The momentum continues...

by: News

Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 15:21:39 PM CDT

Obama Cuts Into Clinton's Delegate Lead Among Elected Officials
Bloomberg

Barack Obama has pulled almost even with Hillary Clinton in endorsements from top elected officials and has cut into her lead among the other superdelegates she's relying on to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

...

Underlying the movement to Obama, 46, is some politicians' calculation that he'll be the strongest candidate to face Republican Senator John McCain in November.

"All along he has been the one person McCain does not want to run against and that is still true," said Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who endorsed Obama last month.

Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska said Obama, unlike Clinton, stands a chance of winning at least part of his state, which has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964 and is one of two states that award some presidential electoral votes by congressional district rather than winner-take-all.

"Obama has coattails in Nebraska," said Nelson, who endorsed his Senate colleague two months ago. "Our internal polls show he can win one, possibly two, congressional districts."

The momentum continues...

by: News

Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 20:27:46 PM CDT

Not only did we win Mississippi tonight, but CNN officially called the Texas caucuses for Obama.  The mainstream media is finally reporting what really happened in Texas.

Obama wins in Mississippi, CNN projects
CNN

Sen. Barack Obama will win Mississippi's Democratic primary, CNN projects.

Obama will also finish first in the Texas Democratic caucuses, which were held last week.

He will get more delegates out of the state than rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won the state's primary.

Under the Texas Democratic Party's complex delegate selection plan, Texas voters participated in both a primary and caucuses last week.

Two-thirds of the state's 193 delegates were at stake at the primary, while the remaining third were decided by the caucuses.

As has been the case in many primary states, Obama won overwhelming support from African-American voters. They went for him over Clinton 91-9 percent.

The state has a larger proportion African-Americans (36 percent, according to the 2000 census) than any other state in the country. And black voters make up nearly 70 percent of registered Democrats.

Barack has the momentum in Texas

by: News

Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 08:14:30 AM CST

But ironically enough, it appears that the more Texans see of Hillary, the more Barack's numbers rise.

Just a couple of months ago, Hillary had a 30 point lead in Texas.  But the latest polls show Barack is closing the gap...all while Barack has been campaiging in other states.  Now that he's arriving in Texas today for rallies in San Antonio and Houston, we expect our momentum to continue as more people get to know Barack.

Hillary is still the favorite to win Texas because of her long-standing ties with our establishment politicans.  The Clintons have called Texas their must-win "firewall", and we don't doubt that they'll use every trick in the book.  But Barack has widespread grassroots support across the state and he's bringing new people into the process at record levels, so we will at least make this race interesting.  And even if Hillary wins Texas, we'll still earn a bunch of delegates because our field operation is one of the strongest and most organized operations Texas has ever seen.

Here are the latest Texas polls...

SurveyUSA Poll
Obama - 50%
Clinton - 45%

CNN Opinion Research Poll
Clinton - 50%
Obama - 48%

Please help us pull off the big upset in the Lone Star State by volunteering to become an Obama precinct captain.  Yes we can!

Gallup Poll: Obama gains 14 points on Clinton in 9 days

by: News

Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 15:17:53 PM CST

January 20th
Clinton - 48%
Obama - 28%
(20 point gap)

January 29th
Clinton - 42%
Obama - 36%
(6 point gap)

Gallup:

Barack Obama has now cut the gap with Hillary Clinton to 6 percentage points among Democrats nationally in the Gallup Poll Daily tracking three-day average, and interviewing conducted Tuesday night shows the gap between the two candidates is within a few points. Obama's position has been strengthening on a day-by-day basis. As recently as Jan. 18-20, Clinton led Obama by 20 points.

...

These national numbers are a critically important indicator of the political environment when voters in more than 20 states go to the polls next Tuesday. At the moment, Obama has the momentum among Democrats nationally.

New York Times - Sunday Feature Story

by: News

Sat Dec 15, 2007 at 14:27:34 PM CST

These are the kind of headlines you want going into January...

Obama Showing New Confidence With Iowa Sprint
New York Times

Addressing the shift in sentiment about his prospects of beating Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and holding her off in New Hampshire and other states that follow, Mr. Obama said in an interview: "A month ago, I was an idiot. This month, I'm a genius."

The campaign of Mr. Obama, which slogged uncertainly through a period in the late summer and fall, alarming contributors who feared he might have missed his moment, is now brimming with confidence as he delivers a closing argument to Iowa voters. His speeches are noticeably crisper, his poise is more consistent and many supporters say they no longer must rely upon a leap of faith to envision him winning the nomination.

...

A variety of polls show Mr. Obama, at worst, to be in a dead heat with Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and strongly gaining on her in New Hampshire, where voters will go the polls five days after the caucuses here.

To capitalize on what many Democrats see as a moment of vulnerability for Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama is seeking to remind voters of his judgment, temperament and nonpolarizing approach. At the same time, he has narrowed his focus to a micro-level in Iowa, calling county sheriffs, local officials and prospective precinct captains when he passes through town.

...

In the final 18 days of the race here, Mr. Obama intends to devote nearly all of his time to Iowa, with the exception of a two-day trip to New Hampshire. He completed his final fund-raiser of the year on Tuesday in Seattle, which freed his schedule for 15-hour days of back-to-back rallies and town meetings, a pace far more hectic than much of the year.

"The climate on the night of the caucuses is as important to turnout as anything," said David Plouffe, Mr. Obama's campaign manager who traveled across the state with him. "Right now, we have a good climate, but the next 20 days will seem like 20 years."

Obama-Oprah blog round-up

by: News

Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 15:29:43 PM CST

DailyKos.com is the most popular blog in the country, and the buzz all weekend has been about Obama-Oprah.  We've got the late momentum going into January!

Vote in this poll:

* Obama: "Shock the World" 2008 Tour (w/ poll) - click here

More stories...

* Obama Oprah News Round-Up - click here
* OBAMA-OPRAH EVENT OVER NOW, NH NEXT! - click here
* The blogosphere's problem with Barack Obama Hotlist - click here
* Obama/Oprah rally to be carried live on C-SPAN:Updated - click here
* Oprah & Obama Show  - click here
* Obama: Inspiration in the American tradition - click here
* I really like Barack Obama - click here
* Krugman and Obama are Both Right, KOS! - click here

Oprah-mentum

by: News

Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:10:22 AM CST

The 'O factor' - and it's not Obama
Associated Press:

Obama entered the Democratic presidential race with a significant disadvantage, a newcomer in national politics running against one of the world's most famous women in Clinton. Winfrey gives him his own female star power to help draw voters. The campaign hopes the "O factor" can sell the candidate the way it does books or products featured on her show.

"The only other universally adored person coming to Iowa this December is Santa," said Obama's Iowa press secretary Tommy Vietor.

Winfrey has never backed a political candidate before, but on behalf of her Chicago hometown senator is making the two stops in Iowa Saturday - in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids - before heading Sunday to South Carolina and New Hampshire with Obama and his wife. The campaign moved the biggest event to the 80,000-seat University of South Carolina football stadium after running out of the 18,000 tickets originally available.

In Iowa, Winfrey's show wins its time slot overwhelmingly in the state's four largest media markets - Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City. KCCI, the Des Moines station, has the 12th highest viewership in the country for the show.

Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand said two-thirds of those in South Carolina who snapped up the first batch of tickets were voters who had never been identified by the campaign before.

"We'll use this as an opportunity to begin a dialogue with them," Hildebrand said. "We expect this to be powerful, but we don't know it for sure because it hasn't been done before by her. Even if this has a small amount of influence, it's going to matter."

Slate: "Obama rising"

by: News

Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 19:24:44 PM CST

Obama is paying no price for aggression
Slate:

During the early fall panic period, when Barack Obama supporters worried Hillary Clinton was leaving him in the dust, those who argued he should be more aggressive clashed with those who argued that scrapping would trip him up. He was the candidate who had written and spoken at great length about a new kind of politics. To really take on Clinton, he would have to raise questions about her honesty and candor, because that's where voters see her as weak. But that would double the risk of taking a swing, since such attacks can seem personal and voters don't like that, particularly in Iowa where Obama has been closest to catching Clinton in the polls.

Despite the risks, for more than three weeks, Obama has stepped up his criticisms of Hillary Clinton, and his brand remains intact. In fact, it may be stronger than ever. A new Washington Post poll of Iowa voters shows Obama on the leading side of a statistical dead heat among the top candidates.

The Post poll shows that voters find Obama the most honest and trustworthy, about double the percentage of those who said that of Clinton, but Obama has benefited not just by raising that issue, he has been able to increase his support at the same time.

The story of the new Iowa poll appears to be less about Clinton slipping than Obama rising. That he's been able to do so while coming out fighting may come to define his new kind of politics more than any of his writings or speeches.

Texas-sized rally in New York!

by: News

Fri Sep 28, 2007 at 08:40:54 AM CDT

After our massive Texas rally earlier this year, we know how excited our New York brothers and sisters must be right now.  They had about 25,000 people show up yesterday, making it the biggest political rally in the country this year.  While we Texans would have loved to lay claim to that title, we're happy that Obama still has the big momentum!

* Obama draws thousands to NYC park - Associated Press
* Obama Addresses Roaring Crowd at NYU - Columbia Spectator
* 'ROCK STAR' OBAMA TRIUMPHS AT ARCH - New York Post
* Obama Hosts 'Don't Give Up' Rally In Hillary's Backyard - WNBC
* Obama speaks to 24k in park - NYU Student Newspaper

Obama Rallies Huge Crowd in New York
New York Times:

When Senator Barack Obama ran through the arch and strode onto stage tonight in Washington Square Park, he paused and sized up the crowd standing before him, many of whom were waving blue signs into the air emblazoned with his last name.

"Look at this crowd!" Mr. Obama said. "It is good to be back in New York. Some of you know, I used to live in New York City. I used to hang out in Washington Square Park. I know a little something about Greenwich Village."

Bathed in the glow of floodlights, Mr. Obama addressed thousands of people who stood shoulder-to-shoulder, stretching from one side of the park to the other.

"There are those in this race for the presidency who are touting their experience working the system, but the problem is that the system isn't working for us," Mr. Obama said. "There are those who are saying you should be looking for someone who can play the game better, but the problem is that the game has been rigged. The time is too serious the stakes are too high to play the same game over and over again."

In February, Mr. Obama drew 20,000 people to the Town Lake in Austin, Texas. In March, 10,000 people crowded into a plaza outside City Hall in Oakland, Calif. In April, he attracted 20,000 at an outdoor rally at Yellow Jacket Park in Atlanta.

Momentum building!

by: News

Fri Sep 07, 2007 at 13:01:25 PM CDT

The deadline is midnight tonight, so spread the word!  Vote today!