President George W. Bush vetoed the Iraq withdrawal bill today prompting this response from Senator Barack Obama:
With one stroke of his pen, President Bush has stubbornly ignored the will of the American people, the majority of Congress and, most disturbingly, the realities on the ground in Iraq. Now we call upon our Republican colleagues in Congress to help override this veto and acknowledge what the President will not – that there is no military solution to a political conflict that lies at the heart of this civil war. Only the Iraqi leadership can make peace, and the best way to pressure them to do so is still a phased withdrawal of American forces with the goal of removing all combat troops from Iraq by March 30th, 2008. It is time to end this war so we can bring our troops home and redeploy our forces to help fight the broader struggle against terrorism and other threats of this new century.
Shawna V, the creator of the "Obama Imagines" video wondered what she could do to help Barack in his race:
"I sometimes wonder how I can really get involved in this campaign and make a difference. I'm not a wealthy person that can tap the ladies at the country club for their donations. And I'm no longer a student in college with hours on end to volunteer and a seemingly impenetrable shield of optimism. I work full-time and I'm a full-time mom. I was literally nursing my toddler's flu symptoms while trying to catch snippets of the debate. I missed Obama coming to Tampa because I had to work. How in the world can I help get this man elected in what I feel is one of the most critical elections of my lifetime?"
Well, it didn't take her long to come up with a gem:
Obama, The Conciliator
The New Yorker has an excellent in-depth article on Obama that breaks down how this man ticks. A must-read for Barackists and the curious alike:
"There are three things that Democratic political candidates tend to do when talking with constituents: they display an impressive grasp of the minutiae of their constituents’ problems, particularly money problems; they rouse indignation by explaining how those problems are caused by powerful groups getting rich on the backs of ordinary people; and they present well-worked-out policy proposals that, if passed, would solve the problems and put the powerful groups in their place. Obama seldom does any of these things. He tends to underplay his knowledge, acting less informed than he is. He rarely accuses, preferring to talk about problems in the passive voice, as things that are amiss with us rather than as wrongs that have been perpetrated by them."
South Carolina Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum and more than a dozen other S.C. Democrats endorsed Barack Obama on Monday.
Joining Tenenbaum are:
Rep. Bakari Sellers of Bamberg; Rep. Todd Rutherford of Columbia; Columbia City Council members E.W. Cromartie and Tameika Isaac-Devine; Emile DeFelice, the party’s 2006 candidate for state agricultural commissioner; former state party chairman Dick Harpootlian; Columbia activist and former state representative I.S. Leevy Johnson; Rep. Joe Jefferson of Berkeley County; Phil Noble of Charleston, president of the S.C. Democratic Leadership Council; Irmo Town Councilman Barry Walker; and Columbia activist Bud Ferillo.
