Rasmussen Calls Race for Obama. . . Turns Focus to Presidential Election

Well, isn't this a sign of the times. . .

I was surfing the comments section over at Talking Points Memo when this little jewel popped up. . . even the polling organizations know it's over:

via Rasmussen Reports:

[W]hile Senator Clinton has remained close and competitive in every meaningful measure, she is a close second and the race is over. It has become clear that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. At the moment, Senator Clinton’s team is busily trying to convince Superdelegates and pundits
that she is more electable than Barack Obama. For reasons discussed in a separate article, it doesn’t matter. Even if every single Superdelegate was convinced that the former First Lady is somewhat more electable than Obama, that is not enough of a reason to deny him the nomination.

With this in mind, Rasmussen Reports will soon end our daily tracking of the Democratic race and focus exclusively on the general election competition between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. Barring something totally unforeseen, that is the choice American voters will have before them in November. While we have not firmly decided upon a final day for tracking the Democratic race, it is coming soon.

It's OVER folks!
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HOPE WINS!!!

The victory is sweet . . .

The math is daunting. . .

The verdict is in . . .

This thing is OVER!

Obama will be our Democratic nominee!!!

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For Once. . . I'd Like to See the Good Guy Win

Like many of you, I sit here today at a crossroads in my political life. Bombarded with polls and focus groups, talking heads and political analysts, today's primaries in North Carolina and Indiana provide yet another opportunity for the triumph of HOPE.

That's what this really comes down to. The notion that we can disregard something as cherished and sincere as hope disturbs me to my core. Now, this is not to say that one group or candidate holds the mandate on hope. That's not the case. But it can't go unnoticed that one candidate in particular has mortgaged his political career on hope in a way no other candidate has done in recent memory.

And I guess that's what separates Obama from his opponents. He is willing to wager on hope in a way both Clinton and McCain never would. It's what Obama talks about when he protests the old politics of the past. It's an opportunity for a fresh start. And what makes this so special is that, for once, we, the American people, hold the key as to whether or not we can make that campaign promise a reality.

I've just watched an hour of political punditry where talking heads derided Obama for not taking the easy road. He didn't pander. He didn't attack. He didn't divide. He didn't exploit. Ironically enough, all of these things are routinely viewed as net positives in politics rather than the distractions that they really are.

"The panderer always wins," says one talking head; his grin as wide as the chasm between that statement and the virtues of honesty and integrity that fall by the waist side in election year after election year. "He's not one of us," says another pundit; judgmental as any, having predetermined what the definitions of "us" and "American" actually are. "He's unknown," says another; misleading the public to believe that the American people must know everything about it's President before he takes office (if that were the case, we'd never have scandals or lies in Washington. . .we rarely "know" any of our elected officials).

Over the past month we've been besieged by this constant barrage of cynicism. It's become a depressing, spiritless writ of inevitability that says the world we live in is what it is, but nothing more. Nothing special. Nothing uplifting. . . toying with our emotions and providing just enough promise to keep us going from day to day. . . month to month. . . year to year.

This is particularly troubling for younger voters such as myself. Being 26 years old, I've never supported a winning campaign. While older people have fond memories of King and Kennedy, my "political awareness" came to life in the age of O.J. Simpson, the L.A. Riots and Monica Lewinsky. I watched in horror as the emotional roller coaster of the 2000 Presidential election devolved from democracy to litigation to the ultimate betrayal of democracy in the name of partisan politics.

Yet, persistent in my idealism, I worked on the campaign four years later in 2004. Working 70 hour weeks, I managed canvassing crews for the DNC. It was a short-time commitment. Nothing major. But it was my claim to the process. . . my American dream in action.

I can remember the joy and enthusiasm for change that filled the air. I truly felt that something special was going to happen.

It never did.

I remember the anguish that election night as I waited for my candidate to take the stage. . . to raise his hand in triumph and signal the beginning of a new day.

It never happened.

The stage was left empty. The crowds dispersed. And we went back to business as usual. One more day. One more month. One more year. Business as usual.

I can remember how distraught I was at that time. Confused and disappointed I decided to have a talk with my reverend about life and the nature of man. Like many others, I had sat paralyzed for four years as I watched the politics of division and cynicism rule the day.

The cynics held office.

The cynics made policy.

The cynics made war.

The cynics won re-election.

I asked my reverend for his perspective on the nature of man. "Are men inherently good or inherently bad," I asked. Were we kind-hearted and open-minded by nature or did our advances in law and politics successfully hide the chaos that rests within each of us? Were we inherently communal or inherently individual? Did our humanity extend beyond the boarders of our country? And if not, what's to say our humanity extends no further than the walls of our homes or the selfish motivations of personal gain? Was man meant to love or use his fellow man? And why do good guys always seem to come in last?

I asked this host of questions not expecting so much an answer as just an opportunity to confide in someone I trusted during dark times. My reverend took a moment to respond before simply reminding me that man did kill Jesus Christ.

I would have been floored if he had stopped there. But he didn't. His response appeared to focus on the capacity of man to choose his own path. The gift of free will, prompts us to either be better people or settle for what's given. It inspires our better angels and taunts our darker demons. But it's there. And no walk of life is immune from it. Not religion, not spirituality and certainly not politics.

I must say I have that same feeling in the pit of my stomach today. That nervousness. That feeling that we've come to a crossroads at a critical time in our nation's history where the gift of free will has asked us to choose between a fresh new start or more of the same.

And "hope" has certainly been tested in this campaign. It has been mocked and ridiculed. Hope has been dismissed. Hope has been attacked.

But "hope" is not dead. And despite the rise in cynicism, I will continue to be "hopeful" that, for once, we as a people might listen to our better angels. For once, I'd like to see the good guy win.

For once, I'd like to see us get beyond the divisions of race, religion and culture. For once, I'd like to see truth triumph over lies. I'd like to see us reward good behavior rather than settle for the bad behavior that passes as politics as usual. For once I'd like to see us take the road less traveled. . . to dare to dream. . . to trust in ourselves to be the change we so desperately want to see.

How empowering!

How enlightening!

For once I'd like to see the pundits proven wrong. I'd like to shock the status quo and venture forth on a new path created for us, by us.

THAT is what I've seen in Barack Obama's campaign. We know he's not perfect. We don't think he's the "Messiah." Our support for him is rooted in one strong belief. . .

It's the people.

It's US!

It's us. . . in all of our glory. Black and white. Young and old. Blue collar and white collar. Male and female. Gay and straight. It's us. . . it's the type of "America" I want to live in.

It's the vision and the sense of community that captures the imagination and inspires us to be the best we can be. In spite of the naysayers.

In spite of the cynics. In spite of those who've spent their entire lives telling us we can't, I cling to the HOPE that we might yet face our critics and say, "YES WE CAN!"

After weeks of media-hyped controversies built on race and class, I would LOVE to see those working class whites in Indiana and North Carolina prove the cynics wrong. I'd love to see them buck the trend. . . to stand in resistance to the divisive tactics and say . . . "we're better than that," . . . "we're smarter than that."

Right now I see the cynic gaining his stride. I see Pat Buchanan growing in confidence and Sean Hannity smiling with glee. Glee at the division that has been reintroduced into this campaign. Glee at the rise of cynicism and old school politics where a lie is good so long as it gets you votes and a smear is political genius if it gets you to the top.

Not today. . .

Not now.

I don't know what's going to happen today. But I do know this. Regardless of tonight's outcome we must believe in ourselves. Our cause is as great as any. Our desires, more sincere than most. Our candidate, most deserving. This is a special time in our lives and we mustn't let it pass us by. Don't let the cynics tell you to fall back in line. This is our time! Stand up for what you believe in!

I've seen it pass by too many times before. It passed me by in 2000. It passed me by again in 2004.

But this time is different. Like many of you, I can see the promise within our grasp. Are we willing to take it?

Hey North Carolina and Indiana . . . the ball is in your court.
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Mission Accomplished???? 5 Years Later

Def Poet, Steve Connell, in his own words . . .


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Obama Convert Speaks Out . . . Urges Other Supers to Back Hope

Democratic super delegate, Joe Andrews, switched from Clinton to Obama, today.

He's not a big name. But his thoughtful and impassioned plea puts everything back into perspective.

Thanks to Jack and Jill Politics for pointing this out.



Here are some snippets from his endorsement letter. . .

via DailyKos:

I write this letter from my mom's dining room table in Indianapolis, Indiana. Four generations of my family have argued and laughed around this table. But what I humbly believe today is that we, as Democrats and as Americans, face what Dr. King characterized and what Senator Obama reminds us is the fierce urgency of now. As a nation, we are at a critical moment and we need leaders with the character and vision to see us through the challenges at hand and those to come. I can't guess what will happen tomorrow, so I can't tell you what kind of experience our next President will need to have to deal with those challenges. But I can tell you what kind of character and vision they will need to have -- and that is what inspires me about Barack Obama.

As Democrats, however, we risk letting this moment slip through our fingers. We risk ceding the field to the Republicans and allowing the morally bankrupt Bush Agenda to continue unabated if we do not unite behind a single candidate. Should this race continue after Indiana and North Carolina, it will inevitably become more negative. The pollsalready show the supporters for both candidates becoming more strident in their positions and more locked into their support. Continuing on this path would be a catastrophe, as we would inadvertently end up doing Republicans work for them. Already, instead of the audacity of hope, we suffer the audacity of one Democrat comparing John McCain favorably to another Democrat. When that happens, you know it is time for all of us to stop, take a deep breath and unite to change America.

We must act and we must act now. . .

[Continued] My endorsement of Senator Obama will not be welcome news to my friends and family at the Clinton campaign. If the campaign's surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton's cabinet, a "Judas" for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me. They are the best practitioners of the old politics, so they will no doubt call me a traitor, an opportunist and a hypocrite. I will be branded as disloyal, power-hungry, but most importantly, they will use the exact words that Republicans used to attack me when I was defending President Clinton.

When they use the same attacks made on me when I was defending them, they prove the callow hypocrisy of the old politics first perfected by Republicans. I am an expert on this because these were the exact tools that I mastered as a campaign volunteer, a campaign manager, a State Party Chair and the National Chair of our Party. I learned the lessons of the tough, right-wing Republicans all too well. I can speak with authority on how to spar with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove. I understand that, while wrong and pernicious, shallow victory can be achieved through division by semantics and obfuscation. Like many, I succumbed to the addiction of old politics because they are so easy.

Innuendo is easy. The truth is hard.

Sound bites are easy. Solutions are hard.

Spin is simple and easy. Struggling with facts is complicated and hard.

I have learned the hard way that you can love the candidate and hate the campaign. My stomach churns when I think how my old friends in the Clinton campaign will just pick up the old silly Republican play book and call in the same old artificial attacks and bombardments we have all heard before.

Yet, despite the simple and overwhelming pressure to do anything and everything to win, Barack Obama has risen above it all and demanded a new brand of politics. People flock to Senator Obama because they are rejecting the hyperbole of the old politics. The past eight years of George Bush have witnessed a retreat from substance, science, and reason in favor spin, cronyism and ideology. Barack Obama has dared not only to criticize it, as all Democrats do, but to actually reject playing the same old game. And in doing so, he has shown us a new path to victory. . .

[Continued] We must reject the notion that we have to beat the Republicans at their own game -- or even that the game has to be played at all. It is so easy for all of us involved -- candidates, campaigns and the media -- to focus on the process and the horse race that we forget why we got into it in the first place. Barack Obama has had the courage to talk about real issues, real problems and real people. Let's pause for a second in the midst of the cacophony of the campaign circus and listen.

Many Democrats know me for one short speech I gave over and over again in the 2000 Presidential campaign. That speech was about welcoming people into our Party and welcoming undecided voters to our campaign to elect Al Gore. Today, we need to welcome Clinton supporters, undecided voters, and all Americans to join Barack Obama's cause to fight for a better America. My speech ended with these words, which are even more relevant today:

The difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is that you are always welcome in the Democratic Party.

Because Democrats don’t care if you are black or white or brown or a nice shade of green, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.

We don’t care if you pray in a church or a synagogue or a temple or a mosque, or just before math tests, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.

We don’t care if you are young or old, or just don’t want to tell your age, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.

We don’t care what gender you are, or what gender you want to hold hands with; as long as you want to hold hands, you are welcome in the Democratic Party.

We don’t care about the size of your bank account, just the size of your heart; and we don’t care where you are today, just where you dream you want to be tomorrow.

That is your Democratic Party.

That is Barack Obama's Democratic Party.

That is the Party that will win in November.

You know. . . this movement is something special. You don't see things like this in politics.

People are really thinking. They're really thinking for themselves . . . shedding old labels . . . and challenging themselves and each other to envision the type of America they want to live in.

It's beautiful. It truly is. And yes, it's little things like this that give me HOPE that everything is gonna be alright.
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