Oprah Needs To Hit The Campaign Trail

Howard University--Dr. Oprah Winfrey Speaks

Beating Hillary Clinton May Take Act of God -- or Oprah TheStreet.com At summer's end, Clinton is several lengths ahead of her Democratic peers, Obama seems stuck in second place ... she has millions of loyal viewers in an important demographic -- women in their 20s to 50s -- a demographic that's crucial for Clinton. Her support could propel Obama. George W. Bush got the Oprah boost in 2000 to after appearing on her show -- a bounce of about 12 points in national polls. ....... Al Gore .... He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Price, which will be announced on Oct. 12

If Oprah really wants to help Barack Obama, a fundraiser is not going to cut it. She has to hit the campaign trail. She has to crisscross the country. She has to travel the South.

It is time for the blacks and Hispanics in America to stop acting like it is not a big deal that Barack is about to become President Of The United States. If the black community misses this chance, it might be decades before another opportunity knocks on the door. The time is now.

Hillary Clinton becoming president breaks the glass ceiling. Barack Obama becoming president breaks the concrete ceiling.

After Oprah hits the trail, Hillary's double digit national leads turn into single digit ones. That is the power of Oprah, to be unleashed.


Barack The Glass Walls, Ceilings, Smash 'Em

Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Fox, Barack, Islam
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela

Oprah Winfrey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest rated talk show in television history ..... the richest African American of the 20th century .... the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years ..... the most influential woman in the world .... parents were unmarried teenagers ..... spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her grandmother ..... At age six, Winfrey moved to an inner city ghetto in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother ...... was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine ...... Like many teenagers at the end of the 1960s, Winfrey rebelled, ran away from home and ran the streets. When she was 14, she became pregnant, but lost the baby shortly after birth. ...... placed second in the nation in dramatic interpretation .... At age 18, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. ..... the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV. ....... What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humor and, above all empathy. ...... talk show as a group therapy session ..... a fond but realistic assessment of her own cultural and religious roots ...... In 1993 Winfrey hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred million. ....... Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen. ...... Winfrey experienced a 24-hour simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left alone in the woods. ...... at the announcement of her future weight loss book (to be co-authored with her personal trainer Bob Greene), it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken the record for the world's highest book advance fee, previously held by former U.S. President Bill Clinton for his autobiography My Life ....... In 2002 Fortune called O, the Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in the industry ...... Oprah.com averages more than 68 million page views, more than four million users per month, and receives approximately 20,000 e-mails each week ...... Winfrey initiated “Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List,” through her show and website, to help track down accused child molesters. Within the first 48 hours, two of the featured men were captured. ...... a $55 million, three-year contract with XM Satellite Radio ..... her 42 acre (170,000 m²) ocean and mountain view estate ..... Winfrey was at a party the previous owners were throwing and fell so in love with the estate that she was reported to have purchased it by writing a personal check for $50,000,000 USD, although it was not for sale. ....... Winfrey and her partner Stedman Graham have been together for over 20 years. ..... I never had children, never even thought I would have children. ..... Winfrey, who will teach a class at the school via satellite, plans to spend much of her retirement in a house she is building on the campus where she plans to use the same dishes, sheets, and curtains that the students do. ...... Oprah told Lisa Marie that her grandmother's last name was also Presley .... Her genetic make up was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African. She is part Native American (about 8% according to the test) and East Asian (about 3% according to the test). ....... Prior to meeting Graham, Winfrey's love life was a lot less stable. A self-described promiscuous teen who was a victim of sexual abuse ...... In 1995 Winfrey herself confessed to drug use. ..... I did things in my 20s that I was ashamed of, I did things I felt guilty about ....... “I always felt that the drug itself is not the problem but that I was addicted to the man.” ....... Otey recalled. “She told me she was breaking up with me because she didn't have time for a relationship. We both sat there and cried. ..... Winfrey's promiscuous and rebellious past ..... That man was the most fun romance I ever had ..... I'd had a relationship with a man for four years. I wasn't living with him. I'd never lived with anyone—and I thought I was worthless without him. The more he rejected me, the more I wanted him. I felt depleted, powerless. At the end I was down on the floor on my knees groveling and pleading with him ....... on September 8, 1981, she wrote a suicide note to best friend Gayle King instructing King to water her plants ....... such emotional ups and downs gradually led to a weight problem ....... I needed everyone to like me, because I didn't like myself much. So I'd end up with these cruel self-absorbed guys who'd tell me how selfish I was, and I'd say “Oh thank you, you're so right” and be grateful to them. ....... “I've told nearly everything there is to tell. All my stuff is out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please.” ...... Born in rural poverty, then raised by a mother on welfare in the ghetto, Winfrey became a millionaire at age 32 when her talk show went national. ..... By 1994 the show's ratings were still thriving and Winfrey negotiated a contract that earned her nine figures a year. ..... the first black woman billionaire in world history ...... Winfrey is worth over $1.5 billion, as of September, 2006 ..... has overtaken Ebay CEO Meg Whitman as the richest self-made woman in America ...... In July of 2007, it was reported that Winfrey was the highest paid TV entertainer in the United States during the past year. She earned an estimated $260 million during the year. ....... one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, 2006, and again in 2007. ....... the only person in the world to have made all five lists. ..... both the most influential woman and the most influential black person of her generation ..... "America's most powerful woman" .... In 2003 Winfrey edged out both Superman and Elvis Presley to be named the greatest pop culture icon of all time by VH1. ...... the world's most powerful celebrity in both 2005 and 2007 ...... She is the top alpha female in this country. She has more credibility than the president. Other successful women, such as Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart, had to be publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Even Condi has had to play the protegé with Bush. None of this happened to Oprah — she is a straight ahead success story. ...... Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope. ...... the most powerful woman in the world .... anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. ..... As a woman, she has wielded an unprecedented amount of influence over the American culture and psyche…There has been no other person in the 20th century whose convictions and values have impacted the American public in such a significant way. ...... she has the power to cause enormous market swings and radical price changes with a single comment. ..... In 2005 Winfrey was named the greatest woman in American history as part of a public poll as part of The Greatest American. She was ranked #9 overall on the list of greatest Americans. ...... 49 million U.S. viewers see her talk show weekly ...... airs in 117 countries ..... the warmth, intimacy and personal confession ...... in the 1980s where for the entire hour, members of the studio audience stood up one by one, gave their name and announced that they were gay. Also in the 1980s Winfrey took her show to West Virginia to confront a town gripped by AIDS paranoia because a gay man living in the town had HIV. ........ "You know what I'm tired of", replied Winfrey, "heterosexual males raping and sodomizing young girls. That's what I'm tired of." ...... early 21st century gays coming out of the closet younger and younger and gay suicide rates plummeting ....... Winfrey's "therapeutic" hosting style ...... public confession as a form of therapy ..... "Today, no truly epochal moment in the history of the Republic occurs unless it is validated by her presence. ....... By confessing intimate details about her weight problems, tumultuous love life, and sexual abuse, and crying alongside her guests, Time magazine credits Winfrey with creating a new form of media communication known as "rapport talk" as distinguished from the "report talk" ....... "Oprahfication" of politics by noting "Oprah-style debates" and Bill Clinton's empathetic speaking style ....... the man who brought Oprah-style psychobabble and misty confessions to politics ....... Winfrey made fat sexy, elegant — damned near gorgeous - with her drop-dead wardrobe, easy body language, and cheerful sensuality ..... Being recognized by Winfrey often means a million additional book sales for an author. ..... Oprah's Book Club is so influential that, when she selected his memoir Night in 2006, just a few months later Time magazine named author Elie Wiesel as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet. ........ more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess—an icon of church-free spirituality ...... a thousand years from now, a religion known as "Oprahism" exists. ..... audience is 75% female ..... "What would Oprah do?" ..... MBC 4, an Arab satellite channel, centered its entire programming around reruns of her show because it was drawing record numbers of female viewers in Saudi Arabia ...... In 2006, Nathanial S. Trotter, a man from Denver, started a campaign to make Oprah, Queen of America. .... behind the scenes Winfrey personally donates more of her own money to charity than any other show-business celebrity in America ...... In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million ..... put 250 African-American men through college ...... took her staff and their families (1065 people in total) on vacation to Hawaii in the summer of 2006 ..... Winfrey invested $40 million and much of her time establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg in South Africa. ...... I once did a show titled Is War the Only Answer? In the history of my career, I've never received more hate mail-like 'Go back to Africa' hate mail. I was accused of being un-American for even raising the question." ........ A February 2003 series Winfrey did in which she showed clips from people all over the world asking America not to go to war was interrupted in several east coast markets by network broadcasts of a press conference in which President George W. Bush, joined by Colin Powell, summarized the case for war. An article in Buzzflash.com argued that the press conference was a deliberate attempt to stop Winfrey’s show from airing. ...... “I know the difference between a store that is closed and a store that is closed to me,” explained Winfrey. ...... On December 1, 2005, Winfrey appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman .... helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than 11 years: 13.45 million viewers ....... Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women" ...... Winfrey insists that beautiful surroundings will inspire greatness in the future leaders of Africa ...... "It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you — always."
Oprah Winfrey - TIME In South Africa, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls will educate a new generation of women leaders.

Oprah's Cut with Barack Obama his 16-hour workday ..... "I don't consider myself political and I seldom interview politicians. So when I decided to talk with you [Barack], people around me were like, 'What's happened to you?' I said, 'I think this is beyond and above politics.' It feels like something new." — Oprah .... Listen in.
Barack Obama on the Tough Questions
Oprah Endorses Obama - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog
Obama-Oprah ’08? Probably Not - The Caucus - Politics - New York ...
Keeping Hope Alive: Senator Barack Obama
AlterNet: Can Oprah Help Get Obama into the White House?
Think Progress » New Fox Show: Obama Is Not The First ‘Clean ... Sen. Joe Biden’s (D-DE) racially-insensitive claim that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean.”

In The News

Oprah throws house party to aid Obama bid Independent, UK
The Magic Touch? Washington Post
Oprah Mulls 'Broader' Obama Campaign Role Post Chronicle
Beating Hillary Clinton May Take Act of God -- or Oprah TheStreet.com
Oprah's Couch For Obama Only Washington Post, United States
Can Oprah Make Obama President? DiversityInc.com (subscription)
Fund-Raising: Oprah's Obama Blowout Newsweek The most powerful woman in show business is about to do Barack Obama a big favor. ..... Winfrey will throw the flashiest fund-raiser of the 2008 cycle when she welcomes about 1,500 guests to her Montecito, Calif., home .... at $2,300 each .... Will Smith, John Travolta, Jamie Foxx and Halle Berry .... Stevie Wonder ... BeBe Winans ... Oprah bonded with the Illinois senator in 2005 when the pair flew from Chicago to Houston together to visit Hurricane Katrina refugees. "I think Oprah got to see the genuine side of Obama ... and was just blown away" ..... Younger actors and executives in black Hollywood tend to support Obama; older figures support Hillary Clinton. ...... "Are you kidding?" says actress Holly Robinson Peete. "If she invites you somewhere, you go."

Obama Draws Clinton Contrast Washington Post he would be in a better position to actually enact universal health care ..... "We will convene an open process which the American people will be watching" ..... "What the president can do is shine a spotlight on the process and (involve) the American people and keep the pressure on and that is something that didn't happen. In many ways it didn't happen in '93." ..... "It was a closed process and not everybody understood what was taking place, so when the insurance companies and the drug companies started running those 'Harry and Louise' ads, nobody really knew what was what. That's why the American people have to be involved."
Obama says he won't make the same mistakes as Clinton on health ... WQAD he'd announce outlines of a health care reform package in his first 100 days as president, then convene a bipartisan commission to draft details.
Oprah mulls ‘broader’ Obama campaign role United Press International Oprah Winfrey is reportedly in talks about taking a “broader role” in the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama ...... Winfrey, whose daily TV show is produced in Chicago, endorsed Obama in May for the Democratic presidential nomination. She is in discussions with his advisers on the possibility of acting as a surrogate on the campaign trail ..... the wealthiest African-American ..... her first-ever presidential fundraiser at her 42-acre estate in Montecito, Calif. ..... the idea of her appearing in commercials for Obama is “very much in play ...... her celebrity would be a more valuable commodity than money
Clinton tried twisting labor arms on Labor Day Baltimore Sun Clinton phoned United Steelworkers of America boss Leo Gerard "repeatedly" over the weekend -- three or four times, trying to convince him to back her instead of the labor-friendly former North Carolina senator
The Clinton Spouse on Tour New York Times “Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World” ...... Tucked within his answers was a veiled swipe at Senator Barack Obama ..... one of the reasons that I was effective as president when I came in is that I was the senior governor in America ..... they often use (Vice) President Cheney and Rumsfeld and they say, “Well, if experience counted” — you know, they say this to Democratic audiences, but that’s like saying that because all malpractice is committed by doctors, the next time you need surgery you should go to an auto mechanic or someone else. ........ I think she’ll have a more difficult time winning the primary. ...... when I was nominated — on June the 2nd, 1992, I was running third in the polls. Six weeks later I was first and never lost the lead. ...... she’s ahead in many states that Senator Kerry and Vice President Gore lost ...... When they asked the people in Iowa, “Who do you like?” she ranked fourth out of four candidates. ........ for 15 years, has been regularly hit by the swiftboat tactics of the Republicans ........ something they’ve been preconditioned to think about by 17, 16 years of attacks ..... she carried 58 of the 62 counties, 36 of the 40 counties President Bush carried in 2004, with 60 percent of the vote. .... a personal matter, a challenge for Senator Craig and his family

Jerry Lewis sorry for anti-gay slur Toronto Star
Oprah's Couch For Obama Only Washington Post she'll raise $3 million for him when she holds a fundraiser at her California estate on Saturday. ..... she'll be wading into the political world as never before ...... This year, she says, Obama will be the lone presidential candidate to grace her studio. "If everybody knows I'm for Barack it would be really disingenuous of me to be sitting up there interviewing other people as though... pretending to be objective. So I won't be doing anybody because of that, on my show."
Obama, Clinton Air "Change" Ads Atlantic Online
Change vs. Change in Clinton, Obama Spots New York Times
Dell Aims to Overtake NEC as Top PC Vendor in Japan (Update1) Bloomberg
Report: Actress Halle Berry is 3 months pregnant International Herald Tribune hunky Canadian model dad-to-be Gabriel Aubrey met in 2005 while starring in the same ad campaign ...... especially since her relationship with Gabriel bloomed after they met while shooting a Versace ad campaign in 2005. ..... "I realised I need more to get me up in the morning, more than going to a new movie set... I need something even more profound... And that's children," she admitted. "I need that like the air I breathe and I’m ready. I'm at a point where I'm really, really ready."
Palm Suddenly Cancels Foleo Mini-Laptop FOX News
I love my past: Amitabh Bachchan Sify
Russian Cities To Be Equipped With WiMax By Alvarion InformationWeek
WiMAX Helping Asia's Farmers BusinessWeek
Asia's thirst for WiMax a worry for 3G operators Reuters
Google Applies For 'GPay' Mobile Payments Patent InformationWeek
‘India will emerge among top 3 economic powers in 25 yrs’ Hindu Business Line
Bihar flood scene improves, death toll crosses 600 Hindu

GOP Warns on Early Contests New York Times
Clinton vs. Obama, A Difference With a Distinction? Washington Post a remarkable amount of convergence between Clinton and Obama. Whole paragraphs from Obama's could be inserted into Clinton's -- and vice versa -- without jarring interruption. ....... Clinton on Sunday accused the administration of putting "cronyism above competence," while Obama on Monday called the administration's record "triumph of...cronyism over competence." ....... a debate -- and a choice -- that will rapidly intensify. ...... "From my time in the White House and in the Senate, I have learned that you bring change by working in the system established in our Constitution," she said. "You cannot pretend that the system doesn't exist." ....... the hard work of developing consensus, building coalitions and passing legislation ...... His fundraising, his crowds and the enthusiasm of his supporters shows the potential for a candidate preaching change and reconciliation ...... his work as a community organizer, state senator, constitutional law professor and a boyhood spent in part overseas
Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle Wall Street Journal the burgeoning brain trust -- now over 150 advisers and counting -- to help flesh out an almost wonkishly detailed set of statements, on the Iraq war, on Iran, U.S. counterterrorism strategy, the future of the U.S. military, even Cuba. Coming up next, his advisers say, will be more on China, U.S. energy security, the plight of Iraqi refugees, and how much to reduce the U.S. nuclear stockpile. ...... the makeup of Mr. Obama's team -- heavy on onetime aides to President Clinton ...... Obama has racked up a slew of converts from the Clinton camp, especially among a younger crowd of ex-Clintonites who say they want a fresher approach to new challenges than those offered by Mrs. Clinton. Many of these advisers, like Mr. Obama himself, are in their 40s. ...... "a generational tussle within the Democratic Party." ...... the big difference between the two is mainly in style and tone. ..... Mrs. Clinton considers her foreign views largely set -- one reason why she has such a small squad of advisers. ...... While Mrs. Clinton's team emphasizes tactical edge over sweeping solutions, Mr. Obama's camp is consciously in search of big concepts and grand strategies. ...... the U.S. needs to engage in a sweeping reassessment of its stance in the world -- "a grand strategy" ...... Mr. Obama's eagerness to lay out a comprehensive foreign policy -- unusual for a candidate at this stage in a campaign -- has made him in some ways the prime mover in the Democratic debates. ........ the Clinton campaign struggled for months to land a chief foreign-policy coordinator. Lee Feinstein, a former Albright adviser who originally flirted with the Obama camp, signed on with Sen. Clinton in late July.
In Turmoil of ’68, Clinton Found a New Voice New York Times
Clintons make the talk show rounds Los Angeles Times Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton don't have to scramble for national publicity; it flows to them. ..... the eternal questions about how the marriage works ..... "I'll come home late at night and he'll be rearranging the bookshelves or cleaning up the kitchen. He's pretty handy to have around, actually." ....... the Clintons were capitalizing on the public's fascination with them ..... "They are still America's first family," he said. "They have lived a kind of serial program that has been on the air, without repeats, for nearly 20 years -- and the American public intends to keep tuning in." ..... With a large lead in the national polls, Hillary Rodham Clinton is dictating the terms of her public appearances. Unlike other presidential candidates, she does not typically take questions from reporters when she appears in public. ...... As the 48-hour whirl of TV appearances illustrates, she can reach a national audience without having to run the risk of an uncertain answer to an unanticipated question. ..... the former president said he would sometimes read his wife's speeches and offer advice, "particularly if it's something I know a lot about." ...... From time to time, he said, she'll call him from the campaign trail and say things like, "Do you realize I'm 15 years older than you were when you did this?" And Clinton said he tells her: "Well, nobody made you run, girl."
Bill Clinton: Glad Hillary Is Running and Not Me NewsMax.com
Florida, Michigan Democrats stoke primary defiance Concord Monitor
States Poised to Flout GOP Primary Rules Forbes Michigan officially crashed the early primary party on Tuesday, setting up showdowns with both political parties and likely pushing the presidential nomination calendar closer to 2007...... Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill moving both of Michigan's presidential primaries to Jan. 15. Michigan's move threatens to set off a chain reaction that could force Iowa and New Hampshire to reschedule ...... "While political maneuvering will no doubt continue, our move to January 15 is final," Granholm said in a statement. ...... Michigan was among at least seven states signaling their intention to flout Republican rules by scheduling presidential primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5. ........ "What the national parties do in Washington is not relevant to what happens in Florida," Crist said.

Strength? What Strength? Experience? What Experience?

Every day some Hillary spokesperson puts out a rebuttal for whatever is going on that day. "Hillary has the strength and experience" is the rejoinder. Just like Bush never saw a problem whose solution did not lie in tax cuts, Hillary 2008 never saw a problem whose solution did not lie in Hillary's "strength and experience." It is getting repetitive and boring.

What strength? What experience?

If watching Michael Jordan makes you Michael Jordan, I am Michael Jordan. I have watched a few of his games. Hillary is running to be an elected official. Only her experiences as an elected official count. And Obama has been an elected official almost twice as long as Hillary.

Hillary did not have the strength to ask the questions that would have prevented her and others from casting the utterly wrong vote on the Iraq War. Need I say more? She was as subject to groupthink as anyone else. She cowered to the prevailing Washington "wisdom." That was an enormously serious lapse of judgment, and I see no sign Hillary has learned from that mistake. She parrots the Bush line on much everything else foreign. She will not talk to adversaries just like Bush. She will stand by Musharraf just like Bush. That is not strength, that is kowtowing.

Hillary is smart, and I realize the symbolism of a woman in the White House. But then what and how much did she do for women specifically the last time she was in the White House?

Hillary is cautious, she is not strong. Hillary is not experienced, she is tired. She has fought some fights, many of them unfair to her and her family, but she has tired of them. She is not ready for more.

Dynasty Politics

A Bush or a Clinton has been running at the national level since 1976. It is like after 200 years of being a republic America tired and became a monarchy again.

This country is too big, its democracy too vibrant to put up with dynasty politics.

Freshness

America already knows everything there is to know about the two Clintons. Part of the excitement of electing a president is getting to know their life story. You need to turn the page on the 1990s to get that fresh feeling.

Life Experiences

Obama is the only candidate running in either party who can take America into a globalized 21st century. He has the right life experiences.

Strong

He opposed the Iraq War when the rest of the country was feeling the other day. And he did that when it looked like he was about to wage a tough bid for the US Senate running in a crowded primary field, with at least one billionaire opponent, and this was before he was "born" at the Democratic convention in Boston.

That makes him strong.

But he is not strong in a stupid way. As in, facts be damned, I am ploughing through. His primary strength is that he can build coalitions and seek and find common ground. He has the strength to bring America together.

Strength And Experience

Barack Obama has the strength to bring America together and the experience to lead that America in a globalized world.

Let the 21st century begin. Let go the holdup.

In The News

Why Gonzales Bailed Newsweek four candidates: former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson (who would be the first African-American A.G.), former solicitor general Ted Olson, former deputy A.G. George Terwilliger, and current Solicitor General Paul Clement (the acting A.G. once Gonzales leaves).
Rising Pressure From GOP Led Senator to Quit New York Times
Barack Obama, Drawing the Big Crowds Washington Post
For Democrats, Primary Field Gives Confidence New York Times confident of victory in 2008. ..... “But I think Obama is good, too. It’s a flip at this point.” .... “I love the field of Democrats. This is going to be hard.” ..... a party better known for quadrennial rites of grumbling .... Again and again, voters — often unprompted — said they were concerned that Mr. Obama did not have enough experience. ...... “Hillary has the baggage from the Bill years ...... this is a confident party this fall .... a marked shift in mood for Democrats over the past year ..... Democratic voters appear as energized about this election as Republican voters are subdued, though that could change once the Republicans rally around a candidate and if Mrs. Clinton is nominated and turns out to be as polarizing a candidate as Republicans are hoping. ...... “She’s not really warm and fuzzy, so some people are put off by that and threatened by her brilliance.” ...... appears not to have erased the concern — fanned by Mrs. Clinton’s campaign with its emphasis on experience — that he might not be ready to be president.
Bill Clinton turns back clock, Hillary winds it forward AFP Bill Clinton had a weekend campaign party like it was 1992 .... "I love not running for anything, I can say everything I want and nobody cares any more," Clinton said ...... a four-month sprint .... a folksy, self-mocking tone ...... Clinton marvelled at a 1,000 pound pumpkin ..... Casually dressed Clinton, now looking robust three years after heart surgery, serves as an unofficial chief strategist for his wife, and velvet hammer against her rivals. ........ "If you want me to say something bad about them, you might as well leave right now," he scolds, before proceeding to argue, without mentioning names that nobody but his wife is fit for the Oval Office. ....... he and his wife were forged in humble origins, in Arkansas and Illinois, and won't forget ordinary people ...... He jokes how "cool" it is being president, with a great plane, the "best public housing in America," and hearing a "song played every time you walk in a room," but warns such treatment can make a leader isolated. ........ "I would do anything in my power to make her the next president, and you should too," Clinton says, whipping crowds into applause for his wife's entrance.
The political machine vs. the grass roots Los Angeles Times In California, a test of Democratic campaign tactics: Clinton chases big-name endorsements; Obama zeroes in on the little guy ..... unlike the Clinton gathering, led by a paid staffer delivering the campaign line, the Obama meeting was run by a volunteer participating in his first presidential campaign. ...... Clinton has been wrapping up the high-profile endorsements -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- and building a traditional, centralized campaign organization. Obama has been trying to harness the energy that has brought thousands of people to his campaign rallies. ....... The Clinton campaign has established two state headquarters, one in San Francisco and the other in L.A., and has hired seven full-time staffers. Obama has an L.A. office and four paid staffers, with another likely to be added soon. Both have fleshed out the staffs at their headquarters with a raft of volunteers. ....... The Clinton campaign has focused on high-density Democratic regions such as L.A. and the Bay Area. The Obama campaign is trying to build networks in each congressional district; most state Democratic delegates are awarded to candidates based on how well they do in each district, not statewide. So far Obama has committees in 40 of the 53 districts. ...... "Obama couldn't rack up the endorsements that Hillary can after her years in the White House or in the Senate." ..... grass-roots programs have some of the same goals as big-time endorsements." ..... two-thirds of likely Democratic voters supporting either Clinton or Obama. Clinton enjoys the clear advantage, with 49% support in an early-August Field Poll, compared with 19% for Obama ....... train 1,000 unpaid leaders statewide to oversee groups of 20 local volunteers -- the "Hillary Corps" -- to use their personal networks of relatives, friends and co-workers to identify Clinton supporters. ...... Using a software program called Voter Activation Network, the campaign plans to build a database from the information gathered by the Hillary Corps to target voters for early absentee voting -- which begins Jan. 7 -- and for follow-up efforts on primary day, Trujillo said. They hope to contact 2 million potential voters by primary day. ....... piggyback the Clinton organization on supporters' families and friendships. ..... "Most of our supporters have these big social networks," he said. "Why build something? Why not take advantage of something that exists already?" ...... grass-roots structure .... organizations that report to, but are not controlled by, Obama staffers. ...... In Palo Alto, one of the trained volunteers' first tasks is to contact the more than 400 people in the district who have told the campaign they want to help. They, in turn, will be the core of the volunteer group to contact 180,000 voters in hopes of finding more volunteers and cementing 45,000 votes for Obama -- which the congressional district committee independently set as its goal. ........ the strategy will return a sense of social movement to campaigns, offsetting the modern-marketing approach ...... Fewer than a third of those at the Clinton meeting were men; at the Obama session, men accounted for just over half. ...... "I didn't think ever in my life I would see a viable female candidate for president," said Judy Sweeney, 62 ..... Most Clinton volunteers cited specific issues -- healthcare, abortion, the Iraq war, a woman in the Oval Office -- as reasons they supported her. At the Obama session, the talk was more ethereal, about the desire to effect changes in policy and political engagement. Several cited Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention speech.
POLL: Clinton vs. Giuliani on the Long Drive ABC News
Nepal's Tricky Transition Wall Street Journal the friction between Nepal's political parties is also heating up. ...... tensions are rising between the Maoists and the democratic Seven Party Alliance, and within the Maoist party itself. ..... it has been a tricky transition for the battle-hardened former guerrillas ...... For the first time in Nepal's history, the elections will be on a mixed-proportional system, so traditionally marginalized ethnic groups and castes will have some representation. That all this has been achieved with little bloodshed is remarkable. ...... There has been an eruption of demands for political representation from a whole section of Nepalis who have historically been left out of the governance structure: indigenous groups, underprivileged castes and the Madhesi people of the Terai Plains along the Indian border ...... the violence in the plains could easily spiral out of control, even forcing a cancellation of elections and taking the country back to war. ....... Internal divisions within the Maoist camp are also deepening. ..... Prachanda, faces mounting pressure from radicals who blame him for "abandoning the revolution." ..... Critics say the Maoists are nervous that they will lose badly in elections, and are using these unrealistic demands to either scuttle or postpone polls. They have threatened to launch a nationwide street-based uprising starting this month unless these demands are met. The Maoists are also using their affiliated trade unions and student organizations to pressure foreign investors, local companies and media. Businessmen complain that extortion and threats are worse now than during the conflict years. ........ The prospect of unrest in the run-up to the election has everybody worried. ..... it would be easy for those who don't want elections (royalists, Madhesi militants and even Maoist hardliners) to foment trouble in the next two months. Except for the moderate leftist communists, the Unified Marxist-Leninist party, no other party has bothered to start campaigning yet. Mainstream parties are behaving as fecklessly as they always did ...... these elections are the only way Nepal can emerge from a messy transition and build on the dramatic and peaceful state transformation of the past year. A new constitution would restore democratic legitimacy and bring forth a new set of young leaders.
Iraq Tops Agenda As Congress Returns The Associated Press
Obama Proposes Ethics Reform Plan Guardian Unlimited centralizing and expanding the regulation of lobbyists to reduce the influence of special interest money in Washington. .... The change Americans crave - universal health care, new energy solutions and better economic policies for regular people - can't happen unless the system for making deals in Washington is fundamentally changed ..... I know some will say that we can't make this change, that the culture of corrosive influence in politics is too sprawling to spotlight or that the lobbyists writing our laws represent real Americans. ... That's not how I see it.'' ..... create a central database giving the public access to lobbying reports, ethics records and campaign finance filings. It would also expand lobbying disclosure rules to include lobbyists seeking government contracts and presidential pardons, and enforce congressional lobbying laws and ethics rules through an independent entity. Government contractors would be required to report money spent on lobbying and campaign contributions. ...... we will close the revolving door between public service and lobbying, ban all gifts from registered lobbyists, and end the abuse of no-bid contracts and the appointment of political cronies .... A task force on energy policy made up of big oil companies. Health care and prescription drug legislation written by industry lobbyists. No-bid contracts for Katrina recovery lobbied for by the firm that bears the name of the governor of Mississippi. No-bid contracts in Iraq for Halliburton, a company that the vice president used to run ... Obama previously vowed to prohibit political appointees who left posts in his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of his time in office. Members of an Obama administration also would not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers for two years..... In the Senate, Obama has supported legislation that would impose additional restrictions on lawmakers becoming lobbyists and establishes new disclosure rules for lobbyists.
Obama to reignite fireside chats Boston Globe make the federal government more transparent, including national broadband town hall meetings -- he's calling them "21st Century Fireside Chats" -- that he says his Cabinet will hold with the American people. ..... a new centralized database of lobbying reports, congressional ethics records, and campaign finance filings available on the internet; more sunlight on lobbyists seeking government contracts and presidential pardons; and establishing a "contracts and influence" database showing what federal contractors spend on lobbying, contract details, and contractor performance. ..... "The American people want to trust in our government again -- we just need a government that will trust in us," Obama said
Oh-eight (D): Biden: Iowa or bust MSNBC how little has changed since the summer began… Despite her high unfavorable ratings, Clinton remains the Democratic front-runner, with a growing number of Democrats and pundits now convinced that she can win the whole enchilada ...... Despite his stagnant national poll numbers, Obama has the money and the excitement to give Clinton a run for her money in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. ...... Biden said. “My expectation is that I come in first, second or an indistinguishable third. To tell you the truth, if I don't, then this has been a nice exercise and I'll see you again when you come to visit Washington." ...... the financial woes of major fundraiser Sant Chatwal, an Indian American businessman who has been fighting the IRS over unpaid business taxes. Who is vetting Clinton bundlers faster: the campaign or the media? ...... Richardson wants to forgive college loans with a year of national service. "As part of your college loan structure -- in other words we'll pay them off, if you give your country one year of national service: work in a forest, clean up a forest ... work in a hospital, go in the military, go in the Peace Corps, go in Vista .... "Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary,” Richardson said.
More oh-eight: The battle for CA MSNBC Did the DNC inadvertently help the GOP in its general election efforts to hold Florida in '08 and pick off Michigan? ..... Clinton is the political machine, and Obama is the grassroots. The Democratic machine is AWFULLY powerful in California.
The Primary Mess Michigan will go to an open primary on January 15. South Carolina follows the 19th and New Hampshire and Iowa may slide further back ...... the DNC stripped Florida, which moved its primary to January 29, of all its delegates ..... 4 states with moderate media costs and limited size ...... If the Democratic Florida primary is boycotted or delayed for fear no one will show up, do independents decide to register and show up in the Republican primary? The threat is even more real in Michigan where voters can show up on Election Day and decide to vote in the primary of their choosing. If this happens, the voters who turn out in two key and highly competitive GOP primary elections may have a significant component of independent voters. ...... All of this primary shuffling and Howard Dean’s handiwork have once again made clear that the GOP primary winner will likely be someone with broad geographic appeal, a solid organization and plenty of money to put down multiple “bets” on states which may or may not fall his way. If you must worry about Iowa and Michigan while New Hampshire and Florida still loom large, you need a sizable war chest, large media buys and plenty of bodies on the ground. Given the possible influx of independent voters, the candidate with a sophisticated ground operation in New Hampshire and Michigan which can target voters who are registered Republican and those who are not will be in strong shape. ....... the wild world of primary leapfrog.