Pastor Rick Warren, Oprah Among Stars Who Back Obama

DraftObama.org, a grassroots site designed to encourage U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to run for president in 2008, today announced the launch of an"Honorary Celebrity Members" class.

The website offers a running tally of the growing number of "Barack Stars" -- celebrities who have said or strongly implied they would support Barack Obama for president, site organizers say. Obama has said he will announce his intention to run for president in 2008 by Feb. 10.

"It's not often you get Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Pastor Rick Warren, and George Clooney on the same list. That just shows the incredible ability of Senator Obama to inspire some of the most famous and respected Americans alive today," says Ben Stanfield, DraftObama.org founder. "By compiling this list of celebrity supporters in one place, we hope to showcase that ability in the clearest possible fashion and to encourage Americans of all backgrounds to learn more about Senator Obama."

The new effort features celebrities across many fields, ranging from investment guru Warren Buffett, to talk show icon Oprah Winfrey, to political matron Ethel Kennedy. With each celebrity is the specific quote made expressing admiration for Obama, along with the source.

"The list of 'Barack Stars' may be glamorous, but their reasons forsupporting Senator Obama are very much down to Earth," says Stanfield. "And this list is just a harbinger of things to come, when the real stars -- the American voters -- get to make their own choices known."

Obama faces a crowded field for the 2008 Democrat nomination for president. Obama's biggest competition comes in the form of former first lady and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.


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Emily's List Gets Behind Hillary For 2008

Emily's List, which promotes Democratic women for political office, has already thrown its support behind U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president in 2008.

Senator from New York, Clinton is moving closer toward an official run for the Democratic nomination for president. She was first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, served in the Oval Office.

"I am one of the millions of women who have waited all their lives to see the first woman sworn in as president of the United States -- and now we have our best opportunity to see that dream fulfilled," says EMILY's List President Ellen Malcolm.

Clinton has edged closer to running, reportedly saying on her Web site, "I'm in and I'm in to win."

If Clinton runs, she will likely face fellow Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in a titanic battle for the Democrat nomination. Other Democrats running into former Sen. and 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and former Democrat Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Hillary Clinton was elected to the Senate in 2000 and re-elected last year. If elected to the White House, Democrat Clinton would be the first woman to be elected U.S. president.

"On the national stage and in the neighborhoods of New York, Senator Hillary Clinton has repeatedly put her expertise and power behind solutions that make the lives of the American people safer and more prosperous. No one is more qualified to bring to the White House the kind of principled and effective leadership our nation so desperately needs," Malcolm says.

Malcolm adds, "It is with tremendous excitement and pride that EMILY's List endorses
Senator Hillary Clinton for president. As Senator Clinton begins her historic journey, EMILY's List will be with her every step of the way -- raising early money from our grassroots donor network of more than 100,000 EMILY's List members, using our vast political resources to help her build a strong national campaign, and mobilizing millions of women voters through our groundbreaking WOMEN VOTE! program to support her and every Democrat on the ticket in 2008."


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Online Crowd Prefers Obama Over Hillary

U.S. Sen Barack Obama (D-Ill.) -- not Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- is the top choice for president in 2008, according to an online poll in which nearly 200,000 AOL users responded.

In the U.S. Senate for just two years, Obama is weighing a White House run and will announce by Feb. 10. Former first lady Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is also reportedly close to starting her bid for the presidency. Clinton in 2006 was re-elected to a second term as senator from New York.

But Obama, son of an American and a Kenyan, is the top choice in the unscientific AOL poll. Obama seems to offer an inspirational, less-partisan alternative. Obama was the star televised speaker at the 2004 Democratic convention.

Answering the question, "Who would do better in a race for the Democratic nomination?" 58% favored Barack Obama compared to 42% for Clinton. Some 199,523 AOL users responded to the question.

On "Who would do better against a GOP nominee?" Barack Obama came out on top with 61% of 198,064 who replied to that question compared to Hillary Clinton with 39%.

In perhaps the strongest measure of Obama's sudden candidacy, asked "Would you like to see Clinton run?" 57% of the 195,736 respondents said "No." Forty-three percent said, "Yes."

By contrast, 61% of 196,202 respondents want Barack Obama to run compared to 39%
who don't.

AOL cautions its poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate.

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New Obama Site On Iraq Launched

A grassroots organization encouraging U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to run for president in 2008 announced the launch of ObamaWasRight.com, an affiliated website and blog dedicated to discussion and solution-finding on the issue of the war in Iraq, the group says.

The new site coincides with Obama filing paperwork to open an exploratory committee as a prelude to a White House campaign. Obama's top Democratic competition in the primaries could come from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York who is also mulling a 2008 run. Former Sen. John Edwards ofNorth Carolina is another prime contender for the Democratic nomination.

Obama reportedly will decide on a 2008 run by Feb. 10.

"We're incredibly excited about Obama's exploratory committee," says Ben Stanfield, founder of DraftObama.org. "It's a major step in our ultimate goal, seeing Senator Obama enter the presidential race. We've been working hard for the last few months to organize thousands of volunteers across all 50 states, and we'll continue that hard work right up to his announcement on Feb. 10th."

The website was launched today in response to strong interest from participants in the DraftObama.org movement for creating a forum specific to issues concerning the war. It highlights Obama's uniquely consistent position in opposition to the war in Iraq among the six leading presidential hopefuls in both parties, organizers say.

"Although he could easily be the 'I-told-you-so candidate,' Senator Obama has shown remarkable statesmanship by focusing not on the past, buton the future," says Stanfield. "Our new site,'ObamaWasRight.com' will become a leading forum for Americans whoappreciate that Senator Obama has been consistently opposed to the Iraq War, and who want to follow his lead, and help in the process of findingnon-partisan approaches to bringing our troops home."

President Bush launched the invasion of Iraq nearly four years ago. It has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 American service personnel. Polls have found Americans disapprove of the war in Iraq.

DraftObama.org is an all-volunteer grassroots organization supporting apresidential run by Senator Obama. Spearheaded by a growing collection ofvolunteers from around the country, the movement has grown from a singleweb page created by Ben Stanfield, a computer technician in Rockville, Md., to a national movement with tens of thousands of petition-signers, hundreds of volunteers in every state, and over half a million unique visitors tothe DraftObama.org site, site organizers say.

The movement gained national attention by airing the first television advertisement of the 2008 presidential election cycle, airing "Believe Again" in Washington, DC, New Hampshire, Iowa and Hawaii. The 60- second spot also reached many YouTube milestones, including moer than 100,000 viewings, site organizers add.


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RunObama.com Enlists 6,500 Supporters in Two Weeks

The website RunObama.com has collected 6,500 signatures on a petition urging U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to run for president in 2008, those who operate the site say.

The thousands of Obama supporters from all 50 states and the District of Columbia poured in during the first two weeks of the site being active, the operators say.

A rising star in the Democratic party, Obama has left the door open to a bid for the White House. If he decides to run, he would face potentially many rivals for the Democratic nomination, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Outgoing Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has already declared he will run as has Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

Obama has been in national office just two years. Before that, he served as a state legislator in Illinois.

RunObama.com is now urging supporters of Barack Obama to gather 10,000 signatures before Sunday, December 10 to present to Obama during his first visit to New Hampshire. New Hampshire is home to an early and often crucial early test in the primary elections in which voters of each party select nominees for president.

The site was created to gather Obama supporters together to show the Illinois Democrat that there is a grassroots army of citizens ready to support him.

The site features a blog that is covering the early stages of an Obama campaign, as well as a video section to highlight recent television clips.

On the petition, the website encourages people to "Tell Obama to Run," declaring: "We the undersigned believe we need new leadership in this country. We need someone who can challenge, inspire and get America back on track. Most of all, we need leadership. Senator Obama needs to know that if -- and when -- he decides to run, he'll have an army of grassroots supporters ready to help him win!"