Yes, We Can!

First off let me say that I am not a Barack Obama supporter. However I do agree with a lot that he has to say and would not be totally disappointed if he did capture the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton. Obama does have an excellent organization that is working very hard to get him the nomination.....but the key is Obama himself. He is a charismatic speaker and has the unique ability among all the other politicians to inspire hope and a sense that there could be a better way. He generates excitement in the oftentimes dreary world of politics. His supporters are energetic, highly motivated and talented as evidenced by the following video done by the rapper, songwriter and producer Will.i.am, front-man for the Black Eyed Peas.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY]

There is an infectious melody to this song that encourages you to sing along but more importantly there is the message that has been echoed throughout the history of the struggle for equality and human rights -Yes We Can!

Below are selected verses from the song that highlight the message and the emotion that Barack Obama brings to politics.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation - Yes, We Can!
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed the trails towards freedom - Yes, We Can!
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out to distant shores.....pioneers who pushed westward against the unforgiving wilderness - Yes, We Can!
It was the call of workers organized, women who reached for the ballots, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, a King who took us to the mountain top, pointing the way to the promised land - Yes, We Can!

Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We've been asked to pause for a reality check, we've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope, but in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

We will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggests, we are one people, we are one nation and together we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea - Yes, We Can!

Will.i.am who made the video says he was inspired to create it while watching Obama's speech after his second-place finish to Sen. Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary:

"It was as if he was talking to and defending everything that made me who I am. I took that speech, and I wanted everyone else to be inspired by that speech as I was."

Obama is a fan of the video and recommended it to reporters on his campaign plane after he saw it Saturday. The campaign posted it on its Web site with a form so people can share it, and aides played it to warm up the crowd at an event headlined by Oprah Winfrey in Los Angeles on Sunday.

His wife, Michelle, is also proud of what her husband's fans can do, saying that the video touched her deeply, she encouraged people to share the video:

"Sharing this video, which was created by supporters, is one more way to help start a conversation with your friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else who will be voting soon about the issues important to them in this election."

Will.i.am who would like to see Obama become president says that he made the video not just to encourage people to vote for Obama but also to "remind people how powerful they are"

"The idea of 'Yes We Can' doesn't stop because he doesn't win."

Hillary or Barack? The Video Showdown

This one is just for fun. There are two music videos going around. One is I Got a Crush on Obama by the Obama Girl. The other one is Hott 4 Hill by Taryn Southern. I thought it would be fun to put both of them together and have a vote on which one is the best. Tell me what you think in the comments section.

"Hott 4 Hill" by Taryn Southern

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sudw4ghVe8]

"I Got a Crush on Obama" by the Obama Girl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU]

No matter what your political affiliation is, I think it is safe to say that the Democrats are having much more fun with their candidates (so far!!) than the Republicans. Maybe someone should come up with a "Rudy Video" or a "McCain Parody!!" on second thought.......Maybe Not!

Anyway let me know what you think. Exercise your constitutional right to.............VOTE!!

Barack Attracts the Money

Barack Obama is very good at one thing. He has convinced a lot of people to open up their wallets for him. He not only leads the Democrats with the most money pledged in three months, but the Republicans too. In the past three months (April-June) his campaign has received $32.5 million in donations and as a testament to his broad appeal the money came from 154,000 new contributors. That is an average of more than 1,500 people a day. Since declaring his intention to seek the Presidency six months ago Obama has attracted more than 258,000 donors who have given more than $55.7 million.

“Together, we have built the largest grass-roots campaign in history for this stage of a presidential race,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s the kind of movement that can change the special-interest-driven politics in Washington and transform our country. And it’s just the beginning.”

His closest rival and current leading Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, received about $27 million in donations with others taking in smaller amounts (John Edwards, $9 million, Bill Richardson, $7 million and Christopher Dodd, $3.25 million). Despite his lead in the fundraising game, Barack Obama is still running second to Hillary Clinton in the polls. In most national polls of the Democratic race, Clinton has a double digit lead over Obama with Edwards in third. However the field is more tightly bunched in early nominating states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The candidates can raise money in two different categories; for the primaries or for the general election (once the party nomination has been won). Most of the money that Obama has raised is meant to be spent on the primaries ($31 million). Hillary Clinton on the other hand has been seeking donations for both the primaries ($21 million) and the general election (about $6 million). This gives Obama a $10 million advantage in the primaries for this period (April-June). Money collected for the general election can only be spent if the candidate wins the nomination. Individual donors are limited to contributions of 2,300 dollars, for each phase of the campaign.

For Obama, vaulting ahead of Clinton in the money race is an important achievement. The campaign has begun running biographical ads in Iowa to better acquaint voters with the candidate.

"While voters have a distinctly positive feeling about Barack, they don't have a great depth of knowledge about his life and history of leadership in Illinois and Washington," campaign manager David Plouffe wrote Sunday in an e-mail to supporters. "As we educate voters about Barack, we have strong reason to believe that our already impressive support in the early states will solidify and slowly build later in the year."

The War will Continue

In a stinging, but not surprising, defeat the anti-war Democrats in Congress lost to President Bush in their bid to set a timetable for troop withdrawals from Iraq. In fact the vote was not even close (Senate 80-14, House 280-142) to give the President exactly what he wanted, funds for the troops with no strings attached. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd all voted against the bill, as did Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid leaders of the House and Senate respectively.

President Bush, in an interview after the House version passed, says, "By voting for this bill, members of both parties can show our troops and the Iraqis and the enemy that our country will support our servicemen and women in harm's way." "As it provides vital funds for our troops, this bill also reflects a consensus that the Iraqi government needs to show real progress in return for America's continued support and sacrifice."

Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the invasion more than four years ago, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Sixty-one percent of Americans say that the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, and 76 percent say that things are going badly there, including 47 percent who say things are going very badly, the poll found. Still, the majority of Americans support continuing to finance the war as long as the Iraqi government meets specific goals.

Congressional leaders were still sounding defiant after the vote and promised that this was not the end:

"This debate will go on," vowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and if anything, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was more emphatic. "Senate Democrats will not stop our efforts to change the course of this war until either enough Republicans join with us to reject President Bush's failed policy or we get a new president," he said.

In the meantime commentators such as Keith Olbermann were not pleased with the performance of the Democrats and in this commentary below blasts them for collaborating with President Bush.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H00zSRc7LJw]

".....The Democratic leadership has given Mr. Bush all that he wanted with the only caveat being not merely meaningless symbolism about benchmarks to the Iraqi government but OPTIONAL meaningless symbolism about benchmarks to the Iraqi government. The Democratic leadership has in sum claimed a compromise with the Administration in which the only things truly compromised are the trust of the voters, the ethics of the Democrats and the lives of our brave and doomed friends and family in Iraq......."

" .......The electorate figured this out six months ago........on the subject of Iraq, the people have been ahead of the media, ahead of the government, ahead of the politicians for the last year or two years or maybe three, our politics is about now about the answer to one briefly worded question; Mr. Bush has failed, Mr. Warner has failed, Mr. Reid has failed. So, who among us will stop this war, this war of lies........there is only blame for this shameful and bipartisan betrayal.

Kids on the Campaign Trail

How do the various candidates vying for the Presidency of the US see the role of their children in the campaign? The following is a look at how some have dealt with this situation:

• Hillary Clinton
  
  
  
  • The Clinton's only child is Chelsea Clinton. She could make history as being the only child to have both her father and her mother as President. She is now 27 years old, single and dating Marc Mezvinsky. She works for Avenue Capital a New York-based hedge fund. So far Chelsea has not been involved much in the campaign. She recently joined her parents onstage at a campaign fundraiser in Manhattan, but did not address the audience. She may become more active as the campaign progresses. "She has got her own life to live. She works. She does her own range of other activities," Hillary Clinton said in a CNN interview. "She cares a lot about politics and she wants her mom to win. But she has got a life to live and we don't want to interrupt that."
  
  
  
  


• Barack Obama
  
  
  
  • Barack Obama has two young daughters, Malia 8yrs old and Natasha 5yrs old. Both of them have appeared at his campaign kickoff but have otherwise been shielded from the spotlight. It remains to be seen how often they will appear in public.
  
  
  
  


• John Edwards
  
  
  
  • The Edwards have four children Wade, Cate, Emma Claire and Jack. They lost Wade, the eldest, to a car accident in 1986. John Edwards has appeared often with his two younger kids aged 9 and 7. Cate is a 25 year old Harvard Law student. She has made campaign appearances for her father.
  
  
  
  


• John McCain
  
  
  
  • John McCain married twice and has seven children between the two marriages, three of whom have been adopted. Two of his sons John and James are both serving in the military. His children have been supportive and have appeared on the campaign trail with him.
  
  
  
  


• Rudy Giuliani
  
  
  
  • Rudy Giuliani has two children Andrew 21, and Caroline 18. He has acknowledged his estrangement from his children.
  
  
  
  


• Mitt Romney
  
  
  
  • Mitt Romney has five sons. They are all heavily involved in their father's campaign. They are even publishing a joint campaign blog in support of the campaign it is called http://fivebrothers.mittromney.com/