July 2, 2008
Obama gives Zanesville kids his time
Students were busy coloring in an upstairs classroom at Eastside Community Ministry when presidential candidate Barack Obama walked in Tuesday. They knew he was coming, but at the sight of him, they all stopped and stared, their projects suddenly unimportant.
July 2, 2008
Obama endorses faith-based social programs
Pitching for support from religious voters in a conservative region of Ohio, Democrat Barack Obama promised today to continue and expand faith-based social service programs if he is elected president.
July 1, 2008
Obama talks patriotism, the value of dissent before cheering Independence crowd
Barack Obama spelled out his view of the meaning of patriotism and the value of dissent today in a 30-minute address in Independence just four days before America celebrates the Fourth of July. In the wake of sniping from Republicans and Internet critics, the Illinois senator said he was surprised to find his own patriotism being questioned as he launched his campaign for president.
July 1, 2008
Obama Courting Evangelicals Once Loyal to Bush
Politically speaking, Susan Speakman is a different kind of evangelical. Mrs. Speakman, 59, a pastor and educator at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Bridgeville, Pa., an activist evangelical church southwest of Pittsburgh, backs Senator Barack Obama in the presidential race.
June 25, 2008
Obama touts 'green' energy on visit to Springs Preserve
Under the bleach-bright Las Vegas summer sun, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday checked out the solar panels that shade cars in the parking lot of the Springs Preserve while powering the facility.
June 23, 2008
Obama vows crackdown on energy speculators
Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday said as president he would strengthen government oversight of energy traders he blames in large part for the skyrocketing price of oil. The Democratic candidate's campaign singled out the so-called "Enron loophole" for allowing speculators to run up the cost of fuel by operating outside federal regulation.
June 20, 2008
Obama Holds Economic Roundtable with Governors
Sen. Barack Obama brought 16 Democratic governors here for an economic roundtable today -- and got more than just an earful about the need for better manufacturing policies and greater investment in the national infrastructure.
June 19, 2008
Obama meets with national security advisory group
Democrat Barack Obama sought advice Wednesday from national security experts who served in Congress and the Clinton administration on how to overhaul U.S. foreign policy if he wins the presidency. Obama, who has been in Congress only three years and has been criticized as inexperienced on foreign policy, met in a Washington hotel ballroom with his new Senior Working Group on National Security, made up of experts in international affairs.
June 18, 2008
Obama touts tax credit to ease collegians' pain
For the second straight day in Michigan, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama went to a college and met with students struggling to pay for their educations. At the Wayne County Community College campus in Taylor, he met with 29 students to hear their stories and tout his plan to make college more affordable.
June 17, 2008
Obama promises tuition tax credit
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama recalled paying off his own mountain of student loan debt and promised struggling college students Tuesday he would help them pay for school.
June 16, 2008
Gore to Appear With Obama
Former Vice President Al Gore will appear in Detroit tonight for his debut campaign appearance with Senator Barack Obama, extending an endorsement and urging all Democrats to rally behind the party’s fall ticket.
June 16, 2008
When faith is front and center
A few days ago, I had the privilege of engaging Sen. Barack Obama in private conversation for several hours with Rev. Franklin Graham, Bishop T.D. Jakes and a diverse group of 30 or so religious leaders from Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical and other traditions.
June 16, 2008
in Father's Day sermon reminds dads that parenting doesn't end at conception
In a Father's Day address heavy with personal and political meaning, Democrat Barack Obama told worshipers at a Chicago church Sunday that government must do more to help families---but he also exhorted parents, especially fathers, to play their part by raising healthy children.
June 14, 2008
Obama, courting Ohio seniors, pledges no cuts to benefits
Returning to battleground Ohio for the first time since losing the state's March 4 primary, likely Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama yesterday used a retirement home as the backdrop for his call for higher Social Security taxes on wealthier Americans. At the same time, he promised there would be no cut in Social Security benefits, no increase in the retirement age, and no income taxes on the first $50,000 collected in Social Security benefits.
June 14, 2008
Obama tours Quincy to see flooding
Senator Barack Obama visited the Illinois community of Quincy today to see flooded areas along the Mississippi River for himself. During his stop this afternoon, the Democratic presidential candidate helped fill sandbags that are being trucked to both sides of the Mississippi River.
June 13, 2008
Will the Real Tax-and-Spender Please 'Fess Up?
With the general election in full gear, Senator John McCain has stepped up efforts to paint his rival, Senator Barack Obama, as what he calls a traditional Democratic tax-and-spend liberal. ...In a study of the candidates' plans made public Wednesday, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center concluded that in contrast to Mr. McCain, "Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low-and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers."
June 13, 2008
Obama, Kaukauna talk taxes
Democrat Barack Obama brought a fierce populist message to the state on Thursday, hoping his push for middle-class tax cuts proves popular here and in other battlegrounds.
June 13, 2008
Obama Campaign Dispatching Thousands
Moving to harness the grass-roots energy that helped win the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will deploy 3,600 volunteers in 17 states this weekend, each committed to six consecutive weeks of full-time political work.
June 12, 2008
McCain's Tax Plan Favors Wealthiest, Analysis Says
Both John McCain and Barack Obama promise to cut taxes for the majority of Americans. But an Obama administration would redistribute income toward lower- and middle-class households, while a McCain White House would steer the bulk of the benefits to the wealthiest families, according to a nonpartisan analysis of the still-evolving tax plans of the presidential candidates.
June 12, 2008
NBC/WSJ Poll: Post-primary bump for Obama
Days after becoming his party's presumptive nominee and receiving an endorsement from his chief rival, Hillary Clinton, Democrat Barack Obama has opened the general election campaign with a six-point edge over Republican John McCain, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
June 12, 2008
Inside Obama's 50-State Fight
Utah is hardly the place that jumps into most Democrats' minds when brainstorming about which red states they have a chance to make headway with this November. The Beehive State was one of just three states in which President George W. Bush swept every county in 2004-all of them except for two with more than 55% of the vote. In the state's 2008 primaries on Super Tuesday, Republican voters outnumbered Democrats by a margin of 2.5 to 1.
June 10, 2008
Obama does 'work day' with nurse
Barack Obama returned to a campaign staple today to show he is in touch with average Americans -- he walked nearly 90 minutes in one's shoes. On the second day of his economy-focused tour of battleground states, he shadowed a nurse on her rounds at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
June 10, 2008
Obama outlines economic policy
In his first North Carolina campaign stop since last month's primary, Sen. Barack Obama on Monday promoted an economic policy he said would benefit working Americans. ...Obama spoke to more than 500 guests at an invitation-only speech at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. He reinforced his message of change, blaming Bush for five straight months of job losses, staggering national debt, stagnant wages and a mortgage crisis.
June 9, 2008
Obama Launches National Tour
Kicking off his general election campaign, Sen. Barack Obama touted his proposals to improve the economy and blasted his rival's ideas in a speech touting his core message for November: electing John McCain would be akin to a third term for George W. Bush. "For all his talk of independence, the centerpiece of his economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies...." Obama said in a formal economic speech here before a smaller than usual (by design) crowd of several hundred. "This is the choice you will face in November. You can vote for John McCain, and see a continuation of Bush economic policies -- more tax cuts to the wealthy, more corporate tax breaks."
June 6, 2008
From Across Region, 10,000 Rally for Obama
Sen. Barack Obama launched his general election campaign for president in Virginia yesterday, rolling up his sleeves and rallying families, college students and people playing hooky from work to help him "win this election and change the course of history." The presumptive Democratic nominee drew more than 10,000 people to a late afternoon rally at Nissan Pavilion and spent the morning courting voters in coal country at a town hall meeting in southwest Virginia.
June 6, 2008
Obama Promises Bristol, Va., Crowd Health Care Changes
In his first public appearance since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama promised here Thursday that every American would receive affordable health care by the end of his first term. Battling self-admitted sleep deprivation since claiming the nomination Tuesday night, Obama spent more than an hour detailing much of his health care plan.
June 5, 2008
Barack Obama has captivated the world
No one's tossing confetti or releasing balloons, but U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's ascent to likely Democratic Party presidential nominee has captivated many of those watching the American political contest abroad. Newspaper front pages and television newscasts throughout the world Wednesday featured photographs and footage of the smiling Illinois lawmaker, who a day earlier clinched the Democratic nomination by winning enough delegates to edge out Hillary Rodham Clinton.
June 5, 2008
History Calls
...Mr. Obama's achievements in the primary campaign transcend race. More than any presidential candidate in recent years, he was able to mobilize large numbers of voters -- young people and African Americans in particular -- who had not previously participated in the political process. The energy and optimism unleashed by the Obama campaign allowed it to harness the power of the Internet to raise breathtaking sums of money, a gratifying proportion of it in relatively small amounts. Against a formidable -- indeed, supposedly unstoppable -- opponent, Mr. Obama ran a campaign that would have been impressive for a veteran; it was amazing for a relative newcomer to the political scene.
June 5, 2008
DNC bans lobbyist money
With Barack Obama as their future nominee, the Democratic National Committee is adopting his policy of no longer accepting donations from federal lobbyists or political action committees. The change will make the party and the candidate have a consistent position. Obama often says banning the donations is one way to help keep him free of the influence of Washington insiders.
June 4, 2008
Obama Claims Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket
Senator Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday night, prevailing through an epic battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a primary campaign that inspired millions of voters from every corner of America to demand change in Washington. ..."You chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears, but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations," Mr. Obama told supporters at a rally in St. Paul. "Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Because of you, tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States."
June 4, 2008
Obama proclaims himself the Democratic nominee
Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination in a long- time-coming victory speech Tuesday that taunted Republicans on their own turf and reached out to heal Democratic wounds with lofty praise for his rival. "Let us begin the work together," Obama exhorted thousands of cheering supporters in a packed sports arena. "Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America."
June 4, 2008
Obama vows staunch support for Israel
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama assured Jewish leaders Wednesday that he will be a steadfast ally of Israel and will not negotiate with terrorist groups, a response to attacks leveled against him recently by Republicans. ..."As president I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security," Obama told an annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major Jewish bipartisan group.
June 3, 2008
Front-runner impresses students and seniors, too
Hundreds of Obama supporters of all ages and races waited for hours to enter the school's gymnasium. Many sported T-shirts and buttons supporting the Illinois senator. As they waited for the town hall meeting to start, attendees stomped feet, cheered wildly and clapped heartily, sometimes chanting "Yes we can!"
June 2, 2008
Obama Speaks to Veterans
It's getting close to the finish line for democratic presidential candidates, and they're campaigning in South Dakota as much as they can. Senator Barrack Obama spent the Sunday morning in Sioux Falls talking with veterans. The theme of his message on Sunday was unlike his last visit to Sioux Falls, which was more of a big political rally; Sunday morning's event was a simple meet-and-greet.
June 1, 2008
Obama tours downtown Rapid City after speaking to 3,000 supporters
..."There's such a thing as being too late,” Obama said. "That hour of change is upon us.” Change has been the mantra of his campaign and he called for a new course on a variety of issues in his speech, which he delivered with passion and precision after 15 months on the campaign trail. Obama joked that babies have been born and learned to walk and talk since he declared for the White House. He called for putting pressure on oil companies to lower fuel prices, to replace the jobs that have been lost through fierce competition and overseas transfers and to ensure the 47 million Americans without health care get medical care and insurance.
May 31, 2008
Obama hits the home stretch in Great Falls
With the long Democratic presidential primary race finally nearing an end, Barack Obama put in a last-minute pitch Friday night for Montanans' votes. "I'm here to report after traveling 15 months, after visiting 48 states, after speaking to hundreds of thousands of people and shaking hundreds of thousands of hands and kissing hundreds of thousands babies, I am here to report my bet has paid off, because all across the country, the American people have said they are ready for change," Obama said. "And Montana, it is your turn on Tuesday to stand up."
May 29, 2008
Obama touts education plan at Thornton high school
emocratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said he wants to fix the "broken promises" of America's education system and took aim at the heralded No Child Left Behind Act on Wednesday while visiting a Thornton high school. Speaking before an invited guest list numbering in the hundreds, Obama led a Town Hall forum at the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts after taking a tour of the high school.
May 28, 2008
NEVADA CAMPAIGN STOP: Obama hears woes
Sen. Barack Obama led a sober town hall meeting Tuesday in North Las Vegas where people told the Democratic presidential candidate that there's more to the housing crisis than foreclosures and that its effect isn't limited to those who bought more home than they could afford. The Illinois senator used the campaign stop to highlight his plans to address the nation's real estate troubles, including creation of a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to stem the tide of bank repossessions.
May 27, 2008
Veterans at heart of Obama's Las Cruces Memorial Day talk
In front of a Memorial Day crowd of southern New Mexico veterans and their families, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama promised veterans better medical care and more help transitioning back into civilian life if he's elected president. Obama addressed an audience of about 200 on Monday afternoon at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. The outdoor event, though initially announced as open to the public, was invitation-only.
May 27, 2008
Obama Says 'Sense of Service' Makes America What It Is
Barack Obama, front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, paid tribute to the sacrifices of the nation's military during a meeting with veterans and a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony here Monday. "I know that while we may come from different places, cherish different traditions, and have different political beliefs, we all- every one of us- hold in reverence those who've given this country the full measure of their devotion," the Illinois senator said.
May 26, 2008
Obama Speaks At Wesleyan In Kennedy's Place
Barack Obama stepped in Sunday for the ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy with a call to service at Wesleyan University that was a tribute to a storied political dynasty and a nod to his own presidential ambitions. With words borrowed from John F. Kennedy's inaugural and Robert F. Kennedy's visit to Africa, Obama invoked the idealism that drew previous generations to the Peace Corps and the Civil Rights movement.
May 24, 2008
The Wisdom In Talking
...While the president attacks political opponents from the Knesset, responsible members of his own administration meet face to face with Iranians. Yes, Ahmadinejad's words often are abhorrent, and often Iran has played a poisonous role in Middle East politics. But when our ambassador to Iraq meets with his Iranian counterpart, he isn't courting "the false comfort of appeasement" -- he is facing the reality that Iran exerts influence in Iraq. That's why Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called for engaging Iran. Appeasers all? Nonsense.
May 24, 2008
Arena crowd in Sunrise cheers Obama's talk of unity
Capping a whirlwind 24 hours of fundraising and wooing key constituencies across vote-rich South Florida, Barack Obama on Friday pumped up an already enthusiastic crowd at a massive rally with calls for change, some criticism of John McCain, and a promise to return. If they weren't already smitten, an estimated 16,000 people who came to the BankAtlantic Center were ready to fall in love - and they didn't leave disappointed.
May 23, 2008
Republicans and Our Enemies
...Sen. Obama is right that the U.S. should be willing to engage Iran on its nuclear program without "preconditions" – i.e. without insisting that Iran first freeze the program, which is the very subject of any negotiations. He has been clear that he would not become personally involved until the necessary preparations had been made and unless he was convinced his engagement would advance our interests.
May 23, 2008
Obama adds two superdelegates, one's a former Clinton backer
Sen. Barack Obama pocketed two more of his party’s superdelegates Friday. California congressmen Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza are endorsing the Illinois senator, according to a statement released by his campaign.
May 22, 2008
A rock star roar greets Obama
The line outside the St. Pete Times Forum started forming early Wednesday morning. By 10 a.m. it wound around the building. People young and old, black and white, parents and children. ...As Obama made his way to the podium just before 1 p.m., the cheers reached rock-concert decibel levels. "It's good to be back in Florida," Obama told the enthusiastic crowd, who occasionally chanted "O-bam-a! O-bam-a!" before and during the 35-minute speech. "I know you guys have been holding down the fort."
May 20, 2008
CNN projects Obama reaches majority of pledged delegates
With the addition of two more delegates from Tuesday's Kentucky contest, CNN projects that Barack Obama now has 1,628 pledged delegates - a majority of the pledged delegates available in this year's Democratic presidential nominating contests.
May 20, 2008
Obama wows 'em
How well did Barack Obama connect with onlookers at his West High town hall meeting? He got a standing ovation Monday for calling for more school, more homework and on a 70-degree day less than two weeks before graduation.
May 19, 2008
Byrd endorses Obama for president
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., endorsed Barack Obama for president shortly after noon today, focusing on his hope to end the Iraq War. "As people all across this great nation know, I have been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush administration's misguided war in Iraq and its saber rattling around the globe," Byrd said.
May 19, 2008
A record crowd of 75,000 gathers for Obama in Oregon
They waited for hours under a warm sun, the line snaking for blocks and blocks through downtown. They packed onto the park lawn, from the makeshift stage to the waterfront and up to the street. ...They brought their parents and their infants. Some skipped work. Some wilted in the heat. A few jammed the streets afterward, hoping for a final motorcade glimpse. Fire department officials counted 75,000 in all, a record for the main attraction, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
May 17, 2008
Obama Strikes Back at Bush On Diplomacy
Sen. Barack Obama pushed back Friday against President Bush's implicit criticism of his approach to foreign policy, condemning his administration for not capturing Osama bin Laden and blaming its Iraq war policy for strengthening and emboldening Iran. An animated Obama, cheered on by a crowd gathered on the floor of a livestock arena, said he would be delighted if the presidential race turned into a conversation about which party is better suited to guide the nation's foreign policy.
May 17, 2008
Obama Fights For Farming
Obama spoke to more than 2,000 attendees interested in his agricultural plans. In his attempt to appeal to what is a largely rural area, he stressed the importance of agriculture and explained his plan to invest in young farmers. "We'll give them incentives to afford their first farm or ranch while giving a tax break to landowners who sell to beginning farmers," said Obama.
May 15, 2008
Steelworkers endorse Obama for president
The United Steelworkers union endorsed Barack Obama for president Thursday, which should give the Illinois senator a powerful advocate in attracting the Democratic blue-collar workers his campaign has been courting. ..."We find ourselves once again in agreement with Senator Edwards, this time with his decision last evening to endorse Senator Barack Obama," the union said in a statement. "And thus today, the United Steelworkers enthusiastically endorses Senator Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States."
May 15, 2008
Obama pledges help for auto industry
Sen. Barack Obama's first visit to Michigan in nearly a year included a high-profile endorsement from John Edwards and a pledge to fight for a rebound in Michigan's battered auto industry. "We are taking steps in the right direction, and American automakers are on the move," Obama told a friendly crowd in Warren, where he unveiled a manufacturing agenda that includes billions of dollars in potential aid for the Detroit car companies.
May 14, 2008
Obama: Choice in November will be clear
When it is finally time to choose a president in November, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama told more than 200 people gathered into the cutting room at Thorngate Ltd. Tuesday, the choice will be clear. President Bush will not be on the ballot, he said, but his policies will. U.S. Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, has shown little inclination to change the policies that have put the U.S. into an expensive war in Iraq, cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and seen the price of gasoline rise to levels that make driving to work an expensive necessity, he said.
May 14, 2008
Obama to Receive Endorsement Of 3 Former SEC Chairmen
Three former chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission will publicly endorse Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the presidency Wednesday, including one who served under President Bush. William Donaldson, who was SEC chairman for about 2½ years from early 2003, along with Clinton and Reagan appointees Arthur Levitt and David Ruder, will join former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker in endorsing Sen. Obama, his campaign said. Mr. Volcker endorsed Sen. Obama in January.
May 13, 2008
Obama pushes for new GI Bill
On the day before West Virginia's primary election, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama called for passage of the new GI bill Monday in Charleston... The proposed 21st Century GI Bill would allow soldiers to receive free tuition for college. Obama said it is one of a number of upgrades to GI benefits and healthcare the federal government should provide.
May 11, 2008
At 60, Israel Has Much to Celebrate
As the festivities surrounding Israel’s 60th anniversary get underway, Israelis can be forgiven if they don’t feel in an entirely celebratory mood. With terrorism and rockets from Gaza, a serious threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, hostages held by Hamas, and too many of its neighbors playing tired old games rather than working toward peace and security, Israel can at times feel like a nation facing enormous challenges.
May 10, 2008
Obama makes stop at Beaverton, Ore., software company
The senator spoke to workers at Vernier Software & Technology for the first of three scheduled stops in Oregon on Friday. While pundits may make the country out to be divided, he said, the concerns of Oregonians are shared across the nation. At Vernier, he talked about his plans to tackle key economic issues such as health care costs, the cost of college, taxes and gas prices.
May 9, 2008
Obama picks up 9 superdelegates, union endorsement
Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign. Obama picked up the backing of nine superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.
May 9, 2008
Union, 3 Superdelegates Endorse Obama
Sen. Barack Obama picked up an endorsement Friday morning from the union representing federal employees -- and the personal support of its president, a superdelegate to this summer's Democratic convention. ..."Senator Obama has proven he is able to energize young Americans, independents and even moderate Republicans to support his candidacy," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said in a statement. "I believe he represents our best hope of winning in November."
May 8, 2008
'We may have a second Lincoln': McGovern explains endorsement switch
George McGovern has a history of associations with transformative political figures. He campaigned at the sides of John F. and Robert Kennedy during their respective runs for the White House, and he’s currently writing a book about Abraham Lincoln. McGovern thinks Barack Obama may be cut from the same historic mold as those men, and that’s one reason McGovern said Wednesday that after eight months of supporting Hillary Clinton for president, he is switching sides.
May 4, 2008
Obama meets his Indiana roots
Sen. Barack Obama met his Indiana roots today, visiting the Tipton County farmhouse where his mother's family had settled in the 1800s. As an icy wind blasted across the flat farmland, Obama, his wife Michelle and their daughters Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6, met a distant cousin, Annette Noble, 67. Noble was among a couple dozen people who came out to meet Obama as he campaigns in the final days before Tuesday's primary election.
May 4, 2008
Obama represents best hope for change
The buzz word in the race for the Democratic nomination for president has been “change” - change from the failed policies of President Bush, who has little positive to hold on to as he approaches the end of his presidency. Barack Obama has taken the crusade for change a step further, calling for a change in the politics and policies of Washington and the country as a whole.
May 3, 2008
Michelle Obama focuses on fairness
An ever-shifting bar has put prosperity, affordable health care, good housing and a college education out of reach for too many Americans, Michelle Obama told a crowd of thousands in Asheville on Friday. Raised from humble beginnings, Barack Obama is the lone presidential contender who identifies with everyday people and understands what it takes to lift them up, the candidate’s wife said in a lively and wide-ranging speech at UNC Asheville. "Life has gotten harder, not easier, for working people," Obama said to thunderous applause from a podium on the campus quad. "Barack will work every day to make that bar even."
May 3, 2008
'I will not let you down'
Vowing to run an open White House, Barack Obama urged Northwest Indiana residents to vote for him in Indiana's primary in three days. "I may not be perfect," Obama said. "But I'll always tell you what I think. I will not let you down." Obama again touted his plans to fix trade problems with China, and help create new jobs for American workers in the alternative energy industry. "It can start right here in Munster, if you've got the leadership," he said.
May 2, 2008
Obama Tries To Win Over Indiana Steelworkers
The Indiana Democratic primary is just days away and Sen. Barack Obama was in Munster Friday trying to sway voters there. CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports about 300 steel workers gave Obama a rousing welcome at Munster Steel Company. His message was aimed at the working class, struggling in this difficult economy.
May 1, 2008
Hoosier superdelegate defects to Obama
Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew, an Indiana native who also was state party chairman here, is switching his support from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama. ......In a letter Andrew is releasing today explaining his decision, he said: ..."Let us come together right now behind an inspiring leader who not only has the audacity to challenge the old divisive politics, but the audacity to make us all hope for a better America."
May 1, 2008
Gas Tax Gotcha
...We do not underestimate the impact of high fuel prices on families that need their cars to get to work and school. But the gas tax is one component of the per-gallon price that comes back to benefit the motoring public, in the form of funding for road construction and maintenance. Much of the rest leaves America, going to such places as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Ms. Clinton proposes a windfall profits tax on U.S. oil companies to recapture the revenue forfeited by her proposal. Similar ideas have failed in the Senate because of oil-state objections; this one undoubtedly would, too. We have to agree with Sen. Barack Obama, the only candidate who has refused to play this game. "It's not an idea to get you through the summer," he said. "It's an idea to get them through an election." His opponents no doubt hope that Mr. Obama's stand will prove to be political suicide. We think it qualifies as political courage.
April 30, 2008
Hopeful Obama makes stop in Hickory
Chants of "Yes, We Can!" followed by "O-ba-ma!" echoed from Hickory High School’s Craft Gymnasium Tuesday as supporters greeted Barack Obama. The first presidential candidate to visit Hickory in more than a decade addressed an overflow and diverse crowd of more than 2,000. Making his second campaign stop of the day in North Carolina, Obama talked up his universal health care plan, tax cuts for the middle class and ideas to fix the struggling economy.
April 29, 2008
Obama stresses economy in speech
With his jacket off and his shirt sleeves rolled up, Barack Obama asked a crowd of about 1,500 somewhat-soggy Eastern North Carolinians on Monday to believe in the potential of the middle class - and then to vote for him on May 6. ... Taking several minutes during his speech to focus on issues faced by small towns throughout the eastern part of the state, Obama pledged to restore the U.S. economy by returning order to the job market. "Unemployment here in Wilson is outpacing the rest of the county," Obama said after referring to a few local plants that moved overseas in recent years. "And folks here in Wilson are making about $11,000 less on average than the rest of the country. Meanwhile, gas costs $3.58."
April 29, 2008
Obama at UNC-CH: Time for new chapter
Sen. Barack Obama rallied thousands of supporters at UNC-Chapel Hill late Monday, saying he is the best candidate to bring Americans through the crisis of rising gas and food prices. Speaking after 10:30 p.m. to a crowd that skewed young and screamed loudly enough to be heard up the street, Obama ended a day of campaigning in the Dean Smith Center. There, he said that he would bring troops home from Iraq, that he would unify the country, that he would fight special interests and, as much as anything, that he believes in hope and the American dream.
April 28, 2008
Barack Obama: Adjust tax rules, encourage savings, trim waste
Americans who work hard their entire lives have earned the right to retire with dignity and security. That's the promise that each of us wants to be realized within our own families. But Washington is not working to preserve this fundamental part of the American dream. A secure retirement is no longer a guarantee for the middle class. It's harder to save for retirement, pensions are getting crunched, and prescription drug prices are slipping out of reach. The promise of Social Security may grow harder to keep for future generations. That's why I have proposed a comprehensive agenda for retirement security.
April 28, 2008
Obama Links Broad Ideas to Economic Specifics
Sen. Barack Obama came this past weekend to this factory town, where the loss of hundreds of jobs at the Delphi auto parts plant was only the latest blow, and told 2,000 voters that the way to fix things was not just to vote for him -- but to join a bottom-up mass movement to change the way government works. He didn't put it that way exactly. But in a noteworthy shift, the Illinois senator is trying to reach working-class and middle-class voters by arguing more explicitly that the reform ideas driving his campaign can address the economic troubles that threaten their way of life.
April 27, 2008
OBAMA: Talking job loss, lagging economy
"Families in Madison County make over $7,000 less than other American families," said U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., on Saturday at Anderson High School. The Democratic presidential candidate held a town hall meeting before a crowd of 1,500 and began his speech by addressing the economic situation in Anderson and other Indiana communities.
April 27, 2008
OBAMA: "We need to bring this country together."
The second point of his talk, Obama says, is to bring this country together. "I've got a reputation for being able to work with Republicans," Obama said. 25 minutes into his talk, Obama moved on to tax talks.
April 25, 2008
Obama plans major drive to register voters
Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is planning to unveil a "massive" voter registration drive, one that will reach all 50 states and seeks to boost confidence in him as a potential general election candidate. ..."That's why I'm so proud that today our campaign announced a massive volunteer-led voter registration drive in all 50 states to help ensure every single eligible voter takes part in this election so we can take back Washington for the American people," Obama said at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
April 25, 2008
Obama applauds unions at convention
It was supposed to be his day off, but with a union convention in town and the close Indiana primary less than two weeks away, White House hopeful Barack Obama thanked 200 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers for their help on his campaign Thursday. "No matter where [the campaign] has taken me, you've been right by my side," Obama told the members in their yellow "UFCW for Obama" T-Shirts. "I know that because I see those yellow T-shirts at every town hall meeting."
April 24, 2008
Obama courts voters in New Albany
Sen. Barack Obama told a thunderous crowd at Indiana University Southeast yesterday that he's the best candidate to bring change and he'll do it by spurning special interests and focusing on the needs of working Americans. ...But he told the estimated 2,500 people in the IUS gym that they "do have a real choice." "I believe the only way we're going to bring about the changes that you need to see in your lives and the lives of your community is if we don't just offer different policies, but we offer a different kind of politics in Washington," he said.
April 23, 2008
In Oklahoma: Henry backs Obama
Gov. Brad Henry, who said earlier he would not endorse a Democratic presidential candidate until this summer's national convention, announced this morning he is supporting Barack Obama. ..."Senator Obama is uniquely positioned to unite our nation and move beyond the divisiveness and partisan skirmishes that too often characterize politics as usual in Washington,” said Henry, who is in the middle of his second term. "Senator Obama and his positive message reflect the best of America,” Henry said.
April 23, 2008
29 state legislators endorse Obama
...Blue and Rand said their support comes in part because they think Obama will help Democrats win other offices in the state and because he has committed to win in North Carolina in November's general election. Rand praised Obama for speaking directly. "He won't just tell everyone what they want to hear," Rand said. "He'll tell people what they need to hear."
April 21, 2008
Kennedy: Obama inspires people, works tirelessly
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has heard the comparisons between Barack Obama and his brothers. He does not disagree with those who say the senator from Illinois has the same ability to inspire people that President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy possessed. "I see Barack having a similar kind of appeal," the senior Democratic senator from Massachusetts said. "He is challenging young and old alike to be a part of the solution to the problems."
April 21, 2008
Crowd of 2,600-plus cheers Obama in Reading
More than 2,600 people packed the Reading High School gym today as it reverberated with screams of, "Yes, we can! Yes we can!" That was followed by loud chants, "O-bam-a! O-bam-a," as the faithful supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama urged him on for Tuesday's Primary. "Berks County, are you fired up?" yelled Eileen Prussman, leader of the local Obama for President effort. "We want to win this county and win Pennsylvania for Barack."
April 20, 2008
Endorsement: Obama
...A weariness with wedge politics should lead Democrats to choose not just between two politicians, but between two styles of politics. Voters should grasp the opportunity to open a new chapter - a chapter with a fresh political vocabulary, elevated discourse and rekindled hopes. Obama offers that opportunity, and Oregon Democrats should support him in the May 20 primary election.
April 20, 2008
Obama whistle-stops through the southeast
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama chugged into the waning days of the Pennsylvania primary campaign yesterday on a fast-paced whistle-stop tour, speaking, at times from the platform of the final car as the train crawled past waiting crowds in Bryn Mawr and Wayne. The tour stopped for rallies in Wynnewood, Paoli, Downingtown and Lancaster, and was to end with a big, late-night rally on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg. Thousands cheered at each stop as the train moved westward into the center of the state from Philadelphia, Mr. Obama's strongest area of support and home to 35 percent of the state's registered Democrats.
April 19, 2008
Obama greeted by largest crowd of his campaign
Barack Obama was greeted by the largest crowd of his campaign Friday night in Philadelphia. Some 35,000 people jammed into Independence Park to see the Democratic presidential candidate, four days before this state's crucial April 22 primary. ...Obama told the crowd the United States is at a crucial moment in its history, much like what the founding fathers faced in Philadelphia.
April 19, 2008
Obama pushes across Pa.
Sen. Barack Obama launched his closing Pennsylvania blitz yesterday by traveling from one corner of the state to the other, starting in Erie and closing with a massive outdoor rally on the streets of Philadelphia. On a warm and clear spring evening, in front of a crowd estimated at 35,000, the Democratic presidential candidate told supporters that they have the opportunity to send a powerful message to the rest of the country in the primary on Tuesday.
April 18, 2008
New Obama Endorsements
The endorsements keep rolling in for Barack Obama, who now can count on the support of former Labor Secretary Robert Reich (from the Bill Clinton White House) and two popular former senators - David Boren of Oklahoma and Sam Nunn of Georgia.
April 17, 2008
Endorsement: VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA
... THERE IS a way to match Clinton's and Obama's performances on a relatively equal playing field: their campaigns. A candidate's campaign may be the best indicator of how she or he will govern. If so, an Obama administration would be well-managed, inclusive and astonishingly broad-based. It would make good use of technology and communicate a message of unity and, yes, hope.
April 16, 2008
Bruce Springsteen endorses Obama for president
Rock star Bruce Springsteen endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday, saying "he speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years." ... "He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president," the letter said.
April 16, 2008
Endorsement: Illinois senator projects sense of leadership the nation needs
... In Obama, the Democrats have "the candidate of hope," and their best prospect of running a competitive and uplifting campaign against McCain this fall. The Patriot-News editorial board endorses Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
April 16, 2008
Endorsement: Obama inspires
...Barack Obama inspires like no other candidate; indeed, like no other individual on the national stage. He has mobilized new voters and young people in general to get involved in the political process for the first time. And his themes of hope and change, which ring so authentic, have likewise invigorated many who otherwise might have sat out the election.
April 16, 2008
Endorsement: Barack Obama: Democrats deserve a nominee for change
...Because political business-as-usual is more likely to bring the usual disappointment for the Democrats this fall, the Post-Gazette endorses the nomination of Barack Obama, who has brought an excitement and an electricity to American politics not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy.
April 16, 2008
Rep. Andre Carson endorses Obama
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson this morning endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president. ... But, Carson said, "I've chosen to endorse Senator Obama for several reasons. I believe that he is an individual who can lead our country with positive leadership and restore the people's faith in the office of the president of the United States. He is a man who represents a new generation of leadership that will take responsibility for changing our country. Senator Obama, I believe, will work day and night to ensure that the U.S. government is fighting for everyday hard-working American families.
April 14, 2008
Steelers owner endorses Obama
Barack Obama already had the Bus in his corner. Now, he has the Bus's boss. Former Pittsburgh Steelers fullback Jerome Bettis joined Obama for part of his bus tour through Pennsylvania. Today, Steelers owner and chairman Dan Rooney announced his support.
April 13, 2008
Obama's vision is reason to nominate him
Pennsylvania's Democratic voters on April 22 will choose between two candidates in the presidential primary. Both are qualified to become the nation's chief executive. They have more similarities than differences. But, The Morning Call recommends that Sen. Barack Obama be nominated, and we offer three reasons. The first is the quality of his campaign. It has surprised the experts by moving him close to the finish line against bigger, more established political machines and it has communicated his basic ideas well.
April 12, 2008
Dem hopeful Obama says he wants to restore diplomacy to foreign policy
...Obama spoke using a podium used by former President John F. Kennedy during a presidential campaign visit to Terre Haute on Oct. 5, 1960. Looking at the podium, Obama said he wants to restore diplomacy to foreign policy. “I was reminded of what John F. Kennedy said. John F. Kennedy, who spoke on this lectern, he said, ‘We can never negotiate out of fear, but we can never fear to negotiate.’ That is what strong countries and strong presidents do. They talk to their adversaries, they tell where America stands and try to resolve differences without resorting to war,” Obama said.
April 12, 2008
Obama visits IU's Little 500 bike race
Sen. Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to the Little 500 women's bicycle race at Indiana University today, where he was greeted like a rock star. "Oh my God!" student after student screamed as they stretched their arms out for a handshake, hug or autograph from the Democratic presidential candidate. Cell phones and cameras were whipped out to snap memories.
April 11, 2008
Obama Calls for Checks on Executive Pay
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is demanding that company shareholders have a say in how much executives get paid as he pushes his populist message. Obama, in remarks he planned to make to reporters Friday morning, wants Congress to pass legislation he has sponsored that would require corporations to have a nonbinding vote by shareholders on executive compensation packages.
April 11, 2008
Gary open to message of hope
If ever a city needed the kind of hope and rebirth presidential candidates love to talk about, here it is. This Northwest Indiana city, with its massive steel mill and equally massive problems, welcomed Sen. Barack Obama, our latest messenger of hope, to a high school with a 41 percent graduation rate Thursday morning. "I'm running because of what Dr. King called the fierce urgency of now," the Democrat from Illinois told a crowd of about 2,500. "Because I believe there's such a thing as being too late, and that hour is almost upon us."
April 10, 2008
Obama woos, wows South Bend crowd
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of 3,500 late Wednesday night at Washington High School. He began by talking about why he is running for president, including ending the war in Iraq and improving health care, taxes and education.
April 9, 2008
Barack Obama's 'Road to Change' tour begins tonight
Senator Barack Obama makes his third trip to Indiana Wednesday night when he holds a large rally in South Bend. But it doesn't stop there. He then plans to travel by bus around the state for a three-day tour called "Road to Change." Wednesday's rally starts at 10 p.m. at Washington High School in South Bend. A spokesman from the campaign said the rally is late because of the senator's busy schedule, but he still thinks thousands of people will show up.
April 9, 2008
Michelle Obama courts voters for Barack
Michelle Obama drew a huge and raucous crowd here Tuesday for a speech in which she argued that her husband was ready by experience, intellect and temperament to be the next president of the United States. "The thing we have to understand in this race, North Carolina, is that Barack Obama is ready to lead," Michelle Obama told a crowd at Reynolds Coliseum that the fire marshal put at 5,700. "O-bam-a, O-bam-a," chanted the crowd, jumping to its feet.
April 9, 2008
Obama calls for talks with Iran over Iraq
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a "diplomatic surge" including talks with US foe Iran, to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. The Illinois Senator battling Hillary Clinton for his party's nomination called for more pressure on the Iraqi government to embrace political reconciliation and a regional "diplomatic surge that includes Iran." "We should be talking to them as well," Obama told the top US General in Iraq David Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker.
April 8, 2008
Obama is best for Democrats
Oregon Democrats can do their part to encourage the nation to move forward by throwing their support to Sen. Barack Obama in the May 20 primary. ...Obama's campaign already has proven transformative in many ways. He has engaged and motivated younger voters who are willing to put aside the cynicism held by many of their elders and to believe again that government can be a positive force for change. Obama also represents a singular opportunity to unify this nation around the strength of its racial and ethnic diversity.
April 8, 2008
Obama meets working moms
This was Michelle Obama's "mom time" in her husband's campaign for president. She'd come Tuesday to meet with 50 working women who filled a room at a Harrisburg preschool, anxious to talk to Barack Obama's wife. But they'd have to wait. Instead, Michelle Obama swept into a classroom of children, ages 2 to 6, to read to them. ...Then it was on to hear concerns of the big people, before heading off to campaign events in Winston-Salem and Raleigh as part of a daylong tour of North Carolina.
April 6, 2008
Obama pledges universal health care, end to Iraq war
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said he might take up fly-fishing to help clear his head from the rigors of presidential campaigning. He may need it to relieve the ear-ringing endorsement he got Saturday morning at his Missoula campaign rally. About 8,000 people filled every bleacher seat and half the floor of the University of Montana's Adams Center. Another 500 watched Obama outdoors on the giant screen above Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
April 3, 2008
Obama wraps up Pa. bus tour with 'some inroads'
He sipped a Yuengling in Latrobe; fiddled with a Slinky in Johnstown; tasted a chili dog and bowled a 37 in Altoona; fed a calf in State College; sampled homemade chocolates in Lititz; toured a garment factory in Allentown; and nibbled on cheese at Philadelphia's Italian Market. Along the way Sen. Barack Obama introduced himself at town-hall meetings and informal visits to local haunts during a six-day tour across Pennsylvania that ended last night.
April 3, 2008
Michelle Obama wows them at CMU
...Watching Michelle Obama speak on her first campaign trip to Pittsburgh is to observe someone who has completely mastered the art of the political stump speech after only a year of practice - albeit with a few technical glitches at the outset. "So I hear this is a tough mike," she said to the early afternoon crowd of 1,500 at Carnegie Mellon University's Skibo Gymnasium - the first words out of her mouth, spoken as casually as if she were in her living room.
April 3, 2008
Democratic lawmakers make stand for Obama
State Sen. Avel Gordly of Portland joined 23 of her Democratic legislative colleagues Wednesday on the Capitol steps to endorse the presidential bid of Barack Obama - and she rejoined the Democratic Party herself. Gordly left the party in 2006 and was the Senate's lone independent. But she reregistered to be eligible to vote for the Illinois senator in the May 20 primary.
April 2, 2008
Obama Wins Backing of 9/11 Commission Co-Chairman Lee Hamilton
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won the support of one of his party's top foreign policy figures, Lee Hamilton, a former U.S. House member from Indiana, where an important primary vote occurs May 6. Hamilton, who co-chaired the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and headed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he was impressed by Obama's approach to national security and foreign policy.
April 2, 2008
Valley garment factory is stop on 'Road to Change' tour
Barack Obama made an impromptu stop at one of the Lehigh Valley's last remaining garment factories on Tuesday, praising the company as one of the region's "success stories." The morning visit to Tama Manufacturing, a Hanover Township, Lehigh County plant that specializes in women's clothing, came during the second-to-last day of the Illinois senator's "Road to Change" bus tour of Pennsylvania, designed to introduce Obama to the state and pitch him to voters as a fighter for the common man.
April 1, 2008
Obama praises Valley business at campaign stop
...Speaking before an enthusiastic crowd of about 1,500 at Wilkes University, Obama said Tama Manufacturing, which the Illinois senator took a tour this morning, is an example of the type of businesses that should be encouraged. He vowed to provide more tax breaks for middle class families. "Everywhere I go people are working harder and harder just to make ends meet," Obama said. Obama said he would also produce more "21st Century" jobs by promoting wind farms and investing in alternative fuel production to reduce the country's dependance on gasoline.
April 1, 2008
Obama's campaign draws crowds here
...While here, Obama struck a theme of us versus them, saying middle- and working-class taxpayers have been shut out of government policies for too long. He spoke of how executives from Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage company, received golden parachutes after the company nearly went under because of their handling of the subprime mortgage crisis. ..."What's wrong with this picture?" Obama asked. "Everything is wrong with this picture." ..."When you pick up that 3 a.m. phone call, you exercise judgment, you exercise wisdom, you weigh the costs and benefits of military options," he said. "Hillary Clinton and John McCain had a chance to exercise good judgment, and they didn't, because this war in Iraq was unwise. It has not made us more safe. It has piled up a mountain of debt for the American people, and it's cost us tragically in so many lives."
April 1, 2008
DELEGATE UPDATE: OBAMA WINS TX
NBC News has allocated the remaining nine Texas caucus delegates, 7-2, in favor of Obama. That means the Illinois senator has won the most delegates, 99-94, as a result of both the Texas primary and caucuses. Obama now leads by 129 in the overall delegate count, 1637-1508. Obama leads by 162 pledged delegates, 1415-1253. (There remains just one delegate unallocated from Democrats Abroad.) Clinton leads among superdelegates, 255-222, per the NBC News Political Unit count. Also note, the Obama campaign has passed around that it has picked up two delegates in Mississippi, showing Obama with a 20-13 lead. NBC News' count remains 19-14 for Obama so far.
March 31, 2008
Minn. Sen. Klobuchar Endorses Obama
Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar Sunday night, giving him another superdelegate supporter. ...Klobuchar, a freshman Democrat, said Obama speaks "with a different voice, bringing a new perspective and inspiring a real excitement from the American people." She compared him to the late Hubert Humphrey, who served as a senator from Minnesota and as vice president.
March 31, 2008
Obama's Penn State Rally Draws 20,000
...Obama's rally drew an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 people, according to university official Richard DiEugenio-by far the biggest in a weekend of smaller, face-to-face campaign stops since Obama launched a six-day bus tour through the state on Friday.
March 31, 2008
Obama is victor in weekend caucuses
Barack Obama dominated Hillary Clinton over the weekend in round two of the state caucus process, leaving the Illinois senator poised to win more pledged national delegates from Texas despite narrowly losing the popular vote in early March.
March 31, 2008
Some Republicans Emerge To Endorse Obama
...Call them the Obamacans: They are against continuing the Iraq war and reject what they see as Mr. Bush's unconstitutional buildup of executive power. While the conservative Republican base rejected Senator McCain in the early primaries for his push for bipartisan campaign finance regulation and amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Arizona senator's hawkish support for the Iraq war has alienated what was once his national constituency, anti-Bush Republicans.
March 30, 2008
Obama campaign speech draws hundreds to city
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama brought his message of change to Johnstown on Saturday, telling an enthusiastic crowd of about 1,200 that he is the right person to transform Washington. ...But he repeatedly returned to what has been the central theme of his campaign: The federal government is broken, and he can fix it. ..."We've got to send a message to Washington that says, 'enough is enough,'" Obama said.
March 30, 2008
Obama campaign opens Muncie office
The Barack Obama presidential campaign opened an office in Muncie Saturday and volunteers didn't waste any time getting started, immediately canvassing the city to register new voters. ...Nate Horning, regional director of the Obama campaign, said the campaign wanted to "kick things off by having a voter registration drive," and the location near Ball State University would be beneficial to the campaign. ...The Obama organization "wants to have people on the streets with voter registration forms to bring new people into the process, and this is ground zero for doing that," he said.
March 29, 2008
Obama's appeal to 'better angels' inspires Casey
..."I made a decision in my own heart and as a voter," he said. "It's a lot easier to say [to yourself that] you're going to vote for that candidate on April 22 and stay on the sidelines." Inspired by what he said is Obama's message and character, Casey made his choice. "I've been impressed by so much watching this campaign," he said. "I've been impressed by his compassion, his strength, his ideas, and I think especially, especially under fire, he has appealed as ... Abraham Lincoln asked us to do many years ago to the better angels of our nature."
March 29, 2008
Obama HQ opening draws 700
State Sen. Malcolm Graham thought he had an idea of what to expect when he helped open Democrat Barack Obama's Charlotte headquarters Thursday night. ...Getting 700 people to any political event, let alone a headquarters opening, is unusual, to say the least. "I've never seen a grassroots movement take hold like that," Graham says. "It was just amazing to sit back and watch."
March 29, 2008
Obama to hold 3-on-3 Challenge for Change
Calbert Cheaney, former Indiana high school basketball star, 1993 NCAA player of the year and Evansville native, announced today that high school students across the state will be eligible to play 3-on-3 basketball with presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Il., if they can register at least 20 other new voters by April 6. The state has set April 7 as the deadline to register to vote in Indiana's May 6 primaries. The student who wins the Obama's campaign's "3-on-3 Challenge for Change" may pick two of his or her friends to join in playing basketball in Indiana with Obama before May 6.
March 27, 2008
State lawmakers endorse Obama for president
A group of state legislators from every corner of Indiana today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president. ..."There, you've had it," Sen. Earline Rogers, a Gary Democrat, said after the lawmakers spoke. "Indiana, north, south, east, west, middle. Black, white, Hispanic. Urban, rural. We cross all of these spectrum. And with those kinds of demographics that Indiana possesses, those are precisely the demographics that will make Barack Obama the next president of the United States.
March 27, 2008
Obama Outlines Economic Plan
Sen. Barack Obama, tackling the fallout from the collapse of the subprime housing market, today outlined major changes in the way the federal government regulates financial institutions and called for a second stimulus package to boost the economy. ...Speaking at historic Cooper Union in New York, Obama was sharply critical of the mindset that led to the subprime mortgage crisis. "Our free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it," he said. "That is why we have put in place rules of the road to make competition fair, and open, and honest."
March 27, 2008
How Not to Prevent Foreclosures
...The question now is not whether the government should intervene, but how. The two Democratic candidates clearly understand that better than the White House or Senator McCain. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have called for a bigger role for the Federal Housing Administration that would allow it to restructure or refinance more troubled loans. Mr. Obama has endorsed the best idea currently on the table to prevent foreclosure: amending the law so that troubled borrowers can have their mortgages modified in bankruptcy court.
March 25, 2008
Obama returning to Pennsylvania Friday
Sen. Barack Obama will return to Pennsylvania on Friday to start a six-day bus tour across the Keystone State, his campaign said today. The "Road to Change" bus tour will kick off in Western Pennsylvania and conclude in southeastern Pennsylvania, with "numerous stops in between," according to a news release from Obama's campaign.
March 24, 2008
The Next President's Plan . . .
To solve the current crisis, Barack Obama would immediately take three steps, addressing the fact that the troubles ultimately result from the squeeze on ordinary Americans in the "real" economy. First, he would enact a comprehensive plan to help bring an end to the foreclosure crisis that threatens millions of families. Obama supports efforts to create a new FHA Housing Security Program to provide significant incentives and guarantees for lenders to buy out mortgages that exceed the value of homes and convert them into stable 30-year fixed-rate mortgages that homeowners can afford. This is a responsible plan designed to help responsible homeowners without rewarding borrowers or investors who helped create the problem by gambling recklessly or committing fraud, and it asks both sides to contribute to the solution.
March 22, 2008
Richardson Throws Support to Obama
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered a strong endorsement of Barack Obama for president Friday, appealing for peace in the Democratic Party and hailing the Illinois senator as a unifying force for the country. "Your candidacy is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our country, and you are a once-in-a-lifetime leader," said Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, before a cheering crowd of about 12,000 in Portland's Memorial Coliseum. "You will make every American proud to be an American."
March 21, 2008
Obama Links Effects of War Costs to Fragility in the Economy
Senator Barack Obama on Thursday blamed the fragile economy on "careless and incompetent execution" of the Iraq war, imploring voters in this swing state to consider the trickle-down economic consequences of the war as they choose a successor to President Bush.
March 21, 2008
Gov. Bill Richardson Endorses Obama
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, calling him a "once-in-a- lifetime leader" who can unite the nation and restore America's international leadership.
March 20, 2008
Obama Ties Economic Woes to Iraq War
...Barack Obama blamed the Iraq war for higher oil prices and skyrocketing debt Thursday as he sought to tie the unpopular war to the slumping economy in working-class West Virginia. ..."When you're spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is four times what it was before Iraq, you're paying a price for this war," Obama said. "When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, you're paying a price for this war."
March 20, 2008
Groups Respond to Obama’s Call for National Discussion About Race
...Religious groups and academic bodies, already receptive to Mr. Obama's plea for such a dialogue, seemed especially enthusiastic. Universities were moving to incorporate the issues Mr. Obama raised into classroom discussions and course work, and churches were trying to find ways to do the same in sermons and Bible studies.
March 19, 2008
Obama's Road Map on Race
Once again, the conventional wisdom proved stunningly unwise. Barack Obama was supposed to be on his heels, forced into a backpedaling, defensive crouch after racially charged remarks by his former pastor, delivered from the pulpit years ago, suddenly became the hottest story of the presidential campaign. But instead of running away, Obama issued a challenge to those who would exploit the issue of race: Bring it on. ...I believe he might have pulled off something that seemed almost impossible: He not only ventured into the minefield of race and made it back alive, but he also marked a path for the rest of us to follow.
March 19, 2008
Obama Urges U.S. to Grapple With Race Issue
Senator Barack Obama delivered a sweeping assessment of race in America on Tuesday, bluntly confronting the divisions between black and white as he sought to dispel the furor over inflammatory statements by his former pastor. ...Mr. Obama also sought to link his theme of understanding and reconciliation to more concrete issues at stake in the election as the economy weakens.
March 19, 2008
Obama calls for racial healing
Sen. Barack Obama's sweeping speech on race Tuesday marked an attempt to wrench his campaign out of a polarizing diversion and to reignite a discussion of the country's potential for moving beyond racial division, a theme that worked well for Obama early in the campaign but seemed to get lost amid recent events. ...the image of the first viable black presidential candidate confronting America's racial history head-on was striking. Not in decades has a prominent candidate so bluntly tackled the issue of prejudice. The address invited comparisons to John Kennedy's speech on his Catholic faith almost a half-century ago.
March 18, 2008
Obama's Challenge to...Everybody
...It was as if Obama and his advisors knew that, this time, the candidate's legendary speaking skills were largely irrelevant. The delivery wouldn't count for anything. It would be all about the substance. And the substance was true to the setting. I have never heard a political speech quite like this one. But, then, it really wasn't a political speech per se. A political speech would have been shorter, more simplistic, and more tightly focused. It would have hit all the right political notes, with maybe a dash of iconoclasm thrown in just so the pundits could marvel over his ability to stand on principle. No, this speech was something else entirely--long and winding and intellectually honest; imprudent and, in many ways, impolitic. It was far from flawless rhetorically. Parts of it might best be described as tortured, the work of s