“OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS Friday May 2, 2008

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WELCOME TO “OBAMA SUPPORTERS” DAILY NEWS

Friday May 2, 2008


Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, hugs Elizabeth Perez, after speaking at a meeting with senior citizens at Oak Point senior community in Columbia City, Ind., Thursday, May 1, 2008, in anticipation of the state's May 6 primary. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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. North Carolina: in person voter registration through May 3rd at early voting sites

Time is running out, people can still register and vote from now through May 3rd

Important Election Dates:

2008 Primary Election May 6th
Last day to register to vote: Apr. 11
Absentee Voting: Mar. 17 - Apr. 29
One Stop Absentee Voting: Apr. 17 - May 3

Remember, if you are not registered, you can still go to an early voting site to both register and vote through May 3rd. Register and vote at a One-Stop Site during the One-Stop Absentee Voting period:

Go to the North Carolina State Board of Elections website to check your voter registration.
They also have information for new and current voters on how to register, where to vote, and more .

Voters without internet access should call their County Boards of Elections to find out if they are registered).

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. Lamont Williams: Come on Down! (deceptive robo calls in NC)

Lamont Williams: Come on Down!

JULE BANVILLE on May. 1, 2008, at 11:32 am

Wired has the best stuff on the juicy scandal still percolating with D.C.-based Women’s Voices. Women’s Vote, which admits to being behind some high-tech “anonymous” phone calls going to primarily black households in North Carolina. The calls from a Lamont Williams imply improper voter registration and give instructions on re-registering, only the voters there have not necessarily improperly registered and the instructions to wait for a packet in the mail and send in another application would put voters well past the deadline to vote in Tuesday’s primary. Virginia State Police investigated similar robo-calls before VA’s primaries last February, also sourced to Women’s Voices. Women Vote.

The group’s president (and Duke grad, no less) is Page Gardner of Northern Virginia, who has been making the rounds in this hamster-wheel primary to talk about the impact of single women. According to the Institute for Southern Studies and OpenSecrets.org, Gardner has contributed $6,700 to Hillary Clinton in one form or another in 2005 and 2006. Her total contribution to the Obama campaign: $0.

Gardner does have a response to all of this: “We apologize for any confusion our calls may have caused.” That may not be enough for the Attorney General.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. Reminder: Clinton push polling in North Carolina - April 24

North Carolina has early voting Apr. 17 - May 3. These calls came during that time.

Paul Loeb: Is Hillary Clinton Push Polling?

Posted April 24, 2008 by Paul Loeb at Huff Po

North Carolina activist David LaMotte just got a push poll call from the firm of Geoff Garin, the new head of Hillary Clinton's campaign team. It wasn't as bad as asking "would it change your mind if you knew John Kerry actually bought his Vietnam medals off eBay." Or "How do you feel about John McCain's illegitimate black children?" But it was a push poll nonetheless, even if it also had elements of information gathering and message testing. This isn't the first time that the Clinton campaign or their allies have had pollsters offering positive information about Clinton and negative information about her opponents--they did it on the eve of the California primary and in South Carolina. (And firms linked to the Giuliani campaign made highly negative push poll calls against Mitt Romney in Iowa and New Hampshire) But it's a disturbing practice precisely because it tries to spin the recipient under the pretense of merely asking about their views, and from everything I can tell, it's a practice that Obama has avoided.

Here's LaMotte's story, following a clip from the actual call, which I'd highly recommend clicking and listening to.: CLICK HERE

...A guy named Ed called from Akron, Ohio, and when I asked what polling outfit he works for he said Garin-Hart-Yang, based in DC At first I was delighted to be polled, as I've been interested in the race and following the rest of the nation's polls closely throughout the campaign.

The questions started out normal enough, but got progressively more ridiculous. Early in the conversation Ed asked my preference among the Democratic candidates and I told him I was an Obama supporter.

Then the questions turned to long Hillary-praising and Barack bashing policy statements with the response options being "Do you consider that a very strong, strong or weak or very weak reason to support her candidacy for president?" which is kind of an unanswerable question, and clearly not the point. At the end of the conversation they asked "Now based on everything we've discussed, who would you vote for?"

...more at the link

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4. Counter those robo calls: Call For Barack:

One-Stop Early Voting is underway now in North Carolina. This unique voting process allows even people who are not registered, or who have never voted before, to register and vote all at once. We've undertaken an ambitious drive to inform as many of our supporters as possible about One-Stop Early voting, and your phone calls have been a major part of that effort. The result: the News & Observer reported that, as of last Friday, more than 121,500 people statewide had voted at one-stop locations.

Earlier in the month, North Carolina Out of State Volunteer coordinator Charlie Anderson spoke to our National Call Team about the importance of your phone calls to North Carolina:

Registered and unregistered North Carolina residents can participate in One-Stop Early Voting now through Saturday. If you live in North Carolina, you can find your One-Stop location now.

We have until the end of the week to reach as many supporters as possible and let them know about One-Stop Early Voting, as part of our effort to make one million calls to voters by the close of polls on May 6th.

It only takes a minute to get started, and One-Stop Early Voting means that your phone calls to North Carolina can translate into real votes, right now.

MAKE CALLS

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6. Obama wants pro-Clinton American Leadership Project investigated

Obama wants pro-Clinton group investigated

By JIM KUHNHENN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama's presidential campaign wants federal regulators to investigate fellow Democrats who are backing Hillary Rodham Clinton's candidacy, taking intraparty discord to a new level of confrontation.

Obama's campaign lawyer, Robert Bauer, filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the pro-Clinton American Leadership Project of violating campaign finance laws by running ads against Obama. The group is spending $920,000 for an ad in Indiana questioning Obama's economic policies.

The group is largely financed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and is run by Democratic operatives, many of them based in California and who have past connections to Clinton or her husband. Its organizers say they are abiding by the law and a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.

Bauer, in his complaint and in a teleconference with reporters, likened the group to organizations that had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for ad campaigns in the 2004 presidential election. Among them was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which attacked Democrat John Kerry's service in Vietnam and his subsequent anti-war stance.

"This organization is a Swift Boat wannabe and it's violating the law in exactly the same way," Bauer said.

...more at the link

[grantcart]

5. Why the silence on the fund raising?

Neither campaign has hinted about it and nobody in the media has asked the question.

Every month there is some idea, speculation or guesses by the first of the month.

Absolute silence. Could it be that Obama's campaign doesn't want to brag about its money in order to not turn off blue collar stiffs.

Could it be that Clinton's fell short and with their boasting $ 10 million in one day that their figure is going to be disappointingly low?


Add your speculation here and keep the thread kicked - maybe somebody in the media will start asking about it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5764099&mesg_id=5764099

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7. Clinton’s Man Problem

Steven Waldman WSJ. April 30, 2008, 7:12 am

Voting Variables: Men, Women, Race and Religion

Steven Waldman is president and editor-in-chief of Beliefnet.com, and author of Founding Faith. Previously the national editor of U.S. News & World Report, he is a recognized expert on religion, social issues and politics. Click here for Waldman’s full bio.

Clinton’s Man Problem

Superdelegates and pundits have spent much of the last week assessing whether Barack Obama’s skin color makes him unelectable.
Well, here’s another awkward question: Why hasn’t Hillary Clinton been able to win men?

Consider this stunning fact: Sen. Obama has beaten Sen. Clinton among men in 23 of the 29 primaries for which we have exit polls. Even in big electoral states that Sen. Obama famously lost — such as Pennsylvania, California, Texas, New Jersey — Sen. Obama carried more men.
Now, one could flip this and say it’s more a sign of Sen. Clinton’s strength among women than her weakness among men. While Sen. Obama has energized the young, Sen. Clinton has brought more women to the polls. In eight contests, a remarkable 60% of the voters were women, and she’s done especially well among working class women. Newsweek’s cover story on Sen. Obama’s Bubba Gap might be slightly off: Sen. Obama’s biggest problem is with Bubba’s wife or girlfriend. (Bubbette? Marge? Danica?).

On balance, though, the gender gap has so far played more to Sen. Obama’s advantage. He has more delegates in part because he’s done better among women (winning the women’s vote in 12 states) than she has among men.

And the role of the gender gap will likely increase, not decrease, in the general election. In a March Pew poll, 26% of general-election voters said “men are better leaders than women,” and those voters are 26 percentage points less likely to support Sen. Clinton. In the Democratic primaries, a huge percentage of the electorate has been women. Yet in the 2004 general election, only 54% of the voters were women. To counteract this latent bit of sexism, Sen. Clinton would need to win women handily while increasing their turnout dramatically compared to the last election.

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8. Joe Andrew: A SUPER Delegate

Joe Andrew: A SUPER Delegate

Posted: 01 May 2008 One Million Strong

An Indianna superdelegate is switching his support from Sen. Clinton to Sen. Obama. The story speaks for itself so read it if you want more details. His long endorsement letter is outstanding. It's big for a number of reasons:

It is a switch.
It is Indiana just before the primary
It is from a former DNC National Chair and creates cover for other SDs to do the same.
It rejects the notion that SDs need to wait until the last primary.
The reasons he gives. This was well conceived.

Some of the choice quotes after the fold:

Joe Andrew, who was Democratic National Committee chairman from 1999-2001, planned a news conference Thursday in his hometown of Indianapolis to urge other Hoosiers to support Obama in Tuesday's primary, perhaps the most important contest left in the White House race.
Andrew said in his letter that he is switching his support because "a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain."

"He has shown such mettle under fire," Andrew said in the interview. "The Jeremiah Wright controversy just reconfirmed for me, just as the gas tax controversy confirmed for me, that he is the right candidate for our party...
more at the link

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9. Texas superdelegate John Patrick, VP TX AFL-CIO endorses Obama

May 1, 2008 CNN Politicker

Obama picks up Texas superdelegate

(CNN) – Democratic National Committee member John Patrick, a 31-year member of the United Steelworkers union and vice president of the Texas AFL-CIO, officially announced his support for Barack Obama Thursday. The nod is Obama’s second superdelegate endorsement of the day.

Earlier Thursday, former DNC Chairman Joe Andrew switched his vote from Clinton to Obama. The superdelegate gap between Clinton and Obama stands at 18 in CNN’s latest count.

"Senator Barack Obama has spent a lifetime standing up for American workers, and he will be a crucial voice for us in the White House,” Patrick said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. “He has consistently opposed unfair trade deals that fail to offer protection to American workers — like NAFTA. Senator Obama has a real plan to put money back in the pockets of working families by restoring the manufacturing base in America."
Patrick had been a supporter of former Senator John Edwards’ presidential bid.

[grantcart]

10. Clinton slams Bush allowing Indiana bomb manufacturer move to China/Clintons approved it

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2008/05/01/abc-corrects-clintons-indiana-tale-blaming-bush-closed-factory


Clinton has been criticizing the Bush administration for approving the move of a munitions factory to China - problem is it was approved by her husband in 1995


ABC reporter Jake Tapper on Wednesday night undermined Hillary Clinton's campaign trail tale blaming the Bush administration for allowing a Valparaiso, Indiana manufacturer of magnets for smart-bombs to move to China, costing 200 jobs and giving the technology to the communist regime. Tapper, however, pointed out that the sale occurred in 1995 and was approved by....the Clinton administration. “Senator Clinton decries how the company Magnequench moved from Indiana to China in 2003,” Tapper reported, “but there's one key part of the story Senator Clinton tends to leave out: Her husband's role.” He elaborated:

Over and over again, Clinton blames President Bush for dropping the ball on a national security issue -- including in a new TV ad....What Clinton does not say is that her husband could have stopped it because the Chinese bought Magnequench in 1995 when he was President. And his administration approved the deal despite national security concerns...

As for “one of Senator Clinton's main arguments” -- that “the Chinese now know our secrets” -- Tapper relayed how “former Magnequench Vice President Andrew Albers says that's false. By the 2003 move, he says, the Chinese already knew everything” so no secrets or intellectual property were transferred to China.


If you have a thread feel free to repost in GDP

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11. Hillary Clinton Wishes She Were A Republican

Hillary Clinton Wishes She Were A Republican

Published May 1, 2008 Oliver Willis

Well, she already acts like one, so at least she finally said it.

Clinton called her base of support “broader and deeper” than Obama’s, and said, “At the end of the day, that’s what it should be about for Democrats. You know, it is who can better win. And I’ve won the big states. I’ve won the states that we have to anchor. If we had the Republican rules, I would already be the nominee.”

Ah, but you see Senator Clinton, you made the mistake of running for the nomination of the Democratic party.

[grantcart]

12. Clinton's last minute gas tax gimmick = universal academic condemnation

Clinton Gas-Tax Proposal Criticized

Economists Share Obama's View
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003575.html?sid=ST2008050100090

A growing chorus -- including a top congressional Democrat -- labeled Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's proposal for suspending the federal gasoline tax ineffective and shortsighted yesterday, even as she continued to paint Sen. Barack Obama as insensitive to drivers' woes for not endorsing the plan.
This Story


The Democrats' clash on the issue has emerged as a flash point in the week before the presidential primaries in Indiana and North Carolina and is emblematic of the broader contrast that the candidates have presented: Clinton says she would make immediate bread-and-butter fixes for struggling Americans, while Obama portrays himself as a truth-teller who would bring a new kind of politics to Washington and produce more lasting change.

clip

Harvard professor N. Gregory Mankiw, who has written a best-selling textbook on economics, said what he teaches is different from what Clinton and McCain are saying about gas taxes. "What you learn in Economics 101 is that if producers can't produce much more, when you cut the tax on that good the tax is kept . . . by the suppliers and is not passed on to consumers," he said.

clip

Leonard Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, said the laws of the market argue against a tax suspension. "Every summer, the refiners are running full out. If the price fell, people would want to drive more and there would be shortages," he said. "It's a basic economic principle that if the supply is fixed, the price is going to be determined by demand."

Joining in the criticism was House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who said that the Democratic leadership of Congress has no intention of pursuing the summer tax suspension that Clinton touted. The move "would not be positive," he said. "The oil companies would just raise their prices."


clip

More generally, they said, stoking ire about the cost of gas undermines efforts to build a case for limiting carbon emissions, which could raise prices at the pump. "It sends a confusing message," said Kevin Knoblauch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "What's more helpful is if help consumers understand that this isn't about near-term gas prices, it's about a comprehensive and smart approach to energy policies."

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13. Elitism!

Elitism!

by kos
Thu May 01, 2008 at 03:10:18 PM PDT

Clinton on O'Reilly:

Rich people, God bless us.

Could you imagine if Obama had said that?

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14. Breaking: Senior Clinton Aide Caught Distributing Right-Wing Obama Attacks For Months

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5771056&mesg_id=5771056

And I recall there was a senate bill to stop deceptive practices like this.

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15. Will black voters stay home if Obama loses nomination?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5772458&mesg_id=5772458

A friend of mine working on a few political campaigns said that if Hillary Clinton
becomes the nominee, the democratic party will be destroyed.

He said it will be far worse than anything the party has been through.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

16. Letterman: Obama's Top Ten List

Obama's Top Ten List

ABC May 01, 2008 5:10 PM

ABC's Sunlen Miller reports:

Sen. Barack Obama will read his own Top 10 List tonight on the Late Show with David Letterman.
"Surprising Facts About Barack Obama"

10. My first act as President will be to stop the fighting between Lauren and Heidi on “The Hills.”
9. In the Illinois primary, I accidentally voted for Kucinich.
8. When I tell my kids to clean their room, I finish with, “I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message.”
7. Throughout high school, I was consistently voted “Barackiest.”
6. Earlier today I bowled a 39.
5. I have cancelled all my appearances the day the “Sex and the City” movie opens.
4. It’s the birthplace of Fred Astaire. (Sorry, that’s a surprising fact about Omaha)
3. We are tirelessly working to get the endorsement of Kentucky Derby favorite Colonel John.
2. This has nothing to do with the Top Ten, but what the heck is up with Paula Abdul?
1. I have not slept since October.

[Blondiegrrl]

41. LOL at #4! n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

17. Obama Rolls On (NY Times)

Obama Rolls On

New York Times ADAM NAGOURNEY and CARL HULSE | May 1, 2008

Even after having had his toughest month yet on the campaign trail, the New York Times states that Obama is still in the lead for the nomination, despite signs of growing confidence from Hillary Clinton. On Thursday a few things went Obama's way: the former DNC chairman under Bill Clinton, Joe Andrew, switched his allegiance to Obama (read about his reasons here) ; Obama also gained five superdelegates to Clinton's four, thus trimming her lead to 268-248, according to the AP.

From the Times:

Have Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination improved as Senator Barack Obama has struggled through his toughest month of this campaign?

After weeks in which her candidacy was seen by many party leaders as a long shot at best, Mrs. Clinton's advisers argued strenuously on Thursday that the answer was most assuredly yes, that the outlook was turning in her favor in a way that gave her a real chance.

Still, despite a series of trials that have put Mr. Obama on the defensive and illustrated the burdens he might carry in a fall campaign, the Obama campaign is rolling along, leaving Mrs. Clinton with dwindling options.

Mr. Obama continues to pick up the support of superdelegates -- elected Democrats and party leaders -- at a quicker pace than Mrs. Clinton.

Keep reading.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. Fallout from Facing South's investigation of illegal and deceptive election activity

Thursday, May 01, 2008Facing South

Fallout from Facing South's investigation of illegal and deceptive election activity

Facing South's investigation into illegal robo-calls in North Carolina and deceptive election tactics in 10 other states by Women's Voices Women Vote has had quite an impact.

Here are some of the major developments since we put up our first post at 9:32 am Tuesday morning looking into the issue:

* Yesterday, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper publicly denounced the group's tactics, declaring their anonymous robo-calls to be illegal and ordering that they be stopped.

* Also yesterday, voting rights advocates Democracy North Carolina successfully persuaded Women's Voices to delay until after the primaries a deceptive mailing to 276,000 North Carolina households that would have further confused voters.

* Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama addressed the illegal robo-calls in a press conference yesterday, calling them "extremely disturbing."

* Women's Voices Women Vote board member John Podesta, President Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, has publicly stated that Women's Voices "will conduct a full and prompt accounting of the circumstances of the voter registration program."

* The investigation has been widely covered in the media and brought greater attention to deceptive election practices. So far, the controversy has been picked up by ABC News, CNN, The Economist, Harper's, Talking Points Memo, Time, TPM Muckraker, The Week and Wired.

We hope that this investigation and others keep the issue of illegal and deceptive campaign practices in the spotlight.

Labels: democracy north carolina, north carolina, robo-calls, voting rights, women's voices women vote posted by Chris Kromm

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. The Real Hillary Clinton OMG

Is Hillary Clinton Really Eric Cartman?

Thursday, May 1, 2008 Andrew Sullivan

A reader proposes:

"I have thought long and hard and I believe that Eric Cartman is emblematic of Hillary Clinton both physically as well as in maturity and of course the overwhelming need for us Americans to respect her authoritah!"

Cartman is also, of course, a complete chameleon, depending on whatever he needs to be at the time - and totally evil. But there is one distinction between Cartman and Clinton. In the end, you feel some love for Cartman. And he makes you laugh, while she merely depresses beyond measure.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. Clinton's Involvement With Robo-Gate will End Her Campaign. Her Campaign Violated Election Law.

berni_mccoy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5775038&mesg_id=5775038

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. A Clintonite On Indianans: "Indiana? And those people are shit" (Video)

WillYourVoteB...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x126557

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

22. The Powers That Be Are Shit Scared Of President Obama

LibertyorDeat...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5776720

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. What The Old Farts Don't Get

What The Old Farts Don't Get

01 May 2008 Andrew Sullivan

A reader writes:

Your old farts really do miss the point completely, don't they? These younger people were convinced that political involvement was useless because the the system was so broken. They came of age anywhere from the second Clinton term (Lewinsky) through the disaster of the Bush years. They have no reason to believe that politics can work, or that it is possible to effect any large scale change, so they work locally or just opt out.



This is what Obama has tapped into. The reason all those thousands of young Dems registered for the first time and voted in a primary was because he made them believe honorable politics was possible. And if someone like Obama gets chewed up by the system because the forces arrayed against him are too strong -- just look at the sworn enemies who are teaming up to bring him down, united by nothing more than a vested interest in the status quo -- then they will conclude that the system is as broken as they thought it was.

The mistake is reading this as an Obama personality cult, in which case "grow up" would be appropriate. But the Obamaniacs I meet are nothing like that...

Continue reading "What The Old Farts Don't Get" »

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

24. A twisted defense of Hillary Clinton's gas tax gambit

Thu May 1, Jed Report

A twisted defense of Hillary Clinton's gas tax gambit

Clinton's gas tax plan has been roundly and justifiably slammed as pandering. It polls well, but in the real world, even in the best case, it would save people $20 to $30. Total. And in the worst case, it would actually increase gas prices. Even Clinton's own supporters concede it's a bad idea, but they like the politics of it.



Clinton, who is smart enough to know what a bad idea her gas tax plan is, probably also knows that there's virtually no chance it will ever pass Congress -- especially now that Nancy Pelosi has come out against it.

So she shamelessly advocates for a stupid idea, confident that she will bamboozle voters with it, yet secure in the knowledge that it will never happen.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. Hillary vs. the coffee maker: Mega-viral

Thu May 1, Jed Report

Hillary vs. the coffee maker: Mega-viral

Hillary Clinton's struggle with a gas station coffee maker has already gotten
nearly a half-million views on YouTube in the 18 hours since it was first posted on AMERICAblog by Joe Sudbay.
Those are huge numbers, even by viral video standards

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

26. NC robocalls may generate huge penalties and political implications

NC robocalls may generate huge penalties and political implications

May 1, 2008 at 1:10 AM by David

Putting aside any vote-suppression related lawbreaking WVWV may have done (or not), the non-profit may be facing substantial penalties for breaking other laws according to the North Carolina Attorney General’s office. And if WVWV did in fact break the law, voters may be eligible to recover damages. Moreover, there are more political connections between the Hillary campaign and WVWV than I previously noted.

Maggie Williams, Hillary’s campaign manager, was on WVWV’s Leadership Team and this is the bio previously published on their Web site.

Maggie Williams,

Griffin Williams Critical Point Management

Maggie Williams is a partner in GriffinWilliams LLC, a management consulting firm that helps public and private sector clients navigate transitions and respond to political challenges. As a private communications and management consultant, she has advised clients that include Scholastic Publishing Corporation, the Smithsonian Institution, Hillary Clinton for Senate, and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.

Williams served as chief of staff to former president Bill Clinton managing his policy and personal staff at the Clinton Foundation in New York City. From 1993-1997, Williams served in The White House as one of seventeen assistants to President Clinton and also served as chief of staff to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton....

Although WVWV has removed any evidence of Williams from their Web site, everyone knows nothing is ever removed from the Internet. The bio is on the Web archive as of July 8, 2007.

The political implications are not clear, however some of the criminal considerations — not related to Williams or the Hillary campaign — WVWV may face are clear.

North Carolina’s Acting Senior Deputy Attorney General Gary R. Govert wrote a letter (pdf) today to WVWV’s lawyer, Holly Schadler of D.C.-based Licthman, Trister & Ross, advising him that WVWV appeared to have broken N.C. law(s) regulating telephone solicitation.

.... much more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

27. Eugene Robinson: Campaign Nonsense Du Jour

The Campaign Nonsense Du Jour

By Eugene Robinson
Friday, May 2, 2008; Page

There's something maddening about this presidential campaign. It has become irrelevant whether anything the candidates say actually makes sense. All that matters is how their words will "play" with voters who are presumed to be too stupid to realize that they're the ones being played.

The nonsense du jour is the "proposal" by Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton to suspend the federal gasoline tax. I put the word proposal in quotes because it's obvious that neither candidate is serious about this. They both must know that it won't happen, and they both must know why it shouldn't.

Actually, McCain might not understand why lifting the tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is a bad idea -- remember, he has confessed that the economy isn't his strong suit. I'd bet the ranch that Clinton understands, though. And before either campaign indignantly proclaims its candidate's total sincerity, I'd like to see the legislation that either of these U.S. senators has introduced to suspend the tax.

I'm still waiting.

....This is supposed to be an election, not a casting call. If we vote on the basis of who can best play "populist-lite" -- who can more convincingly furrow his or her brow in empathy with the struggle of "ordinary" Americans -- then we'll be electing an actor in chief, not a president. And we'll get what we deserve.

...more at the link

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

28. Clyburn Blasts Wright for 'Knee-Capping' Obama - but says no lasting damage done

Clyburn Blasts Wright for 'Knee-Capping' Obama

By Jonathan Weisman WaPo 5/1

For a Democratic superdelegate who is officially still unaligned, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) is sounding more and more like a Barack Obama fan.

In an interview today, Clyburn blasted the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor, but he suggested Wright's recent re-emergence had not done lasting damage to the Illinois senator.

"I have a daughter the same age as Barack Obama," said Clyburn, the most senior African American in Congress. "I've tried to provide shoulders for her to stand on. And I was absolutely saddened when it became clear to me Rev. Wright, rather than providing a shoulder for his parishioner to stand on, was engaged in some kind of knee-capping operation. That's not the kind of anatomical analogy we ought to be involved in."

He took particular umbrage with Wright's suggestion that attacks on him were attacks on the black church, writ large. But, said Clyburn, if Wright had done grievous damage to Obama, the candidate would not have picked up the endorsements over the past two days from former Democratic Party chief Joe Andrew or Rep. Baron Hill, who represents a conservative district in Southern Indiana.

"Just because one sets out to do damage doesn't mean it will be successful," Clyburn said. "I don't think it was successful."

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

29. Slate: Clinton's net delegate gain from Pennsylvania shrinks

Clinton's net delegate gain from Pennsylvania shrinks.

By Chadwick Matlin and Chris Wilson Slate's Delegate Calculator Updated Thursday, May 1, 2008

As the numbers continue to shake out from Pennsylvania, we're downsizing Clinton's margin of victory in Pennsylvania to 12 pledged delegates, an 85-73 split in her favor. NBC News currently calculates an 83-to-73 split with two delegates remaining to be allocated, which we predict will go to Clinton based on her share of the total votes in the state.

Obama also picked up a pledged delegate from the Edwards camp in Iowa, bringing his pre-March 4 figure to 1,208, according to the Iowa Independent (hat tip: Ben Smith). Factoring this in, Obama currently leads Clinton by 155 pledged delegates, with 408 still up for grabs in the nine remaining contests. Clinton needs to win the remaining contests by an average of 38 points to tie Obama in pledged delegates.

For those who follow the Delegate Calculator, the sort of revision we see in Pennsylvania may sound familiar. While delegates have generally divided in proportion to the popular vote in the Democratic primary, as the calculator assumes they will prior to an election, the actual count will inevitably vary by a few delegates as district-by-district numbers are tallied. An updated audit of the calculator, based on 29 Democratic primaries, finds that these predictions are off by an average of 2.8 percent for Clinton and 2.5 percent for Obama.

It's worth noting that the revisions tend to favor the loser. Final or nearly final delegate numbers from the primaries in Alabama, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin have all resulted in margins slightly smaller than the margin of the popular vote. The same holds for the caucuses in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Nevada. Examples of the opposite—where the winning candidate netted even more delegates than the popular vote would predict—are fewer and include states like Illinois and Arkansas where lopsided victories in favor of the native son or daughter make conventional wisdom less relevant.

...more at the link

[grantcart]

30. Survey USA Oregon Obama 50 Clinton 44

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=cd35ffc2-5d9f-4e83-9023-44d488d92aa3

[JimGinPA]

31. Kick

K&R

[indimuse]

32. go get that white vote!

What a fraud!

[AzDar]

33. Kick...

:kick:

[JimGinPA]

34. Barack Obama is the choice of free-agent donors

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5778170&mesg_id=5778170

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

35. Hillary's Race-Baiting Campaign (Betsy Reed, The Nation)

Hillary's Race-Baiting Campaign (Betsy Reed, The Nation)

Race to the Bottom By Betsy Reed
This article appeared in the May 19, 2008 edition of The Nation.

May 1, 2008

In the course of Hillary Clinton's historic run for the White House--in which she became the first woman ever to prevail in a state-level presidential primary contest--she has been likened to Lorena Bobbitt (by Tucker Carlson); a "hellish housewife" (Leon Wieseltier); and described as "witchy," a "she-devil," "anti-male" and "a stripteaser" (Chris Matthews). Her loud and hearty laugh has been labeled "the cackle," her voice compared to "fingernails on a blackboard" and her posture said to look "like everyone's first wife standing outside a probate court." As one Fox News commentator put it, "When Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear, Take out the garbage." Rush Limbaugh, who has no qualms about subjecting audiences to the spectacle of his own bloated physique, asked his listeners, "Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?" Perhaps most damaging of all to her electoral prospects, very early on Clinton was deemed "unlikable." Although other factors also account for that dislike, much of the venom she elicits ("Iron my shirt," "How do we beat the bitch?") is clearly gender-specific.

...The sexist attacks on Clinton are outrageous and deplorable, but there's reason to be concerned about her becoming the vehicle for a feminist reawakening. For one thing, feminist sympathy for her has begotten an "oppression sweepstakes" in which a number of her prominent supporters, dismayed at her upstaging by Obama, have declared a contest between racial and gender bias and named sexism the greater scourge. This maneuver is not only unhelpful for coalition-building but obstructs understanding of how sexism and racism have played out in this election in different (and interrelated) ways.

Yet what is most troubling--and what has the most serious implications for the feminist movement--is that the Clinton campaign has used her rival's race against him. In the name of demonstrating her superior "electability," she and her surrogates have invoked the racist and sexist playbook of the right--in which swaggering macho cowboys are entrusted to defend the country--seeking to define Obama as too black, too foreign, too different to be President at a moment of high anxiety about national security. This subtly but distinctly racialized political strategy did not create the media feeding frenzy around the Rev. Jeremiah Wright that is now weighing Obama down, but it has positioned Clinton to take advantage of the opportunities the controversy has presented. And the Clinton campaign's use of this strategy has many nonwhite and nonmainstream feminists crying foul.

While 2008 was never going to be a "postracial" campaign, the early racially tinged skirmishes between the Clinton and Obama camps seemed containable. There were references by Clinton campaign officials to Obama's admission of past drug use; the tit-for-tat over Clinton's tone-deaf but historically accurate statement that Martin Luther King needed Lyndon Johnson for his civil rights dreams to be realized; and insinuations that Obama is a token, unqualified, overreaching--that he's all pretty words, "fairy tales" and no action.

more at the link

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/betsyreed

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

36. ****Paul Kirk, Ex-DNC Chair And Superdelegate, To Endorse Obama***

Paul Kirk, Ex-DNC Chair And Superdelegate, To Endorse Obama

ABC | May 2, 2008 08:09 AM

ABC's the note says Obama will roll out the endorsement of another DNC ex-chair today.

Speaking of math -- the Obama campaign rolls out another former DNC chairman's endorsement on Friday: Paul Kirk, a superdelegate who led the party from 1985-1989, is coming out for Obama -- a day after Andrew's switch, an Obama campaign official tells The Note. (And don't count on that being it for the day, as the dribble continues.)


If Clinton, D-N.Y., can make this is a race yet, we're about to find out just how patient Democrats can be with a race that's showing signs of shredding the party. Notwithstanding moves by Andrew, Kirk, and the like, Clinton needs superdelegates to wait for her case to play out -- and then she needs an utter and total rejection of the Democratic frontrunner.


Yesterday Joe Andrew, former DNC Chair under Bill Clinton, withdrew his support from Sen Clinton and endorsed Obama. Read why Joe decided to switch to an Obama endorsement.

Political Wire notes that Obama after the last two days, Obama has pulled ahead in endorsements from former DNC chairs:

For those keeping score, The Hotline notes that of the 11 living Democratic National Committee chairs between 1981 and 2005, six have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama and four have backed Sen. Hillary Clinton. Only former Colorado Gov. Gov. Roy Romer has remained neutral.

link
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/02/paul-kirk-ex-dnc-chair-an_n_99778.html

[grantcart]

37. kick

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

38. These NC Obama offices need volunteers today and tomorrow, please call NOW

The offices will accept whatever amount of time you can give, and yes they need people today.

If you've never canvassed before, they send you out in teams, you aren't alone, and they will send you with an experience person. You don't have to do the talking unless you get comfortable.

I have found that when canvassing as the "silent partner", often you get comfortable and are ready to speak up.

Often people will nicely accept the materials you bring them.

So don't be afraid, and you are greatly needed because TOMORROW is the last day of early voting and same day registration.

We have to work to counter the robo calls.

Subject: NC HQ: MANY more canvassers needed; hard to find volunteers across NC

We are BEGGING for help at all 33 offices across NC...PLZ call your office and signup for a shift--


Asheville
107 Merrimon Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
[phone]
View Map

Boone
920 West King Street, Suite B
Boone, NC 28607
Phone #1: [phone]
Phone #2: [phone]
View Map

Burlington
113 East Front Street
Burlington, NC 28144
[phone]
View Map

Chapel Hill
504 West Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
[phone]
View Map

Charlotte
1523 Elizabeth Avenue, Suite 120
Charlotte, NC 28204
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
View Map

Clayton
34 Oleander Dr.
Clayton, NC 27527
View Map


Clinton
305 E. Main St.
Clinton, NC 28328
View Map




Concord

20 Union St S.

above Natural Harvest Store

[email protected]



Durham
112 West Main St., 2nd Fl
Durham, NC 27701
[phone]
View Map


Elizabeth City
427 South Hughes Boulevard
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
[phone]
View Map

Fayetteville
214 Hay Street, 2nd Floor
Rear entrance
Fayetteville, NC 28301
[phone]
View Map

Gastonia
413 W. Main Ave., Ste. 110
Gastonia, NC 28052
View Map

Goldsboro
210 S. William St.
Goldsboro, NC 27530
View Map

Greensboro
500 West Friendly Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27401
[phone]
View Map

Greenville
414 Evans Street
Greenville, NC 27858
[phone]
View Map

Hendersonville
614 Spartanburg Highway
across from Wendy's and

next door to McDonalds

Hendersonville, NC 28792

GARY PRICHARD
[phone]

[email protected]


Hickory
258 1st Avenue NW
Hickory, NC 28601
[phone]
View Map

High Point
710 East Washington Drive
High Point, NC 27260
View Map

Lexington
223 S. Main St.
Lexington, NC 27292
[phone]
View Map








Lumberton
1209 N. Pine St.
Lumberton, NC 28358
View Map

Mount Airy
228 Franklin St., 2nd Fl.
Mount Airy, NC 27030
Phone: [phone]
View Map

New Bern
806 Queen Street
New Bern, NC 28560
[phone]
View Map

North Raleigh
8321 Six Forks Rd.
Raleigh, NC 27615
View Map

Raleigh
130 East Morgan Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
[phone]
View Map

Rocky Mount
1956 Stone Rose Drive
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
[phone]
View Map

Salisbury
215 Depot Street, Suite B
Salisbury, NC 28144
[phone]
View Map

Shelby
205 S. Washington St.
Shelby, NC 28150
704-682-5660
View Map

Southern Pines
175 W. Pennsylvania Ave.
Southern Pines, NC 28387
910-692-8485
View Map

Washington
408 N. Market St.
Washington, NC 27880
[phone]
View Map

West Charlotte
1520 West Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28208
[phone]
View Map

Wilmington
511 North 3rd Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
[phone]
View Map

Wilson
1211 Tarboro St.
Wilson, NC 27895
[phone]
View Map

Windsor
102 E. Granville St.
Windsor, NC 27983
252-955-7166
View Map

Winston-Salem
8 West 3rd Street
Entrance on Main between 2nd & 3rd
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
[phone]
Vi

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

39. HRC is down with Republican style faux populism.

(( The RBC Update: The Clinton campaign vs. the Gucci-wearing pansies ))

2008.05.02 14:03:12


------------------------------------------------------------------------

HRC is down with Republican style faux populism.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://WWW.samefacts.com/archives/hrc_/2008/05/the_clinton_campaign_vs_the_gucciwearing_pansies.php

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

40. ***CSPAN Jefferson Jackson thread - they are booing Gov Easley

I switched on CSPAN at 9:21 and the NC Jefferson Jackson Dinner (Big NC Dem thing)
was on.

They just introduced Gov Easly and there was alot of booing.

Earlier people were chanting Obama Obama Obama and CSPAN turned the sound off,
and then someone turned the background music up REALLY LOUD.

9:22 we don't like our Gov Crash Easly.