"DNC rides Obama coattails; National panel's fund-raising rises with candidate's" by Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff | July 18, 2008
Obama's campaign reaped $52 million in donations last month, his campaign announced yesterday, up from about $22 million in May and the second highest monthly total for any presidential candidate in history, after the $55.4 million he collected in February as he began to gain control of the nomination fight against Hillary Clinton.
His June haul was about $30 million more than McCain, even though the roughly $22 million that McCain collected marked the Republican's best month of the entire campaign."
Of course, we all know that money doesn't mean anything in politics since McCain won the nomination after being broke and Ron Paul went nowhere.
Then why was this page one material, Globe?
Gramm had been a key adviser to McCain on economic issues, but his role was curtailed after his interview last week [when] he told the Washington Times many Americans believe economic conditions are the worst in decades:
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining (Boston Globe July 19, 2008)."
"McCain surrogate creates Muslim flap with comment
Another surrogate controversy surfaced yesterday.
Bud Day, a retired Air Force colonel who was a POW with Republican John McCain in Vietnam and now supports his presidential bid, in a conference call with reporters yesterday organized by the Florida Republican Party defended the Iraq war by saying, according to audio posted by the Miami Herald:
"The Muslims have said either we kneel, or they're going to kill us. I don't intend to kneel, and I don't advocate to anybody that we kneel, and John doesn't advocate that we kneel."
Unless it's to Israel, right? Kneel and kiss cheek.
An official with the Council on American-Islamic Relations told CNN that McCain should repudiate the remarks. The McCain campaign issued a short statement to CNN saying, "The threat we face is from radical Islamic extremism."
Day was also in Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which in the 2004 presidential race condemned Senator John F. Kerry's antiwar activities and tried to discredit his war record (Boston Globe July 19, 2008)."
"Independents not excited, remain very undecided
The oft-noted enthusiasm gap that favors Democrat Barack Obama becomes starkly apparent in a new poll out yesterday.
But the more telling finding in the survey by the Associated Press and
Only 21 percent of independent voters - being targeted by both Obama and Republican John McCain - said they find the election interesting, down from 31 percent in November, and just 7 percent say it's exciting. About a quarter support each candidate, about 40 percent remain undecided, and half say they could still change their minds.
Among each candidate's core supporters, Obama's - African-Americans, Democrats, and liberals - are more enthusiastic and have become more excited about the race since fall than whites, Republicans, and conservatives, who tend to support McCain.
The poll found that supporters of Hillary Clinton are still cool toward Obama. Just 12 percent of former Clinton loyalists say they are excited about the campaign (Boston Globe July 19, 2008)."
"McCain suggests Obama's voting record is extreme
The latest skirmish in the presidential race is, of all things, whether John McCain called Barack Obama a socialist.
The blow-up started when McCain, asked Thursday in Kansas City whether he believed Obama was an extremist. replied that "his voting record . . . is more to the left" than Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-described socialist. Asked whether he believes that Obama is a socialist, McCain answered, "I don't know. All I know is his voting record, and that's what people usually judge their elected representatives by."
McCain is citing a National Journal vote rating that found that Obama was the most liberal US senator last year.
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor responded that the attack "is exactly what the American people are tired of."
Yesterday, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "It's up to Barack Obama to explain his extreme record." (Boston Globe July 19, 2008)."
PFFFFFFFTTTT!
"Grass-roots networks in Kansas connecting online" by Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff | July 20, 2008MCPHERSON, Kan. - Surely the odds for Obama are long in Kansas. Democrats make up only about a quarter of registered voters. Political experts say he is only likely to prevail if there is a national Democratic landslide.
Judging by the activity on the Obama website, the volunteer brigade in Kansas so far is relatively small, and it is hardly clear that it could swing Kansas to the Democrats. Some supporters point to recent polls of Kansas voters have shown John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, as few as 10 points ahead of Obama.
Kansas did not make the list of red states where the campaign plans a strong push, such as Colorado, Georgia, and North Dakota.
All but a few were people Anderson didn't know. One was Verna Roth, a retired English teacher who described herself as politically apathetic since John F. Kennedy's campaign.
Roth as she sat next to Anderson at a voter registration table in a Wichita shopping center, the first event the group planned at the party:
"They just all talked about how they'd become disillusioned by presidential campaigns and politicians, but this was the first time they felt really inspired. It was just delightful. Heartwarming."
You know I'm sick of all this crap, right, folks?!
And why are you still here reading this garbage?
My apologies, readers!
