ALERT ALL WARRIORS !

ACTION TIME AGAINST NEW YORKER MAGAZINE

CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION !!!!!!!!!!!

Article from Huff Post:

OBAMA CAMP: "Tasteless And Offensive "

Who knows if they'll get this in Dubuque, but they sure aren't going to like it in Chicago: This week's New Yorker cover features an image of Michelle and Barack Obama that combines every smeary right-wing stereotype imaginable: An image of Obama in a turban and robes fist-bumping his be-afro'd wife, dressed in the military fatigues of a revolutionary and packing a machine gun and some serious ammo. Oh yes, this quaint little scene takes place in the Oval Office, under a picture of Osama bin Laden above a roaring fireplace, in which burns an American flag. All that's missing is a token sprig of arugula.

The illustration, by Barry Blitt,is called "The Politics of Fear" and, according to the NYer press release, "satirizes the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama's campaign." Uh-huh. What's that they say about repeating a rumor?
Presumably the New Yorker readership is sophisticated enough to get the joke, but still: this is going to upset a lot of people, probably for the same reason it's going to delight a lot of other people, namely those on the right: Because it's got all the scare tactics and misinformation that has so far been used to derail Barack Obama's campaign — all in one handy illustration. Anyone who's tried to paint Obama as a Muslim, anyone who's tried to portray Michelle as angry or a secret revolutionary out to get Whitey, anyone who has questioned their patriotism— well, here's your image.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton called it "tasteless and offensive" and, according to Jake Tapper at ABC, another high-profile Obama supporter called it "as offensive a caricature as any magazine could publish."

The companion article by Ryan Lizza, who has written extensively about the campaign, traces Obama's early career and rise through Chicago politics. It's very long (18 pages!) and probably won't thrill a lot of Democratic party faithful, either, since it advances the image of Obama as a skilled and calculating politician who rose by becoming a master of the game:
"[P]erhaps the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary. Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them....he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist. He runs as an outsider, but he has succeeded by mastering the inside game."
Is it the New Yorker's job to write uniformly flattering profiles of Obama? Do they have a duty to avoid controversial imagery that plays off the most dogged and damaging campaign smears? Of course not. Still, as Tapper says, there are probably "some angry, angry people in Chicago right now." Not to mention Washington, New York, and maybe even Dubuque.

Update: Artist Barry Blitt defends the cover, saying that "It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is." (end of article)

NOTE FROM B4B:

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ASSIGNMENT: Can someone track down which candidate Conde' Nast/Hertzburg contributed to. Could be interesting. Let us know.

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I Was Right ! Bush Wants Israel To Bomb Iran !

Just yesterday B4B reported about the 'secret' congressional meeting this past March regarding the Imminent Martial Law Plan (see post below) which would mean that Bush would stay in office during the martial law period (basically canceling the election). Yesterday we stated that Bush may coax Israel to attack Iran (wouldn't look credible if U.S. did another illegal preemptive attack....plus all of our troops are kind of busy right now), creating major unrest in the region, giving Bush 'justification' for the desired martial law declaration. Well, here it is, just one day later as reported in the Times of United Kingdom:

President George W Bush backs Israeli plan for strike on Iran

Times/UK

President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official.

Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an “amber light” to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times.

“Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you’re ready,” the official said. But the Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use US military bases in Iraq for logistical support.
Nor is it certain that Bush’s amber light would ever turn to green without irrefutable evidence of lethal Iranian hostility. Tehran’s test launches of medium-range ballistic missiles last week were seen in Washington as provocative and poorly judged, but both the Pentagon and the CIA concluded that they did not represent an immediate threat of attack against Israeli or US targets.

“It’s really all down to the Israelis,” the Pentagon official added. “This administration will not attack Iran. This has already been decided. But the president is really preoccupied with the nuclear threat against Israel and I know he doesn’t believe that anything but force will deter Iran.”

The official added that Israel had not so far presented Bush with a convincing military proposal. “If there is no solid plan, the amber will never turn to green,” he said.
There was also resistance inside the Pentagon from officers concerned about Iranian retaliation. “The uniform people are opposed to the attack plans, mainly because they think it will endanger our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the source said.

Complicating the calculations in both Washington and Tel Aviv is the prospect of an incoming Democratic president who has already made it clear that he prefers negotiation to the use of force.

Senator Barack Obama’s previous opposition to the war in Iraq, and his apparent doubts about the urgency of the Iranian threat, have intensified pressure on the Israeli hawks to act before November’s US presidential election. “If I were an Israeli I wouldn’t wait,” the Pentagon official added.

The latest round of regional tension was sparked by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which fired nine long and medium-range missiles in war game manoeuvres in the Gulf last Wednesday.
Iran’s state-run media reported that one of them was a modified Shahab-3 ballistic missile, which has a claimed range of 1,250 miles and could theoretically deliver a one-ton nuclear warhead over Israeli cities. Tel Aviv is about 650 miles from western Iran. General Hossein Salami, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, boasted that “our hands are always on the trigger and our missiles are ready for launch”.

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said she saw the launches as “evidence that the missile threat is not an imaginary one”, although the impact of the Iranian stunt was diminished on Thursday when it became clear that a photograph purporting to show the missiles being launched had been faked.
The one thing that all sides agree on is that any strike by either Iran or Israel would trigger a catastrophic round of retaliation that would rock global oil markets, send the price of petrol soaring and wreck the progress of the US military effort in Iraq.

Abdalla Salem El-Badri, secretary-general of Opec, the oil producers’ consortium, said last week that a military conflict involving Iran would see an “unlimited” rise in prices because any loss of Iranian production — or constriction of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz — could not be replaced. Iran is Opec’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.

Equally worrying for Bush would be the impact on the US mission in Iraq, which after years of turmoil has seen gains from the military “surge” of the past few months, and on American operations in the wider region. A senior Iranian official said yesterday that Iran would destroy Israel and 32 American military bases in the Middle East in response to any attack.

Yet US officials acknowledge that no American president can afford to remain idle if Israel is threatened. How genuine the Iranian threat is was the subject of intense debate last week, with some analysts arguing that Iran might have a useable nuclear weapon by next spring and others convinced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is engaged in a dangerous game of bluffing — mainly to impress a domestic Iranian audience that is struggling with economic setbacks and beginning to question his leadership.

Among the sceptics is Kenneth Katzman, a former CIA analyst and author of a book on the Revolutionary Guard. “I don’t subscribe to the view that Iran is in a position to inflict devastating damage on anyone,” said Katzman, who is best known for warning shortly before 9/11 that terrorists were planning to attack America.

“The Revolutionary Guards have always underperformed militarily,” he said. “Their equipment is quite inaccurate if not outright inoperable. Those missile launches were more like putting up a ‘beware of the dog’ sign. They want everyone to think that if you mess with them, you will get bitten.”

A former adviser to Rice noted that Ahmadinejad’s confrontational attitude had earned him powerful enemies among Iran’s religious leadership. Professor Shai Feldman, director of Middle East studies at Brandeis University, said the Iranian government was getting “clobbered” because of global economic strains. “His [Ahmadinejad's] failed policies have made Iran more vulnerable to sanctions and people close to the mullahs have decided he’s a liability,” he said.
In Israel, Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, has his own domestic problems with a corruption scandal that threatens to unseat him and the media have been rife with speculation that he might order an attack on Iran to distract attention from his difficulties. According to one of his closest friends, Olmert recently warned him that “in three months’ time it will be a different Middle East”.

Yet even the most hawkish officials acknowledge that Israel would face what would arguably be the most challenging military mission of its 60-year existence.
“No one here is talking about more than delaying the [nuclear] programme,” said the Pentagon source. He added that Israel would need to set back the Iranians by at least five years for an attack to be considered a success.

Even that may be beyond Israel’s competence if it has to act alone. Obvious targets would include Iran’s Isfahan plant, where uranium ore is converted into gas, the Natanz complex where this gas is used to enrich uranium in centrifuges and the plutonium-producing Arak heavy water plant. But Iran is known to have scattered other elements of its nuclear programme in underground facilities around the country. Neither US nor Israeli intelligence is certain that it knows where everything is.

“Maybe the Israelis could start off the attack and have us finish it off,” Katzman added. “And maybe that has been their intention all along. But in terms of the long-term military campaign that would be needed to permanently suppress Iran’s nuclear programme, only the US is perceived as having that capability right now.”
Additional reporting: Tony Allen-Mills in New York

NOTE FROM B4B: WAKE UP AMERICA ! While some of us are sitting around arguing about FISA, should Hillary be V.P., Jesse Jackson's 'nut-gate', etc., the Bush Regime is planning something so diobolical that all of these issues will be irrelevent. STAY FOCUSED ! Going to be a hot summer !

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NEWSFLASH !
Congress addresses the imminent martial law plan - in private.

Sat. July 12, 2008

Secret meeting in Congress to discuss the imminent martial law. This happened March 13th of 2008. WHY? Congress is expecting the imminent collapse of the U.S. economy sometime in late 2008 and the possibility of “Civil War” in the United States due to the economic collapse. Possibly the most disturbing, “The advance round up of insurgent U.S. citizens that are likely to move against the U.S. Government.” It goes on to project the necessary and unavoidable merger between the U.S. , Canada and Mexico to save the U.S. economy. If this doesn’t motivate you into action then nothing will…. If nothing else watch CSPAN video of Dennis Kucinich asking for the reasons for secret meeting.

You think this is not possible then read this NOW:
Bush Executive Order: I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat…

Here’s some of the links the author (Michael Herzong) refers to in the audios:B.A. BrooksHouse of Representatives Secret meeting (Wired.com)House of Representatives Secret meeting (Dennis Kucinich)Detailed information that is connected to B.A. BrooksDavid J. Meyer congress secret meeting


NOTE from B4B: The rumor of a potential Bush martial law plan has been spreading and seems to be heading toward reality. One is not certain if the martial law plot will derive from an economic crash late this summer or an attack on Iran most probably launched by Israel under Bush's request. Either way, it is interesting that after 2 years of public outcry for a Bush impeachment, which had fallen on deaf ears, just last week Nancy Pelosi stated that impeachment proceedings may be warranted, although she knows that actual impeachment would take more time than Bush has left in office. Could this be her way of blocking the anticipated martial law....knowing that if Bush is in impeachment proceedings he cannot declare martial law ? Looks like it's going to be a hot summer. Stay grounded. Stay Together....The TRUE battle may be yet to come.

(See Updated Post from B4B)

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Is This Why Rev. Jackson Hates Obama ?

Open Letter to Rev. Jackson from Najee Ali

(Political Activist)

Rev Jackson, your vulgar tirade caught on tape by Fox News where you said you wanted tocut Barack Obama's nuts off and accusing him of talking down to Black folks by giving moral lectures at churches is the last straw for me and a growing number of African Americans who are outraged at your comments.

There are many Blacks across the nation, myself included, who are appreciative for the work and contributions you have made in your civil rights career. But at this point, you're hurting Black America and Obama.


In September 2007 it was clear that you were frustrated by Obama, when you stated in an interview in South Carolina that Obama needs to stop acting white, because you felt he was not engaged in the Jena 6 movement enough to your liking.


Rev Jackson, your continued verbal attacks on Obama are unwarranted. It's as if you're jealous that Obama has eclipsed you and both your campaigns for the Democratic nomination by actually preparing to win it as the 2008 presumptive nominee.


Jesse Jackson & Barack Obama
For years you have been criticized as an ambulance chaser and opportunist. Many of Dr. King's insiders and aides say that King did not trust you. 40 years ago in Memphis as King lay dying from an assassin's bullet your first thought and action was to smear your shirt with Dr. King's blood. You then proceeded to appear in Chicago the next day on several news programs wearing the same shirt you deliberately smeared with his blood as if you were the heir of King's movement.


Obama's recent comments about Black fathers not abandoning their children and accepting moral responsibility in our lives is a lesson you apparently needed to learn when you were younger. If you had, it may not have caused you to cheat on your wife and father a child out of wedlock with a former staffer. Maybe that's what really bothered you about Obama's message to the church that Black fathers should be responsible for their children; you certainly haven't been.


Jesse Jackson and daughter
Living in Los Angeles I have watched your ten year old daughter grow up. Over the years I have had the pleasure to spend several holidays with your daughter including Christmas, her birthday parties and other milestones in her life. I will never turn my back on {the child} her mom and their family. It's about providing friendship, support and love to them while you have been missing in action.


Your daughter has never traveled or taken a trip with you, you have an annual birthday party in Beverly Hills every year where your entire family is welcome but your youngest child has only attended it once. She has had very little contact with her siblings and has never even met her big brother Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, who apparently doesn't want anything to do with her. And allegedly (I believe it to be true ), he was the one to leak the scandal to the media concerning your affair.


Now don't get me wrong, Obama is not above reproach. He is a politician and is fair game to be fairly criticized by you or anyone else. But to personally attack Obama is crossing the line. Obama is not talking down to Black people; he wants you and other dead beat dads to spend time and care for your children properly. The destruction of the Black family and absentee fathers is a major problem in our community.


It's a problem that King spoke out and fought against. 40 years after King's murder I can see why King didn't trust you. If you can't and won't sincerely help Obama in this historic run then at least stop attacking him. Listen to Obama's message of being a responsible father and start taking care of your daughter.


Najee Ali

Najee Ali is Executive Director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E, a national civil rights organization that advocates for the human rights of oppressed people regardless of race, gender or religion. He was selected by Wave Newspapers and Our Weekly Newspaper as one of the 25 most influential black leaders in Los Angeles. More information is available at: http://www.islamichope.org/.

Note from B4B: We didn't write the letter....we just shared it...and all we can say is.....WOW !

(UPDATE: We have deleted the child's name for anonymity.)

Related Article

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Rev. Jesse Jackson Makes
B4B Official 'Obama Hater List'

Thanks to the now infamous 'Nut-Gate' comment made by Rev. Jesse Jackson, Blacks4Barack has received numerous requests to have Jackson placed on the Obama Hater Watch List. In order to comply with the overwhelming requests we have chosen to add the Rev. on a temporary basis (still being respectful).

Visit http://blacks4barack.org/GetFiredUp.html to see the
complete Official Obama Hater List.
Obama news updates, photos, Celebs 4 Obama, volunteer info, videos, voter registration, Create-Your-Own Obama Logo (FREE), SpeakOut4Obama, Join B4B, Media Lies of the Week and Much More !

Blacks4Barack !

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Should Jesse Jackson Be Added

To The 'Obama Hater List'

(although he's a 'supporter')?

The Rev. Jesse Jackson issued an apology to Barack Obama Wednesday for making what he called a "crude and hurtful" remark about the Illinois senator's recent comments directed toward some members of the black community.

According to Jackson, a Fox News microphone picked up comments he meant to deliver privately that seemed to disparage the presumptive Democratic nominee for appearing to lecture the black community on morality.

Jackson didn't elaborate on the context of his remarks, except to say he was trying to explain that Obama was hurting his relationship with black voters by recently conducting "moral" lectures at African-American churches.
Jackson's apology came a few hours before Fox News planned to air the remarks.
Speaking to CNN Wednesday, Jackson said he feels "very distressed" over the comments.

"This is a sound bite in a broader conversation about urban policy and racial disparities. I feel very distressed because I'm supportive of this campaign and with the senator, what he has done and is doing," he said. "I said he comes down as speaking down to black people. The moral message must be a much broader message. What we need really is racial justice and urban policy and jobs and health care. That's a range of issues on the menu.

"Then I said something I regret was crude. It was very private. And very much a sound bite," he also said.
More details from Clarence Page on The Swamp:

Well, Swamp fans, as Jackson explained to me by telephone, his remarks occurred during an off-air moment during a Fox New Channel interview that aired Sunday.
Jackson didn't realize that the mics were still "hot," as in turned on and recording when he made a few off-the-cuff remarks about Obama's faith-based programs.

Bill O'Reilly has the story and plans to report it on his Fox program, "The O'Reilly Factor" tonight.

Even though O'Reilly has booked me and another guest to respond to the video, he is withholding a full transcript or recording of Jackson's remarks even from me until the program airs.
So far I have only been told by a producer that Jackson criticizes Obama's proposed faith-based programs for "talking down to black people."

And (A warning here to younger or more sensitive readers) Jackson also says something about how the senator was "going to get his (twin objects of male anatomy) cut off."
Jackson, who recalled his remark as, "The senator is cutting off his you-know-what with black people," expressed deep regrets for saying it, even in what he thought was a "private conversation."

"I want to be clear," Jackson said. "My support for Barack Obama is unequivocal. I apologize to Barack and the Obama campaign for my crude and hurtful comments."

B4B NOTE: Looks like the old school might be a bit jealous. Jesse Jackson has done many great things as well as paved the way....but now it's time to stay out of the way.

To See The Official 'Obama Hater Watch' list visit Blacks4Barack OFFICIAL SITE

Iraq Leaders Demand Timeline For U.S. Departure

Iraq said for the first time yesterday that it wanted to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from its territory.


(Times/UK)

President Bush has long resisted a schedule for pulling his 145,000 soldiers out, arguing that it would play into the hands of insurgents. Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia Prime Minister, who boasted last week that he had crushed terrorism in the country, suggested that it was time to start setting time-lines.


“The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to put a timetable on their withdrawal,” Mr al-Maliki said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. He rejected efforts by Mr Bush to hurry through an agreement on vital issues such as the immunity of US troops in Iraq and use of the country’s airspace. Mr Bush had hoped to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by the end of July to establish the basis for a long-term presence of US troops in the country.
The Iraqi parliament has bridled at pushing through such a binding deal with the outgoing and unpopular Bush Administration, saying that the negotiations have been secretive and could undermine Iraq’s sovereignty. “I don’t know anything about this agreement and neither does parliament,” said Ezzedine Dawla, a Sunni MP. “We’re going to pass something we don’t know anything about.”


Mr al-Maliki’s announcement showed a growing self-confidence that Iraqi leaders can stand up to their powerful ally. His oil minister said last week that leading Western oil companies would not be allowed to set conditions for future deals over Iraq’s main natural resource. The tough stance also comes before Iraqi provincial elections later this year, and may mark the start of the Prime Minister’s campaign to be reelected. His popularity was bolstered by military operations to take back the southern oil city of Basra and the town of al-Amarah from Iranian-backed Shia militias.


His comments may also hint at future cooperation with Barak Obama, the Democratic candidate, who has promised to pull US troops out of Iraq within 16 months, although Mr Obama has since appeared to waver on the commitment.


“The negotiations are continuing with the American side,” Mr al-Maliki said, reflecting the desire of many MPs to wait until a new administration is in the White House, and Iraq’s provincial elections are over, before making any deal. The agreement would govern such issues as immunity for US troops from prosecution, the use of Iraqi airspace, and which side takes operational control for military missions against insurgents.


Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish MP, said that the issue of immunity for US forces had become a particularly sensitive subject for Iraqis. “We have suffered so much from immunity. Immunity equals committing crimes. In the name of immunity they have killed people, they have their own prisons, they captured Iraqis. We can’t continue like this,” he said.


Haidar al-Abadi, a close aide to the Prime Minister, said that the US had wanted complete control of Iraqi airspace, since Iraq still had no air force. Mr al-Abadi said that the Government had rejected the demand. “Air-space will be decided by the Iraqi Government,” he said.
In a rebuff to the Mr al-Maliki the Pentagon said any timetable would be articifical and withdrawal would depend on conditions on the ground.





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Message From Obama

Re: FISA

Today, Barack Obama posted a message to supporters on my.barackobama.com about the FISA legislation.

I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who oppose my decision to support the FISA compromise.

This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That's why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.

But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any president or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court. In a dangerous world, government must have the authority to collect the intelligence we need to protect the American people. But in a free society, that authority cannot be unlimited. As I've said many times, an independent monitor must watch the watchers to prevent abuses and to protect the civil liberties of the American people. This compromise law assures that the FISA court has that responsibility.

The Inspectors General report also provides a real mechanism for accountability and should not be discounted. It will allow a close look at past misconduct without hurdles that would exist in federal court because of classification issues. The recent investigation (PDF) uncovering the illegal politicization of Justice Department hiring sets a strong example of the accountability that can come from a tough and thorough IG report.

The ability to monitor and track individuals who want to attack the United States is a vital counter-terrorism tool, and I'm persuaded that it is necessary to keep the American people safe -- particularly since certain electronic surveillance orders will begin to expire later this summer. Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention -- once I'm sworn in as president -- to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.

Now, I understand why some of you feel differently about the current bill, and I'm happy to take my lumps on this side and elsewhere. For the truth is that your organizing, your activism and your passion is an important reason why this bill is better than previous versions. No tool has been more important in focusing peoples' attention on the abuses of executive power in this administration than the active and sustained engagement of American citizens. That holds true -- not just on wiretapping, but on a range of issues where Washington has let the American people down.

I learned long ago, when working as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago, that when citizens join their voices together, they can hold their leaders accountable. I'm not exempt from that. I'm certainly not perfect, and expect to be held accountable too. I cannot promise to agree with you on every issue. But I do promise to listen to your concerns, take them seriously, and seek to earn your ongoing support to change the country. That is why we have built the largest grassroots campaign in the history of presidential politics, and that is the kind of White House that I intend to run as president of the United States -- a White House that takes the Constitution seriously, conducts the peoples' business out in the open, welcomes and listens to dissenting views, and asks you to play your part in shaping our country's destiny.

Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.

So I appreciate the feedback through my.barackobama.com, and I look forward to continuing the conversation in the months and years to come. Together, we have a lot of work to do.

Barack Obama

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Clinton-Backing Black

Politicians Face Angry

Black Voters

Robert Stolarik

for The New York Times

Kevin Powell is challenging Mr. Towns for his seat.
“His decision not to back Obama shows he is out of touch with his constituents,” said N. Chandler, a former city corrections officer who lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who had supported Mr. Towns in the past. “And I think the people of this district are ready for a change.”
The tensions in the district echo those in a handful of races around the country as Democratic incumbents with large African-American constituencies try to soothe resentments and anger incited by their support for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Even after Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton embraced in Unity, N.H., on Friday and sought to put their divisions behind them, some strains are still evident closer to the ground.

In Georgia, Representative John Lewis, a prominent civil rights leader, is facing primary challenges from two black candidates who have been critical of him for backing Mrs. Clinton for months before shifting to Mr. Obama. To underscore the point, one of the challengers set up his headquarters in the same building that served as Mr. Obama’s office for the primary. Nearby, in Savannah, Representative John Barrow, who is white but represents a district that is largely black, is under attack from a challenger who says Mr. Barrow was also late to endorse Mr. Obama.

Another New Yorker, Representative Gregory W. Meeks of Queens, faces a primary opponent who has sought to make an issue of Mr. Meeks’s support of the Clinton campaign in a district, New York’s 6th, where Mr. Obama drew nearly 56 percent of the vote.
The man seeking Mr. Meeks’s seat is Ruben Wills, 36, a former chief of staff for State Senator Shirley L. Huntley and an organizer for Mr. Obama in southeast Queens. “I was on board with Obama from Day 1,” Mr. Wills said. “Meeks had to be dragged across the line.”
And Representative Yvette D. Clarke, of Flatbush, Brooklyn, is running unopposed but lost the endorsement of a vital organization, the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, in part because she embraced Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy.

Most of these seats are considered safely Democratic, leaving little incentive for the national Democratic Party, or its leaders, to get involved in the races.
But at least one district — Mr. Barrow’s in Savannah — is considered vulnerable to Republican competition in the fall. And there, Mr. Obama surprised many black leaders by endorsing Mr. Barrow, a conservative Democrat who did not endorse him until after the Georgia primary.
Regina Thomas, a Georgia state senator who is black and is running for the seat, said that voters shared her displeasure with Mr. Obama’s decision. “This is what one constituent said to me, ‘Barrow didn’t do anything to help Obama win the 12th District,’ ” she said. “After he endorsed Barrow, people were like: ‘What in the world is he doing? Why doesn’t he just stay out of it?’ ”
For Mr. Towns in Brooklyn, leftover tensions from the Clinton-Obama battle seem especially strong. An emerging young black political class is seeking to assert the neighborhood’s power against what it sees as an older establishment, based in Harlem, that has long exercised disproportionate influence in New York. The younger Democratic activists link Mr. Meeks and Mr. Towns, the son of a North Carolina sharecropper and a 25-year veteran in Congress, to that structure.

Mr. Towns cannot afford to take the challenge lightly. Two years ago, he won with less than 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race. The man who is running against him now, Kevin Powell, is a community organizer who has the backing of celebrities like the comedian Dave Chappelle, who is scheduled to headline a fund-raiser for Mr. Powell.

Jordan Thomas, who led the organization Brooklyn for Barack, and Arthur Leopold, a fund-raiser for the Obama campaign, are backing Mr. Powell, as are several Democratic clubs, including the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, in part because of members’ disappointment after Mr. Towns backed Mrs. Clinton.
It is difficult to overstate the enthusiasm and pride Mr. Obama stirred in the district, where he received 58 percent of the vote. Interviews last week with residents, political activists and businesspeople throughout the district showed those feelings to be still close to the surface.

Patrice C. Queen, a freelance writer from East New York, Brooklyn, and a volunteer for Mr. Powell’s campaign, was especially upset that Mr. Towns had continued to back Mrs. Clinton even after her supporters made what she said were racially charged comments about Mr. Obama.

To her, the reason black leaders like Mr. Towns stuck with Mrs. Clinton was obvious. “Racial self-hatred,” said Ms. Queen, who is black. “It was as if they were saying: ‘We people of color are not ready yet. We’re not ready to be in the White House.’ Self-hatred does that to you.”
Kyle Clarke, an elementary school teacher, said Mr. Towns’s loyalty to Mrs. Clinton was purely strategic.

“He’s been in office for 25 years and he’s part of the establishment,” he said. “How’s he going to go up against the Clintons? He wants to have a career.”
A. T. Mitchell, 42, who recently started a political club, Hip-Hop Stand Up and Vote, on a gritty block in East New York, said Mr. Towns’s support of Mrs. Clinton was not solely a reason to abandon him, but it did send a powerful message.
“It said that he is out of touch with his constituents, that he is removed from the concerns of the common voter,” Mr. Mitchell said.
In an interview, Mr. Towns said he was worried that the compressed primary calendar did not give him much time to make peace with Obama loyalists. “September is not that far away,” he said, referring to the Sept. 9 primary. “That’s problematic for me.”
While the Towns campaign plans to dispatch the representative on a schedule of intense campaigning later this summer, the operation is also readying its lawyers to aggressively scrutinize the signature petitions Mr. Powell has gathered to get on the ballot, with the hope of knocking him off.

The challenge appears to have taken Mr. Towns by surprise. His campaign said he had more than $300,000, a relatively meager sum at this stage for an incumbent facing a challenge.
Mr. Towns said it had been personally difficult for him to choose between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama. “I serve in the Congressional Black Caucus, and he is a member,” he said. “But Hillary Clinton represents New York State, and I’ve worked together with her on many projects.”
Mr. Towns can expect some help from a longtime House colleague, Representative Charles B. Rangel of Harlem, who also supported Mrs. Clinton but escaped a primary fight, in part because he lined up much of Harlem behind her.

NOTE: Speaking of Clinton-Backing Black Politicians...where's Stephanie Tubbs Jones (my Congresswoman), Maxine Waters, Sheila Jackson Lee, Kendrick Meek, Corrine Brown, Alcee Hastings, Emanuel Cleaver....now that Barack Obama has been declared the nominee ?

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Obama; Bill Clinton

Finally Talk

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama and Bill Clinton ended their mutual silent treatment Monday, with the Democratic presidential candidate reaching out and asking his former Democratic nemesis to help him win the White House.
In their first conversation since the end of the heated primary, Mr. Clinton agreed to campaign for the candidate he portrayed as inexperienced for a presidential run. Mr. Obama had said Bill Clinton's harsh criticisms led him to wonder which Clinton he was running against sometimes.
The 20-minute conversation was the latest step in bringing together the two warring camps. While Hillary Clinton has been publicly behind Mr. Obama, hard feelings remained between the former Democratic president and the candidate hoping to become the next one.
They hadn't spoken until Mr. Obama called Monday after landing in Missouri for a campaign stop. Both sides later issued statements about the conversation, an important public display of how Mr. Obama needs to have both Clintons on board moving into the general election.
Enlarge Image
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama hugs Stephanie Alloush as he greets supporters near the Harry Truman National Historic Site in Independence, Mo., on Monday. (Associated Press)
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Bill Clinton is still popular with voters even if his stock went down, especially among blacks, after his angry outbursts against Mr. Obama during the primary. But Mr. Obama could use the former president to help win over voters, especially the working-class whites who fondly remember better economic times under the Clinton administration and who overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton during the primaries.
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr. Obama asked Mr. Clinton to campaign with him and on his own.
Mr. Obama “has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation's great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said the former president renewed his offer — expressed in a one-sentence statement last week — to do whatever he can to ensure Mr. Obama wins the presidency.
“President Clinton continues to be impressed by Senator Obama and the campaign he has run, and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come,” Mr. McKenna said. “The president believes that Senator Obama has been a great inspiration for millions of people around the country and he knows that he will bring the change America needs as our next president.”
Bill Clinton was in Europe last week and did not attend last Friday's rally with his wife and Mr. Obama in the symbolic town of Unity, N.H. Mr. Obama said it was appropriate that he appear alone with his former rival since they waged the hard-fought race.

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Beware Of Black

GOP Obama Haters

The National Black Republican Association has launched the most personalized attacks of the presidential campaign to date, accusing Barack Obama of being an "arrogant elitist," and raising his connections to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko.

In three radio spots that the organization modestly claims are "eye-opening," the NBRA goes where its GOP counterparts have not: throwing the kitchen sink at Obama -- including racial references -- in hopes that something sticks. "Racist Democrats declared they would vote for a 'yellow dog' before a Republican because the Republican Party was the party for blacks," one ad states. "Racist Democrats will not vote for Obama, a black man."

In another 60-second spot entitled "Arrogant Obama," the narrator states:
"Bitter is what Obama called blacks and whites who love God. Racist is what Obama called his white grandmother who raised him and made sacrifices so Obama could get a good education and become a millionaire. Obama's friends are terrorist Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright who said innocent Americans deserved to die on September 11th. Obama is an arrogant elitist who turned his back on poor blacks and his own country."

From another spot, entitled "Radical Obama":
"Look beyond Barack Obama's skin color and soaring rhetoric and you will see an arrogant, elitist millionaire whose voting record is the most liberal in Congress. Look at the people around Obama, and you will understand that Obama lacks the judgment to be our next president. Obama's mentor for 20-years was Rev. Jeremiah Wright who said innocent Americans deserved to die on September 11th. Obama's 20-year friend and bagman was Tony Rezko who was recently convicted of fraud."

The ads, according to an NBRA press release, will air on radio stations in battleground states. But what kind of affect they'll have (or seriousness with which they'll be regarded) is in serious doubt.
For starters, the NBRA is targeting African Americans -- a constituency deeply committed to Obama -- with hopes of getting 25 percent of the black vote. That, objectively, would be a minor miracle for the GOP, which is staring at massive losses among the constituency. Secondly, there is no word yet as to the extent of the group's ad buy, and calls to find out went unreturned.

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Obama Supporters Adobting Middle

Name "Hussein" As Their Own

By JODI KANTOR

Emily Nordling has never met a Muslim, at least not to her knowledge. But this spring, Ms. Nordling, a 19-year-old student from Fort Thomas, Ky., gave herself a new middle name on “Emily Hussein Nordling,” her entry now reads.
With her decision, she joined a growing band of supporters of Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who are expressing solidarity with him by informally adopting his middle name.
The result is a group of unlikely-sounding Husseins: Jewish and Catholic, Hispanic and Asian and Italian-American, from Jaime Hussein Alvarez of Washington, D.C., to Kelly Hussein Crowley of Norman, Okla., to Sarah Beth Hussein Frumkin of Chicago.
Jeff Strabone of Brooklyn now signs credit card receipts with his newly assumed middle name, while Dan O’Maley of Washington, D.C., jiggered his e-mail account so his name would appear as “D. Hussein O’Maley.” Alex Enderle made the switch online along with several other Obama volunteers from Columbus, Ohio, and now friends greet him that way in person, too.
Mr. Obama is a Christian, not a Muslim. Hussein is a family name inherited from a Kenyan father he barely knew, who was born a Muslim and died an atheist. But the name has become a political liability. Some critics on cable television talk shows dwell on it, while others, on blogs or in e-mail messages, use it to falsely assert that Mr. Obama is a Muslim or, more fantastically, a terrorist.
“I am sick of Republicans pronouncing Barack Obama’s name like it was some sort of cuss word,” Mr. Strabone wrote in a manifesto titled “We Are All Hussein” that he posted on his own blog and on dailykos.com.
So like the residents of Billings, Mont., who reacted to a series of anti-Semitic incidents in 1993 with a townwide display of menorahs in their front windows, these supporters are brandishing the name themselves.
“My name is such a vanilla, white-girl American name,” said Ashley Holmes of Indianapolis, who changed her name online “to show how little meaning ‘Hussein’ really has.”
The movement is hardly a mass one, and it has taken place mostly online, the digital equivalent of wearing a button with a clever, attention-getting message. A search revealed hundreds of participants across the country, along with a YouTube video and bumper stickers promoting the idea. Legally changing names is too much hassle, participants say, so they use “Hussein” on Facebook and in blog posts and comments on sites like nytimes.com, dailykos.com and mybarackobama.com, the campaign’s networking site.
New Husseins began to crop up online as far back as last fall. But more joined up in February after a conservative radio host, Bill Cunningham, used Mr. Obama’s middle name three times and disparaged him while introducing Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, at a campaign rally. (Mr. McCain repudiated Mr. Cunningham’s comments).
The practice has been proliferating ever since. In interviews, several Obama supporters said they dreamed up the idea on their own, with no input from the campaign and little knowledge that others shared their thought.
Some said they were inspired by movies, including “Spartacus,” the 1960 epic about a Roman slave whose peers protect him by calling out “I am Spartacus!” to Roman soldiers, and “In and Out,” a 1997 comedy about a gay high school teacher whose students protest his firing by proclaiming that they are all gay as well.
“It’s one of those things that just takes off, because everybody got it right away,” said Stephanie Miller, a left-leaning comedian who blurted out the idea one day during a broadcast of her syndicated radio talk show and repeated it on CNN.
Ms. Miller and her fellow new Husseins are embracing the traditionally Muslim name even as the Obama campaign shies away from Muslim associations. Campaign workers ushered two women in head scarves out of a camera’s range at a rally this month in Detroit. (The campaign has apologized.) Aides canceled a December appearance on behalf of Mr. Obama by Representative Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and the first Muslim congressman.
Mr. Obama may be more enthusiastic, judging from his response at a Chicago fund-raiser two weeks ago. When he saw that Richard Fizdale, a longtime contributor, wore “Hussein” on his name tag, Mr. Obama broke into a huge grin, Mr. Fizdale said.
“The theory was, we’re all Hussein,” Mr. Obama said to the crowd later, explaining Mr. Fizdale’s gesture.
Some Obama supporters say they were moved to action because of what their own friends, neighbors and relatives were saying about their candidate. Mark Elrod, a political science professor at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., is organizing students and friends to declare their Husseinhood on Facebook on Aug. 4, Mr. Obama’s birthday.
Ms. Nordling changed her name after volunteering for Mr. Obama before the Kentucky primary.
“People would not listen to what you were saying on the phone or on their doorstep because they thought he was Muslim,” she said.
Ms. Nordling’s uncle liked the idea so much that he joined the same Facebook group that she had. But when her father saw her new online moniker, he was incredulous.
“He actually thought I was going to convert to Islam,” Ms. Nordling said.

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Bill Clinton Says Obama Must
'Kiss My A**' For His Support

From Huff Post
Bill Clinton is so bitter about Barack Obama's victory over his wife Hillary that he has told friends the Democratic nominee will have to beg for his wholehearted support.
Mr Obama is expected to speak to Mr Clinton for the first time since he won the nomination in the next few days, but campaign insiders say that the former president's future campaign role is a "sticking point" in peace talks with Mrs Clinton's aides.
The Telegraph has learned that the former president's rage is still so great that even loyal allies are shocked by his patronising attitude to Mr Obama, and believe that he risks damaging his own reputation by his intransigence.
A senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton has revealed that he recently told friends Mr Obama could "kiss my ass" in return for his support.


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POOR BILL !

It's My Party...

I'll Cry If I Want To

Article By Thomas B. Edsall

"What does Bill Clinton want?"
Barack Obama quickly determined what Hillary Clinton wants in the aftermath of defeat: a major role in the general election campaign, a star turn at the convention, help with her debt, and Obama's support for elected officials who backed her. The big-time holdout turns out to be her husband.

Bill is more complex. He wants respect, absolution and love.
The former president and Obama have not talked, and, by all accounts, the man of the Clinton household remains hurt and resentful. Associates provide a variety of explanations for the Bill Clinton dilemma, none of them mutually exclusive.
Some say Bill Clinton not only wants Obama to reach out to him, but to also promise to lift the cloud of alleged racism -- an accusation that continues to eat at the man once dubbed the nation's "first black president." Clinton, these folks suggest, wants Obama to publicly exonerate him of the charge that he played the race card in the primaries.

Beyond that, some associates say, Bill Clinton wants Obama to reach out to him as a mentor, a guide who can lead Obama through the labyrinth of a tough presidential election. "Bill wants to be honored, to return to the role of Democratic elder statesman, and get rid of this image of him as a pol willing to do anything to win," said one associate.

"He is still bruised from the trail, really hurt about the racist charges leveled against him, and convinced the Obama campaign fomented it," said another source familiar with the former president's attitude. "What he would really like is for Obama to apologize, but on one level he knows that is never going to happen," a third source said.

Another source, in contrast, downgraded the idea that Bill Clinton wants to be personally attended to by Obama. Instead, the source said, "POTUS wants first and foremost that his wife is treated with the respect that she has earned. Secondly, while he does not expect Obama to run for a Clinton third term, he would hope that Obama does not continue to implicitly criticize his eight years in office as he did during the primaries."

Finally, a person close to both Clintons contended that the current impasse between Obama and Bill Clinton "is not a big problem. All Obama has to do is ask, it's his name on the ballot." Once that hurdle is crossed, this friend of the former president and first lady said, "Bill Clinton will end up seducing Obama. Clinton likes to deal with people who have not necessarily treated him well," noting that Clinton and Newt Gingrich had a productive relationship until Gingrich began pressing for impeachment.

The accusation that Bill Clinton pointedly sought to downgrade Obama's success and to aggressively define him as a "black" candidate gained momentum on January 26, 2008 when the former president seemed to dismiss Obama's victory in South Carolina: "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here."

Clinton has not been hesitant to make his feelings about these charges known far and wide.
"I think that they [the Obama campaign] played the race card on me," Clinton told Philadelphia radio station WHYY on April 22. "We now know, from memos from the campaign, that they planned to do it along."

On June 2, Clinton told Huffington Post Off The Bus Reporter Mayhill Fowler:
"They had all these people standing up in this church cheering, calling Hillary a white racist, and he [Obama] didn't do anything about it. The first day he said 'Ah, ah, ah well.' Because that's what they do-- he gets other people to slime her."
During the campaign, Obama, in turn, complained a number of times about Bill Clinton's tactics and comments

"You know the former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling," Obama said on January 21. "He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts....This has become a habit, and one of the things that we're gonna have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's making statements that are not factually accurate."

Now that he is the nominee, however, Obama has become more generous towards Bill.
"If the question is, do I want Bill Clinton campaigning for us, for the ticket, leading into November, the answer is absolutely yes. I want him involved. He is a brilliant politician. He was an outstanding president. And so, I want his help, not only in campaigning, but also in governing. And I'm confident that I'll get that help," Obama declared on June 25.

While Obama awaits a response from Mr. Clinton, blogger Marc Ambinder has been conducting an on-line poll asking whether 1) Obama should bend over backwards to make sure Bill Clinton campaigns for him in the fall 2) Obama should ignore Bill Clinton entirely or 3) Obama should ask Bill Clinton politely, but if Clinton says no, Obama should ignore him.
With a total of 2,292 votes cast, answer number 3 - "ask politely, if 'no,' ignore Clinton" - was decisively ahead with 1,765 votes, or 77 percent of Ambinder's responses; answers 1 and 2 drew 10% (240 votes) and 13% (287 votes) respectively.

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Hillary Catches Obamamania...

Hits Campaign Trail for OBAMA !

UNITY, N.H. — Rivals turned allies, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton made a display of unity Friday in a hamlet named for it, their first joint public appearance since the divisive Democratic primary race ended.
"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Senator (John) McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," said Clinton, the loser in a marathon Democratic nomination fight, as she implored her supporters to join with Obama's "to create an unstoppable force for change we can all believe in."

In turn, Obama praised both Clinton and her husband, former President Clinton, as allies and pillars of the Democratic Party. "We need them. We need them badly," Obama said. "Not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom in the months and years to come because that's how we're going to bring about unity in the Democratic Party. And that's how we're going to bring about unity in America."
Moments earlier, the two snaked their way through some 6,000 people who gathered in a wide-open field and overflowed some bleacher seats in this town of 1,700.
This was a carefully chosen venue in a key general election battleground state: Unity awarded exactly 107 votes to each candidate in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary in January. Obama clinched the nomination June 3 and Clinton suspended her campaign four days later.
Friday's joint appearance capped a turbulent Democratic primary season and tense post-race transition as the two went from foes to friends _ at least publicly. This was the most visible event in a series of gestures the two senators have made over the past week to heal the hard feelings _ between themselves as well as among their backers. Both were mindful of the need for the entire Democratic Party to swing behind Obama as he faces McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, in the general election.

At a private appearance with Obama in Washington on Thursday, Clinton encouraged her top fundraisers to help Obama. She went one step further on Friday: Both Clintons, Hillary and Bill, made the maximum $2,300 donation to Obama's campaign Friday in an online transaction, aides said.
In New Hampshire, Clinton and Obama took the stage together.
"Unity is not only a beautiful place as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it? And I know when we start here in this field in Unity, we'll end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president," Clinton said from a podium as Obama sat next to her on a stool, coatless with his white shirt sleeves rolled up. She wore a powder blue pantsuit; he wore a light blue tie.

Wasting little time pressing Obama's case, Clinton noted that McCain and the GOP probably hoped she wouldn't join forces with Obama.
"But I've got news for them: We are one party; we are one America, and we are not going to rest until we take back our country and put it once again on the path to peace, prosperity and progress in the 21st century," Clinton said to cheers.
Echoing Obama's pitch, Clinton said McCain offered nothing more than a continuation of President Bush's policies.
"In the end, Senator McCain and President Bush are like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn't amount to a whole lot of change," Clinton said. "If you think we need a new course, a new agenda, then vote for Barack Obama and you will get the change that you need and deserve."
Obama heaped praise on Clinton when it was his turn to speak.
"For 16 months, Sen. Clinton and I have shared the stage as rivals for the nomination, but today I could not be happier and more honored and more moved that we're sharing this stage as allies to bring about the fundamental changes that this country so desperately needs," Obama said. "Hillary and I may have started with separate goals in this campaign, but we made history together."

Obama is seeking to become the country's first black president; Clinton had sought to become the first woman to win the White House.
"I've admired her as a leader, I've learned from her as a candidate. She rocks. She rocks. That's the point I'm trying to make," Obama added, responding to cheers from the crowd. "I know firsthand how good she is, how tough she is, how passionate she is, how committed she is the causes that brought all of us here today."
Each needs the other now.
Obama needed the former first lady to give her voters and donors a clear signal that she doesn't consider it a betrayal for them to shift their loyalty his way; she did that this week. Clinton won convincingly among several voter groups during the primaries, including working class voters and older women _ groups that McCain has actively courted since she left the race.
Clinton, for her part, needs the Illinois senator's help in paying down $10 million of her campaign debt, and Obama has asked his supporters to help retire her debt. And she certainly doesn't want Obama to lose and have some of his supporters blame her.
She also wants assurance she will be treated respectfully as a top surrogate on the campaign trail and at the Democratic convention later this summer. Some of Clinton's supporters want her name placed in nomination for a roll call vote at the Denver convention, an effort she hasn't formally discouraged.

Campaigning in Youngstown, Ohio, McCain told reporters he understood the Democrats' effort to unite, but he also believes he is making inroads in attracting disgruntled Democrats. He noted a woman at a town-hall style meeting Thursday in Cincinnati who wore a "Hillary" hat as she asked him a question.
"Obviously, I have to get Republican votes, independent votes and the old and new Reagan Democrats," McCain said Friday after touring a General Motors car factory in Lordstown, Ohio.
___
Associated Press Writer Beth Fouhy contributed to this story.

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Pastor Who Wed Jenna Bush

(Black Man)

Starts Pro-Obama Site !

James Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me

By Krissah Williams

The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, leader of the largest Methodist congregation in the country, launched a website yesterday titled "James Dobson Does Not Speak For Me." The site is a jab at Dobson, a stalwart of the religious right who this week called Sen. Barack Obama's interpretation of the Bible in a 2006 speech distorted "to fit [Obama's] own world view, his own confused theology."
Caldwell's site launched a day after Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program aired a harsh assessment of Obama's speech on faith and public policy and encourages readers to sign a statement declaring that Dobson does not represent them.
"I think it's a crime and a shame that Senator Obama has had to explain the fact that he's a Christian," Caldwell said in a recent interview. "Criticize his politics. Criticize his stance on whatever, but don't question his faith. Never in the history of American politics has someone said that he is a Christian and someone came back to say, 'No you're not.'"
If Rev. Caldwell's name sounds familiar, it may be because he is the same Rev. Caldwell who introduced President Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention and last month officiated at Jenna Bush's wedding ceremony at the presidential ranch in Crawford. This election Caldwell is firmly in the Obama camp and doggedly trying to help the campaign bring other pastors and parishioners along.
Caldwell's site encourages readers to sign this statement:
James Dobson doesn't speak for me.
He doesn't speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide;
He doesn't speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible;
...What does speak for me is David's psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity;
Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him;
...These words speak for me. But when James Dobson attacks Barack Obama, James Dobson doesn't speak for me.
The site also provides a side-by-side transcript of Obama's Call to Renewal speech and Dobson's critique.
Caldwell is not an official surrogate for the Obama campaign, but has for months participated on a weekly Friday morning prayer call with members of Obama's staff and other Christian ministers who dial in from across the county.
Caldwell, who oversees the 14,000-member Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, said he personally prayed with Obama before the Texas primary and talks regularly with Joshua DuBois and Paul Monteiro, the young staffers overseeing the campaign's religious outreach.
The campaign has indicated recently that it will aggressively pursue religious voters, and Obama met with 30 evangelical leaders earlier this month, including the Bishop T.D. Jakes and the Rev. Franklin Graham (son of the Rev. Billy Graham), for an off the record Q & A session. And the campaign is reportedly working on a broad outreach to young evangelicals that it calls "The Joshua Generation."
CBN reporter and blogger David Brody, who has been following the role of faith in the campaign closely, has suggested that Obama will struggle to win over many traditional Evangelicals but has a shot with younger Christians. "Clearly there are differences between Obama's more progressive views of Christianity and the conservative viewpoint. It's important to remember that while Obama will attract some conservative Evangelicals, Obama's main goal is to win over moderate Evangelicals," Brody wrote on his blog. "Also young conservative Evangelicals seem more open to Obama's 'Christian' message of caring for the poor, fighting genocide, healthcare for all, and climate change. They also like the fact that he is reaching out to try and find common ground with conservative faith voters."
For his part, Caldwell, who still considers Bush a personal friend, said he sees similarities between the President and Obama that may appeal to religious voters.
"They are both loyal to their God. They are very loyal to their country. They are very loyal to their wives and their families," Caldwell said. "They are great husbands and great dads. Both of them have a clear understanding of the role that the families play in the community."
Will that be enough for Obama to siphon off some of the heavily Republican evangelical vote, which went overwhelmingly to Bush in 2000 and 2004? If Dobson is any indication, skeptics remain.

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