Howard Dean: John McCain "hot-headed...irascible" (video)

Jed captures this video (04:43) from 9/23/08, on MSNBC. While I hold no formal office in the Howard Dean Fan Club, I endeavor to pass along his ass-kickers, as well.

Howie P.S.: The NY Times covers "Pinpoint Attacks Focus on Obama," or as I call them, "Swiftboat 2.08."


Barack Obama

"Canvass for Change" with Howard Dean, Pt. 2 (video)

Video, (10:02).

Howie P.S.: Somehow I was able to retrieve and post more of Howard Dean's remarks last Saturday, September 13, 2008, in Renton, WA.

Barack Obama

"Howard Dean rallies Obama supporters in Renton"

Seattle Times:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told Barack Obama supporters Saturday that Washington needs a huge Obama victory to "carry" into office Democrats whose wins are less certain.

Specifically, he mentioned Gov. Christine Gregoire, who is in a tight race with Republican challenger Dino Rossi, and Democrat Darcy Burner, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the 8th Congressional District.

Dean, a 2004 presidential candidate and former governor of Vermont, gave an impassioned speech to a crowd of Democrats packed into the Renton Carpenters Hall. The crowd cheered madly as Dean told them the McCain campaign appeals to the "worst in human beings" while Obama appeals to the best.

An Obama win is almost assured in Washington state, according to polls. But Democrats hope an Obama landslide could sweep into office Democrats farther down the ballot.

Washington State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser said Dean's visit just shows that Democrats are getting nervous.

"I'm not surprised the Democrats are growing more and more concerned about the state of Washington," he said. "I'm not surprised at all that they are realizing that their previous assumption that this would be a state that would be an automatic win for Barack Obama and that he would carry on his coattails other candidates down the ballot was misplaced."

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, marveled at the huge crowd Saturday — at least 400 people packed wall to wall and spilling out the doors — and said the national party couldn't ignore the "energy" Obama had ignited.

But he said a high-profile speaker like Dean could help motivate volunteers to campaign for other Democratic candidates, too.

"I think it shows that Barack Obama cares about Washington in a lot of ways," he said.

A vendor hawked Obama T-shirts and ball caps on the union-hall lawn as supporters waited in line to get in. Inside, organizers coached attendees about how to canvass their legislative districts.

Jonathan Taylor, 40, a postal manager who lives in Renton, said he hasn't volunteered for a campaign since college, when he worked on Bill Clinton's first presidential bid. But he has been spending about eight hours a week campaigning for Obama.

"I'm inspired by this campaign," he said. "Putting people first instead of country first is really the way to go."

In his speech, Dean appealed to a blue-collar crowd, a demographic underscored by striking Machinists at Boeing signing in for picket-line duty in the hall's parking lot. He criticized U.S. Sen. John McCain's role in making concessions to a European company competing with Boeing to build Air Force refueling tankers. He drew a huge cheer when he said, "John McCain is a job-killer in Washington state."

And he said Obama would cut taxes for middle-class Americans, asking, "Anybody here make more than $250,000 a year?" No one raised a hand, so he said: "then Barack Obama wants to cut your taxes."

Barack Obama

"WA could be campaign battleground state" (with video)

Chris Daniels (KING 5 News), with video:

RENTON, Wash. - New data suggests Washington state could be considered a battleground state in the tightening presidential race.

A KING 5 SurveyUSA poll shows Barack Obama's lead in Washington has shrunk from 17 points in June to just 4 this week.

On Saturday Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean stopped in Renton to rally volunteers for the Obama campaign.

He was on the offensive against John McCain.

Video

Raw: KING 5 interviews Howard Dean

"I think we consider every state to be a battleground state, and this is certainly one we're paying a lot of attention to," Dean said.

In his speech and afterward Dean mentioned Obama, Joe Biden, McCain, and Bush by name, but stayed away from talking at all about Gov. Sarah Palin.

"We're not running against Gov. Palin, we're running against John McCain for president," Dean said.

Mike McKay, the co-chair of McCain's Washington steering committee, believes Palin has powered the republican ticket and now put Washington in play.

"It is because she is a unique individual and she really helps compliment and augment Sen. McCain," McKay said.

A close race could mean appearances by the candidates here, campaign ads and a "ratcheting up" of the rhetoric.

KING

A KING 5 SurveyUSA poll shows Obama's lead has shrunk from 17 points in June to just 4 this week.

"Senator McCain has made his position clear, year in and year out, decade after decade, has fought earmarks," McKay said.

"If you think John McCain is gonna keep any of these promises, I think you better look and see how many promises George Bush kept," Dean said.

Bill Clinton won by double digits in Washington state in 92 and 96, but John Kerry only won the state by 7 points.

Barack Obama

"Canvass for Change" with Howard Dean--Renton, WA (video)

"Canvass for Change," Pt. 1, video (05:27), September 13, 2008.

Howie P.S.: This is my first attempt at posting videos. The camera is a little shaky at times for two reasons: the crowd was packed into the room and it was hard to stay steady AND this is my first attempt at posting videos. I recorded another fifteen minutes or so but can't seem to get those other three segments posted correctly.

"Canvass For Change with Howard Dean (Official Event)" (with video)

Barack Obama.com:

Canvass with Senator Obama's Campaign for Change this Saturday September 13. Governor Howard Dean will join us at 11:00am at Renton Carpenters Hall to help kick off the event. A second canvass shift will be held at 2pm, for those who cannot canvass in the morning. RSVP now and help ensure a victory this November. RSVP now and help ensure a victory this November.

Howie P.S. Motivational video: McCain has "A hard time on The View."



Barack Obama

"Howard Dean On Dems Fifty State Strategy" (video)

videocafeblog, video from MSNBC (04:35):

David Shuster talks to Howard Dean about the Democrat's fifty state strategy this year and some of the negative ads out from Republicans.

H/t to Jed.

"The Howard Dean Nominee" OR "Is Obama turning out to be just another politician?"

Another bi-polar post with two opposing points of view.

Barack Obama

"Cocktails and Dinner with Governor Howard Dean"

Howard Dean will be in Seattle on June 12 (6:30 p.m.) for a high dollar fundraiser for the DNC at a private home on Mercer Island. For more information or to RSVP call Addy Gross,(202) 863-7155, or via email GrossA@dnc.org.

H/t to Karen Russell.

"Howard Dean To Stay As Chair Of The DNC"

Greg Sargent, TPM Election Central:

Here's the statement, sent over by Obama campaign spokesperson Bill Burton:

"Senator Obama appreciates the hard work that Chairman Dean has done to grow our party at the grassroots level and looks forward to working with him as the chairman of the Democratic Party as we go forward."

Historically, a DNC chair's tenure is uncertain once a nominee is chosen, since said nominee might want to install his own guy there, but as Ben Smith notes, Dean has a power base built up among state party chairs across the country who love his 50-state strategy of investing in them.

The DNC earlier today confirmed that Obama had installed his man Paul Tewes to serve as his eyes and ears at the organization, a sign that Obama is moving quickly to re-shape the party in his own image. Obama's party, it turns out, will include Dean at the top of the DNC.

Barack Obama

"State chairs push to keep Dean"

Ben Smith:

Now that Obama is formally the nominee, he's begun one of the traditional steps a nominee takes: Turning the Democratic National Committee into an arm of his campaign, a conduit for large contributions from wealthy donors and a home for some of the field organizing that that money can finance, as well as an allied press operation.

Obama's aides are saying today they'll bring the DNC in line with Obama's anti-lobbyist fundraising stance, and former Iowa state director Paul Tewes is likely to go over to oversee the raising and spending, along with other staffers throughout the organization.

One unknown: Will Howard Dean stay? Obama's camp has operated from the start as though a large chunk of Dean's original base -- the "Netroots" -- were irrelevant, and Obama has built an online juggernaut that dwarfs what's left of of Dean for America, Democracy for America. Obama also likes control, and though Dean has generally avoided being a distraction, he's not Obama's guy.

But Dean also has a new base: The state party officials who love his 50 state program, which has given them cash and paid for something like 200 field organizers around the country. They want Dean to stay, and will fight to keep him.

"The Obama campaign is aware of the affection that many state chairs have for Governor Dean," Brian Melendez, the Minnesota Democratic chairman told me the other day.

Melendez also said he wasn't sure Dean would want to stay, but he and other chairs would clearly like him to.

In the end, though, it'll be Obama's -- and Dean's -- call.

Barack Obama

"Al Gore Hosting Major Fundraising Event For DNC Uniting Clinton And Obama Donors"

TPM Election Central:

Al Gore is set to do a major fundraising event uniting top Hillary and Obama donors on behalf of the Democratic National Committee on May 31st, a sign that the Dem fundraising establishment is beginning to unite and ramp up in earnest for the general election.

Of those listed on the invite, Maureen White, Robert Zimmerman and Al Puchala are major Hillary backers. Meanwhile, Orin Kramer, Mitchell Draizing, Brian Mathis and Jamie Whitehead are Obama supporters.

There's a lot of chatter out there to the effect that the Republican National Committee is outraising its counterpart, the DNC, in advance of the general election.

While this won't mean that Obama won't have a financial advantage against McCain, given his astonishing fundraising success, Obama backers would of course like to see the DNC as flush as the RNC, and will be cheered by signs that the Dem donor and fundraising establishment is uniting -- in this case, with the help of Al Gore -- to gear up for the general.

For the privilege of attending this particular Gore event, donors are being asked to shell out up to $28,500 apiece.

"Democrat Party Chief Accuses Republicans of 'Race-Baiting'"

You can view my latest post on the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog here.

Barack Obama

"WATCH: Dean Mulls Fla., Mich. Do-Overs" (video)

ABC News, video (09:46):

DNC Chair Howard Dean looks to voters - not superdelegates -to resolve Dem race.

"Obama's Wide Net"

Ari Melber (The Nation):

Despite the different outcomes for his campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, Barack Obama won among young voters in both states--and more important, he drew them to the polls in unprecedented numbers. People under 30 made up a third of his support in Iowa--four times the margin of victory--and their turnout was up 19 percentage points from 2004 in New Hampshire. Obama has inspired them, just as Howard Dean did last cycle, but the Chicago organizer's campaign excelled by using technology that mobilized new and young voters to actually show up and be counted.

In Iowa, Obama's aides systematically used the popular social networking site Facebook for targeting and organizing. Allison York, a 20-year-old Obama supporter and student at Iowa's Drake University, spent six hours of her winter break driving from her parents' Wichita home to Des Moines to a caucus location she found through Facebook. Another student launched a Facebook challenge that recruited more than a million supporters for Obama across the country. And one field organizer created a group for Iowans pledging to caucus for Obama--the first web version of the famous "supporter cards" that candidates urge voters to sign--drawing more than 1,000 people who were not in the party database. "We try to just go where the people are," explained Obama's online organizer in Iowa. "Facebook, because of its size, is where the people are, which is why we've taken it so seriously as a campaign."

Obama's official Facebook profile has about 200,000 "friends"--more than triple Hillary Clinton's network and six times John Edwards's yield. Clinton's top strategists once mocked those numbers, telling reporters, "Our people look like caucus-goers [and Obama's] look like Facebook." But after Clinton placed third in Iowa, they hastily tried to catch up. She toured New Hampshire with students, held "roundtables with young undecided voters," talked up a new idea for a "government blogging team" and launched an "Ask Hillary" Facebook feature on the day of the New Hampshire debate (which was co-sponsored by Facebook and ABC News). Those efforts paid off, giving her a boost among young people above her Iowa showing, but it's probably too late for her to overtake Obama in organic online support. Beyond Facebook, Obama has the most friends on MySpace and BlackPlanet--about 630,000 combined--and the most traffic by far on YouTube, where people can watch him sans media filter. (After Obama's stirring Iowa victory speech was uploaded, his official channel alone spiked by more than 1.5 million views.) Obama is also remarkably popular on apolitical Internet terrain. He regularly ranks atop Eventful, an entertainment site that helps fans join forces to request local concerts by their favorite bands. He netted appearance requests from eighty towns in Iowa and has held his own against rock stars across the country, currently ranking third behind the rap group Wu-Tang Clan.

Obama's aides have not simply been riding a wave of hit websites; they also built their own social networking portal to connect and empower activists. Chris Hughes, a 24-year-old co-founder of Facebook, joined the Obama campaign to build MyBO, which invites users to network, blog and promote grassroots events. Unlike many campaigns that treat web politics as a separate silo, Obama's field program is tightly integrated with MyBO. Iowa organizers were required to post all their events on the site and encouraged to write MyBO blog posts, vetted by the campaign, about local efforts. And the campaign trusts supporters to post whatever they want, from house parties to fundraising ideas to blog commentaries. More than 350,000 people have already created MyBO accounts, posting more than 10,000 grassroots events offline, including 1,000 gatherings where supporters simply wear Obama buttons and do community service in their neighborhoods. No other campaign has a decentralized program like it. While young participants are active, the majority of users, according to the site's administrator, appear to be middle-aged women.

Cheryl Kimmel, 48, is a self-declared "Deaniac" who first learned about Obama when Dean fundraised for Obama's 2004 Senate primary. This month, Kimmel used MyBO to announce a house party for undecided voters. "It's a good way to reach out to people that may be interested but that aren't in the fold," she explained. MyBO is not just for Deaniacs. Frank Dickerson voted for Bush's re-election, but the 59-year-old "recovering Republican" has used it for the past four months to organize events and phone banks at his North Carolina home. His MyBO invitation after Obama's Iowa victory recruited seven new people in a single day, he said, and he is coordinating volunteer trips to South Carolina for the upcoming primary. It's the first time he has ever been politically active.

This kind of self-starting activism could be crucial on February 5, the largest Super Tuesday ever, with primaries in twenty-two states. It is impossible to visit or buy advertising in every state. "Twenty states and all you've got is the candidate on a tarmac--frankly there's not a whole lot that paid media can do," predicts Joe Trippi, who ran Dean's Internet strategy and now works for Edwards. "The traditional old-style top-down centralized campaign structure doesn't work [for this schedule]," he adds, so the key is "to decentralize."

On the night of the Iowa caucuses, Obama's organizers blasted thousands of cellphone text messages to the supporters they had meticulously identified. Younger voters were offered rides. Precinct captains got turnout projections in real time, so they could show undecided caucus attendees that there was statewide momentum. The campaign mobilized others by texting a classic Obama quote, the kind of simple declaration that can sound vague or inspiring, depending on how much idealism you have left: "'In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it'--Barack. One hour until Caucus starts! Be there by 6:30pm & bring 3 friends!" Hours later, more texts went out by cellphone. One urged tens of thousands of supporters across the country to watch the victory speech on television, while a local message announced victory to exhausted volunteers across Iowa, many of whom were still at their caucus sites. The text replies poured in swiftly. "I have tears of joy in my eyes!" wrote one volunteer at 9:14 pm, and another banged out an exhilarating revelation: "I am so happy & excited for the usa! I can not believe it is about politics! Obama for President!"

Barack Obama

New Iowa ad: "Hope"

Video, (00:30).

Howie P.S. Some of the last words spoken by Obama in the ad are borrowed from Howard Dean's 2004 campaign.

Barack Obama

"Inside Obama's Iowa Ground Game"

TIME:

At just 25 years old, Michael Blake may have more to do with Barack Obama's chances of becoming President than anyone besides the candidate himself. That may sound like a stretch, but Blake has the all-important job of bringing in new Iowa voters to caucus for the Illinois Senator. And while some campaigns may focus most of their efforts on one or two constituencies — the way John Kerry so successfully courted military veterans in 2004 — Obama is spending an unprecedented amount of money and effort to turn out a wide cross section of new caucus-goers.

"This is the most extensive effort to reach out to new constituencies in the Iowa caucuses, I think, ever," says Blake, who comes from the Bronx and was in the first class of "Yes, We Can!" a program Obama started soon after he was elected to the Senate to train minorities to more effectively use the political system. "Campaigns here have traditionally gotten attention for going after one or two groups. We're applying that principle and hopefully will enjoy similar success with multiple groups."

Over the last eight months, Blake, with the help of his staff of about 25, has been developing what he calls peer-to-peer contacts. Veterans call veterans, high school students call high school students and so forth. Seven staffers reach out to black voters, for example, and three handle Latino voters — even though Latinos make up only 3% of Iowa's population of three million and there are only 67,000 blacks in the whole state, according to the 2006 census. "[This] is exactly why it's a problem for the Clinton campaign to bring in 100 new staffers in the last month," said Tommy Vietor, Obama's spokesman in Iowa. "We've been working and developing personal relationships and a network of Iowans for months."

While the results have yet to be proven, most observers agree Obama has made the biggest bet on reaching out to different groups of voters. "I do think he's got a more legitimate claim to bringing in new people: younger voters, college voters, bringing in a new audiences," said Iowa State Senate majority leader Michael Gronstal, a Democrat who isn't endorsing a candidate this cycle. "If he brings in enough, that's the advantage; if not, then Senator Clinton's old line of establishment Democrats becomes telling." In past election years, many candidates that bet the farm on getting new faces to sacrifice an hour and a half of their time to argue politics with their neighbors have more often seen their campaign hopes stay home. While Jimmy Carter and Gary Hart both brought in significant numbers of new faces, many more candidates, such as Howard Dean, have failed in spectacular fashion.

The former Vermont governor bet that more college and high school students, inspired by his insurgent candidacy, would turn out to caucus for him. Instead, he ended up coming in third in 2004 behind Kerry and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. And while Obama could certainly suffer as surprising a defeat as Dean, his supporters believe his operation is very different. Tom Harrington supported Howard Dean in 2004. This go-around he is Obama's co-chairman for Story County. "What's the difference? Organization!" said Harrington with a laugh at an Ames house party last month for a dozen undecided friends and neighbors. Harrington spent nearly two hours cajoling the group over wine and cheese to support Obama. "Dean never asked me to do anything but show up and caucus. This is my fourth one of these for Obama," Harrington said with a wave of his hand around the cozy living room. "And I've got another two this weekend."

To a certain degree Obama's own ethnic background helps him: he can speak convincingly to black voters, and his half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, who is half white and half Indonesian, has campaigned for him amongst Asian Americans. His rock star status has helped recruit high school and college kids, though it's anyone's guess if they will actually turn out. Harrington's daughter, Caitlin, a freshman at the University of Iowa, organized 47 of her classmates to caucus at home — signing them up through "Rock the Caucus" on Facebook — and is working to find them all home precincts to go to during vacation. Though all of Harrington's classmates are Iowans, Obama's campaign has gotten into some trouble in their zeal to rally the college vote: campaign workers passed out some 50,000 fliers encouraging students from out of state to return to campus early to participate in the caucuses. While strictly legal — since they are technically residents of Iowa — it goes against the spirit of the caucuses, and Obama has been roundly criticized in Iowa papers for the move.

While Obama pursues his comprehensive caucus strategy, his chief rivals, who benefit from the vast majority of union endorsements, have taken a more targeted approach. Edwards, the only Democrat who has been to all 99 of Iowa's counties, is focusing on turning out rural caucus-goers, said Dan Leistikow, Edwards' Iowa spokesman. Clinton is focusing her efforts on women, a natural constituency for the former First Lady that is ripe for the picking. In 2004, just 66,690 of 340,241 female registered Democrats in Iowa caucused, or just 20%, compared to the 281,049, or 83%, who voted in the general election.

As evidenced by his highly publicized campaign swing with Oprah Winfrey last weekend, Obama isn't exactly ceding the female vote to Clinton. In fact a recent Des Moines Register poll showed Obama overtaking Clinton among women voters for the first time in the race — 31% to Clinton's 26%.

Obama is also doing his best to appeal across party lines. He has been reaching out to Republican and independent voters who can change their registration at caucus sites by simply signing a letter of intent. Said Miller: "He is probably the only candidate that could really do that [bridge the party gap]. It's important to him, he knows it's central to what he wants to accomplish." The hostess of the Ames house party, Andi Smith, was a former independent who twice voted for President Bush. She switched her registration to support Obama and claims a lot of independents and Republicans will be doing the same on caucus day.

Even voters who have seemingly made up their minds to support other Democrats are seen as fair game. Attending the same house party in Ames were two voters who were already committed to other candidates — New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senator Joe Biden. They were shopping for a second choice, in case their choices don't reach the 15% vote threshold (when any Democratic candidate fails to get 15%, their supporters then go to whomever is second on their lists).

"The Obama campaign is very aggressive in asking folks if we're not people's first choice," said Gordon Fischer, a former Iowa Democratic Party state chairman who endorsed Obama two months ago. "The campaign follows up and asks if we can be their second choice."

Barack Obama

"Obama and Dean"

Ben Smith's Blog:

A Canadian blogger points out something I didn't know: Obama was a member of the original Dean Dozen, a list of candidates whom Howard Dean backed with his nascent movement in 2003, and in its way, a kind of ur-50-state strategy.

"In the race to regain control of the U.S. Senate, Democrats have few better chances to pick up a seat than in Illinois. DFA volunteers all over Illinois helped Obama win his primary, now it's time to help him win the general," Blog for America wrote.

"Obama seeks effective grassroots support"

United Press International:

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign team is pleased with its solid grassroots support but is wary of a repeat of Howard Dean's spectacular fade in 2004.

The New York Post said Saturday that while the Internet has been successful in turning out crowds, the question remains as to whether that core enthusiasm will lead to the Democratic presidential nomination and an eventual victory on Election Day 2008.

Campaign official Ray Rivera told a sizable crowd in Manhattan this week that Dean also stirred up early support, but it didn't last into the primaries.

"A lot of national momentum, lot of national online support," Rivera said. "Did he win the presidency? No, it sort of faltered. We want to take all this offline and online grassroots energy and turn it into a Democratic nomination and get a real victory."

The Post said Obama and his team have been particularly wary of independent volunteer groups known as 527s that could siphon off financial support from the official campaign, which does the heavy lifting in terms of television and travel.