Democratic Pols in Hill's Back Yard Side w/Obama

Bronx politicians line up for Barack Obama

By: Anne Michaud
Published: February 1, 2007 - 3:00 pm

"Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera and Borough President Adolfo Carrion are planning an event for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a direct slap at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
A source close to Mr. Carrion says Ms. Clinton always calls to march with him in the Puerto Rican Day parade but has never sat down to hear his thoughts on policy, urban issues, Latino affairs and working together. By contrast, Mr. Obama met with Mr. Carrion last February to discuss his concerns."

full story at newyorkbusiness.com

The Nation: Obama's Strong Iraq Stance...

positions him as major anti-war candidate instead of John Edwards.

From (The Nation) :

"Obama's move could be devastating to John Edwards. Edwards has enjoyed greater netroots and (arguably) overall grassroots left support than Obama due to his economic populism and call for 40,000 to 50,000 troops to come home. But now Obama has become the first top-tier candidate to set a definite timeline for the withdrawal of the troops. And let's not forget this not-so-small fact-- he's also the only major candidate who opposed the war from the get-go.

Kos is impressed:

This isn't a wussy "stop the escalation" measure, nor some half-measure like "withdraw some troops but not all" (which appears to be the Edwards position).

Even Sirota is pleased, and that's saying something:

The fact that he's doing this is a big deal, and he should be congratulated.

Some pundits will call Obama's move a "gamble," but it seems like common sense to me. After all, American voters made it clear in 2006 that they wanted a real change in Iraq, not Stay-the-Course Lite and certainly not Stay-the-Course On Steroids."

Wisconsinites Want to Draft Obama Too

From the Fond du Lac Reporter:

MILWAUKEE — "A group of Wisconsin residents announced today the official launch of the Wisconsin DraftObama.org chapter.

The group’s goal is to send a message that a grassroots army of Wisconsinites exists to encourage and help Illinois Sen. Barack Obama run for and become the next president.

Wisconsin is the latest state to officially join the national DraftObama.org movement by formally organizing a state group. Wisconsin organizers have kicked off an all-volunteer effort to gather thousands of signatures from like-minded citizens urging Senator Obama to run."

Who's Winning the Web War?

"Obama's clicking - but not on the web"(MSNBC)

"Obama had better get a move on. When Hillary announced the other week, her campaign went live with a website they’d been working on for quite some time. It had been kept under wraps, with key players having secure access to tweak it into a state-of-the-art enterprise - which it is. Edwards’ site, with its video-based approach, is also first rate"

The Anatomy of Biden's Blunder

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy..."
Senator Joseph Biden (D) Delaware.

• Biden enters race deals with controversial comments about rivals (AP/Intl. Herald Tribune)
  
• Biden Blasts, Clinton, Obama, Edwards (Newsmax)
• The Biden Tapes (New York Observer)
• Biden Unwraps His Bid for '08 With an Ooops! (New York Times)
• Biden starts White House run with controversy (Reuters/ABCnews.com)

INSULT TO INJURY

• Bush says Obama has a long way to go (but at least he's articulate!) (New York Times)
• Bush says rising star Obama still far from White House (AFP)
• Biden says comments taken out of context (CNN)
  

THE REACTION

• Obama not offended by comments but called them "historically inacurate" (CNN)
• Fox hyperbole over Biden blunder (News Hounds)
• Defending Biden's blooper, Matthews ignores "clean" crack (News Busters)
  

THE APOLOGY

"I deeply regret any offense my remark in the New York Observer might have caused anyone. That was not my intent and I expressed that to Senator Obama." Senator Joseph Biden (D) Delaware.

• Articulate Obama forgives Biden (Chicago Sun Times)
• Biden Apoligizes to Obama for Remarks (AP/Christian Broadcasting Network)

THE SPIN (from The Daily Show)

Presidential Aspirations Even for Baby Barack

The Voice of America says :

"...he declared his goal of becoming president when he was in grade school in Indonesia more than 35 years ago.

In an interview with VOA's Indonesian Service, Obama's third-grade teacher said he wrote in a class assignment that he wanted to be president. The assignment was called, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

White Man at the New Republic Explains...

(via CBS)

Peter Beinart begins the breakdown with analysis of the black man who got the most pre-Barack White love.

"No one was blunter about this than (Colin) Powell himself. Asked in 1995 to explain his appeal to whites, he volunteered that "I speak reasonably well, like a white person," and, visually, "I ain't that black."

Barack Obama would never put it that way. But he surely understands the uncomfortable subtext behind the adoration being showered upon him by white America. Obama, too, succeeded at a prestigious white institution: Harvard Law School. He, too, is a child of immigration, able to declare in his 2004 Democratic convention speech — in words that could have come from Michael Dukakis or Joe Lieberman (but not from a descendant of slaves, without heavy irony) — that "in no other country on Earth is my story even possible." And he, too, doesn't sound or look too black. Fifteen years ago, a State University of New York political scientist named Nayda Terkildsen doctored photos of a fictitious gubernatorial candidate to make him lighter- or darker-skinned and then showed them to Kentucky focus groups. "The dark-skinned black candidate," she noted, "was evaluated much more harshly than his lighter skinned peer." Powell knew what he was talking about."

Obama To Call on Ghost of Lincoln Past for Official Announcemnt

From the Springfield Journal Register via The Chicago Sun-Times:

"Obama poised to announce at Old State Capitol in Springfield.

"Hat tip to Bernard Schoenburg of the Springfield Journal Register who reported today that Barack Obama will make his 2008 presidential bid "official" at the Old State Capitol on the morning of Feb. 10 with the Prairie Capital Convention Center backup in case of bad weather. My Sun-Times colleague Scott Fornek earlier wrote a story suggesting the Old State Capitol would be a logical place for the launch.

That will unleash the Barack Obama as Abe Lincoln narrative. Lincoln delivered his "House divided" speech at that historic spot and the announcement is on Lincoln's birthday weekend. Obama is expected to vault over to Iowa, home to the first-in-the-nation 2008 caucus, after the announcement. "

"Obama reserves Old State Capitol for day of announcement." (Bellville News Democrat)

Made-up Madrassa Story a Wake-up Call

"Sen. Barack Obama Bracing for Greater Media Scrutiny" (Newsmax.com)

"NEW YORK -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama hardly could have anticipated that the first minor media crisis of his presidential bid would involve where he went to school at age 7.

The Illinois Democrat's welcome into the world of modern campaign coverage last week offers lessons for both candidates and reporters on the marathon run until November 2008. And it's undoubtedly a sign of things to come.

Chances are "about 100 percent" that a candidate will be ruined by a story that he or she hasn't anticipated, said ABC News political reporter Jake Tapper."

(full story here)

Race Race Race

• "Barack Obama: Not Black Enough" (Front Page Magazine/Los Angeles)
• "Barack Obama May Be Too White for Blacks" (AP/ St. Petersburg Times)
• "Why Black leaders are not embracing Barack Obama" (Armstrong Williams/The Hill's Pundits)
  

Breaking News: Obama Goes to Church

From Chicago's CBS2

Congressman Backs Obama Instead of Friend Clinton

The Chicago Sun-Times says Illinois democrat Bobby Rush is backing Barack, despite the fact that the Clintons help get him where he is today.
Whew.
"Calling it "one of the most difficult decisions that I've had to make in politics," Rep. Bobby Rush said Friday he is backing Barack Obama for president -- despite Rush's long friendship with rival White House hopeful Hillary Clinton and her husband.

"Barack is a favorite son, and I'm going to be with Barack," Rush said of his fellow South Side Democrat. "I intend to work very hard with him and for him. And this challenge is going to be enormous, but I'm going to be with him. ... We come from the same neighborhood and represent the same constituency, and I'm going to be with my constituency and Sen. Obama."

Wait there's more.

"Rush said it was Clinton who called him on the night of the Illinois primary that year with the news that Rush had won the Democratic nomination for the South Side's 1st Congressional District.

"I was trying to ... get the results and everything, and he called me and congratulated me and informed me that I had won," Rush said. "It's one of the most difficult decisions that I've had to make in politics. Bill Clinton and the Clinton family are very close."

SMH.

"Rush's relationship with Obama has been more rocky. It soured when Obama waged a failed bid to oust Rush from his congressional seat in 2000. Clinton helped Rush in that race, giving a rare primary endorsement and cutting 30-second radio spots singing Rush's praises. The incumbent congressman won with 61 percent to Obama's 30 percent..."

Crouch: Obama Really Positioning for 2012

The columnist who says Obama is not black like him, also says Obama is not really planning to win the White House in 2008.

Stanely Crouch writes:

"... above all else, I think that Obama is actually positioning himself for the race in 2012, which may be an open sky of possibility if the Democrats lose in 2008. That is a defeat he would share because there is little doubt that Obama will be the second half of the ticket in 2008 if someone else becomes the presidential candidate.
By 2012, however, he should have gained experience in Washington, be an even bigger fundraiser and be perfectly ready to take down whomever the elephants have to offer."

100,000 Facebookers for Obama - and Counting

The Goal: to be "1 million storng for Barack" by February 5th. (Media 50 Group)

"Here is their milestones on the way to that goal:

100 - Same day (January 16th) Reached
1000 - (Jan 19th) Reached
10000 - (Jan 26th) Reached
100000 - (Feb 1st)
1000000 - (Feb 5th)

And here is their progress so far:

Its official…

100 in less than 1 hour…
1000 in just over 24 hours
10000 reached 6 days ahead of schedule
And as of this posting, they have 101,140 members."

Barack-star Appeal

Again from the Washington Post...

Obama's Intellect

From the Washington Post:

"Obama analyzed and integrated Einstein's theory of relativity, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to gravity, for a Law Review article that Tribe wrote titled, "The Curvature of Constitutional Space."

Full article here.

Ford Won't Endorse Obama

Soooooooo Mr. EX-congressman Ford. It was fine for you to drag Senator Obama all the way down to Tennessee to help you try to wash some of the mud off you during your reaaallllyyy nasty senate campaign last fall. Fine to use the guy with the wholesome, scholarly image, and the wife, and the daughters to lift you up after the Republicans white-womaned your a#!. Fine to try to coat your doomed efforts with a little "Barack-star-dust". Remember? The Washington Post does.











Fast forward a few months, and nooooowwww you say you have to remain neutral in the 2008 presidential race because of your consolation prize position as chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council? Dude. Come ON.

Fast forward again to election day 2008 -

Ford: "Hey Barack man, just a quick call to check in before the polls close. Need anything?"
Obama: "Texas and Florida would be nice."
Ford: "Well I don't know how they'll go but I know there are at least three votes you can count on come hell or high water...your wife's, your grandmother's and mine. Heh heh heh."

(2 minutes later)

Ford: "Hey Hillary, just a quick call to check in before the polls close. Need anything?"
Clinton: "Who is this?"
Ford: "It's Harold - hey I just wanted to say even though I had to remain neutral in public - off the record you know I voted for you right?"
Clinton: "Ickes are you on crack? Of course I know you voted for me you're my lawyer, now find out what's going on in Ohio and call me back." (Click)

Dr. Barack Wants to Do What Hillary Couldn't

At a Families U.S.A conference in Washington Senator O said:

"I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president (ME ME ME) we should have universal health care in this country"

Obama snags healthcare as main plank in platform (AP/Washington Post)

What Took You So Long?

ABC says Team Obama is now aggressively smacking down the fake Madrassa story. Too bad it took them a good five days to launch a serious counter-attack.
Wake up guys. This is the big time. Take a page from the Clinton play book.

When John Edwards was giving a speech on Jan. 15th at Riverside Church in New York
he said:
"Silence is betrayal. And I believe it is a betrayal not to speak out against the escalation of the war in Iraq. If you are in Congress and you know that this war is going in the wrong direction...it is no longer O.K. to study your options and keep your own private counsel."

He didn't even mention Hillary by name and still her camp was allllllll over it. Before Johnny could say 'Happy King Day' - Hill had Howard Wolfson accusing Edwards of being a hypocrite by talking about running "positive" campaigns and then launching "political attacks on Democrats who are fighting the Bush administration's Iraq policy."

It's called "rapid" response guys. Not we'll wait until this gets unnecessarily big response.

Time: It's a Black Thing?

full story at Time.com

State of the Union: Where's Obama?

McCain? Yes.
Clinton? Kinda.
Lieberman? Rangel? Grassley? Yes. Yes. Yes.
All of the above got some solo face-time in prime-time during Bush's State of the Union address. A political head-shot worth millions.

But the director gave the junior senator from Illinois no close-up love. All shots of Barack Obama included senators Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy and a bunch of other folks.
I'm not saying anything. I'm just saying.

CNN on the Madrassa Madness

Complete with photos of a little boy Barack - CNN does some reporting to file this report in response to a report that Obama reportedly attended a Muslim religious school.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was educated in a radical Muslim school known as a "madrassa" are not accurate, according to CNN reporting.

Insight Magazine, which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last week that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, had unearthed information the Illinois Democrat and likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.

So CNN checked with the Clinton camp:

A spokesman for Clinton, who is also weighing a White House bid, denied that the campaign was the source of the Obama claim.
(more)

Media Matters Probes Obama-Madrassa Issue

from mediamatters.org

"On The Big Story, Gibson read a statement from Obama's office, which said: "The idea that Senator Barack Obama attended some radical Islamic school is completely ludicrous. Senator Obama is a committed Christian and attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago."

• "Hillary Drops Madrassa Bomb on Obama" (FOX News)
  

Brownback, Richardson Also Giving Obama a Run for His Money

• "Richardson Touts Experience as Cure for Underdog Status" (New York Times)
• "Democrat Richarson seeks office" (BBC News)
• "Bill Richardson Joins 2008 Race" (CBS News)

• "Kansas senator announces presidential bid" (Concord Monitor NH)
• "Bio Box Brownback" (Fox News)
• "Brownback in Long-Shot White House Bid" (ABC News)
  

The Clinton Cometh

...reaction to political powerhouse's decision to run (AP/New York Newsday)

Obama: "Senator Clinton is a good friend and a colleague whom I greatly respect. I welcome her and all the candidates, not as competitors, but as allies in the work of getting our country back on track." _ Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who also is running for president."

Candidates In, Potential First Ladies Out (America's Next First Lady)

The Power of O

Oprah Winfrey - philanthropist, media mogul, billionaire ... king maker?

Can Oprah's clout put Obama in the White House? (scrippsnews.com)
Forbes: Oprah Richest Woman in Entertainment (10News.com)
20 richest women in entertainment (MSNBC)

Obama's Star on the Rise in Hollywood

According to the Los Angeles Times:

"Take the speculation that began to swirl around entertainment industry mogul David Geffen this week when Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to look into a presidential run.

Geffen's name surfaced immediately as one of Hollywood's early major supporters of the young senator, a significant snub to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) possible presidential bid. Although Geffen — once a powerful Clinton ally — has not yet spoken publicly on the matter, his longtime friend Arianna Huffington believes the message is clear: "David Geffen has already declared for Obama, and many other Hollywood power brokers, who are not ready to go public yet, are making it known in private that they are in the ABH (Anyone But Hillary) camp," Huffington wrote recently in a Los Angeles Times column."

Poll: Obama Leads Clinton in New Hampshire

...but Edwards leads them both in Iowa. (Lifenews.com)

Early NH Poll Puts Obama and McCain in The Lead (All Headline News)
New Poll Has Barack Obama Leading Hillary Clinton (watch CBS2 Chicago)

and yet another poll - Shows Senator Clinton and Ex-Mayor Giuliani Lead '08 Picks (All Headline News)

ABC Asks "Who the Hell is Barack Obama?"

And MediaMatters asks 'Who the Hell is Jake Tapper?'

Barack Iowa Bound

Hold please, for Senator Obama (Radio Iowa)

"Illinois Senator Barak Obama has begun telephoning key Iowa Democrats as he prepares to seek the Democratic party's presidential nomination... Obama talked with Mike Gronstal, the Democratic Leader of the Iowa Senate.

"I also talked with him last week and (Obama) called me yesterday to let me know he had filed his papers," Gronstal says. "I told him Iowa is a place where Iowa Caucus attenders are very studious about their job of picking a presidential nominee." Gronstal told Obama he would be welcome to speak privately with the 30 Democrats who serve in the Iowa Senate."

Barack Really This Unknown?

U.S. News and World Report comes up with maybe two things we didn't know about Barack Obama on its list of "Ten Things You Didn't Know About Barack Obama."

Obama Forms Committe, Sends Press into Overdrive

• "Obama Takes First Step Towards Presidential Bid" (Watch story on CBS2 Chicago)

• "Obama takes first step in White House bid" (Chicago Tribune)

• "Obama takes first White House step" (AP/Time)

• "Who does Barack Obama think he is?" (Guardian Unlimited - UK)

• "The skeptics take a turn: Reasons why Barack Obama will not be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008" (Chicago Tribune)
  

Obama Takes First Step in Presidential Run

Dear Friend, As you may know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008. Running for the presidency is a profound decision - a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone - and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country. I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago. But as I've spoken to many of you in my travels across the states these past months; as I've read your emails and read your letters; I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics. So I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need. The decisions that have been made in Washington these past six years, and the problems that have been ignored, have put our country in a precarious place. Our economy is changing rapidly, and that means profound changes for working people. Many of you have shared with me your stories about skyrocketing health care bills, the pensions you've lost and your struggles to pay for college for your kids. Our continued dependence on oil has put our security and our very planet at risk. And we're still mired in a tragic and costly war that should have never been waged. But challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions. And that's what we have to change first. We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans. This won't happen by itself. A change in our politics can only come from you; from people across our country who believe there's a better way and are willing to work for it. Years ago, as a community organizer in Chicago, I learned that meaningful change always begins at the grassroots, and that engaged citizens working together can accomplish extraordinary things. So even in the midst of the enormous challenges we face today, I have great faith and hope about the future - because I believe in you. And that's why I wanted to tell you first that I'll be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee. For the next several weeks, I am going to talk with people from around the country, listening and learning more about the challenges we face as a nation, the opportunities that lie before us, and the role that a presidential campaign might play in bringing our country together. And on February 10th, at the end of these decisions and in my home state of Illinois, I'll share my plans with my friends, neighbors and fellow Americans. In the meantime, I want to thank all of you for your time, your suggestions, your encouragement and your prayers. And I look forward to continuing our conversation in the weeks and months to come. Sincerely, U.S. Senator Barack Obama

Obama Announcing on Oprah This Week?

A well connected "tipster" has Taegan Goddard, speculating about an official statement from the senator on Wednesday.

Political Wire:
"The Oprah schedule for Wednesday, January 17 says to "check back later" for more details on the show. Since all shows are taped in advance, this suggests something is up."

And this was on CBS2 Chicago's website before it was yanked off later.
Barack Obama will reveal his intentions on a possible presidential run on the Oprah Winfrey show this week. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports ...

McCain Yes, Obama No on Troop Surge

WATCH the two senators square off over Iraq on CBS' Face the Nation.

• Bush plan for Iraq swells '08 intrigue (New York Times)
• Obama, McCain: 2 War Views (Chicago Tribune)

Another Money Man for Team Obama

Louis Susman, seen here in the Chicago Tribune when he was raising nearly a quarter billion dollars for the Kerry campaign in '04, is now on board the Obama train.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

"If you want to be president of the United States, he is the one you want to call before you even talk it over with your own mother. Louis Susman is his name. He lives in Chicago. And at this moment, he is ready to do whatever Illinois Sen. Barack Obama needs him to do to take the White House in 2008. If Obama is running (and he is), then Susman will be pivotal to raising the cash...
How much money did Susman raise for Kerry? A bundle: $247 million. A vacuum cleaner was how someone once described him for a 2005 Tribune article, saying Susman was able to ''Hoover'' money from ''deep pockets.''

Team Obama Taking Shape

So says the Chicago Tribune. The Trib lists
David Axelrod as the senator's right hand man.

Recently the long time political strategist was advising the new Governor of New York. Axelrod also spent time in John Edwards' camp in 2004. (Meanwhile, it seems his son was busy getting into court side fights with NBA players' wives. But I digress.)

There's also Axelrod's business partner David Plouffe who is listed as likely campaign manager.

Julianna Smoot, fund raiser extraordinaire and another veteran of Edwards '04 will reportedly be finance director.

Pollster Paul Harstad (left) seen below in a picture from his firm's website with Sen. Obama and Senator Ken Salazar...has apparently been tapped to reprise his '04 role.


And of course there's Michelle Obama... America's Next First Lady?

Barack and the Black Community

Blacks appear lukewarm on Barack Obama presidential bid (The Louisiana Weekly)

"(Taylor Media Services) It could be because he has no history in the Civil Rights Movement or because it appears he is being promoted by the white media. Regardless, several recent reports suggest that the presidential ambitions of Black Illinois senator Barack Obama is receiving only lukewarm support among other Blacks.

Radio talk show host George Wilson concluded recently that based on views expressed by his listeners, Obama is "not getting as much of an enthusiastic send-off from black people as he is from whites."

Sharpton Asks Where's the Obama Beef? (New York Press)

"Right now we're hearing a lot of media razzle dazzle," Sharpton said. "I'm not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we'll find out if it's just fat or if there's some real meat there."

Update: 1/15/07

"Regular" Black Folks Split on Obama (Chicago Sun-Times)

Black Leaders Wary of Obama (Newsmax.com)

Obama Announcement Imminent?

The blogs are abuzz that Senator Barack Obama will officially declare he'll run for president very soon.
Will he make history on Monday? (What would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 78th birthday)

Political Insider: "There is growing speculation in Democratic political circles that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will announce his presidential intentions on Martin Luther King Day. That timing would certainly highlight the historic nature of his candidacy."

Draft Obama Site: Genuinely Grassroots?

A keen-eye'd New York Observer peeped the very polished steez over at Obama4America.com. The article suggests the site is not so much a pure expression of the power of the people as a project of professional political operatives.

"Among the numerous unofficial "draft" Barack Obama websites that have been popping up lately, one struck me as particularly professional looking: Obama4America.com.The company that created the website, it turns out, is registered to Joel Berman, whose email address is for a California-based company called Catapult Strategies. That's the company co-founded by Howard Dean's former campaign manager Joe Trippi, who now works there "on a project-by-project basis," according to his bio.I called Berman to ask whether the website was part of some potentially more involved relationship with Obama, but after I introduced myself, he hurried me off the phone. (He said he was going into a meeting and would call me back.)"

Obama's Primary Concern

• Illinois House Speaker wants to aid Obama by changing primary date (AP)
• Edwards backer: Don't give Obama Advantage (Bloomington Pantagraph)
• Obama may get boost with earlier primary (Lincoln Courrier)
• To get in dance Illinois needs better date (Chicago Sun-Times)
  

Daily Show Obsesses about Obama Obsession

Presidential-Run Prep

• Hillary, Obama Load Up (New York Observer)
• Senator Barack Obama Appears on Larry King Live (CBS2 Chicago)
• Playing President in the Senate (Time)
• No Vieira Softballs for Stone Cold Barack Obama (NewsBusters)
• Morris: Obama can be whatever he wants to be (Salem Statesman Journal)

Some Actual Work Gets Done in Senate

"WASHINGTON Jan 11, 2007 (AP)— Potential presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama are joining with newly independent Sen. Joe Lieberman on a plan they say would reduce annual global-warming gases by two-thirds by mid-century."

Climate Bill Sets Stage for Debate in Congress (ABC News)

Chillin' in Chicago with Conan

Cooped Up in Coach

Stella's Column (Chicago Sun-Times)
"THAT'S CLASS! U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were spotted seated in coach for the eight-hour trip back from their Hawaii vacation. This is one smart couple! ... They are on the cover of the February issue of Ebony, hitting newsstands Monday. Michelle's birthday is Wednesday."

americasnextfirstlady.com

Obamas on Cover of Ebony

Senator Barack and Michelle Obama: America's Next First Couple? (BlackNews.com)
February Ebony: Barack and Michelle Obama (skepticalbrotha)
Ebony: America's Next First Couple? (America's Next First Lady)

Obama Makes a Splash

Barack Obama: Beach Babe (WISN TV Milwaukee)
Beach photo suits Obama just fine (Chicago Sun-Times)
Obama Uncovered (America's Next First Lady)
Carl Cameron Uses Photo of Barack Obama on the Beach in an Entirely Unrelated Story (News Hounds)

Barack: I was first on Iraq!

The junior senator from Illinois takes the opportunity do a little delineating between himself and the competition. Obama sent out a little e-reminder that he NEVER wanted war in Iraq....unlike a certain other potential presidential candidate- who also happens to be a former first lady.

From: barackobama.com

"As the New Year approaches, we are told that the President is considering the deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq in the desperate hope of subduing the burgeoning civil war there.

This is a chilling prospect that threatens to compound the tragic mistakes he has already made over the last four years."

"In 2002, I strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq (Unlike unsaid senator who voted to send troops into Iraq) because I felt it was an ill-conceived venture which I warned would "require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undermined cost, with undetermined consequences." I said then that an invasion without strong international support could drain our military, distract us from the war with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and further destabilize the Middle East."

And there's more...

"As I said more than a month ago, while some have proposed escalating this war by adding thousands of more troops, there is little reason to believe that this will achieve these results either. It's not clear that these troop levels are sustainable for a significant period of time, and according to our commanders on the ground, adding American forces will only relieve the Iraqis from doing more on their own. Moreover, without a coherent strategy or better cooperation from the Iraqis, we would only be putting more of our soldiers in the crossfire of a civil war."

This missive also comes after former North Carolina senator John Edwards - who has just officially announced he's running for president- staked his position on the Iraq issue.

Getting more interesting.

Obama, Edwards take Iowa

While Hillary Clinton was busy Christmas shopping, Barack and John E. horn in on voters in Des Moines (About: News and Issues)

John Edwards 22%
Barack Obama 22%
Tom Vilsack 12%
Hillary Clinton 10%
Al Gore 7%
John Kerry 5%
Wesley Clark 4%
Dennis Kucinich 4%
Joe Biden 1%
Evan Bayh 1%
Bill Richardson 1%
Undecided 11%

Rezko Stench Wafts Through Again

• Another link to shady influence peddler uncovered (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Five week internship will bring five months (or more) of questions about propriety. (Chicago Tribune)
• Obama office intern linked to Rezko (Bellville News Democrat/AP)
• Obama Intern Had Ties to Rezko (Daily Southtown)
  

To: Barack. From: N.H. Merry X-Mas

• Obama and Clinton Neck and Neck in N.H. (The Boston Globe/AP)
  

Obama Backlash and Black-lash

• Lynn Sweet says the honeymoon's over (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Gloves are off (Atlanta Daily World)
• Stanley Crouch says Obama off-Black (New York Daily News)
  
• Doing a double take on Barack (Kansas City Star)
  

Happy Holidays from the Obamas

Photo e-five fingered from
America's Next First Lady.

Barack O. Bomber? The McLaughlin Group

Grumpy old pundits argue over Baramma Obammer. Fun times.

Hillary Hearts Barack and Vice Versa

Barack's Black Woman Bounce

"America's Next First Lady" says:
More reasons for Bill and Hill to worry about team Obama.
From the Dec. 25th 2006 issue of Newsweek:

" Another African-American woman in Congress, who asked not to be identified for fear of offending the Clintons, says, "If her (Hillary Clinton's) base is black women, it vanishes down to zero" if Obama gets in. The fact that Obama is married to an African-American woman (Michelle Obama, a vice president of the University of Chicago Hospitals) is critically important to this constituency."

And what else do we know about this constituency? High-profile Democratic strategist and usually dead-on all around political guru Donna Brazile (more on this First Lady of her field later...) said in Essence magazine that black women are:

"the most loyal and consistent voters in American politics. Without us, there would be no Senator... Hillary Clinton of New York."

And now it can be extrapolated that without them perhaps there will be no President Hillary Clinton of the United States.
The Bill/Hill picture gets even bleaker when you throw in an Obama endorsement from Queen Oprah. Once the big "O" speaks, Hillary can kiss at least 14 million crucial votes good-bye. That sum is the number of African American women who will "vote Michelle", plus their menfolk's ballots - which you can bet will also be marked for Obama...or else.

And who says the race isn't about America's Next First Lady?

The Hotness that is Barack

CNN Plays Name Game

Blase about Obama

• Voters are gullible (Christian Science Monitor)
  
• Same ol' same ol' from Obama (NRO via CBS)
• Barack a liberal wolf in centrist sheep's clothing (NY Sun)
• Illinois senator a not ready for prime time player? (U.S. News and World Report)

Draft Obama TV Spot

Obama hasn't said he's running yet. But just in case...

Fuel to the Fire

• If Even George Will Says Run, You Should Run (Washington Post)
• Only McCain raised more than Obama's $1 mil in small donations (AP/FOX)
• Hawaii wants homie to run (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
  

The New Hampshire Afterglow

• Brit Smitten With Obama (BBC)
• Maureen Dowd, Obama and Clinton, Race and Gender (New York Times via Rozius)
• Howie Carr calls Obama's speech "inane pap" (The Boston Globe)
  

Barack Obama on Monday Night Football

Obama's "Special Announcement"

Obama in New Hampshire

• Obama's magic (Salon)
• Obama Fence Fatigue Shows in New Hampshire (America's Next First Lady)
• Obama takes first steps in New Hampshire (Washington Post)
• Obama makes sparkling New Hampshire debut: but some Democrats want more substance when he returns (MSNBC)s
• Senator Obama has good first date in key U.S. presidential primary (AP/Intl. Herald Tribune -France)
• New Hampshire makes him hot (Chicago Sun-Times)
  
• Obama Offers Flavor of Potential Campaign (New York Times)
  

Rivalry with Clinton? What Rivalry?

(Illustration by Stanford Kay for Newsweek

• Dems deny Clinton-Obama rivalry (UPI)
• Senator Obama Offers Kind Worlds for Hillary Clinton (FOX)
• A day at the races (Guardian Unlimited

It's Cold in Chicago, Nothing To Do But Stay in and Write

• Maybe it's time for Obama to run... (Chicago-Sun Times)
  
• Three reasons Barack Obama should NOT run for president (Chicago Daily Southtown)
• Obama, Durbin encourage court security upgrades (CBS2 News)
  

Visiting Hallowed Ground (New Hampshire)

• Obama Making First Stop in New Hampshire (Washington Post)
• Obama says 'internal clock' kept him from NH, until now... (WQAD/AP)
  

Race Matters

• U.S. Senator Barack Obama and the One-Drop Rule (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Obama seeks to settle racial doubts (MSNBC)
  

Barack on Iraq

• Obama on Iraq: Setting the Record Straight (TMP Cafe)
  
• Barack Obama, Not Hillary, Real Anti-War Candidate (Human Events)
• Sen. Obama: Iraq withdrawal should begin in 2007 (CNN)
• Obama's Iraq manifesto (Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times)
• Obama's Iraq Plan, Trouble on the Border (NPR )
  

San Francisco Radio Host Calls Obama "Halfrican"

Audio clip and transcript from Media Matters:




(pic five fingered from 1010wins.com)

From the December 4 edition of KSFO's Sussman, Morgan & Vic:

MORGAN: Senator Obama, who is, as you call, a 'Halfrican' --

SUSSMAN: Halfrican and, again, his father was -- his father was from Kenya, his mother's white. OK, now, I have nothing with mixed -- nothing against mixed-race people but, my point is, when this guy stands in front of a black audience, pretending like he was born and raised in the hood, and he can identify with their problems, he doesn't allow -- he is not, in my opinion -- 'cause my opinion is your average white guy -- he is not allowed to wear the African-American badge because his family are not the descendants of slaves, OK? He can't identify with the discrimination and the slavery and all of that that's gone into these black families for generations; he's a kid who was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth in a white family in Hawaii, OK? You wanna call me names for saying this? Go right ahead. I'm just telling you what the guy is.

MORGAN: Well --

TOM BENNER (aka "Officer Vic," KSFO morning traffic reporter): And you're not making this up. I mean, it's documented, for goodness sake. You can look it up.

SUSSMAN: I'm not making this up, so I just -- I get offended and I know I have many black friends who get offended when he stands in front of that black audience talking like he's from the hood, born and raised, and I can -- can identify with all of their issues. He can't!

MORGAN: Well, and guess what? It's working. It's working big-time.

The Hussein Game

• Barack and News Media Hide His Middle Name (The Conservative Voice)
• Obama = Osama (Accidental Blogger)
• Obama/New Hampshire: On being Barack Hussein Obama. In his own words. (Chicago Sun-Times/Lynn Sweet)
• Let them mock his name...NOW (TMPCafe)
  

Stumping in Clinton's Back Yard

• Sen Barack Obama Speaks at NYC Hotel (1010 Wins)
• Barack Obama Comes Praises Sen. Clinton (Washington Post)
• Dreaming of Obama, (New York Magazine)
  

Barack Obama on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1)

The Smoking Gun

• Did Obama Inhale? (North Carolina Votes Blog)
• Smoking with Barack Obama (Disarranging Mine)
• How Smoking Helps Obama: Where's the Smoke (The New Republic)
• Up in Smoke, Obama's Vice (Rolling Stone)
• Obama to take aids test but what about his smoking habit? (Christian Bloggers)
  

A Liberal Democrat Walks into an Evangelical Church...

• Barack Obama's Lake Forest stop (OCRegister)
• Obama Speaks From The Pulpit (AlexWhalen.com)
• Christianity morality can help stop AIDS, but not alone, Obama says (Associated Baptist Press)
• Now this by Barack Obama (speech at AIDS conf) Schenck Thoughts
• Trend Setters or Sell Outs: Obama, Warren, and Brownback (Town Hall)
• Obama converts evangelicals to Democratic cause (The Independent - London)
  

World Aids Day

Barack Obama - A message on World Aids Day. By 'World Aids Day '- Barack Obama Dec 2, 2006, 04:33

Dear Friend,

AIDS is a story often told by numbers. 40 million infected with HIV. 5 million just last year. 12 million orphans in Africa. 8,000 deaths and 6,000 new infections every single day. In some places, 90% of those with HIV do not know they have it. And we just learned that AIDS is set to become the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide in the coming years.

On this World AIDS Day, please consider supporting one of these organizations or a local group and join the fight against AIDS.

The Global Fund
http://jointheglobalfund.org/

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
http://www.pedaids.org/

YouthAIDS
http://YouthAIDS.org/

Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Barack Obama

Chicago's Ch. 7, Obama to Announce in January

• Obama close to decision on presidential run (Ch. 7 Chicago)
  
• The Daily Troika: Obama's Secret Meet (National Journal's Hotline)

Clinton's Worst Nightmare

• Will Obama force Clinton's enter early? (MSNBC)
• Hillary Clinton's primary problem (MSNBC)
• Hllary scared of Obama? (National Journal's Hotline)
  

Pimpin' All Over the World

• Obama meets with Ludacris (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Michelle Distracts Oprah while Bahm-Bahm Gets His Meet on with Luda (First Lady File)

Evanglicals, Clintons, and Bloggers. Oh my.

• Famed Pastor Defends Invitation to Obama (Forbes)

• Clinton versus Obama: Is there any difference? (MSNBC)

• Websites try to persuade Obama to run for president (AP)

Australia's ABC on Obama

U.S. Presidential Race Kicks Off (ABC Online)

KIM LANDERS: White House hopefuls like Democrat Senator Barack Obama are testing the political waters as the presidential campaign for 2008 gets underway.

BARACK OBAMA: You know, I'm not in an enormous rush. I think these are the decisions that you try to make sure that you have all the information you need, and that you know what's in your gut and what's in your heart.

KIM LANDERS: It's already clear that the US involvement in Iraq will drive the presidential race. Barack Obama has opposed the war from the outset, and he's now calling for a staged withdrawal.He hasn't decided whether to seek the Democratic nomination for President, but the African American Senator is being egged on by the likes of Oprah.Fellow Democrat Maxine Waters regards Barack Obama as the future of her party
.MAXINE WATERS: Well, I mean, he is the rock star of politics.

CNN Interview

• Sen. Obama: Iraq withdrawal should begin in 2007 (CNN)

Fight Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Fights Back

• Obama, Edwards to speak to Wal-Mart critics as debate heats up (WQAD)
• Sen. Obama: You Gotta Pay Your Workers Enough (WLTX)
• Former Senator Johan Edwards Turns to Wal-Mart for PlayStation3 (PRNewswire)
  

oops.

• Obama Land Deal Clouds Senator's Image (NPR)
• Internet Editor Requests Criminal Investigation Into Obama-Rezko Deal (PRNewswire)
  

Yes. No. Maybe.

• Clooney: Obama Didn't Drop Presidential Bomb (TMZ)
• Obama Needs "a Little Bit More Time" to Decide on '08 ABC