Posts from — September 2008

We’re excited to announce a new online voter registration tool, www.voteforchange.com. VoteForChange.com makes it easier than ever to check your own voter registration, make sure your registration information is correct and up-to-date, and soon it will even be able to find your specific polling location. You can also sign up to vote early, apply to vote absentee, and find out what you need to bring with you to the polls on Election Day.

If you’re not registered to vote yet, go to www.voteforchange.com and register to be part of the political process this election.

Turnout is going to be crucial to this election. Use www.voteforchange.com to make sure that you — and your friends and family — have your voice heard on Election Day.

The most important thing for tonight’s speech, Rove says: Show a comfort with the kitchen-table issues.

Wasilla swelled with pride as they watched Gov. Palin’s acceptance speech. See also: Media swoons

Gas prices are going through the roof in Idaho these days. “But maybe that’s just a good way to get us all to ride our bikes to work more,” says Mary Pat, 52, of Boise, Idaho, as she got off her bike to answer a phone call from the campaign.

But the gas prices aren’t the only sign that the economy in Boise is having trouble. Mary Pat says the whole economy in Boise is sinking. “It’s all going downhill. Downtown just tanked. A nice restaurant down the street just closed. Stores are closing and people are hurting; it’s hard everywhere.”

Mary Pat and her husband have felt the impact of the economic downturn first-hand. They owned a retail business for 20 years and recently lost it to the receding economy. "It was just taking every dime that we had, so last year we closed our doors. It was such a sad thing because we had put so much energy into it.  It was like a child."

It was pretty devastating. We both worked in the store, so it was our only income. When it closed, we had no retirement, no nest egg. So I went out and got a job, and my husband is looking for a job as well. But at least it made me get involved in other things. I’ve never been involve in politics before, but now I am.

I’ve done calls – I called Oregon before their primary. And I give Obama my $5 whenever I can to keep him going.

The economy is Mary Pat’s “number one issue,” but she’s also concerned about healthcare.

My husband and I are in good health, but we spend over $700 a month on healthcare for the two of us. We have health insurance, but we need to make it more affordable.

At 52 years old, Mary Pat, who has three grown children and six grandchildren, is glad to finally be involved in the political process.

I always avoided politics before, but I started getting interested in Barack early on. When he came to Boise, I was just won over by him. I’ve been proud of him in the campaign. He gives us hope.

If you can spare $5 this month, join Mary Pat and our millions of supporters across the United States and help bring hope to your community.

Voices for Change is a series featuring profiles of Barack Obama’s grassroots supporters from across the nation. The people who make up this movement come from all different backgrounds, but they share a common goal of helping bring about fundamental change in Washington.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Democrat Barack Obama renewed his outreach to female voters Wednesday.

…Speaking under a hot summer sun to a largely female crowd in this small Ohio town [New Philadelphia], Obama spoke of the struggles his mother and grandmother had endured. And he promised to push legislation that would ensure equal pay for women should he win the White House.

…The Democratic presidential nominee described his mother’s efforts to finish school and earn money after she gave birth to him at age 18.

"There were times that she didn’t have enough money for groceries. And even though she was very proud and very independent, there were a couple of times growing up where she accepted food stamps to make sure we had enough food on the table," Obama said. "It was tough. And it was pretty much tough all the way through my teenage years."

…Eight hundred miles away from the Republican National Convention, in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio, Obama held a "women’s economic event" to highlight the struggles of working mothers.

During his first campaign stop in two days, Obama talked at length about his grandmother, who he said had worked her way up from the secretarial pool to become a vice president at a bank after World War II.

"I think about my grandmother and what she could have done if she had been treated equal, if she had been treated fairly," he said.

…Obama, however, is not relying solely on his biography. Last week, the his campaign began running a radio ad featuring a Planned Parenthood nurse practitioner who says McCain is "out of touch with women today."

"McCain wants to take away our right to choose," she says in the ad, which is airing in swing states. "That’s what women need to understand. That’s how high the stakes are."

The Obama campaign also is reaching out to women through house parties, phone banks and online organizing. A campaign official said that on Women’s Equality Day, which is commemorated annually on Aug. 26, female Obama supporters held nearly 200 events nationwide in an effort to recruit women.

From the Associated Press:

Joe Biden says he left his gallbladder in Fort Myers, Fla.

That campaign line is unlikely to rival Tony Bennett’s tune about his heart and San Francisco, but the Democratic vice presidential candidate is hoping it helps win over voters in swing state Florida, which crushed the party’s White House dreams in 2000.

Biden wrapped up a two-day campaign trip to the state Wednesday, talking to voters in this Gulf Coast city about matters political and personal.

The Delaware senator outlined his strong pro-Israel stand to Jewish voters in the state, scoffed at the Republicans’ push for offshore oil drilling and reminded Floridians that Barack Obama supports a national insurance backup fund and Republican John McCain doesn’t — an issue that’s timely with three tropical storms churning in the Atlantic Ocean.

And his folksy style is going over well.

"There’s two things every guy should have," he said Wednesday. "A brother-in-law with a pickup truck and a brother with a place in Florida. I used to have both."

…"I left part of me here in Fort Myers," he said. "You have one of the best hospitals in America in Lee County Memorial. They have my gallbladder."

…Presidential candidate Obama has pumped $8.5 million into television ads here while building up a state organization with 200 paid staffers and 36 offices. Polls show a competitive race.

…Democrats also have done a better job of registering voters. In the first seven months of the year, Democrats increased their numbers by nearly 253,000, compared with slightly more than 98,000 more Republicans. Overall, Florida has about 4.4 million Democrats, 3.9 million Republicans and 2.3 million voters who aren’t registered with either party.

The Democrats estimates about 600,000 registered black voters stayed home in 2004, more than Bush’s margin of victory in the state. And nearly 600,000 black Floridians aren’t registered to vote.

Biden has tried to work in issues important to Florida during his campaigning here, most notably Obama’s support for a national insurance backup fund to help make homeowners insurance more affordable and available.

…In Fort Myers on Wednesday, Biden fired up a crowd by criticizing McCain’s push for offshore drilling, saying Florida would be a prime target. Many Floridians oppose drilling because of fears it would hurt tourism and harm the environment.

From the Kennebec Journal:

During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they’d be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside: $200 to $300 — or whatever they can spare — toward a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon they come home.

According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions as has Republican John McCain.

…Despite McCain’s status as a decorated veteran and the historically Republican leanings among the military, members of the armed services overall — whether stationed overseas or at home — are favoring Obama with their campaign contributions in 2008 by a $55,000 margin.

Although 59 percent of federal contributions by military personnel for all offices has gone to Republicans this cycle, of money to the presumed presidential nominees, 57 percent has gone to Obama.

…In each of the other branches — including the Navy, in which McCain served when he was taken prisoner during the Vietnam War — Obama leads by significant margins.

"That’s shocking. The academic debate is between some who say that junior enlisted ranks lean slightly Republican and some who say it’s about equal, but no one would point to six-to-one" in Democrats’ favor, said Aaron Belkin, a professor of political science at the University of California who studies the military.

In 2000, Republican George W. Bush outraised Democrat Al Gore among military personnel almost 2 to 1. In 2004, with the Iraq war under way, John Kerry closed the gap with President Bush, but Bush still raised $1.50 from the military for every $1 his Democratic opponent collected.

…The Center for Responsive Politics’s totals are limited to donors contributing more than $200, since information is not provided to the Federal Election Commission for smaller contributions. So these figures are likely to represent the mood of officers disproportionately. They have more disposable income to spend on politics than do the lower ranks.

…Army Specialist Jay Navas contributed $250 while deployed in Iraq, but it wasn’t over the Internet.

"It took some effort to get that check. I had my mom send me my checkbook and I walked to the post office in Camp Liberty in Baghdad with an envelope addressed to Barack Obama in Chicago, Illinois," he said. "Most of my friends are conservative Republicans and they say, ‘I’m voting for Barack.’ McCain does not have a lock on the military vote, that’s for sure."

From WLFI 18:

As Republicans gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota, for their nominating convention, Barack Obama’s campaign was targeting Indiana voters.

Obama’s Deputy National Campaign Manager, Steve Hildebrand, lead a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning to explain why the campaign is focusing its efforts on Indiana and other selected states.

"Indiana could put Obama over the top," Hildebrand said. By the campaign’s calculations, if Obama carried every state won by the Democratic Party’s nominee in 2004, John Kerry, plus Iowa, he would be 11 electoral votes short of the 270 needed to win the White House. Indiana has 11 electoral votes.

… Despite the state’s record of voting Republican in every presidential campaign since 1964, former Indiana Secretary of State Joe Hogsett pointed to what the Obama campaign considers to be good omens in 2008.

…Hogsett said the Obama campaign sees further good news in 2008 numbers, with nearly 1.3 million Democratic votes cast in the May primary. "That’s 300 thousand more votes than John Kerry received in the 2004 election," Hogsett said. He also noted that more than a half million voters have registered in 2008, through September 3.

Today’s convention activities from The Associated Press.

GOP congressional candidates think the conservative Palin can help motivate crucial base voters.

The GOP candidate has to reconcile his ideas and his ideals. His idealism is his strength, but can also be his weakness.

NOW WE SEE why the liberal establishment has been trying for the last few days to destroy Sarah Palin. She is a threat to their hopes to take the White House this year, a threat to their broader claims to speak for youth, for women, and for the future, and a threat to their attempt to control the high ground in the culture war. After her stunning success last night, some in the liberal media may retire from the ring for a while.

But this is the energy election. It will determine our future peace and prosperity. And Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has the energy answer: Our abundant country can produce more energy at lower cost if government gets out of the way.

Dear Friend –

I wasn’t planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a response.

I saw John McCain’s attack squad of negative, cynical politicians. They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for being a part of this campaign.

But worst of all — and this deserves to be noted — they insulted the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our political process.

You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together. Will you make a donation right now to remind them?

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack’s experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let’s clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

And it’s no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America’s promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it’s happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

Meanwhile, we still haven’t gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.

It’s now clear that John McCain’s campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks — on Barack Obama and on you — are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.

But you can send a crystal clear message.

Enough is enough. Make your voice heard loud and clear by making a donation right now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/fightback

Thank you for joining more than 2 million ordinary Americans who refuse to be silenced.

David

David Plouffe

Campaign Manager

Obama for America

Without mentioning Democrat Barack Obama’s name and rarely losing a smile, the Alaska governor delivered one riposte after another. See also: Politico lens

Even as she denounces the Fourth Estate, it sends accolades about her performance. See also: Palin helps

"There is nothing I have done in my political life that has meant more to me, that has been more consequential, and that has engaged my passions as deeply as my leadership with the Violence Against Women Act." - Senator Joe Biden

After the last road update following Joe’s economic roundtable event, Joe’s motorcade traveled down a highway dotted with palm trees headed for a town hall meeting in Saratoga, Florida. According to Sgt. Beasley of the Saratoga Sheriff’s Department, 2000 people filled the seats of the Booker High School gymnasium. An American flag hung to the far right of the stage, suspended above the audience.

Shirly Brown, who served on the Women’s Domenstic Violence Caucus, introduced Joe as a leader in supporting and protecting some of our most precious resources — America’s women, children and families.

In addition to discussing the Obama-Biden plans for bettering the economy, providing access to education for more Americans, and creating a new model for energy, Joe spoke about his grandchildren’s slumber party with the Obama daughters, Sasha and Malia, during the Democratic National Convention. He said that the kind of connection the two families have is the same unity that Barack Obama will foster between people in the United States of America.

Please enjoy photographs of the day and the video of Joe’s slumber party story.

Sharon Barnes
En Route to Virginia Beach, VA

We in the media have behaved badly and are really, really awful.

"This is as beautiful a piece of real estate as we have seen anywhere." - Sen. Barack Obama

The ride from New Philadelphia to Dillonvale goes through some pretty country. Horses and cows grazed on gentle rolling hills as the motorcade veered off the highway and onto the country roads. At a barbecue at the Piergallini Farm — Barack’s destination — two emus craned their necks curiously at campaign staff and press alongside more traditional barnyard creatures.

Introducer Gene Miller is ready for a change. As a 60 year old life-long Republican, he has not only decided to support Barack Obama, but he has also been active in the campaign for over a year, making phone calls and knocking on doors every day. Gene, a Marine who served in Vietnam, cites Obama’s willingness to work across party lines to get things done as the greatest expression of patriotism. He wants the same opportunities that he had as a young man for his grandchildren and worries that if we keep doing the same things they could lose their piece of the American dream.

Enjoy the day in pictures from Eastern Ohio,

Arun Chaudhary
September 3, 2008
En Route to Pittsburgh

Rudy Giuliani’s speech

Last Thursday night former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sat with Hillary Clinton at Invesco Field in Denver and listened to Barack deliver his nomination acceptance speech.  For Albright, the speech was the culmination of a summer spent getting to know Barack Obama, after having worked tirelessly for Senator Clinton during the primaries.  She listened to his books on tape, spoke with him on the phone, and along with 40 million other Americans, watched him lay out a 21st century vision for our country in Denver.  

Speaking today before a packed hall at Bryn Mawr college in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Secretary Albright left no doubt about how she felt about Barack. 

I’m going to go out there, and work my tail off for him.

That’s certainly what Secretary Albright did today in Pennsylvania.  She greeted volunteers at the Bucks County field office in the morning, then hosted a Women’s Issues Forum in Bristol, before addressing the standing room only crowd at Bryn Mawr. 

Albright spoke about the world as she sees it today, calling it, quite frankly, "a mess."  She described the challenges facing whomever serves next as Commander in Chief, and said, "I want a president who’s confident rather than certain…a president who looks at a lot of ideas and comes up with an integrated approach that’s principled."  

Albright’s loudest applause of the afternoon came when she talked about the stakes for women in this election, and the clear choice that exists between Barack and John McCain and Sarah Palin. 

This is not a question of gender, it’s a question of agenda.

Albright spoke about the future makeup of the Supreme Court, about equal pay for equal work, and jobs. She said that in her mind the comparison is not even close.  It was a firm and convincing declaration, the kind you could imagine her delivering to foreign leaders overseas during her time as Secretary of State, and it brought the overflow crowd to its feet. 

You can watch the video of Secretary Albright’s speech in its entirety here.

Tonight’s speeches

National Field Director Jon Carson just sent out the following email, introducing an important new online tool called Neighbor to Neighbor …

At the Republican convention this week, John McCain and his supporters are adopting the most conservative platform in the history of their party.

They’re trying to convince Americans across the country that they will deliver the change we need, but they’re just offering more of the same — four or eight more years of George Bush’s disastrous policies.

That’s why we need to make Barack’s message of change heard loud and clear, and I want to let you know about a brand new way to spread the word.

We have a new tool called Neighbor-to-Neighbor that makes it easier than ever to connect with potential supporters in your community by phone or door-to-door.

Neighbor-to-Neighbor gives you the option to make phone calls or knock on doors — the choice is yours.

Learn more and start making a difference in your neighborhood right now.

Barack is making history by competing in every corner of the country.

It’s an aggressive strategy, and only you can make it work.

No one knows your community better — and no one is better suited to strengthen our movement from the bottom up.

Neighbor-to-Neighbor gives you a list of your neighbors we need to reach, suggested topics for discussion, and an easy way to report back on who you’ve contacted.

With less than nine weeks left before Election Day, our time is running out. Start reaching out in your community and help build this movement for change.

You’ve owned this campaign from the very start. By making a few phone calls or knocking on a few doors today, you’ll own it more than ever before.

Thanks,

Jon

Jon Carson
National Field Director
Obama for America

There are volunteers, and then there are super volunteers. When I called Ron to interview him for this profile, his voicemail announced itself as doing triple-duty for Ron, Ron’s business, and Adams County for Barack Obama. Ron’s volunteered for the campaign not just in his native Colorado, but also in the critical months leading up to the Iowa caucus. Ron even organized a trip to Iowa on his birthday weekend to canvass for Barack.

The summer months have been slow in campaign terms, but Ron’s kept active - he knows that every hour put in today is worth two in October.

Things have been dialed back locally here since the caucus, so we’ve been trying to keep people fired up. We’ve passed along hints about what did and didn’t work well and just tried to reach out to supporters to get organized. It’s really easy to slide back into cynicism since we’ve suffered under cynical politics for so many decades, so I’ve just been trying to keep people’s spirits up.

Although Ron has done a lot of volunteering on local community causes, he hasn’t been involved in a presidential race in quite a while.

I haven’t been involved in mainstream politics since Bobby Kennedy ran. Everything about Barack’s tone, his authenticity, everything spoke to the core of my being. He is the sort of leader that everyone deserves to have at least once in their lifetime.

During the primary, Ron’s wife didn’t see as much as him as she would have liked. A Hillary supporter, she watched him walk out the door most evenings to go canvass or phone bank. Now, however, Ron is looking forward to canvassing and phonebanking with her - spending time together while helping the campaign.

Ron has been with the campaign so long that he’s seen many other volunteers, Organizing Fellows, and field organizers come and go. He believes that everyone working for the campaign is making history.

One important thing to remember is that we are all part of making history and in that, no one’s left out, whether they just became involved with the campaign yesterday or a year ago.

Without dedicated volunteers like Ron, this campaign wouldn’t be possible. Join him on the trail - sign up to volunteer today, and join our grassroots campaign.

Palin is using her remarks to the Republican National Convention to warn "reporters and commentators."

Sarah Palin finds unlikely allies as leading voices endorse the GOP charge that she’s been subject to a sexist double standard.

Jim Parrish, Fire Chief of New Philadelphia, had the crowd count at 220 in the quad at Kent State Tuscarawas (KST). A hot and humid day for a town hall, but with summer winding down and kids going back to school, folks are starting to focus more and more on this upcoming election.

Gabrielle Neavin, a student at KST and a single mom, served as today’s introducer. Gabrielle would like to be a teacher one day but is having a hard time making it on her own. She has had multiple jobs to support her daughter while going to school, but rising costs of everything from gas to food has her putting more of her household expenses on credit cards. The debts can mount up fast.

Sometimes the issues don’t seem as personal. Barack once said that there was nothing sexy about the word "infrastructure" but that it plays a major role in our economy, not only presenting problems as it crumbles, but presenting opportunities to put Americans back to work.

Here is video from his town hall dealing with the issue of infrastructure:

Arun Chaudhary
September 3rd, 20008
New Philadelphia, OH

Call it the GOP’s answer to Obama’s Invesco Field speech: All eyes will be on McCain’s surprise VP pick. See also: 5 things to watch for tonight