I’m not sure if you caught last night’s debate, but if you were worried about Barack Obama being our future president, then I’m here to tell you to worry no more! Sarah Palin and Joe Biden faced off in a vice presidential debate last night at St. Louis University, and after watching the debate, I know 2 things: 1.) Sarah Palin doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about and has horrible public speaking skills, and 2.) come January 20th 2009, we’re going to have a black man in the oval office. ‘Nuff said. Check out videos of the debate here if you weren’t able to last night. Oh yeah, and REGISTER TO VOTE … NOW!

Oh, and one more thing: is it just me or did Sarah tend to go off topic throughout the debate, and it seemed as though she made up for not knowing how to answer the question by “beating around the bush” or just changing the context of the question in her answer.

Boy, oh boy, Saturday Night Live is gonna have a field day with this one!

If that doesn’t inspire you to register to vote, then I don’t know what will!

OBAMA ‘08!

It’s hard to keep up on what’s going on in the political world these days. So here’s a compilation of the biggest political headlines from this week!

OBAMA CUTS BACK ON SPENDING TO MATCH MCCAIN » [ CNN POLITICS ]

OBAMA CALLS SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN URGENT » [ CNN POLITICS ]

BARACK OBAMA GAINS MORE BACKING FROM GREEN GROUPS » [ CNN WORLD ]

IRAQ LEADER, OBAMA DISCUSSES FUTURE TROOP PULLOUT » [ CNN POLITICS ]

NEW MCCAIN AD BLAMES OBAMA FOR RISING GAS PRICES » [ CNN MONEY ]

PASTOR SNAGS OBAMA & MCCAIN FOR JOINT APPEARANCE » [ CNN POLITICS ]

COULD AN OBAMA PRESIDENCY HURT BLACK AMERICANS? » [ CNN POLITICS ]

OBAMA SAYS HELP FROM ALLIES WILL IMPROVE THINGS AT HOME » [ CNN POLITICS ]

MCCAIN STRUGGLES TO FIND MEDIA SPOTLIGHT » [ CNN POLITICS ]

Leading up to the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, three obvious scenarios were discussed by analysts: Obama would win both states, Clinton would take both states, or they would each win one. The latter was thought to be most likely. Well they did each win one state by CNN estimates, but somehow it wasn’t quite that…at least if you were following the results as they came in.

In North Carolina, the polls closed at 7pm, some of the exit poll data was being parsed by analysts, and anchors and reporters were afoot about possible outcomes. Normal fare. Then some 30 minutes after the polls closed with little precinct data: Obama was declared the winner by the networks; the results later giving him a win by 14%. Neat and all wrapped up like a nice chicken burrito.

Indiana was quite a different night. CONTINUE READING

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton claimed victory in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, beating out Sen. Barack Obama after a bruising seven-week campaign.”It’s a long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and it runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania,” she told supporters in Philadelphia. I’m in this race to fight for you … You know you can count on me to stand up strong for you every single day in the White House.”

Clinton commended Obama and his campaign, saying they are in many ways “on this journey together.” Tuesday’s projected victory follows Clinton’s wins in other big states such as Ohio, New York and California. Her campaign said that should raise new questions about whether Obama, who leads Clinton in the overall Democratic race, can beat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November.

“The tide is turning,” Clinton told cheering supporters. Chelsea Clinton’s eyes welled with tears as she watched her mother speak.

With about 99 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton was leading Obama by 10 points. Clinton will pick up a majority of the state’s 158 delegates.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama claimed victory in Mississippi’s Democratic primary Tuesday. “What we’ve tried to do is steadily make sure that in each state we are making the case about the need for change in this country. Obviously the people in Mississippi responded,” Obama told CNN after his win. Mississippi had 33 pledged delegates up for grabs, which will be allocated proportionally. The state’s Democratic voters were sharply divided among racial lines, exit polls indicate. As has been the case in many primary states, Obama won overwhelming support from African-American voters. They went for him over Clinton 91-9 percent. The state has a larger proportion African-Americans (36 percent, according to the 2000 census) than any other state in the country. And black voters make up nearly 70 percent of registered Democrats.

But Mississippi white voters overwhelmingly backed the New York senator, supporting her over Obama 72 percent to 21 percent. According to the Associated Press, only two other primary states were as racially polarized — neighboring Alabama, and Clinton’s former home state of Arkansas. The exit polls also indicated roughly 40 percent of Mississippi Democratic voters said race was an important factor in their vote, and 90 percent of those voters supported Obama. In Ohio, roughly one in five voters said race factored into their decision. About 60 percent of those voters picked Clinton over Obama. Clinton’s campaign issued a statement congratulating Obama on his win, and said they “look forward to campaigning in Pennsylvania and around the country as this campaign continues.”

Pennsylvania is the next battleground for the Democrats. It holds its primary on April 22 and has 158 delegates at stake. CONTINUE READING

BARACK OBAMA POSES WITH UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING MASCOT PISTOL PETE
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND FOR GETTY IMAGES

CHEYENNE, Wyoming (CNN) — After losing Democratic contests in the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas this week, presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama won the Wyoming Democratic caucus Saturday. Obama led rival Sen. Hillary Clinton by 61 percent to 38 percent, with all of the precincts reporting. The caucus thrust the state, which has only 12 delegates, into the spotlight because the close race between Obama and Clinton means that every delegate counts.

Although Wyoming typically is not a stop for Democrats looking for delegates to clinch the party’s presidential nomination, its numbers could make a difference this year because of the delegate deadlock. With slightly more than 600 delegates left at stake, every remaining contest is crucial to both candidates. The two are separated by fewer than 100 delegates, CNN estimates, with Obama leading Clinton 1,527 to 1,428. CONTINUE READING

(CNN) — Democrats faced the prospect of at least six more weeks of tough campaigning after Hillary Clinton’s Tuesday night wins in Tuesday’s primaries in Ohio and Texas as she escaped a knockout blow by Barack Obama. Both Democratic contenders are eyeing Pennsylvania — the last heavyweight state on the primary calendar — as the next major battleground. The state votes April 22, after Democratic caucuses in Wyoming on Saturday and a Mississippi primary March 11.

“Ohio has written a new chapter in the history of this campaign, and we’re just getting started,” Clinton told supporters in her victory speech in Ohio. “More and more people have joined this campaign, and millions of Americans haven’t spoken yet. In states like Pennsylvania and so many others, people are watching this historic campaign, and they want their turn to help make history.”

After winning the biggest prizes in the February 5 Super Tuesday contests, the New York senator and former first lady dropped 11 straight primaries and caucuses to Obama and watched her leads in Ohio and Texas dwindle to single digits in published polls. Obama supporters began calling for her to quit the race in order to head off a more divisive endgame, and even her husband — former President Bill Clinton — told supporters she would be unable to win the nomination without victories in those states. But Clinton hit back with a television ad aimed at raising concerns about Obama’s experience, an ad juxtaposing a sleeping child with a late-night emergency call to the White House.

Her campaign also jumped into the controversy over an Obama adviser’s meeting with Canadian officials to discuss trade policy as the Illinois senator was calling for changes in the North American Free Trade Agreement, accusing him of telling voters one thing and the largest U.S. trade partner another. The attacks appeared to hit their mark: About one in three voters in the Texas and Ohio primaries made up their minds in the last week, and those who did broke heavily for Clinton. CONTINUE READING

Senator Barack Obama got a major boost Tuesday with victories in the Democratic presidential primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Obama remains in a tight race with Senator Hillary Clinton, but the Illinois senator is favored to add to his delegate lead in next Tuesday’s contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington. Experts were struck by the margins of the Obama victories on Tuesday, especially in Virginia and Maryland where he won 64 percent and 62 percent of the vote respectively. Obama benefited from strong support from African-Americans and a burning desire for change among many voters like this man in the nation’s capital.

“I just want to see change in the world and I think this primary can bring about change, specifically on Iraq and health care,” he said. Obama has now won eight contests in a row against Clinton and hopes to build unstoppable momentum with victories in next Tuesday’s primary in Wisconsin and a Democratic caucus in Hawaii. “It is about whether we are looking backwards or whether we are marching forward,” said Obama. “And when I am the Democratic nominee for president, that will be the choice we have in November.”

CONTINUE READING »