The Blue Horizon Daily

2008-09-20T17:43:00.001-04:00

Obama's August fundraising- 66 million

2008-09-15T15:52:00.002-04:00

MICHAEL MADISON
-Editor

Yesterday the New York Times reported that Barack Obama brought in 66 million in the month of August, his best month so far. The total is approximately 11 million more dollars than his previous record, which was 55 million in February.

McCain also had his best month in August, raising 47 million dollars.

Let's keep it up!

michaelmadison@bluehorizondaily.com

Strategy By Sean

2008-09-09T17:29:00.002-04:00

SEAN BRACKEN
-Contributor

Since I have been called a good strategist by many, I thought I would put my strategies to the test for the Blue Horizon Daily blog. The topic of my first strategy is going to be the battleground strategy for Barack Obama so he can get 270 electoral votes and win the election.

According to media outlets, many battlegrounds are in play. Many think the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia, and even Montana are up for grabs this time. Both candidates entered the general election race by wanting to change the map around. John McCain wanted to get some blue states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Oregon to go red. Barack Obama wanted states like Virginia, Colorado, and Nevada to go blue.

As of now, Barack Obama has done a better job of making red states blue. Already, Obama has taken New Mexico and Iowa and threw them in the blue column. Colorado and Nevada lean blue, with the majority of the latest polls showing Obama with a slight advantage.

Then states that have been really tight include Virginia and Florida, mainly because McCain has ignored those states and assumed he would get them this time. That is a strategy by McCain that could bite him in the end, since the polls are as close as they are there.

Obama hasn’t been doing everything right either. Lately ever since he picked Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate, they have traveled to the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio constantly. Both states have polls that have been consistently going one way or the other. A new Rasmussen poll in Ohio shows McCain leading Obama by seven. In Pennsylvania, the majority of polls show Obama leading by at least five points.

Therefore, why is Obama campaigning in those two states when he has many other opportunities elsewhere? Obama has so many states he can visit. Obama can visit Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, the Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, and Nevada. In a year where the map will be expanding, Obama has to go to the places where the map could expand.

If I was Obama, here’s my campaign strategy. First, forget Ohio. The demographics do not favor Obama in Ohio this year. Usually, the race in Ohio comes down to southern Ohio where the religious voters are at. They never vote Democratic, unless it is a pro-life one. Also, a Youngstown station reports that there is a larger than normal turnout of Democrats campaigning for McCain in that part of the state. Northeastern Ohio is usually blue. So if Obama only wins Cleveland again like he did in the primaries, he will lose the state. Therefore, why spend the time and energy in Ohio?

Secondly, I’d limit my visits to Pennsylvania. If I was Obama, I’d rely more on the campaign advertisements in Pennsylvania. As of now, Obama leads in Pennsylvania by five to seven points in most polls. With those numbers, you are pretty assured in Pennsylvania. So just run the advertisements on the television to keep the lead over a few points. If he does that, Pennsylvania will be his this time around. I’d only come back to Pennsylvania if the polls all show a tie or close to a tie here.

Thirdly, keep marching through Virginia and Florida. Both of these states have been ignored by the McCain Campaign this time around, which could hurt McCain. Florida is a state that is always close. Florida has the right demographics too, which would favor Obama. In Florida, you have many Hispanics, women, and African Americans, which have favored Obama down there. Also, Florida, unlike Ohio, has many newer voters. Ohio just has the old voters. With polls tied in Florida in almost every single poll, I say Florida should continue to be a highly targeted state for Obama. Virginia should be the other highly targeted state because of the northern region of the state. The north part of the state helped Senator Jim Webb win over incumbent George Allen. Obama should use those voters to turn out, as well as the new voters he got in the primary. If he does that, Virginia is winnable for Obama.

Fourthly, Obama must use the west to his advantage. There are many things favoring Obama out west right now. Obama currently has major leads among the Hispanic community, which are all found in the west of the country. I would continue to go out there and continue to appeal to them. Colorado and Nevada are really tight right now in the latest polls. So if Obama can continue to make a wave of Latinos to vote for Obama out there, he has a good chance to win those states, which would probably make the difference for the election. Then there are polls in Montana and the Dakotas showing tight races. Again, it is because of new voters. If Obama continues to go there and spend resources, he should play it real competitive there.

If Obama can manage to have an effective west strategy with Latinos, travel to the real battleground states, and stay away from fake battleground territory, Obama should be fine in what seems to be another close election. Strategy is everything for both campaigns and ever since Obama chose Biden to be the running mate, the strategy of where they went has been a poor one. Yet, Obama still manages to pull dead even in many of those swing states. Therefore, go to the swing states and ignore states where you know how the outcome will turnout.

seanbracken@bluehorizondaily.com

Terry McAuliffe to Run For Governor

2008-09-09T10:53:00.000-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

Former DNC Chairman and head of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Terry McAuliffe, is going to run for Governor of Virginia, as reported on 'Hardball' Monday night. Chris Matthews mentioned it, and current Governor Tim Kaine didn't deny it.

McAuliffe will no doubt have a very substantial warchest, considering that he's known as being one of the top Democratic fundraisers in the country.

He's a little aloof, but he's one hell of a progressive. Go Terry!

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

New Obama Ad: No Maverick

2008-09-09T02:50:00.000-04:00

MSNBC Caves to McCain's Threats

2008-09-08T18:04:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

The big, bad boys at NBC News have caved to the threats of John McCain.

Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann will no longer be hosting primetime election coverage. The McCain campaign complained about "bias" and threatened to pull out of a debate this fall because it's being moderated by Tom Brokaw.

That's the crux of this story. McCain blackmailed NBC by saying that he would only participate in the debate if there were no progressive commentators on afterward.

Shame on John McCain, but a greater shame is on NBC for giving in to him.

Hey, after all, so what if we had to watch Barack Obama debate himself on NBC? At least we wouldn't be listening to lies throughout half of it.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

New Obama Ad: "More"

2008-09-06T01:02:00.001-04:00

2008-09-05T17:44:00.001-04:00

Hillary's Post-Convention Statement

2008-09-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Thursday, Sep 4, 2008

The two party conventions showcased vastly different directions for our country. Senator Obama and Senator Biden offered the new ideas and positive change America needs and deserves after eight years of failed Republican leadership. Senator McCain and Governor Palin do not.

After listening to all the speeches this week, I heard nothing that suggests the Republicans are ready to fix the economy for middle class families, provide quality affordable health care for all Americans, guarantee equal pay for equal work for women, restore our nation’s leadership in a complex world or tackle the myriad of challenges our country faces. So, to slightly amend my comments from Denver: NO WAY, NO HOW, NO McCAIN-PALIN.

Shame on you, John McCain

2008-09-04T21:02:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

Liveblogging the GOP Convention, all I have to say is the 9/11 tribute shown tonight was disgusting and has no place in a political convention. TV networks would have gotten blasted for it. John McCain and the Republicans chose to exploit the victims of 9/11 for political gain by showing graphic images that should have stayed off the airways. They chose to open up old wounds that are still raw in many Americans.

Shame on you, John McCain.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

Palin is Good for Dems' Bankroll

2008-09-04T19:58:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

It's been reported and confirmed that Obama has raised $8 million from 130,000 donors since Palin's speech last night. He's expected to reach $10 million before McCain speaks.

The RNC's fundraising number since her speech: $1 million.

An 8 to 1 advantage for Obama following her speech? Thank you Sarah Palin.

I wonder what the number will be after McCain's speech tonight, sure to be another one full of nothing but deception and mistruths.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

Obama Responds to GOP Attacks on Community Organizing

2008-09-04T19:55:00.000-04:00

Email Response From Obama Camp:

2008-09-04T18:56:00.003-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

This is the email circulated by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe in response to the Republicans' attacks on Wednesday night:

I wasn't planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a response.
I saw John McCain's attack squad of negative, cynical politicians. They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for being a part of this campaign.

But worst of all -- and this deserves to be noted -- they insulted the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our political process.

You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together. Make a donation of $5 or more right now to remind them.

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let's clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

Meanwhile, we still haven't gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.

It's now clear that John McCain's campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks -- on Barack Obama and on you -- are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

The Gloves Are Off

2008-09-04T18:21:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

If there's one piece of truth from Sarah Palin's speech on Wednesday night, it's that she's a pit bull of the female variety.

I haven't seen a speech so full of crap since Rotten Rudy's a half hour earlier.

It was nothing but sarcastic attacks on Obama and crying about the media (which will backfire). There was literally nothing of substance even worth reporting on, so we'll bring you some of the Democrats' responses.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius:

I live in the American heartland, and have been a governor here for six years. I don't know any mayor in any small town in Kansas -- and we have a lot of mayors of small towns -- who hires a lobbyist and goes after earmarks the way Sarah Palin did.

There's a disconnect between the way she positions herself as a small-town mayor ... and an inside Washington strategy. The kind of persona she is putting forward is very enticing, but I don't think it matches with her positions.

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz:

Where is the beef? Where is the evidence? Sarah Palin is not a reformer, she is under investigation in her home state for the abuse of power in trying to get a state trooper fired. If her best example of being a reformer was trying to sell a plane on E-Bay, that is not my definition of reform.

To say that her experience as a mayor of a town of 7,000 people makes her qualified to have her hands on the pillar of American foreign policy, if God forbid anything happens to John McCain, to suggest that is frightening. What kind of experience does Sarah Palin have to sit across the table from negotiators of the dangerous countries of this world?

Nevada Senator Harry Reid:

Shrill and sarcastic political attacks may fire up the Republican base, but they don't change the fact that a McCain-Palin administration would mean four more years of failed Bush-Cheney policies.

The Obama camp's response:

The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years. If Governor Palin and John McCain want to define 'change' as voting with George Bush 90% of the time, that's their choice, but we don't think the American people are ready to take a 10% chance on change.

Obama campaign manager David Axelrod:

There wasn't one thing that she said about Obama or what he's proposing that is true. She tried to attack Senator Obama by saying he had no significant legislative achievements. Maybe that's what she was told.

Palin can no longer expect light treatment by Democrats. She took the gloves off last night in the most violent way, and she'd better be ready to receive blows in return.

One thing I can say now is that she was not chosen to appeal to Hillary Clinton supporters. As Chris Matthews said, "She's no Hillary Clinton." She stands for everything Hillary is against. However, Hillary is the person who should and must take Palin down. She should be straight in Hillary's sights.

The Republican base will love that speech, but independents and leaners will be turned off by it. She's showing that she's just as nasty as the worst of Washington's worst.

I'm telling you, this woman is Karl Rove in a skirt.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

Palin to Give Romney's Speech

2008-09-03T20:13:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

In about two hours from now, Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin will speak at the Republican Convention. Unfortunately, the speech she'll be giving wasn't originally written for her.

From the Washington Post:

Sitting around a dining room table, the McCain team has talked to her about Iraq, energy and the economy, but has focused on what she should say in her speech, struggling almost as hard as she has to prepare for what will be, along with a debate in October, her main opportunity to shape the way she is viewed by voters. Not anticipating that McCain would choose a woman as his running mate, the speech that was prepared in advance was "very masculine," according to campaign manager Rick Davis, and "we had to start from scratch."

This does mean, of course, that Palin was indeed picked at the last minute. It's more evidence that she wasn't fully vetted before she was chosen.

I hope Mitt Romney enjoys watching his speech come out of Sarah Palin's mouth tonight.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

McCain Spokesman Gets Owned by CNN

2008-09-03T17:19:00.002-04:00

Campbell Brown owns Tucker Bounds with subtlety.

RNC Co-Chair Announces Governor Sarah Pawlenty?

2008-09-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

Um, Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty are two different people.

McCain Worried About the South

2008-09-02T19:57:00.004-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

Fred Thompson has replaced Rudy Giuliani as the keynote speaker at the Republican Convention tonight. This must be because John McCain is worried about the south.

McCain's underperforming in traditional GOP strongholds in the south.

Virginia is a pure toss-up.

McCain started running television ads today in North Carolina. He has reason to worry about North Carolina; not only does the most recent poll show him leading Obama by just 3 points, but it also shows incumbent Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole trailing Democratic challenger Kay Hagan. There's a Democratic trend going on.

Also, in Georgia, the Democrats are undergoing a massive voter registration effort. They're no doubt trying to register all 500,000 eligible African-Americans who are not yet registered (at least as a couple months ago; this number has probably decreased as the effort has gone on).

If this election turns out to be a Democratic landslide, Obama has a change in all three states. Even if he doesn't win them all, he's forcing McCain to spend valuable money and resources, of which he has a limited amount. That's money he can't spend in other swing states.

These are the intangibles to watch in this election. So far, good signs for Obama.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

McCain's Inspiration for Selecting Sarah Palin as his Running Mate

2008-09-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

Sarah Palin Laughs as Her Colleague and Cancer Survivor is Called a "Bitch"

2008-09-01T13:40:00.002-04:00

New Obama Ad: "No Change"

2008-08-30T19:40:00.000-04:00

Day 2: Hillary Clinton pushes for unity.

2008-08-27T16:40:00.001-04:00

United We Can Build a Better America

Hillary Clinton

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Denver, Colorado

I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.

My friends, it is time to take back the country we love.

Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.

This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win.

I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights at home and around the world . . . to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people.

And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.

No way. No how. No McCain.

Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President.

Tonight we need to remember what a Presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed, and the ads are finally off the air, it comes down to you -- the American people, your lives, and your children's futures.

For me, it's been a privilege to meet you in your homes, your workplaces, and your communities. Your stories reminded me everyday that America's greatness is bound up in the lives of the American people -- your hard work, your devotion to duty, your love for your children, and your determination to keep going, often in the face of enormous obstacles.

You taught me so much, you made me laugh, and . . . you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives. And you became part of mine.

I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn't have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care.

I will always remember the young man in a Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said to me: "Take care of my buddies; a lot of them are still over there....and then will you please help take care of me?"

I will always remember the boy who told me his mom worked for the minimum wage and that her employer had cut her hours. He said he just didn't know what his family was going to do.

I will always be grateful to everyone from all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the territories, who joined our campaign on behalf of all those people left out and left behind by the Bush Administrtation.

To my supporters, my champions -- my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits - from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.

You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history.

Along the way, America lost two great Democratic champions who would have been here with us tonight. One of our finest young leaders, Arkansas Democratic Party Chair, Bill Gwatney, who believed with all his heart that America and the South could be and should be Democratic from top to bottom.

And Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a dear friend to many of us, a loving mother and courageous leader who never gave up her quest to make America fairer and smarter, stronger and better. Steadfast in her beliefs, a fighter of uncommon grace, she was an inspiration to me and to us all.

Our heart goes out to Stephanie's son, Mervyn, Jr, and Bill's wife, Rebecca, who traveled to Denver to join us at our convention.

Bill and Stephanie knew that after eight years of George Bush, people are hurting at home, and our standing has eroded around the world. We have a lot of work ahead.

Jobs lost, houses gone, falling wages, rising prices. The Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock and our government in partisan gridlock. The biggest deficit in our nation's history. Money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis.

Putin and Georgia, Iraq and Iran.

I ran for President to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month.

To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs.

To create a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance.

To create a world class education system and make college affordable again.

To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality - from civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential.

To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.

To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and make our government an instrument of the public good, not of private plunder.

To restore America's standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home and honor their service by caring for our veterans.

And to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years.

Those are the reasons I ran for President. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.

This won't be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don't fight to put a Democrat in the White House.

We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a President who understands that America can't compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators, while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a President who understands that we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy.

We need a President who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class.

Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about "We the people" not "We the favored few."

And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again.

He'll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future. He'll make sure that middle class families get the tax relief they deserve. And I can't wait to watch Barack Obama sign a health care plan into law that covers every single American.

Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home - a first step to repairing our alliances around the world.

And he will have with him a terrific partner in Michelle Obama. Anyone who saw Michelle's speech last night knows she will be a great First Lady for America.

Americans are also fortunate that Joe Biden will be at Barack Obama's side. He is a strong leader and a good man. He understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges abroad. He is pragmatic, tough, and wise. And, of course, Joe will be supported by his wonderful wife, Jill.

They will be a great team for our country.

Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend.

He has served our country with honor and courage.

But we don't need four more years . . . of the last eight years.

More economic stagnation ...and less affordable health care.

More high gas prices ...and less alternative energy.

More jobs getting shipped overseas ...and fewer jobs created here.

More skyrocketing debt ...home foreclosures ...and mounting bills that are crushing our middle class families.

More war . . . less diplomacy.

More of a government where the privileged come first ...and everyone else comes last.

John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's okay when women don't earn equal pay for equal work.

With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart.

America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to the challenge of every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good.

And I know what that can mean for every man, woman, and child in America. I'm a United States Senator because in 1848 a group of courageous women and a few brave men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights, to participate in the first convention on women's rights in our history.

And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter - and a few sons and grandsons along the way.

These women and men looked into their daughters' eyes, imagined a fairer and freer world, and found the strength to fight. To rally and picket. To endure ridicule and harassment. To brave violence and jail.

And after so many decades - 88 years ago on this very day - the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote would be forever enshrined in our Constitution.

My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for President.

This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.

How do we give this country back to them?

By following the example of a brave New Yorker , a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad.

And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice.

If you hear the dogs, keep going.

If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.

If they're shouting after you, keep going.

Don't ever stop. Keep going.

If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.

Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.

I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military - you always keep going.

We are Americans. We're not big on quitting.

But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama president.

We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare.

Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance.

I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come election day. And think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a big impact on your life and on the life of our nation.

We've got to ensure that the choice we make in this election honors the sacrifices of all who came before us, and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope.

That is our duty, to build that bright future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great - and no ceiling too high - for all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country, and in each other.

Thank you so much. God bless America and Godspeed to you all.

New Obama Ad

2008-08-26T18:32:00.001-04:00

Day 1: Emotional

2008-08-26T09:22:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

Day one of the Democratic National Convention has passed, and it was a night full of emotion.

The primetime event began with a touching tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy, where we once again saw video of him with his two brothers, the three of them standing in their younger days as the first family of the Democratic Party.

Here's the tribute:

The most emotional moment of the night came after that, when the liberal lion himself came on stage, quite possibly for the last time, and roared once again.

The closing passage from his speech:

Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender and group against group and straight against gay.

And Barack Obama will be a commander in chief who understands that young Americans in uniform must never be committed to a mistake, but always for a mission worthy of their bravery.

We are told that Barack Obama believes too much in an America of high principle and bold endeavor, but when John Kennedy called of going to the moon, he didn't say it's too far to get there. We shouldn't even try.
Our people answered his call and rose to the challenge, and today an American flag still marks the surface of the moon.

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again.

There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our party, but renewal for our nation.

And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause.
The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.

As he walked off the stage to the tune of "Still the One" I wouldn't normally admit it, but it was hard for even this blogger not to tear up.

Ted Kennedy, last night, was so inspiring that it should be impossible for any Democrat not to vote for Barack Obama.

And although the opening could not be outdone, Michelle Obama took the stage herself late in the evening. She shined like a star.

She talked about her own background as well as her husband's. She told stories of when she first met him, when he persisted in asking her out despite several rejections, and how he slowly drove home from the hospital after their first daughter was born.

Then came an unscripted moment. Obama appeared on the big screen after watching his wife speak, and their two daughters grabbed the microphone and said they loved him. It was the sight of a young all-American family.

Michelle Obama didn't give the political speech; that wasn't her job. Her job was to reintroduce herself and her husband to the American people, and she looked like a pro.

She knocked it out of the park. At one point, I wanted to pull the lever for her.

It was a lovey-dovey first night, and we can expect the rhetoric to get stronger from here. But day one at the convention should have been truly inspiring to all watching. If not, then you aren't capable of being inspired by anything.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com

The Goals Of This Convention

2008-08-25T14:36:00.002-04:00

BRIAN FLINCHBAUGH
-Editor

As we prepare for the Democratic National Convention just a few hours from now, it's important that we emphasize the two things Barack Obama and the Democrats need to do throughout this week.

On the defensive side, they need to rebut and reverse the negative portrait that Republicans have painted of Obama, being that of an elitist celebrity. This is the best opportunity to to showcase dozens of high-profile Democrats serving as character witness to Barack Obama. They need to emphasize his culturally diverse roots and modest upbringing, as well as connect him to the average American voter through his integrity and policy agenda. He needs to be reintroduced to the American people.

Offensively, this convention needs to handcuff John McCain to George W. Bush. By the end of the week, McCain should be so glued to Bush that he'll need the jaws of life to separate him. Specifically, McCain can be linked to Bush's economic policies. I'd see that the two are connected in some way in every single speech given over the next four days.

The most effective way to win this election is to make it a referendum on Bush's policies and McCain's desire to keep the country heading in the same direction.

That's the winning message, and it's the message that has to be delivered at this convention.

brianflinchbaugh@bluehorizondaily.com