Thursday, September 06, 2007

Oprah Needs To Hit The Campaign Trail





Howard University--Dr. Oprah Winfrey Speaks






Beating Hillary Clinton May Take Act of God -- or Oprah TheStreet.com At summer's end, Clinton is several lengths ahead of her Democratic peers, Obama seems stuck in second place ... she has millions of loyal viewers in an important demographic -- women in their 20s to 50s -- a demographic that's crucial for Clinton. Her support could propel Obama. George W. Bush got the Oprah boost in 2000 to after appearing on her show -- a bounce of about 12 points in national polls. ....... Al Gore .... He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Price, which will be announced on Oct. 12

If Oprah really wants to help Barack Obama, a fundraiser is not going to cut it. She has to hit the campaign trail. She has to crisscross the country. She has to travel the South.

It is time for the blacks and Hispanics in America to stop acting like it is not a big deal that Barack is about to become President Of The United States. If the black community misses this chance, it might be decades before another opportunity knocks on the door. The time is now.

Hillary Clinton becoming president breaks the glass ceiling. Barack Obama becoming president breaks the concrete ceiling.

After Oprah hits the trail, Hillary's double digit national leads turn into single digit ones. That is the power of Oprah, to be unleashed.


Barack The Glass Walls, Ceilings, Smash 'Em

Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Fox, Barack, Islam
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela

Oprah Winfrey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest rated talk show in television history ..... the richest African American of the 20th century .... the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years ..... the most influential woman in the world .... parents were unmarried teenagers ..... spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her grandmother ..... At age six, Winfrey moved to an inner city ghetto in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother ...... was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine ...... Like many teenagers at the end of the 1960s, Winfrey rebelled, ran away from home and ran the streets. When she was 14, she became pregnant, but lost the baby shortly after birth. ...... placed second in the nation in dramatic interpretation .... At age 18, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. ..... the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV. ....... What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humor and, above all empathy. ...... talk show as a group therapy session ..... a fond but realistic assessment of her own cultural and religious roots ...... In 1993 Winfrey hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred million. ....... Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen. ...... Winfrey experienced a 24-hour simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left alone in the woods. ...... at the announcement of her future weight loss book (to be co-authored with her personal trainer Bob Greene), it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken the record for the world's highest book advance fee, previously held by former U.S. President Bill Clinton for his autobiography My Life ....... In 2002 Fortune called O, the Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in the industry ...... Oprah.com averages more than 68 million page views, more than four million users per month, and receives approximately 20,000 e-mails each week ...... Winfrey initiated “Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List,” through her show and website, to help track down accused child molesters. Within the first 48 hours, two of the featured men were captured. ...... a $55 million, three-year contract with XM Satellite Radio ..... her 42 acre (170,000 m²) ocean and mountain view estate ..... Winfrey was at a party the previous owners were throwing and fell so in love with the estate that she was reported to have purchased it by writing a personal check for $50,000,000 USD, although it was not for sale. ....... Winfrey and her partner Stedman Graham have been together for over 20 years. ..... I never had children, never even thought I would have children. ..... Winfrey, who will teach a class at the school via satellite, plans to spend much of her retirement in a house she is building on the campus where she plans to use the same dishes, sheets, and curtains that the students do. ...... Oprah told Lisa Marie that her grandmother's last name was also Presley .... Her genetic make up was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African. She is part Native American (about 8% according to the test) and East Asian (about 3% according to the test). ....... Prior to meeting Graham, Winfrey's love life was a lot less stable. A self-described promiscuous teen who was a victim of sexual abuse ...... In 1995 Winfrey herself confessed to drug use. ..... I did things in my 20s that I was ashamed of, I did things I felt guilty about ....... “I always felt that the drug itself is not the problem but that I was addicted to the man.” ....... Otey recalled. “She told me she was breaking up with me because she didn't have time for a relationship. We both sat there and cried. ..... Winfrey's promiscuous and rebellious past ..... That man was the most fun romance I ever had ..... I'd had a relationship with a man for four years. I wasn't living with him. I'd never lived with anyone—and I thought I was worthless without him. The more he rejected me, the more I wanted him. I felt depleted, powerless. At the end I was down on the floor on my knees groveling and pleading with him ....... on September 8, 1981, she wrote a suicide note to best friend Gayle King instructing King to water her plants ....... such emotional ups and downs gradually led to a weight problem ....... I needed everyone to like me, because I didn't like myself much. So I'd end up with these cruel self-absorbed guys who'd tell me how selfish I was, and I'd say “Oh thank you, you're so right” and be grateful to them. ....... “I've told nearly everything there is to tell. All my stuff is out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please.” ...... Born in rural poverty, then raised by a mother on welfare in the ghetto, Winfrey became a millionaire at age 32 when her talk show went national. ..... By 1994 the show's ratings were still thriving and Winfrey negotiated a contract that earned her nine figures a year. ..... the first black woman billionaire in world history ...... Winfrey is worth over $1.5 billion, as of September, 2006 ..... has overtaken Ebay CEO Meg Whitman as the richest self-made woman in America ...... In July of 2007, it was reported that Winfrey was the highest paid TV entertainer in the United States during the past year. She earned an estimated $260 million during the year. ....... one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, 2006, and again in 2007. ....... the only person in the world to have made all five lists. ..... both the most influential woman and the most influential black person of her generation ..... "America's most powerful woman" .... In 2003 Winfrey edged out both Superman and Elvis Presley to be named the greatest pop culture icon of all time by VH1. ...... the world's most powerful celebrity in both 2005 and 2007 ...... She is the top alpha female in this country. She has more credibility than the president. Other successful women, such as Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart, had to be publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Even Condi has had to play the protegé with Bush. None of this happened to Oprah — she is a straight ahead success story. ...... Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope. ...... the most powerful woman in the world .... anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. ..... As a woman, she has wielded an unprecedented amount of influence over the American culture and psyche…There has been no other person in the 20th century whose convictions and values have impacted the American public in such a significant way. ...... she has the power to cause enormous market swings and radical price changes with a single comment. ..... In 2005 Winfrey was named the greatest woman in American history as part of a public poll as part of The Greatest American. She was ranked #9 overall on the list of greatest Americans. ...... 49 million U.S. viewers see her talk show weekly ...... airs in 117 countries ..... the warmth, intimacy and personal confession ...... in the 1980s where for the entire hour, members of the studio audience stood up one by one, gave their name and announced that they were gay. Also in the 1980s Winfrey took her show to West Virginia to confront a town gripped by AIDS paranoia because a gay man living in the town had HIV. ........ "You know what I'm tired of", replied Winfrey, "heterosexual males raping and sodomizing young girls. That's what I'm tired of." ...... early 21st century gays coming out of the closet younger and younger and gay suicide rates plummeting ....... Winfrey's "therapeutic" hosting style ...... public confession as a form of therapy ..... "Today, no truly epochal moment in the history of the Republic occurs unless it is validated by her presence. ....... By confessing intimate details about her weight problems, tumultuous love life, and sexual abuse, and crying alongside her guests, Time magazine credits Winfrey with creating a new form of media communication known as "rapport talk" as distinguished from the "report talk" ....... "Oprahfication" of politics by noting "Oprah-style debates" and Bill Clinton's empathetic speaking style ....... the man who brought Oprah-style psychobabble and misty confessions to politics ....... Winfrey made fat sexy, elegant — damned near gorgeous - with her drop-dead wardrobe, easy body language, and cheerful sensuality ..... Being recognized by Winfrey often means a million additional book sales for an author. ..... Oprah's Book Club is so influential that, when she selected his memoir Night in 2006, just a few months later Time magazine named author Elie Wiesel as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet. ........ more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess—an icon of church-free spirituality ...... a thousand years from now, a religion known as "Oprahism" exists. ..... audience is 75% female ..... "What would Oprah do?" ..... MBC 4, an Arab satellite channel, centered its entire programming around reruns of her show because it was drawing record numbers of female viewers in Saudi Arabia ...... In 2006, Nathanial S. Trotter, a man from Denver, started a campaign to make Oprah, Queen of America. .... behind the scenes Winfrey personally donates more of her own money to charity than any other show-business celebrity in America ...... In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million ..... put 250 African-American men through college ...... took her staff and their families (1065 people in total) on vacation to Hawaii in the summer of 2006 ..... Winfrey invested $40 million and much of her time establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg in South Africa. ...... I once did a show titled Is War the Only Answer? In the history of my career, I've never received more hate mail-like 'Go back to Africa' hate mail. I was accused of being un-American for even raising the question." ........ A February 2003 series Winfrey did in which she showed clips from people all over the world asking America not to go to war was interrupted in several east coast markets by network broadcasts of a press conference in which President George W. Bush, joined by Colin Powell, summarized the case for war. An article in Buzzflash.com argued that the press conference was a deliberate attempt to stop Winfrey’s show from airing. ...... “I know the difference between a store that is closed and a store that is closed to me,” explained Winfrey. ...... On December 1, 2005, Winfrey appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman .... helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than 11 years: 13.45 million viewers ....... Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women" ...... Winfrey insists that beautiful surroundings will inspire greatness in the future leaders of Africa ...... "It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you — always."
Oprah Winfrey - TIME In South Africa, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls will educate a new generation of women leaders.

Oprah's Cut with Barack Obama his 16-hour workday ..... "I don't consider myself political and I seldom interview politicians. So when I decided to talk with you [Barack], people around me were like, 'What's happened to you?' I said, 'I think this is beyond and above politics.' It feels like something new." — Oprah .... Listen in.
Barack Obama on the Tough Questions
Oprah Endorses Obama - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog
Obama-Oprah ’08? Probably Not - The Caucus - Politics - New York ...
Keeping Hope Alive: Senator Barack Obama
AlterNet: Can Oprah Help Get Obama into the White House?
Think Progress » New Fox Show: Obama Is Not The First ‘Clean ... Sen. Joe Biden’s (D-DE) racially-insensitive claim that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean.”

In The News

Oprah throws house party to aid Obama bid
Independent, UK
The Magic Touch? Washington Post
Oprah Mulls 'Broader' Obama Campaign Role Post Chronicle
Beating Hillary Clinton May Take Act of God -- or Oprah
TheStreet.com
Oprah's Couch For Obama Only
Washington Post, United States
Can Oprah Make Obama President?
DiversityInc.com (subscription)
Fund-Raising: Oprah's Obama Blowout
Newsweek The most powerful woman in show business is about to do Barack Obama a big favor. ..... Winfrey will throw the flashiest fund-raiser of the 2008 cycle when she welcomes about 1,500 guests to her Montecito, Calif., home .... at $2,300 each .... Will Smith, John Travolta, Jamie Foxx and Halle Berry .... Stevie Wonder ... BeBe Winans ... Oprah bonded with the Illinois senator in 2005 when the pair flew from Chicago to Houston together to visit Hurricane Katrina refugees. "I think Oprah got to see the genuine side of Obama ... and was just blown away" ..... Younger actors and executives in black Hollywood tend to support Obama; older figures support Hillary Clinton. ...... "Are you kidding?" says actress Holly Robinson Peete. "If she invites you somewhere, you go."

Obama Draws Clinton Contrast
Washington Post he would be in a better position to actually enact universal health care ..... "We will convene an open process which the American people will be watching" ..... "What the president can do is shine a spotlight on the process and (involve) the American people and keep the pressure on and that is something that didn't happen. In many ways it didn't happen in '93." ..... "It was a closed process and not everybody understood what was taking place, so when the insurance companies and the drug companies started running those 'Harry and Louise' ads, nobody really knew what was what. That's why the American people have to be involved."
Obama says he won't make the same mistakes as Clinton on health ... WQAD he'd announce outlines of a health care reform package in his first 100 days as president, then convene a bipartisan commission to draft details.
Oprah mulls ‘broader’ Obama campaign role United Press International Oprah Winfrey is reportedly in talks about taking a “broader role” in the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama ...... Winfrey, whose daily TV show is produced in Chicago, endorsed Obama in May for the Democratic presidential nomination. She is in discussions with his advisers on the possibility of acting as a surrogate on the campaign trail ..... the wealthiest African-American ..... her first-ever presidential fundraiser at her 42-acre estate in Montecito, Calif. ..... the idea of her appearing in commercials for Obama is “very much in play ...... her celebrity would be a more valuable commodity than money
Clinton tried twisting labor arms on Labor Day Baltimore Sun Clinton phoned United Steelworkers of America boss Leo Gerard "repeatedly" over the weekend -- three or four times, trying to convince him to back her instead of the labor-friendly former North Carolina senator
The Clinton Spouse on Tour New York Times “Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World” ...... Tucked within his answers was a veiled swipe at Senator Barack Obama ..... one of the reasons that I was effective as president when I came in is that I was the senior governor in America ..... they often use (Vice) President Cheney and Rumsfeld and they say, “Well, if experience counted” — you know, they say this to Democratic audiences, but that’s like saying that because all malpractice is committed by doctors, the next time you need surgery you should go to an auto mechanic or someone else. ........ I think she’ll have a more difficult time winning the primary. ...... when I was nominated — on June the 2nd, 1992, I was running third in the polls. Six weeks later I was first and never lost the lead. ...... she’s ahead in many states that Senator Kerry and Vice President Gore lost ...... When they asked the people in Iowa, “Who do you like?” she ranked fourth out of four candidates. ........ for 15 years, has been regularly hit by the swiftboat tactics of the Republicans ........ something they’ve been preconditioned to think about by 17, 16 years of attacks ..... she carried 58 of the 62 counties, 36 of the 40 counties President Bush carried in 2004, with 60 percent of the vote. .... a personal matter, a challenge for Senator Craig and his family

Jerry Lewis sorry for anti-gay slur Toronto Star
Oprah's Couch For Obama Only
Washington Post she'll raise $3 million for him when she holds a fundraiser at her California estate on Saturday. ..... she'll be wading into the political world as never before ...... This year, she says, Obama will be the lone presidential candidate to grace her studio. "If everybody knows I'm for Barack it would be really disingenuous of me to be sitting up there interviewing other people as though... pretending to be objective. So I won't be doing anybody because of that, on my show."
Obama, Clinton Air "Change" Ads Atlantic Online
Change vs. Change in Clinton, Obama Spots
New York Times
Dell Aims to Overtake NEC as Top PC Vendor in Japan (Update1)
Bloomberg
Report: Actress Halle Berry is 3 months pregnant
International Herald Tribune hunky Canadian model dad-to-be Gabriel Aubrey met in 2005 while starring in the same ad campaign ...... especially since her relationship with Gabriel bloomed after they met while shooting a Versace ad campaign in 2005. ..... "I realised I need more to get me up in the morning, more than going to a new movie set... I need something even more profound... And that's children," she admitted. "I need that like the air I breathe and I’m ready. I'm at a point where I'm really, really ready."
Palm Suddenly Cancels Foleo Mini-Laptop FOX News
I love my past: Amitabh Bachchan
Sify
Russian Cities To Be Equipped With WiMax By Alvarion
InformationWeek
WiMAX Helping Asia's Farmers
BusinessWeek
Asia's thirst for WiMax a worry for 3G operators
Reuters
Google Applies For 'GPay' Mobile Payments Patent InformationWeek
‘India will emerge among top 3 economic powers in 25 yrs’
Hindu Business Line
Bihar flood scene improves, death toll crosses 600
Hindu

GOP Warns on Early Contests New York Times
Clinton vs. Obama, A Difference With a Distinction?
Washington Post a remarkable amount of convergence between Clinton and Obama. Whole paragraphs from Obama's could be inserted into Clinton's -- and vice versa -- without jarring interruption. ....... Clinton on Sunday accused the administration of putting "cronyism above competence," while Obama on Monday called the administration's record "triumph of...cronyism over competence." ....... a debate -- and a choice -- that will rapidly intensify. ...... "From my time in the White House and in the Senate, I have learned that you bring change by working in the system established in our Constitution," she said. "You cannot pretend that the system doesn't exist." ....... the hard work of developing consensus, building coalitions and passing legislation ...... His fundraising, his crowds and the enthusiasm of his supporters shows the potential for a candidate preaching change and reconciliation ...... his work as a community organizer, state senator, constitutional law professor and a boyhood spent in part overseas
Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle Wall Street Journal the burgeoning brain trust -- now over 150 advisers and counting -- to help flesh out an almost wonkishly detailed set of statements, on the Iraq war, on Iran, U.S. counterterrorism strategy, the future of the U.S. military, even Cuba. Coming up next, his advisers say, will be more on China, U.S. energy security, the plight of Iraqi refugees, and how much to reduce the U.S. nuclear stockpile. ...... the makeup of Mr. Obama's team -- heavy on onetime aides to President Clinton ...... Obama has racked up a slew of converts from the Clinton camp, especially among a younger crowd of ex-Clintonites who say they want a fresher approach to new challenges than those offered by Mrs. Clinton. Many of these advisers, like Mr. Obama himself, are in their 40s. ...... "a generational tussle within the Democratic Party." ...... the big difference between the two is mainly in style and tone. ..... Mrs. Clinton considers her foreign views largely set -- one reason why she has such a small squad of advisers. ...... While Mrs. Clinton's team emphasizes tactical edge over sweeping solutions, Mr. Obama's camp is consciously in search of big concepts and grand strategies. ...... the U.S. needs to engage in a sweeping reassessment of its stance in the world -- "a grand strategy" ...... Mr. Obama's eagerness to lay out a comprehensive foreign policy -- unusual for a candidate at this stage in a campaign -- has made him in some ways the prime mover in the Democratic debates. ........ the Clinton campaign struggled for months to land a chief foreign-policy coordinator. Lee Feinstein, a former Albright adviser who originally flirted with the Obama camp, signed on with Sen. Clinton in late July.
In Turmoil of ’68, Clinton Found a New Voice New York Times
Clintons make the talk show rounds Los Angeles Times Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton don't have to scramble for national publicity; it flows to them. ..... the eternal questions about how the marriage works ..... "I'll come home late at night and he'll be rearranging the bookshelves or cleaning up the kitchen. He's pretty handy to have around, actually." ....... the Clintons were capitalizing on the public's fascination with them ..... "They are still America's first family," he said. "They have lived a kind of serial program that has been on the air, without repeats, for nearly 20 years -- and the American public intends to keep tuning in." ..... With a large lead in the national polls, Hillary Rodham Clinton is dictating the terms of her public appearances. Unlike other presidential candidates, she does not typically take questions from reporters when she appears in public. ...... As the 48-hour whirl of TV appearances illustrates, she can reach a national audience without having to run the risk of an uncertain answer to an unanticipated question. ..... the former president said he would sometimes read his wife's speeches and offer advice, "particularly if it's something I know a lot about." ...... From time to time, he said, she'll call him from the campaign trail and say things like, "Do you realize I'm 15 years older than you were when you did this?" And Clinton said he tells her: "Well, nobody made you run, girl."
Bill Clinton: Glad Hillary Is Running and Not Me NewsMax.com
Florida, Michigan Democrats stoke primary defiance Concord Monitor
States Poised to Flout GOP Primary Rules Forbes Michigan officially crashed the early primary party on Tuesday, setting up showdowns with both political parties and likely pushing the presidential nomination calendar closer to 2007...... Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill moving both of Michigan's presidential primaries to Jan. 15. Michigan's move threatens to set off a chain reaction that could force Iowa and New Hampshire to reschedule ...... "While political maneuvering will no doubt continue, our move to January 15 is final," Granholm said in a statement. ...... Michigan was among at least seven states signaling their intention to flout Republican rules by scheduling presidential primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5. ........ "What the national parties do in Washington is not relevant to what happens in Florida," Crist said.


Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Strength? What Strength? Experience? What Experience?



Every day some Hillary spokesperson puts out a rebuttal for whatever is going on that day. "Hillary has the strength and experience" is the rejoinder. Just like Bush never saw a problem whose solution did not lie in tax cuts, Hillary 2008 never saw a problem whose solution did not lie in Hillary's "strength and experience." It is getting repetitive and boring.

What strength? What experience?

If watching Michael Jordan makes you Michael Jordan, I am Michael Jordan. I have watched a few of his games. Hillary is running to be an elected official. Only her experiences as an elected official count. And Obama has been an elected official almost twice as long as Hillary.

Hillary did not have the strength to ask the questions that would have prevented her and others from casting the utterly wrong vote on the Iraq War. Need I say more? She was as subject to groupthink as anyone else. She cowered to the prevailing Washington "wisdom." That was an enormously serious lapse of judgment, and I see no sign Hillary has learned from that mistake. She parrots the Bush line on much everything else foreign. She will not talk to adversaries just like Bush. She will stand by Musharraf just like Bush. That is not strength, that is kowtowing.

Hillary is smart, and I realize the symbolism of a woman in the White House. But then what and how much did she do for women specifically the last time she was in the White House?

Hillary is cautious, she is not strong. Hillary is not experienced, she is tired. She has fought some fights, many of them unfair to her and her family, but she has tired of them. She is not ready for more.

Dynasty Politics

A Bush or a Clinton has been running at the national level since 1976. It is like after 200 years of being a republic America tired and became a monarchy again.

This country is too big, its democracy too vibrant to put up with dynasty politics.

Freshness

America already knows everything there is to know about the two Clintons. Part of the excitement of electing a president is getting to know their life story. You need to turn the page on the 1990s to get that fresh feeling.

Life Experiences

Obama is the only candidate running in either party who can take America into a globalized 21st century. He has the right life experiences.

Strong

He opposed the Iraq War when the rest of the country was feeling the other day. And he did that when it looked like he was about to wage a tough bid for the US Senate running in a crowded primary field, with at least one billionaire opponent, and this was before he was "born" at the Democratic convention in Boston.

That makes him strong.

But he is not strong in a stupid way. As in, facts be damned, I am ploughing through. His primary strength is that he can build coalitions and seek and find common ground. He has the strength to bring America together.

Strength And Experience

Barack Obama has the strength to bring America together and the experience to lead that America in a globalized world.

Let the 21st century begin. Let go the holdup.

In The News

Why Gonzales Bailed Newsweek four candidates: former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson (who would be the first African-American A.G.), former solicitor general Ted Olson, former deputy A.G. George Terwilliger, and current Solicitor General Paul Clement (the acting A.G. once Gonzales leaves).
Rising Pressure From GOP Led Senator to Quit New York Times
Barack Obama, Drawing the Big Crowds
Washington Post
For Democrats, Primary Field Gives Confidence
New York Times confident of victory in 2008. ..... “But I think Obama is good, too. It’s a flip at this point.” .... “I love the field of Democrats. This is going to be hard.” ..... a party better known for quadrennial rites of grumbling .... Again and again, voters — often unprompted — said they were concerned that Mr. Obama did not have enough experience. ...... “Hillary has the baggage from the Bill years ...... this is a confident party this fall .... a marked shift in mood for Democrats over the past year ..... Democratic voters appear as energized about this election as Republican voters are subdued, though that could change once the Republicans rally around a candidate and if Mrs. Clinton is nominated and turns out to be as polarizing a candidate as Republicans are hoping. ...... “She’s not really warm and fuzzy, so some people are put off by that and threatened by her brilliance.” ...... appears not to have erased the concern — fanned by Mrs. Clinton’s campaign with its emphasis on experience — that he might not be ready to be president.
Bill Clinton turns back clock, Hillary winds it forward
AFP Bill Clinton had a weekend campaign party like it was 1992 .... "I love not running for anything, I can say everything I want and nobody cares any more," Clinton said ...... a four-month sprint .... a folksy, self-mocking tone ...... Clinton marvelled at a 1,000 pound pumpkin ..... Casually dressed Clinton, now looking robust three years after heart surgery, serves as an unofficial chief strategist for his wife, and velvet hammer against her rivals. ........ "If you want me to say something bad about them, you might as well leave right now," he scolds, before proceeding to argue, without mentioning names that nobody but his wife is fit for the Oval Office. ....... he and his wife were forged in humble origins, in Arkansas and Illinois, and won't forget ordinary people ...... He jokes how "cool" it is being president, with a great plane, the "best public housing in America," and hearing a "song played every time you walk in a room," but warns such treatment can make a leader isolated. ........ "I would do anything in my power to make her the next president, and you should too," Clinton says, whipping crowds into applause for his wife's entrance.
The political machine vs. the grass roots Los Angeles Times In California, a test of Democratic campaign tactics: Clinton chases big-name endorsements; Obama zeroes in on the little guy ..... unlike the Clinton gathering, led by a paid staffer delivering the campaign line, the Obama meeting was run by a volunteer participating in his first presidential campaign. ...... Clinton has been wrapping up the high-profile endorsements -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- and building a traditional, centralized campaign organization. Obama has been trying to harness the energy that has brought thousands of people to his campaign rallies. ....... The Clinton campaign has established two state headquarters, one in San Francisco and the other in L.A., and has hired seven full-time staffers. Obama has an L.A. office and four paid staffers, with another likely to be added soon. Both have fleshed out the staffs at their headquarters with a raft of volunteers. ....... The Clinton campaign has focused on high-density Democratic regions such as L.A. and the Bay Area. The Obama campaign is trying to build networks in each congressional district; most state Democratic delegates are awarded to candidates based on how well they do in each district, not statewide. So far Obama has committees in 40 of the 53 districts. ...... "Obama couldn't rack up the endorsements that Hillary can after her years in the White House or in the Senate." ..... grass-roots programs have some of the same goals as big-time endorsements." ..... two-thirds of likely Democratic voters supporting either Clinton or Obama. Clinton enjoys the clear advantage, with 49% support in an early-August Field Poll, compared with 19% for Obama ....... train 1,000 unpaid leaders statewide to oversee groups of 20 local volunteers -- the "Hillary Corps" -- to use their personal networks of relatives, friends and co-workers to identify Clinton supporters. ...... Using a software program called Voter Activation Network, the campaign plans to build a database from the information gathered by the Hillary Corps to target voters for early absentee voting -- which begins Jan. 7 -- and for follow-up efforts on primary day, Trujillo said. They hope to contact 2 million potential voters by primary day. ....... piggyback the Clinton organization on supporters' families and friendships. ..... "Most of our supporters have these big social networks," he said. "Why build something? Why not take advantage of something that exists already?" ...... grass-roots structure .... organizations that report to, but are not controlled by, Obama staffers. ...... In Palo Alto, one of the trained volunteers' first tasks is to contact the more than 400 people in the district who have told the campaign they want to help. They, in turn, will be the core of the volunteer group to contact 180,000 voters in hopes of finding more volunteers and cementing 45,000 votes for Obama -- which the congressional district committee independently set as its goal. ........ the strategy will return a sense of social movement to campaigns, offsetting the modern-marketing approach ...... Fewer than a third of those at the Clinton meeting were men; at the Obama session, men accounted for just over half. ...... "I didn't think ever in my life I would see a viable female candidate for president," said Judy Sweeney, 62 ..... Most Clinton volunteers cited specific issues -- healthcare, abortion, the Iraq war, a woman in the Oval Office -- as reasons they supported her. At the Obama session, the talk was more ethereal, about the desire to effect changes in policy and political engagement. Several cited Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention speech.
POLL: Clinton vs. Giuliani on the Long Drive ABC News
Nepal's Tricky Transition
Wall Street Journal the friction between Nepal's political parties is also heating up. ...... tensions are rising between the Maoists and the democratic Seven Party Alliance, and within the Maoist party itself. ..... it has been a tricky transition for the battle-hardened former guerrillas ...... For the first time in Nepal's history, the elections will be on a mixed-proportional system, so traditionally marginalized ethnic groups and castes will have some representation. That all this has been achieved with little bloodshed is remarkable. ...... There has been an eruption of demands for political representation from a whole section of Nepalis who have historically been left out of the governance structure: indigenous groups, underprivileged castes and the Madhesi people of the Terai Plains along the Indian border ...... the violence in the plains could easily spiral out of control, even forcing a cancellation of elections and taking the country back to war. ....... Internal divisions within the Maoist camp are also deepening. ..... Prachanda, faces mounting pressure from radicals who blame him for "abandoning the revolution." ..... Critics say the Maoists are nervous that they will lose badly in elections, and are using these unrealistic demands to either scuttle or postpone polls. They have threatened to launch a nationwide street-based uprising starting this month unless these demands are met. The Maoists are also using their affiliated trade unions and student organizations to pressure foreign investors, local companies and media. Businessmen complain that extortion and threats are worse now than during the conflict years. ........ The prospect of unrest in the run-up to the election has everybody worried. ..... it would be easy for those who don't want elections (royalists, Madhesi militants and even Maoist hardliners) to foment trouble in the next two months. Except for the moderate leftist communists, the Unified Marxist-Leninist party, no other party has bothered to start campaigning yet. Mainstream parties are behaving as fecklessly as they always did ...... these elections are the only way Nepal can emerge from a messy transition and build on the dramatic and peaceful state transformation of the past year. A new constitution would restore democratic legitimacy and bring forth a new set of young leaders.
Iraq Tops Agenda As Congress Returns The Associated Press
Obama Proposes Ethics Reform Plan Guardian Unlimited centralizing and expanding the regulation of lobbyists to reduce the influence of special interest money in Washington. .... The change Americans crave - universal health care, new energy solutions and better economic policies for regular people - can't happen unless the system for making deals in Washington is fundamentally changed ..... I know some will say that we can't make this change, that the culture of corrosive influence in politics is too sprawling to spotlight or that the lobbyists writing our laws represent real Americans. ... That's not how I see it.'' ..... create a central database giving the public access to lobbying reports, ethics records and campaign finance filings. It would also expand lobbying disclosure rules to include lobbyists seeking government contracts and presidential pardons, and enforce congressional lobbying laws and ethics rules through an independent entity. Government contractors would be required to report money spent on lobbying and campaign contributions. ...... we will close the revolving door between public service and lobbying, ban all gifts from registered lobbyists, and end the abuse of no-bid contracts and the appointment of political cronies .... A task force on energy policy made up of big oil companies. Health care and prescription drug legislation written by industry lobbyists. No-bid contracts for Katrina recovery lobbied for by the firm that bears the name of the governor of Mississippi. No-bid contracts in Iraq for Halliburton, a company that the vice president used to run ... Obama previously vowed to prohibit political appointees who left posts in his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of his time in office. Members of an Obama administration also would not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers for two years..... In the Senate, Obama has supported legislation that would impose additional restrictions on lawmakers becoming lobbyists and establishes new disclosure rules for lobbyists.
Obama to reignite fireside chats
Boston Globe make the federal government more transparent, including national broadband town hall meetings -- he's calling them "21st Century Fireside Chats" -- that he says his Cabinet will hold with the American people. ..... a new centralized database of lobbying reports, congressional ethics records, and campaign finance filings available on the internet; more sunlight on lobbyists seeking government contracts and presidential pardons; and establishing a "contracts and influence" database showing what federal contractors spend on lobbying, contract details, and contractor performance. ..... "The American people want to trust in our government again -- we just need a government that will trust in us," Obama said
Oh-eight (D): Biden: Iowa or bust MSNBC how little has changed since the summer began… Despite her high unfavorable ratings, Clinton remains the Democratic front-runner, with a growing number of Democrats and pundits now convinced that she can win the whole enchilada ...... Despite his stagnant national poll numbers, Obama has the money and the excitement to give Clinton a run for her money in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. ...... Biden said. “My expectation is that I come in first, second or an indistinguishable third. To tell you the truth, if I don't, then this has been a nice exercise and I'll see you again when you come to visit Washington." ...... the financial woes of major fundraiser Sant Chatwal, an Indian American businessman who has been fighting the IRS over unpaid business taxes. Who is vetting Clinton bundlers faster: the campaign or the media? ...... Richardson wants to forgive college loans with a year of national service. "As part of your college loan structure -- in other words we'll pay them off, if you give your country one year of national service: work in a forest, clean up a forest ... work in a hospital, go in the military, go in the Peace Corps, go in Vista .... "Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary,” Richardson said.
More oh-eight: The battle for CA MSNBC Did the DNC inadvertently help the GOP in its general election efforts to hold Florida in '08 and pick off Michigan? ..... Clinton is the political machine, and Obama is the grassroots. The Democratic machine is AWFULLY powerful in California.
The Primary Mess
Michigan will go to an open primary on January 15. South Carolina follows the 19th and New Hampshire and Iowa may slide further back ...... the DNC stripped Florida, which moved its primary to January 29, of all its delegates ..... 4 states with moderate media costs and limited size ...... If the Democratic Florida primary is boycotted or delayed for fear no one will show up, do independents decide to register and show up in the Republican primary? The threat is even more real in Michigan where voters can show up on Election Day and decide to vote in the primary of their choosing. If this happens, the voters who turn out in two key and highly competitive GOP primary elections may have a significant component of independent voters. ...... All of this primary shuffling and Howard Dean’s handiwork have once again made clear that the GOP primary winner will likely be someone with broad geographic appeal, a solid organization and plenty of money to put down multiple “bets” on states which may or may not fall his way. If you must worry about Iowa and Michigan while New Hampshire and Florida still loom large, you need a sizable war chest, large media buys and plenty of bodies on the ground. Given the possible influx of independent voters, the candidate with a sophisticated ground operation in New Hampshire and Michigan which can target voters who are registered Republican and those who are not will be in strong shape. ....... the wild world of primary leapfrog.







Hillary's Racist Twang: Between Hope And Hard Work

Two-for-One Deal, Take Two Wall Street Journal Without naming her chief rivals, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and Mr. Edwards, she took aim at both. Mr. Obama has been a Clinton target for his relative inexperience and vague talk of "hope" for big changes. "You don't just do it by hoping it happens. You do it by hard work," she said at the Sioux City labor picnic before a union rally in Des Moines. "'Change' is just a word if you don't have the strength and experience to make it happen."

"We feel very smart when we are talking to ourselves."
- Hillary Clinton to the bloggers at the Kos Convention

"I can't think in front of a computer."
- Hillary Clinton

Charlie Rose: December 18, 2002



Watch the part here where an otherwise good man Charlie Rose goes on a tangent. He hones in on Spitzer wanting to maybe fine some lousy corporation a hundred million dollars. Is it about the money? Charlie Rose comes across as not clean to me at that point.





Also watch this. An otherwise good man Charlie Rose at one point suggests because Barack Obama's mother was white, it does not matter. If it is not in this video, it is in this other video.





So if Barack Obama's mother had been black, that would be a problem? Obama, on his part, rescues the situation by saying "Warren Buffett, who is both your friend and mine." He also does a doubletake and says, "My Harvard classmate Ken Mehlman." As in Mehlman thinks three big victories in a row, 2000, 2002, and 2004, is that a majority? "And I don't think so." As in, Mehlman went to Harvard, so did I? It is not about skin color.

Charlie Rose is a good guy. I like his show a lot. He might have played an important role in making sure brown dude Muhammad Yunus got a Nobel Prize.

Charlie Rose - Muhammad Yunus




Charlie Rose - Muhammad Yunus / Annie Leibovitz



But Rose does have to account for his anti-Jew, anti-black lapses. I am not suggesting he should be punished and handed over to the Taliban. All I am saying is it should be honorable to bring these lapses up, to talk about it, for all parties involved to respectfully understand what is going on, to come to a new mutually respectful understanding, and to move on. Maybe apologize and move on. Let's have an honor system here. When you make a mistake, you don't create a traffic jam of the national conversation, but you are open to revisiting and owning up and maybe apologizing and learning, and moving on. That would make a good situation better.

On this planet white people are not better off because they work harder than anyone else. I am all for personal responsibility, including the personal responsibility of the nonwhite peoples to confront racism. But too often black folks get infected by racism and they underperform. How much sense does it make to blame a malaria victim?

Obama is no malaria victim. He is more successful than Hillary as is. But that's not the point.

She also had a lapse in Chicago at the Keith Olberman debate.

"You can think big!" she reprimanded Obama and was promptly booed by the crowd.

Is Barack Obama getting too big for his boots trying to cover new ground on foreign policy? If he is, he well started on that journey back in 2002. He thought big and opposed a dumb war that has been a half trillion dollar way to make America less safe.



I think Hillary is an amazing smart, strong, promising woman whose progressive credentials I don't doubt. Actually I strengthen my own progressive credentials from her progressive credentials. And the Clintons have been out there on race. But there are times when it shows that she attended some all white school growing up.

Like when she suggests in her autobiography about people who stay back in America and do really well. Why don't they go back and build their own countries? That is not as virulent as right wing attacks on immigrants, but it is one step close.

Bill Clinton's foundation fights AIDS in Africa. Why does it not fight dictators? Bill Clinton thinks cozying up with African dictators is essential to his fight against AIDS. George Bush thinks cozying up with Muslim dictators is essential to his fight against terrorism. Both the white boys are wrong on the money. Their good intentions get fundamentally dwarfed by their worldviews.

Bill Clinton was president. How much more power do you need to have had to rectify the fundamentally racist plate tectonic of global politics that makes sure the Africans stay off the radar screens and stay submerged?

Africa sends more money to America than America sends to Africa. That has been true for decades. That is a desperate situation down there.

Hillary's reference to "hard work" in an all white state is not exactly Willie Horton, but it is pointing in that direction.




Barack: Black Enough For Me
Black On Barack Racism

Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Fox, Barack, Islam
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela

Barack: The Magic Presidential Candidate
Barack The Glass Walls, Ceilings, Smash 'Em

Blacks and Hispanics are 25% of America's population. By simple math, that would mean Blacks, Hispanics and Asians are 50% of the Democrats in the country. But since the ethnic minorities tend to be overwhelmingly Democratic, that figure is more like 65%.

The Democratic Party is the party of the nonwhites. Just look at the numbers. Nevada comes before New Hampshire, and South Carolina follows New Hampshire.

There Is An Albert Einstein On The Obama Campaign Staff

Overheard In New York
I See You As More of an Anarcho-Syndicalist

20-ish guy: What do I want for lunch?
20-ish chick: I don't know... Would you call me a socialist?
20-ish guy: No, not to your face.

--2 train

Overheard by: sarah

Neither Hillary, Nor Rudy






There is a distinct possibility that the two people leading the national polls will fade away: Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton. McCain used to be in the lead. But that was months and months back. Three months, now that's a long time in politics.

The endorsements tell you more about the past than the future. Hillary has so many endorsements because there are Democrats across the country who feel like they owe it to her husband.

Howard Dean had all the top labor endorsements in 2003.

The only people who matter are the voters. And they are only now beginning to pay attention.

Healthy, Respectful Competition

Obama and Clinton have that. They have both left room to team up.

It Could Be Volatile

You could have Barack Obama win Iowa, and Hillary Rodham win New Hampshire. And you could have Obama win Nevada and Hillary come a close second in South Carolina. At that point, despite saturation media coverage, you could have the February 5 states voting independent of how the first four states voted. And we could wake up the morning of February 6 not knowing who the nominee is. And at that point the campaigns better have plenty of cash to keep going for one more month.

It could be a roller coaster ride for a good two full months. That is one scenario.

Another scenario. Barack leads the polls in Iowa, and is second in New Hampshire. He wins Iowa, then he wins Nevada. And that leads to Hillary's lead in New Hampshire evaporating. He wins the state. And the gets him a landslide in South Carolina. The black folks down there are suddenly awake to the possibility of a black president. When they finally come, they come with a vengeance.

All that leads to a resounding Obama victory on February 5. Hillary concedes early morning February 6. By the end of that day, we know they have paired up.

Or. Obama slugs it through January, then through February, and early March we know it's him. He picks Eliot Spitzer to give the country a clean break from the 1990s.


In The News

No Holiday for Candidates Washington Post parades, rallies and other celebrations ..... hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream ..... 119 days left in the year ..... the most front-loaded presidential voting schedule in history. .... midpoint in a marathon. .... there wasn't a cloud in the sky yesterday morning from Portsmouth, N.H., to Sioux City, Iowa ...... ever-energetic Romney .... long-distance debate ..... It was 10 full months ago when the first candidate formally announced for president -- and it has been more than six months since that candidate formally quit the race. Everything seems accelerated in Campaign 2008 ...... Industrial-size barbecue grills ..... the annual picnic hosted by the Northwest Iowa Labor Council and the Woodbury County Democratic Party. ...... she did for Bill Clinton in 2004, writing in his name .... she's got a good backbone. She's got Bill to back her up ..... riffing through what has happened to the country since he left office ..... She said she would end the war in Iraq, but do so responsibly. ...... As she always does, she concluded with an appeal to Democrats to help make her the first female president in history. She talked about the parents who bring their daughters to her events and about the older women -- in their 90s -- who have said they hope she succeeds. She said these woman have told her they were born before women could vote in America and want to live long enough to see a woman in the White House. ......... Romney likes where he stands in the race for the Republican nomination. ..... I won the Iowa straw poll, I'm ahead here in New Hampshire, ahead in Michigan, ahead in the Nevada ....... two speeches, two town halls, marching in a parade and greeting voters over breakfast ..... several outfit changes .... Romney's manner never changed ..... ex-governor almost never ceased smiling ...... his usual hyper-focused self .... shaking more than a hundred hands, posing for dozens of pictures, and signing a slew of autographs, all in about 30 minutes. ...... Romney run is a family affair ..... the heavy involvement of the couple's five sons ...... Romney was the only one of the GOP contenders in New Hampshire on Labor Day ..... couldn't resist a few jabs at Thompson. "Why the hurry? Why not take a little longer?" ...... While the Democrats are increasingly beating up on each other and President Bush, the Republican candidates are unified: they can't bash Sen. Hillary Clinton enough. ...... "Hillary Clinton would bring change, but it would be a sharp left turn." ..... shaking hands with voters one at a time in tiny towns dotting western Iowa. ..... He called war "awful" and said it was "wretched beyond all description." ..... a retreat would lead to "genocide, chaos; they will follow us home." ...... "Too much blood spilt there already. We should've never been there." ........ Five months ago, McCain launched what was planned as a mega-campaign with a flashy tour of Iowa, kicking off a months-long spending spree that left his campaign broke. ...... "No Surrender Tour ..... "I've never said anything but that it would be long and hard and tough." ..... the electricians, the sheet metal workers, the operating engineers, and in greatest number, the coal miners ..... chiefs of the United Steel Workers and Mine Workers of America ..... Clinton has won the transportation workers and aerospace machinists, while Chris Dodd got the firefighters ...... it might be the largest Labor Day parade in the country, but such is the state of the decades-old struggle of the labor movement. There were plenty of gaps in the crowd along the route. ........ As Sen. Barack Obama led a rowdy mob down the street here during a Labor Day parade, an organizer wearing a Mitt Romney pin stood on the sidewalk and stared in astonishment. "It's going to be tough to beat that guy," he said, shaking his head, to another man with a Romney sign. ...... Obama (D-Ill.) has not picked up measurable steam in the national polls since he annouced his candidacy more than six months ago. His most obvious strength has been seen in the money he has raised and in the jaw-dropping size of the crowds he draws -- a sign of what his campaign says is its solid ground organization. ....... taking swipes at the Washington establishment and the "cynical math" he implied other candidates were using to calculate a narrow victory rather than a broad consensus. ....... "There are those who tout their experience working the system in Washington -- but the problem is that the system in Washington isn't working for us, and hasn't for a long time" ...... "Think about it. We've been talking about the health care crisis in this country for decades. Yet through Democratic and Republican administrations we've failed to act. And you know why -- because the drug and insurance industries have spent over a billion dollars on lobbying in the past ten years alone to block reform." ....... "Too many in Washington see politics as a game. And that is why I believe this election cannot be about those who can play this game better. It has to be about who can put an end to the game-playing. The times are too serious, the stakes are too high." ..... If the Milford parade several hours later was a snapshot of how Obama is faring, it bodes well. He drew by far the loudest and most boisterous group, who grew so enthusiastic about marching that they started down the road ahead of schedule -- and were thus banished by organizers to the back of the parade line. ..... The Obama crowd, with drums and brass instruments, yelled out: "Obama-oh-eight. Be a part of something great!" ..... she had been an ardent Bill Clinton supporter in the 1990s but could not support his wife. ..... they are the old politics and Hillary is a symbol of the old Washington." ...... Grossman, who has a two-year-old son, was one of a handful of supporters selected to have dinner with Obama on Monday night. Between that and walking with him in the parade, she said, it was one of the best days of her life.
The race for White House enters prime time CNN Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Democrats but in tight race in Iowa .... Rudy Giuliani leads Republicans, but pundits question if he will get nomination ..... in this hectic, fast-paced 2008 campaign season, it's been full speed ahead since the beginning of the year. ...... relatively few people across the country have been paying attention to the candidates up until now ..... now "each and every campaign stop counts ..... She's been touting her experience for months, but now Clinton is also emphasizing that she'll be an agent of change, and that voters don't have to choose between experience and change. ...... she's too entrenched with the status quo in Washington, and that she's too polarizing and not a breath of fresh air that can bring change ........ In New Hampshire, which holds the first primary, and South Carolina, which holds the first southern primary, Clinton remains ahead by a comfortable margin in most polls. ....... four years ago at this time, Howard Dean was skyrocketing in all the national surveys. The former Vermont governor and current Democratic National Committee chairman continued to surge into the autumn and early winter before crashing and burning in Iowa and New Hampshire in January 2004. ........ Obama may trail Clinton in the early national and state polls, but he does lead her in another crucial barometer, campaign cash. .... Obama is also drawing large crowds out on the trail. ...... In the modern primary era, the Republican candidate in the top spot the September before the primaries has won the nomination. But there are questions about whether that will hold this time around. ........ the former Massachusetts governor has a healthy lead in the state polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. ..... Romney's also number one among Republicans when it comes to the race for campaign cash. His large war chest has allowed him to spend millions on television ads in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. ....... Thompson .... lackluster speeches, disappointing fundraising, critical stories about his lobbying and staff shakeups ...... Republican voters are less enthusiastic about their current crop of candidates than Democratic voters.
After secretive Iraq detour, Bush heads to Australia summit Turkish Press
President Bush Hints At Possible Troop Withdrawals RTT News
Bush Says Pace of Progress May Mean Fewer US Forces (Update4) Bloomberg
Nepal government condemns attacks BBC News
Thompson entry to be watched for effect on Giuliani Newsday
Di confronted Camilla over affair Zee News Diana even warned Camilla to stay away from Charles. ... "couldn`t understand" what her husband saw in his former mistress .... "It was hard for Diana to understand what Charles saw in Camilla. I remember Diana telling me there were three people in her marriage and that she had confronted Camilla at one of the dinners they had - telling her to, `Back off and leave my husband alone`” ..... "She was really madly in love with Prince Charles, he was the love of her life. She was willing to do anything to make it work out. The only thing she could not tolerate was the one thing which would have allowed the marriage to continue - and that was to share Charles"
Tourists Flee As Felix Nears Honduras Forbes
Obama Critiques Clinton
Forbes Democrat Barack Obama on Monday sharpened his critique of lead rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, warning against a return to "divisive, special interest politics" that had demoralized the country even before President Bush took office. ....... "As bad as this administration has been, it's going to take more than just a change in parties to truly turn this country around" ...... "George Bush and Dick Cheney may have turned divisive, special interest politics into an art form, but it was there before they got to Washington. If you and I don't stand up to challenge it, it will be there long after we leave." ...... the latest volley in the "change versus experience" debate that has dominated the dialogue ..... she argued that only a president experienced in the ways of Washington could bring about real political transformation. ...... Obama struck back hard ...... his years as a community organizer and consensus builder ..... sought to frame his hope-driven message as an antidote to the cynicism of political insiders ..... "A lot of people who've been in Washington a lot longer than me, they've got better connections, they go(to the)right dinner parties, they know how to talk the Washington talk," he said. "I may not have the experience Washington likes but I believe I have the experience America needs right now." ....... both Obama and John Edwards have stepped up their claim that Clinton is too cautious and too conventional to bring real change to Washington. ...... He also vowed to tell the truth always as president. .... Obama had a full day of campaign appearances in New Hampshire, where polls show him trailing Clinton by a wide margin. .... He and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney exchanged greetings at the parade .... Obama scooped ice cream for several hundred supporters at an outdoor ice cream social.
Obama touts change, Clinton pitches experience Chicago Tribune "hope and change" .. not just rhetoric but rather "the causes of my life." ..... "Change is just a word if you don't have the strength and experience to make it happen," Clinton said ..... Romney weighed in with a prediction that Clinton would, in fact bring about change, only in the form of higher taxes, bigger government and greater tolerance for "illegal aliens." ...... In most of America, people were enjoying parades and barbecues on Monday ..... As an aide to Sen. John McCain sees it, the senator's weekend swing through Iowa and New Hampshire were more like "the re-re-kickoff." ..... The vast majority of voters aren't paying attention ..... there is a flood of advertising to come that could significantly alter perceptions. ...... push labor-law reforms through Congress that would make it easier for workers to organize.
Obama Touts His Outsider Theme New York Times she is the candidate who can most effectively navigate the political channels of Washington to bring about change. ...... Obama added a dash of vinegar to his line about pundits who believe he lacks experience. ...... Only time in Washington translates into wisdom ..... time served doesn’t guarantee judgment. A resume says nothing about character ..... Obama also left voters with another fresh thought: humility. ..... “I’m reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect president,” he said. “But I can promise you this: I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.”
As Bush lands in Iraq, Clinton vows to end war AFP
With Big Lead, Is Clinton Beatable? ABC News Many New Hampshire voters believe Clinton can go all the way. .... Mandy Grunwald. "We worry about everything. We try to win every vote." ..... sometimes the front-runners fall flat. .... Edwards said that he believes Clinton is beatable and that his campaign has a good chance because of its momentum. ..... "The problem is most Americans don't feel like they're represented there." ...... some critics believe she has a likability problem. ..... Clinton said even if she heads the Democratic ticket, she fully expects a knockdown fight. ... "The idea that you're going to escape the Republican attack machine
Two-for-One Deal, Take Two Wall Street Journal "The day I'm elected," she said, "I'm going to be asking distinguished Americans -- including my husband -- of both parties, to start traveling around the world, and not just talking to governments and leaders, but talking directly to people and telling them that America is back." ........ Mr. Clinton has said he would continue as head of his Clinton Foundation .... "His expertise at handling high-pressure situations ...... the prospect of both Clintons in the White House doesn't bother him so much as "the idea of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton," with the two families taking turns in power. "What kind of message does that send to the rest of the world?" he said. "It's as if we're a monarchy." ......."Hillary is the best-prepared to be president of any nonincumbent I have ever had a chance to vote for" in 40 years, he said repeatedly. "You want to restore America's standing in the world overnight? Elect Hillary Clinton." ..... Obama has been a Clinton target for his relative inexperience and vague talk of "hope" for big changes. "You don't just do it by hoping it happens. You do it by hard work," she said ...... "Ultimately, to bring change, you have to know when to stand your ground and when to find common ground....You can't always demand everything your own way or you'll never get anything done in America."
Political Memo Bill Clinton’s Challenge: Keep the Focus on His Wife New York Times Mr. Clinton is famously garrulous on an impressive range of topics: Touring a New Hampshire fair on Sunday, he gave an impromptu master class to reporters on how to grow oversized watermelons and pumpkins. So when it comes to a subject he could dissect on a cellular level, like his wife, he could probably soliloquize for days. ....... Even if they were not married, he says, he would still campaign for her as the best candidate. ..... The inner wonk stays buried for this speech — he keeps the dry policy to under a minute. ..... “she has the best plan to give us a clean, green energy future to create jobs, not cost jobs.” ..... asserting that other nations and world leaders are pulling for Mrs. Clinton’s election in 2008. The leaders are not named but seem to be from all over — Asia, Africa, some in Europe, he has said. On Sunday he roped in voters across Europe and Canada as well, citing a new poll that found Mrs. Clinton more popular than the other American presidential candidates in those countries. ........ the closing anecdote: Mr. Clinton invariably chokes up or bites his lower lip as he recalls how a New York firefighter grabbed his arm on a golf course one day and told him that Mrs. Clinton recognized early the potential health threats of 9/11 and sought assistance for workers at the site who became ill. ..... “I was standing there in tears, practically,” Mr. Clinton said in Portsmouth, N.H., describing the firefighter’s praise for her. “He said, ‘I would do anything I could to make her the next president.’ ” .......... whether the Clintons can persuade the firefighter to appear on the campaign trail at some point and hail Mrs. Clinton ..... Mrs. Clinton’s speech sometimes drags. .... finds Mrs. Clinton’s stump speech to be awkward at times.
Campaigning in NH, Obama targets Clinton The Hill “We need to turn the page. We need to write a new chapter in American history,” Obama said. ...... Obama mentioned no fewer than three times that he was opposed to the Iraq war “from the start,” each time drawing his largest applause from the crowd....... Clinton’s and Obama’s efforts were a balance of their rock-star personas and the retail politics for which Iowa and New Hampshire are known. ..... took great pains Sunday and Monday to work the crowds, shaking hands and signing autographs. ...... healthcare .... “It should be our No. 1 domestic priority,” Obama told the table. “We’re going to fight for you.” ...... “He is so naïve,” Obama said, imitating critics. “He’s a hope peddler. He’s a hope monger. Well, I stand guilty as charged.” ..... Obama was joined by his wife and daughters, and the crowds in the park were younger than those greeting the Clintons the day before. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), who has endorsed Obama and introduced Michelle Obama at the event, said the senator is making politics “cool again.”
Starting gun fires, for real, in White House race AFP the most intense US election in decades hit top gear awash in historic potential. ...... a four month sprint ... The Clintons drew huge crowds at a rally under the hot sun in the city of Concord, marvelled at giant pumpkins at a rustic country fair, and wooed voters in an idyllic square here, as dusk fell over a floodlit church spire. ....... The former first lady claimed the legacy of her husband's two-term presidency .... arguing that her simple crusade to become the first woman US president proved she embodied change. ..... Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by the Police. ..... Obama paints the Clintons and President George W. Bush as purveyors of a soiled brand of partisan politics, as he sets his sights on the former first lady in his quest to become America's first black president. ...... "We need a woman in there to clean things up," she said. "Obama is good, but she knows what our lives are like," she said. ..... Mitt Romney, a multi-millionaire businessman credited with saving the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics from financial ruin, leads in Iowa and New Hampshire