Obama Would Order Review Of Bush's Executive Orders

Obama Would Order Review Of Bush's Executive Orders (Huffington Post) - "Barack Obama told House Democrats on Tuesday that as president he would order his attorney general to scour White House executive orders and expunge any that 'trample on liberty,' several lawmakers said."

Who Is "Presumptuous" for Calling Obama Presumptuous?

Senator Barack Obama has raised more money than any political campaign in US history, has drawn record-breaking crowds in the US and abroad and has been ahead of John McCain since widespread general election polling began four months ago. Yet the McCain campaign is pushing talking points that Obama is at risk of looking "presumptuous" for his recent trip abroad and for doing what Americans expect of a competent Presidential candidate.

These Republican talking points, which seem to be too often echoed by the traditional media, say that Obama is presumptuous for taking the prudent steps of getting to know the leaders of America's allies around the world, his potential counterparts should he become President of the United States, and for visiting Iraq and Afghanistan where our courageous American troops are serving their second, third and some even their fourth back-to-back tour of duty. Just who is "presumptuous" for calling Senator Obama presumptuous? Read more at Huffington Post...

Texas - Part of the 50 State Strategy

Obama's Campaign To Help Local Democrats Win In TX (The Houston Chronicle)

When Barack Obama's presidential campaign and national Democratic officials talk about putting resources into Texas this year, they're not necessarily focused on beating Republican John McCain. Then again, maybe they are...

The Obama campaign has promised to put 15 coordinators in the state to help Texas down ballot Democratic Candidates win the five seats the party needs for a State House majority and to win in Harris County. Gaining and holding a Democratic majority in the Texas House would help control the redistricting process in 2011 when Texas is expected to gain 3 more seats in the U.S House of Representatives.

Obama's campaign currently projects that the state's 34 electoral votes likely will go to McCain. Then again, McCain's lead over Obama in Texas is likely giving Republicans in the state some concern. Republican pollster Mike Baselice is reported by The Houston Chronicle to have said that the problem for Republicans is not what Obama is going to do [in Texas] but a belief by GOP voters that the nation is on the wrong track. "Half, if not more than half, the Republicans think the country is off-track. That is more concern to me than Obama sending 15 people to the state," Baselice said.

According to a July 2008 Reuters/Zogby national poll of likely voters, 73% of those polled believe the nation is on the wrong track. Democrats have the most negative view of the country’s direction, with 84% saying the U.S. is on the wrong track, a slight decrease from 86% who said the same in June. The vast majority of independents take a similar view, with 82% who said the country is on the wrong track, falling from 86% who said the same last month. More than half of Republicans now believe the nation is headed on the wrong track (55%), up from 51% in June.

The dour mood among many Republicans, who now feel their party leaders have lead the country in the wrong direction, could explain McCain's not so strong 43.3 to 38.9 point lead over Obama in Texas, according to Pollster.com. With McCain polling under 50 percent on top of his not so strong 4.4 percent lead over Obama in Texas, the 15 organizers that the Obama campaign is sending to Texas seems like a prudent investment. Polling numbers showing unhappy Texas Republicans combined with strongly motivated Democrats across all of Texas, including here in Collin County, suggests that, just possibly, Texas Democrats will yet play a prominent roll in setting the nation on a new road on election day!

Obama Has Electoral College Advantage - Pollster Says

The public opinion experts who publish at Pollster.com suggest that states totaling 284 electoral college votes (14 more than the 270 needed to win) lean toward or firmly support Senator Barack Obama, whereas only 147 electoral college votes tally from states that lean toward or firmly support Senator John McCain. Ten states with an additional 107 electoral votes are tossups. The Pollster.com electoral map, as show below, is a fully interactive map that gives polling results for each state simply by mousing over any given state image. Click on the map image to go to the fully interactive map:

Afghanistan Twice As Deadly As Iraq For US Troops In July

Afghanistan surpasses Iraq as deadliest spot for U.S. troops (McClatchy Newspapers) - The American military is debating shifting more troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that the military can't send more troops to Afghanistan, despite the surge of violence around Kabul and southern Afghanistan. "I don't have troops I can reach for, brigades I can reach, to send into Afghanistan until I have a reduced requirement in Iraq," Mullen said earlier this month at a briefing at the Pentagon. Read More

Shattering Blogger Stereotypes - From Burnt Orange Rpt

Today's myth -- that all bloggers are young, inexperienced, and have no business weighing in on these important political issues - Posted at burntorangereport.com

Obama Leads McCain 48% to 41%

Obama Leads McCain 48% to 41% (Gallup Daily) - Barack Obama leads John McCain by seven percentage points, 48% to 41%, among national registered voters according to Gallup's Poll Daily tracking conducted July 23-25.

Diplomats Barred From Obama’s Berlin Speech

State Dept. Double Standard (Think Progress) - Diplomats Barred From Obama’s Berlin Speech, But Not McCain’s In Ottawa.

Deregulation Is Out Of Style

Deregulation Is Out Of Style: Saying Goodbye To The Revolution (Huffington Post) - Regulation Is In Again - Even With Republicans!

Barack Obama Acceptance Speech Party At Prince Bistro

Join a large gathering of fellow Collin County Democrats at the Prince Bistro on Thursday August 28 to watch Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech of the Democratic Party's Presidential Nomination.

The Prince Bistro Grill has large screen TVs to watch Senator Obama's speech, tasty food and good drinks in addition to the excellent comaradary of fellow democrats.

Again, join us at 7PM on Thursday August 28 at the Prince Bistro at 1201 E. Spring Creek Pkwy Plano, TX 75074 - Google Map

Insurers Talk Health Care - Physicians Doubt Sincerity

Insurers talk health care: Physicians, advocates doubt sincerity of national campaign - Columbus Dispatch: With reform seemingly inevitable, the health-insurance industry launched a national campaign yesterday to craft a solution to soaring health-care costs and coverage rates. Read More

From Health Care for America Now, the coalition of doctors fighting for universal health care coverage.

An Outrageous Attempt by the Bush Administration

An Outrageous Attempt by the Bush Administration to Undermine Women's Rights - By Sen. Hillary Clinton (Huffington Post) "The Bush administration is up to its old tricks again, quietly putting ideology before science and women's health."

Hagel: Quit Talking About the Surge

Sen. Chuck Hagel: Quit Talking About the Surge! (Huffington Post) - Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, fresh from an Iraq trip with Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, said the Presidential Candidates should focus on the war's future and stop arguing over the success of last year's troop surge.

Job Losses Jump Again

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped 34,000 last week, government data on Thursday showed, reflecting seasonal volatility typical at this time of year.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 406,000 in the week ended July 19, from a revised 372,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. It was the highest reading since late March.

Matthew 25 Network

There’s a new religious political action committee, the Matthew 25 Network, that may very well have an impact on the political scene this year, far more than any religious progressives have had in quite a while. Keep in mind, the ads aren’t coming from Barack Obama's campaign organization or anyone associated with his campaign or the Democratic Party — this is an independent Christian PAC, targeting Christian voters, on Christian radio, with a Christian message.

Generation Gap Widens In 2008 Electorate

'Generation Gap' Widens In 2008 Electorate (WSJ Online) - Democrat Barack Obama has a strong lead among younger voters, and Republican John McCain is solidly in front among older voters. That divide has grown in the past month, according to the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Thousands Gather In Berlin For Obama

Pictures (here and here) of the crowd gathering in Berlin to listen to Barack Obama speak.
German papers put the crowd at over 200,000
Full Text Of Obama's Berlin Speech
Video of Speech on YouTube

Poll - Latinos Favor Obama

2008 National Survey of Latinos: Hispanic Voter Attitudes - The national survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center, showed that 66 percent of Hispanic registered voters supported Obama, compared to 23 percent for Republican John McCain. The other 11 percent were undecided.

More than three-quarters of Latinos who had voted for Clinton now say they are for Obama. Clinton carried the Hispanic vote, an important Democratic constituency, by about a 2-1 margin in the primaries.