Friday, May 9, 2008

Barack and the nomination...


Edwards: 'Obama likely nominee'

BBC News - UK

John Edwards
Mr Edwards said Mr Obama had done well enough without his endorsement

Former Democratic US presidential hopeful John Edwards has said that Senator Barack Obama is now his party's "likely presidential nominee".

But he has stopped short of endorsing Mr Obama, saying that the value of endorsements is "greatly inflated". After Mr Obama's victory in this week's North Carolina primary and narrow loss in Indiana, observers say he is poised to win the nomination. But his rival Hillary Clinton has vowed to go on "until a nominee is chosen".


Economics 101: Obama vs. McCain
Salon - USA
In Oregon on Friday, Barack Obama delivered a short speech on the economy. His remarks were notable not because he
debuted any fresh proposals (he didn't) but for the explicit pains the Senator from Illinois took to distinguish his economic platform from John McCain's -- as opposed to that other candidate still running for President, whose name escapes my memory, possibly because Obama did not mention it a single time during his speech.


Obama picks up 5 superdelegates, union endorsement
The Associated Press -
7 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.

Obama picked up the backing of five superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.

In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments.

Obama, who won a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and lost Indiana narrowly on Tuesday, has been steadily gaining strength in the days since.

Clinton also gained a superdelegate.


Republicans turn big guns on Barack Obama
Times Online - UK

Barack Obama

Barack Obama had criticised former President Jimmy Carter for holding direct talks with Hamas

One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council.

“I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added.


Obama narrows Clinton lead in superdelegates
CNN - USA

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama closed in Friday on Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among superdelegates, the Democratic officials who hold the balance of power in determining the party's presidential nominee.

art.obama.ap.jpg

Sen. Barack Obama greets supporters Friday as he campaigns in Beaverton, Oregon.

The Obama campaign announced the support of seven superdelegates, including a previous Clinton backer.

Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono, New Mexico Democratic Party member Laurie Weahkee and South Carolina Democratic Party Vice Chair Wilber Lee Jeffcoat, announced they are backing the Illinois senator.

Other superdelegates that pledged their support to Obama on Friday include: California Democratic National Committee member Ed Espinoza; Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon told The Oregonian newspaper that he will support Obama's bid.


Obama wins praise from former rival John Edwards
Reuters - USA

By Deborah Charles

BEAVERTON, Oregon (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama turned his focus to a U.S. general election showdown with John McCain on Friday and said the Republican White House candidate would continue the "failed policies" of President George W. Bush.

Obama gathered momentum in his battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination with endorsements from seven more senior party figures and a labor union, as well as strong praise from former Democratic rival John Edwards.

Obama picks up more superdelegates
MarketWatch - USA

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of three more superdelegates on Friday, narrowing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's slim lead among elected Democratic officials.

With the endorsements of Reps. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Donald Payne of New Jersey as well as John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees union, Obama, D-Ill., now has the support of 266 superdelegates, compared with Clinton's 271.5, according to the Associated Press. Payne had endorsed Clinton earlier.

Meanwhile, Clinton picked up the endorsement of Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa., whose district went for Clinton, D-N.Y., by a two-to-one margin on April 22.

Mountain State's an uphill climb for Obama
USA Today - USA

WAYNE, W.Va. — The location of Democrat Barack Obama's just-opened headquarters here says a lot about the
challenges facing him and this community as voters prepare to go to the polls in Tuesday's primary. His office is across from the courthouse and next to a thrift shop. The torn awning over its door indicates the storefront used to be a restaurant.

Though the bell tower atop the courthouse gleams with a fresh coat of paint — the state colors of blue and gold — the rest of the town has the faded look of a community that has seen better days.


Obama moves closer to nomination
The Press Association -

6 hours ago

Four Democratic superdelegates have endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama as he moves closer to clinching the party's presidential nomination.

The endorsements take the Illinois senator to within five delegates of rival Hillary Clinton, who has always led among the ranks of the almost 800 Democrats and party officials who will decide the party's nominee.

The movement of the superdelegates to support Mr Obama came after he made a surprise visit to the Capitol on Thursday in what many political pundits saw as a victory lap of Congress staged to position him as the party's inevitable nominee.

Tuesday's primary election contests, where Mr Obama won by 14 points in North Carolina and only narrowly lost to the former first lady in Indiana, have been widely seen as a "game-changer" in the prolonged nomination battle.



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