Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
I Wonder, I Doubt, I Know
I WONDER if John McCain's temper isn't a good quality after all to bring to a foreign policy attitude that Joe Lieberman describes as: "One of John's strengths is that our allies and friends will trust him and our enemies will fear him...McCain knows when to be tough and when to be soft."
I DOUBT Hillary Clinton will win either West Virginia or Kentucky by more than 32-34%, despite polls showing her ahead by 43% and 36% respectively.
I KNOW that the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson is one of the most biased columnists writing today and that because of writers like him in the MSM, the Clinton campaign has had an uphill battle since the South Carolina Primary.
I DOUBT Hillary Clinton will win either West Virginia or Kentucky by more than 32-34%, despite polls showing her ahead by 43% and 36% respectively.
I KNOW that the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson is one of the most biased columnists writing today and that because of writers like him in the MSM, the Clinton campaign has had an uphill battle since the South Carolina Primary.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
"Super Volunteers" Reshape America: A Profile
Yesterday’s two Democratic Primaries brought more than three million voters to the polls to choose between Senators Obama and Clinton, but behind those votes were thousands of volunteers from both sides. Over the past week, I spoke with three of the volunteers about their experiences.
Traditional canvassing efforts have been around for many years, and by the 2000 Election the Internet already played a significant role. There is something noticeably different about the ways in which activists have been channeling their energy in the 2008 Election. Their responses to the candidates’ calls to action are more than constructive and effective; they’re self-generated and inspired.
The Obama Volunteer Corps fanned out through the historic Olivewood Cemetery in Houston on a cleanup mission for two Saturdays in April as part of the community-oriented work the group performs on a regular basis. The group of more than 70 volunteers, under the direction of twenty-eight-year-old Brad Pritchett, is one of three similar organizations across the country where Obama supporters work together on largely non-political service projects. “The Corps’ main purpose is to take Senator Obama’s message of change and prove that words can inspire people to do remarkable things in their own communities,” says Pritchett. After the cleanup at Olivewood ended last month, one member of the Corps began working with the City of Houston to establish a long-term solution that would protect the cemetery.
In Santa Cruz, California a volunteer has been working feverishly for Senator Hillary Clinton on the other side of the Democratic campaign. Vickie Nam, a doctoral student at UC-Santa Cruz didn’t stop her volunteering at canvassing and phone-banking; instead she created an online business (Visit it HERE) where she sells Hillary Clinton t-shirts of her own design. A portion of the money from the site’s sales goes to the Clinton campaign and a portion goes to Wellesley College, Clinton's and Nam’s alma mater. Nam, who does not typify many young voters in her choice of candidate, penned a letter to California Congressman Sam Farr (an undecided superdelegate) arguing her case for Clinton. She wrote that young people supporting Senator Clinton are “resisting the master narrative and are perhaps demonstrating true grass-roots organization.”
After a group of Obama supporters on a local college campus were featured on a television broadcast, Ms. Nam collaborated with a producer at another area station to create and air a segment featuring young Hillary supporters. “I have always had a passion for creating outlets for adolescents and emerging adults to speak out and be heard,” she says. A second-generation Korean-American, Nam sees strength in Senator Clinton that resonates with her and has inspired her to be such an active volunteer: “I am inspired and often moved to tears by the strength that Hillary has revealed during this stormy election, but she keeps on because she loves and dreams about America.”
While Ms. Nam has been helping out Senator Clinton directly, Brad Pritchett maintains that the Obama Volunteer Corps is less about politics and more about lending others a hand. His group welcomes any volunteers to join their service efforts. However, Pritchett’s political beliefs clearly motivate his actions. He sees the civic efforts of the Obama campaign as reflecting the “desire of people wanting to embrace a political message which returns much of the power to the people, as opposed to giving it all to politicians.” For that reason Pritchett isn't surprised that Clinton volunteers have not created groups similar to his. Having a philosophy deeply rooted in the platform and vision of a candidate while simultaneously transcending the traditional boundaries of political activism the Obama Volunteer Corps has reached an unexpectedly balanced approach to activism in the midst of a heated campaign.
The creation of the Obama Volunteer Corps is not the only non-traditional effort started by supporters of the Senator. In the central Ohio town of Newark, singer/songwriter and composer Celeste Friedman recently wrote a song and created a YouTube video accompaniment called “Oh Barack!” In 2004 Friedman penned and performed a song for the Kerry campaign entitled “Carry Me Home,” but this time around she isn’t begging her Democratic candidate to fight harder, instead she has been inspired by the uplifting messages of the Obama campaign.
Friedman’s Obama tune came to her easily, she says, especially because she does not consider herself an overly political songwriter. “The one thing that was standing out the most as I was writing the song was light. It was all I could think about in the darkness of the world as it exists right now.” After becoming a supporter of Obama this January, Friedman now says she is more firmly behind Senator Obama than ever and feels she is truly counting on him now that she has put her own stamp on his campaign.
In the process of creating a video slideshow to play along with her song, Friedman collected pictures of Barack Obama with the help of over forty independent photographers on Flickr.com. Friedman says the responses she received from Obama supporters around the web who enjoyed her song pushed her to create the video, and she has stayed in contact with a number of the project’s contributors. Though she communicated her political beliefs through a musical skill most do not have, Friedman says, “I didn’t take advantage of that like the people [activist songwriters] in the 1960’s did. I think I’m no different than anyone else in this country.” In her eyes, ‘Oh Barack’ is “a little cheesy, but it was what was coming out of me.”
As pundits around the country declare the Democratic nomination sealed up and predict the course of events in the coming months, thousands of “super volunteers,” both Republicans and Democrats, won’t stop until every vote has been cast and counted. Celeste Friedman has an upcoming gig for which she will (somehow) have to write a song about John McCain to perform in front of a group of parents and children. The Obama Volunteer Corps will continue working on Houston-area service projects even after the November election. Meanwhile, Vickie Nam recently delivered a shipment of 400 Hillary Clinton signs to be transported to Oregon, the next stop on a long and busy campaign trail.
Traditional canvassing efforts have been around for many years, and by the 2000 Election the Internet already played a significant role. There is something noticeably different about the ways in which activists have been channeling their energy in the 2008 Election. Their responses to the candidates’ calls to action are more than constructive and effective; they’re self-generated and inspired.
The Obama Volunteer Corps fanned out through the historic Olivewood Cemetery in Houston on a cleanup mission for two Saturdays in April as part of the community-oriented work the group performs on a regular basis. The group of more than 70 volunteers, under the direction of twenty-eight-year-old Brad Pritchett, is one of three similar organizations across the country where Obama supporters work together on largely non-political service projects. “The Corps’ main purpose is to take Senator Obama’s message of change and prove that words can inspire people to do remarkable things in their own communities,” says Pritchett. After the cleanup at Olivewood ended last month, one member of the Corps began working with the City of Houston to establish a long-term solution that would protect the cemetery.
In Santa Cruz, California a volunteer has been working feverishly for Senator Hillary Clinton on the other side of the Democratic campaign. Vickie Nam, a doctoral student at UC-Santa Cruz didn’t stop her volunteering at canvassing and phone-banking; instead she created an online business (Visit it HERE) where she sells Hillary Clinton t-shirts of her own design. A portion of the money from the site’s sales goes to the Clinton campaign and a portion goes to Wellesley College, Clinton's and Nam’s alma mater. Nam, who does not typify many young voters in her choice of candidate, penned a letter to California Congressman Sam Farr (an undecided superdelegate) arguing her case for Clinton. She wrote that young people supporting Senator Clinton are “resisting the master narrative and are perhaps demonstrating true grass-roots organization.”
After a group of Obama supporters on a local college campus were featured on a television broadcast, Ms. Nam collaborated with a producer at another area station to create and air a segment featuring young Hillary supporters. “I have always had a passion for creating outlets for adolescents and emerging adults to speak out and be heard,” she says. A second-generation Korean-American, Nam sees strength in Senator Clinton that resonates with her and has inspired her to be such an active volunteer: “I am inspired and often moved to tears by the strength that Hillary has revealed during this stormy election, but she keeps on because she loves and dreams about America.”
While Ms. Nam has been helping out Senator Clinton directly, Brad Pritchett maintains that the Obama Volunteer Corps is less about politics and more about lending others a hand. His group welcomes any volunteers to join their service efforts. However, Pritchett’s political beliefs clearly motivate his actions. He sees the civic efforts of the Obama campaign as reflecting the “desire of people wanting to embrace a political message which returns much of the power to the people, as opposed to giving it all to politicians.” For that reason Pritchett isn't surprised that Clinton volunteers have not created groups similar to his. Having a philosophy deeply rooted in the platform and vision of a candidate while simultaneously transcending the traditional boundaries of political activism the Obama Volunteer Corps has reached an unexpectedly balanced approach to activism in the midst of a heated campaign.
The creation of the Obama Volunteer Corps is not the only non-traditional effort started by supporters of the Senator. In the central Ohio town of Newark, singer/songwriter and composer Celeste Friedman recently wrote a song and created a YouTube video accompaniment called “Oh Barack!” In 2004 Friedman penned and performed a song for the Kerry campaign entitled “Carry Me Home,” but this time around she isn’t begging her Democratic candidate to fight harder, instead she has been inspired by the uplifting messages of the Obama campaign.
Friedman’s Obama tune came to her easily, she says, especially because she does not consider herself an overly political songwriter. “The one thing that was standing out the most as I was writing the song was light. It was all I could think about in the darkness of the world as it exists right now.” After becoming a supporter of Obama this January, Friedman now says she is more firmly behind Senator Obama than ever and feels she is truly counting on him now that she has put her own stamp on his campaign.
In the process of creating a video slideshow to play along with her song, Friedman collected pictures of Barack Obama with the help of over forty independent photographers on Flickr.com. Friedman says the responses she received from Obama supporters around the web who enjoyed her song pushed her to create the video, and she has stayed in contact with a number of the project’s contributors. Though she communicated her political beliefs through a musical skill most do not have, Friedman says, “I didn’t take advantage of that like the people [activist songwriters] in the 1960’s did. I think I’m no different than anyone else in this country.” In her eyes, ‘Oh Barack’ is “a little cheesy, but it was what was coming out of me.”
As pundits around the country declare the Democratic nomination sealed up and predict the course of events in the coming months, thousands of “super volunteers,” both Republicans and Democrats, won’t stop until every vote has been cast and counted. Celeste Friedman has an upcoming gig for which she will (somehow) have to write a song about John McCain to perform in front of a group of parents and children. The Obama Volunteer Corps will continue working on Houston-area service projects even after the November election. Meanwhile, Vickie Nam recently delivered a shipment of 400 Hillary Clinton signs to be transported to Oregon, the next stop on a long and busy campaign trail.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Lost in the Valley
I sat silently in front of the television on Sunday night as the end credits began to roll. I could do little more than stare blankly into the darkness of the living room and massage my eyes.
The final ten minutes of In The Valley of Elah left me saddened, frightened, moved, and shaken to the core on a level I hadn't felt since watching The Pianist as a young teenager.
I have an understanding with myself that I don't like to discuss how I liked or disliked a film until I've sat on it for a day or so and let my feelings solidify. Instead of talking, showering, checking my email, or doing anything else, I headed for bed and picked my iPod up on the way. I thought I'd have a song or artist to listen to whose music would tap into the way I was feeling.
I scrolled down from A to M and found songs of patriotism, rusty old Ford pickups, death, and anarchy (though not very many of those). Nothing I listened to connected with me in the way I needed. Alan Jackson and Rushlow Harris' tribute songs to soldiers were difficult to handle after the brutal stories from Elah, but Neil Young's words of protest or Wyclef Jean's diatribes against President Bush and foreign wars seemed similarly inappropriate.
Over the past day or so I've spoken with a few people about In the Valley of Elah and it has become clear to me that it is a film absorbed differently by everyone who watches it.
I still haven't figured out how to put my feelings down in words, but this morning I found a song buried on my iTunes that chips away at the deep personal inquiry that Elah has stirred in me?
"War" by Haunt. (listen HERE)
The final ten minutes of In The Valley of Elah left me saddened, frightened, moved, and shaken to the core on a level I hadn't felt since watching The Pianist as a young teenager.
I have an understanding with myself that I don't like to discuss how I liked or disliked a film until I've sat on it for a day or so and let my feelings solidify. Instead of talking, showering, checking my email, or doing anything else, I headed for bed and picked my iPod up on the way. I thought I'd have a song or artist to listen to whose music would tap into the way I was feeling.
I scrolled down from A to M and found songs of patriotism, rusty old Ford pickups, death, and anarchy (though not very many of those). Nothing I listened to connected with me in the way I needed. Alan Jackson and Rushlow Harris' tribute songs to soldiers were difficult to handle after the brutal stories from Elah, but Neil Young's words of protest or Wyclef Jean's diatribes against President Bush and foreign wars seemed similarly inappropriate.
Over the past day or so I've spoken with a few people about In the Valley of Elah and it has become clear to me that it is a film absorbed differently by everyone who watches it.
I still haven't figured out how to put my feelings down in words, but this morning I found a song buried on my iTunes that chips away at the deep personal inquiry that Elah has stirred in me?
"War" by Haunt. (listen HERE)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Where Cash Flows
There's a page on the Capitol Eye website that tracks donations to the political campaigns of the Democratic superdelegate (check out the site HERE).
The page is very factual and doesn't play sides beyond noting that Barack Obama's campaign has given 3 times as much money to superdelegates as Hillary Clinton has.
Perhaps the most interesting set of statistics has to do with superdelegates from Indiana and North Carolina?the sites of next week's two important primaries. I've compiled the data below:
North Carolina superdelegates:
Rep. Heath Shuler —
Obama campaign contributes $10,000
Clinton campaign contributes $0.
Indiana superdelegates
Rep. Baron Hill —
Obama campaign contributes $12,500
Clinton campaign contributes $2,500
[NOTE: Baron Hill has backed Barack Obama...wouldn't you?]
Rep. Brad Ellsworth —
Obama campaign contributes $10,000
Clinton campaign contributes $0
Rep. Joe Donnelly —
Obama campaign contributes $7,500
Clinton campaign contributes $0
_________________
We will have to wait and see how Shuler, Ellsworth, and Donnelly's superdelegate votes go, but the facts speak for themselves for the moment.
The page is very factual and doesn't play sides beyond noting that Barack Obama's campaign has given 3 times as much money to superdelegates as Hillary Clinton has.
Perhaps the most interesting set of statistics has to do with superdelegates from Indiana and North Carolina?the sites of next week's two important primaries. I've compiled the data below:
North Carolina superdelegates:
Rep. Heath Shuler —
Obama campaign contributes $10,000
Clinton campaign contributes $0.
Indiana superdelegates
Rep. Baron Hill —
Obama campaign contributes $12,500
Clinton campaign contributes $2,500
[NOTE: Baron Hill has backed Barack Obama...wouldn't you?]
Rep. Brad Ellsworth —
Obama campaign contributes $10,000
Clinton campaign contributes $0
Rep. Joe Donnelly —
Obama campaign contributes $7,500
Clinton campaign contributes $0
_________________
We will have to wait and see how Shuler, Ellsworth, and Donnelly's superdelegate votes go, but the facts speak for themselves for the moment.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Silence is Golden
There are some things we wish would never be brought up again, and for anyone stuck in the middle of the Clinton v. Obama circus, reminding us of the now long-forgotten John Edwards campaign is one of them.
Joe Trippi (one of Edwards' top campaign advisors) published an article today about the regret he feels for not trusting his instincts to try to convince Edwards to stay in the presidential race. Trippi's writing is the kind of gut-wrenching display of hindsight that not only makes us wish Edwards were still around to try his luck against Hillary and Obama, but makes us very sorry Trippi did nothing to prevent Edwards from pulling out of the race.
I officially backed Hillary Clinton on January 13th of this year, after the Iowa Caucus and Senator Clinton's win in the New Hampshire Primary, so I don't know if I would have become an Edwards supporter or voter had he stuck around a little while longer, but there was one "very, very, very rare circumstance" under which we were told Edwards might want to consider remaining in the race: if no clear winner were determined quickly between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama...
...fancy that...
Read the article HERE.
Joe Trippi (one of Edwards' top campaign advisors) published an article today about the regret he feels for not trusting his instincts to try to convince Edwards to stay in the presidential race. Trippi's writing is the kind of gut-wrenching display of hindsight that not only makes us wish Edwards were still around to try his luck against Hillary and Obama, but makes us very sorry Trippi did nothing to prevent Edwards from pulling out of the race.
I officially backed Hillary Clinton on January 13th of this year, after the Iowa Caucus and Senator Clinton's win in the New Hampshire Primary, so I don't know if I would have become an Edwards supporter or voter had he stuck around a little while longer, but there was one "very, very, very rare circumstance" under which we were told Edwards might want to consider remaining in the race: if no clear winner were determined quickly between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama...
...fancy that...
Read the article HERE.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Was it all worth it?
Was it all worth it?
Electoral-Vote.com is a nifty site that shows United States maps overlayed with head-to-head polling between Clinton/Obama v. McCain.
In their polling data released today, an Obama v. McCain race yields the Democrats only two new states, Iowa and Colorado. Likewise, the Republicans pick up New Hampshire and Pennyslvania, as well as hang onto Ohio. In the simulation Obama loses the general election 243 to 269.
The map and its accompanying polls beg one significant question: where did Barack Obama?s wins in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Alaska, and Virginia go? The answer is: right into the hands of the Republicans.
Electoral-Vote.com is a nifty site that shows United States maps overlayed with head-to-head polling between Clinton/Obama v. McCain.
In their polling data released today, an Obama v. McCain race yields the Democrats only two new states, Iowa and Colorado. Likewise, the Republicans pick up New Hampshire and Pennyslvania, as well as hang onto Ohio. In the simulation Obama loses the general election 243 to 269.
The map and its accompanying polls beg one significant question: where did Barack Obama?s wins in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Alaska, and Virginia go? The answer is: right into the hands of the Republicans.
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