Oh Noes! Obama will raise your taxes!*

by: Mike Hoefer

Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:49:40 PM EDT

* if your family makes more than $603,403/year

Another good graphic/cartoon in the comments.

Call the Spade a Bloody Shovel

by: Maryscott O'Connor

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 14:43:38 PM EDT

To call a spade a bloody shovel means more than speaking plainly; rather, it means saying something that is true but unpalatable -- or impolitic.

During an otherwise stellar appearance on David Letterman's show last night, Barack Obama missed an opportunity to deliver a kidney punch to John McCain. In my view, this missed opportunity vividly exemplifies a weakness in the election style Democrats have used over the past three decades.

(I'm not saying Obama's campaign exemplifies this style; to the contrary, despite a few missteps -- and who among us could do better? I submit that, given the fact that Barack Obama has steamrolled over every obstacle thus far, this man just might know better than anyone how to correct the Democratic Party's mistakes of the past and finally, FINALLY beat these bastards in this rigged game. But I'm making a point here, so... bear with me.)

Letterman asked, and I'm paraphrasing,

"If you'd been able to pick your Vice-Presidential running mate after McCain picked Palin, would you have chosen differently?"

Obama answered -- and again, I'm paraphrasing:

"I chose the person I want in the room with me, giving me wise advice and different points of view..."

Intelligent, cogent and sincere.

But I think he should have phrased it thusly:

"Maybe this is another difference between Senator McCain and me:

I didn't pick my running mate because I thought he would help me WIN; I picked him because I thought he would help me GOVERN."

Stark, simple and true. Did John McCain pick Sarah Palin because he thought she was the best of all possible candidates for the role of Vice-President in a McCain Administration?

The very suggestion is a joke. Nobody could make that suggestion wit a straight face unless he worked for McCain or Fox News. McCain picked Palin to help him win the election.

Just one more in an endless series of proofs that John McCain's campaign slogan of "Country First" is an empty, shallow and insulting lie.

Joe Biden speaks to New Hampshire at a Town Hall in Nashua

by: Brian P. Clark

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 00:33:36 AM EDT

Senator Joe Biden was in Nashua, New Hampshire today and motivated the crowd at the Nashua Community College.

The crowd of over 500 felt the urgency as the days tick away toward November 4th. This election is different. We can no longer sit back and wait for others to make it better. This election is about us; each one of us; you, me, and our neighbors coming out and talking to each other about how we can change the world ourselves. This is new.

Senator Biden knows the change we need. You know the change we need. It's clear and it includes addressing the healthcare crisis, the energy crisis, the housing crisis, the education crisis... how many crises can we take all at once? We need solutions that make sense for all hard working Americans, like those below, who came to hear about this change.

We need you to motivate. We need you to get involved. We need you to talk to your neighbors in New Hampshire and spread the word. Without you, we cannot reach out to everyone it will take to win this crucial state. It's going to be close here in New Hampshire, real close. There are so many Independents, Republicans, and Democrats that want the change Barack Obama and Joe Biden will bring. You can bring that change too! Come to your nearest Field Office. Undecided voters are waiting. They need to hear from you. Our problems won't get solved without you!

Dan Quayle in a pantsuit

by: Peter Sullivan

Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 11:37:40 AM EDT

Sen. Obama chose Joe Biden to be his running mate, a smart, seasoned, and honest statesman, respected by both Democrats and Republicans and trusted by leaders abroad.

John McCain chose Dan Quayle in a pantsuit.

The choice of Sarah Palin, the undistinguished governor of a thinly populated state with no real accomplishments, is nothing more than a crass political move. Evidently, the McCain team has seen one too many silly "puma" story on Fox or CNN, and believes that simply putting a woman on the ticket will score political points.

Obama chose someone who will help him govern effectively. McCain went for cheap political points. That says everything we need to know about the choice we face in November.

NH Veterans for Obama Steering Committee Roundtable in Manchester, NH

by: Brian P. Clark

Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 02:11:04 AM EDT

Thursday night, at the American Legion Sweeney Post in Manchester, New Hampshire a group of Veterans met at a roundtable to discuss Senator Barack Obama's stance on Veteran affairs and benefits. Medal of Honor recipient and Vietnam veteran, Captain Paul "Bud" Bucha, joined them to kickoff the New Hampshire Veterans for Obama Steering Committee.

Bill from the Manchester Sweeney Post started off:

We need a change in this country. We need a change now. We need to bring somebody into the White House who will speak for us veterans, who will get us a VA facility like we need here in Manchester; the only state in the United States that doesn't have a full service VA hospital. We need people here to help us. We need Obama in office. We need Carol Shea-Porter in office. We need Governor Shaheen in office. We need everyone to help us veterans. A lot of guys who have got a lot of issues, they can't get them taken care of here. They have to travel to Massachusetts. They have to travel to Vermont, whether it's for cancer treatment or mental health facilities.

Jim Smith, retired Air Force General, served 28 years mainly as a fighter pilot, introduced Captain Bucha:

I supported Senator Obama early because I saw in him someone who understood that the last seven years of this nation's experience did not match what our nation stood for. And I think in Senator Obama we've got a candidate, that not only is right for this time, he probably represents the best candidate for change we've seen in several generations.

Swiftboat THIS!!!

by: Garth Corriveau

Thu Aug 14, 2008 at 18:14:49 PM EDT

I strongly urge Blue Hamsters to share this document "Unfit for Publication: An Investigative Report on the Lies in Jerome Corsi's 'Obama Nation'" ( link also found here) with anyone & everyone you know who might believe the disgusting lies being spewed by the bigots who have corrupted American conservatism. It is 41 pages of point-by-point refutation of the author of "Unfit for Command" (the Swift Boat book) and his claims in his new piece of libel.

It is well worth your time to read and to encourage others to review as well. You will see what a bigot this author is, his thoughts on Catholicism and Islam and pages of his lies, masking as journalism.

Obama as a "Sojourner"

by: gradysdad

Mon Aug 11, 2008 at 21:09:17 PM EDT

Brooks claims that Obama is a "sojourner," an outsider who is hard to place, which causes voters to be wary and uncertain of him.

"Sojourner" comes from the opening quotation in Obama's book "Dreams from My Father" in which he quotes Chronicles:  "For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers."

There is a sense that because of his unique background and temperament, Obama lives apart. He put one foot in the institutions he rose through on his journey but never fully engaged. As a result, voters have trouble placing him in his context, understanding the roots and values in which he is ineluctably embedded.

Brooks goes on to theorize that when we judge candidates, we judge the individuals and also the milieus that produced them. We judge them for the connections that exist beyond choice, according to Brooks.

Dear Veterans and Military Families for Obama

by: Jack Mitchell

Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 16:01:57 PM EDT

With the Democratic National Convention days away, we know that tens of thousands of veterans around the country (and the world) want to organize and get involved with this historic campaign for change.

You can help make that a reality!!!

Please find your state below, and join that state's Veterans for Obama organization through the websites listed below.  Organize house parties to make Senator Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday night. Help reach out to local veterans, veterans' groups, and your neighbors. Our national efforts are only as strong as your participation on the ground, and we need your involvement and leadership to win this November.

FIRED UP!!!

Jonathan Freeman
Deputy Veterans Director

Obama's VP Decision Near?

by: gradysdad

Tue Jul 29, 2008 at 21:10:02 PM EDT

NBC News reports Obama was at veep vetter Eric Holder's office in DC for the second day in a row.

According to those reports, Kaine, Bayh, Sebelius and Biden are on the short list with Kaine perhaps the leading contender.

Interesting tidbits:  Kaine, Obama, and their wives all attended Harvard Law School.  Both Kaine's and Obama's mothers were born in El Dorado, Kansas.

Kaine has reportedly cancelled an appearance for which he was scheduled tomorrow.

Obama Speech in Berlin

by: jbd

Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 15:55:29 PM EDT

I lived in West Berlin a few years before the wall came down. When I was there, two walls and barbed wire (and God knows what else) were between those two points. Friedrichstrasse, one of the crossover points, was like a no man's land. Now, you'll be happy to know there's a Starbuck's there, among other things.

But enough of my nostalgia--the speech rocked. The people were with him. They were even waving American flags. They never do that. And we know they weren't US Foreign Service wokers

TPM has the speech's transcript.

Obama was basically healing the "you're with us or against us" mentality of the last eight years. He urged the Berliners and by extension Europeans in general, to work with the US to help end world poverty, terrorism, and all the other plagues of the present. He said it will take work and sacrifice. He said--hide your eyes if you're squeamish--America hasn't been perfect. Imagine!
Not perfect ! I'm sure McBush will jump all over that one after his lunch at a German restaurant in Ohio. Who schedules this guy's campaign, anyway?

I have very close ties to Germany and am very partial to Europe in general. Shhh, I even lived in France for a while.

We have to deliver NH blue up and down the ticket. That's all there is to it.

Commander In Chief ? You Decide

by: JonnyBBad

Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 21:26:03 PM EDT

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former President George H.W. Bush, right, arrive by golf cart for a news conference at the Bush family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, Monday, July 21, 2008.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

or

In this photo released by the U.S. army, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, left, and top U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, talk as they take a helicopter ride over Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 21, 2008. Iraq's government welcomed Obama on Monday with a message of apparent common ground on American troop withdrawal goals: expressing hopes that combat forces could leave by 2010.
(AP Photo/Ssg. Lorie Jewell, HO)

Obama, Shaheen, Sununu, Which Doesn't Fit ?

by: JonnyBBad

Wed Jul 16, 2008 at 06:57:29 AM EDT

Obama - New Yorker Cover

by: GreyMike

Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 11:28:31 AM EDT

I haven't gotten my own copy of the magazine in the mail yet, but in case you haven't seen the cover, here it is on the CBS News site.

The cover art is nowhere to be seen on the New Yorker site, where the covers are usually somewhere in the upper left corner. Correction, it's on the Table of Contents page.

Hard to tell what the effects of this particular flurry will be, whether it will serve to short-circuit some of the right-wing chain e-mail initiatives, create an opportunity for a in-kind response, bring shame on the New Yorker, or just have no effect whatsoever. Opinions?

Democracy on the beach, or a deep political conversation with a soon-to-be first grader...

by: Kelly Nordstrom

Sat Jul 12, 2008 at 22:15:57 PM EDT

Jeff Beatty is apparently challenging John Kerry for his senate seat, with a tag line, "It's time to replace John Kerry with one of us."

As my husband reads that aloud, my 5 3/4 (going on 15) year old son Andrew (from here forward in italics) asks,
Who's John Kerry?
A Senator from Massachussetts.

What's a Senator?
A senator is someone who works for us in Washington to help make laws.  Each state has two senators that go to Washington.

If each state has 2 senators and there are 50 states, how many senators are there? (Have to try and get some summer math in there with our civics lesson)
900?
Okay, what's 50 +50?
100.

Right so there are 100 Senators.

Is being a senator a hard job?
Yes, it's a very hard job because you have to get most of the people in the whole state to vote for you and when you get to Washington you have to make very difficult decisions.

Remember, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are Senators?
Oh, like John McCain?
Right.

If I were president, I would make very good laws, like: no littering, be good to mother earth, no smoking, use both sides of a piece of paper...

Those would be very good laws.  I think if you were president you would be a very good president.

Who is our worst President ever?
Wait a minute, let me think... no, don't say it... George Bush.

Why is that?
Because he is mean to people.  If he's so bad, how did he get to be president anyway?
That's a good question! When he was running for president he told people he would do all kinds of good things and that he would be compassionate.

What does compassionate mean?
It means he would care for people.

Well, then he's a fibber.

Right, and he has put this country in debt.
What does "in debt" mean?

It means that he has spent money that he didn't have and that your generation will have to pay for it.  Instead of spending money on education and health care, he has spent money on war.

Why did he go to war?
Because he wanted to get control over a lot of oil.

Isn't that stealing?
In a way, ,I guess you could call it stealing, because he went in to another country, took control, and will now let his friends who own big oil companies make lots of money off of the oil there.

Where is this war?
Iraq.

Iraq.  Where's that?
In the middle east... very far away.

I don't think John McCain should be president.
Why not?
Because I think he will be just like George Bush.
So do I.

I think Barack Obama will make a good president.
So do I.

And then we heard the ice cream truck.

Around one of four thousand tables, today.

by: Kelly Nordstrom

Sun Jun 29, 2008 at 00:26:01 AM EDT

Sierra Club Endorses Obama for President

by: NH Sierra Club

Fri Jun 20, 2008 at 13:25:49 PM EDT

Carl Pope, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, America's largest grassroots environmental organization, Leo Gerard,  the leader of America's largest industrial union, and, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown highlighted the stakes in this year's election

"We believe Senator Obama is the change our nation needs - he is the change we need, the leader who will put America on the path to a clean energy economy that will create and keep millions of jobs, spur innovation and opportunity, make us a more secure nation, and  help us solve global warming," said Pope.

"The Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers are standing together in support of Barack Obama because we all share the common goal of putting America back to work by building a clean energy economy," said Leo Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers.

"Our endorsement today marks the beginning of a massive mobilization  of thousands of members around the country for the campaign-on the phone, on the ground, on the airwaves and online, spreading the message that as President, Barack Obama will lead America into the clean energy future and that we support his plan to solve both our economic challenges and the challenge of global warming at the same time," said Allison Chin, President of the Sierra Club.

Senator Obama's plan will help heal America's economy and environment:

*  Senator Obama has presented a bold and comprehensive plan for addressing climate change that relies on what the world's scientists have told us needs to be done.  His plan includes a "cap and auction" system that would cut our carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

*  His plan requires the polluters pay for the global warming pollution they emit, invests the money generated from the credits polluters would have to buy into clean energy, green jobs and aid for the lowest-income Americans affected by higher energy costs.

*  His calls for 25 percent of U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025, and for improving energy efficiency in the U.S. 50 percent by 2030 would create tens of thousands of jobs in growing industries while at the same time saving the amount Americans would have to spend on energy bills.

"Barack Obama has said, 'Change is an energy policy that puts a price on pollution and makes the oil companies invest their record profits in clean, renewable sources of energy that will create millions of new jobs and leave our children a safer planet.'  We really could not have said it better ourselves.  And that is why he is our candidate and we will do everything in our power to help elect him the next president of the United States,"
said Pope.

A sample of other high points of Senator Obama's environmental platform.

*Opposes destructive oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and on fragile coasts.
*Opposes the storage of nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain repository being built in southern Nevada.

*Promises to restore environmental protections that the Bush administration rolled back by executive order.

*Calls for tougher pollution regulations on factory farms or concentrated animal-feeding operations (CAFOs).

*Primary cosponsor of the Lead Poisoning Reduction Act, which aims to protect children from toxic lead poisoning.

Sierra Club was also an early backer of State Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic Primary for his run to the U.S. Senate, basing our endorsement on "his strong record of support for clean air, wetlands protection, and clean energy."

Debate Lessons Learned

by: Kathy Sullivan 2

Mon Jun 09, 2008 at 08:08:01 AM EDT

As for the New York proposal, both campaigns issued statements Sunday saying that they had agreed that any sessions between the two would not be moderated by an individual network or news organization as a sponsor. They did not dismiss the locale, however.

Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign said, "Both campaigns have indicated that any additional appearances will be open to all networks for broadcast on TV or Internet like the presidential commission debates rather than sponsored by a single network or news organization."

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, echoed that sentiment, saying, "Both campaigns agree the town hall meetings will be open to press but not sponsored or moderated by the press."

History

by: Garth Corriveau

Tue Jun 03, 2008 at 17:48:43 PM EDT

With all the veep and superdelegate talk, raw feelings, talk of reconciliation, and even the filing period chatter here in NH, I just think that point deserves emphasis - history will be made tonight.

Quote of the Day: Reconciliation

by: Mike Hoefer

Tue Jun 03, 2008 at 12:09:44 PM EDT

And let's hope-and let's demand of ourselves and other Obama supporters-that we recognize that unifying the party won't happen only by Clinton supporters coming to us, but by us embracing the Clinton supporters.  We must all recognize that reconciliation and banding together isn't something demanded only of our primary opponents, but is something to be demanded by, and of, all Democrats.  

Please consider this a mid-day open thread.

Obama gains a SuperD CT Party Chair DiNardo

by: JonnyBBad

Mon Jun 02, 2008 at 19:11:25 PM EDT

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24...
Clinton to give post-primary speech in N.Y.
Obama says he and Clinton will work together in general election
MSNBC News Services
updated 5:39 p.m. ET, Mon., June. 2, 2008

RAPID CITY, S.D. - Hillary Rodham Clinton will give her post-primary speech in New York Tuesday night, a rare departure from the campaign trail.

Staffers who have worked for her on the ground in Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana have been invited to attend the event in New York or go home for further instructions, campaign aides said.

But campaign officials are saying no staff cuts are planned.

Clinton is under increasing pressure to cede the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama after the final primaries. There is a sense of denouement in the Clinton campaign.

She planned to rally with husband and former President Clinton and their daughter Chelsea in South Dakota Monday night - a reunion usually reserved for election nights.

The last two Democratic primaries are on Tuesday in South Dakota and Montana.
SNIP
With 31 delegates at stake Tuesday, Obama could close the gap further and cue undecided superdelegates to come to his side. One of them, Nancy DiNardo, chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party and the state's last uncommitted delegate, said Monday she is backing Obama. She had held back her endorsement for months, saying she wanted to wait until the primaries were over.