From The Road
May 9, 2008 5:58 PM

Obama Talks of "Unifying the Party"

From CBS News’ Michelle Levi:


WOODBURN, ORE. -- Barack Obama surprised the mostly Hispanic patronage of Luis's Taquiera this afternoon, stopping at the Mexican restaurant for a taco and some campaigning, where he was asked about his surge in superdelagates. "I’m gratified that we've got some superdelegates that are coming our way,” he said. “I think we’ve got a strong case to make that I will be a nominee that can pull the party together and take on John McCain in the fall." As it stands now, Hillary Clinton still holds a slim lead in superdelegate support, but that appears to be waning.

Obama said he did not think it was appropriate to discuss possibly helping Clinton out of her campaign debt, since they are both actively campaigning, but he did talk about unifying the Democratic Party once a nominee is selected. "When you’ve had a strong opponent, you want to make sure you're putting that opponent in a strong position so that they can work to win an election in November," Obama said. "I'd want to have a broad range discussion with Clinton about how I could make her feel good about the process and have her on the team moving forward."

A reporter asked if Clinton was definitely on his short list of vice presidential picks, as he suggested earlier today in Beaverton. Obama looked right at the questioner, then turned away.

He was greeted with shock by the restaurant's diners, who had no idea a presidential candidate would be stopping by. Obama walked from table to table greeting diners, many of whom chanted "Si Se Puede, Si Se Puede" as he wandered around the restaurant. The lean Obama ordered the best, and possibly largest, meal in the house and ate with a mother and her son, who was voting for the first time.


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Barack Obama
Add a Comment See all 33 Comments
by In-Correct May 9, 2008 7:23 PM PDT
Clinton can not unify the party. He is a "Party Pooper".
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by In-Correct May 9, 2008 7:24 PM PDT
Ugh. That post got messed up.
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by In-Correct May 9, 2008 7:27 PM PDT
""Clinton has (or had...whatever) a better chance than Obama, who can not unify the party. He is a "Party Pooper."""
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by rowdytexan2 May 9, 2008 7:50 PM PDT
You mean Obama will try to unify the party that he split down the middle?

No thanks!

If Hillary can win it...the party needs to bring out a per forma candidate that can really unite the party!
Reply to this comment
by deq54 May 9, 2008 7:58 PM PDT
arbor30a--Get a life, --Rumors, that is the best you can come up with. Homophobia, hate filled language...please take a breath and get some FACTS then bring your views to the table--otherwise SHUT UP. I don''t need to see this vile stuff--you embarass yourself.
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by mindfullness May 9, 2008 8:35 PM PDT
Hillary lost.
I know that everyone who voted for Obama is supposed to be hypnotized, or too smart, or duped, or secretly a Muslim spy, or just "black vote" or too young to know better. I am a 62 year old, Jewish woman, and, although I admit I have some higher education I think my vote should count, along with the majority of primary voters. If Obama does unify the party and win the election he will help those who have opposed him, and maybe then they can wake up. Hillary is out for power and is not about anything.
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by greenfun May 9, 2008 8:35 PM PDT
Hey McCain-if Obama is the nominee. where can I sign up to help on your campaign? A Clinton supporter.
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by ericmiami May 9, 2008 8:39 PM PDT
There is obviously no need to refute the anti-Obama comments. They stand on their own puerile level.
Reply to this comment
by ericmiami May 9, 2008 8:40 PM PDT
There is obviously no need to refute the anti-Obama comments. They stand on their own puerile level.
Reply to this comment
by croft777 May 9, 2008 9:23 PM PDT
Hillary lost.
I know that everyone who voted for Obama is supposed to be hypnotized, or too smart, or duped, or secretly a Muslim spy, or just "black vote" or too young to know better. I am a 62 year old, Jewish woman, and, although I admit I have some higher education I think my vote should count, along with the majority of primary voters. If Obama does unify the party and win the election he will help those who have opposed him, and maybe then they can wake up. Hillary is out for power and is not about anything. Mindfullness

Hillary hasn''t lost yet.. anything can happen now until the last primary. Hillary isn''t out for power. She has proven that she cares about the American people. I don''t trust Obama. Its his way or the highway. I say, hit the highway Obama.
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by shewin1 May 9, 2008 10:06 PM PDT
The more Mrs. Clinton stay on the race, the more I admire and support her. We need a strong and tough leader. People chose Bush liked his personality but what''s the result??? You can chose your friend to have a beer not the president! Okay, She should stay in the race and show our americans what the spirit means. If she loses this time, I will vote her after four years!!
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by hillarynow May 10, 2008 12:22 AM PDT
Now it''s that special time in the process where Obama pretends he and his ignorant followers didn''t mean all those unjust, hateful things they''ve been saying about Hillary and Bill Clinton. Obama was the one who started hurling mud at Hillary back in 07 and Obama was the one who stood idly by while the Clintons were being unjustly accused of racism and Obama is entirely the one responsible for the bitter divide we now have in the Democratic party. The only way I would EVER consider anything he has to say now is if he includes Hillary in this nomination and asks her to be his running mate. It''s either that or myself and all of the Hillary supporters I know will be voting for McCain, Nader or staying home.
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by lightnin001 May 10, 2008 12:23 AM PDT
Oh, yeah, never SEEN the party so united. In the Fall, it''ll be blacks, under-30''s, and liberal extremists vs non-blacks, over-30''s, moderates and conservatives, oh, yeah, and a whole bunch of REALLY motivated Republicans! Obama will get a lot more votes than Kerry (ecch!), and a lot less than Gore, and he''ll lose to McCain. So it''ll be four more years, so what, eh?

Lightnin''
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by kenbomc May 10, 2008 3:58 AM PDT
lightnin001 at 12:23 AM : May 10, 2008;

Keep under estimating Obama, just like the earlier presumptive nominee -Hillary. There is no way people will vote for Bush again. I thought presidents were limited to two terms.
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by sjc_1 May 10, 2008 8:42 AM PDT
Obama may get 90% of the black vote, but I do not know what percentage of white male votes he would get in the fall.
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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 9:56 AM PDT
Game OVER: ABC News is the first news organization to place Obama ahead in the one category where Clinton has always led -- superdelegates:
Sen. Barack Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Sen. Hillary Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support among the Democratic Party''s superdelegates.

The Illinois Democrat grabbed the superdelegate lead thanks to a switch by New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne and an endorsement from previously uncommitted Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Those two votes gave Obama a 267-266 lead over Clinton. That is a huge shift since the days when Clinton boasted about a 60-plus vote lead among the party''s pros back on Super Tuesday.
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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 10:03 AM PDT
More "Super" News For Obama

(CBS/AP) Barack Obama has almost erased Hillary Rodham Clinton''s once-imposing lead ..

Obama picked up the support of 7 superdelegates today: Rep Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, Rep. Pete Defazio of Oregon, Laurie Weahkee of New Mexico, Wilber Lee Jeffcoat of South Carolina, Ed Espinoza of California and John Gage of Maryland.

Payne, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, had been a Clinton supporter.

"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs," said Payne, who in a statement said that Clinton is a good friend and he still holds her in high regard.

Payne is one of at least 10 superdelegates who have switched allegiances from Clinton to Obama. None have publicly switched the other way.

Gage is president of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union of 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments. The union also announced its support for Obama on Friday.

"Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama''s campaign," Gage said in a statement.

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.
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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 10:06 AM PDT
NPR: Karl Rove: Odds (Against) Sen. Clinton


Karl Rove is the former Deputy Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush. AFP/Getty Images


Tell Me More, May 9, 2008 7 Karl Rove, the former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, says the chances of Sen. Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic presidential nomination are ''Slim'' after Sen. Barack Obama''s ''Decisive Victory'' in the North Carolina primary and her close win in Indiana earlier this week.

Rove said it''s extremely unlikely that Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be able to win enough delegates in the remaining contests, or the support of enough superdelegates to secure the ticket.

Democratic primaries are still to come in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana and Puerto Rico.
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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 10:11 AM PDT
NPR Ron Elving: By now, no one needs more rehashing of the numbers, but here''s the short version: Barack Obama has a virtual lock on the Delegates he needs to be the 2008 Democratic Nominee for president.

Obama needs only about a 3RD of the Delegates at stake in the remaining primaries and about the same share of the uncommitted superdelegates.

Barring another outbreak of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama should do substantially better than that in both categories.

Big A!! Note: So Game Over. Even the seating of the full Delegations from the Outlaw Primaries in Florida and Michigan is no longer a Real Threat to Obama''s Nomination.
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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 10:17 AM PDT
Of course, the Obama campaign has its fair share of objections. For starters, there''s that pesky, old-fashioned, admittedly absurd notion known as "following the rules." The Democratic Party prohibits any state other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding its primary before Feb. 5. So when Florida and Michigan threatened in late 2007 to pull the trigger on Jan. 15 and Jan. 29, respectively, the DNC gave them a choice: reschedule--or lose your delegates. They refused, hence their current no-delegate status.

According to critics, reinstating those delegates now would undermine the DNC''s authority over the nominating process; who will stop Guam, they say, when it schedules its primary for Thanksgiving 2012?

The second reason: last winter, both Clinton and Obama Deferred to the DNC and agreed not to "Campaign Or Participate" in either election; Obama even Removed his Name from the Michigan slate.

Big A!! Note: So while Clinton "Beat" her rival 50-33 in (Florida) and trounced "Uncommitted" 55-40 in the (Great Lakes State),

One can''t help but suspect that Not Campaigning and/or not Appearing on the Ballot somewhat affected Obama''s showing--not to mention that turnout has a way of declining when voters are told that the election doesn''t matter.

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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 10:24 AM PDT

Big A!! Note: Clinton, Completely Opposed Recognizing (Michigan and Florida) until after the primaries--i.e., when she Realized she might need their Delegates to win the nomination.

"It''s clear that this election they''re having [in Michigan] is not going to count for Anything," she said during an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio in October 2007. She wasn''t alone.


2 months earlier, Clinton adviser Harold Ickes actually voted to ''Strip the Rogue States'' of their Delegates as a member of the DNC''s Rules and Bylaws committee--

"To prevent the gaming of the system," he said. Later than fall, Patti Solis Doyle, then Clinton''s campaign manager, Pledged not to Compete in Either Contest--and was Unequivocal as well.


"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process... and the ''DNC''s Rules and its Calendar'' provide the necessary structure to Respect and Honor that Role," she said.

"Thus, we will... adhere to the DNC-Approved Nominating Calendar."

And when (Michigan) pushed for an Early Vote in 2004, then-DNC chairman--and current Clinton aide--Terry McAuliffe put his foot down.

"If I allow you to do that, the whole system collapses," McAuliffe said (at least according to his memoir).

"The closest [Michigan''s delegates will] get to Boston will be watching it on television. I will not let you Break this Entire Nominating Process for one state.

The rules are the rules."
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by wendyerussel May 10, 2008 10:39 AM PDT
I would like to point out how non devisive Barack has been. Here is a list of unsavory topics he could have dragged up but took the higher road:
Hillary being under sniper fire in Bosnis, religious affiliation with "The Fellowship",travelgate, her failure at securing healthcare during Bill''s administration due to her divisive manner of going about it,Whitewater, Hillary''s cattle futures scandel, Vincent Foster, Filegate, farewell looting of whitehouse, her campaigns mounting debt, her two major campaign shakeups, her unpaid campaign bills and unhappy vendors to name just a few. Hillary repeatedly says all her dirty laundry has been aired but it would have been so easy for Barack to bring these things back in the light of day just to remind voters who they are dealing with. Yet he did not. Why? He is a coalition builder not destroyer. She is part of his coalition.
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by sjbj2322 May 10, 2008 12:10 PM PDT
Well here''s another lightening rod for Obama to have to deal with. His wife would reject the idea of Hillary being named the VP candidate. Who the devil does Michele Obama think she is? SHE is proof positive that Obama is no JFK because she is no lady as was Jackie O. She''s a loud-mouthed bitter and angry woman who rules her roost and that includes her husband.

As for all the hype about Hillary wanting the votes of Michigan and Florida to be counted, and the use of Harold Ickes statement that they not be counted "To prevent the gaming of the system." You want to talk "GAMING" of the system. That''s called allowing South Carolina to violate the rules so the waters on the black vote could be tested. HELLO - of course blacks will support a black candidate even if his name was Mickey Mouse - especially if that candidate touts his church''s mission statement of being "unapologetically black" and "unapologetically Pro-African. As a result I am sooo ashamed of my liberal friends who would elect to use this shill in an effort to make a civil rights statement rather than take the time to truly look at the man or his politics. Give me a candidate who is PRO-AMERICAN and is truly for ALL AMERICANS or go to....its that simple.
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by texaslj May 10, 2008 1:47 PM PDT
Disenfranchising the voters in two states is wrong for any reason in a democratic society.

The party members who supported the decision that broke the rules of the DNC should be penalized, not the voters who had no voice in the decision to break the rules.
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by wendyerussel May 10, 2008 2:04 PM PDT
Where did you come up w/ news that Michelle Obama is interfering? FOX? If you want to have an idea of who is the bitter, loudmouth re-read your post. And then get your "facts" straight.
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by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 2:34 PM PDT
Clinton is a LIAR

News Week

Finally, theres the stubborn little fact that Clinton completely opposed recognizing Michigan and Florida until after the primaries--i.e., when she realized she might need their delegates to win the nomination. "It''''s clear that this election they''''re having [in Michigan] is not going to count for anything," she said during an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio in October 2007. She wasn''''t alone. Two months earlier, Clinton adviser Harold Ickes actually voted to strip the rogue states of their delegates as a member of the DNC''''s Rules and Bylaws committee--"to prevent the gaming of the system," he said. Later than fall, Patti Solis Doyle, then Clinton''''s campaign manager, pledged not to compete in either contest--and was unequivocal as well. "We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process... and the DNC''''s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role," she said.



Reply to this comment
by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 2:35 PM PDT

Hillary is a LIAR & CHEAT !!

News Week

Obama will Let her have those (2) sates and still Beat Her !!

Of course, the Obama campaign has its fair share of objections. For starters, there''''s that pesky, old-fashioned, admittedly absurd notion known as "following the rules."

The Democratic Party prohibits any state other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding its primary before Feb. 5. So when Florida and Michigan threatened in late 2007 to pull the trigger on Jan. 15 and Jan. 29, respectively, the DNC gave them a choice: reschedule--or lose your delegates. They refused, hence their current no-delegate status. According to critics, reinstating those delegates now would undermine the DNC''''s authority over the nominating process; who will stop Guam, they say, when it schedules its primary for Thanksgiving 2012?

The second reason: last winter, both Clinton and Obama deferred to the DNC and agreed not to "campaign or participate" in either election; Obama even removed his name from the Michigan slate.


So while Clinton "beat" her rival 50-33 in Florida and trounced "uncommitted" 55-40 in the Great Lakes State, one can''''t help but suspect that not campaigning and/or not appearing on the ballot somewhat affected Obama''''s showing--not to mention that turnout has a way of declining when voters are told that the election doesn''''t matter.
Reply to this comment
by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 2:37 PM PDT
Clinton is a LIAR

News Week

Finally, theres the stubborn little fact that Clinton completely opposed recognizing Michigan and Florida until after the primaries--i.e.,

when she realized she might need their delegates to win the nomination. "Its clear that this election theyre having [in Michigan] is not going to count for anything," she said during an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio in October 2007.


She wasnt alone. Two months earlier, Clinton adviser Harold Ickes actually voted to strip the rogue states of their delegates as a member of the DNCs Rules and Bylaws committee--"to prevent the gaming of the system," he said.

Later than fall, Patti Solis Doyle, then Clintons campaign manager, pledged not to compete in either contest--and was unequivocal as well.

"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process...

and the DNCs rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role," she said.

Reply to this comment
by omaar-101 May 10, 2008 2:39 PM PDT
Hillary (Lying) Clinton Letter to Obama...

I have consistently said that the votes cast in Florida and Michigan in January should be counted. We cannot ignore the fact that the people in those states took the time to be a part of this process and to make their preferences known.

When efforts were untaken by leaders in those states to hold revotes to ensure that they had a voice in selecting our nominee, I supported those efforts.


In Michigan, I supported a legislative effort to hold a revote that the Democratic National Committee said was in complete compliance with the party''s rules.

You did not support those efforts and your supporters in Michigan publically opposed them. In Florida a number of revote options were proposed. I am not aware of any that you supported.

In 2000, the Republicans won an election by successfully opposing a fair counting of votes in Florida. As Democrats, we must reject any proposals that would do the same.

Your commitment to the voters of these states must be clearly stated and your support for a fair and quick resolution must be clearly demonstrated.
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by saraswati1 May 10, 2008 3:58 PM PDT
There is no way Senator Obama can unify this party. He''s not talking to me and never has. He only talks about the delegates, never about the voters. He''s willing to disenfranchise FL voters to win the nomination. That''s not how you win. And, if the two candidates position were the opposite, he''d be fighting for FL and MI to be seated and the popular vote to be counted.
Reply to this comment
by saraswati1 May 10, 2008 4:03 PM PDT
Omaar, you are on way to may cites commenting. Frankly, I''m sick of you. Could you maybe stop posting the same thing over and over and over, everywhere, here and there.
Reply to this comment
by sjbj2322 May 10, 2008 4:23 PM PDT
wendyerussel wrote..."Where did you come up w/ news that Michelle Obama is interfering? FOX? If you want to have an idea of who is the bitter, loudmouth re-read your post. And then get your "facts" straight."
----------------------------------

HERE YA GO WENDY....NOW WHO NEEDS TO GET THEIR FACTS STRAIGHT OR SHUT UP!!

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/michelle_vetoes_hillary.html
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by May 10, 2008 9:22 PM PDT
Convicted attempted presidential candidate assassin Arthur Herman Bremer, age 58, was released in November. Has anyone kept track of this guy??
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