Morning News

post from Obama HQ on 23 July 2008 10:13:47 AM. © Obama HQ

Two days spent in Afghanistan and two days in Iraq, Obama said, reinforced his belief that it is time for the United States to move on. Calling the situation in Afghanistan "perilous and urgent," he said both U.S. military and Afghan government officials agree that "we must act now to reverse a deteriorating situation."

Obama's analysis has been buttressed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders who, to the dismay of the White House and Sen. John McCain, his Republican opponent, have publicly agreed with his call for completing a U.S. combat withdrawal from Iraq in 2010.

... Obama referred to a withdrawal timeline as something now largely agreed upon by both the U.S. and Iraqi governments, saying he welcomes "the growing consensus."

He was effusive in his praise of U.S. troops and diplomats, describing the "terrific" conversation he had with Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, who took him on a helicopter tour over the Iraqi capital. Obama said he understands that Petraeus would prefer leaving his options open rather than operating with a timeline, and said if he were in Petraeus's shoes, "I'd probably feel the same way."

... Obama said his job would be to listen to the military but make decisions based on "a range of factors that I have to take into account as a commander in chief."

Those factors, he said, would include "the perceptions of the Iraqi people" and the statements of their leaders, as well as "the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan," which he called the "central front in the war against terrorism."

McCain's judgments are based on "what he thinks makes the most sense," Obama said. But his own judgments, "in speaking with Afghans and Iraqis, the U.S. military and civilians," he said, led him to conclude that there is a need to "seize this moment to make America more secure" by focusing on "broader challenges."

From the Los Angeles Times:

After visits to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barack Obama shifted his focus to Mideast peace efforts Tuesday as he arrived in the region for two days of talks with leaders in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. The all-but-sure Democratic nominee for president vowed to work "from the minute I'm sworn in to office to try to find some breakthroughs" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I think it's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," Obama said shortly after his arrival in Jordan under tight security. "What a U.S. president can do is apply sustained energy and focus on the issues of the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Obama spoke in a dramatic setting, the ancient ruins atop Citadel Hill, or Jebel al Quala, near the towering pillars of the Temple of Hercules. Across the valley behind him, thousands of concrete dwellings were visible, terraced across the steep hillsides of Amman, the capital. Soldiers with heavy weaponry patrolled the roasting hilltop as dust clouds swirled around Obama's lectern.

... Today, Obama plans to visit the southern Israeli town of Sderot, a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. He will also spend time in Jerusalem at Yad Vashem, a memorial to Holocaust victims.

From the Grand Forks Herald:

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign opened an office Tuesday evening in Grand Forks, displaying a kind of political muscle never seen in these parts.

The Obama campaign soon will have 50 paid staff workers across the state, a local party leader said. An Obama office opened last week in Bismarck. One will open today in Fargo and one in Minot next Tuesday. More offices will open later, Obama staffers said.

It’s enough to make veteran Democratic party activist and union official — and longtime Grand Forks County Commissioner — Arvin Kvasager shake his head. He’s never seen a presidential campaign of either party spend this kind of money in North Dakota, Kvasager said Tuesday in the new Obama office.

... Shaking his head in amazement over the number of young people crowding into the small campaign office Tuesday night on Gateway Drive, Kvasager said he’s pretty confident North Dakota might go from red to blue in November.

“I’m awed by the enthusiasm,” he said looking around at volunteers signing up.

... Mac Schneider, former UND footballer and now the Democratic candidate for the state Senate from District 42 in Grand Forks, greeted the Obama fans, many who signed up to volunteer on his campaign. A recent Rasmussen poll showed Obama running neck-and-neck with Republican Sen. John McCain in North Dakota as of July 10, a big change from the typical big Republican margins of victory in presidential elections in the state.

It reminds him of his excitement the first time he got into a Sioux football game, said Schneider, a backup quarterback.

“For the first time since 1964, North Dakota is in the game, big-time,” he told the applauding activists.

... [Gary Emineth, chairman of the state’s Republican Party] was in Washington last week meeting with national party leaders, and he warned them against counting their chickens in North Dakota too early.

“I made it clear that Barack Obama is very serious about trying to win North Dakota, and I said that at the end of the day, if you don’t think so, if you take it for granted, you might be surprised.”

From the Mail Tribune:

Nathan Miller has stood in front of Food For Less in Medford [Oregon] for hours at a time coaxing people to register to vote.

"We do it every day," said the 28-year-old from Kingwood, West Virginia. "This generally is our best spot."

Miller and 10 other people from across the country came to the Medford area in June as "organizing fellows" for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Working without pay, they have canvassed voters, staffed phone banks, trained volunteers and helped set up a grassroots organization for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The Obama fellows were sent to 17 key states with special training to create grassroots volunteer groups that will carry on after they leave on June 26.

... More than 100 Obama organizers are working in a dozen offices throughout the state.

The volunteers earn no money for their efforts and have to pay for their own food, but the Obama campaign has found them local places to stay. Two of the fellows have been living at Brading's house for the past six weeks.

"Every morning we get up, and we all have our laptops out in a circle," she said. "We have our coffee and tea and then they go out and register voters."