The next US President

Brian Montopoli said:

If you're a superdelegate, check your mailbox: You'll soon have a personalized letter from Hillary Clinton. In it, Clinton argues her case for "why I believe I am the stronger candidate against Senator McCain and would be the best President and Commander in Chief."

"Dear ___________," the letter (in its generic form) opens. A few paragraphs in, Clinton makes indirect reference to her rival Barack Obama's lack of success in attracting working class voters.

Americans "want a President who shares their core beliefs about our country and its future and 'gets' what they go through every day to care for their families, pay the bills and try to put something away for the future," Clinton writes.

Later, she makes an argument based on polls and election results.

"I am ahead in states that have been critical to victory in the past two elections," Clinton writes. "From Ohio, to Pennsylvania, to West Virginia and beyond, the results of recent primaries in battleground states show that I have strong support from the regions and demographics Democrats need to take back the White House. I am also currently ahead of Senator McCain in Gallup national tracking polls, while Senator Obama is behind him. And nearly all independent analyses show that I am in a stronger position to win the Electoral College, primarily because I lead Senator McCain in Florida and Ohio."

"In addition, when the primaries are finished, I expect to lead in the popular vote and in delegates earned through primaries," she writes. "Ultimately, the point of our primary process is to pick our strongest nominee – the one who would be the best President and Commander in Chief, who has the greatest support from members of our party, and who is most likely to win in November. So I hope you will consider not just the strength of the coalition backing me, but also that more people will have cast their votes for me."

The letter comes with "a detailed analysis of recent electoral and polling information" to back Clinton's case. Though the New York senator now has little chance of securing the Democratic presidential nomination, she could conceivably overcome Obama's delegate lead if she convinces a significant majority of superdelegates to back her.

Full letter below.

Dear ___________,

The stakes in this election are so high: with two wars abroad, our economy in crisis here at home, and so many families struggling across America, the need for new leadership has never been greater.

At this point, we do not yet have a nominee – and when the last votes are cast on June 3, neither Senator Obama nor I will have secured the nomination. It will be up to automatic delegates like you to help choose our party’s nominee, and I would like to tell you why I believe I am the stronger candidate against Senator McCain and would be the best President and Commander in Chief.

Voters in every state have made it clear that they want to be heard and counted as part of this historic race. And as we reach the end of the primary season, more than 17 million people have supported me in my effort to become the Democratic nominee – more people than have ever voted for a potential nominee in the history of our party. In the past two weeks alone, record numbers of voters participated in the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. And with 40 and 35 point margins of victory, it is clear that even when voters are repeatedly told this race is over, they’re not giving up on me – and I am not giving up on them either.

After seven years of feeling invisible to the Bush administration, Americans are seeking a President who is strong, experienced, and ready to take on our toughest challenges, from serving as Commander in Chief and ending the war in Iraq to turning our economy around. They want a President who shares their core beliefs about our country and its future and “gets” what they go through every day to care for their families, pay the bills and try to put something away for the future.

We simply cannot afford another four – or eight – years in the wilderness. That is why, everywhere I go, people come up to me, grip my hand or arm, and urge me to keep on running. That is why I continue in this race: because I believe I am best prepared to lead this country as President – and best prepared to put together a broad coalition of voters to break the lock Republicans have had on the electoral map and beat Senator McCain in November.

Recent polls and election results show a clear trend: I am ahead in states that have been critical to victory in the past two elections. From Ohio, to Pennsylvania, to West Virginia and beyond, the results of recent primaries in battleground states show that I have strong support from the regions and demographics Democrats need to take back the White House. I am also currently ahead of Senator McCain in Gallup national tracking polls, while Senator Obama is behind him. And nearly all independent analyses show that I am in a stronger position to win the Electoral College, primarily because I lead Senator McCain in Florida and Ohio. I’ve enclosed a detailed analysis of recent electoral and polling information, and I hope you will take some time to review it carefully.

In addition, when the primaries are finished, I expect to lead in the popular vote and in delegates earned through primaries. Ultimately, the point of our primary process is to pick our strongest nominee – the one who would be the best President and Commander in Chief, who has the greatest support from members of our party, and who is most likely to win in November. So I hope you will consider not just the strength of the coalition backing me, but also that more people will have cast their votes for me.

I am in this race for them -- for all the men and women I meet who wake up every day and work hard to make a difference for their families. People who deserve a shot at the American dream – the chance to save for college, a home and retirement; to afford quality health care for their families; to fill the gas tank and buy the groceries with a little left over each month.

I am in this race for all the women in their nineties who’ve told me they were born before women could vote, and they want to live to see a woman in the White House. For all the women who are energized for the first time, and voting for the first time. For the little girls – and little boys – whose parents lift them onto their shoulders at our rallies, and whisper in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.” As the first woman ever to be in this position, I believe I have a responsibility to them.

Finally, I am in this race because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Senator Obama and I both make our case – and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard – everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.

In the end, I am committed to unifying this party. What Senator Obama and I share is so much greater than our differences; and no matter who wins this nomination, I will do everything I can to bring us together and move us forward.

But at this point, neither of us has crossed the finish line. I hope that in the time remaining, you will think hard about which candidate has the best chance to lead our party to victory in November. I hope you will consider the results of the recent primaries and what they tell us about the mindset of voters in the key battleground states. I hope you will think about the broad and winning coalition of voters I have built. And most important, I hope you will think about who is ready to stand on that stage with Senator McCain, fight for the deepest principles of our party, and lead our country forward into this new century.

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Gigo said:

Obama!!-Hivi Dua Ni Mtanzania? Mbona ana kuja na thead Nzuri sana..??? za English...

ha..ha!!

Kwa hiyo Vibaya Ndio vya Africa?-vizuri vyote ni vya wengine?
Ina nikumbusha Siku moja nilikua nina Ongea na Baba Yangu mdogo!!
al-manusula uzuke Ugomvi!!
Sijui!!
Au Labda alitaka Kunitisha tu? ......

Ghafla Nili Mwambia kwamba Obama atakua Raisi wa Marekani!!
wakati huo tulikua tuna angalia Tv.

Nini? aliniuliza huku akini angalia usoni..-Tofauti na siku zote hua hana mtindo wa kumu angalia mtu usoni lakini siku hiyo alini angalia..
Kama vile ana hasira!?!

Alinishinda kwa hoja ambazo kama ninge zi-clash!! Labda Ningeshindwa kuendelea Kuishi kwenye Chumba cha watoto wake wa kiume- kwenye nyumba yake!!

Nakula kwake..Nalala bure..nashinda naangalia Tv..Ana niletea sigara zaidi ya sita kila siku..Bure!!Natumwa Sokoni- tena wana niamini Kweli kweli!!


Haiwezekani!! Mu-Africa Kutawala Marekani!!
Nilivyo zinguliwa na mimi niliendelea kudanganya vitu ambavyo hata nashindwa kuvikumbuka-Ili mambo yaende vizuri...

Inawezekana Obama akawa Raisi ...

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Brian Montopoli said:

| 82
May 30, 2008, 11:11 AM

"How much anger is there among women about how Hillary Clinton has been treated during this campaign?," E. J. Dionne Jr. asks in his Washington Post column today. "Some of the nation's leading female politicians will tell you: quite a lot." Perhaps the most voluble of the lot is former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, who offers up an op-ed in the Boston Globe this morning that references "Democrats' sexism" right in the headline.

"... neither the Barack Obama campaign nor the media seem to understand what is at the heart of the anger on the part of women who feel that Hillary Clinton was treated unfairly because she is a woman," Ferraro writes, adding: "We feel that if society can allow sexism to impact a woman's candidacy to deny her the presidency, it sends a direct signal that sexism is OK in all of society."

Ferraro resigned from her fundraising position with the Clinton campaign in March after suggesting that Obama would not have gotten as far is he did in hte presidential race if not for his race.

"Since March, when I was accused of being racist for a statement I made about the influence of blacks on Obama's historic campaign, people have been stopping me to express a common sentiment: If you're white you can't open your mouth without being accused of being racist," Ferraro writes in the op-ed. "They see Obama's playing the race card throughout the campaign and no one calling him for it as frightening."

Dionne writes that the female politicians he spoke to "know that Clinton is on the verge of defeat because of her campaign's organizational mistakes, its failure to take Obama seriously early on and the difficulties created by her husband's presence." But, he suggests, many take what they see as Clinton's unfair treatment personally. "It's a campaign, someone wins, someone doesn't win, that's life," Maryland's treasurer Nancy Kopp told him. "But women don't want to be totally dissed."

Obama​

(AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton says she expects her marathon Democratic race against Barack Obama to be resolved next week. In a conference call with Montana reporters, Clinton said Friday: "I think that after the final primaries, people are going to start making up their minds. I think that is the natural progression that one would expect."

Montana and South Dakota hold the final primaries Tuesday.

Clinton says superdelegates will have to decide who is the stronger candidate in the fall.

Clinton said, "I think that people will have to ask themselves those questions, who would be the best president in terms of preparation and readiness and effectiveness, and who would be the stronger candidate."

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Dua said:

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Sexism Questions Linger For Democrats





Remember the hanging chads! Here we go, the super delegates might decide who will be the next candidate to take on MacCain who had been in the whirlwind of preparation to effect the sucker –punch to the Democrats. If Republicans win this presidential election - will it be because of inferior candidate or the Republicans know better how to win an election. With all the economies of major powers in trouble still they can win ……………………………….

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It's now 5pm. No sign of the Rules committee.
Lots of caffeine-driven buzz in the ballroom, but it's all among folks who have no idea what's going on. The presumption is there's some dealmaking at work. DNC members who aren't on the committee aren't sure, and aren't speculating.

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US Democrats reach delegate deal The US Democratic Party is voting to decide the fate of Florida and Michigan, two states debarred for the presidential nomination process. A compromise deal has reportedly been agreed to restore the two states' delegates to the party convention, but cut their voting power in half.

This represents a partial victory for Hillary Clinton, who is lagging behind Barack Obama in the race. But the additional votes she would gain will not allow her to overtake him. Whatever the final outcome of the committee's meeting, Barack Obama is still almost certain to cross the finishing-line in first place, says the BBC's James Coomarasamy.

Compromise likely

Mrs Clinton wanted members of the Democratic rules and bylaws committee, meeting in the ballroom of a Washington hotel, to overturn a previous decision and allow delegates from Florida and Michigan to vote at the Democratic National Convention in August. Officially, she won both states in January but neither she nor Mr Obama campaigned in either - and in Michigan, Mr Obama's name was not even on the ballot. She is hoping to close the delegate gap with Mr Obama - and persuade undecided "super-delegates" that she should be the party's nominee.

Mr Obama currently has a delegate lead of 202 over Mrs Clinton, with 1,984 delegates to her 1,782, according to Associated Press news agency projections. .................
This gives Mrs Clinton 69 delegates in Michigan, compared to Mr Obama's 59. And in Florida, she gains 105 delegates to Mr Obama's 67.

This reduces Mr Obama's lead - previously 202 - by 48, but the delegates from Michigan and Florida will only have half a vote each, so her gains are reduced.

Mrs Clinton is still hoping to persuade undecided "super-delegates" that she should be the party's nominee.

The 27-member committee unanimously accepted the compromise decision for Florida, after earlier rejecting by 15-12 a plan which would give all delegates full voting rights at the convention.

In the case of Michigan, the committee approved the compromise by 19-8. Overall, Mrs Clinton gains only 24 delegates, far short of the total she needs to catch Mr Obama.

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(CBS/ AP) After a day of fiery debate and closed-door meetings, Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up a net total of 24 delegates Saturday from the states of Florida and Michigan as the Democratic Party took a step forward in resolving the dispute over the delegations from those two states to the national convention.

But at the end of the day, Barack Obama remained well within reach of securing enough delegates to claim the Democratic presidential nomination as the primary process winds down next week. According to CBS News delegate estimates, Obama needs a total of 69 more party delegates to reach the new threshold established by the inclusion of the delegations of both Florida and Michigan.

Obama and Clinton bargained and bickered through intermediaries during the meeting of the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee, settling on compromises in both states that will seat their full delegations at the national convention, but giving each individual delegate just one-half of a vote. With the agreements, the number of total delegates required for the nomination rose from 2,026 to 2,117, according to CBS News. Under the allocations of the proposal, Clinton picked up 19 more delegates than Obama in Florida and five more in Michigan, based on the January votes taken in those states. Obama's total rose to 2,048 and Clinton's to 1,873.

Clinton's campaign argued that Obama should receive no delegates from Michigan because his name did not appear on the ballot in January. The committee agreed to award him delegates based on the "uncommitted" votes cast in the primary and that decision was a blow to Clinton's efforts to erase her delegate deficit.

The decision on Michigan prompted an irate reaction from boisterous Clinton supporters in the audience and her chief delegate counter, Harold Ickes. Ickes angrily informed the committee that Clinton had instructed him to reserve her right to appeal the matter to the Democrats' credentials committee, which could potentially drag the matter to the party's convention in August.

"There's been a lot of talk about party unity - let's all come together, and put our arms around each other," said Ickes, who is also a member of the Rules Committee that approved the deal. "I submit to you ladies and gentlemen, hijacking four delegates ... is not a good way to start down the path of party unity." "Clinton's campaign needed a total victory on the Michigan issue to post any real gains from this process," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "This result may have stretched the field just a bit, but not enough to keep Obama right on the goal line."

After a morning session that stretched well into the afternoon, the committee was scheduled to reconvene but wrangling over proposed resolutions regarding the situation in Michigan held members behind closed doors well past the time they were expected to appear. In the opening hours of a daylong meeting of the convention's Rules and Bylaws Committee, Clinton's designated spokeswoman urged the panel to grant a full vote for each of Florida's 211 disputed delegates.

"In life you don't get everything you want. I want it all," California State Sen. Arthenia Joyner said with a smile. But moments later, Obama's campaign called for half-votes for each of the 211. Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida said that marked an "extraordinary concession, in order to promote to promote reconciliation with Florida's voters."

If anything, the Michigan case was more complicated than the one in Florida. Obama's name was not on the primary ballot. Clinton prevailed over "uncommitted" and Obama's allies claim the large majority of those votes were cast by his supporters. Mark Brewer, the state party chairman, urged the panel to award Clinton 69 delegates and Obama 59 - an allocation that neither candidate has endorsed publicly.

Not long afterward, former Rep. David Bonior of Michigan, speaking on behalf of the Obama campaign, said the delegates "should be split evenly between the two candidates." But former Gov. Jim Blanchard, representing Clinton, said the former first lady should receive 73 delegates, with 55 awarded to uncommitted, in accordance with the primary vote. "Respect the voters of our great state. They deserve respect," he said.

The challenge is to "come together at the end of the day and be united," Howard Dean, the party chairman, told members of the committee gathered at a hotel across town from the White House. There was no doubt that was the goal around the committee table and in the private conversations where compromises were floated - but that didn't make compromise any easier as a historic Democratic nominating contest between a black man and a woman neared an end. And the occasional displays of emotion among spectators at the meeting underscored the stakes.

"This is an important part of bringing the Democratic primary process to an end for party leaders wishing to avoid a protracted fight," said Ververs. "But the outcome of the meeting is highly unlikely to change the shape of the race on which Barack Obama has a near-lock." Indeed, Obama intends to signal the beginning of his general election campaign next Tuesday by holding a rally in the arena in St. Paul, Minn., where Republicans will to hold their convention this summer. Still, in a sign that hard feelings remain, several hundred protesters maintained a noisy but peaceful presence on the sidewalk outside the hotel where party activists met.

Beverly Battelle Weeks, 56, said she got up before dawn to make the drive from got up before 4 a.m. to drive up from Richmond, Va. for the rally. She carried a black umbrella on which she had pasted letters spelling out "Count All Votes." "The right thing to do is to seat all the delegates. Anything less is not democratic," she said. Clinton won the Michigan primary Jan. 15 and the Florida vote two weeks later after all the candidates agreed not to campaign in either state.

At the time, she said the vote did not matter. But once she fell behind Obama in the delegate competition, her position shifted. "It's important to send the right signals to them and the people living in those states that we Democrats value those states, value those voters and want them as full partners in a general election in assembling 270 electoral votes," said Clinton strategist Harold Ickes, a member of the rules committee.

While Obama initially showed no enthusiasm for seating the two delegations, he has shown more flexibility in recent weeks - as long as any compromise left his status as front-runner unchanged. "We have both fought hard throughout the country, both of us, for delegates and the fact that we're willing to essentially cede her delegates we do not think is an insignificant gesture on our part," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said. "But we're willing to do this in the interest of trying to bring this to a close so we can focus on the general election."

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Dua said:

​

Sexism Questions Linger For Democrats





Remember the hanging chads! Here we go, the super delegates might decide who will be the next candidate to take on MacCain who had been in the whirlwind of preparation to effect the sucker –punch to the Democrats. If Republicans win this presidential election - will it be because of inferior candidate or the Republicans know better how to win an election. With all the economies of major powers in trouble still they can win ……………………………….

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Kitila Mkumbo said:

There is an interesting book by Dew Weston on political brain. In this book, Weston argues very well why a majority of Americans seem to agree with Democrats' position on several issues but they always vote republicans when it comes to elections. Weston explains the place of emotions in politics and argues candidly that it is the power of words that matters when people decide about their future leader. On this, Weston convincingly demonstrates that "it is not what you say but what people hear that matters". I think Weston's thesis is more likely to prove its applicability in this year's election than past elections.

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Dua said:

]

Is Obama going to change his religion for the sake of presidency? Or was this plan B of the opponents.

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Kitila Mkumbo said:

These are some of the things that make some people hate politics. Some politicians are ready to do anything just to get elected, including denouncing their own religion and faith, Barack Obama seems to be one of them. What if his new church happens to have a pastor who will one day vomit rants of Jeremy's type, will he abandon his church again? I understand that remaining in his former church was putting Obama's campaign in a very difficult position, but then I don't just understand how this "divorce" will lessen the already beleaguared campaign!

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Dua said:

Kitila Mkumbo

I think we are in a position to witness some more twists and drama on this election, the mechanism is still very complicated and no one knows for sure who will face MacCain.

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Dua said:

Kitila Mkumbo

I think we are in a position to witness some more twists and drama on this election, the mechanism is still very complicated and no one knows for sure who will face MacCain.

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CBS/AP said:

History within his reach, Barack Obama was primed Tuesday to claim the Democratic presidential nomination while his dogged rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, prepared to spare her party an even more protracted fight and effectively end her campaign.

If Obama has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee, a senior Clinton campaign official confirms to CBS News that Clinton will "acknowledge but not concede" the race tonight. The official says "she has no plans to concede the race tonight."

The Clinton campaign has released a statement saying "Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening." Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe told CNN this morning that Obama "doesn't have the numbers today, and until someone has the numbers the race goes on." According to the latest CBS News tally, Obama needs 36 delegates to secure the nomination. He has 2,082 to 1,913 for Clinton. The magic number is 2,118. Obama is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana.

Two more superdelegates endorsed Obama Tuesday morning, bringing him closer to becoming the nation's first black presidential nominee from a major party. Nearly 200 superdelegates have yet to make an endorsement. They were expected to rally behind Obama in short order. Clinton, once seen as a sure bet in her historic quest to become the first female president, was still pressing the superdelegates to support her fading candidacy. But McAuliffe indicated she was not inclined to drag out a dispute over delegates from the unsanctioned Michigan primary despite feeling shortchanged by a weekend compromise by the party's rules committee that she could still appeal to a higher level.

"I don't think she's going to go to the credentials committee," he said on NBC's "Today" show. Taking the matter to that committee would essentially extend the dispute into the convention and deny Democrats the unity they sorely want to achieve against Republican John McCain. Seeing the cards fall into place for his November rival, McCain planned a prime time speech Tuesday night in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, La., in what is essentially a kickoff of the fall campaign.

Obama told The Associated Press on Monday that "we've got a lot of work to do in terms of bringing the party together" with the convention approaching. "Once the last votes are cast, then it's in everybody's interest to resolve this quickly so we can pivot," he said. Obama said there were a lot of superdelegates who have been private supporters of his but wanted to respect the process by not endorsing until the final primaries were done.

"We're still working the phones and we're still talking to people ... so we'll certainly have to wait until a little later tonight to see what the final tally is, but we certainly feel good waking up this morning," Robert Gibbs, Obama's spokesman, told CNN on Tuesday. In a defiant shot across the GOP bow, Obama, who returned to hometown Chicago late Monday, planned to hold his wrap-up rally in St. Paul, Minn., at the arena that will be the site of the Republican National Convention in September.

Clinton returned to New York, the state she represents in the Senate, planning an end-of-primary evening rally in Manhattan after a grueling campaign finale as she pushed through South Dakota on Monday. "I'm just very grateful we kept this campaign going until South Dakota would have the last word," she said at a restaurant in Rapid City in one of her final campaign stops. The last primaries had 16 delegates at stake in Montana and 15 in South Dakota. Clinton still sounded buoyant. Her biggest booster and most tireless campaigner, husband Bill Clinton, didn't. "This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," the former president said somberly as he stumped for her in South Dakota.

Ahead of Tuesday's concluding primaries, Obama sought to set the stage for reconciliation, praising Clinton's endurance and determination and offering to meet with her - on her terms - "once the dust settles" from their race. "The sooner we can bring the party together, the sooner we can start focusing on McCain in November," Obama told reporters in Michigan. He said he spoke with Clinton on Sunday when he called to congratulate her on winning the Puerto Rico primary, most likely her last hurrah. That fueled speculation for a "dream ticket" in which Clinton would become Obama's running mate - but neither camp was suggesting that was much of a possibility. In the AP interview, Obama was asked when he would start looking for a running mate.

"The day after I have gotten that last delegate needed to officially claim the nomination, I'll start thinking about vice presidential nominees," he said. "It's a very important decision, and it's one where I'm going to have to take some time."

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Note: As superdelegates have gained the spotlight quite a few of them have started to rethink their previous endorsements. More and more superdelegates are starting to announce that they will not commit to a candidate until they see how either their constituents vote or what the results of the primaries are.

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