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Commentary: Clinton Joins the Assault on Reason

post from Blog Obama '08 on 26 April 2008 06:21:00 PM. © Blog Obama '08

Chances are that anyone who reads this blog agrees that the past eight years have been a disaster and that we should do anything and everything we can to avoid a repeat over the next four or eight years. To most of us, that means opposing John McCain, Bush's former opponent who has suddenly adopted virtually every one of Bush's policy positions. But it has become increasinly apparent over the course of the Democratic primaries and caucuses that Hillary Clinton shares Bush's most damaging trait, and the one that is the root cause of most of his many failures: an uneasy relationship with reality and common sense.

I may as well begin with the best-known, but perhaps least disturbing, of Clinton's breaks with reality: her strange "recollections" of sniper fire in Bosnia. In all probability, either Clinton or one of her speechwriters overembellished the details of a pseudo-incident that seemed to demonstrate her foreign policy experience. That overembellishment snowballed into somewhat of a controversy, but only thanks to news footage that flatly contradicted her claims; all in all, it was fairly standard stuff as far as campaigns go, and probably doesn't prove much with respect to Clinton's character.

I am more disturbed by the general thesis that the Bosnia fairy tale was crafted to support: the notion that Clinton has meaningful experience to begin with. The Clinton campaign has carefully nurtured this meme, and has succeeded to the extent that every poll and every focus group and every anecdote seems to suggest that her experience is a well-documented fact. The problem is that she doesn't have much experience: she has slightly more experience than Obama, but either in objective terms or when compared to McCain, her resume is far from impressive. Still, we are subjected to ringing-phone adds that suggest that she will be especially Ready From Day One; truly, though, any thinking person knows better, except perhaps for those who would have voted for Annette Bening's character in The American President 2: Annette Bening's Character Runs For President For Some Reason.

But even that break from reality can be forgiven, if only on such bases as marketing or desperation. After all, "experience" is a difficult thing to quantify, and perhaps Clinton really does feel that when Annette Bening translated for the French Prime Minister, that qualified her for Big Red Button duty. Quantitative measures such as popular vote totals and the percentage of as-yet-unpledged superdelegates needed to clinch the nomination are not nearly so difficult to quantify. The question of which measures are more relevant is only slightly less objective. Still, at every point in the race, Clinton has insisted that that measure which favors her most is THE measure, always and forever...or at least until that measure ceases to favor her most. The farce has progressed to the point where Clinton claims to have claimed the lead in the popular vote, and uses a metric which includes the state of Michigan (where Obama's name was not even on the ballot) to prove her point. Again, no thinking person would side with her.

This is no small thing. Clinton has managed to convince a significant portion of the media to take her claims to a lead in the popular vote seriously enough to air them with a straight face. And in a larger sense, people who sing the praises of dubious statistics and anecdotes in order to further their own goals are much to be feared. In the past, such people have argued that tobacco does not cause cancer, that global warming is just part of a natural cycle, that the mission in Iraq is accomplished, and the Brownie was doing a heckuva job. They are not to be trusted. And they are not to be voted for.

Read The Full Article:
http://blogobama08.blogspot.com/2008/04/commentary-clinton-joins-assault-on.html

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Next Battleground - Indiana

post from Progressives for Obama on 26 April 2008 04:11:00 PM. © Progressives for Obama

Photo: Rocker John Mellencamp Warms Up Indiana for Obama
Obama
Fires Up
Hoosiers

By Brian A. Howey
Howey Politics Indiana

EVANSVILLE - In the very toe of the Hoosier State, which was rocked and rattled by an earthquake the previous week, Barack Obama was preparing to descend to the stage at Roberts Stadium. His move came in a state that in its 192-year history has elected only three African-American mayors (all in Gary), three African-American members of Congress, two black sheriffs, and two Hispanic mayors. None served much south of I-70.

Indiana House Majority Floor Leader Russ Stilwell of Boonville looked at the gathering crowd on this Tuesday night and softly said, "There?s an undercurrent out there. I?m not sure if people realize what?s going on." In about an hour, more than 8,000 Hoosiers - black, white, young, old - stood in a huge line that wrapped around the stadium, and for most, another two hours waiting for a transformational figure in American history to appear.

Around 10:45 p.m. on this balmy night, Obama took the dais in Evansville to thunderous cheers. "Evansville is going to be so important," Obama said a few moments after Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp sang "Small Town" ? "All my friends are so small town. My parents live in the same small town. My job is so small town. Provides little opportunity. Educated in a small town. Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town. Used to daydream in that small town ?"

The crowd itself seemed to state that another era had dawned in Indiana.

Rep. Stilwell questioned if Obama could fill the stadium. What if he couldn?t? By now, the question was moot.

What followed was Obama?s now familiar soaring rhetoric and questions from the Eastern Seaboard about the Hoosier state of mind. "We?re not here to talk about change for change?s sake, but because our families, our communities, and our country desperately need it," Obama said. "We?re here because we can?t afford to keep doing what we?ve been doing for another four years. We can?t afford to play the same Washington games with the same Washington players and expect a different result. Not this time. Not now."

In fact, there has been great change here in Indiana. In the three election cycles since 2004, Hoosier voters have tossed out a sitting governor, the Senate president pro tempore, the Senate finance chairman, four members of Congress, more than 40 percent of our mayors including incumbents in Indianapolis, Kokomo, Terre Haute, New Albany, Jeffersonville and East Chicago. Control of the Indiana House has changed hands. Gov. Mitch Daniels has forged and even apologized for change; acknowledging some of it may have come too fast for some Hoosiers.
There have been other changes. At a time when Obama makes a call for building infrastructure, many Hoosier Democrats have lined up as vociferous opponents of Gov. Mitch Daniels? Major Moves toll road privatization (based, in part, on Chicago Mayor Daley?s similar move on the Chicago Skyway). One of the party?s gubernatorial candidates has based a campaign on rolling back many of the changes Daniels has made that are akin to the type of changes Obama says America desperately needs. Even though Obama and Daniels occupy diverse ends of the ideological spectrum, they seem to feed off the same idea of being change agents.

And now here at Roberts Stadium was Barack Obama taking the clarion call of change in deep Southern Indiana. "We can be a party that says and does whatever it takes to win the next election," Obama explained. "We can calculate and poll-test our positions and tell everyone exactly what they want to hear. Or we can be the party that doesn?t just focus on how to win, but why we should. We can tell everyone what they need to hear about the challenges we face. We can seek to regain not just an office, but the trust of the American people that their leaders in Washington will tell them the truth. That?s the choice in this election."

Obama continued, "We can build on the movement we?ve started in this campaign ? a movement that?s united Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. We?re not as divided as our politics suggests. We may have different stories and different backgrounds, but we hold common hopes for the future of this country."

There are 100,000 new Hoosier voters taking all of this in. Hoosier Democrats will vote for a female or African-American for the first time on May 6.

Stilwell joined several southern Indiana legislators such as Dave Crooks and Lindel Hume, and Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, in endorsing Obama. But he was quick to note, "Clinton will win Southern Indiana, but I don?t think they realize what?s really going on here."

There are Democrats who won?t vote for a black man, just as there were in Pennsylvania. In past elections, we?ve speculated on how much a Jewish candidate for governor (Stephen Goldsmith in 1996) might lose in such intolerant proclivities (my answer was 1 to 3 percent). Sadly, numbers like that might exist today.

Barack Obama walked into a city that produced one of Indiana?s worst characters: Ku Klux Klan leader D.C. Stephenson who took over the state eight decades ago. On Tuesday he found a huge crowd and ears willing to listen to what he had to say. How they vote in less than two weeks could alter the course of American history.

Howey is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana at www.howeypolitics.com.

http://progressivesforobama.blogspot.com

Read The Full Article:
http://progressivesforobama.blogspot.com/2008/04/next-battleground-indiana.html

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Indiana, Door to Door

post from Blog Obama '08 on 26 April 2008 03:31:00 PM. © Blog Obama '08

Purdue University senior Roy Hobbs chats with Indiana voters in West Lafayette.
Supporters in West Lafayette, IN took to the streets (and country roads) this morning, going to door to door to speak with registered Democrats about Barack Obama's plans to help Indiana families.

This was the first time I'd had the opportunity to go door to door for the campaign, and the experience was eye opening. First of all, it's completely understandable how difficult it can be to harness the youth vote. We began the day knocking on the doors of registered voters near the Purdue University campus, but unfortunately, much of the information we had, despite being only a few months old, was out of date. With college students so frequently on the move, it's tough to reach them by conventional methods. Most of the conversations we had this morning were with hungover (or barely awake) college students who were nonetheless eager to hear about Barack Obama. Of course, the fact that the semester ended yesterday didn't help our efforts. Many students were either out of town, or sleeping in after a long night out.

We did have some great opportunities in the afternoon to get out into the countryside a little bit. Folks were very receptive and happy to see us. We did run into a few ardent Obama supporters who already had their minds made up, but seeing people going door to door seemed to reinvigorate their enthusiasm for what has been a long campaign.

Perhaps the best part of the morning, though, was running into some registered Republicans. They were unaware that they are actually eligible to participate in Indiana's primary campaign, regardless of their party affiliation. There truly are a lot of frustrated Republicans out there who are eager for change, and seriously considering crossing party lines for the first time in their lives. In a traditionally deep red state like Indiana, that could make all the difference come November.

One final thought: After 5 hours of door to door efforts today, we made face to face contact with 44 voters, most of whom were available for less than a minute of conversation. BlogObama08 averages 30 visitors per day for an average time of about 1 minute and 30 seconds. On a good day, more than 300 users visit the blog. If nothing else, this door to door effort convinced me that maintaining this blog does make an impact, even if at times it feels like I am just shouting into the abyss.

Read The Full Article:
http://blogobama08.blogspot.com/2008/04/indiana-door-to-door.html

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Senator Obama on Autism and Disability

post from Obama-08 on 26 April 2008 08:39:00 AM. © Obama-08

?We must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination .... policies must be developed, attitudes must be shaped, and buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to get the education they need and live independently as full citizens in their communities.?

Senator Obama on Autism and Disability

video details and more

Barack Speaks on World Autism Day

video details and more

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zgdF/~3/278351007/senator-obama-on-autism
-and-disability.html

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ormer Amb. to Chile Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon

post from Obama Endorsements on 26 April 2008 01:01:00 AM. © Obama Endorsements

Read The Full Article:
http://obamaendorsements.blogspot.com/2008/04/ormer-amb-to-chile-gabriel-guerra.h
tml

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Former Amb. to Chile Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon

BIG HRC FUNDRAISER DEFECTS TO OBAMA

BIG HRC FUNDRAISER DEFECTS TO OBAMA
Posted: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:18 PM by Chuck Todd
From NBC's Chuck Todd
One of the things that both Dem campaigns are always nervous about is defectors. In particular, Clinton is more vulnerable to this problem since she's the candidate that is trailing. Well, NBC News has learned that a major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, former Amb. to Chile Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon is leaving the campaign to join up Barack Obama's campaign. Officially dubbed a "Hillraiser," Guerra-Mondragon raised nearly $500,000 for Clinton's campaign, according to some estimates. He has been informing people inside Clintonworld this week in what's been described as some tough conversations. A formal announcement of a role for Guerra-Mondragon on Obama's national finance committee will be made next week. Guerra-Mondragon was appointed Amb. to Chile by Pres. Clinton in '94 and served until '98.

Among the reasons for Guerra-Mondragon to defect, according to one informed source, was he was uneasy with the tone of the Clinton campaign and was beginning to worry about what this would mean for the general election.

It's unclear if this defection will lead to others; the Clinton camp has been particularly effective at getting folks to keep their powder dry. For Obama, this comes at a time when his campaign is trying to re-convince insiders that the math indicates he has the nomination virtually wrapped up. In addition, Guerra-Mondragon's defection could serve as a tipping point with some key Hispanic Democratic leaders that Obama is ready to start making a bigger effort to court Hispanics.

Read The Full Article:
http://obamaendorsements.blogspot.com/2008/04/former-amb-to-chile-gabriel-guerra.
html

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