Tag: Barack Obama (page 30)

Check out the flyer Barack Obama is sending out in Kentucky to reach evangelicals. His campaign explains why they are sending it out. In it, he touts his accepting Jesus Christ into his life. You can view it here. Look at the top and the bottom.

The flyer is titled: Faith. Hope. Change. It talks about how Obama accepted Jesus Christ into his life. It contains a quote from Obama that says "my faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work."

The Obama campaign explanation:

Continuing on from Big Tent Democrat's post on John Edwards endorsement of Obama:

John Edwards has been on tv for two weeks saying there was no reason for him to endorse either candidate. What changed? In two words: West Virginia. In four words: West Virginina and Kentucky.

Here's John Edwards on Monday night, May 12, the night before West Virginia, telling Larry King why he hasn't endorsed:

LARRY KING: You have not endorsed, senator. Some might say as a major figure in the party at this point, don't you have a responsibility to endorse?

JOHN EDWARDS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. I think that what I have a responsibility to do is make sure that the Democrats' message and our cause is heard and that we're united in the fall. You know, myself, Al Gore, I think there are some others who haven't spoken out yet about this nomination battle.

[More...]

He begins with long praise for Hillary and goes into a unity pronouncement. He was good.

Now he's getting to the endorsement.

He starts with issues, which is odd, since the Obama and Hillary are so similar on them.

Update: He's not mentioning one distinction between Hillary and Obama. He's just reciting Democratic values. If you didn't know he was going to endorse Obama, you would have no idea he wasn't going to end by endorsing Hillary.

Now he says the voters have made their choice and there is one man who knows how to create change and it is Obama. So that's the reason for endorsing Obama.

It's not about ending the race, not about who would be a better President or who can better beat McCain. [More...]

Press Release from the National Women’s Political Caucus: (received by e-mail)

The National Women’s Political Caucus is disappointed to learn of NARAL Pro-Choice America’s endorsement of Senator Obama today. The Caucus knows Hillary Clinton to be a clear leader and a consistent champion of the issues that NARAL and NWPC have in common. We believe that this announcement at this time will divide the choice community at a time when we need to stand united.

As a lawyer, advocate, First Lady, and Senator, Hillary Clinton has stepped up and stood out on matters important to women. When it comes to each woman's ability to make the most personal of life decisions, Hillary has been a consistent and reliable advocate for a woman's right to choose. In fact, she has received numerous awards from both NARAL and Planned Parenthood.

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Our first thread on John Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama is already full. Here's another one.

Lots of readers are now getting the John Edwards email seeking donations I mentioned in the last thread.

Coincidentally, John Edwards sent out a request for money today for one of his causes, College for Everyone. The e-mail, which went to everyone who got e-mails from his presidential campaign, is below. Will the media ask if there's a connection between the two?

[More...]

Via ABC News:

ABC News' Kate Snow, Raelyn Johnson and Rick Klein Report: Former Sen. John Edwards is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidate Wednesday evening, in a dramatic attempt by the Obama campaign to answer concerns regarding Obama's appeal to working-class voters, several senior Democratic several senior Democratic sources tell ABC News.

The Obama campaign confirms Edwards will endorse Obama at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan Wednesday. The event was originally scheduled to start at 7pm ET, but was moved up to 6:20pm ET, presumably to have the announcement make the evening news.

Coincidentally, John Edwards sent out a request for money today for one of his causes, College for Everyone. The e-mail, which went to everyone who got e-mails from his presidential campaign, is below. Will the media ask if there's a connection between the two?

It's generally recognized that caucus results are less representative of a state's voters than primary results. Their curtailed voting hours and the lack of early voting, absentee or mail-in voting ensures it. But they count for choosing pledged delegates, so that's water under the bridge.

When it comes to electability arguments for the superdelegates, however, I think there's something they need to consider -- that caucus results vastly undercount one particular segment of voters who will vote in big numbers in the general election: The elderly and infirm, including nursing home residents who weren't mobile enough to attend a caucus but who can vote by absentee ballot in primaries and the general election.

If unable to attend caucuses, and most likely were, their preferences were excluded. This is one more reason I don't think that a superdelegate can equate a caucus win in a particular state with a win in that state against John McCain in November.

The Democratic party needs older voters this year more than ever against John McCain. And they have been coming out in primaries for Hillary. Statistics on our 37 million residents over age 65, 1.9 million of whom live in nursing homes, are below:

The pro-choice organization NARAL has endorsed Barack Obama.

Of course, they also endorsed Joe Lieberman and had a hand in giving us Justice Sam Alito.

More here and here.

Hillary Clinton's win last night in West Virginia has resulted in a superdelegate declaring for support for Hillary today:

Tennessee Automatic Delegate Vicky Harwell announced her support for Hillary Clinton today. Harwell, of Pulaski, is president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women.

"Hillary's decisive victory in West Virginia is the latest evidence that she is the strongest candidate to take on John McCain and win back the White House," Harwell said. "Hillary has the plans, leadership and experience to deliver real results as President."

Hillary got 40 pledged delegates in the TN primary while Obama got 28. Breakdown of Tennessee's 85 delegates below:

MSNBC just did an electoral vote segment. They made some critical errors.

They assumed Obama would take PA because John Kerry did. Barack Obama did poorly in PA, like he did in Ohio, with rural and blue collar voters. It's more likely in my view that the Democrats will lose Ohio and PA if Obama is the nominee. Hillary has a better chance of keeping PA and winning back Ohio.

They gave no thought to Florida going Democratic in November. They assumed it will go to McCain. Hillary puts Florida in play.

Their silliest comments were that Obama could make the southern states competitive because of the large African-American turnout. Not that he would win them, just make them competitive and make Republicans nervous. But when you're talking about the electoral map, coming close doesn't count. If the Democratic nominee doesn't win the popular vote in those states, the Republican candidate gets the electoral vote.

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The media is not going to determine the future of the Democratic party. Voters are.

There are five states left to go. Hillary Clinton will do very well in Kentucky and Puerto Rico. Obama has a lead in Oregon. MT and SD are tiny.

The Democrats cannot expect to win Florida or Michigan in November if the 2.5 million who voted there don't have a say in choosing our nominee. They should be seated full-strength. And regardless of how the DNC decides to apportion their delegates, their popular vote count stands as is. The Democrats will not win in November without Florida and/or Michigan.

The Democrats need PA and Ohio. Hillary can win those states and other big swing and toss-up states. Barack Obama's ability to win them is unknown. He's untested. Hillary may have shown him how to be a stronger candidate, but she can't guide him to the finish line, no matter how hard she campaigns for him if he's the nominee. [More...]

The Hillary Clinton campaign sent out a memo today on why West Virginia's primary matters.

Shorter version: Obama may not have spent much time in West Virginia but he threw an awful lot of resources at it.

Some quotes below, but the link takes you to the full memo.