Muslim Congressman Endorses Obama — Let The Attacks Begin
The wingers will really go nuts over this one: Barack Obama has just received the endorsement of Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison, the Associated Press reports. Ellison tells the AP that he's backing Obama because "he speaks with a unifying spirit." As if it weren't bad enough that Obama has the middle name "Hussein" and a last name that rhymes with "Osama," he's now also picked up the support of the country's first Muslim Congressman — one who has already been the target of a relentless assault from the right. It'll be interesting to see how conservative commentators react to this one. .
Abercrombie Believes Obama Will Emerge as Frontrunner
HONOLULU (KHNL) - U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii says his old friend Barack Obama is on a path to the White House. Rep. Abercrombie was a guest on KHNL News 8 Today on Tuesday morning. The Democrat has known the Obama family since the 1960s. "I knew Barack's mom and dad, and I went to school with his father at the University of Hawaii, before he went to Harvard and back to Kenya." Abercrombie says back then, Barack was known as "Little Barry." He says Obama has always had an engaging and magnetic personality. "I think part of his appeal is his the fact that he understands our diversity. He defines us, rather than divides us. And that's a message that I think needs to be taken into this poisonous political atmosphere." Abercrombie says Obama will emerge as the frontrunner in the Democratic Party.
Obama Plays to the Crowds in L.A.
Barack Obama covered all the political bases and sartorial styles Tuesday during his first trip to Los Angeles since joining the presidential race. In the afternoon he addressed a multicultural crowd of about 3,000 people in his shirtsleeves during an outdoor rally in the predominantly black, middle-class enclave of Baldwin Hills. Later that evening, he put on his jacket to hobnob with a ballroom full of Hollywood suits and movie stars who paid $2,300 per person to attend a reception at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The night ended with a dinner for the candidate and the event's biggest fund raisersObama collected $1.3 million from the groupat the home of entertainment mogul David Geffen. Obama's Baldwin Hills stump speech was as sunny as the skies above him and the image of the horizon adorning his campaign posters.
Reactions to Obama, Clinton excite S.C. Democrats
Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama drew huge crowds on recent campaign swings through South Carolina. Together, they made a statement: The Democratic Party is back. "I've never seen anything like it," remarked Democratic consultant Bob Wislinski on leaving the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center where Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, just had addressed a raucous rally of 2,800. "I'm hopeful," Wislinski said of his party's future. Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, spoke to more than 3,500 at a "town meeting" at Allen University. South Carolina is a key battleground state in the primary process, coming just a week after New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary. The S.C.
Campaigns come early
With 10 months remaining between now and the Iowa caucuses, American media outlets are bombarding the airwaves with campaign coverage. Anyone with a little time and access to television or internet can easily find out whos running, where theyre speaking and even what they had for dinner.
The information on who is running is overwhelming on its own. Vying for the Democratic nomination are Joseph Biden, Hilary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Tom Vilsack. On the Republican side, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, Rudolph Giuliani and Mitt Romney have all officially announced their candidacies.
Another seven people, one of whom is John McCain, have established exploratory committees. Still others, like Al Gore and Newt Gingrich, have been mentioned as possibilities.
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