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.


Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

Enter your Email





Preview Powered by FeedBlitz

Dems Tie McCain To Bush 'Surge' Strategy

In a potential glimpse at the 2008 race for the White House, Democrats are tying U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to the unpopular escalation of the war in Iraq that President Bush unveiled this week.

McCain is looking at a second bid for president. McCain ran for the GOP nomination in 2000 but ultimately lost to Bush.

"Cementing himself as the establishment candidate committed to continuing the Bush legacy of failure in Iraq, John McCain yesterday wholeheartedly endorsed the president's escalation of the war. Although the president's new increase of troops for the civil war in Iraq falls shy of the 35,000 troops McCain had proposed, the Arizona senator said he was satisfied with the move, stating 'I think it meets our criteria,'" the Democratic National Committee says, citing a McCain interview on CNN.

"Spearheading the effort to escalate the Iraq War with tens ofthousands more American troops may cement John McCain in Bush's camp, but it won't help him become Bush's successor," says Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "The American people have made it clear they want a new direction in Iraq, not another troop increase that keeps our brave men and women in uniform bogged down in the Iraqi civil war."

Inability to articulate clear position has garnered McCain broad criticism, according to the Democratic National Committee.

Polls find Americans disapprove of sending more troops to Iraq.

"Harold Meyerson wrote in the Washington Post that McCain's continued hawkishness, even if held sincerely, was flawed, writing that 'integrity in the pursuit of fantasy is no virtue,'" the DNC says. "Joel Connelly, a columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, noted that, 'The heady spirit of a reformer on the road is gone,' and concluded that McCain 'is the last person in the world that you'd want to be in charge of cleaning up Bush's [foreign policy] excesses.' Ann McFeatters wrote that McCain has become 'garbled' in explaining his Iraq position. And pollster John Zogby noted that McCain's 'going to be all alone in suggesting the Iraq Study Group' was wrong.

McCain has criticized aspects of Bush's war handling, however, and called attention to mistakes in remarks in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Iraq.

"We have made many, many mistakes since 2003, and these will not be easily reversed," McCain said. "Even greater than the costs thus far and in the future, however, are the catastrophic consequences that would ensue from our failure in Iraq. By surging troops and bringing security to Baghdad and other areas, we will give the Iraqis and their partners the best possible chances to succeed.

"From everything I saw during my trip to Iraq last month, I believe that success is still possible," McCain added. "And I would not support this new strategy if I didn’t think it had a real chance of success. But let us realize that there are no guarantees. By controlling the violence, we can pave the way for a political settlement. Once the government wields greater authority, however, Iraqi leaders must take significant steps on their own, and they must do it right away."

McCain acknowledges that "[i]ncreasing U.S. troop levels will expose more brave Americans to danger and increase the number of American casualties."


Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

Enter your Email





Preview Powered by FeedBlitz

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!"