Here are pictures of our Petition-Drive-to-Gather-Rhode Island-Registered-Voters Party Saturday Night in Providence, RI, USA
William Pierce, Sandra Hammel and Marshala Lee in Providence, Rhode Island ~ Obama Supporters and "New Friends" after tonight!
Craig Robinson and Sandra HammelCraig Robinson coaches Brown University basketball and is Michelle Obama's brother
William Pierce and Matt (I forgot his last name ~ sorry Matt!)
Talking around the table of petition notarizing
Craig and Kelly Robinson
The blue papers are the signature petitions that will officially put
Barack Obama on Rhode Island's ballot for March 4
Craig Robinson and Marchala Lee, Med student at Brown University
Craig Robinson and Sandra Hammel
Coach Robinson and Marshala
Filling out the petitions
Joe Fernandez
checking the picture ID
Oprah Winfrey Hits Campaign Trail for ObamaU.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama greetsOprah Winfrey as his wife Michelle looks on at a rally in Des Moines.But when Ms. Winfrey strode onto a stage here Saturday, imploring Iowa voters to support the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, she acknowledged not knowing whether her endorsement would matter. And as she waded into American politics deeper than ever before, she declared: “It feels like I’m out of my pew.”
Still, Ms. Winfrey’s arrival on the campaign trail and her irrefutable appeal was threatening enough for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York to invite a famous guest of her own, daughter Chelsea Clinton, to appear with her on the political circuit in Iowa.
It was, perhaps, the best way Mrs. Clinton could be assured attention on a political day devoted to Ms. Winfrey, who drew more than 15,000 people here and a second audience of about 7,000 in Cedar Rapids. In a state awash in presidential politics, with a competitive fight on both sides of the ticket, it was the largest spectacle of the campaign cycle.
“Oh my goodness,” Ms. Winfrey said. “At last, I’m here.”
The intersection of politics and celebrity began the moment that Mr. Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama, declared, “It is my honor to introduce to you the first lady of television, Oprah Winfrey.” A wave of camera flashes illuminated a downtown convention center here as Ms. Winfrey entered to a thunderous roar.
Ms. Winfrey, of course, is hardly a stranger to speaking before large crowds. But as she explained her rationale for supporting Mr. Obama, of Illinois, she stood behind a lectern, reading from prepared remarks. She paused for a moment, saying: “Backstage, somebody said, ‘Are you nervous?’ I said, ‘Damn right I’m nervous.’”
But for 17 minutes, Ms. Winfrey delivered a testimonial for Mr. Obama arguing the nation was at a critical moment in its history that required a candidate who could heal divisions and chart a new direction. She did not mention Mrs. Clinton or any of their rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, but dismissed suggestions that voters should choose a candidate with the most Washington experience.
“If we continue to do the same things over and over again, I believe we get the same results,” Ms. Winfrey said. Later, she added: “When you listen to Barack Obama, when you really hear him, you witness a very rare thing. You witness a politician who has an ear for eloquence and a tongue dipped in the unvarnished truth.”
In his quest to win the party’s nomination and to become the first black president, Mr. Obama is working to expand his reach beyond the traditional set of Democratic primary voters. The campaign hoped to use Ms. Winfrey’s visit to Iowa on Saturday, followed by New Hampshire and South Carolina on Sunday, to expose his candidacy to a new audience of prospective supporters.
“There are those who say that Barack Obama should wait his turn. There are those who say that he should take a gradual approach to presidential leadership. But none of us is God,” Ms. Winfrey said. “We don’t know what the future holds, so we must respond to the pressures and the fortunes of history when the moment strikes. And Iowa, I believe that moment is now.”
Ms. Winfrey ticked through a list of Mr. Obama’s accomplishments. When she hailed his opposition to the Iraq war, “long before it was the popular thing to do,” the crowd responded with a roar of approval.
The Obama campaign captured the names and addresses of thousands of those who attended the rallies. Those who agreed to volunteer for at least four hours over the past two weeks received premium tickets.
“I think Oprah is John the Baptist, leading the way for Obama to win,” said Dale Cobb, 40, of Des Moines, who has never participated in the Iowa caucuses before. Yet, she added, “I’m still kind of in between Hillary and Obama.”
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Hillary Clinton wobbles as her backers turn to Barack Obama
The presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, the Democrat frontrunner, is facing a wave of defections by supporters to Barack Obama, as an aura of “inevitability” about her nomination fades.With Oprah Winfrey, the talk show host and Obama enthusiast, challenging former president Bill Clinton for star power on the campaign trail, the coronation of Hillary has been put on hold.
A few days ago, Helen Quarles peeled off the Hillary for President bumper stickers from her car and replaced them with Obama ’08.
“I didn’t think anybody could turn me away from Hillary,” said Quarles, who worked as a volunteer for Clinton’s first Senate election campaign in New York. “I liked her and was very fond of Bill.”
Quarles now lives in South Carolina, which holds its primary election next month. “In the South, a lot of people don’t like Hillary, so I felt it was up to me to turn things around for her. I really wanted her to win, but there’s something about Obama,” she said. “To me, he is the one who is going to make a difference.”
Quarles, 69, has a “golden” centre row ticket to see Winfrey in action with Obama and his wife Michelle today at the University of South Carolina’s 80,000-seat football stadium.
“I think Oprah can change anybody’s mind. I really do. She can draw people in and get them to listen to him,” Quarles said.
The decisive factor for her was hearing Michelle Obama talk on television recently about her husband’s family background and values: “I didn’t really know who Obama was. She touched my heart.”
Former “Friends of Bill”, who served in the White House in 1990s but defected early on to Obama’s campaign, are not surprised by the drift away from Hillary.
Betsy Myers, a White House adviser on women’s issues - and sister of Dee-Dee Myers, Bill Clinton’s former press secretary - is now chief operating officer for Obama’s campaign and responsible for much of its organ-isational prowess.
Read more http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3022206.ece
Oprah Winfrey Presents: Barack Obama http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3965092&page=1
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=4tkxa2o2Ocg
Time For A Change
Call 1~800~GENOCIDE
next week
and ask your U.S. Representative to pass the funding fully
for the UN Peacekeepers for Darfur
President Bush's Comment Phone Line
202-456-1111
He needs a push to do something right.
Thank You!
www.savedarfur.org
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