Barack Obama

Barack Obama

• Hope in the Heart of the Big Apple- Crossposted at One Million Strong and DailyKos.
  
  I'm a member of a merry little band of Obama volunteers in New York City. This is the story of what we're doing on the ground. I'm just one person in a small group in a big city in a very big Super-duper Tuesday state, a state in which the front runner in the race is a popular U.S. Senator. Our group, Downtown East for Obama, may be a small piece of the overall campaign, but we've had a big impact. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished, and have seen first hand that Obama supporters are the most fired up, hard-working volunteers out there. It's exciting to imagine groups all across this city, state and nation doing their part--just as we've been doing ours--to help Barack win the nomination.
• Obama ROCKS the Apollo!- Crossposted at DailyKos, One Million Strong and The Albany Project. Just a quick photo-recap of last night's fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Barack drew an overflow crowd of supporters and soon-to-be supporters. Apologies for the quality of the photos. My little digital is not up to the task of taking photos in a dark theater from 15 rows back. Well, you'll get the idea anyway.
  As is always the case with Obama events, people started lining up early. I was there 1 1/2 hours before the doors were scheduled to open, and the line in front of me was already quite long. A friend who was with me, who is still undecided for 2008, was amazed by the crowd, remarking, "How does he do this? It's incredible that he attracts all of these people!"
• Obama Rising -- New York edition- Crossposted at One Million Strong, Daily Kos and The Albany Project.
  

  Obama Qualifies for Full Delegate Slate in New York

  
  Here is the press release:

  Through the work of hundreds of volunteers, the Obama campaign filed for the New York State ballot and qualified for full delegate slates in all of New York’s 29 congressional districts.

• HOPE in the Heart of the Big Apple- Crossposted at DailyKos and One Million Strong.
  If you want to know where the excitement and enthusiasm are in the 2008 primary race, you need look no further than an Obama event. If you want to know who brings together people from all walks of life, working toward a common purpose, check out the junior Senator from Illinois and his supporters. If you want to know what hope looks like, follow me below the fold....
  Obama supporters in New York are stepping up our activities as we move toward super-duper Tuesday. We've been registering new voters, signing up supporters and volunteers, distributing literature and stickers and spreading hope. Yesterday, Lamont, one of my favorite Obama supporters, led a "Walk for Obama" up Broadway from Union Square to Columbus Circle. I'll admit that when I first heard his plan, I thought it might be a bit overly ambitious. But I've learned not to underestimate Lamont.
• The Shoulders of Giants- "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." With these words, Isaac Newton paid homage to Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. Newton's "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" is undeniably the greatest single scientific work ever; it introduced the calculus and explained basic laws of motion, planetary motion and gravity. But Newton was building on the works of those who came before him -- and even someone as Narcissistic as Newton was willing to give credit where credit was due. Today, in American politics, we have the "phenomenon" of Barack Obama. His message of change is nothing new; politicians have advocated for some sort of change ever since there were politicians. His speaking style isn't new either; preachers and politicians have been just as inspirational for millenia. What is new is that Barack Obama could actually become President, something no inspirational, progressive politician has been able to do. A large part of the reason he could actually win has to do with a movement that started five years ago.
• Why Barack and Hillary supporters must come together- Today, March 15, is Ruth Bader Ginsburg's 75th birthday. Next month, John Paul Stevens will turn 88. Chances are, the next president will get to name their replacements. Do you want a right-wing-controlled John McCain to be the one? Yup -- I'm playing the fear card, and I'm fine with that.
• Howard Dean's not leaving- According to several reports (the AP, C-SPAN, the NY Times), Barack Obama is keeping Howard Dean on as Chairman of the DNC. While many people will have problems with this move, especially as fundraising at the DNC has not been what it should be, I think it's an excellent move, for two reasons. The first reason is that, as I wrote in February, Obama owes his success in large part to Howard Dean. The movement that lifted Obama to the nomination began five years ago with the Dean campaign. It should not end with this election, and keeping Howard Dean on is both a symbolic and a practical statement to that effect. The second reason is that Howard Dean's 50-state strategy is working, both short-term and long-term. It not only provided a tremendous boost to the effort that led to Democratic control of both houses of Congress, but it has also engaged and energized many people nationwide who will be the next generation of political leaders in America.
• Kudos to Clinton- Full disclosure: I have never been a big fan of Hillary Clinton. Many of you have read my rants against some of her campaign tactics. With that history in mind... She gave a speech today! It had to be the most difficult speech she has ever made. It had to be the most difficult public act she has ever taken. And she rose above all expectations, even those of her most ardent supporters. Hillary Clinton is not a great public speaker. She is good, and has gotten better over the campaign. But this speech exceeded any she has ever made, but a very large margin. It was, in many ways, classic Hillary, but the speech she made, in terms of both the writing and the delivery, lifted her to a new level. There are some questions about why Barack Obama was not there; I believe he wasn't there because this was her day, her speech, her moment in the sun. And I believe she shone. For those of us who believe we absolutely need a Democratic victory this fall, today is a very good day.
• DNC convention -- breaking news?- UPDATE: I posted this on July 3, and four days later it's official. Obama will make his acceptance speech at Invesco Field. Remember -- you heard it here first! *********************************** Rumors are flying hot and heavy that Barack Obama will make his acceptance speech on the last night of the Democratic convention not at the Pepsi Center, which can seat 21,000, but at Invesco Field (formerly "Mile High Stadium"). That's the home of the Denver Broncos, and seats 75,000! What better way to end a convention? Of course, that begs the question -- from where do they drop the balloons? On the other hand, it may be for the best after the balloon disaster at the 2004 convention in Boston (I'll never forget watching CNN and hearing somebody off-camera yelling, "where's the f***ing balloons!").
• Obama's Clinton problem- Despite several public appearances and speeches, Hillary Clinton has failed to convince many of her staunchest supporters that the race is over, that Barack Obama is (and deserves to be) the nominee, and that we need to get behind him in order to prevent four more years of McBush. How did it happen? As long ago as April 1, it was obvious to anyone who crunched the numbers that Obama was going to be the nominee. If Clinton had ended her campaign then, or shortly afterward (perhaps after the Pennsylvania primary on April 22), we wouldn't be having this problem. Instead, she ratcheted up the divisive rhetoric, pushed for every vote, and insisted for two and a half months that she, and not Obama, deserved the nomination. It was, to say the least, incredibly selfish, and we may pay the price come November. The result was a cadre of near-fanatical delegates and voters (a sizable percentage of the electorate, according to the polls) who would have given Obama a double-digit lead, but instead may stay home on election day.
• Republican Racism- Congressional Quarterly quotes Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) calling the Obamas "uppity." Spread the word.