|
 |
CNN Forced Obama to Send Early Text Message more similar news »
Sen. Barack Obama planned to name Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate by text message at 8 a.m. ET Saturday morning, but was forced to move up the announcement when CNN broke the story after midnight.
The message instead went out just after 3 a.m. ET.
Said senior Obama aide Robert Gibbs: "Had a certain network not blown our cover at a certain time the text message would have gone out in the morning, 8 a.m. Eastern. We told people they would find out from us. When we decided it was going to get out we decided to send the text out."
Mon Aug 25, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Mason-Dixon: Western States Remain Battleground more similar news »
Mason Dixon released new polls from various Western states:
Nevada: McCain 46%, Obama 39%
New Mexico: McCain 45%, Obama 41%
Arizona: McCain 47%, Obama 41%
Colorado: Obama 46%, McCain 43%
Wyoming: McCain 62%, Obama 25%
Utah: McCain 62%, Obama 23%
These polls show very good news for Obama in Colorado and Arizona; and for McCain in Nevada and New Mexico.
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
The Third Time more similar news »
Walter Shapiro: "The Democrats' last two vice-presidential picks, Joe Lieberman and John
Edwards, have not -- to put it gently -- aged well politically. But
Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden may prove that the third time in
this decade is the charm."
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Convention Week Agenda more similar news »
The following guest post is from Dan Conley, a former speechwriter for Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Here are the things the Democrats need to get done this week:
Sell the Middle Class Tax Cut. John McCain doesn't offer one, Barack Obama does. McCain is running ad after ad saying Obama will raise taxes -- it's a lie. For the bottom 97 percent of American taxpayers, Barack Obama will cut your taxes and John McCain won't.
Pound the economic elitism storyline. McCain gift wrapped an issue for Democrats this week by not knowing how many homes he owns. He's out of touch. He thinks people who make $4 million a year are middle class. He thinks the Bush economic approach is working.
Turnaround the celebrity/cult issue. There's a real political cult stalking America, but not the one you think. The real cult is one of warrior pencil-necked geeks ... a political Fight Club for all the boys who got beat up in high school. They hold the corner offices in think tanks and dominate the op-ed pages of big city newspapers. They walk in John McCain's shadow and throw around pro wrestling words like "smackdown," thinking that the U.S. military can restore their manhood. And yes, some of them are U.S. Senators, most notably McCain's fey sidekicks Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman ...
Destroy Joe Lieberman. The Dems made a huge mistake in 2004 by not bloodying up Zell Miller in Boston before he could attack them in New York. This time, Lieberman must be annihilated. I'd use Jim Webb or Wesley Clark to twist the knife into him.
Get real. No need for flash or showbiz. No need for soaring rhetoric. America knows we can do that, they expect it. Talk about where we are, how we got there and exactly how we'll get out. Bob the Builder chants aren't enough ... turn the convention into Extreme Makeover, America Edition.
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Biden's Seat Not At Risk more similar news »
James Pindell notes Sen. Barack Obama's selection of Sen. Joe Biden to be his
running mate "should not have a major impact on control of the U.S.
Senate."
"Biden, who is up for re-election this year, faces
nominal competition from television pundit Christine O' Donnell. A spokeswoman for Delaware's Board of Elections said this week that
Biden can run concurrently for both the Senate and vice president, just
like Joe Lieberman did in 2000."
Furthermore, it is unlikely that Democrats "will lose control of
Biden's seat in the Senate if he and Barack Obama take the White House."
CQ rates the seat Safe Democrat.
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
PPP Poll: Obama Retains Edge in Virgina more similar news »
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain by two points, 47% to 45%.
Key findings: "Obama has held a two point lead in all three of PPP's Virginia
polls. He's not having as much of a problem here as he is in some other
states with nailing down the Democratic vote- an 84-12 lead with voters
in his own party is not too dissimilar from John McCain's 89-7.
Independents are basically split with Obama leading 41-39."
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Obama Plans Massive Text Message Blast more similar news »
"Democratic leaders plan to use Barack Obama 's acceptance speech Thursday evening as the spearhead of a high-tech effort to reach out simultaneously to millions of voters," CQ Politics reports.
"The planned effort -- which will include asking all 75,000 or so people in the audience to text message or cell phone friends across the country -- represents the latest twist in the Obama campaign's unprecedented use of communications technology."
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Quinniapiac Poll: Colorado Remains Very Tight more similar news »
A new Quinnipiac poll in Colorado shows Sen. John McCain just edging Sen. Barack Obama, 47% to 46%.
Said pollster Peter Brown: "Colorado is one of the most important battleground states that will decide the
presidency as Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama slug it out nose to nose. If the national
election is close in November, a handful of votes in Colorado will be decisive. Right now,
independent voters are split with 46 percent for Sen. McCain and 44 percent for Sen. Obama."
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
What Obama's Pick Means more similar news »
Politico examines Sen. Barack Obama's selection of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate and says it tells us five things about the Democratic nominee:
1. He's fixing for a fight.
2. He's a lot more conventional than advertised.
3. He's insecure about security.
4. He's more worried about Lunchbox Joe than Bubba.
5. He doesn't hold a grudge -- or at least doesn't let one get in the way.
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
WP/ABC Poll: Obama Leads By Four Points more similar news »
The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain, 49% to 45%.
"The results show little movement from the last Post-ABC survey,
conducted in mid-July, before Obama embarked on a highly publicized
trip overseas and prior to a series of fierce exchanges between the
campaigns. Other recent national polls also show only limited changes
in the overall race heading into the conventions, although several of
those surveys indicate an even-tighter race."
The poll was taken before Obama named Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate.
Sun Aug 24, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Early Reactions to Obama's Pick more similar news »
Just as news broke early this morning of Sen. Barack Obama's choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, Sen. John McCain's campaign sent out a prepared attack ad using a quote from Biden saying that Obama was not "ready" to be president. It was predictable given that the two men were primary opponents; more interesting will be the Obama campaign's response this morning.
From a purely political perspective, no presidential campaign has ever handled the announcement of a running mate so deftly. The Obama campaign set a new standard that will be studied for years.
Other reactions:
New York Times: "Mr. Obama's selection ended a two-month search that was conducted
almost entirely in secret. It reflected a critical strategic choice by
Mr. Obama: To go with a running mate who could reassure voters about
gaps in his résumé, rather than to pick someone who could deliver a
state or reinforce Mr. Obama's message of change."
Politico:
"On foreign policy and national security, an area where John McCain
regularly assails Obama's lack of experience, Democrats offer few more
seasoned practitioners than Biden."
First Read: "On the Democratic side, it was a collective 'phew.' As the days got
nearer for the pick, it was hard to find a Democrat -- even savvy
Clintonites -- who weren't hoping it would be Biden. Only the most
strident Hillary supporters appear to be upset this morning. On the GOP
side, the sound you heard was disappointed silence. Of everyone on the
short list, the candidate many Republicans least wanted to see Obama
pick was Biden."
Mark Halperin: "Balanced against all of those unmatched qualifications is one quality
that has afflicted Biden for as long as anyone can remember: a persistent
tendency to say silly, offensive, and off-putting things. Over the next few
days (and, likely, weeks) some of Biden's ungreatest hits of gab will be
recycled by the media and Republicans aiming to take the luster off Obama's
choice of running mate."
Craig Crawford: "Obama-Biden works on several fronts, A longtime sentimental favorite among the Democratic faithful, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden provides a comfort zone for labor leaders, Catholics (he is one) and national-security voters. Although Biden's poor fundraising skills doomed his presidential campaigns, he performs extremely well in debates and demonstrated considerable skill at shifting from the arcane language of the Senate chamber to the street language of the campaign trail."
David Brody: "Time will tell if Barack Obama made the right choice in picking Joe
Biden but if you look at it on paper, it makes a whole lot of sense."
Marc Ambinder: "Obama-Biden will be a formidable ticket, and a risky ticket, and not a comfort zone choice for Obama."
Jonathan Cohn: "Conservatives will blast [Biden's] record, just as
surely as liberals will (or should) celebrate it. But one of the
virtues of having Biden as the vice presidential nominee is that he
won't take those kinds of attacks lightly. He'll fight back. He'll
remind people, rightly, that being a liberal Democrat means raising the
minimum wage, making sure everybody has affordable health care,
providing strong public schools, and protecting human rights. Then,
he'll ask why conservative Republicans don't want the same things.
That's exactly the kind of political debate this country needs. By
picking Biden as a running mate, Obama has signaled that he welcomes
this argument--and intends, finally, to win it."
Sat Aug 23, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Bloomberg May Fight Term Limits more similar news »
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg "has quietly approached some of the city's most powerful media figures to assess whether their publications would endorse a bid to overturn New York City's term limits, which could clear a path for him to run for re-election next year," the New York Times reports.
"Such a move would upend New York's political world and be a dramatic reversal for the mayor."
Sat Aug 23, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Activity at Biden's House more similar news »
CNN -- which has had a camera trained on Sen. Joe Biden's home all day -- reports there is now "a flurry of
activity" there.
"Cars have recently pulled into the driveway -- including a police car -- and Biden's daughter, son, and wife are now believed to be inside."
First Read: "Just asking, so which news organization is going to irresponsibly go
with Biden without confirmation from Biden or the Obama campaign --
even though they all have the same information we do? Some news org who
loves credit and hits has to be itchin'..."
Sat Aug 23, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
It's Not Bayh or Kaine more similar news »
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) have been told by Sen. Barack Obama's
campaign they will not be his vice presidential choice, NBC News
reports.
"Speculation
about Obama's choice has centered on Bayh, Kaine and Delaware Sen.
Joseph Biden. Other names in the mix include Kansas Gov. Kathleen
Sebelius, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, New Mexico Gov. Bill
Richardson and Texas Rep. Chet Edwards."
Campaign officials told the AP that they "had taken the trouble to print material bearing the names of several
potential ticketmates -- thereby minimizing the significance of a report
that a printing company in Kansas was churning out signs bearing Bayh's
name."
The AP confirms Kaine was told he's not Obama's pick.
CNN confirms Bayh was told he's not the pick either.
Sat Aug 23, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
More Running Mate Hints? more similar news »
A Kansas City television station reports a local company is printing Obama-Bayh bumper stickers. The design, however, looks very unlikely. A reader also notes there's no union label on the bumper sticker.
Marc Ambinder finds a charter flight from Chicago to Delaware. More information here. Could it be Joe Biden's flight?
The New York Times asked Sen. Hillary Clinton if she wanted to be Obama's pick, and she responded: "I have never said I did. I have always said I would do whatever I can
because I feel so strongly in making sure that we elect senator Obama
our next president. I'm going to do everything I can as I did yesterday
in Florida to make sure that happens."
The Hotline staked out Biden's home in Delaware: "We have not seen the senator or his wife, leading some to wonder if he may have snuck out overnight."
Dan Balz is impressed with the Obama campaign: "So far they've orchestrated the
vice presidential roll out deftly -- delaying it until the eve of the
convention to assure that they dominate the last days before opening
night with real news, while steadily ratcheting up the frenzy of
speculation in the days beforehand."
And so is Politico: "In dragging out the announcement of his vice-presidential nominee to almost the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama has at once demonstrated his willingness to defy conventional political expectations--and to hold the news media in his thrall while doing it."
Sat Aug 23, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
The Money Is On Biden more similar news »
For what it's worth, the political futures markets are converging Friday afternoon on Sen. Joe Biden as the most likely running mate for Sen. Barack Obama.
Of course, they're trading on the same unsubstantiated rumors that everyone else hears.
Fri Aug 22, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Turnout Among Unmarried Women Key for Obama more similar news »
A new Greenberg Quinlan Roser survey finds unmarried women overwhelmingly backing Sen. Barack Obama for president, 58% to 29%,
"but their commitment to voting lags behind
the rest of the country."
Key finding: "It is almost impossible to understand the 'women's vote' without
understanding the role marital status plays in political
decision-making. Marital status not only drives how women vote, but
whether they vote."
Fri Aug 22, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
Senate Republicans Fail in Fundraising Effort more similar news »
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), the head of the Senate Republicans' campaign effort, said his colleagues "have not heeded his calls
for contributions to contested races, threatening advertising on behalf
of GOP candidates," CQ Politics reports.
Said Ensign: "It has become clear that my call has gone largely unanswered. I have no control over the timing or
content of (independent) ads, but I have had no choice but to decrease
the total budget for our (independent expenditures) unit.
Fri Aug 22, 2008 more from this source»»
|
|
