“OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS Thursday May 1, 2008

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO “OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS

Thursday May 1, 2008


Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, and his wife Michelle chat as they get off a campaign charter at Indianapolis International Airport in Indianapolis, Wednesday, April 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Esteemed DUer's, please consider taking a moment (or more) to graciously participate
by posting news and announcements about the Obama campaign on this thread. You can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web. :think:

2. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU,
providing a link to the original thread :applause:

3. Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page :thumbsup:

4. Clinton supporters or “anti Obama posters please start your own “Clinton Daily News Thread”.

Get your DU-o-matic codificator (to format your posts) here
Read the Daily News Archives here

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. Obama supporters - help us get out the vote in NC -

One-Stop Early Voting is underway now in North Carolina. This unique voting process allows even people who are not registered, or who have never voted before, to register and vote all at once. We've undertaken an ambitious drive to inform as many of our supporters as possible about One-Stop Early voting, and your phone calls have been a major part of that effort. The result: the News & Observer reported that, as of last Friday, more than 121,500 people statewide had voted at one-stop locations.

Earlier in the month, North Carolina Out of State Volunteer coordinator Charlie Anderson spoke to our National Call Team about the importance of your phone calls to North Carolina:

Registered and unregistered North Carolina residents can participate in One-Stop Early Voting now through Saturday. If you live in North Carolina, you can find your One-Stop location now.

We have until the end of the week to reach as many supporters as possible and let them know about One-Stop Early Voting, as part of our effort to make one million calls to voters by the close of polls on May 6th.

It only takes a minute to get started, and One-Stop Early Voting means that your phone calls to North Carolina can translate into real votes, right now.

MAKE CALLS

[quantass]

21. .

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. NC Voters, PLEASE check your voter registration online or call your county BoE

Anecdotal reports from around the state indicate that some voters, often who registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles, are discovering that they are NOT registered to vote.

Please urge all voters in North Carolina, regardless of where or how they registered - to check their voter registration status.

Voters can either look up their registration online if they have a computer, or call their County Board of Elections office. If the voter is not registered, they can still go to an early voting site in their county, and register and vote at the same time. Time is running out - early voting is the last chance to register in person and it ends May 3.

VOTERS: Make Sure You Are Registered to Vote and That Your Vote Counts -Check Your Registration at the State Board of Elections website Look to the left hand side for the "Voter registration button"

Call your County Election Director to check your voter registration if you do not have access to a computer. It is in the phone book. They will be happy to answer your questions.

You can still register and vote during "One Stop Absentee" (Early) Voting: Apr. 17 - May 3

The North Carolina State Board of Elections website now has up to date and easy to understand information for new and current voters. Find out how to register, where to vote, locations of early voting sites and more

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. Dailykos Blogger: BREAKING: Source of deceptive NC robo-calls exposed

I've found out that this also happened in Va and Ohio

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5751417&mesg_id=5751417

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. NC Robo-calls: Hillary's Campaign Manager on board of group making calls

Well documented.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5753754

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. Just how good is an endorsement from NC Gov "Crash" "getting sued for deleting pub records" Easley?

NC's Gov "Crash" "deletes public records" "diverts $ from mental health" Easley endorses Clinton

Posted by WillYourVoteBCounted in General Discussion: Primaries
Wed Apr 30th 2008, 12:14 AM

(Link) NC Gov Easley endores Hillary Clinton - and why it may hurt Clinton Here's why I'm not surprised that someone like him would do that.(He's the outgoing DINO Gov) Destroys public records on a regular basis April 14, 2008 Stephanie Cruz - AHN Raleigh, NC (AHN) - Several media organizations on Monday filed a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Easley, accusing his administration of routinely violating the state's public records law by deleting official e-mails. The complaint was filed in Wake Cou...

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WillYourVoteBCounted/188

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. NBC reports AG: Recent Robo-Calls On Voting Info. Are Illegal

NBC reports AG: Recent Robo-Calls On Voting Info. Are Illegal

NBC 17 reports that: On Wednesday, (Attorney General) Cooper and his consumer protection team demanded that the organization Women’s Voices Women Vote stop breaking state law with prerecorded calls to North Carolina residents...
http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-04-30-0016.html

[LakeSamish706]

7. Sorry, I will Donate until my ass falls off but I don't think that you would want my ...

personality phoning potential voters.... Best of luck with it though and of course I certainly hope that we are successful come November.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. we takes what we get - thank you for supporting Obama whatever way you choose!

We each can do whatever we are able or best at.
Those donations help in many many ways.


:yourock:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. Wired News: Washington, D.C., Group Accused of High-Tech Dirty Tricks to Suppress Black Vote

Washington, D.C., Group Accused of High-Tech Dirty Tricks to Suppress Black Vote
By Sarah Lai Stirland April 30, 2008

A D.C. advocacy group called Women's Voices, Women's Vote is being accused of waging a high-tech voter suppression campaign, after voters in predominantly black districts in North Carolina began receiving automated phone calls implying that they hadn't properly registered to vote in the upcoming Democratic primary.

Page Gardner, Women's Voices, Women Vote's president has apologized for any "confusion" cause by her group's anonymous robocalls to North Carolina voters.
The controversy underscores the mounting tension in the Democratic primary race. Polling in North Carolina currently favors Barack Obama over rival Hillary Clinton for the May 6 Democratic presidential primary there. Blacks, who overwhelmingly favored Obama in primaries in Virginia and Maryland, make up about 22 percent of the population in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Census.

Voters began complaining to The Raleigh News & Observer last week that they were receiving the automated calls, which the paper reported were primarily going to black households. The calls play a 20-second message voiced by a man who calls himself "Lamont Williams."

"In the next few days, you will receive a voter-registration packet in the mail," the Williams recording said. "All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter-registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

...more at the link
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/north-carolin-1.html?cid=112878976#comment-112878976

[RainDog]

10. I posted a picture thread from the rally in Bloomington tonight

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5762113

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. Raleigh News a& Observer: Obama: Robocalls 'extremely disturbing'

(I'm running behind so news won't be so fancy tonight, partly because of these robo calls tying
me up with media and NC SBOE)

Obama: Robocalls 'extremely disturbing'
Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on April 30, 2008 -

The Barack Obama campaign said the "Lamont Williams" calls were "extremely disturbing."

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, legal counsel Bob Bauer said that recent robocalls by Women's Voices Women Vote to North Carolina voters fit "the classic model of voter suppression" by introducing confusion just before an election.

But he stopped short of saying that the calls were designed to suppress votes, noting that the group said that the calls were not meant to be misleading.

"They have said it's inadvertent and I understand it will not happen again," he said.

He said the group has pledged to cooperate with state regulators and apologized for the mistakes, so the Obama campaign does not see any reason to push for legal action.

Still, Bauer said that the Obama campaign will have "no tolerance" for voter suppression efforts in the future and is encouraging voters to report them on its Web site.

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/obama_robocalls_extremely_disturbing

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. Bush-McCain alliance more troubling than Obama-Wright association

Wed Apr 30, 5:34 PM Jed Report

Bush-McCain alliance more troubling than Obama-Wright association

File this under not at all surprising: a new NBC/WSJ poll finds that more American are troubled by John McCain's political alliance with George W. Bush than than are troubled by Barack Obama's association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"McCain will be too closely aligned with the Bush agenda. He has voted 89% of the time for the Bush admin.'s programs"
Major concern: 43%
No real concern: 27%

"It is hard to know Barack Obama’s values because he has friends like Reverend Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers"
Major concern: 32%
No real concern: 36%

Once again, the American public is way ahead of the media. I wonder why the MSM thinks that the picture on the right is a bigger deal than the picture on the left. Hmm. I wonder why...

Update: Another thought occurs to me about this poll. Perhaps we're out-thinking ourselves when we dwell on how or whether to tie McCain to the pastors who have endorsed his campaign (specifically, Ministers Hagee and Parsley).

This poll makes it clear that the elephant in McCain's living room is George W. Bush. Whenever a Republican engages in a guilt-by-association attack against Barack Obama, our strongest response is to talk about the devastating policies that have resulted from the real and meaningful political alliance between Bush and McCain.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

13. Ten Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Went On O'Reilly

Wed Apr 30, 3:55 PM Jed Report

Top Ten Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Went On O'Reilly

(links for each reason at Jed Report)

To spread the Lanny Davis message of hope and optimism.

O’Reilly agreed to pump her gas for rest of campaign.

Richard Mellon Scaife asked her to.

Outraged that William Ayers waited until September 16 to express horror at 9/11 attacks.

Tasty falafel sandwiches.

No coffee machines: Fox News staffers fetch her lattes-to-order.

She's a working-class hero and a Real American.

He’s not a pansy.

America wants to know where she stands on Jeremiah Wright.

Desperately clinging to vast right-wing conspiracy.

...more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

14. Working-class hero fails coffee machine challenge

Wed Apr 30, 3:25 PM | Jed Report

Working-class hero fails coffee machine challenge

Hillary Clinton staged a "commute" to work today to show her blue-collar bona fides. It didn't quite work out like she had planned. Now we know she hasn't pumped her own gas in years, and she can't work a coffee machine either. Oops:

VIDEO

h/t: Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog

[Arugula Latte]

29. That is hillarious ... Reminds me of Poppy Bush's amazement at supermarket scanners.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. NY Times was for Pastor Wright before NY Times was against Pastor Wright - tale of two stories

The Reverend's 15 Minutes of Fame Are Almost Over

at The Field

....The Reverend Jeremiah Wright had a good thing going. During his tenure in Chicago, his Trinity United Church of Christ attracted a diverse lot of people and did many good works with their resources and energy. Among the attendees came a young community organizer starting a family who went on to become a state and then a national senator, and penned a couple of best-selling books in which he praised the reverend for bringing him closer to faith: So far, so good.

But in recent days, the reverend “jumped the shark” with a series of public statements that – even in those that made some uncomfortable because they contained a kernel of truth – were so provocatively spoken that many observers heard them as intended to scare folks and damage the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama.

The first news organization to try and make an issue out of the reverend was not Fox News or Rush Limbaugh in 2008, but the New York Times a year prior. On March 6, 2007, the newspaper criticized Obama for “disinviting” the reverend of what it called his “popular” church to speak at the announcement of his campaign.

Then, on April 30, 2007, the NY Times hit Obama, that time not for disassociating, but for associating: “It is hard to imagine, though, how Mr. Obama can truly distance himself from Mr. Wright.”

Truth is, the witchhunt began not with videos leaked to cable news, but with the “paper of record” that poses as liberal but routinely smacks down any whiff of popular movement especially if it comes from the grassroots. It’s a sign of the Times’ progressing impotence that it could not, alone, turn Wright into a big national story. That took cable TV, YouTube and complicity by the Friends of Clinton in the news media. But it was always the plan of the pro-Clinton establishment factions of the news media to make a controversy out of Wright.

....more at The Field

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

16. Tim Russert Vs. Criticism Of Tim Russert

Tim Russert Vs. Criticism Of Tim Russert

Published April 30, 2008 Oliver Willis

NBC’s Washington bureau chief has banned Arianna Huffington appearing on any NBC shows discussing her new book because she criticized him for his obvious stupidity. Sad.

Wish someone would write a book documenting the stupidity and vapidity of:

Chris "tingly feeling up my leg" Matthews
Joe "Dead Intern" Scarborough
Pat "racist" Buchanon

Is that too much to ask? Huh?
I think we all want that.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

17. GOP Bigot Eruption: Michelle Malkin On How Obama Dares To Be Black

GOP Bigot Eruption: Michelle Malkin On How Obama Dares To Be Black

Oliver Willis April 30, 2008

Michelle Malkin made her name calling every hispanic a terrorist or declaring that it was right to intern Japanese Americans during WWII, and now she’s decided to join the rest of the bigoted GOPers in attacking Barack Obama for being black. Her latest syndicated column is titled “Jive Talk Expressk“.
The column is most of the same warmed-over nonsense about how Obama is a secret black nationalist who wants to kill us all, and it ends saying “You be trippin’, Barry.” Because he’s BLACK, you see. Be very afraid.

I just love Oliver Willis. He's on permanent book mark.

About

Oliver Willis
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Previous Locations: Deham, MA; Watertown, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Delray Beach, FL; Lauderdale Lakes, FL; Silver Spring, MD; Montego Bay, Jamaica
Full Name: Lloyd Oliver Willis, Jr.
Age: 30
Date of Birth: 12/06/77
Place of Birth: Silver Spring, MD
Blogging since: December 2000-present
Work: Web Producer for Media Matters for America

.... more about Oliver Willis at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. Looking dumb on Larry King is hard to do.. But Sheila Jackson Lee was up to the task...

This is another "blog" that I have on permanent book mark because it never disappoints.

Speaking of Surrogates

By: John Cole at Balloon Juice at 1:56 pm

You will have to bear with me today- I only got two hours sleep last night because of insomnia, so I am a bit crankier than usual today.
At any rate, Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is still a blithering idiot. Looking dumb while appearing on the same show as Larry King is quite an effort, but she was up too the task last night. The question asked of the roundtable was whether or not Obama had finally put the Rev. Wright issue to bed.

Take it away, Rep. Lee: (transcripts)

KING: OK.

Congresswoman Lee, what do you think?

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS, SUPPORTS CLINTON: Well, first of all, this is a tough position, but I think Democrats are focused on the prize. And that prize is winning in November. We have two great candidates. This is a troubling time.

But I want to applaud Senator Clinton, who really gets it. She understands that most of the Democratic primary voters from Pennsylvania to North Carolina to Indiana and on want to talk about the issues. And I commend her for the stand that she’s taken over the last 48 hours and begin to continue reaching out to voters in North Carolina and Indiana…

KING: But the question was…

JACKSON LEE: Well, I think…

KING: That wasn’t the question.

JACKSON LEE: Well, I think…

KING: The question was, do you think Obama put it away?

JACKSON LEE: Well, I think he responded as Senator Clinton responded, which is the voters want to talk about the issues.

KING: All right.

JACKSON LEE: And he addressed the question of his pastor. And that’s up to him to address that question.

I like what Senator Clinton is doing…

KING: OK. OK.

JACKSON LEE: ...and that is getting out and working with the voters.

KING: I appreciate that. The question wasn’t about Hillary Clinton.

Jamal, do you think he put it away?

It was painful to watch, and that is saying something because you expect a certain level of pain when you watch Larry King.

You can say what you want about Hillary Clinton, but it is clear to me she is no dummy, so it really sucks to have people like Sheila Jackson Lee out there speaking for her, no matter how well intentioned Rep. Lee might be. That is one of the things I hate the most about current politics- it is so unrelenting and endless that you, by necessity, have all these people out there speaking for you, whose support you need so you can’t tell them to just shut up, and quality control is just bad. I feel bad for Hillary for this, and hell, I just feel bad for every candidate who has to run for office and has to deal with this sort of stupid.

I think its great that Clinton has supporters like Sheila Jackson Lee or NC Gov "Crash" "Sued last month for destroying public records" "outgoing lameduck with no machine" Easley.

:applause:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. Two peas in a pod

Two peas in a pod

Hillary is at it again, she's shacked up with Bush McCain and the Republicans once more.
First she sides with Bush McCain on Iran, now she's with him on cutting the tax on gasoline this summer.

If you honestly believe that the 18 cent cut in the gas tax will make it down to the consumer then you're just as likely to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that BushMcCainCheney is doing a damn fine job of prosecuting the illegal war of terror on Iraq. You and I will never ever see a penny of that tax cut. It will only serve to make the greedy gas and oil companies more profits and because we will all use more gas it will hurt the environment and worsen the climate change we're experiencing.



The longer she keeps her futile quest for the nomination going, the more she shows her allegiance to corporate America and not to you and me. The poor thing can't help it if her hair color is changing, those pesky Republican roots of hers are growing out far too fast for her to hide them.

Since she and McCain agree on so many things and since she said that only they would be ready to lead on day one, maybe she should run as his Veep. We all know she'll do or say anything to stay in power.

Posted by Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. FUN: Alan Keyes Roundup!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Princess Sparkle Pony

Alan Keyes Roundup!

Just 'cuz it's fun and just 'cuz people have been saying, oh, just meanest things possible about Alan Keyes lately, why not have an Alan Keyes Roundup™ today, too?

Christian Newswire totally hearts him, wistfully remembering their watercolor memories of him as a noteworthy Obama victim, but also refer to him as "a friend and a client," so maybe they're biased.

Was poor Alan the victim of Paultards? Somebody at Reason says yes!

"Obama is no John F. Kennedy, and John McCain is no Alan Keyes," offers Investor's Business Daily, reduced to non sequiturs by unknown causes.

Comedy Central is concerned about God forsaking Alan Keyes 'n' such.

More laughing and pointing at Alan for being the biggest loser in loservania, this time from The Nation.

"It seems hard to believe now, but Keyes was once in heavy demand," the commie pinkos at The American Spectator cruelly point out.

Fun!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

22. Hoosier for Hillarity (not a spoof!) uh and OMG! unbelievable

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Hoosier for Hillarity
Your go-to blog for dreadful pro-Hillary YouTube videos strikes again!

Initially I thought this video was a parody, but I’ve confirmed that it’s not. Oh my. Please take a guess at how many cats you think she owns in the comments here.

VIDEO

p.s. I love the part at the end where she realizes John Lennon rejected the Hillary button and she wags a finger at him after re-adhering it. Comedy is golden. Tin foil is silver.

Posted by Kevin K. on 04/30/08 at 06:36 PM

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. What discount brand of Wal-Mart crack is Rove smoking?

What discount brand of Wal-Mart crack is Rove smoking?

Karl Rove in today's Wall Street Journal:

Private people like Mr. McCain are rare in politics for a reason. Candidates who are uncomfortable sharing their interior lives limit their appeal. But if Mr. McCain is to win the election this fall, he has to open up.

Americans need to know about his vision for the nation's future, especially his policy positions and domestic reforms. They also need to learn about the moments in his life that shaped him. Mr. McCain cannot make this a biography-only campaign – but he can't afford to make it a biography-free campaign either. Unless he opens up more, many voters will never know the experiences of his life that show his character, integrity and essential decency.

A biograhy-free campaign? What the fuck? McCain's entire election strategy is predicated on his war hero status. He just finished a cross-country "biography tour," where he stopped at every Christ-forsaken hamlet he's lived in over the past 70-plus years to snicker at memories of hookers past. His biography IS his campaign.

Posted by Betty Cracker at 4/30/2008 04:48:00 PM

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. Politico throws ice water in the face of Hillary's fantasy

Has anyone notice the media has switched its "personality" again?

Politico throws ice water in the face of Hillary's fantasy

by Rian Fike Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 04:44:21 PM PDT

Wow. If these guys are including this much honesty in an article, maybe the tide really has changed.

Hillary's Fantasy World.

What’s wrong with this picture?

First, Clinton does not lead Obama in the popular vote. It is a fantasy.

Second, the people she most needs to convince that this fantasy is true are the people least likely to believe it.

Let’s first deal with Clinton’s fantasy lead in the popular vote.

"I’m very proud that as of today, I have received more votes by the people who have voted than anyone else," Clinton said the day after her victory in the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.

But has she really? No. Not really. Not unless you throw out the existing rules of the Democratic Party and invent a new set of Hillary Rules.

Mad props to Roger Simon for shaving the eye-wool that the Clinton campaign is trying to pull.

Rian Fike's diary :: ::
I don't know if I have ever seen such a shameless public sore loser. Can you imagine any sport in the world where this would even be possible?

...more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. Vanity Fair: When Democrats Go Post-al

The Campaign Toll
When Democrats Go Post-al

The vicious Clinton-versus-Obama rupture at Daily Kos, the most activist site in the liberal blogosphere, reflects a party-wide split. What really rankles, as Democrats tear at one another, is the free pass they’ve given McCain—and the White House.
by James Wolcott June 2008


Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vie for the Democratic presidential nomination. Photo illustration by Darrow.

It was supposed to be a run for the roses, only to turn into the chariot race from Ben-Hur, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama grimacing like Chuck Heston down the brutal homestretch, lashing toward a multi-horse pileup. No, this wasn’t anybody’s dream finish.

After two terms of George W. Bush, which only seemed like a scarred eternity, American voters (so the scenario went) would be pining for Democratic recapture of the White House and a return to competency as a novel change of pace. Let the reclamation begin. In January 2009, the former president would pack his saddlebags and head back to his Texas ranch, secure in the knowledge of having wrecked pretty much everything there was to wreck (Iraq, the dollar, the national debt, America’s prestige abroad, the rebuilding of New Orleans, the Endangered Species Act). The president’s impromptu tap dance at the White House as he killed time waiting for a tardy Senator John McCain to arrive for his official endorsement as the Republican nominee was the perfect vaudeville symbol for the breezy, wanton disconnect of this administration from the consequences of its actions, the unsinkable cheer of its sunshine superman. Despite his dapper moves, Bush’s dragging approval numbers were proof that his old white magic had lost its spell, that his was not an aura in which it was healthy to bask. He shrivelled everything he touched. (So far 29 House Republicans have announced their retirement this cycle, one sure sign of blight.) In the electoral battle to succeed Bush, the positivity seemed lopsided: the Democrats had cornered the market on good vibrations and Pepsodent smiles, while the Republicans—apart from Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee—majored in grim tidings and sour dispositions. Poll after poll showed that Democrats were happy with their top candidates—Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama—while Republicans kept scanning the horizon for a hunk of salvation, measuring Fred Thompson for Ronald Reagan’s raiment until he went logy on them and had to be put out to graze. Even the second tier of Democratic contenders, from happy warrior Joe Biden to Dennis Kucinich, with his red-tressed, tongue-pierced, statuesque wife, seemed like a Happy Meal compared with furrowed Republican also-rans such as Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo. One by one the camera fodder dropped out of the race as the winnowing process culled the weak, the fanged, and the superfluous, the Republican field reduced until John McCain became the winner by default, the last bowling pin standing.

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is fond of repeating the political maxim “Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line,” and a halfhearted queue formed behind McCain’s candidacy despite the cranky impetuosities of a highly crafted nonconformity that grated on the Rush Limbaugh dittoheads, the Club for Growth tax-cut fanatics, and the nativists who wanted to Berlin Wall the border with Mexico to keep out the intruders causing Lou Dobbs such gastritis. Democrats had fallen in love with Obama, in heavy like with Hillary and Edwards. A born-again populist, Edwards functioned as a lubricant, a slick lining separating—and dampening the friction between—two competing iconographic surge forces (the first black presidential nominee versus the first female nominee) and drawing enough support on Daily Kos and other liberal-Dem Web sites to diffuse the animosity, competitive zeal, and gender-generational differences between the two camps. Once Edwards dropped out of the race, however, the buffer zone was removed, direct contact replaced triangulation, and the Obama and Hillary supporters faced off like the Jets and the Sharks. The rancor was disproportionate in intensity and extravagant in invective, a fervor worthy of ancestral foes. Months-old grievances seethed and erupted as if they had been bubbling for centuries in a lake of bad blood. On the most egoistic plane, it seemed like a clash of entitlements, the messianics versus the menopausals. The Obama-ites exuded the confidence of those who feel that they embody the future and are the seed bearers of energies and new modalities too long smothered under the thick haunches of the tired, old, entrenched way of doing things. The Hillarions felt a different imperative knocking at the gate of history, the long-overdue prospect of the first woman taking the presidential oath of office. For them, Hillary’s time had come, she had paid her dues, she had been thoroughly vetted, she had survived hairdos that would have sunk lesser mortals, and she didn’t let a little thing like being loathed by nearly half of the country bum her out and clog her transmission. Not since Nixon had there been such a show of grinding perseverance in the teeth of adversity, and Nixon in a pantsuit was never going to be an easy sell contrasted with the powerful embroidery of Obama’s eloquence—his very emergence on the political scene seemed like a feat of levitation. Hillary’s candidacy promised to make things better; Obama’s to make us better: outward improvement versus inward transformation. With Hillary, you would earn your merit badges; with Obama, your wings. Hillary’s candidacy was warmed-over meat loaf—comfort food for those too old or fearful to Dream.

...more at the link
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/06/wolcott200806

[grantcart]

26. Updates on Super Delegates here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=132

[grantcart]

27. DNC Jason Rae (WI) for Obama

Openly gay superdelegate Jason Rae: Obama a strong candidate against McCain



by Nick Langewis

http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/Openly_gay_Democratic_superdelegate_Jason_Rae_backs_0501.html

The nation's youngest Democratic superdelegate, despite having been heavily courted by the Clinton campaign, is backing Senator Barack Obama for President.

"It was a matter of how many young people were turning out for him," said 21-year-old Wisconsin native Jason Rae to The Guardian. "I got elected to be a voice for next generation and I see Obama really engaging with young people. In exit polls, 73% of 18-to-24-year-old Wisconsin voters supported him."

Rae believes Sen. Obama has a "strong chance" to beat Republican opponent Sen. John McCain. "His vision and his new perspective on change makes him more viable. What we have seen from Obama is that he is able to compete in places where Democrats have not always been able to."

[writes3000]

30. Great news! Another GLBTer for Obama! Thanks, grant. n/t

[grantcart]

31. He had endorsed already sorry for confusion

[grantcart]

28. DNC Joe Andrew (IN) Switches from Clinton to Obama

WASHINGTON - A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and encouraged fellow Democrats to heal the party by uniting behind the Illinois senator.


Joe Andrew, who was Democratic National Committee chairman from 1999-2001, at a news conference Thursday in his hometown of Indianapolis urged other Hoosiers to support Obama in Tuesday's primary, perhaps the most important contest left in the White House race. He also has written a lengthy letter to other superdelegates explaining his decision.

"I am convinced that the primary process has devolved to the point that it's now bad for the Democratic Party," Andrew said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

[grantcart]

32. DNC PATRICK (TX) ENDORSES OBAMA (AFL-CIO)

A Texas super for Obama


An AFL-CIO official, John Patrick, endorses the senator.

Release after the jump.



TEXAS SUPERDELEGATE ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA

31 year member of the United Steelworkers, DNC Member John Patrick Backs Obama



CHICAGO, IL -- Today, a Texas superdelegate backed Barack Obama, citing his record of standing up for working families and opposing trade deals that fail to protect American workers. The endorsement by Texas DNC Member John Patrick, who is also a 31 year member of the United Steelworkers (USW) as well as a Vice President of the Texas AFL/CIO, brings the total number of superdelegates to endorse Barack Obama to 249. Senator Obama is 283 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination.



John Patrick said, "Senator Barack Obama has spent a lifetime standing up for American workers, and he will be a crucial voice for us in the White House. Senator Obama chose a career as an organizer on the streets of Chicago, fighting for working families who lost their jobs, specifically those families in neighborhoods devastated by steel plant closings. He has consistently opposed unfair trade deals that fail to offer protection to American workers - like NAFTA. Senator Obama has a real plan to put money back in the pockets of working families by restoring the manufacturing base in America."


http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/A_Texas_super_for_Obama.html

[grantcart]

33. Obama magic number thread

Obama now at 290

With the 3 SDs that will be added on Monday from IL

It will be 287

[grantcart]

34. Obama's magic number is 290 by demconwatch and 283 by Obama.com

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5742084&mesg_id=5771596

[catgirl]

35. kick!