“OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS Monday May 12 2008

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO “OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS

Monday May 12 2008



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

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

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

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

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

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

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. Dream ticket for who????

Before the talk of a Obama/Hillary "dream ticket" goes too far, are we talking about the the Republicans' dream, or everyone else's?

Hillary McClinton Is McCain's Dream Candidate, Not Obama's

The Conscientious Objector May 11 2008

Now that it is apparent to all, except perhaps Hillary Clinton and some of her die-hard supporters, that Barack Obama will be the Democratic presidential nominee, the drumbeat for a "dream" ticket is starting. But before this goes too far, we need to ask, whose "dream" are we talking about?

Our Republican opponents' dream or ours?

John McCain is in deep trouble, and not just because of the legacy of George Bush. He is in trouble with much of the Republican base, particularly the Religious Right, who never have trusted him. It is no accident that turnout in nearly all Republican primaries has been low, that McCain's fundraising has been dismal and that in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, nearly 25 percent of Republican voters voted against him, despite the fact that he clearly will be the Republican nominee.

While McCain was the strongest in a weak field of Republican candidates, his candidacy clearly is not galvanizing conservatives. There is only one candidate who can do that: Hillary Clinton. To the conservative base of the Republican Party, she is the Democratic demon and the candidate the Republicans' want to face. She is Rush Limbaugh's candidate of choice. She is the candidate who the Right would use to raise money and turn out volunteers. She is the only potential Democratic VP who would build Republican enthusiasm and inspire the grassroots Republican campaign.

She also is the candidate who consistently measures the highest "unfavorable" ratings of anyone who ever has run for the presidency. In an ABC News poll, Clinton polls 54 percent unfavorable; perhaps even worse, 58 percent of voters say she is not honest and trustworthy. Both Clintons stand out for the amount of voter antipathy they attract: Thirty-nine percent of voters have a "strongly unfavorable" opinion of Hillary Clinton; only 22 percent have a "strongly favorable" view. Thirty-four percent are strongly negative on Bill Clinton and 51 percent have an "unfavorable" opinion of him. And Hillary's low-road campaign has had an impact: Forty-one percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters describe the tone of the Democratic campaign as "mostly negative," and by nearly a 4 to 1 margin, 52 percent to 14 percent, blame Clinton. Is taking baggage like this into the general election anyone's "dream" but a Republican's?

...more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. The Pantsuit Rules

The Pantsuit Rules

May 11, 2008 at 10:19 PM by David Pleasant

Hillary actually said this in a Grafton, W.V. stump speech: "It’s not over until the lady in the pantsuit says it is."

[grantcart]

6. At the fund raiser in NY she said to the crowd of enthusiastic professional

women who were enthusiasticaly cheering her on:

"If you don't like what your hearing about the news of the campaign - Turn off the TV"

[grantcart]

3. A funny thing happened on the way to the numbers - what happened to Hillary's Add On SDs?

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

[goclark]

29. Did they pay off her debts?

[grantcart]

4. Here is a complete compendium of all of the articles of interest for Obama in W Virginia

that would be none -

[MadBadger]

5. Rasmussen GE polls show Obama within 3 in VA and NC

down 1 in Michigan, where he hasnt campaigned yet. They are leaked numbers that should come out tomorrow.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

7. Hillary's campaign is $20m in debt

Hillary's campaign is $20m in debt

by John Aravosis (DC) · 5/12/2008

And I seem to remember hearing it costs $1m a day to run a campaign.
Hillary's fairy tale comes with a cost. At this point, she's simply bluffing.
But it's not clear what she's trying to win. She's not stupid, she knows she lost
the nomination. So then what is she doing? Trying to suck up to MI and FL for
the next election in 2012? Trying to hurt Obama out of revenge? Trying to
become Obama's VP? Trying to assuage her ego by finishing up all the primaries,
to hell with how much damage she does the party? I suspect it's all of the above,
plus staying on deck in case Obama gets hit by a meteor.
In any case, stories like this will only accelerate her campaign's demise.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. In Late Breaking News at DU: Wa Po on Clinton Campaign's $20 Million debt

I've posted this to the Late Breaking News, in hopes that it won't sink as quickly as
it might elsewhere. It qualifies, because the article is dated Monday.

Clinton Team Acknowledges $20 Million Debt

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3305397


We need people in WVA to see this.
If she can't run her campaign finances, how can she run the US economy?
This discredits much of her "ready from day one" mantra.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. John McCain’s Army Of 112 Lobbyists

John McCain’s Army Of 112 Lobbyists
Published May 11, 2008 Oliver Willis

It’s not so much a presidential campaign as it is a lobbying firm. They’d be much more at home on K Street than Pennsylvania Avenue. Let’s keep it that way.

Over the last two days, John McCain campaign has lost two advisors who resigned because of their lobbying firm’s work for the military regime in Myanmar. Unfortunately, these men are only two of 112 lobbyists who are advising, working for or raising money for John McCain’s presidential campaign. And they are not the only ones who have lobbied for foreign governments with headed by questionable foreign governments, including dictators.

http://www.oliverwillis.com/index.php/2008/05/11/john-mccains-army-of-112-lobbyists/

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. House Republicans Joining Endangered Species List

House Republicans Joining Endangered Species List
Published May 11, 2008 Oliver Willis

Even their own realize the problem with running a “Ooooh Obama is scary” campaign when your party’s brand is rotten.

Tom Davis, who chaired the NRCC for four years, said he doubts the effectiveness of the anti-Obama strategy because of the contrast between the consistently unpopular Bush and the likely Democratic nominee.

“When Bush tries to articulate a vision,” Davis said, pausing to choose his words carefully, “he will butcher the Gettysburg Address. Obama, he will make an A&P grocery list sing.”

http://www.oliverwillis.com/index.php/2008/05/11/house-republicans-joining-endangered-species-list/

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. Clinton’s diminishing of black voters

Clinton’s diminishing of black voters
Oliver Willis

All the love built up between the Clintons and black folks became love and war when a black man stood between them and their castle.

http://www.oliverwillis.com/index.php/2008/05/11/links-for-2008-05-11/

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. Hillary enters death-with-dignity phase

Hillary enters death-with-dignity phase

If she hasn't already quit, it's hard to envision Clinton continuing her unwinnable -- even with Florida and Michigan -- battle beyond June 4.

By Walter Shapiro

May 12, 2008 | Despite evidence to the contrary, Hillary and Bill Clinton do indeed know the meaning of the word "quit." The problem is that they exclusively define it (courtesy of Webster's Third International Dictionary) as "any of various small passerine birds chiefly of the West Indies." So if Hillary is asked any ornithological questions during the run-up to the June 1 Puerto Rican primary, she will happily talk about quits. Otherwise, the topic is off the table -- at least for the moment.

The New York senator has obviously reached the death-with-dignity phase of her 2008 ambitions. Normally in presidential politics three types of shortages drive a candidate out of a hopeless race -- a lack of press coverage, money and prominent supporters willing to keep on spinning and sowing. But, as Barack Obama is learning with each passing day, none of the usual rules apply while waiting for Hillary to hoist the white flag.

The Clintons on the downslide remain a riveting psychodrama, so the press pack is unlikely to abandon them to speculate about President Obama's would-be secretary of agriculture. Having already invested (or squandered) $11 million on the campaign, Hillary and her n'er-do-well husband have another $98 million to go before they tap out. And after eight years in the White House, the Clintons have acquired enough loyalists like campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe (who appeared Sunday on "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation") to dutifully go through the motions on her behalf on national television.

So what will it take for Obama to finally be allowed to celebrate the triumph of hope over experience?

Clinton's dreamscape has been reduced to the kind of defy-the-odds optimism of hard-core lottery-ticket investors who actually believe the TV ads that claim, "All you need is a dollar and dream." In all likelihood, the only thing that could possibly save Clinton at this point is an out-of-nowhere Obama scandal like the revelation that his minister before Jeremiah Wright was Jerry Falwell. The best argument that McAuliffe could muster on "Meet the Press" was: "By the end of this process, I believe we will be ahead in the popular vote. I believe that within the delegates it will be within 100."

...more at the link

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/05/12/end_game/index.html?source=rss&aim=/news/feature

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

13. Debate

Debate
By Mike Luckovich | Monday, May 12, 2008, 07:18 AM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

[hokies4ever]

14. Congressman Allen to announce endorsement at 10:30am

From: http://www.wmtw.com/news/16236591/detail.html

"PORTLAND, Maine -- Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen will announce his choice for president today. Allen is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are competing for support of remaining superdelegates nationwide. Allen will make his announcement at a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Monday at his campaign headquarters in Portland."

Doesn't say who he is endorsing, but my money is on Obama. Obama won his district 63% to 37% and won Maine 59% to 40%. Expect this to be the first superdelegate of today for Obama. We probably need a superdelegates subthread.

[SoxFan]

17. Organization, too

Obama has a formidable grassroots field organization in Maine, and Allen will want to tap it in his senate campaign. He's more of a traditional establishment politico than his grassrootsy predecesor, and a nice infusion of energy will surely help.

[hokies4ever]

15. Obama mulling visit to Hawaii

From: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/NEWS05/805120338/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT

At first glance, it doesn't seem newsworthy. However, this passage caught my eye:

"A Hawai'i visit could include a major address at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, where Obama's maternal grandfather, who fought in World War II, is buried, The New York Times reported yesterday."

Looks like a great way to honor his grandfather and reinforce his patriotic values. There may not be a dry eye in the crowd.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

16. Obama Takes the Lead in Superdelegates

Obama Takes the Lead in Superdelegates
By Al Giordano



NBC’s Tim Russert reminded Clinton surrogate Terry McAuliffe on Meet The Press this morning that some undeclared superdelegates (among them our own Super-Deb) are none too happy with Senator Clinton’s recent behavior, and McAuliffe incredibly responded by saying neither race nor gender ought to be talked about...

...Also interesting was how Russert nailed McAuliffe over the double standard by which he criticizes current DNC chairman Howard Dean for not seating the Michigan and Florida delegates when, as DNC chair, McAuliffe himself did the same thing. McAuliffe defended that he only cut Michigan’s delegation by 50 percent, so Russert pushed him and asked if the same solution would be acceptable to him and the Clinton campaign this year:

...Also interesting is the over-glorified role McAuliffe thinks he and his Clintons would or should have in an Obama campaign:

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe if Senator Obama’s the nominee that those white ethic blue-collar voters will come back and support him?

MR. McAULIFFE: Yes. Sure. If he’s the nominee. We’re not there yet. But if he happened to be the nominee, we’ll all be unified, Tim. This will all come together. It will be exciting, everybody will be out working. Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, everybody. We’ll all be over there to help Senator Obama.

I personally don’t believe a word McAuliffe says about anything, and look forward to the moment, once Obama’s the nominee, that McAuliffe won’t be sent out, not even once, to be a surrogate on TV anymore.

Posted on May 11th, 2008 by Al Giordano

...more at the link
http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=1179

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. Hillary Once Again Creates Fake News To Attack Obama

Monday, May 12, 2008
Hillary Once Again Creates Fake News To Attack Obama
The Personal IS Political

I just posted a blog about dishonesty coming from the McCain campaign, but that isn't just a Republican problem, it is apparently a Democratic problem as well, as least so far as Hillary can be considered a Democrat. Hillary's most recent ad attacking Obama for being against the McCain/Hillary gas tax pander scheme/$10 billion handout to oil companies (and apparently she is attacking, by extension, everyone who opposes her gas tax pander scheme--so all Democrats, all economists, all experts and pretty much everyone who isn't a Republican or Hillary, including many of her own supporters) is full of the typical distortions and lies, but there is an interesting example of deception hidden in the ad that almost went by unnoticed. In the ad they flash a newspaper headline which reads "Obama attacks Clinton's gas tax plan", only the article it is attached to isn't about the gas tax plan at all, it is a story about something completely unrelated, a scandal called "Troopergate". See for yourself (original video here):

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/video/182.aspx



So Hillary's campaign manufactured a newspaper headline for their attack ad against Obama, because apparently they couldn't find a real headline saying what they wanted it to say, so why not just fudge it? I asked this question in my last post about McCain, so I have to ask it here: What does this say about how she would act as president? (Again, not happening, the issue is moot, but the people of the upcoming states deserve to have all the information when casting their ballots) So what happens when President Hillary Clinton wants to attack a country but the evidence doesn't ad up to what they want it to say? Do they just fudge the data? Pressure the CIA to fudge the data? Cherry pick the data? This is just what Bush did. And you may say, "but wait, this was just a headline in an attack ad", but it is just one example of countless of Hillary's "problem" with facts, with lying, with distortions, with manipulation, with faking the news...there is a very real pattern here, and her conduct throughout this campaign gives us every reason to be concerned, or even expect, that Hillary would freely lie to the American people as president, and be quite comfortable doing so.

And as I mentioned before, the real article they showed in their ad was about so-called "Troopergate", which was a scandal involving Hillary supporter Eliot Spitzer in which he allegedly ordered the State Police to create special records of NY State Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City.

...
http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/2008/05/hillary-once-again-creates-fake-news-to.html

[berni_mccoy]

19. Hillary's Incompetence Revealed (Again) LINK

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/berni_mccoy/321

Ready On Day One... NOT.

Thoroughly Vetted... NOT.

Bush-level incompetence...YEP.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. Hillary's Political Character And Health Care

Sunday, May 11, 2008
Hillary's Political Character And Health Care
The Personal IS Political

I know the issue is moot at this point, but the people of West Virginia and Kentucky apparently still need some more information on who they are about to vote for, and I'd like to think the race issue wouldn't keep them from voting for the better candidate. So here is a look at Hillary's vindictive character, and how she botched health care back in the 90s because of her management and divisive political (and personal) character:

TN Superdelegate: "Once Hillary sees that he's a dead man anyway"
by rioduran, Daily Kos

And make sure to read this article about her 90s health care pet project, it is a great example of why her refusal to allow access to her First Lady records, despite her running on her "experience" from this time, is so important to this campaign. This article shows just one of the many revealing things she is hiding from her White House days.

http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/2008/05/hillarys-political-character-and-health.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. Edwards Cautions Clinton

Edwards Raises Doubts About Clinton’s Chances

By BRIAN KNOWLTON
Published: May 12, 2008

WASHINGTON — John Edwards, a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, cautioned Sunday that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton “has to be really careful that she’s not damaging our prospects” by staying in the contest against Senator Barack Obama.

While Mr. Edwards, a onetime senator from North Carolina, has not endorsed either candidate, he made it clear on the CBS News program “Face the Nation” that he saw little chance that Mrs. Clinton could manage a come-from-behind victory.

“You can no longer make a compelling case for the math,” Mr. Edwards said, referring to delegate totals that increasingly favor Mr. Obama. “The math is very, very hard for her.”

...more at the link

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/us/politics/11cnd-campaign.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

22. Clinton campaign courts media backlash, protest vote

If she can't have the nomination, she feels that no one should. Its about power, Clinton power
and she doesn't care enough about our country, our future, the poor people... its about her:

HRC courts media backlash, protest vote
By KENNETH P. VOGEL | 5/11/08 5:24 PM EST Text Size:



HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — There’s a motivational shift afoot in Hillary nation.

The legions of Hillary Rodham Clinton backers still investing their cash, energy and emotion into her faltering bid for the Democratic presidential nomination seem driven not by the reasonable expectation that she can beat Barack Obama, but by the emotional desire to see her through to the end of voting and stick it to those who have already written her off.

Clinton’s campaign is fanning the flames of that backlash — against the media, against superdelegates who recently backed Obama and against Obama himself. Aides hope to convert the sentiments into protest votes that could deliver landslide victories in West Virginia and Kentucky, Clinton strongholds that are among the next three states to cast ballots.

No matter how big Clinton wins in West Virginia, which votes Tuesday, or Kentucky, which heads to the polls May 20 along with Oregon — a likely Obama win — she won’t significantly cut into Obama’s lead in pledged delegates or popular votes.

But if Clinton can rack up victories equal to or larger than the gaudy 30-point leads she holds in most polls of West Virginia and Kentucky voters, it would help her campaign press its central case to uncommitted superdelegates. Clinton aides argue that Obama has trouble with the working-class and elderly white voters who make up big chunks of the electorates in those states, and whose support Clinton contends will be key if Democrats are to defeat the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

...more at the link
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10260.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. How to end a presidential campaign

How to end a presidential campaign
By BEN SMITH | 5/12/08

There are 50 ways to leave your lover, 13 ways of looking at a blackbird, and at least six ways to drop out of a presidential race. With Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign running on empty with little hope of victory, the New York senator's allies and independent observers alike have begun to consider which one she’ll choose.

Clinton is balancing a range of considerations: her bank account; her political future and the party’s; her need to win back Obama’s supporters, particularly African-Americans; and her need to keep faith with voters in her own (nearly) half of the party, many of whom have grown to dislike her rival.

1) Never Say Die: There’s no rule that Clinton has to drop out just because she can’t win. The loser’s road to the August Democratic National Convention is a humiliating, unlikely path — she’d be broke, and she'd have to sit by and watch as her supporters defected, one by one, to the likely winner. On the other hand, the National Weather Service estimates that there’s a 1 in 2.8 million chance that Obama (or anyone else) will be struck by lightning in the next three months.

And hey, it’s working for Ron Paul.

2) Extract a Job: Clinton still has leverage. Every day she’s in the race, she reminds the media of Obama’s weaknesses with some voters and drives what threatens to become a self-fulfilling narrative about his inability to connect to working-class white voters. Bill Clinton, meanwhile, is roaming rural America, stoking the same resentments Republicans hope to use against Obama in the fall.

...more at the link
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10262.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. The Obama campaign's 'unsung hero'

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had just declared victory in the Nevada caucuses when most campaign reporters heard Jeffrey Berman’s voice for the first and only time.

The Obama campaign's 'unsung hero'
By BEN SMITH & AVI ZENILMAN | 5/11/08

...Berman, Sen. Barack Obama’s director of delegate selection, chimed in during a conference call with the media to make an unexpected case: Despite Clinton’s popular vote victory in Nevada and an authoritative Associated Press count giving Clinton the edge in the Nevada delegate count, Obama had actually won the state by the only measure that mattered.

“Obama had a majority in the district that had an odd number of delegates, so he won an extra seat,” Berman told the puzzled press; the Associated Press delegate expert, on the call, promised to revise his count.

...The bearded, no-profile 50-year-old lawyer’s central role in Obama’s likely nomination is emblematic of the depth of Obama’s preparation for the 2008 campaign.

Clinton’s delegate chief is the much-heralded, oft-profiled, tough-talking past master of the party’s rules, Harold Ickes. But Ickes had a broad portfolio that included fundraising and politicking, a lobbying and consulting business, and a sideline in bitter infighting — all conducted while Berman was concentrating solely on tasks such as hashing out the details of the mixed Texas primary system and arranging obscure Puerto Rican political deals.

...more at the link
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10249.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. Frank Rich: "Party Like It’s 2008" (the old political model fails)

By FRANK RICH
Published: May 11, 2008

ANOTHER weekly do-or-die primary battle, another round of wildly predicted “game changers” that collapsed in the locker room.

Hillary Clinton’s attempt to impersonate a Nascar-lovin’, gun-totin’, economist-bashin’ populist went bust: Asked which candidate most “shares your values,” voters in both North Carolina and Indiana exit polls opted instead for the elite and condescending arugula-eater. Bill Clinton’s small-town barnstorming tour, hailed as a revival of old-time Bubba bonhomie, proved to be yet another sabotage of his wife, whipping up false expectations for her disastrous showing in North Carolina. Barack Obama’s final, undercaffeinated debate performance, not to mention the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s attempted character assassination, failed to slow his inexorable path to the Democratic nomination.

“It’s still early,” Mrs. Clinton said on Wednesday. Though it’s way too late for her, she’s half-right. We’re only at the end of the beginning of this extraordinary election year. While we wait out her self-immolating exit, it’s a good time to pause the 24/7 roller coaster for a second and get our bearings. The reason that politicians and the press have gotten so much so wrong is that we keep forgetting what year it is. Only if we reboot to 2008 will the long march to November start making sense.

This is not 1968, when the country was so divided over race and war that cities and campuses exploded in violence. If you have any doubts, just look (to take a recent example) at the restrained response by New Yorkers, protestors included, to the acquittal of three police officers in the 50-bullet shooting death of an unarmed black man, Sean Bell.

...Now that the Obama-Clinton race is over, the new Beltway narrative has it that Mr. McCain, a likable “maverick” (who supported Mr. Bush in 95 percent of his votes last year, according to Congressional Quarterly), might override the war, the economy, Bush-loathing and the bankrupt Republican brand to be competitive with Mr. Obama. Anything can happen in politics, including real potential game changers, from Mr. McCain’s still-unreleased health records to new excavations of Mr. Obama’s history in Chicago. But as long as the likely Democratic nominee keeps partying like it’s 2008 while everyone else refights the battles of yesteryear, he will continue to be underestimated every step of the way.

...more at the link
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/opinion/11rich.html?em&ex=1210737600&en=c25da417ef385c5b&ei=5087%0A

[Aloha Spirit]

26. Two SD's so far today, Dolly Strazar from Hawai'i and Tom Allen from Maine.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

27. Bloomberg: Clinton Deadline Looms for Recouping $11 Million Personal Loan

Clinton Deadline Looms for Recouping $11 Million Personal Loan
By Jonathan D. Salant and Timothy J. Burger

May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton may have a financial incentive to remain in the presidential race for a while. And she has Senator John McCain to thank for it.

Clinton loaned her struggling campaign $11 million in recent months. A little-known provision of a 2002 campaign- finance law cosponsored by McCain prevents candidates who drop out of the race from raising money after the nominating conventions to repay themselves for personal loans.

Should Clinton fail to come up with the funds by the Democratic convention in August, she'll be out the $11 million. If she quits the campaign before then, she may find it hard to get people to keep giving cash just so she can retire her debt.

...There is one sleight-of-hand -- though legal -- tactic Clinton could use to pay off debts to others, though not to herself.

Through March 31, she had collected $23 million in donations designated for the general election.

Redirect Contributions

She could ask those donors to redirect the contributions toward her 2012 Senate re-election campaign rather than the 2008 presidential race, said Kenneth Gross, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer now at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. The Senate campaign could then pay off the current debt to vendors and consultants, including Penn, to whom she owed $4.5 million through March 31.

...more at the link

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=as5a58KS7ky8&refer=home

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. Newsweek: The O Team - Obama on cover!

Sit Back, Relax, Get Ready to Rumble

How do you know if Barack Obama is unhappy with what you're saying— or not saying? At meetings of his closest advisers, he likes to lean back, put his feet on the table and close his eyes. If he doesn't like how the conversation is going, he will lean forward, put his feet on the floor and "adjust his socks, kind of start tugging at them," says Michael Strautmanis, a counselor to the campaign. Obama wants people to talk, but he doesn't want to intimidate them. "If you haven't said anything, he'll call on you," says Strautmanis. "He's never said it, but he usually thinks if somebody is very quiet it's because they disagree with what everybody is saying ... so Barack will call on you and say, 'You've been awfully quiet'." There are no screamers on Team Obama; one senior Obama aide says he's heard him yell only twice in four years. Obama was explicit from the beginning: there was to be "no drama," he told his aides. "I don't want elbowing or finger-pointing. We're going to rise or fall together." Obama wanted steady, calm, focused leadership; he wanted to keep out the grandstanders and make sure the quiet dissenters spoke up. A good formula for running a campaign—or a presidency.

It worked against Hillary Clinton, whose own campaign has been rent by squabbling aides and turf battles. While Clinton veered between playing Queen Elizabeth I and Norma Rae, Obama and his team chugged along with a superior 50-state campaign strategy, racking up the delegates. If the candidate seemed weary and peevish or a little slow to respond at times, he never lost his cool. But the real test is yet to come. The Republican Party has been successfully scaring voters since 1968, when Richard Nixon built a Silent Majority out of lower- and middle-class folks frightened or disturbed by hippies and student radicals and blacks rioting in the inner cities. The 2008 race may turn on which party will win the lower- and middle-class whites in industrial and border states—the Democrats' base from the New Deal to the 1960s, but "Reagan Democrats" in most presidential elections since then. It is a sure bet that the GOP will try to paint Obama as "the other"—as a haughty black intellectual who has Muslim roots (Obama is a Christian) and hangs around with America-haters.

Obama says he's ready for the onslaught.

...more at the link


http://www.newsweek.com/id/136440

[Aloha Spirit]

30. CQ Politics delegate prediction for tomorrow: 18-10 or 19-11 (Clinton advantage)

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002826695

includes district description and breakdown.

[Aloha Spirit]

31. Guess what? Sen. Akaka, Hawai'i, endorses Obama! (# 3 today)

http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/

“For more than a year, people have asked me who I plan to endorse for President of the United States. I’ve waited this long for several reasons. The Democratic campaign began with more than ten declared candidates. As a veteran of more than 30 years on Capitol Hill, I knew each and everyone of them and had worked closely with all. I had no doubt that each of them had the knowledge and ability to lead our country out of the financial and diplomatic chaos that we’ve experienced for the past eight years.

Having waged a number of campaigns myself, I can tell you they are not easy. Campaigns are tests, and there’s no tougher one than running for President. Like many Americans, I’ve followed the campaign for President closely and with growing interest, eager to see which candidate would articulate a vision for our country, encourage hope and renew faith in our government, and stand to the rigors of a nationwide contest.

After giving it a lot of thought, I’ve decided that for me, that candidate is Barack Obama.

[Aloha Spirit]

32. Idaho Chairman Keith Roark endorses Obama (#4 today)

http://www.newwest.net/city/article/idaho_superdelegates_united_for_obama/C108/L108/

"The unprecedented enthusiasm Senator Obama has generated here in Idaho is unlike anything I have seen in my 31 years of active political participation in this State. He has captured the imagination and mint fresh optimism of young voters from Coeur d’Alene to Caldwell, from Murphy to Montpelier, from Twin Falls to Idaho Falls. I firmly believe that the critical process of rebuilding the Idaho Democratic Party will receive a once in a lifetime boost from Senator Obama’s candidacy."

[Aloha Spirit]

33. A slightly positive news piece out of West Virginia--Obama's not a Muslim!

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/18864284.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

34. Dem gov puts wind in McCain sails

Part of Clinton's goal to kneecap Obama for 2008, so she can come back in 2012
when Grandpa McCain is in a nursing home?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3306446