The Inquirer said in an editorial posted on its Web site that McCain, an Arizona senator, has "personal bravery, political courage and a confident sense of how he would lead this country."
"He's the authentic candidate in a field of wannabes and flip-floppers," the paper wrote.
For Democrats, the Inquirer said Obama, an Illinois senator, "offers more than pretty words."
"In debates and speeches, he has provided details of a White House program that, with adjustments, could produce the outcomes this nation needs," the paper wrote.
"Obama is the best Democrat to lead this nation past the nasty, partisan, Washington-as-usual politics that have blocked consensus on Iraq; politics that never blinked at the greedy, subprime mortgage schemes that could spawn a recession; politics that have greatly diminished our country's stature in the world," the Inquirer said.
While criticizing McCain for his willingness to keep U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely, the paper praised him for opposing the Bush administration's condoning of torture for enemy combatants.
Pennsylvania votes April 22 but neighboring New Jersey and Delaware, which include areas where the Inquirer circulates, vote Feb. 5.
Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTSy66b9m7Q9d1POG-s3aa2USGmgD8UDOAU00
<font size="5"><center>Philadelphia Inquirer Endorses Obama, McCain</font size></center>
January 26, 2008
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain Saturday for their parties' presidential nomination.
The Inquirer said in an editorial posted on its Web site that McCain, an Arizona senator, has "personal bravery, political courage and a confident sense of how he would lead this country."
"He's the authentic candidate in a field of wannabes and flip-floppers," the paper wrote.
For Democrats, the Inquirer said Obama, an Illinois senator, "offers more than pretty words."
"In debates and speeches, he has provided details of a White House program that, with adjustments, could produce the outcomes this nation needs," the paper wrote.
"Obama is the best Democrat to lead this nation past the nasty, partisan, Washington-as-usual politics that have blocked consensus on Iraq; politics that never blinked at the greedy, subprime mortgage schemes that could spawn a recession; politics that have greatly diminished our country's stature in the world," the Inquirer said.
While criticizing McCain for his willingness to keep U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely, the paper praised him for opposing the Bush administration's condoning of torture for enemy combatants.
Pennsylvania votes April 22 but neighboring New Jersey and Delaware, which include areas where the Inquirer circulates, vote Feb. 5.
Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTSy66b9m7Q9d1POG-s3aa2USGmgD8UDOAU00
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
TRIBUNE ENDORSEMENTS
<font size="5"><center>Chicago Tribune
For the Democrats: Obama</font size></center>
Chicago Tribune
Sunday, January 27, 2008
In 1996, this page endorsed a Chicago attorney, law school instructor and community activist named Barack Obama for a seat in the Illinois Senate. We've paid him uncommon scrutiny ever since, wryly glad that he lived up to our modest prediction: We said Obama "has potential as a political leader."
Since then, so much has been written about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama that it's easy to forget how far an entire nation's scrutiny of him "as a political leader" has led us all. No longer does every article obsess on whether voters are ready for a black man in the White House.
Most Americans, we'd wager, by now have concluded that the color of his skin matters less than his evident comfort within it. Yes, he is vilified by less-secure Democrats for acknowledging Ronald Reagan was a transformative president who "put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it." Our takeaway: Obama has the confidence to speak truth, poll-tested or not.
Barack Obama is the rare individual who can sit in the U.S. Senate yet have his career potential unfulfilled. He is the Democrat best suited to lead this nation. We offer him our endorsement for the Feb. 5 Illinois primary.
By one measure, this endorsement is a paradox. We're urging votes for a candidate whose political views we often disagree with. But this is a more complicated contest, and a more complex candidate, than the norm. This nation's next president inherits a war—against terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere—that has found many ways to divide Americans. Capitol Hill is gridlocked and uncivil. Our discourse is hostage to blame.
Obama can help this nation move forward. A Tribune profile last May labeled his eight years in Springfield as "a study in complexity, caution and calculation. In the minority party for all but his final two years in the Statehouse, he tempered a progressive agenda with a cold dash of realism, often forging consensus with conservative Republicans when other liberals wanted to crusade."
Racial profiling, death penalty reform, recording of criminal interrogations, health care—when victory was elusive, Obama seized progress. He did so by working fluidly with Republicans and Democrats. He sought out his ideological foes. He listened closely to them. As a result, many Republicans in Illinois have warm words for Barack Obama.
Obama's key opponent, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, unifies only her foes. Her penchant for gaming every issue—recall her clumsy dodging when asked in a Philadelphia debate whether illegal immigrants should be licensed to drive—feeds suspicion of maneuvering that would humble Machiavelli.
As this campaign has progressed, Hillary Clinton in moments of crisis hasn't been an ennobling sight. Her reliance on her husband, the less-than-presidential Bill, to trash-talk Obama reaffirms that the Clintons do whatever it takes to prevail. Depicting Obama's record on Iraq as a "fairy tale" is instructive: Think what you will of the war, but Sen. Clinton was an enabler when that was popular. In Kerryspeak, she was for the war before she was against the war.
The candidates' differences on issues are minor and largely irrelevant: Presidents don't dictate laws, they tussle over legislation with Congress. Much of the "experience" Hillary Clinton touts in that realm instead was proximity to power. Bill's power.
Last week, Hillary Clinton attacked Obama for his association with alleged influence-peddler Tony Rezko. If Obama had dealt with the Rezko issue forthrightly long ago, it might rank in public memory with Clinton's remarkable success in cattle futures.
Instead, as we've said, Obama has been too self-exculpatory. His assertion in network TV interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity: Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fundraising for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004—more than a year before the adjacent home and property purchases by the Obamas and the Rezkos.
One more time, Senator:
You need to divulge all there is to know about that relationship. Until you do, the journalistic scrubbing and opposition research will intensify. You should have recognized Rezko as a political seducer of young talent. But given that you've not been accused of any crime or ethical breach, your Rezko history is not a deal-breaker.
Nor do we know of similar lapses during the 12 years we've been watching Obama.
To the contrary, the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish Barack Obama. We endorse him convinced that he could lead America in directions that the other Democrats could not.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0127edit1jan27,0,847324.story
TRIBUNE ENDORSEMENTS
<font size="5"><center>Chicago Tribune
For the Democrats: Obama</font size></center>
Chicago Tribune
Sunday, January 27, 2008
In 1996, this page endorsed a Chicago attorney, law school instructor and community activist named Barack Obama for a seat in the Illinois Senate. We've paid him uncommon scrutiny ever since, wryly glad that he lived up to our modest prediction: We said Obama "has potential as a political leader."
Since then, so much has been written about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama that it's easy to forget how far an entire nation's scrutiny of him "as a political leader" has led us all. No longer does every article obsess on whether voters are ready for a black man in the White House.
Most Americans, we'd wager, by now have concluded that the color of his skin matters less than his evident comfort within it. Yes, he is vilified by less-secure Democrats for acknowledging Ronald Reagan was a transformative president who "put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it." Our takeaway: Obama has the confidence to speak truth, poll-tested or not.
Barack Obama is the rare individual who can sit in the U.S. Senate yet have his career potential unfulfilled. He is the Democrat best suited to lead this nation. We offer him our endorsement for the Feb. 5 Illinois primary.
By one measure, this endorsement is a paradox. We're urging votes for a candidate whose political views we often disagree with. But this is a more complicated contest, and a more complex candidate, than the norm. This nation's next president inherits a war—against terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere—that has found many ways to divide Americans. Capitol Hill is gridlocked and uncivil. Our discourse is hostage to blame.
Obama can help this nation move forward. A Tribune profile last May labeled his eight years in Springfield as "a study in complexity, caution and calculation. In the minority party for all but his final two years in the Statehouse, he tempered a progressive agenda with a cold dash of realism, often forging consensus with conservative Republicans when other liberals wanted to crusade."
Racial profiling, death penalty reform, recording of criminal interrogations, health care—when victory was elusive, Obama seized progress. He did so by working fluidly with Republicans and Democrats. He sought out his ideological foes. He listened closely to them. As a result, many Republicans in Illinois have warm words for Barack Obama.
Obama's key opponent, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, unifies only her foes. Her penchant for gaming every issue—recall her clumsy dodging when asked in a Philadelphia debate whether illegal immigrants should be licensed to drive—feeds suspicion of maneuvering that would humble Machiavelli.
As this campaign has progressed, Hillary Clinton in moments of crisis hasn't been an ennobling sight. Her reliance on her husband, the less-than-presidential Bill, to trash-talk Obama reaffirms that the Clintons do whatever it takes to prevail. Depicting Obama's record on Iraq as a "fairy tale" is instructive: Think what you will of the war, but Sen. Clinton was an enabler when that was popular. In Kerryspeak, she was for the war before she was against the war.
The candidates' differences on issues are minor and largely irrelevant: Presidents don't dictate laws, they tussle over legislation with Congress. Much of the "experience" Hillary Clinton touts in that realm instead was proximity to power. Bill's power.
Last week, Hillary Clinton attacked Obama for his association with alleged influence-peddler Tony Rezko. If Obama had dealt with the Rezko issue forthrightly long ago, it might rank in public memory with Clinton's remarkable success in cattle futures.
Instead, as we've said, Obama has been too self-exculpatory. His assertion in network TV interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity: Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fundraising for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004—more than a year before the adjacent home and property purchases by the Obamas and the Rezkos.
One more time, Senator:
You need to divulge all there is to know about that relationship. Until you do, the journalistic scrubbing and opposition research will intensify. You should have recognized Rezko as a political seducer of young talent. But given that you've not been accused of any crime or ethical breach, your Rezko history is not a deal-breaker.
Nor do we know of similar lapses during the 12 years we've been watching Obama.
To the contrary, the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish Barack Obama. We endorse him convinced that he could lead America in directions that the other Democrats could not.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0127edit1jan27,0,847324.story
Re: Oprah Stumps For Obama while Hillary totes mommy
<center>
<font size="4">St. Louis Post Dispatch Endorses Obama</font size><font size="5">
"Barack Obama: The new generation"</font size></center>
St. Louis Post Dispatch
01/26/2008
In the back and forth between Clinton and Gingrich and in the elections of 2000 and 2004, I sometimes felt as if I were watching the psychodrama of the Baby Boom generation — a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago — played out on the national stage.
Thus did Barack Obama, in his campaign book "The Audacity of Hope," touch on a fundamental problem in today's American politics: It's too much about yesterday's American politics. In too many ways, it's still about Vietnam. It's still about hardhats and hippies. It's about Watergate and Iran-contra and Whitewater. It's about the past.
Barack Obama is aware of yesterday, but he is about today and tomorrow and next year. In a strong field of Democratic presidential contenders, he offers the best hope of transforming the debate and moving on to what America can be in the 21st century.
He is unlikely in many ways: He is young, only 46. He is the junior United States senator from Illinois, only a little more than three years out of the Illinois state Senate — as unlikely a forest for presidential timber as ever was. His middle name is Hussein. He spent his boyhood in Indonesia and Hawaii. His mother was a Kansan; his father was a Kenyan.
Did we mention he is black?
If America can get past all that, if America can unload its baggage and get on with the trip, there is no telling far and how fast it can go.
It's true that Mr. Obama's legislative portfolio is slim, although he has been strong on ethics reform and the disclosure of lobbyist influences. He's never managed any organization larger than his Senate staff, and he admits a weakness when it comes to paperwork and organization. The nice thing is that a president has people to do those things, and Mr. Obama has surrounded himself with a cadre of seasoned professionals. Mr. Obama can do things that better managers can't.
The toughest part of any president's job is to inspire and to lead. Think of Franklin Roosevelt and fear itself, of John F. Kennedy challenging America to go to the moon "because it is hard," or Ronald Reagan after the Challenger disaster. Mr. Obama, by virtue of his life story and his compelling gift for oratory, has that kind of capacity.
Already he has energized thousands of voters who had written off politics or never bothered to get involved. It's exciting to think of what that might mean.
"I've said only half facetiously that one of my jobs as president would be to make government cool again," Mr. Obama told our editorial board in a conference call on Friday. "And the reason is we've got to recruit a whole new generation of the best and the brightest to go into government. We're still living to some degree on the inspiration of the Kennedy era, and now those baby boomers are retiring."
We disagree with the details of some of Mr. Obama's legislative proposals, particularly his heavy reliance on insurance companies as part of an overhaul of national health policy. But we are comforted by his legislative career in Springfield and in Washington, where he worked diligently across party lines, seeking common ground and, often, finding it. He offers a welcome return to civility and cooperation.
We're afraid that wouldn't be the case with his principal opponent for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. She has been a diligent senator since her election in 2001, but she is a lightning rod. There is a difference, too, between seeking consensus and "triangulating" core principles into positions palatable to campaign donors.
And we confess to a certain "Clinton fatigue." The emergence of the former president as the Luca Brasi of the campaign trail reminds us of the worst of the Clinton years: the divisiveness and the bickering; the too-casual, if artful, blend of truth and half-truth. We're not eager for the replay.
As to John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, he is the right man at the wrong time, a star whose light is eclipsed by the tail of a comet.
Comets don't come around that often. In January of 1961, Ann Dunham Obama was six weeks pregnant with Barack Obama Sr.'s child when President Kennedy said at his inauguration that "the torch has been passed to a new generation." It's that time again.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...121FA9A750C5E018862573DC0003A07F?OpenDocument
<center>
<font size="4">St. Louis Post Dispatch Endorses Obama</font size><font size="5">
"Barack Obama: The new generation"</font size></center>
St. Louis Post Dispatch
01/26/2008
In the back and forth between Clinton and Gingrich and in the elections of 2000 and 2004, I sometimes felt as if I were watching the psychodrama of the Baby Boom generation — a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago — played out on the national stage.
Thus did Barack Obama, in his campaign book "The Audacity of Hope," touch on a fundamental problem in today's American politics: It's too much about yesterday's American politics. In too many ways, it's still about Vietnam. It's still about hardhats and hippies. It's about Watergate and Iran-contra and Whitewater. It's about the past.
Barack Obama is aware of yesterday, but he is about today and tomorrow and next year. In a strong field of Democratic presidential contenders, he offers the best hope of transforming the debate and moving on to what America can be in the 21st century.
He is unlikely in many ways: He is young, only 46. He is the junior United States senator from Illinois, only a little more than three years out of the Illinois state Senate — as unlikely a forest for presidential timber as ever was. His middle name is Hussein. He spent his boyhood in Indonesia and Hawaii. His mother was a Kansan; his father was a Kenyan.
Did we mention he is black?
If America can get past all that, if America can unload its baggage and get on with the trip, there is no telling far and how fast it can go.
It's true that Mr. Obama's legislative portfolio is slim, although he has been strong on ethics reform and the disclosure of lobbyist influences. He's never managed any organization larger than his Senate staff, and he admits a weakness when it comes to paperwork and organization. The nice thing is that a president has people to do those things, and Mr. Obama has surrounded himself with a cadre of seasoned professionals. Mr. Obama can do things that better managers can't.
The toughest part of any president's job is to inspire and to lead. Think of Franklin Roosevelt and fear itself, of John F. Kennedy challenging America to go to the moon "because it is hard," or Ronald Reagan after the Challenger disaster. Mr. Obama, by virtue of his life story and his compelling gift for oratory, has that kind of capacity.
Already he has energized thousands of voters who had written off politics or never bothered to get involved. It's exciting to think of what that might mean.
"I've said only half facetiously that one of my jobs as president would be to make government cool again," Mr. Obama told our editorial board in a conference call on Friday. "And the reason is we've got to recruit a whole new generation of the best and the brightest to go into government. We're still living to some degree on the inspiration of the Kennedy era, and now those baby boomers are retiring."
We disagree with the details of some of Mr. Obama's legislative proposals, particularly his heavy reliance on insurance companies as part of an overhaul of national health policy. But we are comforted by his legislative career in Springfield and in Washington, where he worked diligently across party lines, seeking common ground and, often, finding it. He offers a welcome return to civility and cooperation.
We're afraid that wouldn't be the case with his principal opponent for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. She has been a diligent senator since her election in 2001, but she is a lightning rod. There is a difference, too, between seeking consensus and "triangulating" core principles into positions palatable to campaign donors.
And we confess to a certain "Clinton fatigue." The emergence of the former president as the Luca Brasi of the campaign trail reminds us of the worst of the Clinton years: the divisiveness and the bickering; the too-casual, if artful, blend of truth and half-truth. We're not eager for the replay.
As to John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, he is the right man at the wrong time, a star whose light is eclipsed by the tail of a comet.
Comets don't come around that often. In January of 1961, Ann Dunham Obama was six weeks pregnant with Barack Obama Sr.'s child when President Kennedy said at his inauguration that "the torch has been passed to a new generation." It's that time again.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...121FA9A750C5E018862573DC0003A07F?OpenDocument
Re: Obama & Latinos - The Next Stage of the Race
CONGRESSMAN XAVIER BECERRA ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA
By Newswire Services
January 27, 2008
Says Obama will unite Americans to tackle challenges facing nation.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Congressman Xavier Becerra has endorsed Barack Obama for President, citing his ability to unite Americans to lead our country in a new direction. Becerra serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and as the Assistant to the Speaker of the House is the highest ranking Latino in the House.
"Senator Obama is the most qualified candidate to lead our country in a new direction," said Congressman Becerra. "Throughout his 20 years in public service, Barack Obama has united and inspired people from all walks of life and from all parties to bring change we can believe in. As war rages abroad and Americans worry about what the struggling economy means for their families, we need a leader who will tell us not what we want to hear but what we need to hear about the challenges we face. Barack Obama is our strongest candidate for president because of his great crossover appeal that spans parties and regions and his unique ability to rally the American people behind a common purpose."
"Congressman Becerra has spent his career taking on the special interests to put the American Dream back in reach for working families, and I´m grateful for his endorsement," said Senator Obama. "Xavier Becerra knows that to get things done, we must reach across the aisle and bring people of all parties together to find common ground. Xavier Becerra´s inspiring story demonstrates what is possible in America, and he will be a great help in our effort to build a broad coalition to solve the complex challenges that lie ahead."
Congressman Becerra represents the 31st Congressional District of California in the city of Los Angeles. Becerra is the son of working-class immigrants and was the first in his family to graduate from college. On the Ways and Means Committee, Becerra has worked to restore fairness and balance to the economy and to strengthen Social Security for women and minorities. Becerra is a former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
CONGRESSMAN XAVIER BECERRA ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA
By Newswire Services
January 27, 2008
Says Obama will unite Americans to tackle challenges facing nation.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Congressman Xavier Becerra has endorsed Barack Obama for President, citing his ability to unite Americans to lead our country in a new direction. Becerra serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and as the Assistant to the Speaker of the House is the highest ranking Latino in the House.
"Senator Obama is the most qualified candidate to lead our country in a new direction," said Congressman Becerra. "Throughout his 20 years in public service, Barack Obama has united and inspired people from all walks of life and from all parties to bring change we can believe in. As war rages abroad and Americans worry about what the struggling economy means for their families, we need a leader who will tell us not what we want to hear but what we need to hear about the challenges we face. Barack Obama is our strongest candidate for president because of his great crossover appeal that spans parties and regions and his unique ability to rally the American people behind a common purpose."
"Congressman Becerra has spent his career taking on the special interests to put the American Dream back in reach for working families, and I´m grateful for his endorsement," said Senator Obama. "Xavier Becerra knows that to get things done, we must reach across the aisle and bring people of all parties together to find common ground. Xavier Becerra´s inspiring story demonstrates what is possible in America, and he will be a great help in our effort to build a broad coalition to solve the complex challenges that lie ahead."
Congressman Becerra represents the 31st Congressional District of California in the city of Los Angeles. Becerra is the son of working-class immigrants and was the first in his family to graduate from college. On the Ways and Means Committee, Becerra has worked to restore fairness and balance to the economy and to strengthen Social Security for women and minorities. Becerra is a former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The Official Obama Endorsement Thread
Since so many people are coming out for him thought I'd put some of those declarations in here
Gov of Kansas will endorse Obama tomorrow.
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/01/sebelius_plans_to_endorse_obam.php
Since so many people are coming out for him thought I'd put some of those declarations in here
Gov of Kansas will endorse Obama tomorrow.
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/01/sebelius_plans_to_endorse_obam.php
Re: Obama & Latinos - The Next Stage of the Race
<font size="5"><center>
Kennedy Calls Obama </font size><font size="6">
‘New Generation of Leadership’ </font size></center>
Barack Obama with Edward Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy and Patrick Kennedy at a rally at
American University in Washington D.C. on Monday.
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: January 28, 2008
WASHINGTON — Senator Edward M. Kennedy implored Americans on Monday to “reject the counsels of doubt and calculation,” as he extended his endorsement and placed the aura of his family’s name around the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama.
“It is time again for a new generation of leadership,” Mr. Kennedy said, speaking over a crowd of cheering supporters here at American University. “It is time now for Barack Obama.”
Mr. Kennedy promised to campaign aggressively for Mr. Obama, a strong endorsement from a veteran Democratic leader that might influence some in the party’s liberal Democratic base torn between Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“We, too, want a president who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American dream and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal and who can lift our spirits and make us believe again,” Mr. Kennedy said. “I’ve found that candidate and I think you have, too.”
He praised Mrs. Clinton and the third Democratic candidate, John Edwards. “They are my friends, they are my friends, they have been my colleagues in the Senate,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Whoever is our nominee will have my enthusiastic support.”
But he said one candidate had risen above the rest. “He understands what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the fierce urgency of now,” said Mr. Kennedy, who was joined on stage by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, and her cousin, Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, who are also backing Mr. Obama.
“I stand here today with a great deal of humility,” Mr. Obama said after Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement. “I know what your support means. I know the cherished place the Kennedy family holds in the hearts of the American people.”
In a 20-minute address, Mr. Kennedy spoke effusively of Mr. Obama, who has served with him in the Senate for three years. He hailed his ability to transcend race in America, saying Mr. Obama’s candidacy could set the nation on a new course of reconciliation.
Mr. Kennedy, who associates said had grown furious at the tone of the presidential campaign, including the words and actions of former President Bill Clinton, said Mr. Obama would usher in a new era of politics. His speech was filled with references to his distaste for the bitterness and lack of bipartisanship that has infiltrated Washington.
“He will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past,” Mr. Kennedy said. “He is a leader who sees the world clearly without being cynical. He is a fighter who cares passionately about the causes he believes in, without demonizing those who hold a different view.”
Mr. Kennedy, whose endorsement was aggressively pursued by all the Democratic candidates, praised Mr. Obama’s ability to motivate a new generation of leaders. Not since his brothers, Mr. Kennedy said, has he seen a politician possess the ability to inspire.
“With Barack Obama, there is a new national leader who has given America a different kind of campaign — not just about himself, but about all of us,” Mr. Kennedy said. “A campaign about the country we will become, if we can rise above the old politics that parses us into separate groups and puts us at odds with one another.”
Mr. Kennedy is expected to head west with Mr. Obama, followed by appearances in the Northeast. Strategists see him bolstering Mr. Obama’s credibility and helping him firm up support from unions and Hispanics, as well as the party base.
Mrs. Clinton and her allies had pressed Senator Kennedy to remain neutral in the Democratic race, as he traditionally has done. Instead, the endorsement gave Mr. Obama the Kennedy charisma and connections before the 22-state showdown for the Democratic nomination on Feb. 5.
Mr. Kennedy, who called Mr. Clinton Sunday to tell him of his decision, remained uncertain of his decision as late as the middle of last week. But, according to allies, when he learned that his niece’s endorsement would appear as an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times on Sunday, he decided to bolster that with his own public embrace of the campaign at a joint rally at American University.
Trying to dilute the impact of the twin endorsements by the brother and daughter of the late president, the Clinton campaign on Sunday issued a statement of support from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor in Maryland and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.
“I respect Caroline and Teddy’s decision, but I have made a different choice,” Ms. Townsend said in her statement, adding: “At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton.”
But two years ago, Ms. Townsend’s mother, Ethel Kennedy, referred to Mr. Obama in an interview as “our next president” and likened him to her late husband.
Brian Knowlton contributed reporting from Washington and Carl Hulse from Birmingham, Ala.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/politics/28cnd-dems.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
<font size="5"><center>
Kennedy Calls Obama </font size><font size="6">
‘New Generation of Leadership’ </font size></center>
Barack Obama with Edward Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy and Patrick Kennedy at a rally at
American University in Washington D.C. on Monday.
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: January 28, 2008
WASHINGTON — Senator Edward M. Kennedy implored Americans on Monday to “reject the counsels of doubt and calculation,” as he extended his endorsement and placed the aura of his family’s name around the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama.
“It is time again for a new generation of leadership,” Mr. Kennedy said, speaking over a crowd of cheering supporters here at American University. “It is time now for Barack Obama.”
Mr. Kennedy promised to campaign aggressively for Mr. Obama, a strong endorsement from a veteran Democratic leader that might influence some in the party’s liberal Democratic base torn between Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“We, too, want a president who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American dream and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal and who can lift our spirits and make us believe again,” Mr. Kennedy said. “I’ve found that candidate and I think you have, too.”
He praised Mrs. Clinton and the third Democratic candidate, John Edwards. “They are my friends, they are my friends, they have been my colleagues in the Senate,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Whoever is our nominee will have my enthusiastic support.”
But he said one candidate had risen above the rest. “He understands what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the fierce urgency of now,” said Mr. Kennedy, who was joined on stage by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, and her cousin, Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, who are also backing Mr. Obama.
“I stand here today with a great deal of humility,” Mr. Obama said after Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement. “I know what your support means. I know the cherished place the Kennedy family holds in the hearts of the American people.”
In a 20-minute address, Mr. Kennedy spoke effusively of Mr. Obama, who has served with him in the Senate for three years. He hailed his ability to transcend race in America, saying Mr. Obama’s candidacy could set the nation on a new course of reconciliation.
Mr. Kennedy, who associates said had grown furious at the tone of the presidential campaign, including the words and actions of former President Bill Clinton, said Mr. Obama would usher in a new era of politics. His speech was filled with references to his distaste for the bitterness and lack of bipartisanship that has infiltrated Washington.
“He will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past,” Mr. Kennedy said. “He is a leader who sees the world clearly without being cynical. He is a fighter who cares passionately about the causes he believes in, without demonizing those who hold a different view.”
Mr. Kennedy, whose endorsement was aggressively pursued by all the Democratic candidates, praised Mr. Obama’s ability to motivate a new generation of leaders. Not since his brothers, Mr. Kennedy said, has he seen a politician possess the ability to inspire.
“With Barack Obama, there is a new national leader who has given America a different kind of campaign — not just about himself, but about all of us,” Mr. Kennedy said. “A campaign about the country we will become, if we can rise above the old politics that parses us into separate groups and puts us at odds with one another.”
Mr. Kennedy is expected to head west with Mr. Obama, followed by appearances in the Northeast. Strategists see him bolstering Mr. Obama’s credibility and helping him firm up support from unions and Hispanics, as well as the party base.
Mrs. Clinton and her allies had pressed Senator Kennedy to remain neutral in the Democratic race, as he traditionally has done. Instead, the endorsement gave Mr. Obama the Kennedy charisma and connections before the 22-state showdown for the Democratic nomination on Feb. 5.
Mr. Kennedy, who called Mr. Clinton Sunday to tell him of his decision, remained uncertain of his decision as late as the middle of last week. But, according to allies, when he learned that his niece’s endorsement would appear as an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times on Sunday, he decided to bolster that with his own public embrace of the campaign at a joint rally at American University.
Trying to dilute the impact of the twin endorsements by the brother and daughter of the late president, the Clinton campaign on Sunday issued a statement of support from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor in Maryland and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.
“I respect Caroline and Teddy’s decision, but I have made a different choice,” Ms. Townsend said in her statement, adding: “At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton.”
But two years ago, Ms. Townsend’s mother, Ethel Kennedy, referred to Mr. Obama in an interview as “our next president” and likened him to her late husband.
Brian Knowlton contributed reporting from Washington and Carl Hulse from Birmingham, Ala.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/politics/28cnd-dems.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
Toni Morrison Endorses Obama
<font size="5"><center>
After race-laden contest,
Toni Morrison Endorses Obama</font size><font size="4">
It was Morrison who famously dubbed Bill Clinton
America's "first black president</font size></center>
Author Toni Morrison talks during the 58th National Book
Awards in New York on Nov. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth
Wenig, file)
Posted by Scott Helman, Political Reporter
January 28, 2008 12:35 PM
Author Toni Morrison, one of the most acclaimed African-American writers in history, today announced her endorsement of Barack Obama, the first time she has publicly backed a presidential candidate.
The endorsement, unveiled on the same day Senator Edward M. Kennedy will announce his support for Obama, is particularly poignant, coming after an acrimonious campaign with Hillary Clinton in South Carolina that seemed to turn partly on race. It was Morrison, after all, who famously dubbed Bill Clinton America's "first black president," a moniker that was truly tested last week by his aggressive campaigning against Obama.
In a letter to Obama, Morrison said it was his "creative imagination" that won her over.
"In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates," she wrote. "That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom."
Morrison continued, "There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time. Good luck to you and to us."
Obama said in a statement, "Toni Morrison has touched a nation with the grace and beauty of her words, and I was deeply moved and honored by the letter she wrote and the support she is giving our campaign." For those of you counting at home, Obama, in terms of top-shelf black writers, now has Morrison and Alice Walker; Clinton has Maya Angelou.
Amid all the good news for Obama, however, Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, a former top Obama fund-raiser, is back in the spotlight: He was arrested today after federal prosecutors moved to revoke his $2 million bail. Rezko, whose ties to Obama have been an embarrassment to the Illinois senator during the campaign, is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25 on charges of fraud, attempted extortion, and money laundering.
Finally, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has a terrific piece today on Obama's relationship with the media. Read it here.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/after_raceladen.html
<font size="5"><center>
After race-laden contest,
Toni Morrison Endorses Obama</font size><font size="4">
It was Morrison who famously dubbed Bill Clinton
America's "first black president</font size></center>
Author Toni Morrison talks during the 58th National Book
Awards in New York on Nov. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth
Wenig, file)
Posted by Scott Helman, Political Reporter
January 28, 2008 12:35 PM
Author Toni Morrison, one of the most acclaimed African-American writers in history, today announced her endorsement of Barack Obama, the first time she has publicly backed a presidential candidate.
The endorsement, unveiled on the same day Senator Edward M. Kennedy will announce his support for Obama, is particularly poignant, coming after an acrimonious campaign with Hillary Clinton in South Carolina that seemed to turn partly on race. It was Morrison, after all, who famously dubbed Bill Clinton America's "first black president," a moniker that was truly tested last week by his aggressive campaigning against Obama.
In a letter to Obama, Morrison said it was his "creative imagination" that won her over.
"In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates," she wrote. "That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom."
Morrison continued, "There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time. Good luck to you and to us."
Obama said in a statement, "Toni Morrison has touched a nation with the grace and beauty of her words, and I was deeply moved and honored by the letter she wrote and the support she is giving our campaign." For those of you counting at home, Obama, in terms of top-shelf black writers, now has Morrison and Alice Walker; Clinton has Maya Angelou.
Amid all the good news for Obama, however, Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, a former top Obama fund-raiser, is back in the spotlight: He was arrested today after federal prosecutors moved to revoke his $2 million bail. Rezko, whose ties to Obama have been an embarrassment to the Illinois senator during the campaign, is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25 on charges of fraud, attempted extortion, and money laundering.
Finally, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has a terrific piece today on Obama's relationship with the media. Read it here.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/after_raceladen.html
Tampon Don throws a little hate on the endorsement. lol.
Hillary Clinton downplays Obama endorsements
Mary K. Reinhart, Tribune
Sen. Hillary Clinton today downplayed the weighty endorsements won by her rival in the Democratic presidential primary, saying a candidate’s supporters don’t define the contest.
Speaking to Arizona reporters by phone between town hall appearances in Massachusetts and Connecticut, Clinton said what matters is who’s most qualified to be president.
“We’re all proud of the people we have endorsing us,” she said. “At the end of the day, this is a contest not among our endorsers but among us as individuals.”
“I believe that I have the experience we need to make the changes we need in America.”
On the outside. On the inside she's hearing: "GOTCHA BITCH"
Over the past two days, Sen. Barack Obama has grabbed the endorsements of Sen. Edward Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, as well as author and former President Bill Clinton admirer Toni Morrison.
Obama also is coming off Saturday’s landslide primary victory in South Carolina, where he earned 55 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 27 percent.
Sen. Clinton said she’s confident she can win Arizona’s Feb. 5 primary, though a recent poll showed Obama closing the gap.
“I don’t pay much attention to polls,” she said. “I certainly think the country learned that in New Hampshire,” where she easily won the primary though polls showed her behind.
But she added that polls also show her ahead in “most of the Super Tuesday states.”
“I’m very encouraged and supported by the broad base that I have in Arizona,” Clinton said.
Arizona supporters made 100,000 phone calls Sunday and threw more than 30 house parties on her behalf, she said.
Arizona and 21 other states hold primary elections on Feb. 5. Clinton and Obama are running TV ads, sending mass mailings and making appearances here, while stumping in states from California to Florida.
Clinton stopped in the Valley last week and Obama is expected Wednesday. Bill Clinton also may make an appearance later in the week.
Before taking reporters’ questions, Sen. Clinton said she’s eager to hear what President Bush will offer in his final State of the Union address.
“I think many of us are relieved that we’re finally moving to the end of the Bush presidency,” she said.
“The state of a lot of people’s homes is one of anxiety,” she said, about the housing market, and the costs of health care and college tuition, among other things.
“I hope that the president will take more aggressive steps, that he has so far been unwilling to do.”
She briefly outlined her economic plan, including a freeze on mortgage interest rates and a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures.
-VG
Hillary Clinton downplays Obama endorsements
Mary K. Reinhart, Tribune
Sen. Hillary Clinton today downplayed the weighty endorsements won by her rival in the Democratic presidential primary, saying a candidate’s supporters don’t define the contest.
Speaking to Arizona reporters by phone between town hall appearances in Massachusetts and Connecticut, Clinton said what matters is who’s most qualified to be president.
“We’re all proud of the people we have endorsing us,” she said. “At the end of the day, this is a contest not among our endorsers but among us as individuals.”
“I believe that I have the experience we need to make the changes we need in America.”
On the outside. On the inside she's hearing: "GOTCHA BITCH"
Over the past two days, Sen. Barack Obama has grabbed the endorsements of Sen. Edward Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, as well as author and former President Bill Clinton admirer Toni Morrison.
Obama also is coming off Saturday’s landslide primary victory in South Carolina, where he earned 55 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 27 percent.
Sen. Clinton said she’s confident she can win Arizona’s Feb. 5 primary, though a recent poll showed Obama closing the gap.
“I don’t pay much attention to polls,” she said. “I certainly think the country learned that in New Hampshire,” where she easily won the primary though polls showed her behind.
But she added that polls also show her ahead in “most of the Super Tuesday states.”
“I’m very encouraged and supported by the broad base that I have in Arizona,” Clinton said.
Arizona supporters made 100,000 phone calls Sunday and threw more than 30 house parties on her behalf, she said.
Arizona and 21 other states hold primary elections on Feb. 5. Clinton and Obama are running TV ads, sending mass mailings and making appearances here, while stumping in states from California to Florida.
Clinton stopped in the Valley last week and Obama is expected Wednesday. Bill Clinton also may make an appearance later in the week.
Before taking reporters’ questions, Sen. Clinton said she’s eager to hear what President Bush will offer in his final State of the Union address.
“I think many of us are relieved that we’re finally moving to the end of the Bush presidency,” she said.
“The state of a lot of people’s homes is one of anxiety,” she said, about the housing market, and the costs of health care and college tuition, among other things.
“I hope that the president will take more aggressive steps, that he has so far been unwilling to do.”
She briefly outlined her economic plan, including a freeze on mortgage interest rates and a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures.
-VG
Re: Brzezinski Picks Obama Over Clinton
Wow. Thanks for that.
I don't think Obama is really a hawk. I do think, however, that Obama is a pragmatist who realizes that being soft on defense has been a thorn in the democrats side for quite some time; and, considering the times in which we live (forget Iraq; there is still A.Q., and others), if a democrat wants to be the next president, he/she can't <u>appear</u> or <u>be</u> weak on defense. If there is a weakness (or a perceived weakness), it will send a message to many voters who might otherwise pull their ticket; and it will send the wrong message, IMO, to A.Q., other parties in the Middle East, South Asia, the Chinese and the Russians.
Assuming underneath it all Obama prefers dialogue and compassion; you can't successfully have either from a position of weakness. Its like having a gun but nobody believes or fears you will shoot; you probably won't or if you do you'll use it in the wrong situation just to prove em wrong.
QueEx
Wow. Thanks for that.
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