A Hefty influence on young Barack

When Barack Obama was asked on the CNN-YouTube debate to name his favorite teacher he mentioned Mabel Hefty of Punahou School in Honolulu.

A story from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin suggests that Hefty made quite an impression on other students at Punahou as well including others who rose to success like Polynesian Voyaging Society head Nainoa Thompson.

Interestingly, Barack Obama had also made quite an impression on Hefty according to her daughter Carolyn Whorff.

According to Whorff, before her mother died and before Obama had ever ventured into politics, his name came up in conversation.

"I know he's going to be somebody,'" Hefty told her daughter. "You probably will hear about him. If you do, look him up."

Hefty had a special interest in Obama also as she had worked herself in Kenya for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

She once invited Obama's father to speak in class during the latter's visit to Hawai'i.

"I was just coming from overseas, coming back to the United States, felt a little bit out of place," Obama recalled Monday at the CNN/YouTube debate. "And she had actually lived in Kenya and worked there and taught there, and was able to give me some sense that even though I had experiences outside this country, those were actually valuable and important."

Read the whole story of Mabel Hefty and Barack Obama.


COURTESY PUNAHOU SCHOOL
Mabel Hefty with the Hawaiian quilt given to her by Punahou School upon her retirement in 1980.
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Obama stumps in Iowa, New Hampshire

Here are some nice campaign pics of Barack Obama talking to people in Iowa about rural issues.

In front of one of the famous bridges of Madison County.

For more on Barack's trip through Iowa, check out Iowa.BarackObama.com.

Earlier this week Barack gave this foreign policy talk while in New Hamphire:

Obama volunteers continue to maintain a high level of activity with some 690 volunteer events listed on barackobama.com.

Barack Obama: Special interests blocking rural reform

Speaking at a rural issues forum in Iowa, Barack Obama said that lobbyists and special interest groups are blocking progress on rural reform.

"Washington lobbyists are working in Congress to block the rural reforms you need," Obama said. "Rather than investing in rural opportunity, our government is handing out subsidies to corporate mega-farms. Over the past decade, our government has handed out $1.3 billion in federal farm money to people who aren't even farmers. We've even got farm money going to Fortune 500 companies."

Surge in Obama videos

In addition to the videos on YouTube, Barack Obama supporters have produced a number of good videos on sites like Veoh.

Here is a sample:

"Young Barack Obama" by Rem Steele

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Obama leads Iowa mock election, launches new ads

Sen. Barack Obama leads the Johnson County Fair mock election according to an Auditor's Office press release.

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, Obama took the lead with 163 votes. Hillary Clinton is second with 115 votes, and John Edwards is third with 82 votes.

A total of 474 Democratic ballots were cast.

Of the 158 total Republican ballots, Mitt Romney took the lead, with 48 votes followed by Rudy Giuliani with 26 votes and Fred Thompson, with 13 votes.

New banner ads defend Barack's position

The Obama campaign is rolling out a new banner ad today that will appear in the Concord Monitor, Des Moines Register and other New Hampshire and Iowa newspaper websites.

The ad defends Barack's position on diplomacy.


http://www.barackobama.com/judgmentmatters.html

New Obama downloads available @ barackobama.com

BarackObama.com has come up with a new set of downloads -- banners, logos, widgets even a dynamic timeline -- for supporters to install on their websites, blogs, social networking pages, etc.

Here is the message announcing the new download page from the official blog:

Please visit our new downloads page at www.barackobama.com/downloads and get new webtools to better stay connected with our movement. The pages includes badges, buttons, logos, and more to help you customize your website; buddy icons to show your support for Barack on instant messenger devices; and even widgets to customize your myspace and iGoogle pages with our latest news and video feeds.

Also check out the “Our Story” widget. This new social networking tool allows us to share a quick timeline and background of Barack's amazing career. It also will continue to grow as we add important moments in the days ahead.






With more than 250,000 friends on MySpace and Facebook – These download tools are a great way to keep our members engaged and informed.

Dinner with Barack II

The first Dinner with Barack event was very popular with supporters and today campaign manager David Plouffe sent out an email announcing a second to chance to dine with the candidate:

Dear Paul Kekai,

After watching the video of the first Dinner with Barack, thousands of you sent messages asking for another opportunity to participate.

Here’s what you had to say:

"This is one of the coolest events I've ever witnessed. Ordinary citizens are never afforded this kind of opportunity -- to sit down with someone who might be the leader of the free world and have the opportunity to discuss policies and issues. I contributed just as the others did, and I feel as if they were sitting in those chairs representing all of us out here. Just regular folk having their voices heard. Amazing. Yes! Yes! Do it again!!!"

-- Tim in Chehalis, WA

"The dinner video of the Senator and his guests was great. I was very inspired by watching it. This really demonstrates Senator Obama's genuineness and compassion for others. Just to see him sit down, eat, talk and listen to the concerns of average people. This says a lot about his leadership and is the kind of example we need to see more of."

-- JoAnn in Moss Point, MI

"First I've got to say WOW! Did i just see a Presidential Candidate sit down with regular folk? WOW! Seriously, I just want to say thank you. This is the first time I have ever felt passion for an election. I am so excited."

-- Roger in Lakewood, CA

"This was great. Absolutely you should do it again. I liked the short films profiling the dinner guests too. My Dad sent this link to me, and he would only connect to a politician who seems like a real person. So, you're doing something good here."

-- David in Jamaica Plain, MA

"Excellent! This format shows much more than the standard sound bite. It really gives a person a glimpse of the real Obama: down to earth, in-touch with the concerns of American citizens. I would suggest expanding this format of 'Dinner with Barack' into a series."

-- Donald in Hallowell, ME

As much as you enjoyed the dinner, no one enjoyed it more than Barack. As soon as it was over he asked, “When are we doing the next one?”

Thank you for your past support. You have helped build this movement, and now you have an opportunity to meet Barack and share your story and your ideas. Here are the details:

If you make a donation in any amount, even as little as five dollars, before 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, July 31st, you could join Barack Obama and three other supporters for an intimate dinner for five:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner

Barack’s guests told us that the dinner worked out even better than they expected. The casual, friendly atmosphere allowed them to engage Barack on a number of issues that affect them personally.

One of the guests, Christina Cheatham, blogged about her experience:

“The Senator not only spoke candidly with us about many different issues, but he also took interest in how some of the current policies affect our daily lives.

Most important to me, while he is very confident in his own ideas for America, he is still willing to listen -- really listen -- to dissenting views.”

Watch a short video of Barack’s dinner with Christina, Haile, Margaret, and Michael. They discussed the war in Iraq, student loans, health care, and urban poverty.

What issues are important to you, and what would you ask Barack if you had the chance?

Share your story and make a small donation before 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, July 31st, and you could have dinner with Barack:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner

At a time when Washington lobbyists and special interests are poisoning our politics with their influence, Barack Obama wants to sit down with you and hear what’s on your mind.

Our movement has rejected the easy money of politics as usual. Instead, we put our faith in you, and more than a quarter-million supporters have proven that we made the right decision.

The vast majority -- more than 90% -- of our donations came from supporters giving $100 or less. However, to make a lasting change in this country we must keep building this base of support.

Make a small donation and you could have the kind of dinner with Barack that other politicians reserve for the wealthy elite:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner

Thank you for your support,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

P.S. -- Barack got involved in politics to advance the concerns of ordinary people and serve the common good of all Americans. There is no better source of ideas or inspiration to make this happen than an intimate conversation with supporters like you. Make a small donation before 11:59 pm on July 31st and you could have dinner with Barack:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner