Yes We Can

No matter what happens going forward, I am immensely proud of those who have supported Barack Obama's message. "Elections are about a lot more than just candidates. Elections are about fighting for a cause larger than ourselves. They're about identifying the great challenges of our time and proposing new solutions. The responsibility of leadership doesn't end with a single campaign. If you believe in a cause, it goes on and you continue to fight for it, and we will."

I'm not generally one for mixing celebrity and politics, but the below video truly captures what this campaign has meant to me.


We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no
matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the
power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will
only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been
asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against
offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been
anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible
odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't
try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a
simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the
destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail
toward freedom through the darkest of nights.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and
pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the
ballot; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and
prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this
world. Yes we can.

And so tomorrow, as we take this campaign South and West; as we learn
that the struggles of the textile worker in Spartanburg are not so
different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas; that the
hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are
the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we
will remember that there is something happening in America; that we
are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people;
we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter
in America's story with three words that will ring from coast to
coast; from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can.

Why Obama is More Electable

My passion for Barack Obama is so strong that at times my emotion gets in the way of being an effective advocate for him. My attitude can be condescending or belittling toward Hillary Clinton supporters. I understand the passion that Democrats feel towards the Clintons and the frustration that's set in from the stinging defeats of 2000 and 2004. There is an intense anger towards Republicans for the incompetence of the Bush administration, the marginalization of dissenting opinion, and most of all the reckless and failed policies in Iraq. A feeling exists among Democrats that they cannot afford to place the fate in the 2008 election in the hands of an untested candidate like Barack Obama. Barack Obama, for all his inspiration and appeal, remains an unknown entity, particularly when contrasted with a name brand like the Clintons. There is merit to Hillary's argument that she's been "tested and vetted" by Republicans, that she has battle scars proving her mettle. Asking Democrats to "roll the dice" on an African American candidate like Obama (as President Clinton puts it) certainly requires some faith. Given that the proposed policies of the Clintons and Obama are strikingly similar, why should Democrats be willing to take that chance against a Republican party that has so successfully undercut the hopes of every Democratic presidential candidate not named Clinton?

Because Barack Obama is imminently more electable than Hillary Clinton and he has the ability to expand the party beyond its traditional base.

In order to win the White House, Democrats must win the votes of not only Democrats, but independents and Republicans. This means we must nominate a candidate whose appeal is larger than the base. We need to win in red states. It's already a given the Democrats will vote for Obama or Clinton, just as they voted for Gore and Kerry in 2000 and 2004. Democrats lost those elections because independents voted for the Repubilcans. What's not a given is that independents will vote for Clinton. Certainly now is a unique moment for Democrats in their campaign against Republicans. The traditional Republican coalition of economic/fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and military hawks is splintering. This has been the glue of Republican dominance since the Regan administration and its demise is an opportunity that Democrats cannot expect to see again. Now is the moment to appeal to those Republicans disillusioned by the failures of their party and their weak pool of presidential candidates. Barack Obama can do this. This is not merely speculation or a haughty, hopeful talk about bridging a partisan divide. The results of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina conclusively show that Obama's appeal among Independents and Republicans is greatly superior to Hillary Clintons. In winning South Carolina's primary Saturday, for example, Obama drew 42 percent of voters describing themselves as independents, compared with 26 percent for Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to exit polls (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0uMEYpasAyQ4CDIpXsMAbhzSy6QD8UECN4O1). Nevada won 47% of independents versus Clintons 33%. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21225994/. And in NH, Obama grabbed more independents voting in the Democratic primary, 41 percent to 34 percent (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/08/nh.issues/).

There is no question that the Clintons are immensely popular among Democrats. One would be hard pressed to think of more beloved politicians within the party. Outside the party however, amongst Independents and Republicans, the story is very, very different. Many of my friends, whose admiration for the Clintons runs extremely deep, have admitted that they have very few Republican or Independent friends. For better or for worse, I have been predominately surrounded by Republicans for the better part of my life. What's unmistakably clear is the vitriol the Clintons inspire in them. Although most of it may be undeserved, it remains a political reality. Obama's appeal to Republicans is not a fairy tale - many have privately admitted to me that between Obama and say Mitt Romney, they would vote for Obama. Yet under no circumstance would these self described Republicans pull the level for a Clinton. The Clintons remain the most polarizing figures in American politics and in Obama we have a candidate who by all accounts transcends our party. What Obama offers is a rebranding of the party, bringing it forward into the future and transforming the way non-Democrats view the party. Essentially, he can be to us what Ronald Regan was to Republicans – a transcendent figure whose appeal reaches beyond the traditional sphere of Democrats. The Clintons, for all their triumphs represent the Democrats of the past that paved the political road for two terms of George W. Bush. We cannot squander this opportunity by nominating a candidate who serves only to unite a broken Republican party.

11 Personalities Guaranteed to Ruin Your Super Bowl Party

11 Personalities Guaranteed to Ruin Your Super Bowl Party

Courtesy of Cracked (worth clicking the link)

1. The Guy Who Hasn't Paid Attention to the NFL in a Decade
2. The Guy Who's in It for the Commercials
3. The "Tomorrow Should Definitely Be a National Holiday" Guy
4. The Guy Who's in a Squares Pool at Work
5. The Guy Who's in a Squares Pool at Work
6. Obnoxious Girl Who Cheers Way too Hard
7. The "Is it Cool If I Smoke in Here?" Guy
8. The "Is it Cool If I Smoke in Here?" Guy
9. The "Is it Cool If I Smoke in Here?" Guy
10. The "Told You So" Guy
11. The "Favored Team Apparel Guy"
12. The "Fantasy Football Guy"

Cheeseburger in a Can is Both the Best and Worst Thing I've Ever Seen

"This is a cheeseburger. In a can. It's a cheeseburger in a can. Is it the greatest achievement of mankind thus far, or is it an abomination of foodstuffs that deserves to be hucked back into the gaping maw of whatever food processing plant it was spewed from?"

Courtesy of Gizmodo.

Leadership In Action

From the Hill:

"In one instance Clinton appeared to gauge Obama's response before showing her own. When Bush warned the Iranian government that "America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf" Obama jumped up to applaud. Clinton leaned across Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), seated to her left, to look in Obama's direction before slowly standing."

Courtesy of The Daily Dish (Anderw Sullivan).

Endorsements

My venom for the Clintons is subsiding, although given their behavior since Iowa I don't feel it was unjustified. I'll soon be posting a final plea to Democrats on why Obama is preferable over Hillary very soon.

After the big Ted Kennedy endorsement, Bill Richardson seems prime to throw his weight behind one of the candidates. Having served in the first Clinton administration, he appears torn:

"I have a history with the Clintons," Richardson said. "And I've always liked her. She always seems very genuine." But Richardson considers Kennedy, who's long been respected by Hispanics, as "a mentor." In 1982, when Richardson ran for Congress for the second time -- he lost two years before -- Kennedy flew to Santa Fe and campaigned for him. "That might have been the reason I was elected," Richardson said. And he said he likes Obama, telling a story about how Obama saved him during one of last year's Democratic debates:

"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.'"