It has been reported by CNN and MSNBC that Barack Obama’s running mate will be Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. The choice is not a surprise as momentum had been building towards a Biden selection for the past two weeks.
Since the end of the Democratic primary Barack Obama has faced a barrage of negative advertising that has cost him his lead, and the turned the 2008 presidential election into a tie. Below are five things that Obama can do to get his lead back.
With recent polls showing that John McCain leads in Indiana and North Carolina and Barack Obama leading in Pennsylvania and Michigan the electoral map is starting to l
A just released poll from the LA Times and Bloomberg shows that the race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain continues to get tighter, Obama now holds a narrow two point lead.
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) were on CBS’s Face the Nation today debating the Georgia-Russia conflict. Bayh said that John McCain went too far by proclaiming that we are all Georgians now, and praised Obama’s foreign policy judgment.
The Obama fundraising machine continues to roll on, as the campaign announced today that it raised $51 million in July. This nearly doubles Republican John McCain’s haul of $27 million. The campaign also reported 65,000 new donors for the month. Over 2 million people have now given to the Obama campaign.
The Obama campaign has come out with a preemptive strike rebuttal of the soon to be released book “Obama Nation” by Jerome Corsi.
The press offices of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama issued a joint statement today praising the fact that both of their names will be placed into nomination at the Democratic convention.
Today, outspoken Republican Mike Huckabee criticized the idea being pushed by some members of his own party that Mitt Romney should be John McCain’s running mate. Not because Romney is a Mormon, but because he is a flip-flopper.
The Obama campaign released a statement this morning that said called the rise of inflation to its highest rate in 17 years shocking. They also criticized John McCain for opposing short term economic relief. A new Labor Department study released today revealed that inflation has risen 5.6% over the past year, and is now at its highest levels since 1991.
The publisher of The Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol has told Fox News the Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama at the Democratic convention.
John Kerry announced a new website today designed to attack the smears against Barack Obama. “We’ve seen this movie before. The Republicans, without ideas, start running a negative campaign filled with personal attacks and misleading ads.
The campaign of Barack Obama unveiled a new ad today that sought to turn the celebrity charge leveled against him by John McCain on its ear. The ad features shots of McCain on The View, Saturday Night Live, Leno, and Letterman, but the beneath the celebrity charge is a very clever ad that ties McCain to the politics of old.
Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr released a statement today criticizing the bungled police raid of the mayor’s home in Berwyn Heights, Maryland. He said that no knock raids are unconstitutional, and that law enforcement has become arrogant and less accountable.
With the announcement Sunday night that Hillary Clinton will be the headline speaker for the second night of the 2008 Democratic convention, perhaps the few disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters will stop whining about the lack of respect they have been getting from the Obama campaign.
Sen. Dick Durban (D-IL) was on Fox News Sunday this morning, and he had some interesting comments about Democratic Party unity and Bill Clinton.
For the first time since becoming the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama delivered this week’s Democratic radio address. He focused on the economy and the need to move America in a new direction.
Barack Obama spoke to the media and did his best to play down reports that there are still are still some bad feelings between himself and the Clintons.
A new CBS News national poll released this evening shows the 2008 presidential race unchanged from last month. Barack Obama leads John McCain 45%-39% with 13% undecided.
At a town hall meeting on the economy in St. Petersburg, FL today Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was confronted by some hecklers who were upset with what they viewed as Obama’s lack of a stance on issues like the Jena 6, and Sean Bell.
After Exxon Mobil released an earnings report that showed a record quarterly profit of $11.68 billion, Barack Obama released a statement that criticized McCain’s oil company friendly energy policy.
John McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis accused Obama of playing the race card after Obama characterized McCain’s recent attacks against him as trying to scare voters away from him.
A new poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University found that Barack Obama leads John McCain in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, but the race is getting tighter in each state. In Florida, Obama’s lead has been cut in half from 47%-43% to 46%-44%. In Ohio, Obama has lost four points from 48%-42% down to 46%-44%.
Even though the indictment against Sen. Ted Stevens has been expected for more than a year, the state Republican Party in Alaska does not have a candidate ready to take Stevens’s place on the ballot. This is more bad news for Senate Republicans in what is looking like a Democratic year.
A new USA Today/Gallup poll released today revealed that John McCain now leads Barack Obama 49%-45%. However the lead is among likely, not registered voters. Among registered voters, Obama leads McCain 47%-44%.
Lost in all the coverage of Barack Obama’s interview that aired on Meet the Press today were his comments on race relations. Host Tom Brokaw asked Obama about the differing views between whites and blacks about racism in America.
Today in Berlin Barack Obama put a 21st Century vision to the theme of walls that must be torn down, “The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers – dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.
This evening a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll was released tonight, and although the numbers are the same as last month, it looks like this election will be a referendum on Barack Obama.
In an interview that will air on the CBS Evening News tonight, there was an interesting exchange between anchor Katie Couric and Barack Obama over Obama’s position on the Iraq troop surge strategy.
Here is the exchange:
Stephen Spoonamore, he is the founder and a former CEO of Cybrit LLC a cyber-security firm that services Fortune 100 Companies, former adviser to McCain, and a leading cyber-security expert.
In his weekly radio address, Republican presidential candidate John McCain strongly criticized Barack Obama for announcing his strategy for Iraq and Afghanistan before he visited the countries.
The Obama campaign announced this morning that they raised $52 million in the month of June. This means that the Obama camp more than doubled McCain’s $22 million for the month.
It seems to be the be-all and end-all, wonderful, magical, semi-religious, all-encompassing catch-word of this US presidential process (a process, which at its worst, is appearing to take longer to end than the half-life of Uranium 238).
Change.
According to various media reports, the Barack Obama presidential campaign is starting the vetting process in their search for his running mate. Only Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) would confirm that he has been asked to provide more information to Obama’s search team.
The tape of Jesse Jackson saying that Barack Obama was talking down to black people and that the good reverend wanted to cut his nuts off for it was one of the best things that could have happened to Barack Obama.
The Christian Defense Coalition has announced a new campaign to “educate” American voters about what the group calls Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s “radical and extremist abortion positions.”
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama released a statement reacting to new Labor Department statistics that revealed that another 62,000 people lost their jobs in June, “As we head into the 4th of July weekend, today’s report that our economy has lost another 62,000 jobs is a stark reminder that far too many Americans will spend this holiday out of work
Talking Points Memo is reporting this evening that the McCain campaign is gearing up to air ads in the four major media markets in the state of Virginia. Is this a sign that the McCain camp is worried that this long time red state is ready to turn blue?
Just when it looked like the Obama campaign would be the first Democrats to challenge Republicans on the patriotism issue, they turn around today and disavow Wesley Clark’s criticism of John McCain.
A new poll of the state of Virginia was released recently by Survey USA, and it reveals a tight race between Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama holds a slight two point lead, 49%-47%. Thus far, the state is starkly split along gender lines. McCain leads with men 58%-40% and Obama with women, 58%-36%.
According to a Powerpoint presentation that Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe gave on Wednesday, it seems that the campaign is targeting six red states to flip into Barack Obama’s column. Each state is listed below along with a reason why it could support Obama in November.
At a meeting with reporters in Chicago, IL late this afternoon Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to comments made by Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader who claimed that Obama was trying to talk white, and exploit white guilt to get elected.
Ralph Nader made some controversial comments regarding Barack Obama to the Rocky Mountain News. Nader alleged that only Obama’s race makes him different from any of the recent Democratic presidential candidates.
A recent Survey USA poll of New Mexico finds a tight race in the state. Obama has a three point lead 49%-46%, but that is within the margin of error, so the race is a virtual tie. There is a big gender divide in the state, where McCain leads among men 60%-36%, and Obama leads with women, 62%-32%.
The White man in Africa was once seen as the quintessential symbol of tyranny and oppression. Having swarmed the once-named “Dark Continent” over a century ago, plundering its riches and destroying its people along the way, Africa underwent tremendous suffering at the hands of various European taskmasters.
At a speech at Fresno State University today, Republican presidential candidate John McCain will propose a $5,000 tax credit for every customer who buys a zero emissions car, and he wants to hold a contest to give away $300 million to whoever can develop a better electric or hybrid battery.
A new Newsweek poll has election followers a buzz because it shows Barack Obama with a 51%-36% lead, but the question is what is powering the Barack bounce? We’ll break down the numbers to show you how and why Obama is gaining momentum.
Support by Gender and Age
Today Fox News and Opinion Dynamics released a new national poll that finds at tight race nationally between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. The poll finds that Obama leads McCain 42%-39%. Ralph Nader gets 4%, and Bob Barr is at 2%. If the names of the candidates are removed and voters are asked if they will vote Democratic or Republican, Democrats lead 42%-35%.
A new Survey USA poll of the critical swing state of Wisconsin reveals that Barack Obama leads John McCain 52%-43%. A growing trend that we have seen in all of the recent state polls is the movement of women towards Obama. In Wisconsin, Obama leads McCain among women 58%-35%. Among men, McCain leads 51%-45%.
God Bless Joe Biden, he is one the last remaining straight shooters in politics. Today he expressed his enthusiasm for being in a potential Obama administration, “I’d make a great president. I’d make a great Secretary of State. I’d make a great vice president,” said Biden.
With the news that Colin Powell has left the door open to supporting Barack Obama this fall, this edition of Pros and Cons comes straight out of the what if category. Although it is doubtful, we’ll evaluate the potential of an Obama/Powell ticket.
At Virginia’s State Democratic Convention Saturday night, former VA Governor and current Senate candidate put an end to chatter about a third political position he may hold–Vice President on Barack Obama’s ticket.
At a fundraiser in Philadelphia where he was flanked by PA governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, and Sen. Bob Casey, Barack Obama said, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun. Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.”
At a news conference before a speech in Vancouver, BC, Colin Powell said that he would not rule out supporting Barack Obama. He said that his support of John McCain is not a foregone conclusion. He also said that although he and Obama are both black, he won’t be voting based on race.
Barack Obama said of today’s Supreme Court ruling that the detainees at GITMO have the right to challenge their detention in civilian court, “The Court’s decision is a rejection of the Bush Administration’s attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo – yet another failed policy supported by John McCain.”
The latest Survey USA state poll of Washington finds Barack Obama with a commanding lead over John McCain 56%-39%. Obama leads McCain among all age groups and races. He leads McCain 59%-36% among 18-34 year olds and 56%-40% with those 50-64 years old. Not surprisingly, McCain runs best with older voters. Among voters over age 65, Obama leads McCain 49%-46%.
After appearing at an event with Barack Obama last week, current Senate candidate, and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner has picked up a lot of buzz as a potential running mate for Obama. In this edition of Pros and Cons, we’ll take a look at a potential Obama/ Warner ticket.
After her endorsement of him today, Barack Obama put out a glowing statement about Hillary Clinton. He mentioned her as a groundbreaker, “Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Senator Clinton’s support. But more than that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run.
It is one thing to concede and endorse a victorious opponent as Hillary Clinton did today, but she took the extra step of using her speech to make the case as to why her supporters should vote for Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton will suspend her campaign on Saturday, and once she endorses Barack Obama this weekend, the Democratic Party will be able to fully move on towards November.
Hillary Clinton used her final speech in the 2008 Democratic primary to congratulate Barack Obama for running, but she raised more questions than she answered about her future and what she wants to do next.
The Chicago Tribune website is reporting that Obama spokesperson Ben LaBolt confirmed that Obama is in essence resigning from the church after the latest controversy surrounding a video of Rev. Michael Pfleger mocking Hillary Clinton while he was speaking at Trinity United. The spokesman said that Obama has not attended the church since the Wright controversy erupted in mid-March.
Barack Obama has a wide range of Democrats to choose his running mate from. In recent years the Democratic Party has been able to elect 28 of the nation’s 50 governors. These state executives represent some of the party’s best talent. If Obama decides to add a governor to his ticket, here are five excellent choices.
Today Barack Obama continued to try to link George W. Bush and John McCain together on the issues of the economy and the foreclosure crisis. First Obama blamed Bush for inaction on the foreclosure crisis, “For President Bush, the answer was to do nothing until the pain out on Main Street trickled up to Wall Street.
Over the last few days Survey USA has done polls of swing states Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The polls not only matched up the two presidential candidates head to head, but also looked at different ticket combinations and how they matched up against each other.
In the third part of our continuing series profiling the potential running mates for Barack Obama, I take a look at Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE). Biden is a popular Democratic senator, but would he be the perfect running mate for Obama?
It may not have been the first time that she said it on the campaign trail, but Hillary Clinton’s remark about staying in the race because Barack Obama could be assassinated like Robert F. Kennedy was in 1968 was wrong on many different levels.
Hillary Clinton is either looking to make sure that the Democrats don’t win Michigan and Florida in the fall, trying to incite a populist outcry in these states that she hopes will carry her to the nomination, or make sure that every Democrat hates her by comparing the primary mess in Michigan and Florida to the 2000 election.
According to calculations done by the Center for Responsive Politics, in March 113 Clinton donors switched their financial support to Barack Obama.
Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama may have gotten blown out in Kentucky, but he is cruising to big win in Oregon tonight, and earlier this evening at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Obama promised that change is coming to America.
Hillary Clinton delivered a rather odd victory speech in Louisville, KY tonight after her primary win in the state. Part of her speech vowed to fight on, while the other part called for party unity.
In a bit of ho-hum breaking news, Hillary Clinton has won the Kentucky Democratic primary. Clinton was powered to victory by the same two demographics that have carried her to victory in similar states. White voters and voters who did not graduate from college went strongly for Hillary Clinton.
The dean of the Senate, Robert Byrd of West Virginia has endorsed Barack Obama today. Byrd focused on ending the Iraq war, “As people all across this great nation know, I have been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush administration’s misguided war in Iraq and its saber rattling around the globe.”
I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and know a few things about Kentucky politics. Kentucky did not jump at the idea of frontloading its primary in 2008. I think this is a smart idea due to what that would have meant for local and statewide office holders.
The editorial board of the Lexington Herald-Leader endorsed Barack Obama today, just days short of Kentucky’s Democratic primary. “The opportunity for national renewal will be even greater if, as appears almost certain, Sen. Barack Obama is the nominee,” the paper said in its endorsement.
Though Hillary Clinton trounced Barack Obama in West Virginia last night by 67% to 26%, it doesn’t seem like anyone is talking about her. Most of the news from this morning centers around when she will finally exit the race—not on her victory, and certainly not on what she will do once the race is over.
Ralph Nader continued his tour of the West Coast recently in Oakland, CA. Nader declared that the United States is running under a corporate fascist economic system. “We’re living in a country whose democracy is beyond the breaking point. The extent of corporate control has developed into corporate fascism,” Nader said.
A new Public Policy Polling poll of Democrats in the state of Oregon released today found that Barack Obama is enjoying a 14 point lead over Hillary Clinton. Obama leads Clinton in the state 53%-39%. Obama leads with voters in every racial category, and every age group except those over age 65.
In her victory speech tonight, Hillary Clinton tried to use her victory in West Virginia to make a claim to the superdelegates that she is the Democrat who can be the strongest candidate in the fall.
The Democratic voters in the state of West Virginia are doing a fine job of making their primary completely irrelevant. The Mountaineer State has decided that they will support Hillary Clinton, but is their strong vote for Clinton a vote against Obama?
Sometimes when I write about Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s age in a less than flattering way, I get accused of ageism, so is it fair to call John McCain old? John McCain was born on August 29, 1936. By the time he accepts the Republican nomination in September, he will be 72 years old.
Barack Obama needs only 150 delegates to ensure the Democratic nomination after he picked up the endorsements of Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Idaho superdelegate Keith Roark, and Hawaii superdelegate Dolly Strazar.
A new Suffolk University poll released today of Democratic primary voters in the state of West Virginia found that Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama by 36 points in the state. Democrats favored Clinton over Obama by a 60%-24% margin. Sixty seven percent of Democrats surveyed said that Clinton should stay in the race.
Democratic front runner Barack Obama is now only 154 delegates short of wrapping up his Party’s nomination after Maine Rep., and 2008 Senate candidate, Tom Allen endorsed him this morning.
According to a story in the upcoming issue of Newsweek, both Barack Obama and John McCain are expecting the Swift Boat campaign that was carried out against John Kerry in 2004 to look like child’s play compared to the general election this fall.
The constant and farfetched attempt by the Hillary Clinton campaign to lend the appearance of a still competitive Democratic primary continued on Sunday morning. Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said on Meet the Press that she is only 100,000 popular votes behind Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton’s last lead in the Democratic primary race was shattered today by two superdelgates from the Virgin Islands. With the endorsements from Carole Burke and Kevin Rodriquez, Obama now needs only 157 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Today Obama picked up a whopping nine superdelegates, and is now only 160 delegates short of clinching the Democratic nomination. Here are some quotes from, and links to today’s endorsements.
Today in Bearverton, OR Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama gave a speech on the economy, but Hillary Clinton was not mentioned once. Instead, Obama fired the first salvo of the general election campaign by contrasting himself with John McCain.
Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama has picked up three more superdelegates today, now leaving him only 164 short of clinching his party’s nomination. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon is expected to endorse Obama later today at an event in the state.
Well, another primary Tuesday came and went, and with it Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) came even closer in gaining the Democratic nomination. He won North Carolina handily and barely lost out in Indiana, but gaining enough delegates there that
Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe was on NBC’s Today show this morning and flat said that the Democratic race will be over by early June, “It’ll be over early June. We’ve all said we’ll be together at the end. If Hillary doesn’t win, Hillary, President Clinton, myself, we’ll be over there helping Senator Obama.
David Bonior, who was a former high ranking Congressman, and most recently served as the campaign manager for John Edwards announced this morning that he is supporting Barack Obama.
The race is over. Though it is not officially over, it is mathematically over. And for all intents and purposes, “mathematically over” is as good as “officially over.” After last night’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is done. Her chances for the nomination just ran from slim to none.
Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe sent a new memo out to superdelegates today urging them to make their decision now, and support Barack Obama.
A beloved elder statesman of the Democratic Party has told Hillary Clinton that it time to drop out, and has switched his support to Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton pulled out a dramatic late night squeaker of a win in Indiana 51%-49%, but Clinton won’t be appearing on the morning news shows as scheduled, and she only has kept a fundraiser on her schedule for tomorrow. This is looking like the behavior of a candidate that isn’t long for this race.
During his victory speech in Raleigh, NC Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made the first overtures towards reuniting the Democratic Party.
