“OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS Wednesday April 02-2008

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO “OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS

Wednesday April 02-2008


Sen. Barack Obama responds to questions during a town hall
meeting at Dunmore Community Center in Scranton, Pa.
(By Alex Wong -- Getty Images)

Esteemed DUer's, please consider taking a moment (or more) to graciously participate
by posting news and announcements about the Obama campaign on this thread. You can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web. :think:

2. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU,
providing a link to the original thread :applause:

3. Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page :thumbsup:

4. Clinton supporters or “anti Obama posters please start your own
“Clinton Daily News Thread”.

Get your DU-o-matic codificator (to format your posts) here
Read the Daily News Archives here

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. 3/31 Hillary: Obama and Supporters Want to Prevent NC from Voting

Hillary Clinton interviewed on WWAY NewsChannel 3, March 31, 2008

"I didn't understand why Senator Obama and some of his supporters didn't want you to be able to vote"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=113085&mesg_id=113085

[Rocky2007]

36. Jeezs!!!!!

Another lie comes from her mouth and wants us to believe it. NC is a 'slam dunk' for Obama -- why wouldn't he want them to vote?:think:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. Flashback: Moyers on PBS, Clintons, Murdoch and Fox Connections

A Bill Moyers essay on Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal

PBS: Friday, June 29, 2007 at 9PM

"This remarkable Bill Moyers journal was made prior to the Wall Street Journal's purchase by Rupert Murdoch.

That is significant for two reason. He notes a Clinton tie-in to Murdoch and FOX News then."

"Make no mistake, the Murdoch-FOX attack on Barack is not playing games for
ratings. It is dead earnest and mandated from the top. No one is better able to
identify a threat than one who is infested by the various demons associated with
the jaws of hell."

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. Obama 12 points over Clinton for North Carolina Primary

Real Clear Politics has Obama winning North Carolina by 12 points over Hillary Clinton with 49.8 - to 37.8.

Rasmussen Markets data now give Obama a 89.0% chance to win the North Carolina Primary
while expectations for a Clinton victory are at 13.0%.
and
Obama a 82.0% chance to win the Democratic nomination
while expectations for a Clinton victory are at 16.0%.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. Several NC congressmen on verge of endorsing Obama

Most of N.C. delegation to back Obama, congressman predicts

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Winston Salem Journal By James Romoser and Sean Mussenden

Several North Carolina congressmen are on the verge of endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president,
according to Democrats familiar with the discussions.
"It is my hope and expectation that it will happen sooner or later,"
said U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson and the only member of Congress from
North Carolina who has publicly endorsed Obama so far.

Both Democratic candidates for Governor have endorsed Obama.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. 100,525 new voter registrations in NC in Jan and Feb

100,525 new voter registrations in NC in Jan and FebBurlington Times News

The state primary is still a month out, but already North Carolina is preparing for record voter turnout.As the Burlington Times News reported, during January and February of this year, North Carolina has already seen over 100,525 new voter registrations:

New voter registrations in North Carolina for the first two months of 2008 were roughly triple the number of new registrations for the same two months in 2004,said Gary Bartlett, executive director of the N.C. Board of Elections.
… Perhaps not surprisingly given the enthusiasm created by the Democratic presidential primaries,
the number of new voters registering as Democrats is outpacing the number registering as Republicans.
... In 2004, overall primary turnout was 16 percent of registered voters.
... Bartlett is expecting heavier than usual turnout in the May 6 primary, though he said turnout is hard to predict.
Among Democrats, Bartlett is expecting turnout of 38 to 46 percent.
"There will be some places that might go higher than 50 percent," he said.
...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. Obama's NC Offices Seeking More Volunteers

Obama North Carolina Offices Seeking More Volunteers

This past weekend, we kicked off our campaign in North Carolina by opening 13 offices across the state -- local headquarters to help organize grassroots supporters from the mountains to the coast.

Thousands of people showed up at our offices around the state, but there's still more to do -- and this weekend is a perfect time to get involved.

North Carolina's deadline to vote on Election Day is coming up on April 11th, and anyone who wants to vote for Barack must be registered as a Democrat or Unaffiliated.

All across the state, tens of thousands of potential Obama supporters might not be registered Democrats, and we need act quickly to reach as many people as possible.

Come see us at the office near you and make a difference for Barack before the deadline:
http://nc.barackobama.com/NCcanvass

If you can't make it to an office in your area, please sign up to volunteer -- a local organizer will be in touch to let you know how you can help out.

In the coming weeks in North Carolina, we have the opportunity to build a base of support that will help Barack do very well on Primary Day, May 6th.

But more importantly, we have the chance to transform our party and our politics.
By registering new Democrats this weekend, we can send a message that North Carolina is ready for something new -- ready for change that brings us together around a shared goal of a better future for all Americans.

Sign up now to help register voters in your area this weekend:
http://nc.barackobama.com/NCcanvass

[grantcart]

7. Obama the 'judo candidate' and the 'dewonkification' of the Clinton Brand

It takes a while to see the dimensions of a person that has so many gifts. It takes different situations and different trials. Listening to the candidate I used to support I was amazed that he could give the same speech with so much enthusiasm so many times. Then it bored me and I hoped that he would change it. Listening to the stump speech of Senator Obama I hear the threads of the speech and am amazed at how he takes the parts mixes them and adapts them to Scranton, Canton or Greenville. This guy is good.

And now we get to hear him respond to questions. Unlike other candidates he doesn't answer with a checklist answer - "Ah the abortion question - here is the abortion answer". He takes an integrated systems approach. A middle aged African American stands up and in a slightly trembling voice asks

"I am a part time worker and I can't seem to find anything but part time work - what can you do for me?"

"In the immediate future nothing", he states with an honest directness and then he details how the system is interconnected - American businesses are trying to compete with foreign companies under trade agreements that leave foreign companies free of environmental and labor standards. American companies are afraid to hire permanent employees because they have to carry a load of full benefits. Slowly you see a vicious cycle and it seems hopeless. Then he talks about building up unions - organized labor helps all workers. Health care reform will make it easier for companies to take the risk of a permanent employee.

The diagnosis is so encompassing and frank hope recedes. The prognosis is integrated and common sense and hope returns and you realize this guy is really really good.

More here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5349448

[flor de jasmim]

16. A response to tahitinut, who wrote at the end of the cited thread:

"Yup. It's those stupid American workers. Just aren't "trained" and "educated" ... like a Bachelor's Degree isn't enough to ask "Do you want fries with that?" We're losing IT jobs to countries with cheap labor - where the workers took "Computers Made Easy" mail-order courses and don't ask for medical benefits or paid vacations or even safe workplaces. Meanwhile, we have degreed and multi-degreed programmers and systems engineers laying sod, doing rough carpentry, and waiting tables. Yup. Training.

I like to stuff that bullshit up their corporatist asses until they choke on it."

You missed Obama's point: he was speaking to people with jobs in areas that are simply being phased out. Wouldn't you hope that if they are closing coal mines, for example (maybe it's a bad example--I don't know if they are), that the government would care about retraining the workers to be productive in other areas?

Both Obama and HRC have plans to develop and expand jobs in the environmental industry--it sounds as though there will be plenty of jobs for programmers.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. Sniper Fire over North Carolina

Sniper Fire over North Carolina - Clinton tells media Obama doesn't want NC to Vote

Laura Roslin TPM Cafe April 1, 2008

Hillary Clinton's latest lie is that Obama doesn't want North Carolinians to vote.
She went on TV lying to local media and North Carolina Voters.
The Wall Street Journal, owned by Clinton's friend and fund raiser Rupert Murdock, further spread the Clinton fairy tales.
She claimed that she just didn't understand "why Senator Obama and some of his supporters didn't want you to be able to vote."

Clinton's claims fly in the face of logic considering Obama's huge popularity in North Carolina.In fact, that Obama was just in NC last week and is projected to beat Senator Clinton by 12 points there, this flies in the face of logic. This past weekend, he opened 13 offices across the state -- local headquarters to help organize grassroots supporters from the mountains to the coast.
How is it that the media would give free air time to this politician who was recently and publicly branded as a chronic and brazen liar?
The Washington Post has even awarded Senator Clinton "4 Pinocchios" for her frequent and sizable whoppers.

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. Obama Keeps Cash Lead Over Clinton - raised more than $30 Million in March

h3]Obama Keeps Cash Lead Over ClintonTuesday, Apr. 01, 2008 By MICHAEL DUFFY AND MICHAEL WEISSKOPF/WASHINGTON

Barack Obama raised more than $30 million in the month of March, a campaign official told TIME on Tuesday.

While a monthly fundraising total of $30 million or more would be well short of the more than $55 million Obama raised during the month of February, it would still represent nearly $1 million a day - a healthy pace for a campaign that had a politically rocky last few weeks. And it likely insures that Obama will be able to afford large TV and radio advertising buys in the remaining primary states, the official claimed.

As of Tuesday night, the Clinton campaign had not released its March totals. But one Clinton campaign adviser hinted that the New York senator's total for the month will come close to $20 million. That estimate could not be independently confirmed.

Word of Obama's latest financial benchmark comes amid continued reports that the Clinton campaign is struggling with a persistent debt that at times has reached nearly $9 million, according to published reports and Democratic party officials. The size of Clinton's debt, in turn, has given rise to questions about whether she will have the cash to compete head to head with Obama in various primaries in the final eight weeks of the nomination campaign.

Sen. Clinton loaned herself $5 million earlier this year when her campaign stumbled, fundraising slowed and her cash on hand dwindled. There have been scattered reports in recent weeks that various campaign vendors have not been paid for work or services that have already been rendered, with some taking to the airwaves to complain.
...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. Hillary’s Wrong Numbers: Obama Polls Up, Clinton Funds Down

Hillary’s Wrong Numbers: Obama Polls Up, Clinton Funds Down

4/1/08 New York Magazine

To anyone tracking delegates, it’s been clear for more than a month that Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is in mortal danger. But as long as she was battling Barack Obama at the polls every week, she could hope to control the narrative of the Democratic race, even if she was losing individual contests. And so her campaign kept sprouting new raisons d’être: the wisdom of superdelegates, the enfranchisement of Florida and Michigan, her supposed ability to carry big states.

No more. We’re now halfway through the six weeks between Mississippi and Pennsylvania, and this long interlude has washed away Clinton’s spin. Now her campaign is not only over. It’s obviously over....

As Clinton surrogates pop up once every few days to reinject race into the campaign, they’ve been trying to corral the last bloc where Hillary might run up her popular-vote totals, even more than ethnic Democrats in Pennsylvania: Scotch-Irish Appalachians in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The campaign thinks of this demographic as Fox News Democrats — which is why Hillary supporters such as Ed Rendell keep showing up on, and sucking up to, Fox — while social scientists would call them “low-information.” (Twenty-three percent of white Democrats who hold unfavorable views of Obama believe he is a Muslim.) It must have been tempting for the Clintons, formerly of Arkansas, to believe Hillary could win over these voters fairly painlessly. Instead, Clinton had farther to fall among blacks than she realized and is also cratering with whites nationwide.
..

While some inside the campaign are concerned about whether Clinton will have the funds to match Obama in radio and TV advertising buys through May, others are worried about a different horizon. One Clinton adviser wondered whether that what he called the "massive debt" was beginning to hang over not simply the campaign but Clinton's political future. How, this adviser asked, can the campaign climb out of "the debt hole if we don't win this whole thing?" Facing a Senate re-election campaign in 2012, he noted, Clinton's choice is daunting: "If you have a $10 million debt when this thing is over, she has to pay it off, and then, four years later, raise $30 to $40 million" to wage a re-election campaign.

....

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. Loyalty to My Country - Bill Richardson

I feel compelled to defend myself against character assassination and baseless allegations. – Bill Richardson

Loyalty to My Country

By Bill Richardson WaPo. Tuesday, April 1, 2008; 10:29 AM

My recent endorsement of Barack Obama for president has been the subject of much discussion and consternation -- particularly among supporters of Hillary Clinton.

....More than anything, to repair the damage done at home and abroad, we must unite as a country. I endorsed Sen. Obama because I believe he has the judgment, temperament and background to bridge our divisions as a nation and make America strong at home and respected in the world again.

This was a difficult, even painful, decision. My affection and respect for the Clintons run deep. I do indeed owe President Clinton for the extraordinary opportunities he gave me to serve him and this country. And nobody worked harder for him or served him more loyally, during some very difficult times, than I did.

Carville and others say that I owe President Clinton's wife my endorsement because he gave me two jobs. Would someone who worked for Carville then owe his wife, Mary Matalin, similar loyalty in her professional pursuits? Do the people now attacking me recall that I ran for president, albeit unsuccessfully, against Sen. Clinton? Was that also an act of disloyalty?

...I do not believe that the truth will keep Carville and others from attacking me. I can only say that we need to move on from the politics of personal insult and attacks. That era, personified by Carville and his ilk, has passed and I believe we must end the rancor and partisanship that has mired Washington in gridlock. In my view, Sen. Obama represents our best hope of replacing division with unity. That is why, out of loyalty to my country, I endorse him for president.

The writer is governor of New Mexico and a former Democratic candidate for president.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. This Wed, Obama on Hardball College Tours at 5 pm ET, 2pm PT

The Pennsylvania primary is coming and Barack Obama will be on Hardball’s College Tour
with Chris Matthews at West Chester University.

"It will be broadcast live so no editing, and you know Matthews will ask Obama
the tough questions. Watch it on MSNBC, this Wed. 5pm ET/2pm PT"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

13. The Hillary Waltz - Hillary is doing Barack a favor (Maureen Dowd)

The Hillary Waltz

By MAUREEN DOWD Published: April 2, 2008

Democrats getting jittery about the alienating effects of the endless soap opera they call their campaign should buck up. These “hand-wringers,” as the Hillary strategist Harold Ickes calls them, are not seeing the larger picture.

...Obama had not been hit hard until this campaign; he sailed through his Senate race. Without Hillary, he never would have learned to be a good debater. He never would have understood how to robustly answer distorted and personal attacks. He never would have been warned about how harmful an unplugged spouse can be. He never would have realized how a luminous speech can be effective damage control.

When pressed about whether he’s ready for Swift-boating, Obama has seemed a bit cavalier. But the Hillary camp will garrote him with his mistakes until he fully appreciates what garroting feels like. Ickes told a Web site Tuesday that he has been pursuing superdelegates by pressing the Rev. Wright issue.

...But the ultimate favor Hillary can do for the Illinois freshman is to fight him full-out until the finale and then gracefully release him so he can find happiness with another.

Hillary’s work is done only when she is done, because the best way for Obama to prove he’s ready to stare down Ahmadinejad is by putting away someone even tougher.

[Rocky2007]

37. Here we go again

How self serving ---

"Whether or not she wins, Hillary has already given noble service as a sophisticated political tutor for Obama, providing her younger colleague with much-needed seasoning. Who else was going to toughen him up? Howard Dean? John Edwards? Dennis Kucinich?"

Me thinks Hillary is learning from Barack -- not the other way around. She can certainly learn how to run a campaign with gusto from him! He has flat out kicked her ass!!! There is no reason to expect, that come next January, that he will not continue to kick butts but will have people standing in long lines wanting their butt kicked.

GOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rocky2007]

38. Who is really doing the teaching

"Whether or not she wins, Hillary has already given noble service as a sophisticated political tutor for Obama, providing her younger colleague with much-needed seasoning. Who else was going to toughen him up? Howard Dean? John Edwards? Dennis Kucinich?"

Me thinks Hillary is learning from Barack -- not the other way around. She can certainly learn how to run a campaign with gusto from him! He has flat out kicked her ass!!! There is no reason to expect, that come next January, that he will not continue to kick butts but will have people standing in long lines wanting their butt kicked.

GOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

14. Howard Ickes, the Gigantic "Concern Troll" admits pushing Wright topic to Supers

This boils down to, "We've got to destroy Obama to keep the Republicans from destroying him."

Harold Ickes Confirms That Wright Is Key Topic In Discussions With Super-Delegates

By Greg Sargent -TPM Cafe April 1, 2008

In an interview with me this morning, senior Hillary adviser Harold Ickes confirmed that Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a key topic in discussions with uncommitted super-delegates over whether Obama is electable in a general election.
The comments from Ickes, who is Hillary's chief delegate hunter, are to my knowledge the first on-the-record confirmation from a Hillary adviser that the Wright controversy is a subject in conversations between the Hillary campaign and the super-delegates her advisers are trying to win over to Hillary's side.

...In a reference to Wright's controversial views, Ickes continued: "Nobody thinks that Barack Obama harbors those thoughts. But that's not the issue. The issue is what Republicans ...I think they're going to give him a very tough time."

Asked whether he was specifically bringing up Wright to super-delegates, Ickes said: "I've said what I've said...I tell people that they need to look at what they think Republicans may use against him. Wright comes up in the conversations."

...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. Obama picks up Lee Hamilton's endorsement

04.01.08 -- 11:02PM // link | recommend (17)

Hoosier
Obama picks up Lee Hamilton's endorsement.

--David Kurtz

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/186852.php

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

17. Clinton pleads for time

Clinton pleads for time

Ben Smith Politico April 01, 2008

Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams put out a memo in which she casts the cause of
keeping the campaign alive as an issue in and of itself, a kind of voting rights issue.

....I tend to agree with Steve Benen on this: This is only a subject a candidate talks about if she's forced to,
and it's a second-order argument, one that has nothing to do with why she should win.
In Giant's Stadium terms, it's just an argument for staying for the fourth quarter,
rather than heading to your car to beat the traffic.

Full memo Clinton pleads for time|after the jump

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. Elizabeth Edwards to McCain - Your plan would not cover either of us

Elizabeth Edwards on Health Care Reform

By Tracy Russo The Field

Her husband may be out of the game, but Elizabeth Edwards has not left the field.

Last week Elizabeth Edwards observed that she had one thing in common with John McCain - neither one of them would be covered by the Republican’s proposed health care plan. An observation the McCain campaign quickly, and foolishly, attempted to brush aside, with a flippant and rather insulting response.

more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. Speaker Pelosi Speaks Out (Again)

I love to post articles with Nancy Pelosi in them. Remember, she is the first woman speaker of the house!

Speaker Pelosi Speaks Out (Again)

By Tracy Russo The Field

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she wants the Democratic presidential election to continue through the last round of primaries, but warned against a floor fight at the party’s August convention.

“I think the election has to run its course,” Pelosi said, later adding, “I do think it is important for us to get behind one candidate a long time before we go to the Democratic convention if we expect to win in November.”

...But Pelosi suggested a clear frontrunner will emerge well before the party’s convention.

“At some point it’ll be clear that there is a frontrunner — and at that point we would hope that, for the greater good, for the country, that we can all rally as early as possible behind one person,” she said.

The House Speaker also maintained her argument that the party’s superdelegates should not overturn the pledged-delegate outcome, and suggested she wasn’t affected by a recent letter from powerful Clinton fundraisers criticizing that stance.

“It wasn’t important to me,” she said of the letter.

....

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. ***Were Florida's Democrats really victims of GOP dirty tricks?***

Mad Floridian has a post about the video here, before Kos picked it up:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=108575&mesg_id=113400

Those poor Florida Democrats

by kos Tue Apr 01, 2008

To hear the Clinton campaign and Florida Democrats tell it, they were innocent bystanders to their state's GOP in deciding to move their election date up prior to their sanctioned slot in the calendar.

The reality is much different:

Click on the link to view the video

That's the Florida Senate Democratic minority leader Steven Geller overtly pretending to object to the
new calendar, laughing about it the whole time.

Geller: The chair of the Democratic National Committee has of coursed threatened that if we move the primary to before the first Tuesday in February that they will sanction us at the Democratic National Convention. So the Democratic leader and the Democratic leader pro-tem are jointly making this motion, which we will duly show to them later, that we tried not to have the election before the first Tuesday in March.

Chair: And so Sen. Geller are you urging a negative vote or would you like us to pass this vote?

Geller : Oh no sir, we really really want this, don't we senator?

Chair: I understand. Please don't throw me into the bramble bush.

They were mocking the DNC's calendar and its rules from the beginning.
This wasn't a Democratic Party dragged along by a malicious GOP.
Florida Democrats wanted their state earlier in the calendar.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. Clinton's campaign does not remind me of Rocky. It reminds me of Spinal Tap

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5345864&mesg_id=5345864

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

22. Handy Guide to Hillary Clinton's Bosnian Lie: The Faux Heroine of Tuzla

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5348113&mesg_id=5348113

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. Debunking more Hillary spin. Her co-chair stopped the revote, not Obama.

Also truth about DNC ruling
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5341885&mesg_id=5341885

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. Dean on CNN tonight: "we are not going to bend the rules for either side."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5349463

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. Readers, if you want an Obama thread bumped, feel free to post title and link

thats part of what the Obama daily news is.

Well, I'm signing off until tomorrow.

:yourock:

[JimGinPA]

26. Obama 'flooding' Pennsylvania with TV ads

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5352257&mesg_id=5352257

K&R

[JimGinPA]

27. *NEW* PPP PA Poll - Obama Ahead of Clinton in PA 45-43!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5352238&mesg_id=5352238

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. Obama readies plan to reshape the electorate

Obama readies plan to reshape the electorate
By BEN SMITH | 4/2/08


Even as he fends off Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination contest, Senator Barack Obama is already turning his attention to the general election, and to an ambitious plan to reshape the American electorate in his favor.

Bringing new voters to the polls "is going to be a very big part of how we win," said Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, in an interview. "Barack's appeal to independent voters is also going to be key."

Hildebrand said the campaign is likely to turn its attention and the energy of its massive volunteer army this fall on registering African-American voters, and voters under 35 years old, in key states.

"Can it change the math in Ohio? Very much so," he said. "If you look at the vote spread between Bush and Kerry in 2004 - we could potentially erase that."

...more at the link

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9328.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

29. Rocky Balboa and a 14 Point Over-Under for the Pennsylvania (and Hillary took the bait)

Rocky Balboa and a 14 Point Over-Under for the Pennsylvania Prizefight

By Al Giordano. The Field

Always nice to start off the day with a cup ‘o morning Jed:

video here

As an Italian-American kid from the kind of urban, Eastern Seaboard demographic that the Rocky series of motion pictures was aimed at,
I find Senator Clinton’s self-comparison with the fictional Robert “Rocky” Balboa, Sr. absurdly funny. I bet a lot of my Philadelphia
and Lower Bucks County paisanos are similarly getting some laughs out of all that. The similarities astound. A child of immigrants (from Bosnia?)
who cut her political teeth on the gritty streets of the inner city, Senator Clinton is one of us… she can really identify with the hardscrabble lives of…
oh, wait… yesterday was April Fool’s Day, right? Doh!

...The one-two punch by Obama surrogates (Dodd, Leahy, Richardson) calling for Clinton to drop out of the contest was a classic matador maneuver: they waved a red hanky before the bull. Senator Clinton’s predicted knee-jerk response was to charge into a tizzy of the kind of victimology that seems to always be her first instinct when she sees that flag: plow forward with a self-referential, self-justifying, self-absorbed defense (”evasive maneuvers,” in Bosnia-speak). Then Obama followed with the second jab: inviting her to campaign as long as she wants.
It all served to further diminish her and take her off any kind of message that could resonate with voters. This, as three recent Pennsylvania polls have her hovering at half the lead she previously enjoyed.

Still, I think it’s still too early to tell if Obama can close the gap to, say, ten points in Pennsylvania (Halperin today gives Clinton a little wiggle room at 10.5: “She has to win the popular vote by more than 10.5% or the media will say she didn’t beat expectations (and her Ohio margin).”)

The Field still sees three factors inhibiting Obama in the Keystone State, and reasons why today I set a more accurate “over-under” for three weeks from today in Pennsylvania:

more at the link

[easy_b94]

30. BK

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

31. Clinton testimony on FBI files blocked

Clinton testimony on FBI files blocked
Judge Blocks Clinton Deposition Over FBI Files Controversy

Staff AP News Apr 02, 2008

A federal judge has rejected an effort to force Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify in a decade-old lawsuit over White House acquisition of FBI background files.

The court ruling spares Clinton a politically sensitive deposition at a time when she is fighting to overtake Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The lawsuit is over the Clinton White House's acquisition of hundreds of FBI files on Republican appointees to White House jobs in previous administrations. The conservative group Judicial Watch accused the former first lady of masterminding a conspiracy and has been trying to question her for years.

Had Clinton been forced to testify, it would have rekindled the controversy. An Independent Counsel report in 2000 found no evidence of wrongdoing.

[quantass]

41. k&r

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

32. Kos mocks the New York Times for lame attack on Howard Dean

The New York Times is upset with Howard Dean for not acting like an old time "Party Boss". They don't like it that he doesn't hang out in DC or hit the cock tail party scene.
They have previously whined about his 50 state strategy, ignoring the fact that the base eschewed the old time big state strategy and party boss way of doing things.

Yet another attack on Dean

by kos Wed Apr 02, 2008

What an incredibly stupid story.

...After months in which he was largely absent from public deliberations about how to avert a risk to the party’s hopes of taking the White House in November, Mr. Dean stepped forward last week to say he wanted the contest resolved by July 1 and for Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama to tone down their attacks on each other.

...

Dean has been very clear about Michigan and Florida: the rules are the rules. That doesn't make the Clinton partisans happy, but that's not from a lack of leadership on it, but because of his leadership on fighting for the rules that the party agreed on. Let's not forget that Clinton pitbull Harold Ickes was on the committee that voted for the sanctions

The chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, Karen Thurman, said she could not recall the last time Mr. Dean had called her to try work out the dispute. She and other Florida Democrats are to meet with Mr. Dean on Wednesday to try to persuade him to agree to a compromise.

Dean made the DNC's position very clear to her before the primaries started. She ignored him while Florida Democrats openly mocked him.
Now she wants him to get her out of her own mess? Hilarious

.....

[Hope And Change]

33. Obama's Statement in Support of World Autism Awareness Day

Obama's Statement in Support of World Autism Awareness Day


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3094579

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

34. Clinton's Bosnia Sniper Fire Tale Becomes "Pop Culture Sensation"

Hillarious descriptions of Tuzla tall tale below, especially the "Snoopy and Red Baron"
description.....

Clinton's Bosnia Sniper Fire Tale Becomes "Pop Culture Sensation"

(David Shuster / MSNBC Video)

video at msnbc Shuster does the piece.
David Letterman, Jay Leno,

Surpassed 1.8 million views,

reporters interviewed the Bosnian who was the 8 year old girl in the video.

There is a parody of the video that is hilarious.

Shuster talks about how it affected Clinton's creditability.

Talks about Clinton's creditability on NAFTA, Family Medical Leave Act claims.

Commentary after Shuster.... "They'll do anything to win.... people question whether this is a family trait...
knocked the Rev WRight story out of the headlines... feeds into opponents storyline that she will do or say anything...
... voters will remember stupid things politicians do... she and her husband will say anything... do anything.. parse the truth...
.... she believes ... she is willing to risk her life for this job.... if it was true, she wouldn't have taken her daughter with her.

Chris Matthews: that's called fiction righting...

Ed Gordon: anyone whose been under sniper fire, ... you don't hallucinate that.....

Matthews recommends Straus music as background for video

Roger of Politico: Like Snoopey and the Red Baron

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

35. OBAMA talks about women’s wages and other parenting issues…

OBAMA talks about women’s wages and other parenting issues… Over at "No Dictation" blog, April 1, 2008

Filed under: Politics, Barack Obama, Election 2008

[Ysabel]

39. k and r (n/t)...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

40. Visiting mayor touts power of N.C.

Visiting mayor touts power of N.C.
News and Observer Mar 31, 2008

Ryan Teague Beckwith, Dan Kane and Rob Christensen, Staff Writers
Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who was in the Triangle this weekend on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama, said North Carolina will be a "critical state" in determining who is the next president.

Speaking to reporters after a speech at the Young Democrats convention on Saturday, Booker said North Carolina will help Obama win the nomination, and it also will be a key state in the November general election.

..."North Carolina is a perfect place to add an exclamation point onto a sentence that I think has already been written," he said.

Asked about Obama's successful courting of a number of North Carolina mayors, Booker said that has proven to be a successful organizing tactic in other states.

... more at the link
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1019275.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

42. ***Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, endorsing Barack Obama today***

Obama fights 'negativity:' Wyo. Guv

Posted April 2, 2008 12:30 PM by Christi Parsons

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, endorsing Barack Obama today, complained of "negativity, partisanship and lack of purpose" which he says is "crippling" the country.

Obama might be able to make a difference as the Democratic presidential nominee, Freudenthal said.

“While no one individual can effect this change alone, the change must begin with someone," Freudenthal said in a written release. "Sen. Obama is the Democratic candidate with the openness, honesty and skill to end this vicious cycle of business as usual.”

The endorsement comes almost a month after Obama won the Wyoming caucuses, but could have an effect as the Democratic candidates gear up for upcoming primaries in Western states.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/obama_could_help_end_negativit.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

43. McCain hiring DCI, "the Republican outfit when it comes to 'astroturf'.."

04.02.08 -- 12:53PM // link | recommend

Keep An Eye On It
In this post The Atlantic Monthly's Marc Ambinder notes that top lobbyist Doug Davenport is joining the McCain campaign as one of its ten regional campaign managers. He also, as Ambinder notes, one of the founders and current chief lobbyist for the DCI Group. Now, as long time TPM readers know, DCI is the Republican outfit when it comes to 'astroturf' (i.e., phoney) grassroots campaigns and sundry campaign bamboozlment.

Separate from his affiliation with the key GOP slimesters, there's also the issue of Davenport's being another top tier lobbyist helping run McCain's campaign. And with reference to that, I found this line from Marc's post particularly revealing: "Davenport's new position is certain to precipitate complaints from rivals that McCain is packing his campaign with the lobbyists whose conduct he has denounced. McCain's advisers have said that McCain's credentials as a reformer are solid and can overcome any optics problem that comes along with hiring lobbyists."

To be clear, I think he is accurately conveying the McCain line here. But look what it's actually saying: that McCain's reputation as someone who won't truck with lobbyist is so strong that it can overcome the fact that he's staffing his campaign with top dollar lobbyists, i.e., my reputation trumps the evidence.

--Josh Marshall

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/186960.php

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

44. Super-Delegates Defuse Hillary's Pastor-gait Bomb

Durbin: Obama took race 'new level'

Posted April 2, 2008 3:15 PM

by Mark Silva

The senior senator from Illinois was asked today if it is “fair game’’ for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s senior adviser to be talking about Sen. Barack Obama’s relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in the talks that camp Clinton has been holding with the party’s undecided superdelegates.


“They can raise whatever issues they wish to,’’ said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), in an interview with MSNBC. “But I know the superdelegates… feel as I do,’’ he said, “When Barack Obama made that speech in Philadelphia’’ the candidate “took the discussion to a new level.’’

Obama disavowed what was unacceptable in his retired pastor’s remarks, Durbin suggested, but then took the issue of race to a higher plane with that Philadelphia address on race and unity.

It has been reported that Harold Ickes, senior adviser to the Clinton campaign, has been reminding superdelegates of the Wright-remark baggage which Obama’s campaign is carrying. But “I think Mr. Ickes is not going to get very far,’’ Durbin said. “Our superdelegates who I’ve spoken to were very impressed with Sen. Obama’s response.’’

.... more at the link
http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/durbin_obama_took_race_to_new.html

[grantcart]

45. New Super Delegate endorsements for Obama

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5356958

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

46. ***Super Delegate: Former Senator from Montana, John Melcher***

April 02, 2008
Categories: Barack Obama

Second Montana super for Obama

The flow of superdelegates doesn't seem to be slowing, as a former senator from Montana, John Melcher, says he'll back Obama.


By Ben Smith 05:04

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Second_Montana_super_for_Obama.html#comments

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

47. ***Obama Picks Up 26 Endorsements in Oregon***

UPDATED: Obama Picks Up 26 Endorsements in Oregon

Wed Apr 02, 2008 at 02:46:50 PM PDT
Oregon just got a little sunnier for Obama today. Five state senators and 19 state representatives endorsed Obama today, in addition to the state superintendent of schools and the state treasurer.

Full list of endorsers after the jump...

mamabigdog's diary :: ::
The full list of endorsers: Congressman Earl Blumenauer; State Treasurer Randall Edwards; Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo; Senate President Pro Tem Margaret Carter; Sen. Alan Bates; Sen. Floyd Prozanski; Sen. Ben Westlund; House Speaker Jeff Merkley; House Speaker Pro Tempore Diane Rosenbaum; Rep. Jeff Barker; Rep. Phil Barnhart; Rep. Suzanne Bonamici; Rep. Peter Buckley; Rep. Ben Cannon; Rep. Brian Clem; Rep. Chris Edwards; Rep. Dave Edwards; Rep. Larry Galizio; Rep. Paul Holvey; Rep. Betty Kimp; Rep. Tina Kotek; Rep. Mary Nolan; Rep. Tobias Read; Rep. Mike Schaufler; Rep. Chip Shields; Rep. Brad Witt

In addition, a story in the Oregonian talks about increases in Democratic registrations, including lots of fence-jumping from the Repubs.

more at the link

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/2/173624/1071/65/489106