Obama's Unquenchable Love Of The Grandiose

From Right Wing News:

Let's see; the McCain campaign is successfully cutting you to pieces with ads portraying you as an inexperienced, yet arrogant novice who's more of a rock star than a politician.
So, what do you do? If you're Barack Obama, you have Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen open for you, have a Hollywood actress sing the national anthem, and then...I think I will just let the rest of the story speak for itself: More...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple. The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' National Football League team plays.
Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington's Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.
He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the floor.
...Once Obama speaks, confetti will rain down on him and fireworks will be fired off from locations around the stadium wall.
...Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem that night.

The only way Bambi could better fit into the caricature that the McCain campaign has painted of him would be if he wore a cape and had members of Code Pink throwing rose petals in his path as he walked to the podium.
PS: The cape might be a little bit of a stretch, but the rose petals? At this point, would you really be surprised if he had rose petals?
PS #2: Will the crowd be given complimentary Kool-Aid?
PS #3: The only way this could be better would be if some women fainted while Obama was talking.
PS #4: Wait, scratch that. Know what would be even better than fainting women? Creating a troupe of scantily clad "Obama Dancers" to dance around to his speech.

Obama’s Pagan Greek Temple Sets Stage For Most Presumptuous Hedonist Acceptance Speech Since Kennedy’s

 FROM WONKETTE BLOG

Oh, this is perfect. After spending all week straining to convince voters that he is a humble, all-American God-fearing Christian regular Joe, Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech tomorrow night from a structure that ABC News says “resembles an ancient Greek temple.” Because nothing hits the trifecta of Hollywood, presumption, and alternate religion like a wine-soaked polytheist boy-fucking Vegas pleasure dome in the middle of a massive arena. [ABC News]

Hillary Clinton and WomenCount Events

If you're at the Democratic Convention, please take time to participate in the following two events:

Wednesday: "WomenCount in the 2008 Election"

Location: Fifth Floor:Open Space

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM (MST) 

Bloggers only briefing with Jehmu Greene, Political Director of WomenCount.

There's been a lot of commentary that the convention is all about surface, and not about issues--here's your chance to get into the issues facing women in this year's elections.

RSVP to me, so I'll know how many t-shirts to bring!

Thursday: "Cracks in the Glass Ceiling"

Location: Big Tent:DIGG Stage

Time: 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM (MST)

Panel discussion with 

Jehmu Greene, Political Director – WomenCount (moderator), Marie Wilson, (White House Project), Erin Kotecki Vest (BlogHer) and others.

RSVP to me!

Here are two quick videos (one showing Hillary at Tuesdaays WomenCount events) Tuesdays event: http://www.youtube.com/user/EchoDitto.

As always, thank you so much for everything, and feel free to contact me if you need anything!

Anne Keenan, for WomenCounts

(917) 747-7559 (c)

anne@echoditto.com

Delegates voting at hotels

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention are casting ballots for the party's presidential nominee at their hotels this morning.

The vote, negotiated by the campaigns for presumptive nominee Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, is expected to speed proceedings from the floor of the Pepsi Center tonight, when totals will be read from the floor as part of a roll call vote.

But it is also leaving many delegates perplexed.

Some delegates were confused because Sen. Clinton was not expected to release her delegates until the afternoon. More...

"It doesn't make any sense to me," said Mary Sullivan, a Clinton delegate from Albany, N.Y. "I'm gonna vote for Hillary. I'm a Clinton delegate and she hasn't released me yet."

Clinton is expected to address delegates this afternoon.

Sullivan said she had been startled by the hostility toward Clinton on the part of some Obama supporters.

"The Obama people act like they lost," she said. "There's no need for it ... . It's over. It's been over. We all knew it, but some of us haven't given up the ghost yet."

But others in the New York delegation said they expected the group to rally around Obama.

"I think you'll find overwhelming support for Sen. Obama in this delegation," Sen. Charles E. Schumer said at the New York breakfast.

Several delegates said they hoped New York would vote nearly unanimously for Obama.

"Everyone should have heard her by now, loud and clear, that the job going forward is to work for the election of Obama," said Bill Ryan, the chair of the Westchester County Legislature. "I'd like to see the entire delegation [support Obama]. It would be a very strong signal."

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie told the state delegation during breakfast that they had until noon today to fill out roll-call ballots at their hotel.

Each delegate, he said, needed to bring ID and would have to sign their ballot, which will indicate their presidential preference.

The two campaigns, he said, negotiated a plan to conduct the voting that way.

"The campaigns have determined how this is going to work," Richie said.

After the voting, he said, the ballots would be taken to the convention center to be tallied before the delegates convene tonight.

Richie said there would still be a roll call vote tonight on the convention floor at the Pepsi Center.

Some of the Clinton supporters in the delegation raised questions about how the process would work and said they wanted an observer there to ensure that the ballots were counted accurately.

"I think it sucks," said Blanche Darley, a Clinton delegate from El Paso.

Some Obama delegates were confused by the new process, too.

Richie asked Obama surrogate Ron Kirk, former Dallas mayor, if the campaign would also like to have an observer during the balloting process.

He shrugged and later said, "I trust everybody in here to be honest."

Many of Massachusetts' most prominent Hillary Clinton supporters have already voted for Barack Obama, including Rep. Barney Frank and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

At the Illinois delegation hotel, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley implored the delegation to appear unified behind Obama — even to the news media.

Some Barack Obama supporters complained Wednesday that Colorado Democratic leaders may be prolonging a party rift because Hillary Clinton backers won't be allowed to switch their votes to Obama in a show of unity.

Colorado delegates cast their ballots Wednesday morning, and the tally was to be reported Wednesday night on the floor of the Democratic National Convention.

The total wasn't released because not all the delegates were present.

State party chairwoman Pat Waak said the morning vote would be the only one the delegation takes, meaning there will be no chance for Clinton supporters to change their vote to Obama.

"This is the only vote," she said, explaining it would be disruptive to try to take a second poll on the convention floor among the 70 delegates.

That upset Shawn Coleman, an Obama delegate from Boulder, who wanted a second round to allow the delegates to show full support for Obama.

"I understand that the Clinton delegates want to serve their constituents. That is what I'm doing, but I don't want this to be a hollow victory for Obama," he said.

Colorado Rep. John Salazar said he was surprised by the decision and called it unusual, but he said he would support it.

"I think it's part of the healing process. I think after tonight's vote, we're going to be a united party and support Obama.

"A divided party will never win," he said.

State Rep. Terrance Carroll of Denver said he never expected a second vote.

"We know there are delegates loyal to Clinton. It's OK. It's part of the process," he said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether other states were allowing only one ballot within their delegations.

Clinton backers in Colorado had their own concerns, worried that there would be no state-by-state roll call to record the New York senator's strong showing, or that Clinton would stop the balloting and ask for a unanimous vote for Obama before the roll call was recorded.

"If we don't have an official roll call vote state-by-state, it is going to reopen a wound," said Sonja Jaquez Lewis, a Clinton delegate from Boulder County.

Lewis said if Clinton is denied a roll call, she and others may walk out. But she said she would do whatever Clinton asks her delegates to do.

Denver Post Staff Writer Kimberly Johnson, Media News Group Staff Writers Gene Maddaus, Brandi Grissom, Matt Murphy and Leonard Fleming and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Politico and The Denver Post are sharing content during the 2008 Election cycle and during the Democratic National Conventions. 

Best Obama Punch lines

As Barack Obama gets ready to accept the Democratic nomination, we salute the best Obama humor to date:

Best Obama Joke: "After a quick meet-and-greet with King Abdullah, Obama was off to Israel, where he made a quick stop at the manger in Bethlehem where he was born." --Jon Stewart, on Barack Obama's Middle East trip (More Obama jokes)

Funniest Obama Quote: "I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go." –Barack Obama, at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon (Watch video clip)

Best Obamaisms: Slate's Encyclopedia Baracktannica, featuring such neologisms as "Barack Ness Monster," "Post-Baracalyptic," "Barackturnal," "Obamatose," "Baracklamation," and "Post-Baratic Stress Disorder" More...

Best Obama Nickname: Joe Biden Accidentally Calling Obama "Barack America"

Best Obama Spoof Video: The Empire Strikes Barack

Best Obama Dance Video: Barack-Roll (a twist on the Internet phenomenon knows as Rickrolling)

Best Obama Music Video: Obama Girl's "Crush on Obama"

Best Obama Cartoon: Obama at Clinton Convention

Worst Obama Cartoon: The New Yorker's Obama Cartoon

Funniest Obama Picture: Not. This. Time.

Best Celebrity for Obama: Scarlett Johansson, who boasted about her text-messaging relationship with the Democratic candidate and declared, "I am engaged to Barack Obama ... My heart belongs to Barack."

Best Obama Campaign Ad: John McCain's Seven Houses

Best Obama Top 10 List: David Letterman's Top Ten Signs Barack Obama is Overconfident. #1: Been cruising for chicks with John Edwards

Best Fake News Item: New McCain Ad Attacks Obama Kids; Cute, Not Ready to Lead, Ad Claims (Borowitz Report)

Best Parody: If They IM'd: Barack Obama and the Media That Totally Want to Have His Babies (23/6)

Most Inspired Obama Web Site: Barack Obama Is Your New Bicycle

More Obama Laughs
Obama Humor Hub
Barack Obama Cartoons
Funny Obama Pics
Obama Loyalty Quiz

What Clinton's body Said - CBS News video

Watch CBS Videos Online

Obama Wins on Empathy, McCain on Experience

Barack Obama leads John McCain 44 percent to 40 percent with 12 percent undecided in a Diageo/Hotline poll conducted during two periods, Aug. 18-20, and Aug. 18-24. The margin of error for parts of the poll not aimed at sounding out reaction to Obama's selection of Joe Biden is 3 percent.

Fifty-five percent of Democrats were satisfied with the choice of Biden while 28 percent were not. More...

The poll identified strengths and weaknesses of Obama and McCain. Seventy percent of voters saw Obama as a great deal or somewhat in touch with the "average American" compared to 61 percent for McCain. Two-thirds also though Obama had done and excellent or good job of presenting himself as a potential president compared to 50 percent for McCain.

But as has helped McCain and plagued Obama in nearly every poll that tested some aspect of the experience factor voters said McCain was more prepared to lead the country as president by 58 percent to 34 percent.

On the economy, seen as the top issue by half of voters, Obama led McCain 48 percent to 40 percent.

Hillary Clinton's Stock Up, Most Would Like to See Her Run Again

Hillary Clinton's stock among fellow Democrats has improved since Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination and most Democrats would like to see her run for President again, according to a Gallup poll conducted Aug. 21-23. Eighty percent of Democrats now viewed her favorably, up from 74 percent in early June. Americans overall would like to see her run again for President by 52 percent to 47 percent, and Democrats come out 75 percent to 24 percent on that score. Independents are split.

Articles to Read Tuesday, August 26

Biden a "mistake" Giulini says - CNN
Angry Clinton Supporters toast McCain, roast Obama - CNN
It Should Have Been Hillary - David Harsanyi, Denver Post
"Clinton's Thankless Job" - Marie Cocco, The Washington Post
Are Obama & Pelosi Dodging on Abortion? - George Weigel, Newsweek
'Obama Needs to Explain Ties to Bill Ayers');" - Michael Barone, US News & WR
Schmidt Fires Back on Obama Ad - Rich Lowry, National Review
527 Ad Attacking Obama on Ayers
The Racism Excuse - Wall Street Journal
The Creepy Plagiarism of Joe Biden - Jack Shafer, Slate
Obama-Clinton Rift Persists - By Peter Wallsten and Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
Why Obama Looks Vulnerable - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Anxiety From Swingstate Dems - Alec MacGillis and Paul Kane, TheWashington Post