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The RNC's Take on Republicans for Obama

post from Republicans for Obama - Public Blog on 12 August 2008 11:16:28 PM. © Republicans for Obama - Public Blog

As of 3pm this afternoon, the Republican National Committee is guilty of the weakest response of the presidential campaign. After the official Republicans for Obama organization was unveiled toda

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Stars and Stripes Interview with Senator Obama

post from Obama HQ on 12 August 2008 10:32:15 PM. © Obama HQ

Today's edition of Stars and Stripes features an in-depth interview with Senator Obama, in which he discusses a wide range of issues facing our military, our servicemembers and their families.

In response to a question about maintaining military benefits, Senator Obama explained:

I feel very strongly that the strategy for maintaining the excellence of our all-volunteer forces can’t depend on stinginess once they get out. We should give the same kinds of benefits that my grandfather got after World War II, when he got the GI Bill and the GI Bill paid for college.

The GI Bill prior to this bill simply had not been keeping up with inflation. It had watered down these benefits. You can’t tell me that troops today are any less courageous or any less willing to sacrifice than those of an earlier generation.

Whatever effects this may have on retention, I believe, are more than made up for in enhancements in recruitment. I think when all is said and done, what this GI Bill does it shows to our military how much we value their service, it indicates to them that they are going to, that this country is going to serve them as well as they served us, even after they’ve left active duty. And, by the way, it will also continue to do what was one of the biggest side benefits of the GI Bill, which is to strengthen our middle class at a time when we need a better educated workforce.

Read the full interview . . .

Read The Full Article:
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Voices for Change: Griffin, Eva, and Michelle in
Minnesota

post from Obama HQ on 12 August 2008 08:33:12 PM. © Obama HQ

Some of Barack’s most enthusiastic supporters are not even able to vote – yet. Eleven-year-old Griffin and his little sister Eva, who is eight, of Minneapolis, have been following Barack since the primaries.

Griffin and Eva are some of the youngest donors to the campaign. The kids get a weekly allowance, and they chose to set aside 25 percent of that allowance -- $1 – each week to donate to the Obama campaign. (Of course, they are too young to actually make their own campaign donation, so their mom Michelle takes their intended donations into account when she writes her own $25 check to the campaign each month.)

Michelle says:

Griffin started talking about Barack before I did. The kids came home from school one day after Obama won the Iowa Caucus and they were all excited about Barack. They brought their enthusiasm home. That inspired me to get more involved.

Michelle, 39, who directs a local organization focused on ending local violence and alleviating poverty, is inspired by her kids’ interest in the democratic system.

During the primaries, Michelle says, Griffin kept track of when all the primaries and caucuses were. “In fact, on election night, he is glued to the computer surfing news sites for up-to-the-minute results. He wouldn’t go to bed until we found out who won.”

She notes:

Thanks to Barack Obama, my 11-year-old actually knows the difference between delegates and super-delegates, caucuses and primaries.

Michelle says that now that the general election is in full swing, she will help the kids to be more involved. Griffin and Eva want to join Michelle to knock on doors and canvass their neighborhood for Barack, and they hope to attend a rally if Barack visits Minnesota again.

I will definitely bring them along with the work I do for the campaign. This is the most I’ve seen them interested in anything. Now they want new Obama t-shirts!

Michelle says she supports Barack because “he has the leadership skills to move the country in the right direction.” But more than anything, she’s inspired by the way he has brought her kids into the political process and motivated them learn more about American government and the democratic system.

Griffin and Eva won’t get to cast a vote in November. But we’re excited that Barack’s message has created two future voters who are excited about politics. That’s what the campaign for change is all about.

Join Griffin and Eva and make your own contribution to change the face of government.

Voices for Change is a series featuring profiles of Barack Obama's grassroots supporters from across the nation. The people who make up this movement come from all different backgrounds, but they share a common goal of helping bring about fundamental change in Washington.

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Barns for Obama

post from Obama HQ on 12 August 2008 06:12:38 PM. © Obama HQ

Earlier this week, our campaign launched an exciting new program in Ohio called Barns for Obama.

Barns for Obama combines Ohio's history of painted barns -- from the old Mail Pouch Barns to the Bicentennial Barns in every county -- with the enthusiasm for Barack Obama and the Campaign for Change.

A few weeks ago in Trumbull County, the campaign saw the completion of the first of what we know will be many Barns for Obama. A local farmer offered his barn, and painters volunteered their time to make it happen.

Check out the video of the making of this Barn for Obama below. It captures why Barack is the one candidate we can count on to stand up for the farmers, workers, and families of rural areas.

video details and more

Learn about our Barns for Obama program and sign up up to get involved.

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Weekly Grassroots Round-Up

post from Obama HQ on 12 August 2008 04:56:23 PM. © Obama HQ

Every week we feature some of the best grassroots events from the previous week. We want to highlight your creativity, enthusiasm and hard work. After you host an event, make sure to let us know how it went!

Here's a snapshot of what was happening across America this past week:

Spoken Word Fundraiser:Within 45 minutes of the event's start time, a D.C. room had filled to capacity with 200 bodies jostling to hear local D.C. talent, including vocalists, spoken word artists and a comedian. There was a steady line of people waiting outside with a total of 325 people coming in and out that night.

Kezia of Richmond, VA, organized the evening with Generation Obama and several other D.C. metropolitan area groups.

The content was primarily about Obama's historical bid for presidency and the positive change he will bring if elected. Important issues such as disparity in health care, the economy, and the need to build community in the Black community were addressed on stage.

The event raised $2,100 from a cover fee and a raffle.

NY to PA Voter Registration Trip:In their third such voter registration trip, a group of eight supporters from New York City journeyed to Easton, PA to help out in this battleground state. Going door to door, the group spent the day trying to restore people’s faith in government after feeling as if they were on their own for so long. They managed to register 63 voters.

Tom from Brooklyn, NY, explains why he picked Easton:

We traveled to Pennsylvania because that state will be critical in November’s election. And if 2004 is any indication, the Lehigh Valley will be ground zero of this contest. It is the critical region of a critical state. By registering voters here we are expanding the electorate and bringing to bear the power of new voters who have been excited by the possibilities of change. Success will mean that come November Pennsylvania will no longer be a swing state, but firmly in the Democratic column.

Soul Line Dancers: More than 60 dancers boogied down in support of Barack in Oakland, CA. As people strolled by Lake Merritt Columns, many paused to join the dancers wearing Soul Line Dancers for Barack Obama t-shirts. They also had a table set up to register new voters and take donations to the campaign.

Event Organizer Fran of Oakland, CA said:

Line dancing keeps people healthy and active. Line dancers together attract crowds and increase opportunities to Barack the vote. We’re fired up! Gobama, Gobama, Gobama!

Potluck for Barack: Supporters gathered for a potluck in Los Angeles, using the time to get to know each other and plan for future activities including voter registration drives and phonebanks.

Los Angeles County has a highly diverse population and I felt what better way to bring people together for a common goal than by having a BBQ Potluck event," explained event organizer Raul of Downey, CA. "With help from volunteers and community leaders we were able to gather over 50 attendees of various cultural backgrounds.

Ready to host your own event? Create an event now, use our flyer templates to help promote it and let us know how it goes.

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McCain On Russia; Unhinged, Frightening

post from Why We Need Obama on 12 August 2008 04:27:00 PM. © Why We Need Obama

McCain's all-too-familiar rhetoric over the Georgia/Russia war of recent days is really starting to scare me. I had taken as a given that the idealogy of the neoconservative right had been thoroughly discredited by the farce that we got into in Iraq. Well, it looks more and more each day as if they have found a new champion in McCain.

John Marshall has it exactly right:

It's sort of funny when [McCain was] just an unhinged senator. But think for a moment where we'd be if this man were president right now, as he may well be in six months. This man takes the counsel of the people who got us into the Iraq War. On foreign policy, he is in league with the people who were so extreme they've now largely been kicked out of the Bush administration. People like John
Bolton and others like him.

It's beyond Obama or political strategy or dinging McCain on this or that policy. This man is simply too dangerous and unstable to be president. People need to wake up and get a look of the preview he's giving us of a McCain presidency.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/WeNeedObama/~3/363249476/mccain-on-russia-unhinged
-frightening.html

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Voices for Change: Larry in Montana

post from Obama HQ on 12 August 2008 02:48:03 PM. © Obama HQ

Larry used to call himself a Republican. He grew up in a strong Republican family where the GOP brand “passed from father to son,” he said. “But I’m a reformed Republican now. George W. Bush changed my views on whether the Republican Party is the way we need to go now.”

Larry, 65, is a retired lawyer who lives in Columbia Falls, Montana. He’s married with three grown children and spends his time hiking, fishing, hunting, and playing golf.

Despite his Republican roots, Larry said the decision to support Obama was not difficult.

I take a lot of offense at the things Bush and Cheney have done in their administration with respect to ignoring the law and the Constitution. And then there was Abu Ghraib.

I’m also very concerned about the appointment of Supreme Court justices. This Supreme Court is really important in this election. I think it’s important to have a balanced Supreme Court, and I think Obama will appoint more middle-of-the-road and left-leaning justices.

Larry started supporting Barack after he read The Audacity of Hope.

If Barack sticks to his ideas and the way he has outlined his thoughts broadly in that book, I think he’ll make a great president,” he says. “We need to get back to compromise, negotiation, respect for people. People in government need to respect each other to get results. And I know these things won’t happen over night, but we need to work towards those goals. Barack can lead by example.

Beyond switching parties to vote for a Democrat, Larry is doing all he can to get Barack elected.

In late October, I just knew that if he was going to get anywhere, he had to win Iowa. So I decided I was going to go to Iowa and see what I could do to help. You have to put your efforts where your mouth is. I went to Sioux City, Iowa. I knocked on doors, made phone calls, talked to voters, and did what I could to get people to go caucus. I knew he had to win. And he did! It’s because of what the volunteers did. And I felt like I did something worthwhile.

Despite never having volunteered on a campaign before, Larry has kept up his volunteer efforts back in his home state. “Now, I’ve done some volunteering here in Montana – rang doorbells and got involved locally and have been attending organizational meetings to learn what else I can do. I like going out and talking to people, so I’ll keep doing that.”

He says:

I’m going to try to help in my own small way. I’ll just keep talking to people in my neighborhood and see what I can do.

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Williamson County For Obama Voter Registration
Block Walk

post from Texans For Obama - Barack Obama in '08. - Front Page on 12 August 2008 01:27:29 PM. © Texans For Obama - Barack Obama in '08. - Front Page

The Williamson County for Obama campaign is organizing a voter registration block walk this weekend to turn Williamson County Blue! We have identified approximately 8,800 unregistered; likely democrats and we need to register them all.

Meet up time is 9:30 am this Saturday (08/16/08)at the Williamson County Coordinated Campaign office located at 110 S. I-35, Round Rock 78681 in the shopping center behind McDonalds. We will have an elections official in the office to sign up new deputy voter registers, and provide training before we send you on your way. The list will be scattered but is very targeted to unregistered voters and should take around 3-4 hours to complete.

Please RSVP at BlueWilco@gmail.com

Come join the growing movement in Williamson County and help Obama take back Williamson County for the Democrats!

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http://blog.texansforobama.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1279

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AP: Former GOP Rep. Leach of Iowa endorses Obama

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, a leading Republican moderate with a foreign policy background, is endorsing Democrat Barack Obama for president. The former Iowa congressman's backing was announced Tuesday as part of a group of GOP activists crossing party lines this year. Leach told reporters: "I'm convinced that the national interest demands a new approach to our interaction with the world." Leach added that Obama offers the leadership to do that. Leach lost his bid for another term in office in 2006. He was a foreign service officer before being elected to Congress. Leach predicted that a lot of Republicans and independents are going to be attracted by Obama's campaign.

Read the whole article here.

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Road to Denver: Jennifer from Pennsylvania

Jennifer's dream is to be an intelligence analyst for the federal government. She was dismayed when she learned about the pressure that that Bush Administration placed on intelligence agencies to provide evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. She wants to make sure that that never happens when she's helping protect our nation. "It's important for me to have a president who isn't going to stand over my shoulder and tell me what kind of intelligence I'm supposed to produce. And the only person in politics that I've ever believed in to not do that is Barack Obama." Jennifer knew that she had to get involved.

I started a chapter of Students for Barack Obama at my school, and I guess somewhere someone had my name on a list. I started getting email about meetings of Erie for Obama. I went to those meetings, and at one of them they passed around the form for people who wanted to be a delegate. It just went from there.

Jennifer is concerned with the issues that are facing young people, and thinks that Barack is the right set America back on track.

I think a lot of kids are generally apathetic about politics, and it takes someone like Senator Obama to get people to give up the attitude that all politicians are the same... Since I'm a college student, making college affordable has been a really hard thing. I've been lucky that I was able to get a scholarship to help pay for college, but if it wasn't for that I don't know that I would be able to afford it.

That's why she's glad that Barack has made college affordability a big part of his campaign. Jennifer is proof that not all young people are apathetic about politics. If you're still in school, join a local chapter of Students for Barack Obama. If you're not in school, look up a Generation Obama chapter in your neighborhood.

With 13 days to go until the Democratic National Convention, excitement is building in Denver and across America. Soon, delegates from all fifty states will convene in the Mile High City to cast their ballots for Barack Obama and witness his acceptance of the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States. As the convention approaches, we will follow these delegates and share stories of the grassroots supporters participating in this historic event.

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