OBAMA DAILY NEWS Friday day Feb-29-08

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO THE OBAMA DAILY NEWS THREAD

Friday day Feb-29-08



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.


If you can:

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providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster,too.



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4. Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page



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[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. Anatomy of a smear: Obama and NAFTA (CTV backing away from claim)

Anatomy of a smear: Obama and NAFTA

February 28, 2008 Posted by Mark Kleiman at The Reality-Based Community

....Just one thing, though: the story reeks of fish, and CTV, far from standing behind it, is rapidly backing away from it. The original account vaguely mentions "Canadian sources." The follow-up, which includes denials from Obama and from the Ambassador, gets a little more specific: now the source is said to be "a high-ranking member of the Canadian embassy." But suddenly that source isn't so sure he had it right in the first place: "He has since suggested it was perhaps a miscommunication."

Swiftly switching gears, CTV now claims to be pursuing, not a conversation between a senior Obama staffer and the Canadian Ambassador, but a phone call between Austan Goolsbee — not a staffer but an academic at the University of Chicago who has been advising Obama — and someone (unnamed, of course) in the Canadian Consulate-General in Chicago.

Since we have no evidence for any of this save the word of CTV, and since CTV can't get its story straight, anyone who claims to believe the story — that is, McCain and his odd bedfellows Marsh and Johnson — ought to be presumed to be in bad faith. It might be true, but there's no reason for any fair-minded person to believe that it's true.

Is it possible that Goolsbee — like most economists, a free trader by instinct — tried to say something calming to someone he knew at the Consulate General in Chicago? Sure. But so what?

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. Late Breaking News - Clinton lawsuit could muddy Texas caucuses

Late Breaking News - Clinton lawsuit could muddy Texas caucuses
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3203633

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. Clinton raises $35 million in Feb (Obama est to raise $50 Million)

"....the campaign had raised the money from 300,000 donors, including 200,000 new contributors"

Clinton raises $35 million in February

But there are rumors that Obama has added $50 million

WASHINGTON - In a remarkable financial recovery, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $35 million in February even as Democratic rival Barack Obama was outspending her in key March 4 battlegrounds.

His financial superiority has been evident in the primary states of Texas and Ohio, which vote Tuesday and where he has purchased $7.5 million in advertising to her $4.6 million, targeting early voters, young voters and voters in regions with concentrations of delegates.

...But some Democrats wondered whether the additional money was too late and not enough to match Obama.

"The Clinton campaign clearly has much more money than they had before, but they are still being dramatically outspent by Obama," said Simon Rosenberg, head of the New Democratic Network, a think tank. "And things don't seem to be trending their way and they don't have a lot of tools to deal with it anymore."

[catgirl]

4. Poll: Obama builds lead in TX, closes gap in Ohio (to 2)

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1457

Statistical tie in Ohio!

[jefferson_dem]

5. Stand for Change Rally with Barack Obama, San Antonio, 6:00 local. Nothing else on public schedule.

...so far.



Barack Obama in San Antonio on Friday, February 29
Join Barack Obama at a Stand for Change Rally in San Antonio this Friday, February 29th.

Stand for Change Rally with Barack Obama

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
16765 Lookout Road
Selma, TX 78154

Friday, February 29
Doors open: 6:00 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public; however space is limited and an RSVP is required. Space is available on a first come, first served basis.

For security reasons no bags are allowed. Please limit personal belongings. No signs or banners are permitted.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/sanantonio

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. MICHELLE OBAMA ON THE 'FEAR BOMB'

MICHELLE OBAMA ON THE 'FEAR BOMB'

Thursday, February 28, 2008 by Mark Murray From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli

CANTON, OH -- Michelle Obama often refers to what she calls the "fear bomb" that was used against her husband in his Senate race, as rivals questioned whether someone with his name could be elected.

..."They threw in the obvious, ultimate fear bomb," Obama said of her husband's 2004 Senate race. "We're even hearing now. …
'When all else fails, be afraid of his name, and what that could stand for, because it's different.'" She said rivals use innuendo to play on fears. "Just as they're saying it now," she said.

But, she told about 200 supporters this morning at a restored theater in Canton, Obama won despite that "climate of negativity and doubt" in 2004, and even after standing up against the Iraq war. "We learned, number one, that when power is threatened by real change they will say anything to stop it," she said. "But we also learned that the American people can handle the truth."

What America needs, she added, is a "fundamentally different kind of leadership," one that challenges people to be different, and better to one another. And that, she said to critics who say it is not his time, cannot wait. "Barack Obama will be the kind of leader we need right now, not in four years or eight years or 12 years," she said. "We can't wait to get this right. We need it to happen today."

Mrs. Obama said her husband's effort to bring people together is grounded in the lessons he learned growing up. "You don't rip your opponents apart, because you never know when you're going to have to sit right down next to them and figure something out," she said. "That's how he was raised. Imagine a president of the United States who is trying to bring those values to the Oval Office."

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

7. The Contrast in Donors - "..a grassroots campaign versus a big money campaign."

"What the Democratic Party has on its hands is a grassroots campaign versus a big money campaign."

Follow the Money–2008 Presidential Campaign Finance, February Edition

Ralph Brauer at The Strange Death of Liberal America.

The Contrast in Donors

As has been commented on elsewhere, there is a huge contrast between the two campaigns in terms of donors.
Eighty percent of Clinton’s funds come from donations of $2,300 or above, versus only 60% for Obama.
Obama is raising twice as much money from $200-499 donors as Clinton,
while Clinton is raising three times as much from donors giving over $4,600.
What the Democratic Party has on its hands is a grassroots campaign versus a big money campaign. This bodes well for Obama, not merely because it indicates he has broad support, but also because these are people he can depend on to help with the Presidential campaign and who will be there to support him when he gets elected.

What we could be seeing is that the people are about to take back the Democratic Party. The Goldman-Sachs will always be there, but if current trends continue Barack Obama will owe his election to the small donors not the big ones. That is not true for Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile the financial giants are investing heavily in both campaigns. If you review Bill Clinton’s big donors in 1996, they are a more diverse group than the big donors for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Among Bill Clinton’s top twenty donors were AT&T, Sprint, Raytheon, Energy Corp, and Walt Disney. His number one contributor was the accounting firm of Ernst and Young. Of Clinton and Obama’s top five donors; four of them are financial firms. This is not a healthy sign, especially given that the current economic crisis is largely due to these firms. Virtually the same cast of characters also appears on John McCain’s top five list.

Meet Goldman Sachs–Investing in the White House...

Between Obama, McCain and Clinton, Goldman Sachs has put a million dollars into this campaign. Why? Goldman was right in the middle of the subprime loan crisis. In 2006 it strung together over $500 billion of these loans into GSAMP Trust. ...
...

The Main Issue

Of the candidates left in the race, it is clear only one is not heavily reliant on funding from big donors and that candidate is Barack Obama.
This series began when an Iowa friend said to me last fall, “I would know better who to vote for if I knew who was funding them (she used more colorful language).” We now have a definitive answer to that question. On the basis of this research it is clear only one candidate offers any hope of leveling America’s tilted playing field. That candidate is Barack Obama.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. Houston Chron - Poll: McCain and Obama lead in Texas

Poll: McCain and Obama lead in Texas

Huckabee is still defiant; Clinton maintains hold on Hispanic vote

By R.G. RATCLIFFE and ALAN BERNSTEIN Feb. 29, 2008, 1:24AM Houston Chronicle

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama appears to be consolidating a lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton among most constituent groups in Texas except Hispanics, according to a new tracking poll.

The survey found Obama leading 48.2 percent to 41.7 percent over Clinton statewide. The poll, conducted Tuesday through Thursday for the Houston Chronicle, Reuters and C-SPAN by Zogby International, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The tracking poll, which will be conducted daily until next Tuesday's election, found Obama leading with both men and women. He and Clinton were essentially tied among Anglos, but he held 84.9 percent support among blacks and she had the support of 54.9 percent of the Hispanics surveyed.

...Obama led in every other region and was supported by about 60 percent of those surveyed in Houston and Dallas — which have more nominating delegates at stake than all of the region from San Antonio to Brownsville to El Paso.

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. Make that a million: why Obama is flush with funds

Make that a million: why Obama is flush with funds

Anne Davies in Washington February 29, 2008

IF HILLARY CLINTON wants to know why she is likely to be beaten by Barack Obama to the Democratic nomination for president, she need look no further than the announcement by his campaign that it had secured its millionth donor online.

Australian politicians would be delirious if they could achieve anything like this sort of financial participation - with donors giving an average of $US109 ($116) - in their party activities.

In an email to supporters trumpeting his success, Senator Obama said:
"Think about that for a minute. One million people like you own a stake in a grassroots movement that is not just competing, but thriving, in a political process that's been dominated by special interests for far too long."

...But for many voters in Ohio and Texas, the main exposure to the candidates will be in the ad breaks in The Biggest Loser. On that score Senator Obama is winning hands down.

more at the link ...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. WaPo: Personality Matters

Personality Matters

By Eugene Robinson Friday, February 29, 2008; Page A19

After 20 debates, where do Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton differ on the issues? On Tuesday night in Cleveland, they argued passionately about universal health care -- whether or not it's necessary to impose a mandate requiring all Americans to buy health insurance. For 16 minutes, ...

It sounded like a genuine disagreement on policy until you stepped back and realized that the colloquy was wholly theoretical.
The candidates' dispute was over the possible contours of a program that does not exist. I'm not saying the difference between the two health-care plans is meaningless, just that it's not as important as the fundamental issue of whether to aim for universal health insurance (the Democrats' position) or not (the Republicans').

That's why personality, with all its components, is so important this year. I would argue that it was decisive in the Republican primaries and caucuses. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and all the rest (except Ron Paul) sounded as belligerent as John McCain on national security issues. But McCain, because of his history and his manner, was much more credible as the kind of warrior-president Republicans seem to think we need.

On the Democratic side, the question is who would be more likely to achieve the party's ambitious agenda. To make the choice, Democrats have to decide who is more likely to beat McCain. They also have to decide whose approach is more likely to succeed -- Clinton's ground-level diligence in Washington or Obama's attempt to forge popular consensus beyond the Beltway.

To determine any of this, voters need to know who the candidates are, where they came from, what they believe, how they react under pressure. They need to know, to the extent possible, what makes the candidates tick. Exposing as many facets as possible of the personalities of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain is about the most important thing the media could be doing.

read more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. WaPo: "Words Aren't Cheap"

Words Aren't Cheap

» Michael Gerson Obama is the next in the long history of American word wizards. Friday, February 29, 2008; Page A19

When Hillary Clinton sensed her presidential hopes beginning to slip away, she turned to an attack on Barack Obama's rhetoric. "There's a big difference between us," she argued, "speeches versus solutions, talk versus action. . . . Words are cheap." And further: "Speeches don't put food on the table" -- as though her own hectoring and position papers were an all-you-can-eat buffet.

John McCain will be tempted to make a similar attack, having already accused Obama of offering "only rhetoric." And it, too, would be a mistake.

Many political advisers in both parties employ "rhetoric" as a synonym for "folderol." Winging it in speeches is generally viewed as more authentic, and authenticity plays well with dial groups -- groups that also helpfully inform us that Americans don't like downbeat words such as "war" or "sacrifice" or "poverty," preferring instead cheerful terms such as "marshmallows" and "pixie dust."

This is nonsense. From the Greek beginnings of political rhetoric, the wise have described a relationship between the discipline of writing and the discipline of thought. The construction of serious speeches forces candidates (or presidents) to grapple with their own beliefs, even when they don't write every word themselves. If those convictions cannot be marshaled in the orderly battalions of formal rhetoric, they are probably incoherent.

.. more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. Reuters Feb 29: Obama has small lead in Texas, close in Ohio

Obama leads Clinton in Texas by 6 points and he has pulled almost even in Ohio

Obama has small lead in Texas, close in Ohio

Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:05am EST By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama holds a slight lead on Hillary Clinton in Texas and has almost pulled even in Ohio before contests that could decide their Democratic presidential battle, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released on Friday.

The contests on Tuesday are crucial for Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady fighting to halt Obama's streak of 11 consecutive victories in their battle for the Democratic nomination for the November 4 presidential election.

Obama, an Illinois senator, has a 6-point edge on Clinton in Texas, 48 percent to 42 percent. He trails Clinton 44 percent to 42 percent in Ohio -- well within the poll's margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.

...All the momentum is clearly with Obama," pollster John Zogby said. "The clearest indicator is the line of demarcation between those who decided early and those who are deciding late. The question is whether she can stem the tide."

read more here at the link

[Hope And Change]

13. Obama picks up two more superdelegates in Minnesota

Obama picks up two more superdelegates in Minnesota


by: Joe Bodell
Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 07:30:00 AM CST

DFL Chairman Brian Melendez and Associate Chair Donna Cassutt have announced their support for Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential nomination race.

In a joint statement sent to party leaders, Melendez and Cassutt outlined their reasons for casting their superdelegate votes for Obama:

We both have great confidence in, and respect and enthusiasm for, Senator Obama and the message of change that has resonated so strongly with voters in Minnesota and throughout America. But this announcement is not an "endorsement" in the usual sense, because it doesn't result from our personal judgment about the candidates or their relative merit. (One of us even cast a blank Presidential ballot on Caucus Night.) We also have great confidence in, and respect and enthusiasm for, Senator Clinton, whom we would gladly have supported if she had won the Minnesota caucuses - and will gladly support if she wins the Democratic nomination. We are not joining Senator Obama's campaign, since our loyalty lies first and foremost with the DFL Party itself; and we will not be using either the Party's resources, or our own personal time, energy, or other resources, in promoting his campaign or any other. This announcement simply reflects our desire to let the more than two hundred thousand DFLers who braved a cold winter night, long lines, and bustling crowds on Caucus Night know that their voices were heard and that their Party's heads are honoring their choice.

Carefully worded, but two more votes are two more votes for the Illinois senator. Melendez and Cassutt also had some choice words about the role of superdelegates in the 2008 election:

We didn't ask to be superdelegates - we were elected three years ago in an election cycle without a Presidential race - and frankly, we both could do without the honor. There may be a role for superdelegates: Tad Devine wrote in an excellent piece in The New York Times that "the superdelegates were also created to provide unity at the nominating convention. They are a critical mass of uncommitted convention voters who can move in large numbers toward the candidate who receives the most votes in the party's primaries and caucuses. Their votes can provide a margin of comfort and even victory to a nominee who wins a narrow race." But we doubt that the Party needs so many superdelegates and, if the number is cut, state-party leaders should be among the first to go. If a reform is proposed to that effect, we will support it. Meanwhile, our votes belong to the people that we serve, and we will cast those votes according to their wishes.

http://www.mncampaignreport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1138

[scheming daemons]

14. Dionne column: The Last "Yes we can" Candidate

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/obama_is_reagan.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. Only 3 recommends?

If you like the Obama Daily News, please help us by cross posting or adding news items,
also don't forget to recommend.

Thanks!

:yourock:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

16. TX: Clinton's political director, Guy Cecil, ... raised the possibility of a courtroom battle."

State Democrats say Clinton camp may sue

Legal action could disrupt or delay caucuses, party says
Feb. 29, 2008, 12:18AM By JAY ROOT Fort Worth Star-telegram

AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party warned Thursday that election night caucuses scheduled for Tuesday could be delayed or disrupted after aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened to sue over the party's complicated delegate selection process.

...Another Democratic official who was privy to the discussions confirmed Clinton representatives made veiled threats in a telephone call this week.

"Officials from Sen. Clinton's campaign at several times throughout the call raised the specter of 'challenging the process,' " the official said.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said Clinton's political director, Guy Cecil, had forcefully raised the possibility of a courtroom battle.

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

17. Obama: “Remember New Hampshire”

Obama: “Remember New Hampshire”

Time Mark Halperin Feb 28, 2008

Sly Alamo reference from Texas-hopping Land of Lincolner, who warns,
“Sen. Clinton is working tirelessly, as is Bill Clinton, in Ohio and Texas….
This race is extraordinarily tight.”

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. TPM: "the viscious campaign...to smear & discredit ..Obama among American Jews

You Need To Know

MJ Rosenberg gives more background
on the vicious campaign -- already underway for many months --
to smear and discredit Barack Obama among American Jews.

--Josh Marshall

[grantcart]

19. Two new SDs for Obama

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4809460

please k/r

scroll down for updates

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. Clinton: 'Children' (uses republican style fear/scare tactics)

Clinton: 'Children'

Ben Smith, Politico. February 29, 2008 Video at link

Clinton is up with the scariest ad of the cycle, one that echoes, in a soft-focus way,
some of President Bush's 2004 campaign spots.

It features a child sleeping in bed and an unnamed emergency ringing the White House phone,
then argues that we need a president "tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world."

'Who do you want answering the phone?" the ad asks.

Whichever Democrat is nominated, they can expect harsher versions of this coming from the Republican side in the fall.

[grantcart]

21. Add another SD = 3 today for Obama already

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4809460&mesg_id=4819700

pls kick to keep it visible tks

[grantcart]

22. What's up with Hillary

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4817652

Closer examination of today's announcement that HRC had raised $ 35,000,000 in February brings forth the possibility of a different explanation of why the candidate has continued the campaign at full speed until atleast Mar 4th

First some assumptions
Summary
Because of the following

1) Clintons are smart
2) Not power obsessed but have back up plan
3) Impossible to make up delegate flow
4) Dramatic increase in Revenue
5) Attempt to grab control of media last weekend fails/polls drop - Debate emphasis fighter+informercial for money
6) After Debate nothing harsh that would neg impact GE
7) Ad buys are modest even though revenue is huge

Thesis

The best explanation for all of the facts above is that the Clintons have come to the conclusion that there is no way to stop Barack Obama. With the huge increase in donations there is no incentive for them to stop campaigning and stop the revenue flow. In this theory, the Clintons have decided to maintain the campaign to Mar 4th so that they can continue to generate revenue so that they can pay off their debts, repay the loan and leave the campaign with a significant war chest for the future.

They are not throwing in the 'kitchen sink' and going super negative nor are they going heavy in media buys.

That war chest could be used for her future campaigns but also as a PAC to support other candidates that would help build support for her next political move (majority leader of the Senate if Obama wins or seeds for Pres 08 if he loses). If this scenario is correct, it would be logical that she would end her campaign on Tuesday Mar 4th with a strong concession speech and leave the campaign on a high note with a grateful party and a huge $ warchest


Details in thread

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. Obama: "I’ll never see the threat of terrorism as a way to scare up votes"

Obama: "I’ll never see the threat of terrorism as a way to scare up votes"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4819709

Thanks to Sabra.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. Pam Spaulding: Obama's Campaign Reaches Out to LGBT Community

Obama's Campaign Reaches Out to LGBT Community with Ad Buys in Texas, Ohio

Posted by Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend at 1:15 PM on February 28, 2008.

"This is a real sign of recognition and support of the LGBT communities in Red states."

(UPDATE: The Obama campaign has released another open letter to the LGBT community. It went up first on The Bilerico Project. The text is below the fold.)

The Advocate reports that Obama's not taking any votes for granted as the campaign launched a targeted ad buy courting the LGBT communities in Ohio and Texas.

Full-page ads will appear starting this Friday in Outlook Weekly of Columbus, the Gay People's Chronicle of Cleveland, the Dallas Voice, and OutSmart, which is Houston-based. Buying afull-page, four-color ad that appears one time typically costs anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 in weekly publications. In the Gay People's Chronicle, for instance, the ad cost about $850, according to the paper's advertising manager;the same ad went for about $1,500 in the Dallas Voice.

According to Eric Stern (member of Obama's LGBT steering committee) the buy is "a call for the country to come together and unify around creating national progress toward equality for LGBT Americans," and Obama intends to continue direct appeals to the LGBT community to cut into Hillary Clinton's support in that demo.

more at the link

[grantcart]

26. for info

Help Obama with GLBT outreach in Austin
by: ndhapple
Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 16:12:57 PM CST
Crossposted at DailyKos...
Many of you may know that I was an Edwards supporter at one time. I am now volunteering with the Obama campaign in Austin doing LGBT outreach. As all of you in Texas know, there are no stickers, signs, buttons, or much of anything to go around.

Last Saturday several volunteers with the campaign went down to clubs on 4th street and distributed more than 2300 rainbow stickers in about 2.5 hours. We would like to do it again but can't do it without your help

[TheDoorbellRang]

25. K&R. Thanks for pulling this all together n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

27. Ohio State U. student newspaper endorses Obama, questions Clinton's tactics

Ohio State University's The Lantern endorses Obama

by Sam Graham-Felsen Friday,February 29, 2008 Cites Clinton's Rove style tactics

Ohio State University's student newspaper, The Lantern, has endorsed Barack Obama... OSU is the largest university in the US...



However, we have seen a side of Clinton throughout the last several weeks - many sides in fact - that leads us to question her tactics. In repeatedly accusing Obama of underhanded attacks, which she alleged to be right out of "Karl Rove's playbook," it is becoming clearer by the day that it is she who has become the Rove character in this novel. Her less-than-cataclysmic accusation of plagiarism last week coupled with her chief strategist's snide jabs at Obama's teenage drug use - which the Illinois senator had confessed to in his first book, "Dreams From My Father" - further illustrates the Clinton camp's evoking of the Rove-esque negativity that so intrinsically defined Bush's rise to power. And to remind us of the ever-present war, as she did during an interview Tuesday with David Brody of the Christian Broadcast Network, as a means of refuting Obama's so-called cult of personality, only serves to remind us how the war began in the first place and who voted to begin it.

Clinton's resumé is certainly impressive. Her undeniable and immense knowledge of the American political system and all its various cogs and inner workings provides her a great lure, particularly for those Americans so in shock from the complete ineptness and incompetence of the Bush administration. Brilliant as she might be, she is not the remedy for the political apathy that has effectively transfused itself throughout the last seven years. She simply has too many enemies and the Republicans have a boundless arsenal against her. The conservative electorate so put off by McCain would flock to the polls in droves should Clinton lock the nomination. Their hatred for her is far and beyond any grudges they might hold for the oftentimes centrist Arizona senator. As Bush's former deputy assistant Peter Wehner wrote for the Washington Post Feb. 3, the GOP would not have much ammunition should Obama seal the nomination. "A number of prominent Republicans I know, who would wage a pitched battle against Hillary Clinton, like Obama and would find it hard to generate much enthusiasm in opposing him," he said.

By refusing to accept campaign money from lobbyists - a practice many contend undermines the very foundation of democracy - Obama has proven politicians can feasibly run on grassroot support alone and prosper from it. It would be wonderful to have a president not beholden to the PACs as we are so used to. Unfortunately, in order for him to be a competent leader, Obama will need to learn that by ignoring special interests, he cannot hope to get much legislation passed in Congress. Although he might be through playing "the game" in Washington, his colleagues are not.

read it all at the link

[grantcart]

28. Obama supporters start lining up at 4 am in Austin

3:45am!
by: Ian
Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:59:23 AM CST
You'd think that after Obama had inspired 20,000 and 30,000 person rallies in Austin, along with a June rally and February Town Hall in San Antonio and a 12,000 person rally last night in San Marcos, that just maybe, Central Texans would no longer be super excited about Obama's Austin Town Hall this morning.
Wrong.

The line for this morning's Austin Town Hall started forming at 3:45am. It was just above freezing this morning, but that didn't deter Team Obama. We're fired up and ready to go!

[grantcart]

29. Yvonne Davis DNC (TX) for Obama 4th for the day

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4809460&mesg_id=4820893

[Scurrilous]

30. Kick

:kick:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

31. GE MAP McCain vs Obama

GE MAP McCain vs Obama
cross posted, see the link
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4815270

[Hope And Change]

32. Gallup Daily Poll: Obama 49%, Clinton 42%

http://www.gallup.com/poll/104695/Gallup-Daily-Tracking-Election-2008.aspx">Link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

33. Obama condemns 'fearmongering' Clinton ad

Obama condemns 'fearmongering' Clinton ad
Times Online, UK

Barack Obama today condemned a new advertisement from Hillary Clinton for "playing on people's fears" and exploiting terrorist threats to win votes.

Video: Is Clinton's ad the new "Daisy Girl"?

Barack Obama today condemned a new advertisement from Hillary Clinton for "playing on people's fears" and exploiting terrorist threats to win votes.

...Mr Obama, speaking to military veterans in Texas yesterday, responded rapidly. "I will never use the threat of terrorism as a way of scaring up votes" he said. "We've seen these ads before...It won't work this time. Because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is: What kind of judgment will you make when you answer?"

...

[grantcart]

34. Obama's Texas Ground Game

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/02/29/obama_texas/index.html

Obama's got ground game

Shrewd grass-roots organizing has helped the candidate grab primary victories nationwide, and could prove key to vanquishing Hillary Clinton in Texas.

By Mike Madden

snip

The emphasis on organizing -- which has helped the campaign harness enthusiasm about Obama and propel a nationwide political movement -- has been one of the keys to Obama's success so far. Beginning with the 23 caucuses and primaries on Feb. 5, Obama has steadily built a delegate lead by simply playing to win just about everywhere the calendar took the campaign. Hillary Clinton's wins have been blunted by Democratic Party rules that award delegates proportionately -- and Obama racked up blowout wins in states where Clinton never gave him a serious run.

snip

Obama's winning streak left Clinton aides floating a line of spin that has flown about as well as the Hindenburg: "Well, of course he won there -- he tried to."

snip

Considering Obama's background as a neighborhood organizer in Chicago, his campaign's focus on the ground game isn't surprising. "The value community organizing comes from the top down," said Buffy Wicks, the deputy field director in Texas, referring to her employer's paradigm. "For us, it's people talking to their neighbors; that's the premise of our program."

snip


Indeed, the strategy is built on frequent, personal contact with voters. In the first few weeks working in Texas, for example, supporters called more than 15,000 voters. "We don't want people to get all stressed out about worrying about Social Security policy section 8.47," Wicks said. "We want them to say, 'This is why I'm concerned about this issue, because of my own experience,' and we really try to foster that with our activists," she said. "We believe politics is personal, and the things that happen to you in your life shape your views." At a session in Austin for precinct captains last week, organizers told more than 20 volunteers to tell voters why they like Obama: "Remember, it's not kumbaya-ish, it's really powerful."

In Texas, Obama is relying on a network of precinct captains that has been growing daily. The campaign trained more than 4,000 of them (Texas has about 8,300 precincts) in statewide sessions last week that sometimes drew overflow crowds. The campaign is also shrewdly leveraging technology: Its 29-page info packet takes volunteers through the Texas Obama Precinct Captains Web site, which the campaign set up to give activists direct access to a massive database on voters.


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At Obama rallies with overflow crowds, the campaign collects e-mail addresses and invites people to join the precinct captain network. All the online tools also tell volunteers how to quickly get in touch with organizers offline, and they let the campaign keep track of what its activists are up to without having to check in on them constantly. By the time aides opened their 10 regional headquarters around Texas last week (which, in turn, will supervise smaller satellite offices), there were already volunteers on the ground working all over the state.

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Obama aides suggest their field plan illustrates a broader point about leadership. "We netted more delegates out of Kansas than did out of New Jersey," said Obama strategist Robert Gibbs. "For the candidate or the campaign that seems to discuss that they're ready from Day One, they didn't seem to have a plan from Day One for this campaign."

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The one-time front-runner, who by most accounts must win Texas to stay alive in the race, said last week of the state's complicated setup, "I had no idea how bizarre it is. We have grown men crying over it." (Besides the two-part voting, Texas Democrats award a greater number of delegates for winning precincts where the party did well in the last two elections -- many of which are currently Obama strongholds.)

An inferior ground game could make it hard for Clinton to emerge with the most delegates in Texas, even if she wins the statewide popular vote (which recent polls show she might not do, anyway). "We're not going to give up on the process, we're not going to bend to the process, we're not going to whine about the process," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Clinton-supporting Democrat from Houston. But then she proceeded to ask whether caucuses should be eliminated in future nomination fights. "From my perspective, it is not the fully democratic process." It is, however, the Democratic process -- and the one by which the well-organized Obama campaign appears to be closing in on the nomination.