DL21C Annual Summer Bash: Barack Won The Straw Poll

from Paramendra Bhagat July 21
to ckatz-at-nydailynews.com,
jeffkurzon-at-gmail.com,
bronx-at-nyc4obama.com,
rashad.drakeford-at-hotmail.com,
statenislandforobama-at-gmail.com,
chelsea-at-nyc4obama.com,
westside-at-nyc4obama.com,
eastvillage-at-nyc4obama.com,
harlem-at-nyc4obama.com,
uws-at-nyc4obama.com,
washheights-at-nyc4obama.com,
lgbt-at-nyc4obama.com,
faith-at-nyc4obama.com,
hispanics-at-nyc4obama.com,
btheopold-at-gmail.com,
jennifer-at-uesobama.com,
booforever-at-earthlink.net,
bedstuy-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
bococa-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
crownheights-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
tamara-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
lauren-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
burgpoint-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
kensington-ditmas-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
midwood-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
prospectheights-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
jacki-at-brooklynforbarack.org,
snewmark-at-gmail.com,
Brooklyn For Barack ,
NYC4Obama ,
Audacity of Park Slope ,
Laura Teachworth ,
Cheryl Steed ,
Terrence Yang ,
Andrew Dixon ,
Kenya Washington ,
Carolyn Schultz
date Jul 21, 2007 2:24 AM
subject Invade The DL21C's Annual Summer Bash! July 31

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4v8ct

Event Name: Invade The DL21C's Annual Summer Bash!
Time: Tuesday, July 31 at 8:00 PM - 6 hours
Location: Iguana Lounge & Nightclub (New York, NY)
240 W. 54th St (at Broadway)
New York, NY 10019
Directions: 1 train to 50th St., B/D/E trains to 7th Ave
8:00 pm until the break of dawn

DL21C is a premier progressive organization in the city, it is so
mainstream its founder is now state Dem party chair. And it is their
event. But it is open, and I expect many top progressives in the city
to show up, including many Hillary supporters. I suggest we also show
up in force and work the room. Do not bring along any literature, or
buttons to pass around. You can only engage people in conversation,
and be very respectful when doing so. I suggest about 30 of us show up
and work the room. "Hi, how do you like Barack Obama? Why? Why not? Do
you like Hillary? Would you like to see her as Obama's running mate?"
Etc.

Please RSVP at the DL21C site. http://dl21c.org

Mr. President is my nickname for Charles. This guy has been an activist for decades. He once tried to impress me with the very many details he knew about Indira Gandhi's tenure in India, especially "the emergency." I don't know as many details. I met Charles during my DFNYC phase in the city, when I was new, and they were failing to get me excited about the local races. My specialty is presidential politics, I told myself. I am a foreigner. If you are a foreigner, you start at the presidential level. That is the entry point. This was 2005. This was not even 2006 yet. And Charles was one guy who was one step ahead of me. He would do this survey thing that he does at every event I have seen him at, which is many many. He will give this sheet of paper to everyone in the room. You basically tally your favorite Democrats for president.

Last night Charles told me Barack won. This is huge. The DL21C Annual Summer Bash is the place to show up at if you are a young progressive in the city. The event also draws many top dog politicos. Terry McAuliffe himself was there. A long list of names was read out. Chris Owens was there. My man Bill Perkins was there. Bill and I sat next to each other at the Manhattan for Obama Organizational KickOff Meeting. I heard Hakeem Jeffries' name. I looked for him. Perhaps he left early: I could not find him. Scott Stringer was there. And many others. One City Council person, staffers. One guy with a local TV station. He promised me he will put me on TV.



Video: New York City For Barack Obama 1

Leila was there. I interacted with Leila more than any other DFNYC person during my DFNYC phase. She does not live in the city no more. So it was like, long time no see. Carolyn gave me a hug. Kenya was there with a friend. Frieda was there. She chairs the state Young Dems organization. They just had a national thing in Dallas. Elizabeth Caputo was looking great, this was her big night. Usually she shows up in work clothes she has not bothered to iron at events she might be hosting: she must be very good at whatever it is she does for her bank.

I have cooled off DL21C too. The little time I have for politics these days goes to Obama.

My relationship with the political and social reality out there - and that includes race - is the relationship between an astronomer and a galaxy, it is sophisticated and quite detached.

I met this young white guy punk in shorts with a major attitude problem, one of those guys who you want to ask, who invited you. He said Obama can't be president, it is a W-h-i-t-e House! He talked some more b.s.

I might finally be at a point in life when Nepal no longer bothers me, Kentucky no longer bothers me. I bother them. Folklore had it when I was growing up that when a dog gets sick, it goes into the woods, eats grass, vomits, and gets well. I wrote an online autobiography. The two years of intense work I did for Nepal is also largely behind me, otherwise it felt like a zombie existence: body in NYC, mind in Nepal. And I am super excited about my tech startup, what I came to NYC for.

Working the room, I bumped into Holly. She was for Hillary, I was for Obama, and there was this white guy who claimed to be a union guy who was for Edwards. I said it sounded like identity politics. The guy said he is pretty much a socialist, he is so far to the left. Then he said if it is between Hillary and Rudy, he would go for Rudy.

Holly was for Hillary. "I like Hillary, I have always liked Hillary," I said. She works for a hedge fund. I would not feel comfortable in a big, mainstream bank, I have to feel entrepreneurial, she said. "I could not do the job thing, I have to have my own company," I said.

She went to get beer. I walked closer to the stage. David Pollak was in sync with his bandmates. This guy was totally into it. It made me respect the politician in him more. If you have some other passion besides politics, especially something artsy like music, you are more believable as a politician. I am looking at him and thinking, this guy could go national before Spitzer does. He started in 1993, Spitzer in 1998. There is this Zen quality to Pollak, never more at display before than this night. This guy looks too comfortable being state Dem party chair to give the impression he has hit the ceiling. And New York is the epicenter state in American politics, New York City the capital city of the world. He is situated just fine.

Pollak's short introduction speech was better than McAuliffe's speech that followed. McAuliffe was not his usual self. He looked tired, like he had had a long day. Pollak had a shirt on that had curve cuts on both sides: that is my style.

Holly caught up with me. She said she wanted to take me to some Hillary events, and she would like to go to a few Obama events with me. I said I would like that a whole lot. Are you on Facebook? Friend me, she said. I did. Then she left. Got to go to work tomorrow.

My man Aaron was in the hall. Funnyman Aaron.

After McAuliffe left, Bill Perkins showed.

"Mr. Chairman, you have been running a great campaign," I said to him. I expect to read about a guy like McAuliffe, I don't expect to meet him. This was my second time seeing him. Thank you, New York. McAuliffe has a place in history like Bill Clinton. McAulifee does not have a parallel, if you think about it. And his record might stand since more and more fundraising in the future will be direct and online.

McAuliffe showed up during a break in the music. He said he was coming from an event with Bill Clinton down the road where "2600 people" showed up. It was fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation's fight with AIDS in "Africa and China."

Bill Clinton has done amazing work since leaving office. He has been able to do more for the poor countries than the UN system at some levels. That is mind-blowing.

McAuliffe had left, and Bill Perkins took the stage, right before Chris Owens played the flute. I once heard a DFNYC story, an insinuation, that I had been a small reason why Owens lost his bid for Congress. That is such hogwash. I did not campaign for or against him. I was too into Nepal at the time. I did live in Brooklyn where he was running.

I happened to meet Owens at a Brooklyn for Barack barbecue in Prospect Park. He was there with his family. I was so surprised he approached me like he knew me. He knew me. That was our very first conversation.

Dave Pollak got off stage saying "Dave is out to get some beer." I left not long after. I went to the 99 cent pizza store, a ritual when I am near Times Square, kind of like my having gone to numerous Walmarts all across America. You marvel at the business model.

I learned today DL21C now has a Facebook page, as does Pollak. One small step for a man, one giant step for mankind.

Treat Hillary Nice, Accenuate The Differences

It is fundamentally important that Obama maintain excellent personal relations with Hillary, both publicly and privately. These two genuinely like each other. When Obama got elected to the Senate, Hillary was one of the first people he called upon. He wanted advice on how to handle his newfound fame. When Obama first said he might run, he immediately also said that was no statement on Hillary who he thought had been "an excellent Senator." At all the early debates, it has showed that they like each other.

Treating Hillary nice is not going to look fake. Actually a downward slide in personal relations is what is going to look fake. It is going to feel new and unreal.

No attack ads should be traded, most certainly not personal attack ads.

All this goes with Obama's talk of a "new kind of politics."

In the recent spat, Obama won the debate on substance, but he lost the debate on tone. And the women voters noticed. Hillary got a boost in polls. Obama is going to have to work on tone.

Women feel like it is about time. We live on a sexist planet. This is a sexist country. Women know that intimately. Growing up on a sexist planet, having to slowly and painfully learn the gender strictures, women know. They all instinctively know. And now Hillary provides them with an outlet. A lot of Republican women in New York state crossed party lines in 2000 to vote for Hillary. And I am so glad that happened. Pundits say Hillary will have a tough time in a general election. I don't think so. What planet do they live on? They don't know Hillary. They don't know women. They don't know the gender dynamic.

There was this Rick Lazio moment in 2000. Lazio walked over to Hillary and pushed this piece of paper in Hillary's face and said let's together sign this paper right now that would clamp both our fundraising this or that. Long story short, it was a pro campaign finance reform thing. Some stupid little stunt by a Republican who was feeling the heat of Bill Clinton raising money for his wife like a demon. Lazio was sweating like he was in a sauna, politically speaking.

If you were to look at the substance of it, Lazio was right. His position on campaign finance reform was closer to publicly financed elections than Hillary's. Hillary did not sign that paper there, can you believe that? What was she thinking? That is the strict substance of it.

But stupid Lazio lost it big time. Why? First, he was dishonest. His party is a money machine more than an ideas machine. It was like, look who is talking. Then he reminded women voters of how men routinely invade women's personal space. Why the fuck did you leave your podium and walk all the way to where Hillary was standing? Women noticed that invasion of personal space. We live in a world where the fact is that men do all the talking whereas the stereotype perpetuated by relentless jokes, many of them funny, is that women do all the talking. And the women voters responded. They voted for Hillary in droves. They did not blink once before getting the message.

I am not saying Obama is Lazio. Actually Hillary might have sent some wrong signals on race in this last spat. You can't be "angry" that Obama is proving more resilient an opponent than you expected. But Hillary was made to feel that she is "under attack by opponents from all sides." Women are not going to like that. That is how they are made to feel when they try to make forward progress in their personal and professional lives. They are going to hear the echo and they are going to respond.

Hillary leads among women 2-1. How do you respond as an opponent? You compete on the substance of gender. Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto were strong, smart women, but neither helped the women in their countries on gender issues. They were more symbolic than substantive. Obama has to make the case to American women. For symbolic progress on gender, you go to Hillary. For substantive progress on gender, you come to me. And that requires hiring some feminist consultants in some top positions. Feminists are to women what civil rights attorneys and leaders are to black, brown, and yellow folks. Women voters might not always jive, but when they don't, it is because a lot of them are lagging behind in terms of their political consciousness. And they catch up pretty fast given the opportunity. And you don't make progress on gender by talking about the weather, or Iraq, or even health care. You make progress on gender by talking about gender. Casually mention you would want about half your cabinent to be female.

20 Million Single Moms: Will Obama Go For Them?
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous
Wife Won't Do, Got To Court Women With Policy And Outreach
Muscular Gender Agenda
Hillary's Beijing Speech

1. Be super nice to Hillary at a personal level. Give her the "new kind of politics" and "politics of hope" treatment.
2. Make gender talk as important as Iraq and health care and race at a policy and outreach level. Don't be blind. It is the number one issue. Look at the numbers.
   
3. Accenuate the differences. If voters think it is a choice between Coke and Pepsi, you lose.
   

Obama has genuine strengths. Hillary was fundamentally wrong on Iraq and still does not seem to get it. Obama will deliver health care faster than her. Obama is a fresh face: he feels more 2008 than anyone else in the race. He is offering a new kind of politics. He is outraising her. Those are five huge advantages. He has the option to cash on them.

Finishing number two in Iowa, and number one in New Hampshire is momentum: and that is what Obama looks like will do right now, if polls were held today; he will only improve. And there are a few different permutations and combinations possible that will all look good to great. Howard Dean was leading in the polls nationally and in Iowa, but he came third in Iowa. That was a blow. If he had been third in the polls in Iowa, and had finished third, it would have mattered little. He would have gone on to see better states.

But this is not 2004. People in New York, California, Florida and Illinois are not going to say, let me see how the good white people in Iowa voted. They are going to say, fuck Iowa. Iowa is Djibouti. It is just that states like New York and California are huge media markets that are going to feed on the early results. But it is very important to make many stops in New York and California along with the first four states.

This is going to be like elections in Britain and India. It will be over in a month.

In The News

Flood toll reaches 86; UN appeals for unhindered access to rescuers NepalNews
EU envoys urge secure atmosphere for CA polls
Cabinet approves Gurung's composition for national anthem
Prachanda proposes launching "People's Revolt"
Rayamajhi Commission report to be presented at the parliament
Study shows sex-trafficked Nepali girls have high HIV infection rate
Maoist strike affects life in four districts; 8-party meet fails to settle row
Temporary teachers warn of fresh agitation
PM Koirala assures Speaker of settling outstanding issues
JTMM-G guns down civilian in Bara
Limbuwan in extortion drive
UN comes to the rescue of flood victims

Tourism entrepreneurs concerned over cancellation of NAC's flights
Deuba disgruntled over delay in congress unification

PLA defector claims 1000 combatants left camps in Nawalparasi
YCL cadres vandalise DDC office, LDO's home
MoF cancels passports of 34 willful defaulters

Obama gets back to basics in new ad blitz MSNBC getting back to basics. .... someone who's above partisan bickering and can move legislation forward by bringing both parties together. ... tells voters that "in the [U.S.] Senate, Barack Obama challenged both parties to pass tough new ethics rules and rein in the power of lobbyists"

HIV survey reveals Nepal girls' plight in India Reuters.uk
Lalu Prasad to approach PM for more relief for Bihar Hindu
Obama fires terrorism warning to Pakistan Guardian Unlimited he is prepared to send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists if he is elected to the White House. ..... will warn the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters. ..... failure to do so could mean a US troop invasion and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in US military aid ....... "There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans" ...... They are plotting to strike again ...... support for the New York senator at 43% among Democrats, while Illinois senator Mr Obama slipped from 25% in June to 22% in July. Ms Clinton's support stood at 39% in June. ....... either Ms Clinton or Mr Obama would beat the former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani ...... Obama said the focus on Iraq had left the US in more danger than before the September 11 2001 attacks, adding that Mr Bush had misrepresented the enemy as Iraqis fighting a civil war instead of the terrorists responsible for the attacks six years ago. ........ he would remove troops from Iraq and put them "on the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan", adding that he would send at least two more brigades to Afghanistan and increase non-military aid to the country by $1bn (£492m). ...... he would create a three-year, $5bn programme to share intelligence with allies worldwide to take out terrorist networks from Indonesia to Africa.
3 Queens Neighborhoods To Be Sprayed For Mosquitoes Western Queens Gazette
Obama lays out counter-terrorism plan Boston Globe The United States needs to add at least 7,000 troops in Afghanistan, make aid to Pakistan conditional on its progress evicting terrorists, and double spending on foreign aid to $50 billion ...... The thrust of Obama's 35-minute speech was that America is more at risk today than it was before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 ...... He continued to sharpen their differences today by obliquely connecting Clinton's reticence to talk with what he called the failed policies of President Bush. ...... "It’s time to turn the page on Washington’s conventional wisdom that agreement must be reached before you meet, that talking to other countries is some kind of reward, and that presidents can only meet with people who will tell them what they want to hear," Obama said.
Obama talks tough on Pakistan Reuters Canada
2008: Obama on Terrorism New York Times Rudolph W. Giuliani has arguably been ... calling Democrats the “party of losers” who “refuse to admit the existence of Islamic terrorism.” ......... Obama plans to propose sending two additional troop brigades to Afghanistan ....... preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan ..... five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world’s most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland .......... from the Romney campaign that touts the candidate’s “tough line on immigration.” It will be broadcast in Iowa. ...... the traditional media channels have been clogged with news about Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama ..... lawyers make up more than half of Mr. Edwards donors.
Clinton pulls ahead in new poll Reuters Those polled cited Clinton's experience and competence highest among her positive attributes. ..... Support was seen slipping for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, from 15 percent of respondents in June to 13 percent this month
Poll: Bad news for McCain, good news for Obama The Union Leader Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani are on a roll in New Hampshire ..... Obama has doubled his support in the first-primary state in the past two months and is now in a dead heat with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton at the top of the Democratic pack, with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards third at 14 percent. ....... Among Democrats, Obama moved from 25 percent in June to 31 percent, while Clinton dropped 3 percentage points and now is also at 31 percent support. Edwards picked up 3 percentage points, moving from 11 percent in June to 14 percent. ...... the "catalyst" for the tie at the top of the Democratic poll is the feud between Obama and Clinton .... It wasn't a matter of what leaders we should talk to or not talk to, what Obama is trying to do is say that he's different and, 'I'm not Washington.' ..... Romney leveled off because he stopped advertising
Obama's Television Ad: Take It Back Atlantic Online how confidently Obama's wields his consensus-bipartisan message in front of partisan Democratic audiences ... In the Senate, Barack Obama challenged both parties to pass tough new ethics rules and rein in the power of lobbyists.
Clinton tears ahead in Democrat presidential race: poll Raw Story tearing away from her rivals for the Democrats' 2008 presidential nomination after performing well in televised debates .... a 21-point lead .... another poll had Obama drawing dead level with Clinton in the crucial nominating state of New Hampshire. .... she seems to have successfully dealt with tough criticism of her 2002 vote for military action in Iraq -- now an unpopular conflict in its fifth year -- by stepping up her opposition to the war in recent months.
Cheney backs up Clinton critic Newsday
Obama 'would send troops into Pakistan' Telegraph.co.uk he would dispatch forces to Pakistan even without the permission of President Pervez Musharraf ...... Thousands of Taliban fighters are based in Pakistan's vast and jagged mountains, where they can pass into Afghanistan, train for suicide operations and find refuge from local tribesmen. US intelligence experts fear that al-Qa'eda is regrouping there in preparation for another massive attack on America.
Fears over Nepal's young Maoists BBC News
North Nepal tense after Maoist rampage India eNews.com
Hundreds of Nepal Maoists leave camp - report Reuters India
Nepal combatants accuse Maoist leaders of siphoning-off money Zee News
Revolt in Maoists' ranks? Times of India
Giuliani defends wife after critical magazine story in Vanity Fair International Herald Tribune
Vanity Fair Savages Judith Giuliani American Thinker
Poll Update: Thompson and Giuliani running neck and neck Blogger News Network
Flood situation worsens in Bihar Hindu
House overwhelmingly passes ethics, lobbying bill Boston Globe Monday's FBI raid on Senator Ted Stevens's house ..... would for the first time require lawmakers to disclose small campaign contributions that are "bundled" into large packages by lobbyists, and it would require lobbyists to detail their own campaign contributions, as well as payments to presidential libraries, inaugural committees, and charities controlled by lawmakers. The proposal also would put new disclosure requirements on senators' "earmarks," spending measures for lawmakers' pet projects. ........... The bill, which passed 411 to 8, faces hurdles in the Senate, though leaders of both parties predicted it will pass. .... The legislation would end secret holds in the Senate, which allow a single senator to block action without disclosing his or her tactics. Members of Congress would no longer be allowed to attend lavish parties thrown in their honor at political conventions. Gifts, meals, and travel funded by lobbyists would be banned, and travel on corporate jets would be restricted. Lobbyists would have to disclose their activities more often and on the Internet. And lawmakers convicted of bribery, perjury, and other crimes would be denied their congressional pensions. ....... "These are big-time fundamental reforms," said Fred Wertheimer, president of the open-government group Democracy 21.
India, Pak launch initiative to defend basmati Hindustan Times
India, Pakistan Allow Bank Branches Across Border (Update1) Bloomberg
India, Pak. to jointly prevent patenting of Basmati rice Hindu
Rice says time to seize opportunities for Mideast peace Turkish Press
Bloomberg's subway ride begins inside SUV United Press International
Shadowing the Mayor of New York New York Times
Google's $4.6bn wireless plan grounded Times Online
Google's big win -- and big loss -- in a bid for the open wireless Web Salon
Google: YouTube tool won't block uploads Macworld
Former Dell Chief Rollins Wall Street Journal
Dell Plans to Trade `Cheap' PC Image for Cool One (Update1) Bloomberg
Researchers say people have sex for different goals abc13.com
Study finds the 237 reasons to have sex Houston Chronicle
The 237 reasons to have sex Chicago Tribune If you think people have sex for pleasure and for procreation, you're right. They also have sex to get rid of a headache, to celebrate a special occasion, to get a promotion and to feel closer to God...... "I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease." ...... religious people have more sexual problems ..... "I was attracted to the person," "It feels good" and, "I wanted to show my affection" were high on the lists of both men and women. Lesser priorities on both lists were reasons such as, "Someone offered me money to do it," "I felt sorry for the person," "I wanted to punish myself" and, "Because of a bet." ...... Men were more likely to endorse having sex for physical reasons (such as, "The person was too hot to resist") and to boost their social status ("I wanted to brag to my friends about my conquests.") ...... "The stereotype that men have sex for physical reasons and women have sex for love -- our data didn't really support that," Meston said. "These young men and women were having sex for physical pleasure and also for emotional attachment, feeling connected to another person." ....... men were more likely to endorse reasons for having sex that involved utilitarian goals ("To get a favor from someone"). ...... "Learning you're not the only one who has had sex for a stupid reason might bring a bit of relief" ...... nearly one-third of women aren't interested in sex. ...... if their partner wants to have sex much more often than they do, it could become a problem in the marriage. Some women really resent having sex, because they're not getting physical pleasure. ...... Physical - My hormones were out of control - I was attracted to the person - It seemed like good exercise Goal-directed - I wanted to get a raise - Because of a bet - I wanted to change the topic of conversation Emotional - I realized I was in love - I wanted to say 'thank you' Insecurity - I didn't know how to say 'no' - I felt obligated ----------
Some top laser printers called office polluters San Francisco Chronicle
Oh No: Laser Printers Are Health Risks PC World

Obama v. Clinton in Iowa & Florida Yahoo! News in early 2004 Iowa frontrunners Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt bludgeoned each other to death with negative ads in the final days before the caucuses, allowing John Kerry to score a surprise upset and John Edwards to pull off a valuable "better than expected" finish. ....... how Barack Obama's stated willingness to meet with Castro in the first year of his administration is playing with Cubans in Florida - and it's probably not what you might think ...... Florida Obama supporters and other Democrats say they've heard little or no backlash among Hispanic supporters ...... "If he'd said, 'End the embargo,' that would have been different, but the concept that you're willing to meet with some of those folks just isn't that inflammatory." ...... The last Democrat to perform well among heavily Republican Cuban-Americans was Bill Clinton, who won 40 percent of the vote in 1996. .... "If Obama is the nominee, you can bet that his answer in that debate will be in a commercial for the Republican Party."
Obama: 'take back' your government Boston Globe, United States
Pinkerton: Obama means to change foreign policy Newsday, NY
Clinton Defends DLC Record on Poverty Forbes, NY
Edwards, Obama and the Poor New York Times, United States
Carla Marinucci: "Californians for Obama" still running San Francisco Chronicle, USA
Oprah's Planned Gala For Obama Sells Out Fast CBS2 Chicago, IL
Like Obama? Looking for a date? Washington Times, DC
Obama visits the city for low-key fundraiser Indianapolis Star, United States
At State Level, Obama Proved to Be Pragmatic and Shrewd New York Times There was something improbable about the new guy from Chicago via Honolulu and Jakarta, Indonesia, the one with the Harvard law degree and the job teaching constitutional law, turning up in Springfield, Ill., in January 1997 among the housewives, ex-mayors and occasional soybean farmer serving in the State Senate. ...... a politician capable of playing hardball to win election (he squeezed every opponent out of his first race), a legislator with a sharp eye for an opportunity, a strategist willing to compromise to accomplish things. ....... He endured hazing from a few black colleagues, played poker with lobbyists, studiously took up golf. (“An awful lot happens on the golf course,” a friend, Jean Rudd, says he told her.) ....... characterized Mr. Obama’s attitude as, “O.K., that makes sense and sounds great, as I’d like to go to the moon, but right now I’ve only got enough gas to go this far.” ....... Obama helped deliver what is said to have been the first significant campaign finance reform law in Illinois in 25 years ...... “I learned that if you’re willing to listen to people, it’s possible to bridge a lot of the differences that dominate the national political debate,” Mr. Obama said ......... caricatured him as a privileged, know-it-all greenhorn ..... the Senate’s black caucus. “Donne would be, ‘Just because you’re from Harvard, you think you know everything.’ Barack was like the new kid on the block. He was handsome and he was mild mannered and he was well liked. Sometimes there was a little ‘Who’s this? He coming here, he don’t know anything.’ ” ...... “He said to me, ‘You’re now the Senate president,’ ” Mr. Jones recalled. “ ‘You have a lot of power.’ I said, ‘I do?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Tell me what kind of power I have.’ He said, ‘You have the power to make a U.S. senator.’ I said, ‘I do?’ He said, ‘You do.’ I said, ‘If I’ve got that kind of power, do you know of anyone that I can make?’ He said, ‘Yeah. Me.’ ” ............. “He knocked off the incumbent, so that right there gave him some notoriety” .... “And he ran unopposed — which for a rookie is unheard of.” ........ “Barack was literally hooted and catcalled in his caucus.” ...... The disclosure requirement “revolutionized Illinois’s system ...... By giving journalists immediate access to a database of expenditures and contributions, it transformed political reporting. ....... Mr. Trotter told a reporter that Mr. Obama was viewed in part as “the white man in blackface in our community.” ...... ‘I know a lot. I didn’t exactly have a rosy childhood. I’m a street organizer by profession and a lot of my area, once you get outside the University of Chicago neighborhoods, is just as tough as your West Side, Rickey.’ ...... Obama brokered a compromise between the police groups and the A.C.L.U. .... In hindsight, it was best to go ahead with the weaker version because a lot of police attitudes changed when we passed it.” ........ Mr. Obama worked hard at building connections. Aside from taking up golf he joined a weekly poker game. One lobbyist said Mr. Obama played poker well, but “with more skill than luck,” adding, “It’s certainly not instinctive with him; it’s cerebral.” ....... he learned early “that forming relationships a lot of times was more important than having all the policy talking points in your arsenal. ....... the younger man had already figured out that the Senate president’s early backing could “checkmate” the mayor, the governor and organized labor. ...... The largest percentage in the primary came from my county. He carried every precinct
The Long Run In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd New York Times
Obama hones youthful image Chicago Tribune, United States his Facebook-style Web page .... the aura of youth that naturally surrounds the youngest major candidate in the presidential race. ..... the use of emotion in political campaigns. .... Obama, with his 300,000 Facebook friends and the purported crush of the hit Internet performer "Obama Girl," has generated more buzz. ..... a June poll of 17- to 29-year-olds from both parties for MTV/New York Times/CBS News, 18 percent of respondents were "enthusiastic" about Obama and 17 percent about Clinton. ..... Bill Clinton was the first Baby Boomer president. He reached out to younger voters by appearing on MTV and donning shades to play saxophone on late-night television. ..... Obama is campaigning as the candidate who will take leadership of the country from the Vietnam generation ...... College students today lack the direct personal motivation that was created by the Vietnam-era draft. .... Younger voters tilted heavily toward Kerry over Bush in 2004, and youth turnout was the highest since 1972 ...... turnout among the young remained relatively low. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 47 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds turned out to vote in 2004, versus 64 percent turnout among the overall voting-age population.
Newsweek's Wolffe: Obama a 'Centrist' NewsBusters
State Sen. Cilley will help Obama campaign Foster's Daily Democrat, NH
Obama still not ready for prime time American Thinker, AZ
Obama can reverse US downhill slide Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY
All About Marin: Marin donors dole out most cash to Obama Marin Independent-Journal, CA
Let's bury blackness test for Obama DetNews.com, MI
Biden recounts adversities, power of optimism in new book San Diego Union Tribune, United States
Early Primaries Put Pressure On Prez Hopefuls CBS 4 “There's a vacuum and if we need somebody who is able to debate Senator Clinton, then I'll consider running in October. If the vacuum's been filled, I'm happy to not run,” said Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the House. .... two models - the first is the hypocratic oath for politics - which is to make sure your vice president candidate does no harm. The second is making sure your vice president candidate doesn't overshadow you
AP: Obama "scoffs at suggestions of Muslim leanings because he ... Media Matters for America, DC
Obama To Open Upstate Office Campaigns & Elections (press release)
Cheney amused by Obama-Clinton spat The Hill, DC he closely follows the nomination battles in both parties
2008: Health Care, Abortion and Spouses New York Times, United States
Obama and Clinton Trading More Jabs on Foreign Policy New York Times, United States
Clinton-Obama Duel Keeps Rocking New York Times, United States
Obama says he could go "toe to toe" in talks with renegade nations International Herald Tribune, France
Exclusive: Barack Obama Emails The Brody File Christian Broadcasting Network, VA
Barack Obama to CBN News: "We're no Longer Just a Christian Nation" Christian Broadcasting Network

UN approves 26000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur USA Today
Brown close to a diplomatic coup on Darfur Times Online The decision, expected to cost more than $2 billion in the first year, crowns Gordon Brown's first overseas trip as Prime Minister with a diplomatic triumph. .... The draft resolution, sponsored by the UK and France, was approved just hours after Mr Brown delivered an impassioned speech at UN headquarters and after China and Russia swung behind the initiative.
The US debates Hillary's cleavage
London is the place to be for India’s rich Among the guests was Lakshmi Mittal, the London-based steel baron and the world’s wealthiest Indian, who swept in before a dinner with the former US President Bill Clinton to hear about the boom times in India directly from the industrialists leading the charge. ....... All around the restaurant, Indians gaining in global stature with each passing year were talking shop. ..... the collective wealth in the room easily surpassed $40 billion ..... India is home to 36 dollar billionaires, more even than Japan ..... In a country where nearly half the 1.1 billion population scrapes by on a dollar a day, there are an estimated 83,000 millionaires. ...... “A lot of people are putting [money] in a fixed deposit account in the UK and gradually it will go into equities and property. ....... Indians would get a far better rate of capital appreciation by investing domestically in property – prices in Bombay and Delhi have doubled in the past two years – but Indian interest rates are twice those in the UK. For most, it is about “lifestyle investing” and London is the place to be. .......... Besides big-spending Russians and Americans, Indians were among the buyers of prime property in Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Hampstead, Regent’s Park and St John’s Wood (for its proximity to Lord’s cricket ground). ....... One Hyde Park, which, at nearly £100 million for a 20,000 sq ft penthouse, boasts the world’s most expensive flats. The UK estate agent was surprised by the eager response from Indians. ....... London is becoming a status symbol. .... One of my clients looking around the £3 million mark was a famous Bollywood actress who wanted an apartment so she could shop on the King’s Road.” ....... These people are car manufacturers, IT entrepreneurs and Bollywood actors. They like the nightlife, they want to do their shopping and go to Wimbledon. The best place for them to meet is London
Top ten Indian billionaires
Giuliani: American principles will solve health care crisis Boston Globe Critical to Giuliani's plan is a $15,000 tax deduction for families to buy private health insurance, instead of getting insurance through employers. ..... Obama estimates his plan would cost $50 billion to $65 billion per year, paid for by letting Bush's tax cuts expire on those making more than $250,000 per year. ..... Giuliani also spoke in favor of tort reform, saying those who are legitimately injured by doctors should be compensated, but damages should be capped and those who file frivolous lawsuits should have to pay the physician's legal fees. ...... "If a person gets injured, he should be compensated, but he shouldn't get the brass ring or win the lottery," Giuliani said.
News Corp on brink of winning bid battle for Dow Jones Times Online three-month bid battle. ...... advisory fees incurred by a handful of investment banks such as Merrill Lynch and law firms. The fees are estimated to be at least $30 million ..... the Dow Jones board became frustrated with delays arising from meetings between opposing factions of the Bancroft family. As a result, the family allowed the board to lead bid negotiations with News Corp on their behalf.
Kenneth Starr's Law Firm Gives More Money to Clinton (Update1) Bloomberg
Hillary Clinton Makes Netroot Friends FOX News DailyKos a "community, hundreds of thousands of people who go to the site every day, who talk to one another, who participate vigorously in our democracy." ..... a comprehensive outreach program to the liberal netroots that has won Clinton praise in the blogosphere, and one that has, for now, neutralized what might have been a powerful tool in the attempt to undercut the Democratic frontrunner. ....... Clinton has instead focused on recognizing common ground .... Clinton's discipline and focus ..... "She's been gaining steadily in DailyKos and MyDD straw polls, and more importantly they haven't launched any campaign against her ........ her ability to avoid antagonizing the netroots to discipline and an absence of missteps ...... Blogger favorites Edwards and Obama ...... performances in early debates are helping her grow online. ...... "The theme is, 'You know, I'm not really a Hillary supporter, but she looks really good and she does really well,'" said Carroll. ....... the DailyKos comment boards "looked like a Clinton press release." ...... Clinton has not disparaged the netroots, she minimizes policy differences and reminds bloggers at all times that they are both enemies of President Bush.
Poll: Debate Argument with Obama Has Not Hurt Clinton Associated Content most Democratic voters agree with Obama, but the majority of them will still back Clinton with 46% saying they trust her the most on security issues. Obama has 19% who name him the most trusted. ..... Clinton is not only still way out in front, her lead is increasing. It also shows that one issue will not be a deciding issue by itself It would take a huge event to make a dent in the lead of Clinton. ...... Don't forget Clinton is well-known, people know what to expect from her. Like her or not, you know her. Obama is a newcomer on the national scene and not well known out of his home state. Of course, he is becoming more and more known, but what he does not have a history of acting on different issues and actions speak louder than words.
Hillary Clinton to run for president Hindustan Times

Nepal Airlines suspends international flights Forbes
45 lakh affected by floods in Bihar Times of India Around 45 lakh people of 1,615 villages in 88 blocks spread across the districts of Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, East and West Champaran, Gopalganj, Khagaria, Saharsa, Samastipur and Supaul, had been affected by the floods ..... Crop in 4.94 lakh hectares, estimated to be worth Rs 10.29 crore, had been damaged while 30,459 private houses valued at Rs 10.66 crore and public property worth around Rs 3.24 crore was destroyed in the current floods
Obama blasts influence of oil, drug industries Chicago Tribune
Bush indulges the rich, Obama saysLos Angeles Times
Obama slams big business, special interests Chicago Tribune
Obama and the 'They' Sayers Washington Post persistent racism .... convincing African American voters that this whole phenomenon -- a black candidate with a well-financed campaign, proven crossover appeal and a real chance to win -- isn't just another cruel illusion. .... blacks who were polled thought Clinton was fully twice as likely to beat a generic Republican opponent. ..... black voters might succumb to a kind of historical fatalism about how race works in America ...... "What I see is a lot of press fascination with a black candidate who does not yet have 100 percent of the African American vote," Obama said yesterday ...... only about 50 percent of black voters know much about me at all ...... Obama pointed out that "black folks have known the Clintons for a long time." He also noted that when he ran for the U.S. Senate, his poll numbers among African Americans started low but later went stratospheric as voters got to know him. ....... two themes: "We have more work to do" and "It's Barack Obama time." .... Obama dispelled the questionable notion that a politician who learned his craft in rough-and-tumble Chicago, where Marquess of Queensberry rules do not apply, could somehow have failed to learn how to take or deliver a punch. ........ "That was a fun debate . . . an important, substantive debate," he told me, before sticking in another jab about how " 'experience' means reciting the conventional wisdom in Washington . . . that got us into the Iraq war."
Obama seeks more support from blacks Washington Times
Today's Columns: Vice President (Bill) Clinton? Washington Post Dutt was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for illegally possessing guns that he received from key plotters behind the 1993 bombings in Mumbai. ...... three automatic rifles and a pistol ...... Dutt, who had been out on bail for the past 12 years while the trial dragged on, looked down and listened with his hands clasped behind his back as Kode read the sentence. ....... "Don't be sentimental, be calm and quiet," the judge said, as Dutt stood weeping before being led away. ...... the sprawling Mumbai bombings trial, which dragged on for 12 years and saw more than 100 people convicted, 686 witnesses and 13,000 pages of testimony. .... "It is a body blow to the film industry," said Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt
Indian Actor Dutt Sentenced to 6 Years Washington Post
China tells Paulson it's poor and poses no threat Washington Post "China still has 23 million people living in poverty. China's very goal in its development is so that its 1.3 billion people can eat their fill, dress warmly and live well. Who could we threaten? We don't have the ability. China does not and will never threaten anyone." ..... Congress, where anti-China sentiment runs high. ..... why Americans are frustrated by the imbalance in trade with China, which has cost manufacturing jobs. ..... He also visited the country some 70 times when he ran investment bank Goldman Sachs. ...... China's record stash of $1.33 trillion in foreign exchange reserves and big balance-of-payments surplus
Tropical Depression Forms In Atlantic Ocean WESH.com
UK leader unveils ‘moral’ alliance Financial Times
Brown urges renewed efforts on global development plan Independent
UN a million miles from meeting development goals, says Brown Guardian Unlimited a "million miles" from meeting its promises to relieve poverty, HIV and illiteracy in poor countries. ..... some of the UN's touchstone Millennium Development Goals - due to be fulfilled by 2015 - were a century away from being honoured. ..... the role businesses and faith groups - as well as governments - had to play .... "Some people call it the mobilisation of soft power. I call it people power, people power in support of the leadership of developing countries." ..... Brown vowed to bring together 12 world leaders and 20 top business figures to sign up to a new commitment to meet the eight MDG targets - which range from maternal mortality to the spread of malaria. ... a "coalition of conscience" and a "coalition for justice", which in the end could make "globalisation a force for justice on a global scale". ....... the UK, along with the US and France, would table a new UN resolution which would see a 20,000-strong peacekeeping force - the largest in the world - sent to Sudan by October 1. ....... Darfur, which has cost an estimated 200,000 lives and created two million refugees, as the "greatest humanitarian disaster" facing the world today ........ The eight MDGs, signed by most of the nations on earth in 2000 with a deadline of 2015, set out to halve the proportion of the world's population living on under a dollar a day; to halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger; to provide universal primary education for all the world's citizens, principally in Africa; to ensure that all girls had the right to be educated to at least primary if not secondary level; to cut by two thirds the under-five mortality rate; to cut by 75% the maternal mortality rate; to begin to reverse the spread of both HIV and malaria; to halve the number of people without access to fresh drinking water, and to cut developing world debt and increase aid. .......... "We cannot allow our promises that became pledges to descend into just aspirations, and then wishful thinking, and then only words that symbolise broken promises. ...... a development emergency which needs emergency action. ....... "If 30,000 children died needlessly and avoidably every day in America or Britain we would call it an emergency. And an emergency is what it is." ....... Bush, still a hugely unpopular figure in the UK. .... Britain could deploy both soft and hard power.
Google bets on mobile market CNET News.com
Gates Goes Off On The Threat Of Google's Phone Software Wired News
Bill Gates On The Rumored Google Phone Portal IT The two companies have been competing in every possible sector and now rumor has it that Google intends to challenge Microsoft on one more battlefield and launch a phone of its own. Needless to say, Bill Gates was less than enthusiastic about the news. ...... “How many products, of all the Google products that have been introduced, how many of them are profit-making products? They’ve introduced about 30 different products; they have one profit-making product. So, you’re now making a prediction without ever seeing the software that they’re going to have the world’s best phone and it’s going to be free?” ....... “The phone is becoming way more software intensive. And to be able to say that there’s some challenge for us in the phone market when its becoming software intensive, I don’t see that.”
Keeping still was tough in 'Sholay' remake: Sushmita Andhra Cafe
Dow Jones, News Corp. to reach agreement late Tuesday: report Canada.com
Dell delivers first "Made in India" computer International Herald Tribune a market that is growing at a 30 percent rate. ...... Computer sales in India have increased 30 percent annually over the past five years and totaled 6.3 million units in the fiscal year ended March 2007 ..... has had difficulty penetrating the mass market for desktop computers and laptops. .... the new plant, which will initially make 400,000 desktop computers annually. .... "The success of our business has always been about being close to and understanding and meeting the needs of customers better than anyone," Anandan said. ....... The plant at Sriperumbudur, an industrial hub near Chennai, is the company's third manufacturing location in Asia-Pacific and the ninth globally.
'Towering figure' in world cinema Chicago Tribune The long clash with his father -- who disapproved of his son's profession and lifestyle (five wives and a number of mistresses, including actresses Ullmann, Harriet Andersson and Bibi Andersson) -- fed Bergman's artistic spirit. ....... as he won world adulation and retreated to Faro Island ..... The worst of his crises came in 1976 when, at the height of his career, he was arrested at the Royal Dramatic Theatre during a rehearsal of Strindberg's "Dance of Death," hustled off to a tax office and grilled about an alleged 1971 tax violation, which -- after Bergman's nervous collapse three days later and a public outcry -- was dropped by the public prosecutor. Miffed, the tax representatives of Sweden's Social Democrat welfare state (which Mr. Bergman supported) tried again, focusing on a dubious 1974 case.......... This time, Mr. Bergman responded by announcing his self-exile from Sweden (though he vowed to pay all taxes and penalties) and the closing of his studio, leaving for an unhappy sojourn in Germany. The resulting scandal helped cost the Social Democrats the next election, followed by a 1979 settlement of Bergman's case in which he paid 7 percent of the original demand and the government was ordered to cover all court costs.
Harry Potter: The final chapter MSNBC

Our Response to "A 62 County Strategy" by: nysdems co chair Fri Aug 03, 2007 at 12:04:50 PM EDT

(Dave Pollak responds. - promoted by phillip anderson) We agree with Colin from Upstate Blue that the New York Democratic Party needs a 62 county strategy based on DNC Chairman, Howard Dean's 50 state strategy. This has been a guiding principal for us since our election in December of 2006. In fact, State Chair June O'Neill and I know that for New York to become a truly Blue state we must build infrastructure to compete in all of our 62 counties from Erie to Suffolk, and we have begun to do just that. We just concluded a 7 day 12 county road trip meeting with county leaders to discuss the upcoming elections, strategies, strengths and opportunities. In addition, we recently launched a first-of-its-kind online County Chair Survey to catalog the technological and political capabilities of the Party statewide. Even early on in the implemention of our 62 county strategy, our focus has already paid off with electoral results. Since January 1st there have been 6 special elections in NY and the Democrats have won 5 of them - including Craig Johnson's victory on Long Island for a Senate seat held by Republicans for generations. In Tuesday's special election to replace outgoing Assembly Member Paul Tonko, the NYS Democratic Committee showed up in force. Last Thursday, June and I campaigned at a senior center in Schenectady with our Democratic candidate, met members of the press and visited campaign HQ. June and Deputy Upstate Political Director Hal McCabe stayed in the district thru the close of the polls on Election Day attending fundraisers, doing door to door canvassing with our candidate, attending the debate, making phone calls (real, not robo), dealing with voting rights concerns and rallying the troops starting at 6am on Election Day. Joe Mondello was no where to be seen on the ground, in the trenches, or elsewhere in the district. While many would consider victories in 5 out of 6 elections a success, the New York Democratic Party will not rest, but will continue to fight Republicans in every corner of this state. However we need your help! In the coming months we will be bringing online our new website and social networking/civic engagement architecture. We will need you to issue a call to arms to progressive voters across NY State. Together, let's get people signed up - engaged - and motivated to partner with the Democratic Party as we fight to make all of NY truly Blue. Dave Pollak Co-Chair NYS Democratic Committee

nysdems co chair :: Our Response to "A 62 County Strategy"