Asides

Obama is on the Go

In such a tight rivalry of the Democrat nomination that make public all over the world trembled, Barrack Obama is still leading the race over Hillary Clinton. Public hope he would be there residing the White House to bring not only the USA but also the world to a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous life.


From the Washington Post:

Obama began his first Florida campaign swing in eight months with a downtown Tampa rally for 15,000 supporters, the start of a three-day tour aimed at introducing the senator from Illinois to core general-election constituencies.

… Obama spent Wednesday along the Interstate 4 corridor, a heavily populated swath in central Florida, as part of an effort to introduce him to Democratic voting blocs that may not know him well. In Kissimmee, outside Orlando, he held a town hall meeting in a Puerto Rican neighborhood. On Thursday, Obama will speak at a Boca Raton synagogue, and on Friday he is to deliver a speech about Cuba and Latin America in Miami.

… At the Tampa rally, Obama credited Clinton as a worthy opponent, but his main focus was on McCain, who has held an edge in this GOP-leaning state, and who has been a frequent presence.

… “He has been spending the last week describing his foreign policy by explaining who he won’t talk to,” Obama said. “That’s your foreign policy? He basically wants to perpetuate the same errors George Bush has made.”

He also traded barbs with McCain over ethics. “We need a president who sees the government not as a tool to enrich friends and high-priced lobbyists, but as the defender of fairness and opportunity for every American,” Obama said in Tampa.

From the Washington Times:

“It is good to be back. I know you’ve been holding down the fort,” Mr. Obama told a boisterous crowd of about 15,000 at the St. Pete Times Forum in downtown Tampa. The rally was his first public appearance in Florida since September, although he attended two fundraisers in November.

“I am here to report that my debt has been paid off and my faith in the American people has been vindicated because everywhere I go people are standing up and saying we’re ready for change.”

… Mr. Obama repeatedly tried to link Mr. McCain with the Bush administration, saying, “We have a chance in November to bring an end to [Hurricane] Katrina incompetence” and the “failed economic policies of George W. Bush.”

He also blasted Mr. McCain on the Iraq war and skyrocketing gasoline prices and accused the senator from Arizona of having cozy relations with lobbyists, highlighting Mr. McCain’s proposal 10 years ago to bar lobbyists from working on campaigns.

“John McCain then would be pretty disappointed in John McCain now, because he hired some of the biggest lobbyists in Washington to run his campaign,” Mr. Obama said.

… Mr. Obama also picked up a key local endorsement yesterday when Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio announced for the first time that she was backing the senator from Illinois.

“He is gifted in his ability to bring everybody together, and that’s what this country needs,” said Mrs. Iorio, who helped introduce the candidate at this campaign stop.

Reps. Kathy Castor and Robert Wexler, Florida Democrats, also preceded Mr. Obama on the Tampa stage.

… The senator from Illinois was just 64 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination, after two superdelegate endorsements yesterday and a pair of primaries the previous night.

From Reuters:

Barack Obama sounded like the Democratic presidential nominee on a visit to the November election battleground of Florida on Wednesday, praising rival Hillary Clinton and targeting Republican foe John McCain.

… “We are at the threshold of being able to obtain this nomination,” Obama told a rally in Tampa, Florida.

Obama hopes the pledged-delegate milestone persuades more undecided superdelegates — party officials who can back any candidate — to move his way.

… A Reuters/Zogby poll showed Obama opening an 8-point national lead on McCain as the two geared up for their likely battle for the White House.

… Obama, making his first visit to Florida since signing the pledge, praised Clinton as he tried to heal any lingering Democratic wounds from their long nominating fight.

“Senator Clinton has run an outstanding campaign and she deserves our admiration and our respect,” he said. “She has broken through barriers and will open up opportunity for a lot of people, including my two young daughters.”

From Montana’s News Station:

The Obama campaign has announced that they are opening another two offices in Montana in advance of the June 3rd primary.

Campaign officials announced that offices in Wolf Point and Whitefish are now up and running, bringing the total number of offices in Montana to an even dozen.

A press release issued by the campaign states that the newest offices are “another sign of Senator Obama’s commitment to reaching out to Montanans and working hard for every vote, the campaign announced that it is building on the strong organization in Montana by bringing in additional staff who worked on the Oregon primary”.

The campaign also announced that next week it will release Senator Obama’s agenda “to strengthen rural Montana “with a plan that’s aimed at addressing the concerns of Montanans living in rural communities.

… The campaign will be holding a grand opening event on Saturday, May 24th beginning at 10:00 a.m., and residents are being invited by the campaign to pay a visit.

From the Argus Leader:

A group of prominent South Dakota women announced Wednesday they will encourage women across the state to vote for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the June 3 Democratic presidential primary.

South Dakota Women for Obama will make phone calls, send e-mails, knock on doors and host house meetings to talk about Obama and why they support him in the primary and November’s general election if he becomes the Democratic nominee.

The group is being led by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., who said Obama was raised by a single mother with the help of a grandmother, who worked hard to keep the family afloat.

“As a father working with his wife, Michelle, to raise their two young daughters, he understands how important it is to build a better future for all women,” Herseth Sandlin said. “As president, Barack Obama will work to make life better for women.”

… “He speaks with such admiration about what his own mother did and her role in being an exemplar, not only for him but for other women, and about his wife and daughters,” said Miller, who recently joined the Democratic Party to vote for Obama in the primary.

Ann McGovern, daughter of former South Dakota senator and presidential candidate George McGovern, said she supports Obama because he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion.

… “I’m the mother of three sons and now the grandmother of three grandsons, and I grew up in a household where my father was in politics from the time I was a young girl,” McGovern said. “I very strongly support him for his approach to diplomatic solutions to world problems.”

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Open Thread
By Christopher Hass - May 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 am EDT

Town Hall in Kissimmee, Florida

This is your Wednesday Night Open Thread . . .

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