Get Obama Elected! - Barack Obama Presidential Candidate Election Blog 2008

An hour and a half with Barack Obama

2008-03-03T15:27:00.001-08:00

I've tried very hard to keep politics out of this blog -- despite nearly overpowering impulses to the contrary -- for two reasons: one, there's no reason to alienate people who don't share my political views, as wrong-headed as those people may clearly be; two, there's no reason to expect my opinion on political issues should be any more valid than any other reader of what, these days, passes for the New York Times.

That said, in light of the extraordinary events playing out around us right now in the runup to the presidential election, I would like to share with you a personal experience that I was lucky enough to have early last year.

Early in 2007, a friend of mine who is active in both high-tech and politics called me up and said, let's go see this first-term Senator, Barack Obama, who's ramping up to run for President.

And so we did -- my friend, my wife Laura, and me -- and we were able to meet privately with Senator Obama for an hour and a half.

The reason I think you may find this interesting is that our meeting in early 2007 was probably one of the last times Senator Obama was able to spend an hour and a half sitting down and talking with just about anyone -- so I think we got a solid look at what he's like up close, right before he entered the "bubble" within which all major presidential candidates, and presidents, must exist.

Let me get disclaimers out of the way: my only involvement with the Democratic presidential campaigns is as an individual donor -- after meeting with the Senator, my wife and I both contributed the maximum amount of "hard money" we could to the Obama campaign, less than $10,000 total for both the primary and the general election. On the other hand, we also donated to Mitt Romney's Republican primary effort -- conclude from that what you will.

I carried four distinct impressions away from our meeting with Senator Obama.

First, this is a normal guy.

I've spent time with a lot of politicians in the last 15 years. Most of them talk at you. Listening is not their strong suit -- in fact, many of them aren't even very good at faking it.

Senator Obama, in contrast, comes across as a normal human being, with a normal interaction style, and a normal level of interest in the people he's with and the world around him.

We were able to have an actual, honest-to-God conversation, back and forth, on a number of topics. In particular, the Senator was personally interested in the rise of social networking, Facebook, Youtube, and user-generated content, and casually but persistently grilled us on what we thought the next generation of social media would be and how social networking might affect politics -- with no staff present, no prepared materials, no notes. He already knew a fair amount about the topic but was very curious to actually learn more. We also talked about a pretty wide range of other issues, including Silicon Valley and various political topics.

With most politicians, their curiosity ends once they find out how much money you can raise for them. Not so with Senator Obama -- this is a normal guy.

Second, this is a smart guy.

I bring this up for two reasons. One, Senator Obama's political opponents tend to try to paint him as some kind of lightweight, which he most definitely is not. Two, I think he's at or near the top of the scale of intelligence of anyone in political life today.

You can see how smart he is in his background -- for example, lecturer in constitutional law at University of Chicago; before that, president of the Harvard Law Review.

But it's also apparent when you interact with him that you're dealing with one of the intellectually smartest national politicians in recent times, at least since Bill Clinton. He's crisp, lucid, analytical, and clearly assimilates and synthesizes a very large amount of information -- smart.

Third, this is not a radical.

This is not some kind of liberal revolutionary who is intent on throwing everything up in the air and starting over.

Put the primary campaign speeches aside; take a look at his policy positions on any number of issues and what strikes you is how reasonable, moderate, and thoughtful they are.

And in person, that's exactly what he's like. There's no fire in the eyes to realize some utopian or revolutionary dream. Instead, what comes across -- in both his questions and his answers -- is calmness, reason, and judgment.

Fourth, this is the first credible post-Baby Boomer presidential candidate.

The Baby Boomers are best defined as the generation that came of age during the 1960's -- whose worldview and outlook was shaped by Vietnam plus the widespread social unrest and change that peaked in the late 1960's.

Post-Boomers are those of us, like me, who came of age in the 1970's or 1980's -- after Vietnam, after Nixon, after the "sexual revolution" and the cultural wars of the 1960's.

One of the reasons Senator Obama comes across as so fresh and different is that he's the first serious presidential candidate who isn't either from the World War II era (Reagan, Bush Sr, Dole, and even McCain, who was born in 1936) or from the Baby Boomer generation (Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and George W. Bush).

He's a post-Boomer.

Most of the Boomers I know are still fixated on the 1960's in one way or another -- generally in how they think about social change, politics, and the government.

It's very clear when interacting with Senator Obama that he's totally focused on the world as it has existed since after the 1960's -- as am I, and as is practically everyone I know who's younger than 50.

What's the picture that emerges from these four impressions?

Smart, normal, curious, not radical, and post-Boomer.

If you were asking me to write a capsule description of what I would look for in the next President of the United States, that would be it.

Having met him and then having watched him for the last 12 months run one of the best-executed and cleanest major presidential campaigns in recent memory, I have no doubt that Senator Obama has the judgment, bearing, intellect, and high ethical standards to be an outstanding president -- completely aside from the movement that has formed around him, and in complete contradition to the silly assertions by both the Clinton and McCain campaigns that he's somehow not ready.

Before I close, let me share two specific things he said at the time -- early 2007 -- on the topic of whether he's ready.

We asked him directly, how concerned should we be that you haven't had meaningful experience as an executive -- as a manager and leader of people?

He said, watch how I run my campaign -- you'll see my leadership skills in action.

At the time, I wasn't sure what to make of his answer -- political campaigns are often very messy and chaotic, with a lot of turnover and flux; what conclusions could we possibly draw from one of those?

Well, as any political expert will tell you, it turns out that the Obama campaign has been one of the best organized and executed presidential campaigns in memory. Even Obama's opponents concede that his campaign has been disciplined, methodical, and effective across the full spectrum of activities required to win -- and with a minimum of the negative campaigning and attack ads that normally characterize a race like this, and with almost no staff turnover. By almost any measure, the Obama campaign has simply out-executed both the Clinton and McCain campaigns.

This speaks well to the Senator's ability to run a campaign, but speaks even more to his ability to recruit and manage a top-notch group of campaign professionals and volunteers -- another key leadership characteristic. When you compare this to the awe-inspiring discord, infighting, and staff turnover within both the Clinton and McCain campaigns up to this point -- well, let's just say it's a very interesting data point.

We then asked, well, what about foreign policy -- should we be concerned that you just don't have much experience there?

He said, directly, two things.

First, he said, I'm on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where I serve with a number of Senators who are widely regarded as leading experts on foreign policy -- and I can tell you that I know as much about foreign policy at this point as most of them.

Being a fan of blunt answers, I liked that one.

But then he made what I think is the really good point.

He said -- and I'm going to paraphrase a little here: think about who I am -- my father was Kenyan; I have close relatives in a small rural village in Kenya to this day; and I spent several years of my childhood living in Jakarta, Indonesia. Think about what it's going to mean in many parts of the world -- parts of the world that we really care about -- when I show up as the President of the United States. I'll be fundamentally changing the world's perception of what the United States is all about.

He's got my vote.

McCain Parity

2008-02-27T10:55:00.001-08:00

News Roundup

2008-02-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Obama win streak continues! He's won big in every region of the country, and now this race is coming home to Texas. Are you fired up?

* Obama broadens winning coalition in Wisconsin - Boston Globe

* Analysis: Obama continues to chip away at Clinton's base - CNN

* Obama roll continues - Baltimore Sun

* Obama Keeps Momentum Going - National Journal

* The Dems Move on to Texas and Ohio - Time

* Wis. Exit Poll: Obama Won Broad Backing - Associated Press

* Obama Wins Wisconsin, Rebuffing Clinton Attacks - The Nation

* Obama Camp: Clinton Tactics 'Damaging to the Party' - Washington Post

* Obama surges past Clinton - Reuters

* How Obama won over key Clinton supporters in Wisconsin, and why it matters - Slate

* Obama urges Texans to join in efforts to improve the U.S. - Associated Press

* Obama draws large crowds in San Antonio, Houston - Dallas Morning News

* Clinton's fire wall is curling smoke - Statesman

* A Mighty Fine Place to Be - New York Times

* Obama sees self as winner - San Antonio Express-News

* Eager 19,000 pack Obama rally in Houston - Houston Chronicle

* Barack Obama's Momentum Grows - AlterNet

* Obama Returns To the Lone Star State - CBS News

* Obama holding rally at Reunion Arena in Dallas - Dallas Morning News

* In Texas launch, Obama pledges to 'get past the old arguments' - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

* Obama numbers rise as candidate endorsed by service union - Dallas Business Journal

* Obama in San Antonio: immigration shouldn't be "political football" - KLBJ 590 News

* Texas is ready for the spotlight - Statesman

* Obama's next stop: Texas - Chicago Sun-Times

* Obama opens Texas campaign with housing talk - Baltimore Sun

* Texas Latino Bloc Not as Clear - Wall Street Journal

* Battle for Texas Latino vote challenges conventional wisdom - Statesman

Obama wins Wis. for 9th straight triumph

2008-02-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

Looks like Obama is continuing his streak with another victory.

See article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/campaign_rdp

Democrats fear superdelegates could overrule voters

2008-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Some Democrats say they fear their party's method of picking a nominee might turn undemocratic as neither presidential candidate is likely to gather the delegates needed for the nomination.

The Democrats' superdelegate system is supposed to avoid turmoil at the party's conventions.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are running neck and neck toward the party's August convention in Denver, Colorado. Most projections show neither getting the necessary 2,025 delegates in the remaining nominating contests before then.

Party rules call for the votes of superdelegates -- 800 or so party officers, elected officials and activists -- to tip the balance. The party instituted the system to avoid the turmoil that a deadlocked race would create at a convention.

But even some superdelegates are questioning the system, as the party heads toward the conclusion of a race in which they might determine the outcome.

"It's not the most democratic way of doing things," said Maine superdelegate Sam Spencer. Watch the scenario for a "civil war" in the Democratic Party »

While pledged delegates are allocated with the understanding they'll vote the way their state went in its primary or caucus, superdelegates are free to vote however they want. And even if they pledge their support to a candidate, they're free to change at any time.

Clinton already has 234 superdelegates and Obama has 157. But Obama has a sizable lead in pledged delegates, 1,096 to 977, and is on a roll, having won all eight nominating contests since Super Tuesday. See which states pledged delegates come from »

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How will the presumptive GOP presidential nominee take on Clinton or Obama? John McCain goes one-on-one with Larry King.
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If the superdelegates were to tip the balance against the popular vote, the turmoil would last long beyond the convention, longtime Democratic Party strategist Tad Devine said.

"If a perception develops that somehow this decision has been made not by voters participating in primaries or caucuses, but by politicians in some mythical backroom, I think that the public could react strongly against that," Devine said.

"The problem is [if] people perceive that voters have not made the decision -- instead, insiders have made the decision -- then all of these new people who are being attracted to the process, particularly the young people who are voting for the first time, will feel disenfranchised or in some way alienated," he said.

Superdelegates were established in 1982 to bring more moderate Democrats back to conventions, where their attendance had been dropping since the 1950s, and to relect the party's mainstream more accurately.

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"[Superdelegates] are the keepers of the faith," said former San Francisco, California, Mayor Willie Brown. "You have superdelegates because this is the Democratic Party. You don't want the bleed-over from the Green Party, the independents and others in deciding who your nominee will be."

Devine was part of the first campaign to benefit from the roles of superdelegates -- that of former Vice President Walter Mondale in 1984.

Mondale's 1984 campaign went into the party convention with too few delegates to secure the nomination against the campaigns of former Sen. Gary Hart and Jesse Jackson. Mondale had received more votes, but Hart had won more states.

Mondale was able to line up the superdelegates going into the convention and avoid a fight on the convention floor.

Each campaign actively is trying to encourage the unpledged delegates to pledge to their side.

Jason Rae, a 21-year-old Wisconsin superdelegate, said he's gotten calls from former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright from Hillary Clinton's camp, and Obama's wife, Michelle, visited with him during a campaign stop Tuesday in Wisconsin.

Rae said he hasn't yet decided how he'll vote in Wisconsin's primary on Tuesday.

Crystal Strait, a party activist from California, said she's received calls from Clinton herself and daughter Chelsea but she remains uncommitted.

Massachusetts superdelegate John Walsh said he'll stay loyal to Obama despite the fact that the senator lost the primary in Walsh's state. So will fellow Massachusetts superdelegates Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry.

Among Clinton's committed superdelegates are Harold Ickes Jr., her husband's former deputy chief of staff; Terry McAuliffe, who led her husband's 1996 re-election campaign and is chairman of her campaign; and her husband.

Whether those superdelegates stay committed to their candidates, even if it means tipping the outcome of the race against the pledged delegate lead or the popular vote, could split the party.

"It's in a total contradiction of the way the Democrats have set up their primary process, with all this proportional representation," said CNN political analyst Amy Holmes. "The whole point of it was that no one could walk away with the elites. And if this is decided by superdelegates, I think the Democratic Party morally is going to be looking at each other and say, 'What did we just do?' "

Devine said it could hurt the party in the general election.

"I think it will hurt us particularly because so many of the policies that we're saying we will pursue in government as Democrats are based on fairness, whether it's the tax policies that we advocate or the social programs we want to advance, there's a fairness component in all of that," he said. "People need to believe, I think, that our process is fair as well, if they want to believe that our policies will be fair."

Will Superdelegates decide who will become the next President?

2008-02-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Some think so. Mathematically, with the primary race so close there is a possibility that it will come down to the superdelegates. Kind of undermines the democratic process in my opinion, so for those of you who haven't voted yet, please do so. Your vote absolutely counts since delegates are awarded by ratio not "winner takes all".

So what is a superdelegate?
Click here to find out more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate

With such a close race, it may be helpful to contact the superdelegate from your area and petition them to vote for the candidate of your choice by email, mail, phone or in person.

You can find a list of superdelgates who have not yet endorsed a candidate here:
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegates-who-havent-endorsed.html

How do primaries work? Click Here to find out more:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/primary.htm

How can you help? Barack Obama: The Audacity of Hope Podcast Available

2008-02-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what you can do to help?

Besides tradional ways of donating money, volunteering and helping out with call banks, you can simply spread the word of Barack Obama by talking with family and friends or simply passing along this URL of great Obama information, http://getobamaelected.blogspot.com/ through email, myspace, facebook, your IM status or by posting as a comment on other blogs or forums.

If you're feeling especially saavy, try the suggestion below:

You don't need money, try spreading the word by asking your friends and relatives if they'd be interested in listening to Barack Obama speak in a non-debate or election based format - there's a huge difference in this format. Have them listen to Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope via podcast.

You can:
Subscribe them and load their ipod with the podcast from this page.
Send an email to family and friends to listen to the podcast directly located on this page.

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Add to my Page

Are you a character-based voter or an issue-based voter?

2008-02-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

It's interesting how people vote. The media focuses mostly on outstanding problems facing America and the solutions that presidential candidates offer to solve our most pressing issues — health care reform, the war in Iraq, education and so forth. Political pundits often assume that most voters will ultimately cast their ballots for the candidate whose beliefs most closely mirror their own, and for many voters this is true. But not for everyone.

Those who are concerned solely with issues can easily find a suitable candidate using a voting calculator. Answer a number of questions online and you'll be paired with the appropriate candidate who matches your beliefs. Here are two that come to mind:
http://selectsmart.com/president/2008.html
http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

The problem that most of us realize, however, is that a politician’s platform has no real bearing on that person’s effectiveness. A candidate only has four years to implement ideas, and with the bureaucracy in Washington, it's difficult to effect change no matter how good the ideas are. So many Americans have come to believe that there will be no meaningful change in government, and our expectations have become so low that we just hope the president doesn't create additional fires during his or her time in office.

This is a pessimistic outlook, but is the prism through which many people view politics, which causes potential voters to avoid the democratic process all together.

With that in mind, should we put so much weight on the issues? We don't believe so. We believe that character, integrity and an honest evaluation of someone's thought process are what matter the most. It's this commitment to authenticity that would be best disseminated through government because it's the one that's most lacking.

If we could make a paradigm shift in what we value, from issues-based voting to character-based voting, a rapid change would occur in which more appropriate solutions would be implemented. In our assessment of the many presidential candidates, we see these traits best epitomized in Barack Obama, and we’re confident that his approach can spread throughout Washington, D.C. That's why he's such an important figure.

Questions to evaluate in a leader and problem-solver:

• As a leader, how effective is this person in working with others and motivating other people to make things happen?

• Is the person a dictator (only accounting for one solution) or is his or her thought process comprehensive (accounting for several solutions, weighing the options and choosing the best solution for the organization as a whole)? Our nation was founded on tolerance. With that in mind, wouldn't it be best to find a leader who finds a solution that takes all into consideration?

This is just a small group of questions we should be asking ourselves.

The process of evaluating character and the process through which someone solves a problem is the foundation of the hiring process in the most premiere business organizations, such as Microsoft, Google and other Fortune 500 companies. So why shouldn't we use this same criteria when evaluating a president?

If you want judge for yourself how Obama works through a process of arriving to a solution for the issues facing America, buy his book "The Audacity of Hope" or listen to the podcast here:
Obama: The Audacity of Hope Part 1
Obama: The Audacity of Hope Part 2
Obama: The Audacity of Hope Part 3
Obama: The Audacity of Hope Part 4
Obama: The Audacity of Hope Part 5
Obama: The Audacity of Hope Part 6

If you want glimpses into Obama's character, listen to some of his Influences Speeches posted below.

If you were to apply this exercise of evaluating character, integrity and analytical skills to the remaining candidates, we’re sure you would come to the conclusion that Barack Obama excels far beyond that of any of the other candidates and is urgently what this country needs!

Artist Supporter Video Mix - Yes We Can

2008-02-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Song & video, featuring a star cast, by Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. Inspired by Barack Obama's 'Yes We Can' speech.

Influential Speeches from Barack Obama

2008-02-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

Democratic National Convention 2004
Part 1/2 (10 min) Part 2/2 (8 min)

Speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church on MLK 2008