Crazy Guide to the Internet

From the Associated Press:

“John McCain has admitted he doesn’t understand the economy as well as he should, and yesterday he proved it in giving a speech on the housing crisis,” Obama told an auditorium of supporters.

… On Tuesday, McCain derided government intervention to save and reward banks or small borrowers who behave irresponsibly and offered few immediate alternatives for fixing the country’s growing housing crisis.

Obama pointed out that McCain “said the best way for us to address the fact that millions of Americans are losing their homes is to just sit back and watch it happen. In his entire speech yesterday, he offered not one policy, not one idea, not one bit of relief to the nearly 35,000 North Carolinians who are forced to foreclose on their dreams in the last three months.”

From ABC News:

Revving up for what his campaign is calling a “major” speech on the economy tomorrow, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., blasted the economic plan of presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

… Obama cast McCain as more of the same, arguing Americans don’t need a third terms of the Bush administration.

As president, Obama said he will address the situation by reworking existing subprime loans into affordable long-term fixed loans, creating a foreclosure prevention fund, and cracking down on mortgage fraud and predatory lenders.

And from Bloomberg:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said the economy is “grinding to a halt,” millions of people are at risk of losing their homes and Arizona Senator John McCain’s solution is to “just sit back and watch it happen.”

… Surging mortgage defaults and a glut of unsold houses are depressing property prices, and mortgage-backed securities have spread losses across the global financial system. The world’s biggest financial companies have posted at least $195 billion in writedowns and credit losses tied to subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

… Obama today reiterated his call for reworking existing subprime loans into affordable, long-term fixed loans and creating a foreclosure prevention fund to help keep Americans in their homes. He has pledged that as president, he would seek a mortgage-tax credit for homeowners and crack down on mortgage fraud and predatory lenders.

Obama said that a McCain administration would continue President George W. Bush’s economic policies.

“We can’t afford another four years of Bush economics,” Obama said. “If there’s one thing this crisis has taught us, it’s that we can’t have a thriving Wall Street and a crumbling Main Street, because we’re all connected.”

Read Barack’s plan to strengthen the middle class and restore our economy.

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Obama campaign manager David Plouffe…

As we’ve said consistently, we think there should be a fair seating of the Michigan delegates.  The Clinton campaign has stubbornly said they see no need to negotiate, but we believe that their Washington, my-way-or-the-highway approach is something voters are tired of.

Here’s background from the Tampa Tribune: 

[The Clinton campaign] appeared to say no to what some see as a solution—negotiations between the two campaigns to reach a compromise.  Obama has hinted he’d be willing to negotiate.  “We don’t see any need for that,” Ickes said, saying the votes already cast should be counted or new votes should be held.

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Here’s Barack in Greensboro, NC on John McCain’s deeply flawed economic policy…

Click here for Barack’s plan to get our economy back on track. 

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Remember the “3 A.M. ad”? Casey Knowles, the little girl featured in the ad, does…

Let’s join Casey in moving beyond the politics of fear and reaching for hope. Donate today and grow the movement.

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Lisa, a resident of Shrewsbury, is another Pennsylvanian who wrote a letter to superdelegates about why she supports Barack. Here is part of what she wrote:

I am a stay-home mom, quiet before now with regards to politics.  My parents never talked about their political standings.  But, something I heard from Barack Obama has awoken something inside [me].

For years, I have felt as if the political windmill was untouchable.  Something that only the rich and elite can influence.  I have always felt that anyone in politics is easy swayed with donations, votes, and that the middle class person can’t make a difference in that circle.  Until now.  I heard Obama speak in Baltimore City and when he said that we all make a difference, that we all must work together to make change, I stood up and haven’t been able to sit down since.

…This country NEEDS Barack Obama to lead us, to inform us, to inspire us, to heal wounds across the world.  In my mind, no one but Barack can do this.

A volunteer at her children’s school, Barack’s positions on education and health care are really important to Lisa.  She also likes how she’s “able to relate to him.  He’s not out of touch with regular folks.”

Lisa’s making sure everyone she knows is to registered to vote as a Democrat by March 24!  We need your help registering voters — sign up to help register voters in Pennsylvania this weekend!

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In between the incredible rally this morning with Bill Richardson in Portland and the event tonight in Eugene, Barack found time to visit the American Dream pizzeria in Coravallis.

From the Washington Post:

With the endorsement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in hand, Obama paid a dusk visit Friday night to the American Dream pizzeria in Corvallis, home to Oregon State University. It was back to Rock Star Obama, as the candidate was mobbed. Lauren Beyer, 23, gushed that she is planning to change her lifelong Republican registration so she can vote for him in the May 20 Democratic primary. “It’s all about change. It’s someone who can come and actually talk to America,” she swooned, as Obama made his way slowly around the restaurant. “It’s hope. It’s hope.”

Jerry Middel, 50, had already switched his party registration from independent to Democrat for Obama’s sake.

“He had a good day…” Middel said, watching the pandemonium with a satisfied smile.

If you live in Oregon, there’s still time to register as a Democrat before the April 29th deadline.

Enjoy your Friday Night Open Thread . . .

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Here’s a slideshow from Portland, Oregon, where Governor Bill Richardson endorsed Obama today…

Watch the speech here. 

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Anderson Cooper spent the day on the trail with Senator Obama today in North Carolina.  The interview will air tonight on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 at 10:00 PM ET//9:00 PM CT.

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The only thing more impressive than the sheer number of responses to Barack’s speech that we’ve received so far is the diversity of the people who have submitted them. People of all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs have found echoes of their own stories in Barack’s words, and inspiration in the hope that he offered.   

Marcia B. from Pennsylvania:

I’m a white, 74-year-old-woman — the demographic supposedly voting for Hillary Clinton. But I am for Barack Obama. I have been since he first spoke at the Democratic Convention refuting divisive politics, calling for the unification of what is desperate in America, asking Americans to turn the page and move into a new time and a new politics … America is and always has been multiracial and multicultural. I see in the younger generation such a willingness to come together with peoples of many colors and backgrounds and I applaud that. I hope those of my ilk can move beyond fear and prejudice and support moving into an America that can work to mend the broken places in our country and seek to lift us all to our greater possibilities.

Patrick K. from Pennsylvania:

I am a conservative Republican and have not always seen eye to eye with Sen. Obama on many issues. However, his words as well as his actions show that he is a great leader with a deep understanding of and love for our country as well as its people. This is not just change, this is a better way to run a campaign and a better way to govern our country. I will be proud to vote for him.

Randy C. from Pennsylvania:

Now I know why I am changing my registration to Democrat, so I can vote for Barack Obama on April 22nd.

There are only a few more days left for Republicans, Independents and unaffiliated voters in Pennsylvania to register to participate in the Democratic Primary. 

You can help by calling Pennsylvania voters right now to identify supporters and encourage them to register as Democrats by March 24th.

And if you live in Pennsylvania, you can register now.

Visit PA.BarackObama.com for more news and info from Pennsylvania. 

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Barack just sent out this email… 

Dear Samuel,

Five years ago today, President George W. Bush launched a war that should never have been authorized based on faulty premises and bad intelligence.

This war has now lasted longer than World War I, World War II, or the Civil War.

Nearly four thousand Americans have given their lives. Thousands more have been wounded. Even under the best-case scenarios, this war will cost American taxpayers well over a trillion dollars.

And where are we for all of this sacrifice?

We are less safe and less able to shape events abroad. We are divided at home, and our alliances around the world have been strained. The threats of a new century have roiled the waters of peace and stability, and yet America remains anchored in Iraq.

I am running for President because it’s time to turn the page on a failed ideology and a fundamentally flawed political strategy, so that we can make pragmatic judgments to keep our country safe.

That’s what I did when I stood up and opposed this war from the start and said that we needed to finish the fight against al Qaeda. And that’s what I’ll do as President of the United States.

Please take a few minutes to read my strategy for ending the war in Iraq and making America safer. I hope you will sign on and show your support:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

Senator Clinton says that she and Senator McCain have passed a “Commander-in-Chief test” — not because of the judgments they’ve made, but because of the years they’ve spent in Washington.

She made a similar argument when she said her vote for war was based on her experience at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

But here is the stark reality: there is a security gap in this country — a gap between the rhetoric of those who claim to be tough on national security, and the reality of growing insecurity caused by their decisions.

It is time to have a debate with Senator McCain about the future of our national security. And the way to win that debate and keep America safe is to offer a clear contrast — a clean break from the failed policies and politics of the past.

Nowhere is that break more badly needed than in Iraq.

Join me in supporting an end to this war and a plan for a safer America:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

The judgment that matters most on Iraq — and on any decision to deploy military force — is the judgment made first.

If you believe we are fighting the right war, then the problems we face are purely tactical in nature. That is what Senator McCain wants to discuss — tactics. What he and the Administration have failed to present is an overarching strategy: how the war in Iraq enhances our long-term security, or will in the future.

That’s why this Administration cannot answer the simple question posed by Senator John Warner in hearings last year: Are we safer because of this war? And that is why Senator McCain can argue — as he did last year — that we couldn’t leave Iraq because violence was up, and then argue this year that we can’t leave Iraq because violence is down.

When you have no overarching strategy, there is no clear definition of success.

Success comes to be defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy indefinitely. Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.

When I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal on Day One: I will end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the burden — as heavy as it is. But because it is the right thing to do for our national security, and it will ultimately make us safer.

Show your support for a clear strategy to end the war in Iraq and focus our national security efforts on making America safer:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

Here are the core elements of my strategy to address our critical national security challenges in the 21st century:

• End the war in Iraq, removing our troops at a pace of 1 to 2 combat brigades per month;
• Finally finish the fight against the Taliban, root out al Qaeda and invest in the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, while making aid to the Pakistani government conditional;
• Act aggressively to stop nuclear proliferation and to secure all loose nuclear materials around the world;
• Double our foreign assistance to cut extreme poverty in half;
• Invest in a clean energy future to wean the U.S. off of foreign oil and to lead the world against the threat of global climate change;
• Rebuild our military capability by increasing the number of soldiers, marines, and special forces troops, and insist on adequate training and time off between deployments;
• Renew American diplomacy by talking to our adversaries as well as our friends; increasing the size of the Foreign Service and the Peace Corps; and creating an America’s Voice Corps.

Please take a minute to show your support for this plan:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

We are at a defining moment in our history.

This must be the election when America comes together behind a common purpose on behalf of our security and our values.

That is what we do as Americans. It’s how we founded a republic based on freedom, and faced down fascism. It’s how we defended democracy through a Cold War, and shined a light of hope bright enough to be seen in the darkest corners of the world.

When America leads with principle and pragmatism, hope can triumph over fear. It is time, once again, for America to lead.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

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