Obama raps McCain for ignorance of his own houses

Hours after a report that the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting didn't know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own, Democratic rival Barack Obama launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch.

With the economy the top issue in the race, Obama sought to turn McCain's gaffe into one of those symbolic moments that stick in voters' minds.

Think John Kerry sailboarding or the first President Bush wowed by a grocery store checkout scanner, Michael Dukakis riding in a tank or Gerald Ford eating a tamale with the husk still on.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told the Politico online site when asked Wednesday how many houses he owns. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states — Arizona, California and Virginia.

Property records reviewed by The Associated Press show McCain and his family appear to own at least eight homes: A ranch and two condos in Arizona; three condos in Coronado, Calif.; a condo in La Jolla, Calif.; and another in Arlington, Va. The number of houses is a bit trickier to determine since the ranch has at least four houses and a two-story cabin on it.

Last week McCain cracked that being rich in the U.S. meant earning at least $5 million a year. His latest comments gave Democrats an opportunity to suggest that McCain cannot relate to ordinary voters.

Campaigning in Chester, Va., Obama said: "I guess if you think being rich means you've got to make $5 million and if you don't know how many houses you have, it's not surprising you might think the economy is fundamentally strong." He returned to the McCain remark later, saying of teachers: "Most teachers hold themselves accountable. They didn't go into teaching to make money. They don't have seven houses."

The Obama campaign also announced 16 campaign events across the country to highlight the comment and try to turn the tables on McCain's effort to cast him as an elitist. In the battleground state of Michigan, Obama's campaign asked volunteers to guess how many houses McCain owns, a contest dubbed, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: McCain Edition."

While both sides are trying cast the other as too rich to understand the working class, the truth is neither candidate is hurting for money.

McCain's tax returns showed a total income of $405,409 in 2007. According to her 2006 tax returns, Cindy McCain had a total income of $6 million. Her wealth is estimated by some at $100 million, based on her late father's Arizona beer distributorship. She has not released her 2007 returns, which she files separately from her husband.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported making $4.2 million in 2007.

The Republican National Committee responded with a Web site highlighting Obama's ties to Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a friend and contributor who was convicted in June on more than a dozen felonies in a corruption scandal.

Obama and his wife bought their home in Chicago in 2005 for $1.6 million after getting advice and some assistance from Rezko. The corruption case had no connection to Obama, and Obama has said it was a mistake to work with Rezko on buying the house.

McCain's campaign also released a new television ad highlighting the Obama-Rezko connection.

"Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?" asked McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

Statement from Senator Barack Obama in response to President Bush's announcement

"I welcome President Bush's decision to send aid to the people of Georgia, and Americans stand united in support of the men and women who will carry out this humanitarian mission. As soon as possible, we must follow this aid with broader reconstruction assistance, including emergency economic loans, to help the people of Georgia rebuild their lives and their economy.
The situation is still unstable, and Russia must back up its commitment to stop its violence and violation of Georgia's sovereignty with actions - not just words. The United States should now join our European partners in direct, high-level diplomacy with both Georgia and Russia to seek immediate implementation of a cease-fire, and to achieve a lasting resolution to this crisis. There must be independent monitors to verify the implementation of this cease-fire, and Russia must not use this moment to consolidate a position that violates Georgia's territorial integrity, or to violate the human rights of the people of Georgia.
As we move forward, the United States and Europe must review our multilateral and bilateral arrangements with Russia in light of its actions. The loss of life over the last few days has been tragic, and there are no winners in this conflict. Now we must rededicate ourselves to achieving a lasting peace in the region."

Obama Backers Mobilize in Bid to Wrest State From Republican Grip

Under a scorching sun, hundreds of people lined up recently in a parking lot here to pick up free back-to-school supplies being distributed by a local radio station. Bobbing among the shade umbrellas were a handful of workers for Senator Barack Obama, carrying clipboards and voter registration forms. On Monday night, others fanned out at a movie screening for surfers in Wrightsville Beach. They descended on a street festival in Asheville. When oil companies posted record profits, Obama supporters showed up at gas stations here with registration forms. Despite the relentless heat, and midsummer lull, the Obama campaign is mobilizing in North Carolina.

McCain’s & Obama’s greatest weaknesses?

The game is on. And voters have two very different candidates to choose from to be our next president. John McCain and Barack Obama presumably won because they were the strongest candidates of their respective parties, but both men have issues they’ll have to overcome if they want to win.

Exit polls from the primary season show that both candidates’ problems start with the economy – the number one issue for voters this election. McCain and Obama failed to get even half the votes from people worried most about the economy.

When it comes to Republican John McCain, he has his work cut out for him. He never got strong support from the traditional Republican base – people who strongly oppose abortion, are born again or evangelical Christians, or support tough actions against illegal aliens.

Also, even though McCain gets high scores for “experience” – a quality only about 25% of Republicans were looking for, more want a candidate who shares their values – and McCain only managed to get a quarter of them.

As for Obama, he hasn’t scored well among working-class whites and Hispanics – getting only about 1 in 3 of each of those group’s votes. He also has to get the backing of white Democratic women who heavily supported Hillary Clinton. And, there’s the question of race, and whether it will keep voters from supporting Obama. As for voters over 65 years old, that’s the age group where Obama was the weakest in the primaries and where McCain did best.

Here’s my question to you: What are John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s greatest weaknesses?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?

How can McCain compete with Obama’s money?

Barack Obama has been a money machine in the primary season, raising more than $272 million from primarily small donors.

It’s got to leave John McCain, who raised about $122 million, scratching his head as he sizes up his opponent for the general election.

The Politico breaks down what the money story could mean come November, especially if Obama can tap into some of Hillary Clinton’s fundraisers, who raised another 200 million dollars.

Consider this: If each of Obama’s donors gave him $250, he’d have $375 million to play with in the two months leading up to the election – that would mean almost $50 million a week. McCain’s donors number a few hundred thousand. Barack Obama has a rolodex with 1.5 million names in it. Unless John McCain can figure out a way to fatten his wallet, it could be a long slog to November.

Conservative estimates put Obama’s fundraising haul for the general election at about $300 million, an amount that would allow the Democrat to compete in more states than McCain. It could also force McCain to spend money in states that should normally be safe territory for the GOP.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party announced today that it would not accept contributions from Washington lobbyists, putting it in line with Obama’s campaign pledges. Howard Dean and the Obama campaign say that the American people’s priorities, not the special interest groups, will set the agenda in a potential Obama administration.

Here’s my question to you: How can John McCain compete with Barack Obama’s fundraising abilities?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Roger from Virginia writes:
After McCain’s speech Tuesday in New Orleans, he will have a tough time raising money. What a disaster that was. He used a backdrop that was a bastardization of Obama’s change theme. Stumbled, stuttered, lost his place on the Teleprompter. What was especially pitiful was when he paused for applause and there wasn’t any.

Sandy from Ohio writes:
Jack, He’ll just do what Republicans always do, take money from all the big corporations. He’ll have his good buddies George Bush and Karl Rove and the rest to show him how it is done. I live on Social Security and I am going to find a few dollars to send Obama each month. We can’t afford for McCain to win.

Sy writes:
He can’t, even with all the GOP big bucks! Wait ’til you see the money donated right after Clinton’s endorsement!

Bob from Honolulu, Hawaii writes:
Thanks, you just reminded me to send Obama another $25. It’s a better investment than my 401K.

Sondra from Phoenix writes:
McCain won’t be able to match Obama’s grassroot support donations, but he will have the Republican money-making machine behind him. He might be able to catch up with Obama in raising funds, but it will be with second or third-hand lobbyist money.

L. writes:
It’s as easy as 1-2-3. I mean 5-2-7.

JW from Georgia writes:
He can’t compete for various reasons, including funds. The Patriot John McSame is going to get beat like a rented mule. He should just have a little fun for the moment, then move on out to pasture to enjoy whatever time he has left. The GOP won’t be choosing White House wallpaper for quite some time to come, courtesy of George W. Bush.

culled from "Cafferty File".

Jim Webb for VP

Jim Webb would be my choice, but he wrote a very powerful editorial against having women in combat (twenty or thirty years ago), and choosing him as VP would complete the job of alienating the women who supported Senator Clinton.

Kathleen Sebelius is a nice woman, and seems to be doing a great job as governor, but having ovaries shouldn’t be enough to raise her above other good governors.

Caroline Kennedy is a fine person, and her volunteer work is an example to all, but she has no credentials for this level of public office.

We could run down a long list of potential VPs, but my take on this is that Obama managed, in the face of astounding odds, to prevail in this contest. He prevailed by picking talented help, inspiring loyalty, forging alliances and being very smart. I think I’ll just focus on my garden for a while, and trust that he’ll be as smart about picking a VP, as he has been about almost everything else.

—

by martie

Obama hasn’t united anyone.

He separated blacks from whites
He separateed Florida and Michigan from voting
He separated women from men

Now he separated all Democrats and is still doing it by acting like he is doing Senator Clinton a “favor” to take her 18 million supporters from her.

Mr “big shot” Obama with his three years in the senate experience, knows that Clinton won this contest.

He kept Michigan and Florida’s 300 delegates from being seated to brag about his lead and to sway the superdelegates to his side. “I am the one. I have the most pledged delegates”
He never tried to seat these delegates and completely ignored the voices of these two states.

You tell me who won. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

by Rick from Pa

Hip Hop Star Raps for Obama’s Victory/ NAS

As if the celebrations weren’t enough, Senator Barack Obama’s political triumph this week has been punctuated by a two giants of hip-hop music. “Black President,” a track that surfaced on Thursday [listen here], features Nas singing along with Tupac Shakur, whose rhymes were turned into a chorus:

And although it seems heaven sent
We ain’t ready, to see a black President

Ten years after Mr. Shakur’s line emerged in “Changes,” a 1998 hit released after his death, Nas turns it into another reason to believe that there’s a “new, improved J.F.K. on the way” in 2009. Although the overall thrust of the song doesn’t mesh well with Mr. Obama’s postracial campaign, Nas falls into line splendidly by the middle of the song:

On the positive side, I think Obama provides hope
And challenges minds of all races and colors to erase the hate
And try to love one another, so many political snakes

However, the ringing endorsement from Nas, who is often credited with creating the most celebrated album in hip-hop history, does come with a few doubts:

I’m thinking I can trust this brother
But will he keep it way real?
When he wins, will he care still?

And he has doubts about voters too. On that point, though, he would happily stand corrected. “America surprise us,” he raps, “and let a black man guide us.”

BARACK OBAMA BIOGRAPHY

QUICK FACTS Born: August 4, 1961 (Hawaii) Lives in: Chicago, Illinois Zodiac Sign: Leo Height: 6' 1" (1.87m) Family: Married wife Michelle in 1992, 2 daughters Malia and Sasha Parents: Barack Obama, Sr. (from Kenya) and Ann Dunham (from Kansas) Religion: United Church of Christ Drives a: Ford Escape hybrid, Chrysler 300C Education: - Graduated: Columbia University (1983) - Major: Political Science - Law Degree from Harvard (1991) - Major: J.D. - Magna Cum Laude - Attended: Occidental College Career: U.S. Senator from Illinois sworn in January 4, 2005 Government Committees: - Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee - Foreign Relations Committee - Veterans Affairs Committee - 2005 and 2006: served on the Environment and Public Works Committee Books: - Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995) - The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2006) - It Takes a Nation: How Strangers Became Family in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina (2006) Barack Obama, the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois, is the first ever African-American to become the presumptive presidential nominee for a U.S. major political party. On June 3, 2008, he gained enough delegates to be nominated by the Democratic party at its national convention in August. Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton's army. Dunham's mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii. Meantime, Barack's father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama's parents were students at the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama's father went to Harvard to pursue Ph.D. studies and then returned to Kenya. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East-West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama's half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language. Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).

Fears growt in africa that Obama can't win

fears grows that barack obama will not win the us presidential election, due to racial issues that americans have been trying to cover up. We in africa knows that racist still exist in the united statess, forget all juice and butter that have been writen to cover the issue. Know a black man gunning for the top office on earth, lets not decieve ourselves, he only got nominated becos hilary clinton is a female... most american cant stand receiving orders from a lady... so lets wait and see what happens ..
good luck

Obama is Europe's dream candidate, but we may have to settle for McSame

To say that Europeans will welcome President George Bush on his farewell visit to Europe next week would invite a charge of verb-abuse. Welcome is hardly the word. But they will be glad to see the back of him. His two terms have been a bad time for relations between Europe and the United States. The question now is how much better those relations will get under a President like BO.