OBAMARAMA

On so many levels, FOX News pundit and political turncoat Dick Morris does not understand the dynamics of the Democratic presidential primary. Maybe he’s blinded by his fierce obsession with Sen. Hillary Clinton, or maybe he’s just spent too much time with Republicans. Whatever the reason, his analysis of the Democratic campaigns consistently leaves actual political observers scratching their heads and wondering if he’s watching the same race.

Take his latest column, “Blacks may doom Barack.” According to Morris, “Obama needs to carry the African-American vote overwhelmingly” if he’s going to win the primary, while other Democrats must maintain only minimal black support in order to “blunt the edge of Obama’s challenge.”

What Morris is actually saying here is that white people won’t vote for Sen. Obama in nearly the numbers they’ll vote for Sen. Clinton or John Edwards. This is an implicit assumption that some Americans may hold, but for a political columnist to espouse it in light of all the evidence to the contrary is just ignorant. After all, if Sen. Obama is running a strong second to Sen. Clinton already, and if he lacks black support as Morris claims, then what explains his current success?

(Read more after the jump…)

John Zogby’s latest national poll shows Sen. Obama making strong gains in his support for the Democratic nomination, increasing 11 points since the last survey and trailing Sen. Clinton by only 8 points. Even more striking is how he fares when matched up against the Republican front-runners — and the major strides he has apparently made among African Americans.

According to Zogby, “New York Sen. Hillary Clinton clings to a shrinking lead over Illinois Senator Barack Obama in a national test of Democratic primary voter preference.” Zogby continues:

Among those who said they would vote in the Democratic primary or caucus for President, Clinton leads with 33% support, up 4% from our last telephone survey in early January. However, Obama has made dramatic gains in the last six weeks, moving from 14% support to 25% backing. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edward is a distant third, winning 12% support. One in five said they were undecided about which Democratic candidate to support.

Also of interest is this statistic from the demographic breakdown:

Clinton holds a 31% to 24% edge among white Democratic voters, while Obama leads among African–Americans, 36% to 27%. [Emphasis added]

We’ve discussed here before the likely shift of support among African Americans to Sen. Obama — though this is definitely an earlier-than-expected indication of that shift.

(Read more after the jump…)

Sen. Obama makes a daylong visit to the politically crucial swing state of Ohio today. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, he kicked it off this morning with a breakfast fundraiser in Cincinnati, where “more than a thousand people turned out, some 200 more than expected.” Officials say the campaign raised “well over $300,000.”

He’ll be in Columbus later today, and Cleveland tonight.

On Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed Sen. Obama and what his candidacy means for racial progress in America.

From the AP:

Obama is a top-tier contender among Democrats and his wide support early in the 2008 race “just shows that we’ve come a very long way,” Rice said Sunday.

“I do think we’ve come a long way in overcoming stereotypes, role stereotypes about African-Americans. I will say race is still a factor. When a person walks into a room, I still think people still see race,” Rice said.

“But it’s less and less of a barrier to believing that that person can be your doctor or your lawyer or a professor in your university or the CEO of a company. And it will not be long, I think, before it’s no longer a barrier to being president of the United States,” Rice said.

…Rice noted that Obama is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where the secretary often testifies.

“I think he’s very appealing and a great person. He’s on my committee. And we’ve always had good exchanges. I think he’s an extraordinary person,” she said.

After former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack announced on Friday that he was no longer going to pursue the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Obama released the following statement:

“Tom Vilsack is an outstanding public servant whose initiatives in Iowa on education reform, health care and alternative energy are models from which our entire nation can learn. More than that, Tom brings a badly needed sense of honor and decency to our politics, and a passionate advocacy for an end to the war in Iraq. I hope he will continue to speak out in the months and years to come, as his is an important and valued voice.”

In Austin yesterday, Sen. Obama underscored the inanity of Vice President Dick Cheney’s reaction to the UK’s plan to withdraw troops from Iraq. The AP reported on his oh-so-on-point takedown:

Obama, speaking at a massive outdoor rally in Austin, Texas, said British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision this week to withdraw 1,600 troops is a recognition that Iraq’s problems can’t be solved militarily.

“Now if Tony Blair can understand that, then why can’t George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that?” Obama asked thousands of supporters who gathered in the rain to hear him. “In fact, Dick Cheney said this is all part of the plan (and) it was a good thing that Tony Blair was withdrawing, even as the administration is preparing to put 20,000 more of our young men and women in.

“Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we’d be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we’re in the last throes. I’m sure he forecast sun today,” Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over their heads to keep dry. “When Dick Cheney says it’s a good thing, you know that you’ve probably got some big problems.”

And if he says “Let’s go hunting,” well, duck.

TPM reports a reader’s observations as he looks out his office window at the gathering crowd of Obama supporters for today’s rally in Austin, Texas:

I’m looking out my downtown Austin office window at Auditorium Shores where a huge crowd has been growing since the gates opened at noon to see Sen. Barack Obama speak. It’s been raining lightly now for the better part of an hour and the crowd shows no signs of letting up. On line ticket requests totaled about 16,000 and the park looks pretty full right now. They say the capacity for the park (which holds the statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan) is 20,000. I know Austin is the bluest dot in a really, really red state, but this turnout in this weather (even here) is amazing.

Here’s a video of Sen. Obama’s recent campaign stop in the Granite State.  I kept waiting for him to speak, but it’s the anticipation that makes this video great:

We reported here two weeks ago about Sen. Obama’s request to the Federal Elections Commission that he be able to raise money for both the primary and general elections, and then have the option of returning the general election money after the primary in order to be eligible for public financing.

Today the FEC signaled its intent to allow Sen. Obama to move forward with this plan, publishing a Draft Advisory opinion proposing that he “may solicit and receive contributions for the 2008 general election without waiving his eligibility to receive public funds for the general election.” The FEC will meet on March 1 to make an official decision.

There are a few reasons why this is such good news. For starters, it positions Sen. Obama as a serious contender (as if there was any doubt) who is already planning for his general election campaign. Second, it shows that while he wants to remain competitive, Sen. Obama is not willing to give up on public financing altogether, as just about every other major presidential candidate appears to be.

And finally, it gives him the upper hand should the Republicans nominate Sen. John McCain. Sen. Obama has said that once nominated, he would challenge his Republican opponent to accept public financing as well — something Sen. McCain would undoubtedly be loath to do, despite having been the country’s foremost proponent of campaign finance reform. The pressure would be on him to either walk the walk, or kick off his campaign looking like a hypocrite.

Sounds like a pretty good game plan to me.

“Um, dude, you’re kind of making me look bad.”

OutFoxed director Robert Greenwald has a new website — FoxAttacks.com. Their plan appears to be to compile videos that highlight FOX News Channel’s unfair and unbalanced reporting and help readers figure out how best to respond.

Their first focus: biased FOX News reporting about Sen. Obama. Unsurprisingly, it makes for a pretty long and interesting video:

We discussed here previously how Sen. Obama has “frozen out” FOX News reporters looking for interviews. While FOX reaches more viewers than any other cable news network, and while it’s important for a candidate to reach voters of all stripes with his message, it is still very encouraging — and long-overdue — to see a Democrat take this kind of step against an ostensible news organization that is clearly so intent on reporting only one side of the story.

In fact, MoveOn.org has launched a campaign to encourage the Nevada Democratic Party to cancel a debate for the candidates they are scheduled to cohost with FOX News in August. From their website:

Fox is a mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel. The Democratic Party of Nevada should drop Fox as its partner for the presidential primary debate.

A response from the Nevada Dems is here.

In a conversation with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday, Basketball legend and aspiring Alabama gubernatorial candidate Charles Barkley threw his 252 lbs of support behind Sen. Obama.  From the interview with the eminently quotable power forward:

BLITZER: Charles, a lot of candidates out there who want to be president on the Democratic and Republican side. Who do you like?

BARKLEY: Well, I’m really pulling for Barack Obama, John Edwards and Senator Clinton. I think they’re both — all three of these are great candidates. I’m really pulling for Barack, because I consider him a casual friend of mine. I supported John Edwards last time. I think it would be great if a woman became president of the United States. …

BLITZER: All right. I’ve got to — I’ve got to press you, though. You can’t vote for all three of them. If you’ve got to pick one, who do you like the most right now?

BARKLEY: I’m going with Senator Barack Obama. I like him a lot. I respect him. I really — I really think he’d make a fantastic president.

And there you have it — the Round Mound of Rebound, as he is sometimes known, is an Obama supporter.  With 23,757 career points, 12,546 rebounds, and an average of 22.1 points per game, that one’s a sure pick for the endorsement hall of fame.

The Washington Post reports today on the unprecedented size of the crowds at Sen. Obama’s campaign appearances — a phenomenon made all the more remarkable by how early in the election season it still is. The article underscores this success:

Obama is expecting huge turnout for rallies Friday in Austin, Texas, and Monday in Cleveland. More than 10,000 people have signed up on Obama’s Web site for free tickets to each event, according to the campaign.

That’s a larger turnout than President Bush usually gets and certainly more than Obama’s rivals in the 2008 campaign are pulling in.

It also quotes a South Carolina Democratic operative on perhaps the most important aspect of this high turnout — the sorts of people who are there:

“I think the crowds are indicative of people wanting a fresh face and wanting a leader who can bring America forward,” said Trav Robertson, an experienced South Carolina Democratic campaign operative who attended events for Obama and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in the past week and hasn’t settled on a candidate to support. Robertson said both Clinton and Obama brought out packed and excited crowds, although Obama held his event in a larger setting and seemed to bring out more people he hadn’t seen around in politics before.

Finally, the article notes that the campaign’s challenge will be to maintain this momentum — though that will be made easier by the massive list of supporters the campaign is compiling with each event.

Not to mention the fact that people are deeply excited about Sen. Obama. In the end, high turnout is just a symptom of the inspiration Sen. Obama’s candidacy has ignited in voters ready for change, of how his message resonates with the disenchanted. As long as that’s the case, reporters and everyone else would be wise to expect Standing Room Only. If that.

The Politico blog is reporting that former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle “has committed his support to Barack Obama.” According to the post:

“I certainly expect that he will be supporting Barack,” said Leo Hindery, a Daschle friend who backs John Edwards. “Senator Obama could have no better ally and advisor than Tom Daschle.”

Two of Daschle’s former top staffers, Pete Rouse and Steve Hildebrand, already work for Obama, but Daschle himself brings, along with a broad popularity among Democrats, a set of long friendships and relationshps [sic] with Democrats around the country that can help compensate for Obama’s recent arrival on the national scene.

UPDATE: The AP reports on Daschle’s endorsement:

Sen. Barack Obama…won the endorsement Wednesday of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who said the White House hopeful “personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country.”

Daschle said Obama has a “great capacity to unify our country and inspire a new generation of young Americans, just as I was inspired by the Kennedys and Martin Luther King when I was young.”

Greg Sargent over at TPMCafe reports on a statement from Sen. Clinton’s campaign responding to comments by David Geffen, Hollywood mogul and Obama fundraiser, that were critical of the Clintons and appeared in the New York Times today. According to the release, Sen. Clinton is demanding that Sen. Obama “immediately denounce these remarks” and “remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money.”

In fact, Geffen’s comments, while not particularly nice, were generally innocuous, undoubtedly represent his unvarnished political opinion, and were not at all inaccurate. Here are the remarks he reportedly made to Maureen Dowd, who reprinted them in her column:

“God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton?”

“I think they [Republicans] believe she’s the easiest to defeat.”

“She’s so advised by so many smart advisers who are covering every base.”

“Everybody in politics lies, but they [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it’s troubling.”

“It’s not a very big thing to say, ‘I made a mistake’ on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can’t.”

Hmmm…which of these remarks do you think most peeved Sen. Clinton?

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Edward W. Brooke, a Republican from Massachusetts, was the first African American popularly elected to the United States Senate, winning election all the way back in 1966. At a recent book signing for his new memoir, “Bridging the Divide,” the New York Times reports that Brooke discussed parallels between his experience and that of Sen. Obama, who had just announced his presidential candidacy that morning in Springfield:

“I turned on the television this morning,” said Mr. Brooke, still dapper at 87, “and there stood a young man in Illinois.” Mr. Brooke praised Mr. Obama’s “gold résumé” and challenged questions about the senator’s experience, saying he possessed “better qualifications than many people who have run for that office and some who have won that office.”