I Don’t Hate America!

As I channel-surf watching coverage of the results of the New Hampshire presidential primary (supplemented with viewing of the Uptake’s live coverage), it’s become clear that the media is not telling the whole story about this primary.

By “not telling the whole story” I mean no one has told me that Minnesota’s own Ole Savior is on the Democratic presidential ballot in New Hampshire (link to PDF).

Furthermore, none of the major networks, nor the Uptake, are displaying his numbers.  Shameful.

In all seriousness, congrats to John McCain on his victory.  It looks like Barack Obama is gaining a little bit of ground on Hillary, but let’s keep watching to see how it turns out.

Last night I predicted John Edwards would be victorious in Iowa today.  What I largely disregarded was the 15 percent threshold required to advance past a first round of voting under the arcane procedures.

While Kucinich, Biden and Richardson’s support individually may not even hit the radar, on a second round of voting could crown Barack Obama victor.  Tuesday, Kucinich told his supporters to move to Obama if he is unable to make the 15% threshold in any precinct (in reality, nearly every precinct).

Today though, we learn the Iowa Independent reports that Bill Richardson will send his supporters to Obama as well. We went on to learn the same thing about Joe Biden.

Of course, everyone is essentially saying “move along; nothing to see here.”

Let’s see what happens; it should be fun!

I would pick this guy, except he doesn’t enter the race until Sunday:

Ralph will announce his candidacy on the January 6th episode of The Simpsons. Actually, he isn’t the one who announces it; rather, the voters of Springfield, who reject all of the other candidates in their first primary, write the young Wiggum in as a candidate. He quickly becomes an independent presidential front-runner that party leaders for both the Republicans and the Democrats want to have in their court.

Now for real:

Democrats: 1. Edwards 2. Obama 3. Clinton.

Republicans: 1.  Huckabee  2. McCain 3. Romney.

But what do I know?

Straight from the press release that was in my inbox, here is the new energy policy that was sent out from the Obama campaign people…..

Real Leadership for a Clean Energy Future
Talking Points

In a major policy address today, Barack Obama announced a visionary plan to make America a global leader on energy. Obama’s plan lays out bold steps to combat global climate change, free America from the tyranny of oil, and create millions of new jobs and entire new industries here in America. Senator Obama is a proven leader on energy with a strong record of fighting to invest in renewable fuels and raise fuel economy standards. Obama has been honest in telling the defenders of the status quo that when he’s President, the same failures won’t do.

The first part of Barack Obama’s plan is to set a hard cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary to curb global warming – an 80% reduction by 2050. To reach that goal, he will ensure that all polluters have to pay based on the amount of pollution they release. The market will set the price, but unlike the other cap-and-trade proposals that have been offered in this race, no business will be allowed to emit any greenhouses gases for free. Businesses don’t own the sky, the public does.

Second, he will launch a Next Generation Clean Energy Fund that will invest $150 billion over the next decade in clean, affordable energy. He will also launch a Clean Technologies Venture Capital Fund to provide $10 billion a year for five years to get the most promising clean energy technologies off the ground so the American economy can benefit from America’s innovations. And he will call on businesses, government, and the American people to make America 50% more energy efficient by 2030.

To meet these challenges, America cannot act alone. That’s why as President, Barack Obama will reach out to leaders of the biggest carbon emitting nations and ask them to join us in creating a Global Energy Forum that will meet once a year and lay the foundation for the next generation of climate protocols. We will also work to build an alliance of oil-importing nations and work together to reduce our demand, just like the OPEC nations strategize on supply.

For too long, America has failed to lead on energy. That’s partly because of a President who spent most of his time denying the existence of global warming. But it’s also a failure that pre-dates the presidency of George W. Bush. We have heard promises about energy independence from every single U.S. President since Richard Nixon – Republicans and Democrats. And yet, no matter how well-intentioned or bold, energy plans fall victim to the same timid, calculating, special interest-driven Washington politics.

Some in this race argue that the more time you spend immersed in the broken politics of Washington, the more likely you are to change it. But when they had the chance to require automakers to raise fuel standards, they refused. When they had multiple chances to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing in renewable fuels that we can grow right here in America, they said no.

Barack Obama has been a leader on energy. When he arrived in the U.S. Senate, he reached across the aisle to pass a law that will give more Americans the chance to fill up their cars with clean biofuels – and he pushed through a law to help develop cars that will get 250 miles to the gallon. He even voted for an energy bill that was far from perfect because it made some real investments in renewable sources of energy. And he fought to eliminate the tax giveaways to oil companies that were slipped into that bill – oil companies that have spent half a billion dollars lobbying Congress in the last ten years while their profits have risen to record highs.

Above all, Barack Obama reached across the aisle to develop a plan to raise our fuel standards that won the support of lawmakers who had never supported raising fuel standards before. And he didn’t just give a speech about it in front of some environmental audience in California. He went to Detroit, stood in front of a group of automakers, and told them that as President, we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil. The room was pretty quiet, but Obama believes that leadership isn’t about telling people what they want to hear, it’s about telling them what they need to hear. As President, he will put an end to partisan politics, stand up to the special interests, and help solve our energy crisis once and for all.

Barack Obama has the judgment and experience to lead this country. Just look at who got the single most important foreign policy decision since the end of the Cold War right, and who got it wrong. Who had the conviction to buck Washington’s conventional thinking, and who will make the right judgments for America going forward.
Barack Obama opposed the Iraq war from the start – at a time when going to war was politically popular. He was convinced that it would distract us from Afghanistan, fan the flames of extremism around the world, and enflame sectarian tensions in Iraq. So he went to a rally and argued against “a rash war” and “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.”

The American people were failed by President Bush, but also by conventional thinking in Washington the joined the rush to war, particularly by a Congress that voted to give the President the open-ended authority to wage war. Let’s be clear: nobody thought Congress was debating whether or not to give the President the authority to conduct diplomacy - the debate was about whether to go to war. Without that vote, there would be no war.

Barack Obama isn’t running for President to conform to Washington’s conventional thinking – he’s running to challenge it. He’s not running to turn back the clock – he’s running to turn the page.

There is a window of opportunity in this election, and if we don’t seize it, we might not get another chance. We’re not going to face down unconventional threats with the same old conventional thinking that got us into Iraq. We’re not going to bring this country together with the same old conventional politics of trying to beat the other side. Barack Obama is the only candidate who has the right judgment and experience to unite our country and restore our standing in the world.

Barack Obama will turn the page to a new era of American diplomacy. The Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to other countries doesn’t make us look tough – it makes us look arrogant. To protect America, we need a President who is willing to talk to all nations, friend and foe. And that is exactly what Barack Obama will do.

Barack Obama will turn the page to a new American leadership in the world. The UN has embraced the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. When Barack Obama is President, that will be America’s goal. While the Bush Administration tried to keep the UN from trumpeting these goals, Obama will double foreign assistance to $50 billion to lead the world to achieve them.

We need to turn the page on a nuclear policy that is still focused on deterring the Soviet Union. Barack Obama will set the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. He’ll work with Russia to dramatically reduce the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, and to seek a global ban on the production of fissile material. He’ll set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles so that it is a global agreement. And he’ll lead a global effort to secure all loose nuclear materials during his first term in office.
As President, Barack Obama will lead a new era of openness and accountability. He’ll give an annual “State of the World” address to the American people laying out our national security policy. He’ll create a new National Declassification Center to turn the page on unnecessary secrecy. He’ll make the Director of National Intelligence an official with a fixed term, because we don’t need any more officials who just tell the President what they want to hear. And he’ll establish a standing and bipartisan Consultative Group of congressional leaders on national security, because he believes that foreign policy should not be a partisan issue – it should be an American issue.

Doing all of this won’t be easy. But throughout our history, America has made the right choice over the easy choice, the ambitious choice over the cautious choice. And if we make the right choice in this election, we’ll not just turn the page on the same Washington conventional thinking that got us into this war – we’ll turn the page to a new beginning, and unite this country to meet urgent challenges.

Oh man I have just been buying my textbooks for this semester and it is getting f-ing ridiculous!! Least we have a people in office like my hometown State Senator Chuck Wiger who has been purposing pilot rental programs for years…Anyway here are the Obama weekly points.

Weekly Talking Points | August 13 – August 19, 2007

Barack Obama Schedule: Last Tuesday, Barack Obama hosted a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago just before taking a stand at the AFL-CIO Working Families Presidential Candidates Forum to impressive reviews. On Wednesday, he spent the day with a homecare worker as part of SEIU’s Walk a Day in My Shoes program. Thursday, he took part in The Human Rights Campaign Forum in Los Angeles. On Friday, he visited Las Vegas, where he addressed the National Association of Black Journalists Convention and the Culinary Workers Union. Over the weekend, he served as the grand marshal of the Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago. Monday, Barack Obama visits New Hampshire for a “Taking Back our Government” roundtable in Hanover, a rally in Keene, and an event in Nashua.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama begins the Road to Change Tour, starting off in Cedar Falls with a discussion on transparency in government, followed by an address to the state AFL-CIO convention in Waterloo. Thursday, he conducts a foreign policy discussion in Council Bluffs, then visits a potluck in Atlantic before attending the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Friday, he holds a rural policy summit in Tama before delivering the keynote address at the Wing Ding Dinner in Clear Lake. Over the weekend, Barack Obama will hold an energy discussion in Waverly, speak to the Workers for a Better Iowa Forum in Cedar Rapids, then participate in the ABC News Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Debate on Sunday morning in Des Moines.

Michelle Obama Schedule: Sunday, Michelle Obama was in Chicago with her mother, her daughters, and over 500 friends and supporters at the kickoff of South Side Women for Obama. On Wednesday, Michelle and her daughters will join Barack Obama on the Road to Change tour in Iowa.

The Road to Change Tour: Barack Obama’s hitting the road this week, bringing his plans for real change to towns across Iowa. He believes that for too long, we’ve had a politics that’s put the special interests ahead of the national interests. That’s what he’s running for President to change. He believes that if we can put our government back in the hands of the American people, then whether it’s universal health care or energy independence, there are few limits to what we can achieve in this country.

On Health Care: Over the last decade, the drug and insurance industries spent $1 billion in lobbying. And their friends in Congress made it illegal for our government to negotiate with the drug companies for cheaper drug prices. As President, he’ll sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of his first term that will cover every American, cut the cost of a typical family’s premiums by up to $2,500 a year, and make it legal to negotiate with the drug companies for cheaper drugs.

On Energy: When Dick Cheney was crafting our energy policy, he met with environmental groups once. He met with the renewable energy folks once. And he met with oil and gas companies 40 times. So at a time when Exxon is making record profits, Americans are paying three times as much at the pump as they were several years ago.

As President, Barack Obama will create a National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard to accelerate the production of renewable fuels. He’s also called for us to get half of all gas stations and all consumer vehicles E-85 compatible within a decade. And he has challenged our automakers to more than double fuel economy over the next twenty years.

On Rural Issues: When Barack Obama is President, he’ll make sure the rural agenda is America’s agenda. He understands that one of the reasons small towns and rural areas aren’t thriving as much as they should be is that our government is handing out subsidies to big agribusiness rather than investing that money in family farms and building up rural communities. He knows that when we lose our family farms, we lose something that’s distinctly American, so he’ll fight to make sure that doesn’t happen.

On Ethics Reform: Unlike some candidates, Barack Obama actually believes that Washington lobbyists don’t represent real Americans. He believes that if you don’t think lobbyists have too much influence in Washington, you’ve been in Washington too long. That’s why he has done more to curb the influence of lobbyists and special interests than any other candidate in this race.

He has said that money’s influence in politics is the original sin of everyone who’s ever run for office – himself included. But he believes in leading by example. In the Illinois State Senate, he brought both parties together to pass the first major ethics reform in twenty-five years. In this campaign, he has refused to take any money from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.

On Foreign Policy: For years, conventional thinking in Washington has said that the United States cannot talk to its adversaries because it would reward them. By any measure, not talking has not worked. Barack Obama is not afraid of losing a PR battle to a dictator – he’s ready to tell them what they don’t want to hear. And he’s not afraid of defying the conventional thinking that says we should keep our troops in the middle of someone else’s civil war but not take out Osama bin Laden if we had him in our sights. Barack Obama’s national security strategy is just what we need now – a new era of tough, principled American diplomacy to deal with 21st century challenges.

On Iraq: Barack Obama knows that the time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in. He opposed the Iraq war before it was popular to do, and he introduced a plan that would have ended the war by commencing a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq with the goal of redeploying all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that U.S. forces will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

Fundraising: In a record-breaking outpouring of grassroots support, more than 258,000 donors – 154,000 in the second quarter alone – have joined Barack Obama’s movement for change. The campaign raised $31.6 million in primary funds for a total of $32.9 million in the second quarter – all of it without accepting any money from PACs or Washington lobbyists. $10.3 million was raised online, with 90% of all online donations in amounts of $100 or less and 50% of all online donations in amounts of $25 or less.

Web: Senator Obama is running a different kind of campaign, empowering people with the tools to take organizing into their own hands. The result: more people are more deeply involved than ever before. Since the website was launched in February, more than 5,000 grassroots groups have been created, and more than 70,000 people have created profiles on my.barackobama.com.

Barack Obama’s Biography: Senator Obama moved to Illinois over two decades ago with little money and no family connections, getting a job for $12,000 a year as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Later, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law before winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate.

As a State Senator, he joined both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education and the strongest ethics reform in Illinois in 25 years. After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the U.S. Senate, Obama has worked with the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, to pass a law that would secure and destroy some of the world’s deadliest weapons. He has also helped lead the fight for the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate, and found common ground on issues including energy policy, helping push through a provision that will offer tax credits to gas stations for installing refueling pumps with E85 – a blend of 85 percent clean-burning, domestically grown ethanol and 15 percent petroleum gasoline.

Time for another dinner with Barack Obama. While I most certainly knew that I would not get chosen to attend this dinner, I figured that it never hurts to donate earlier than anticipated. Maybe me winning a sweet sweatshirt from the recent Moutain Dew promotion “Transform your summer” in conjunction with the July 4th release of Transformers got me excited, but either way whatever. Here is the text of those that have been chosen to attend Barack’s dinner….

Gabrielle Grossman of Exeter, New Hampshire
Gabrielle worked as a 7th grade teacher but recently became a stay-at-home mom. She’s been volunteering with the campaign for more than a month. The day she signed up to volunteer, she received some tough news: her two-year-old son was diagnosed with autism.In her letter to Dinner with Barack, Gabrielle said, “Autism is an epidemic, there is not enough funding to get kids the services they need. So many kids are getting diagnosed, and there just aren’t enough resources out there for kids. That’s a huge issue for me personally.” The campaign has kept her motivated and energized throughout this tough time in her life. She adds, “At a time when you don’t feel like you have a lot of hope, it’s done the total opposite, the campaign has got us involved and given me more hope than ever.”

Brittany Washington of Los Angeles, California
Brittany is a Howard University student who wants to join Teach for America, get her doctorate in education and public policy, and possibly open her own charter school. She currently volunteers in Washington, D.C.’s public school system and says, “The windows are broken out, and there are never enough chairs or lights. It’s just ridiculous. And we expect these kids to compete with other kids who have chairs and windows.” Brittany’s mother, who relied on California’s welfare medical coverage, recently passed away at the age of 38. Despite Brittany’s repeated pleas for a cancer specialist, she was told doctors wouldn’t look at her mother because she didn’t have the right kind of insurance.
She says she admires Barack’s style of politics because “it’s honest and realistic.” As a political science major, she’d want to ask him how he’s able to work in politics and stay true to his beliefs.

Michael Wilson of Cocoa Beach, Florida
Mike is an Air Force veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who disagreed with why we went to Iraq. He plans to talk to Barack about some of the people he met an Iraq — for example, an Iraqi physician who invited him into his home and wanted to talk about anything except war and politics — and a young Iraqi who dreamed of coming to America. Although Mike is a registered Republican, he believes Barack reflects “what America is and what America needs.” And that, he explains, is the place where “people look for freedom and hope. It’s not imperialistic; it offers a light.” He hopes that Barack will position the country to be that light again.

Dorothy Unruh of Lakewood, Colorado
Dorothy is a senior citizen who is fed up with the current state of our government. As she said in her letter, “I’m sad that our great nation has lost its stature in the eyes of the rest of the world. I have been a registered Republican for years, but recently officially changed parties so I can attend the Democratic caucus and help elect Senator Obama. He is like a breath of fresh air to my husband and me.”Dorothy has never taken part in a political campaign before, but she and millions of other voters who want change are going to be the key to Democratic victories up and down the ballot next year.

Gabrielle, Brittany, Michael, and Dorothy are just four of more than 258,000 individuals who have made a donation to support our movement for change.

Thank you so much for being a part of this drive. By participating you are making good on Barack’s promise to run a campaign funded by ordinary people, not Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.

Think about what you would ask Barack and submit your questions now:

http://my.barackobama.com/dinner

Just like last time, we’ll film the dinner and share the experience with everyone online. It should be an evening full of good conversation and good ideas about restoring the power of our government to the people.

P.S. — There’s one other opportunity to join Barack and help build our movement that we’d like to share with you.

Next week, Barack is going to be a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. You and a friend could receive free tickets and travel to New York to be part of the studio audience.

http://my.barackobama.com/dailyshowtix

To participate, all you need to do is invite someone to join the campaign this week. We’ll choose an interesting story from those we receive, and send a new supporter to attend the taping. They’ll get a ticket to the show along with the person who invited them — you!

Invite as many of your friends, family, and colleagues as you want. Our movement is about reconnecting regular people with our political system, and restoring a government that serves everyone.

If they join our movement and share their story, you could be heading to Comedy Central’s World News Headquarters in New York.

Click here for more details and to participate:

http://my.barackobama.com/dailyshowtix

Let me just say that I am very impressed by a recent showing of Obama supporters at the Rochester area Obama meeting last Tuesday. Due to the fact that I am so busy I have not had the chance to post since that time. I along with other MN Students for Barack Obama (WSU Chapter) drove to Rochester to gather with other supporters. Our meeting included special guest Chris Miller, Obama’s Midwest Campaign Director. We sparked some great discussion, and at least in Rochester I can already tell it will have very strong Obama support. I was very surprised to hear that other bloggers at the event knew of me and of IDHA! Who woulda thought? Well here are the Obama points for this week! Enjoy ~Ian
Weekly Talking Points
August 6 – August 12, 2007

Barack Obama Schedule: Last Wednesday, Barack Obama delivered an address on “The War We Need to Win” in Washington, D.C. Saturday, he participated in the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum in Chicago, where he made it clear that lobbyists and special interests would not control Washington under an Obama presidency. That night, he addressed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta. He was greeted by hundreds of supporters in Park City, Utah on Sunday, before heading to Elko, Nevada for a rural issues town hall meeting. This Tuesday, Barack Obama will host a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago before participating in the AFL-CIO Working Families Presidential Candidates Forum. He’ll take part in The Human Rights Campaign Forum this Thursday in Los Angeles.

Michelle Obama Schedule: On the heels of her husband’s successful trip to Elko, Nevada, Michelle Obama heads to Reno on Thursday to meet local supporters and activists to kick off a Women for Obama chapter at a midday event that’s free and open to the public.

The War We Need to Win: Last Wednesday, Senator Obama outlined a smart, muscular national security strategy in an address to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His five-point comprehensive strategy to fight terrorism includes: getting out of Iraq and onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan, developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and their most deadly weapons, engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism, restoring our values, and securing our homeland. National security experts agreed, and pundits called it “precisely right.”

Barack on Diplomacy: Barack Obama is the best candidate to end the Bush-Cheney foreign policy of not engaging our adversaries. He believes that a strong nation should never be afraid to negotiate. Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor under President Clinton, agrees with Obama, as do security experts from the military and the State Department, and the recent Obama for Commander in Chief Tour further highlighted what makes Senator Obama the best person to be our next Commander in Chief.

On Lobbyists: On Saturday at the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum, the differences between the candidates could not have been more clear. Barack Obama refuses to take campaign donations from federal lobbyists because he believes the power they wield is one of the main reasons we haven’t made progress on some of the biggest challenges we face. People who don’t think lobbyists have too much influence in Washington have probably been in Washington too long. The new Obama campaign signs say it all: “Not paid for by PAC or federal lobbyist money.”

Recent Developments: Last week, the Senate passed tough ethics reform that was similar to what Senators Barack Obama and Russ Feingold proposed earlier this year. The bill will force lobbyists to tell us who they’re raising money from and who in Congress they’re giving it to. Senator Obama also helped push through the Military Family Job Protection Act, extending family medical leave job protections for up to one year for family members caring for wounded returning service members. And he also helped push through three pieces of legislation to enhance American competitiveness by investing in women and underrepresented minorities. Last week, Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to reward corporations that invest in American jobs and take care of their employees by ensuring decent wages, health care, and a secure retirement.

New Ad in Iowa: A new ad is up on the Iowa airwaves showing that Barack Obama is the best candidate to change the ways of Washington.

Iraq: Barack Obama knows that the time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in. He opposed the Iraq war before it was popular to do, and he introduced a plan that would have ended the war by commencing a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq with the goal of redeploying all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that U.S. forces will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

Fundraising: In a record-breaking outpouring of grassroots support, more than 258,000 donors – 154,000 in the second quarter alone – have joined Barack Obama’s movement for change. The campaign raised $31.6 million in primary funds for a total of $32.9 million in the second quarter – all of it without accepting any money from PACs or Washington lobbyists. $10.3 million was raised online, with 90% of all online donations in amounts of $100 or less and 50% of all online donations in amounts of $25 or less.

Web: Senator Obama is running a different kind of campaign, empowering people with the tools to take organizing into their own hands. The result: more people are more deeply involved than ever before. Since the website was launched in February, more than 5,000 grassroots groups have been created, and more than 70,000 people have created profiles on my.barackobama.com.

Biography: Senator Obama moved to Illinois over two decades ago with little money and no family connections, getting a job for $12,000 a year as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Later, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law before winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate.

As a State Senator, he joined both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education and the strongest ethics reform in Illinois in 25 years. After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In the U.S. Senate, Obama has worked with the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, to pass a law that would secure and destroy some of the world’s deadliest weapons. He has also helped lead the fight for the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate, and found common ground on issues including energy policy, helping push through a provision that will offer tax credits to gas stations for installing refueling pumps with E85 – a blend of 85 percent clean-burning, domestically grown ethanol and 15 percent petroleum gasoline.

Seriously, it seems that everywhere I turn I see Barack Obama’s face. In the most current edition of Newsweek we saw a different side of Barack.
Barack Obama Schedule: Last Monday, Senator Obama stood in solidarity with workers, walking the picket line with employees of the Congress Hotel in Chicago. Tuesday, he addressed the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in Washington, D.C. before holding a press conference to announce the endorsement of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. That night, he visited Cincinnati, Ohio, for an energy-filled “Evening with Barack.” Wednesday, in Southeast Washington, D.C., Senator Obama laid out his urban poverty agenda. After visiting several New Hampshire towns on Friday, he spent the weekend participating in the AFSCME Iowa Council 61 Convention in Des Moines and the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference. Monday evening, Barack Obama “hit a home run” in the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. This Thursday, he’ll be the keynote speaker at the College Democrats of America National Convention at the University of South Carolina.
Michelle Obama Schedule: Last Friday, Senator Dick Durbin and hundreds of volunteers joined Michelle Obama to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Obama for America volunteer headquarters in Chicago. Then, Michelle and the Obama daughters dropped by campaign headquarters to host a pizza party for staff and their families. This week, Michelle makes a swing along the West coast to meet with supporters in Seattle and San Francisco.

CNN/YouTube Debate: The reviews are in, and Barack Obama was “off the charts” at Monday night’s Democratic presidential debate. Viewers in New Hampshire and South Carolina enthusiastically and overwhelmingly chose Senator Obama as the winner, making it clear he’s the one candidate with the experience we need to change Washington – the experience of bringing people together so we can take on the special interests that have stopped us from making progress on health care, energy, and our other critical challenges.

Obama for Commander in Chief Tour: Last week, General Scott Gration, an Air Force fighter pilot who flew more combat missions than any other American while overseeing both the northern and southern no-fly zones in Iraq, led several Iraq war veterans in a statewide Obama for Commander in Chief Tour. General Gration met with Iowans at 13 stops across the state, and explained that the courage, strength and wisdom he sees in Senator Obama make him the best person to be the next Commander in Chief.

Changing the Odds for Urban America: On Wednesday, July 18, Barack Obama outlined his plan to combat urban poverty. Highlighting innovative ideas that work, his strategy focuses on helping children, supporting families, encouraging work that pays, incubating inner-city businesses, and providing safe, affordable housing.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund: On Tuesday, July 17, Senator Obama addressed the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on issues ranging from a woman’s right to choose to judicial nominations to the tired old culture wars that distract the nation from more important priorities. After watching the candidates’ speeches, Planned Parenthood supporters voted – and 42% resoundingly agreed that Senator Obama “made the best case for women’s health” of all the candidates

Recent Developments: Last week, Senator Obama introduced a bill to make sure none of our service members are denied the health care benefits we owe them. He also joined a bipartisan group of Senators in an effort to overturn a recent Supreme Court decision that could make it harder for women and racial minorities to fight pay discrimination – because Senator Obama believes that no American should be denied equal pay for equal work. He also reintroduced his Hospital Quality Report Card Act, which would increase public access to information about the quality of health care at America’s hospitals.

Iraq: Barack Obama knows that the time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in. He opposed the Iraq war before it was popular to do, and he has a plan to end the war by commencing a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq with the goal of redeploying all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that U.S. forces will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

Fundraising: In a record-breaking outpouring of grassroots support, more than 258,000 donors – 154,000 in the second quarter alone – have joined Barack Obama’s movement for change. The campaign raised $31.6 million in primary funds for a total of $32.9 million in the second quarter – all of it without accepting any money from PACs or Washington lobbyists. $10.3 million was raised online, with 90% of all online donations in amounts of $100 or less and 50% of all online donations in amounts of $25 or less.

Web: Senator Obama is running a different kind of campaign, empowering people with the tools to take organizing into their own hands. The result: more people are more deeply involved than ever before. Since the website was launched in February, more than 5,000 grassroots groups have been created, and more than 70,000 people have created profiles on my.barackobama.com.

Biography: Senator Obama moved to Illinois over two decades ago with little money and no family connections, getting a job for $12,000 a year as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Later, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law before winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate.

As a State Senator, he joined both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education and the strongest ethics reform in Illinois in 25 years. After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the U.S. Senate, Obama has worked with the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, to pass a law that would secure and destroy some of the world’s deadliest weapons. He has also helped lead the fight for the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate, and found common ground on issues including energy policy, helping push through a provision that will offer tax credits to gas stations for installing refueling pumps with E85 – a blend of 85 percent clean-burning, domestically grown ethanol and 15 percent petroleum gasoline.

Once again it seems that the man got me down, I had to work yesterday otherwise I would have been able to see the democratic debate. However, I have gotten numberous emails all saying the same thing, Obama won Hilary lost. Here is some analysis that I have gotten from the Obama campaign…
CNN: Randi Kaye on Focus Group Votes for Debate Winner: “When the debate ended the same group moving meters actually rated each candidates’ overall performance. And here is how they staked up take a look, Obama, Biden, Edwards, and on the bottom Clinton, Anderson back to you.” [Image: Who do you think performed the best during the debate you just viewed?: Obama 33%,Biden 21%, Edwards 17%, Clinton 8%] [Video]

Fox News South Carolina Focus Groups (Frank Luntz): “He is off the charts. I mean, this is as high as it can go. He’s explicit. He has drawn the contrast. He has hit a home run. What I would like to do is I want to play for you the sound of what they had to say about Barack Obama so you can really understand it’s not that he is a good politician and not his experience. It’s as much his presentation and more importantly it’s that he seems to represent people rather than politics. If you guys back there can roll the sound, this is why Obama will be shown as the winner of tonight’s debate.” [Video]

CNN New Hampshire Focus Groups (Mary Snow): “We’re here with 24 Democrats, independents, who thought that Senator Hillary Clinton would be the best performer here tonight, but the results that we just got in, this is a focus group, show that Barack Obama got the most favorable in terms of the best performance from the 24 people who are here tonight.” “Senator Barack Obama was showing some favorable responses to his answers. Some of the things that he got favorable responses were when he talked about fighting lobbyists, particularly on health care.” [Video]

…And the Pundits Agree

Blue State: Editorial: Obama Wins Democratic Debate : The CNN-Youtube Democratic presidential debate came and went. Our editors have voted, and we agree that it was Barack’s night. In what was definitely an improvement from his past performances, Obama was always prepared when confronted by his Democratic opponents, whereas in the past he tended to lose his temper. Tonight he also appeared very presidential, pragmatic and charismatic. Here was how we thought each of the candidates did — from best to worst. Remember, we are grading on effectiveness: 1. Barack Obama - Independent, thoughtful, charismatic and trumped Hillary on looking “presidential.” [LINK]

The American Prospect: Tapped Blog on Overall Performance: Barack Obama owned this debate. He started off with a series of clear, crisp answers that deftly turned questions to his advantage, and he was doing that Obama thing that he does where he manages to look luminous and transcendent, as if he just stepped out of a Wordsworth poem, trailing clouds of glory. (He doesn’t do this all the time, but when he does, watch out — this is when he binds people to him.) [LINK]

Time: Mark Halperin on Overall Performance: Grade: A- : When he was good, he was very, very good. .. Still, his best performance to date, positioning him to return in later forums to the change-change-change contrast he wants (and needs) to define his candidacy. [LINK]

Newsday: The anything-goes format coincided with a more aggressive and sure-footed performance from Obama, accused of being flat and long-winded in previous debates. Obama, who opposed the war from its start, said he was unimpressed by Clinton’s recent push to get the Pentagon to release details of their strategy for withdrawing eventually from Iraq. [LINK]

CNN: Amy Holmes Reaction to Sen. Obama’s response to Race Question: “Oh I think it’s very important. I think both candidates knocked it out of park. I mean as someone who can speak on both of those issues I thought that those were high moments especially when Barack Obama, he referenced the fact that he believes in the core decency of the American people. I think that holds him in good stead in the democratic primary but even more importantly in the general election where if he were to be the democratic nominee where he would be campaigning for all of America, not just Black America.” [Video]

New York Post: “Obama Chills Hill”: Sen. Barack Obama ripped into front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night on the Iraq war in a sometimes-absurd debate that had voters on video - and even a talking snowman - tossing questions at the presidential contenders. Obama, eager to bloody the poll-leading Clinton, jabbed the former first lady for her recent spat with the Pentagon over whipping up pullout plans from Iraq. “I think it’s terrific that she’s asking for plans from the Pentagon, and I think the Pentagon response was ridiculous. But what I also know is that the time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in,” poked Obama as Clinton stood expressionless next to him on the debate stage at the Citadel military college. [LINK]

ABC News: If the Obama video is an indication of the ad war to come, wow, this Obama guy could be for real. I jest, but that was a nice piece his campaign put together. Obama with a good summation of sorts. He definitely came in with a message he wanted to deliver this evening — which has made this perhaps his best debate performance to date. [LINK]

Washington Post: Time and time again Obama sought to take specific questions and broaden them into a conversation over who represented real change in the field. He castigated lobbyists and special interests in Washington, offering a sweeping condemnation of business as usual (by both parties) in the nation’s capital. “We don’t need just a change in political parties,” said Obama. “We need a change in attitudes of the people representing Americans.” [LINK]

Well you can explore these various news outlets and their perspective on the debates for yourself. All I can say is this guy is for real!