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Tag Archives | campaign ’08

Obama’s campaign manager gets million-dollar-plus book deal

Google Image   President Obama’s campaign manager/Internet wizard, David Plouffe, has snagged a mega-book deal worth between $1.5 and $2 million, according to the publishing news site GalleyCat. Plouffe now heads Organizing for America, a new entity that aims to mesh 13-million or so supporters of the Obama campaign into a powerful force to help push the President’s message and issues for change. I got an e-mail yesterday from Plouffe as part of Organizing for America. Plouffe, in a style he honed during the presidential campaign, wrote a casual, but... Read More →

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Welcome 2009 the year of change!!!

This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a... Read More →

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Barack Obama 2009 calendar a best seller and collector’s item

Time to pick up a calendar for the New Year. If you’re planning to buy the popular 2009 Barack Obama Wall Calendar: Words of Hope and Inspiration, you may have to order it or search around for it. Sourcebooks has shipped at least 100,000 copies since the calendar first published back in August of 2008, according to Publishers Weekly. The calendar includes familiar quotes like this one from the future president: “For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re... Read More →

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Barack Obama: Time magazine’s person of the year 2008

One of the most prestigious and meaningful honors has been announced. Time magazine’s person of the year for 2008 is President-elect Barack Obama. The former first-term U.S. Senator’s message of change has not only resonated with millions of Americans, but with millions of other people around the world. Obama was a long shot when he officially declared his candidacy for president in Springfield, Illinois back on February 10, 2007. Despite the chill of the day, thousands packed the town square there to cheer on Obama. Throughout the campaign, the crowds... Read More →

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A record turnout in the state for the November 4 election

FLLewis / A Writer’s Groove Voters in line at a Burbank polling place on November 4, 2008    We first got a hint at the historic turnout in the November 2008 General Election from the many reports of voters waiting in long lines to cast their ballots. Now the numbers are in for California and they confirm that the turnout was indeed huge!  Secretary of State Debra Bowen has certified that 13,743,177 Californians cast ballots in the November 4 election. That means 79.4 percent of the 17.3 million registered voters in the state participated... Read More →

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Obama campaign book goes into second printing

Another Obama book is racking up the dough for another publisher — even before it’s official release date. PowerHouse Books reportedly has sold all 55 thousand of the first edition of “Yes We Can: Barack Obama’s History-Making Presidential Campaign,” by photographer Scout Tufankjian. The publisher has now ordered up 25 thousand copies of a second printing by the book’s release set for early December. The book includes more than 200 color photos by Tufankjian, who has a degree in political science from Yale University and  has worked for major newspapers and magazines like... Read More →

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Thanksgiving, Barack Obama, and the dreams of black folks

The political landscape of our country has changed dramatically since last Thanksgiving. Back in 2007, many of us were just trying to survive the last leg of the George Bush administration; keeping our fingers crossed that the glaring domestic and foreign policy problems would hold until a new president could be elected. That did not happen. We’re in the middle of two foreign wars that are getting worse and the country is in the depths of a recession, but there is hope with the election of Barack Obama. In aRead More →

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Missouri, McCain, and President-elect Obama

Three weeks ago today, Illinois Senator Barack Obama won the November 4 presidential election; he gave a gracious victory speech and his challenger, Arizona Senator John McCain, delivered an eloquent concession. However, the presidential election of 2008 did not wrap up until a few days ago when Missouri, the last state to complete counting presidential votes, announced its results.   Missouri’s ballot count did not change the outcome, but it was a record breaker. Barack Obama’s winds of change blew across the nation, but apparently missed a  chunk of red states in the middle of the country, in particular,... Read More →

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Joe the Plumber becomes Joe the Author

  Joe the Plumber is really stretching his 15 minutes of fame. He’s that Ohio plumber who had a chat with then Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on the campaign trail, early last month. Joe, whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, came away from that encounter criticizing Obama’s tax plan. Republican Presidential candidate John McCain leaped on this and outed Joe and his experience with Obama during the third presidential debate. It put Joe in the spotlight and despite his complaints about the media attention, he has been clinging to the fringes of... Read More →

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Bill, Hillary, and that Obama cabinet job offer

Google Image -Bill and Hillary Clinton   I’m not feeling the Bill and Hillary Clinton love like I have in the past. Rumors are flying that President-elect Barack Obama is considering his former rival for Secretary of State. Senator Hillary Clinton has not said publicly if she is interested, but actions by her husband suggest she is. There are reports that Bill Clinton has agreed, for the first time, to release the names of big donors to the Clinton Foundation, submit to strict ethics review of his speeches, as well as... Read More →

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A White House visit and Michelle Obama’s stunning red dress!

  Gary Fabiano/pool photo The transition of power at the White House was highlighted last Monday when President-Elect Barack Obama and wife, Michelle, dropped in for a short visit with President Bush and the first lady, Laura. Obama and Bush strolled the White House halls and reportedly had a polite chat about what a mess the country is in. The visit was probably more enjoyable for the wives. I have to say, Mrs. Obama was styling in a lovely red dress that outshone the disastrous red and black outfit she wore for... Read More →

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“How Obama Won” book coming soon

Publishers are snatching up book proposals about President-Elect Barack Obama right and left. One manuscript is on a serious fast track. NBC’s Political Director Chuck Todd and polling expert Sheldon Gawiser are scrambling to finish “How Obama Won” the presidential election, a state by state guide, before the inauguration. In the final results, Obama won 364 electoral votes and 53 percent of the popular vote. Arizona Senator John McCain racked up 163 electoral votes and 46 percent of the popular vote. Obama will be sworn in as the... Read More →

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Hot tickets for the Obama inauguration events

A ticket for sale on craigslist.org to the Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball. For once the hottest tickets around have nothing to do with sports or a rock concert. The Internet is buzzing with talk about the tickets to the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president. Despite the fact that those tickets will not be handed out until a few days before for the January 20, 2009 ceremony. There’s a reminder that the tickets to the swearing in ceremony are free and a warning about buying tickets from... Read More →

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Michelle Obama’s fashion style turns heads

Google Photo Michelle Obama, wearing a purple sheath by Chicago designer Maria Pinto, joins her husband on stage in St. Paul, Minnesota during the campaign last June. The first-lady-in-waiting, Michelle Obama, is not hovering in the wings. The 44-year-old mother of two was out front on the campaign trail and shows no sign of stepping away from the spotlight. Mrs. Obama’s personal fashion style has earned kudos from many and critical reviews from others. Folks are talking about more than just that controversial black and red dress she wore... Read More →

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Protests against ban on gay marriage

Barbara Davidson/ Los Angeles Times The anger over the passage of a bitterly fought California proposition denying marriage to gay couples has spilled into the streets of several communities in the Southland. Thousands of opponents of Proposition 8 began protesting Wednesday night, when it became clear the measure had passed 52 percent to 48 percent in Tuesday’s election. Last night, the marches were in West Hollywood and Westwood, where the protesters targeted the Mormon Temple on Santa Monica Boulevard.  Some gay-rights activists are accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of helping bankroll... Read More →

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Obama books hot sellers

The Presidential General Election of 2008 is over, but the interest in President-Elect Barack Obama remains high in the book market. Obama’s extraordinary talents and skills include that of published author. Several books written by the Illinois senator are in the top 10 of the best seller lists on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. This morning when I checked, “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” is holding down the number one spot at Amazon. “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”  is number two. Over at... Read More →

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Michelle Obama’s victory rally dress controversy

  Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune I have to admit, I was shocked by Michelle Obama’s flaming red and black dress when I saw photos of the victory rally last night on the Internet. There’s a lot of talk about it today. As much as I appreciate the future First Lady’s style and affinity for dresses, I gave the one she wore at the Chicago celebration two thumbs down! As an aside, I really dug the dangling earrings. The red and black dress is a creation by Narciso Rodriquez, one of Michelle’s favorite designers. Today the “All The Rage” blog... Read More →

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Change has come to America

  Millions of Americans voted for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s message of change on  Election Day and the Illinois senator rode that tidal wave to victory. It was a historic win and a decisive one. Minutes after the polls closed on the West Coast at 8 p.m. on Election Tuesday, the number of electoral votes for Obama flew past the required 270 needed to win. The 47-year-old Obama will become  the youngest president in American history. Also, a nation where blacks were once sold as slaves has now elected a black man... Read More →

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Poll workers: the ‘A Team’ on Election Day

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove A poll worker guides a voter through the initial stages of voting, at a polling place in a Burbank neighborhood, during last February’s presidential primary. They are front and center at every polling place on Election Day. A volunteer army of poll workers. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder /County Clerk’s office reportedly has recruited and trained over 26 thousand poll workers for today’s Presidential General Election. I worked as a trainer for Los Angeles County poll workers back in the fall of 2005, for the Special Statewide And Consolidated... Read More →

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Barack Obama’s grandmother dies

A family photo of a young Obama with his grandparents Stanley and Madelyn Dunham The last leg of the campaign got a lot tougher for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today. His beloved grandmother passed away overnight in Hawaii. Obama reportedly found out about 86-year-old Madelyn Dunham’s death this morning. Dunham had been battling cancer. Then, she broke her hip and her health began to fail. Obama left the campaign trail last month for a couple of days to spend some time with the grandmother he affectionately called,... Read More →

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Obama gets help from Californians in the battle for Nevada

Over the weekend, Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns blitzed Nevada fighting for those undecided voters. Many of the political analysts have slotted Nevada in the column of swing states– those still up for grabs in this heated presidential race. For weeks now the Obama camp has been targeting Nevada. Some of the recent Obama e-mails I have received included urgent requests for California supporters to volunteer to go to Nevada to help get out the vote. No one is saying how many Obama folks from the Golden State have made the dash to... Read More →

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Early voting overwhelms Los Angeles County registrar’s office

  Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times They just kept coming by the hundreds and then by the thousands, lining up at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk’s building at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Despite the wait of several hours in many cases, voters swamped the registrar’s office every day this past week. In Los Angeles County, early voting began last Saturday, October 25.  Since then, Registrar-Recorder County Clerk, Dean Logan says, “… more than 14,000 voters, an average of approximately 2,000 voters per day over 7 days, have arrived at... Read More →

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