Standing-room crowd for Barack and Michelle in NH

Barack Obama and his family continued their combination campaign/holiday trip through New Hampshire Sunday drawing a full house of 1,000 to 1,200 people in Conway.

Michelle Obama turned out to be as much a hit as her candidate husband and was asked how she would serve as first lady.

"I come to this with a lot of interesting talents, but I think it would be unfair of me to say today what I would do in a couple of years," she continued. "I need to be prepared to do what the country needs me to do at the time.

"Whether that's baking cookies or serving as a wonderful hostess, that's my job. I have to be prepared to do what's necessary. And we won't know what that's going to be until we get there. I will be staunchly invested. It is a joint project."

Training the Troops

Analysts far and wide recognize that Hillary Clinton is pulling in more of the establishment political machines, while Barack Obama has greater grassroots support particularly among the young.

The ancient philosopher Sun Tzu wrote the treatise The Art of War and among the fundamental analysis performed before a battle, the learder or general was advised to ask themselves certain questions. Among these that are pertinent to the match-up between Hillary and Barack:

Who has the stronger force?

Who has the better-trained forces?

We might say that Barack has the stronger force in terms of raw numbers, while Hillary has the better-trained and more experienced forces in general.

Now, Barack does indeed have a core of experienced leadership behind him but also a great mass of people of have little or no political experience.

The onus on the Obama campaign is give these young people "basic training" as rapidly as possible before "game time" weeks before the election. The Camp Obama training sessions are an example of training volunteers in campaign techniques and strategy.

Even larger efforts are the nationwide events like the house parties at the end of the last quarter, and the upcoming national canvas on June 9. The campaign is also increasing the resources available at the official website that can help local groups organize effectively.

Now, for John Edwards and the second-tier candidates, the idea would be to use their relative obscurity to their advantage. Let the two front-runners preoccupy themselves with each other and forget their campaigns. This is known as the "stealth" approach. Concentrate all your resources for that clutch period just before the polls when you unleash your surprise attack. Let the big guys spend and waste their money freely early on.

In order to avoid a late surprise, the Obama campaign must have sufficient intelligence on what all serious candidates are doing. And they must avoid squandering their money too early in the campaign.

Obama calls for military mental health screenings

Sen. Barack Obama Sunday called for better mental health services for veterans ahead of Memorial day commemorations.

''I believe strongly that there is a sacred trust between this country and those who serve it,'' Obama told The Associated Press. ''That trust begins the moment a service member signs on and lasts the duration of his or her life.

''We're falling far short in addressing the mental health care needs of these heroes, and that's inexcusable.''

Chicago fundraiser may be largest yet

Obama is expected to have his best fundraising night to date in his hometown of Chicago on June 8.

The affair at Park West theater will have a minimum suggested contribution of $1,000.
Nine individuals have pledged to raise at least $1,000 according to a flier for the event.

The Illinois senator has been very effective at locking up support in his home state.

Barack Obama hits back, Michelle on GMA pt. II

Barack Obama strikes back at John McCain and Mitt Romney after they criticize his "no" vote on the Iraq War bill in the YouTube video below. Also, part two of the Good Morning America interview with Michelle Obama.

Barack votes "no" on Iraq War bill

Sen. Barack Obama might not know it, but his campaign came seriously close to a major upheaval yesterday judging from going-ons in the netroots community.

As everyone awaited the Iraq War bill vote, sites from DailyKos to the Huffington Post and Obama's own official blog were focused on how the senator would vote. The focus on Obama was much more tangible than that for Clinton highlighting the importance of this issue for Barack.

Many Obama supporters publicly declared they had jumped ship even before the bill got out of the House. They thought the senator should have come out earlier against the bill. Even supporters who had steadfastly defended Barack in hostile territory since his campaign started wavered. Some, even on his own blog, declared they would not contribute to the campaign further if Barack voted yes on the bill.

Not that Barack is a one-issue candidate. There were those also who said they would support Obama no matter how he voted on the Iraq War spending bill.

From my own observations those who publicly stood behind the senator no matter what cited his optimism, his ability as a uniter and his generally favorable, positive image both at home and abroad as reasons for their support.

For die-hard anti-war folk, it was obvious that anxieties were high. Understandably it has been a long haul for those who have opposed the war from the start and many had put their hopes in Obama.

Such was the tension, that when Obama finally did cast his no vote it was something of an event among the netroots crowd.

Had Barack voted yes, his campaign would certainly have undergone a major transformation. Not that his support would have necessarily dropped. Possibly he could have picked up more "blue dog" conservative Democrats than lost "green dog" progressive Dems.

But the perception of Barack as the leader of the opposition against the Iraq War would have changed. I personally think that John Edwards would have moved into that spot had Barack voted yes.

However, as he voted no, there is a resurgent belief in Barack's anti-war cred even if a few lost faith and went elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if his coffers are getting a boost from his actions.

Here are the senator's comments on why he voted no on the Iraq War bill:

“This vote is a choice between validating the same failed policy in Iraq that has cost us so many lives and demanding a new one. And I am demanding a new one.”

“We must fund our troops. But we owe them something more. We owe them a clear, prudent plan to relieve them of the burden of policing someone else's civil war. We need a plan to compel the Iraqi people to reach a political accommodation and to take responsibility for their own future. It's time to change course.”

“I opposed this war in 2002 precisely because I feared it would lead us to the open-ended occupation in which we find ourselves today.”

“This President has led us down a disastrous path and has arrogantly refused to acknowledge the grim reality of this war, which has cost us so dearly in lives and treasure.”

“After he vetoed a plan that would have funded the troops and begun to bring them home, this bill represents more of his stubborn refusal to address his failed policy.”

“We should not give the President a blank check to continue down this same, disastrous path.”

“With my vote today, I am saying to the President that enough is enough. We must negotiate a better plan that funds our troops, signals to the Iraqis that it is time for them to act and that begins to bring our brave servicemen and women home safely and responsibly.”

The Gore Factor

What would happened if Al Gore entered the presidential race?

Firstly, I think it would be very difficult for Gore to win. He doesn't have any left-over campaign cash or infrastructure so he would basically be starting from scratch. Well, he would at least have the Draft Gore movement to work with, but he would be way behind the other candidates.

The mechanics of this primary with "Super Duper Tuesday" make money a huge factor and we're already nearing the end of the second quarter.

Many important officials have already endorsed candidates and a lot of good staff people are working now for one campaign or another.

Also, a lot of the establishment people that Gore would ordinarily count on are Clinton backers. They supported him last time, but most are now committed to Hillary.

His involvement could cause hard feelings among old friends and that might hurt his effectiveness as a champion of environmentalism should he lose the primary or general election.

If Gore should ultimately win, he would be strongly distracted by the issue of the Iraq War, which the majority of polls show is the most pressing concern of the American public. However, Gore has said that he considers global warming as the number one threat to America and the entire world. So, it could certainly be argued that he is better served to work for his cause from where he is right now.