New Hope

Someone I sort of know said that government can not save us. I never thought that it could. But, I have new hope that our election of Barack Obama is the beginning of a better way of life for Americans. Surely, we can work together to make this country more respected in the rest of the world.

Look at us: we are so hated by so many countries. This is just sad. We are a generous people; a giving nation. Yet, people around the world burn our flag! or stomp on the image of our president.

We have turned our eyes inward to a point that we have failed to see that the world has turned its face against us.

Let's support our president-elect, and make the world a better place to be.

Let's support our president-elect, and make our country the greatest place to be.

Barack Obama Supports Faith Based Groups in Community Service

Obama unveiled his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday at Eastside Community Ministry, which provides food, clothes, youth ministry and other services.

An Egyptian Asks 'Will America Really Elect A Black Man Of Muslim Descent?'

"Obama? Do you think they will let him win?” (It’s always “let him win” not just “win.”)

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Democrats’ nomination of Obama as their candidate for president has done more to improve America’s image abroad — an image dented by the Iraq war, President Bush’s invocation of a post-9/11 “crusade,” Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay and the xenophobic opposition to Dubai Ports World managing U.S. harbors — than the entire Bush public diplomacy effort for seven years.

Of course, Egyptians still have their grievances with America, and will in the future no matter who is president — and we’ve got a few grievances with them, too. But every once in a while, America does something so radical, so out of the ordinary — something that old, encrusted, traditional societies like those in the Middle East could simply never imagine — that it revives America’s revolutionary “brand” overseas in a way that no diplomat could have designed or planned.

Barack Obama Takes Democratic Party Nomination

MSNBC reports:

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois claimed the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night, NBC News projected based on its tally of convention delegates.

By doing so, he shattered a barrier more than two centuries old to become the first black candidate ever nominated by a major political party for the nation’s highest office.

Barack Obama Says 'Good-bye' To Long-Time Trinity Church Membership

My question is: Didn't Mr. Obama hear any of this abhorrent rhetoric from the pulpit in the 20 years he and Mrs. Obama attended Trinity? Surely, he was aware of the views of his pastor prior to this election year? Why did he tolerate it then? Or did he? I think this is the more important question - are we, as members of a church, accountable for the beliefs of our pastors?

'Half-Votes' Given to Michigan and Florida Delegates in Compromise

Democratic Party leaders agreed Saturday seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half votes into this summer's convention with a compromise that left Barack Obama on the verge of the nomination but riled Hillary Rodham Clinton backers who threatened to fight to the August convention.

The Rest of the World Votes for the U.S. President

Exposed Passport Files: 'Imprudent Curiosity'

Those few incidents [of accessing passport data] were likely "imprudent curiosity," [McCormack, State Department spokesman] said.

"I don't have exact numbers for you, but every single year there's probably a handful of cases where you have unauthorized access to passport data," McCormack told a news briefing.

The issue of exposed passport files came to light during the past two days as the State Department revealed the files of the three presidential contenders, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, had been accessed without authorization.

A State Department source said passport files contain scanned images of passport applications, birth date and basic biographical information, records of passport renewal and possibly citizenship information.

McCormack called the incidents "inexplicable" and "over the line."

He said whatever the circumstances, those responsible had ample warning to stay out of the files.

"Every single time they access a computer there's a reminder that comes up that says: The information you are about to access has Privacy Act restrictions on it and you are acknowledging that you have a need to know in order to do your job to access this file; and that if you are accessing it in an unauthorized manner, then there are potential penalties."

McCormack said the files of politicians and celebrities are flagged for extra attention on unauthorized access, but "the same kind of vigilance applies to every other passport application that we handle."

Clinton's file was accessed in a training situation as the passport office handled a "surge" of applications last summer, McCormack said, when a trainee was "encouraged to enter a family member's name, just for training purposes."

"This person chose Sen. Clinton's name. It was immediately recognized, they were immediately admonished. And it didn't happen again," he said.

The circumstances of the Obama and McCain incidents were under investigation.

In each instance, a computer-monitoring system, triggered when employees access the file of a high-profile person, caught the breaches, McCormack said, emphasizing the department's system "worked."

Barack Obama Takes Wyoming

The victory [by a very wide margin] while in a state with only 18 delegates, was welcome news for the Obama campaign as it sought to blunt Mrs. Clinton’s momentum coming off her victories in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday.

Barack Lands At Least One Jab And Then Cuts A Rug With Ellen Degeneres

'Been A Little Busy' Says Clinton

Asked during the debate [in Cincinnati, Ohio] whether he accepted the endorsement that he received from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has made anti-Semitic remarks, Sen. Obama issued a blunt rejection: "I have been very clear in my denunciation of Minister Farrakhan. I did not solicit his support." The issue has been a sensitive one for Sen. Obama, who met with Jewish leaders Saturday in Cleveland.

Sen. Clinton said she faced a similar situation in New York when she ran for the senate. "I made it very clear that I did not want their support," she said.

During the presidential campaign, much has been made of Sen. Clinton declining to release her income-tax returns. Asked last night when she might make the returns public, Sen. Clinton said she would do so soon, but not before the contests Tuesday. "I'm a little busy right now. I hardly have time to sleep," she said.

I have no doubt that Barack declined Farrakhan's support; I have much doubt that Hillary has been too busy to provide her tax returns.

Hand Over Heart: Is This Really What Makes Us Patriotic?

Asked during a town hall meeting in Lorain, Ohio, about "an attempt by conservatives and Republicans to paint you as unpatriotic," a questioner cited the fact that [Barack] Obama once failed to put his hand over his heart while singing the national anthem.

The questioner also noted that the Illinois senator does not wear an American flag lapel pin, has met with former members of the radical anti-Vietnam War group, Weather Underground, and his wife was quoted recently as saying she never felt really proud of the United States until recently.

Asked how he would fight the image of being unpatriotic, Obama said, "There's always some nonsense going on in general elections. Right? If it wasn't this, it would be something else. If you recall, first it was my name. Right? That was a problem. And then there was the Muslim e-mail thing and that hasn't worked out so well, and now it's the patriotism thing.

"The way I will respond to it is with the truth: that I owe everything I am to this country," he said. Obama said it was a speech about his love for this country that put him in the national spotlight. He shot down the idea that failing to put his hand over his heart during the national anthem makes him unpatriotic.

Both Democratic Candidates Take Aim And Fire At One Another

[Hillary Clinton] clutched two negative fliers sent to Ohio voters by the Obama campaign that she says make false claims about her position on health care and trade agreements. "Shame on you Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign that is consistent with your messages in public. That's what I expect from you," Mrs. Clinton said.

Mr. Obama quickly fired back. "These are accurate," he said of the fliers. He also accused his rival of hypocrisy in denouncing the negative campaigning. "We have been subject to constant attack from the Clinton campaign, except when we were down 20 points. And that was true in Iowa. It was true in South Carolina. It was true in Wisconsin. And it is true now."

He also questioned why Sen. Clinton raised the issue of the fliers now, weeks after they were first mailed to Ohio voters. "It makes me think there was something tactical about her getting so exercised this morning," he said at a campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio.

Kenya Roots of Barrack Obama

A barefoot old woman in a ripped dress is sitting on a log in front of her tin-roof bungalow in this remote village in western Kenya, jovially greeting visitors.

Mama Sarah, as she is known around here, lives without electricity or running water. She is illiterate and doesn’t know when she was born. Yet she may have a seat of honor at the next presidential inauguration in Washington — depending on what happens to her stepgrandson, Barack Obama.

McCain and Clinton Attack Obama

McCain Takes Wisconsin; Obama Beating Clinton

Barack and Hillary Getting Nasty Again

Clinton's aides initially signaled she would virtually concede Wisconsin, and the former first lady spent less time in the state than Obama.

Even so, she ran a television ad that accused her rival of ducking a debate in the state and added that she had the only health care plan that covers all Americans and the only economic plan to stop home foreclosures. "Maybe he'd prefer to give speeches than have to answer questions" the commercial said.

Obama countered with an ad of his own, saying his health care plan would cover more people.

In San Antonio on Tuesday, Obama said her idea to freeze the monthly rate on adjustable rate mortgages for at least five years would raise rates on new mortgages. "Even more families could face foreclosure," he said. "That's why one economic analyst called her plan disastrous."

The campaign grew increasingly testy over the weekend, when Clinton's aides accused Obama of plagiarism for delivering a speech that included words that had first been uttered by Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor and a friend of Obama.

"I really don't think this is too big of a deal," Obama said, eager to lay the issue to rest quickly. He said Clinton had used his slogans, too.

Even before the votes were tallied in one state, the campaigners were looking ahead.

More Substance And Poetry: Barack Obama

...Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (has) critic(ized) that (Barack's) words offer more poetry than substance.

Yet as he traveled across Wisconsin last week, Mr. Obama seemed to have let loose a little more of his inner-wonk, which his strategists had once urged him to keep on the shelf.

Even as he was dismissing Mrs. Clinton’s criticism, he appeared to be taking it at least mildly to heart — a suggestion that as a line of attack, she might be on to something.

Suddenly, he was injecting a few more specifics into his campaign speeches. Giant rallies that had sustained his candidacy through a coast-to-coast series of contests on Feb. 5, notable for their rhetorical flourishes and big applause lines, were supplemented with policy speeches and town-hall-style meetings, complete with the question-and-answer sessions he abandoned as he roared out of Iowa and into New Hampshire.

Barack Projected to Take Virginia

Barack Obama apparently defeats Hillary Clinton in Virginia's Democratic Primary.

Barack Obama: "Not Running to Make History, But To Be President"