Obama Campaign Apologizes For Moving Women In Headscarves:

Two Muslim women at Barack Obama's rally in Detroit on Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women's headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.

The campaign has apologized to the women, both Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally.

"This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama's commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers."

If this was John McCain, the press would be going bonkers.

Al Gore Endorses Obama And Promises To 'Help Him':

FLINT, Mich. - Al Gore announced his endorsement of Barack Obama Monday and promised to help the Democrat achieve what eluded him — the presidency.

In a letter to be e-mailed to Obama supporters, the former vice president and Nobel Prize winner wrote, "From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected president of the United States."

In 2000, Gore won the popular vote but lost the disputed 2000 election to George W. Bush, who captured Florida and its electoral votes after a divided Supreme Court ended the recount. Since then, Gore has made combatting global warming his signature issue, and has been recognized worldwide for his effort — from an Academy Award for a documentary for his effort to the Nobel prize.

Don't you love how the AP worked in that 'Gore won the popular vote in 2000' line? Look, more of the same here, this will do nothing except tie Obama to old party politics and hurt his campaign. How can you push for 'change' whilst hanging tight with the old guard? It makes no sense. Then again, Al Gore never makes much sense.

She's Already Toast - Might As Well Make It Official:

Sen. Hillary Clinton will hold an event with supporters by Friday, likely ending her historic bid for the White House and ceding the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama, ABC News has learned.

Clinton's decision to leave the race ends a long, often bitter battle for the right to challenge Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the general election.

Obama, D-Ill., who claimed victory after clinching the necessary delegates on Tuesday, will be the nation's first African American running with the nomination of one of the country's two major political parties.

For those of you hoping she'd march on until the convention, don't fret. Hillary will find a way to interject herself into the mix. But for now, she's out. Obama wins. Game. Set. Match.

Barack Obama's Democratic Nomination Victory Speech:



I don't care who you are or what party you're from, you have to admit Barack Obama's rhetorical skills are much better than John McCain's. This speech was probably one of his best. The only question that remains is can Barack Obama resonate with southern voters or will John McCain walk away with the Presidency in November?

Hillary Clinton Defiant, Refuses To Concede To Barack Obama:

WASHINGTON - Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday hailed winning rival Barack Obama and his supporters for an extraordinary race but stopped short of recognizing his victory in the race for their party's presidential nomination.

Clinton told supporters in a speech that she would consult party leaders in coming days on how to move forward, but that, "I will be making no decisions tonight."

In a speech to supporters in New York, Clinton said it had been “an honor to contest these primaries with him.”

“I am so proud we stayed the course together,” she said to cheers. “I am committed to uniting our party so we move forward stronger and more ready than ever to take back the White House this November.”

But she emphasized that she had won more votes in primaries and caucuses than Obama, and she refused to say she was ending her campaign.

Aides said that was a strategic decision to preserve her leverage to negotiate over policy disagreements and the possibility that she would join Obama’s ticket as the vice presidential nominee.

Let's face it, the Clinton's are tearing the Democratic party apart.

AP Tally: Barack Obama Effectively Clinches Nomination:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.

Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial divisions within the party.

The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.

The 46-year-old first-term senator will face Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the fall campaign to become the 44th president.

Clinton was ready to concede that her rival had amassed the delegates needed to triumph, according to officials in her campaign. These officials said the New York senator did not intend to suspend or end her candidacy in a speech Tuesday night in New York. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to divulge her plans.

Game over.

Update: Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP.

Hillary Clinton - 'Will She Stay Or Will She Go Now'?:

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials told the Associated Press, but Clinton's campaign manager denied the report.

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City, said the officials who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to divulge her plans.

However Terry McAuliffe, Clinton's campaign chairman, told CNN that AP is "100% reporting incorrectly."

It's a battle of the leaks at the moment. It appears Hillary Clinton's campaign is leaking information hinting or outright saying that she will concede tonight and throw her support behind Barack Obama. At the same time, spokespeople for the campaign are claiming that this is ridiculous and Clinton is prepared to fight on. There's two possible reasons for this confusion; Either Hillary's campaign is trying to save face in case she pulls off the miracle she's hinting at in South Dakota (Clinton's campaign is predicting a 25 point win and the latest polls have Obama up by 12) or they're planning for the after-party. There's a decent chance that if Barack Obama doesn't offer her the VP slot (which he won't) that she'll claim the media was responsible for her loses in South Dakota and Montana because they kept saying that she was going to drop out. Who wants to vote for a candidate that will drop out at the end of the day? Hillary would contend, no one.

Even if Hillary doesn't concede tonight, and there's a good chance that she won't completely drop out, this battle isn't over. She'll take a shot a VP, fail and then whine to anyone who will listen about how she wasn't given a chance because of the media's sexism. Oh, this isn't over at all. In fact, it's probably just begun...

Clinton Supporter Thrown Out of Rules Committee Meeting:



The divide among the Democrats has never been so clear.

Georgia Newspaper Under Fire For Barack Obama Scope Cover:

This is not the conversation one might expect in Barack Obama’s colorblind America. Especially on the outskirts of North Fulton County.

“Daddy, why does his dream make you so mad?” asks Kimberly, nine, as she and a hulking man in camouflage step over fallen pine logs on a raw, damp afternoon in western Forsyth County, about 30 minutes north of Milton.

“Sweetie, it’s science fiction, like the comic books you read,” Thomas Stevenson replies in a gentle, fatherly tone

OK, so I get the story line... but the cover is a bit much.

Hillary Clinton Has Swamped Barack Obama In Kentucky:

(CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic primary in Kentucky by a wide margin, CNN projects.

Sen. Barack Obama campaigns Monday in Montana, while Sen. Hillary Clinton seeks votes in Kentucky.

With 15 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton was leading Barack Obama by 3 percentage points.

But polls leading up to the primary showed Clinton with a commanding lead -- beating Obama by about 30 percentage points.

Exit polls from Kentucky suggest a deep division among Democrats.

Hillary Clinton's margin of victory could be as much as 30 percent.

Standby for the 'Obama Wins Oregon By Wide Margin' Update...

Update: Go figure... Barack Obama wins Oregon by a wide margin.

(CNN) -- Despite Hillary Clinton's landslide victory in Kentucky, Barack Obama has won a majority of pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton won Kentucky by more than 30 points, but Obama's share of the state's 51 delegates was enough put him over the threshold, according to CNN estimates.

Obama is expected to pick up at least 14 delegates in Kentucky, and by CNN estimates, that will give him 1,627 of the 3,253 pledged delegates at stake in all of primaries and caucuses.

Obama will also pick up a win in Oregon, CNN projects, giving him the larger share of the state's 52 delegates.

Obama came fairly close to declaring victory but all signs point to this fight rolling on for the remaining three contests.

Mark My Word - Obama Wins Oregon - Hillary Wins Kentucky:

(CNN) — A new CNN "poll of polls" shows Hillary Clinton holds a big lead in Kentucky while Barack Obama is on top in Oregon — the next two states to weigh in on the Democratic presidential race.

According to CNN's analysis of several recent polls from both states, Clinton holds a 30-point lead in Kentucky while Obama is up by 10 in Oregon.

In Kentucky, Clinton is winning 58 percent of the vote while Obama is at 28 percent. Kentucky has a broad swath of working class white voters — the demographic that has long supported Clinton and propelled her to a 41-point victory in West Virginia one week ago. Her large margin in Kentucky appears to indicate those voters are sticking with Clinton, even as Obama appears to be the presumptive Democratic nominee.

In Oregon, Obama is winning 50 percent of likely Democratic voters there while Clinton is at 40 percent. With a large population of young voters and those who are college-educated, that state has demographics that have long favored Obama's candidacy.

Another split decision that won't allow for Clinton to eject sensibly. This back and forth looks destined to carry on until the convention.

Barack Obama Speaks To The Masses At Waterfront Park:






So much for Hillary owning the white vote, look at that crowd!

Update: Take a look at this video from the scene.

Well, We All Knew It Was Going To Happen Eventually:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

The surprise endorsement came a day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in the West Virginia primary, and it helped the Obama campaign steer much of the evening news coverage away from a painful subject. The West Virginia outcome highlighted Obama's challenge in winning over "Hillary Democrats" - white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in significant numbers before he exited the race in late January.

Edwards made the carefully timed announcement at an Obama rally here, as the Illinois senator campaigned in a critical general election battleground state.

Edwards, who received a thunderous ovation when Obama introduced him to the crowd of several thousand, said, "brothers and sisters, we must come together as Democrats" to defeat McCain. "We are here tonight because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I."

Hillary Clinton wanted this endorsement bad, obviously to no avail. The real question is, will this help him come from behind next week?

Georgia Man Prints Obama T-Shirts With Curious George Logo:



I'm not buying his 'I'm comparing him to a cartoon character not a monkey' defense and neither were the protesters who confronted him yesterday. The producer of 'Curious George' is outraged as well.

Hillary Clinton Will Win Tonight - But By How Much?:



The latest polls have her up by 36. Exit polls and more to follow.

Get this, Gazans are phonebanking for Obama in the Gaza Strip:



Exit Polls: It's All About The Economy... and Hillary Clinton.

Update: Hillary Clinton is already trying to spin her 'big win':

The Clinton campaign just released a memo that tries to raise the stakes of today's contest, which Clinton is expected to win by a considerable margin. "Given the attempts by our opponent and some in the media to declare this race over, any significant increase in voter turnout, coupled with a decisive Clinton victory, would send a strong message that Democrats remain excited and energized by Hillary's candidacy," the memo says.

More: "In the face of grim poll numbers, the Obama campaign has attempted to dismiss today's outcome despite the fact that Sen. Obama has outspent us on advertising, has more staff in the state, and more than double the number of offices. He has also benefited from the support of the most high-profile endorsers in West Virginia-Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Congressman Nick Rahall. By every measure, the Obama campaign has waged an aggressive campaign in the Mountain State."

More: Two in ten whites cite race as a reason for their vote.

Update: Hillary Clinton wins West Virginia by more than 40 percent.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton used her big win in West Virginia on Tuesday to make her case that she has a better chance of beating the Republicans in the general election.


Sen. Hillary Clinton told supporters Tuesday that she believes she's the stronger candidate.

1 of 2 "I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign," she told supporters in Charleston, West Virginia.

"I am in this race because I believe I am the strongest candidate. ... I can lead this party to victory in the general election if you lead me to victory now."

...and the beat goes on. The Democrats canabalize as McCain plans for November. She will win next week as well but it means nothing...

A Useless Victory: The morning after, Obama grabs 2 superdelegates.

We've Often Discussed McCain's VP Pick, But What About Obama?



Ted Strickland, Tim Kaine, Bill Richardson and Janet Napolitano...

Strickland's NRA rating and support in Ohio make him a great choice.

Support is growing in Democratic ranks for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland as vice president. He would bring to the ticket maturity (66 years old), experience (six terms in Congress) and moderation (rated "A" by the National Rifle Association). He is very popular in Ohio, a state Republicans must carry to elect a president.

Kaine is the Governor of Virginia, a state Obama needs to win.

The Democratic governor of Virginia, Kaine was a Catholic missionary in Honduras and a mayor of Richmond. He also has one other big qualification and one that gives him an advantage over Virginia Senator Jim Webb: Kaine endorsed Barack Obama early. When Kaine was asked if he would consider a spot on the ticket, he replied: "I've got one term to be governor of Virginia, and that is my plan." Plans have a way of changing, however.

Did Richardson make an endorsement for VP deal with Barack Obama?

As for running mates, by far the most common prediction is Bill Richardson, with 146 people naming him (out of nearly 700 entries). That seems plausible to me, particularly given Obama’s problems with the Hispanic vote. Richardson also may help on the national security front, given his experience dealing with everywhere from North Korea to Sudan.

Forget Hillary Clinton, Janet Napolitano is on the short list.

Janet Napolitano (D) is currently governor of the Arizona, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. She is Arizona's third female governor, and the first female to win re-election. Term limits ends her governorship in 2010.

Meanwhile, Jim Webb is basically begging for the job and Hillary Clinton is creating fake groups to push for her as a Vice Presidential pick. I'm pretty sure neither of them will get the nod. It looks like Ted Strickland is the front runner at the moment.

This Is Why Courting The International Vote Makes No Sense:

Barack Obama got snookered in a trade deal Tuesday.

The Democratic presidential hopeful was trolling the Four Seasons Family Restaurant in Greenwood, Ind., early Tuesday morning looking to lock up some last-minute votes.

Diner Steve Czajkowski, a pastor at the Community Church in town, held out his breakfast bill. "Take this [and] we'll seal the deal," he quipped.

Obama quickly snatched Czajkowski's tab. "I've got your check," he declared.

Czajkowski tried to grab the bill back, explaining to Obama that he was only joking. But Obama insisted on paying and walked off with the $25 bill firmly in hand.

"I like his message. I like the way he's running his campaign," Czajkowski told reporters.

But Obama didn't get his vote. "I'm Canadian," he said.

Judging by the returns, Obama paid a lot of bills in Indiana.

Game. Set. Match. We're Headed To The End Of A Long Goodbye:

"This nomination fight is over," ABC's George Stephanopoulos said on "Good Morning America" Wednesday. "More superdelegates will come out today for Barack Obama --they will come three, four, five at a time, and this nomination will be locked up. . . . People close to her say that she's more likely to stay in if she feels cornered in by the party leaders."

ABC News' Kate Snow confirmed this morning that Clinton made three new loans totaling nearly $6.5 million to her campaign over the last month, two of them following her win in Pennsylvania.

As the tough conversations begin inside Camp Clinton (Clinton Wednesday will be huddling privately to gauge the reaction of uncommitted superdelegates, in addition to a buck-up-the-troops, midday event in West Virginia), the candidate herself has to decide whether and how to make a last push -- with nothing less than the Clinton legacy in the Democratic Party at stake.

The end of an era. Details on the impending doom via ABC News.

Update: You're watching it all go down in real-time.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Former Sen. George McGovern, who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton, is urging her to drop out of the Democratic presidential race.

McGovern said Wednesday he has decided to endorse Barack Obama.

After watching the returns from the North Carolina and Indiana primaries Tuesday night, McGovern says it's virtually impossible for Clinton to win the nomination.

McGovern says he is calling former President Clinton to tell him of the decision and adds that he remains close friends with the Clintons.

Update: Campaign official says Hillary will drop out June 15th.

I Admit 'Yes We Can' Was Quite Good But This Is God Awful:



I don't think I'm too far out of line in saying that most of the people in this video don't even look like they're registered to vote. Where as 'Yes We Can' was inspiring and well put together this is it's ghetto, uninspired cousin. Maybe after today's primary voting Barrack can drum up some more talented folks to crank out something more impressive. Then again, who the hell cares?

Both North Carolina And Indiana Hold Primaries Tomorrow:



This, folks, is what they call the 11th hour. Two big contests will dominate the cycle tomorrow. Barrack Obama has a solid lead in North Carolina and Hillary Clinton is ahead in Indiana. Once again the DNC is facing a nightmare scenario as it looks like Obama will win North Carolina by somewhere in the neighborhood of five points and Hillary will take Indiana by about the same margin.

Taking a look at the New York Times delegate calculator and factoring in these predictions I can see a black cloud forming over the Clinton campaign. Come Wednesday there will be no statistical chance at victory for her and it will be a race to the finish line for Superdelegates. Barrack Obama has picked up quite a few in the last week or so, including two more today. When the sun sets and the polls close tomorrow, the pressure will mount for somebody to quit.