Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008



Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) formally declared his candidacy for U.S. presidential election, 2008 on February 10, 2007, at Springfield, Illinois, "in a setting rife with symbolism and historic links to Abraham Lincoln's fight to end slavery." If elected, he would be the first Black U.S. president. 

Obama "contend[ed] he has the experience to know that 'Washington must change' and bill[ed] himself as the leader who will bring a new generational attitude to address the nation's challenges," Rick Pearson and Ray Long wrote in the Chicago Tribune.

Obama "launche[d] his campaign outside the old state Capitol where Lincoln famously decried slavery in an 1858 speech and declared 'a house divided against itself cannot stand'," Reuters's John Whitesides reported. "In a video presentation on his Web site, Obama said the kickoff to his campaign would begin 'a journey to take our country back and fundamentally change the nature of our politics.'" On January 16, 2007, it was announced that Obama had formed an exploratory committee. 

Obama was first elected to Congress November 2, 2004. His next election date is in November 2010.

Racists endorse Obama

 * RezkoWatch FactChecker: Klein: "Racists endorse Obama on candidate's website," RezkoWatch, March 18, 2008.

The "brokered" candidate

 * "The Senate primary in Illinois," The Economist, March 11, 2004.
 * Nicholas Stix, "Will Barack Obama be our second 'black' president?" EnterStateRight.com, August 9, 2004.
 * Nicholas Stix, "Barack Obama: Man of faith," EnterStageRight.com, August 23, 2004.

Declined to support move to question 2004 presidential election
In October 2004, in the third and final debate, U.S. Senate contenders Barack Obama and Republican candidate Alan Keyes were asked to answer "yes" or "no" as to whether they would eliminate the Electoral College. Obama said "yes", that he would.

After joining the U.S. Senate in January 2005, Sen. Obama's first action was to decline to be the Senate co-sponsor of a move to question Ohio's Electoral College votes following the 2004 presidential election. He then voted against the resolution.

"Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus moved to contest the certification of the Ohio votes. Mr. Obama did not join them. In a hastily arranged maiden speech, he said he was convinced that President Bush had won but he also urged Congress to address the need for voting reform."


 * Mr. President, I did not anticipate speaking today, but the importance of this issue is enough for me to address this body.


 * During the election, I had the occasion of meeting a woman who had supported me in my campaign. She decided to come to shake my hand and take a photograph. She is a wonderful woman. She was not asking for anything. I was very grateful that she took time to come by. It was an unexceptional moment except for the fact that she was born in 1894. Her name is Marguerite Lewis, an African-American woman who had been born in Louisiana, born in the shadow of slavery, born at a time when lynchings were commonplace, born at a time when African Americans and women could not vote. Yet, over the course of decades she had participated in broadening our democracy and ensuring that, in fact, at some point, if not herself, then her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren would be in a position in which they could, too, call themselves citizens of the United States and make certain that this Government works not just on behalf of the mighty and the powerful but also on behalf of people like her.


 * So the fact that she voted and her vote was counted in this election was of supreme importance to her and it is the memory of talking to her and shaking her hand that causes me to rise on this occasion.


 * I am absolutely convinced that the President of the United States, George Bush, won this election. I also believe he got more votes in Ohio. As has already been said by some of the speakers in this body, this is not an issue in which we are challenging the outcome of the election. It is important for us to separate the issue of the election outcome with the election process.


 * I was not in this body 4 years ago, but what I observed as a voter and as a citizen of Illinois 4 years ago was troubling evidence of the fact that not every vote was being counted. It is unfortunate that 4 years later we continue to see circumstances in which people who believe they have the right to vote, who show up at the polls, still continue to confront the sort of problems that have been documented as taking place not just in Ohio but places all across the country.


 * I strongly urge that this Chamber, as well as the House of Representatives, take it upon itself once and for all to reform this system.

Related external articles

 * "Barak Obama and Ohio, shall he stand with Conyers?" JJRaymond.com, January 4, 2005.

Obama on Reagan

 * Rick Perlstein, "Miscasting Reagan As 'Optimistic'," OurFuture.org, January 16, 2008.
 * digby, "You, sir, are no Ronald Reagan," Hullabaloo Blogspot, January 16, 2008.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "Senator Obama, You Are No Ronald Reagan," MyDD, January 16, 2008.
 * Greg Sargent, "Obama: Reagan changed direction of country in way Bill Clinton didn't," TPMElectionCentral, January 16, 2008.
 * susanhu, "Obama Panders to Right, Throws Democrats Under the Bus," MyDD, January 17, 2008. See video clips and transcripts.
 * Anglachel, "No Agenda Except to Win," Anglachel's Journal, January 17, 2008.
 * eRiposte, "Sen. Obama's Party of Ideas," The Left Coaster, January 18, 2008.
 * Erica Jong, "Barack Hearts Ronnie: An Old, New Song," The Huffington Post, January 18, 2008.
 * SusanUnPC, "Krugman Has More On 'Reagan and Obama'" and "Obama Alert: Reagan's Dismal Legal on Civil Rights," No Quarter Blog, January 18, 2008.
 * Michael McAuliff, "Hil to Obama: GOP Ideas are bad," New York Daily News, January 18, 2008.
 * David Weigel, "White President, Black Heart," ReasonOnline, January 18, 2008.
 * Weldon Berger, "Obama appropriates the apocalyptic optimism of Ron Reagan," BTC News, January 18, 2008.
 * Greg Sargent, "Hillary Campaign Opens Fire On Obama Over Reagan Comments," TPMElectionCentral, January 18, 2008.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "Kos Buys What David Brooks Is Selling," Talk Left Blog, January 18, 2008.
 * susanhu, "Barack, You're Lying, and I'm Calling You On It," MyDD, January 21, 2008.

Illinois State Senate voting record

 * Peter Wallsten, "Obama said oops on 6 state Senate votes," Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2008.

Missed Committee on Veterans Affairs meetings
"Obama claimed that veterans committee was 'one of my first priorities.' He said, 'One of my first priorities was obtaining a seat on the Veterans Committee…And the thing that I pledged when I was sworn in as the Senator was that if nothing else in the first couple of years in the Senate, I could make absolutely certain that there would have been a strong advocate in the United States Senate,' at a Veterans Town Hall Meeting, May 23, 2005.

"Obama has skipped 19 of 37 VA committee meetings in the 109th congress. Obama’s attendance record was the second worst of all Democrats on the committee. He attended just 18 of the committee’s 37 meetings in Washington D.C.," SusanUnPC reported December 20, 2007, at No Quarter Blog.

Lobbyists on Obama '08 payroll
The Hill reported December 20, 2007:


 * "Three political aides on Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) payroll were registered lobbyists for dozens of corporations, including Wal-Mart, British Petroleum and Lockheed Martin, while they received payments from his campaign, according to public documents.


 * "The presence of political operatives with long client lists on Obama’s campaign contrasts with his long-held stand of campaigning against the influence of special interests. Obama has even refused to accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees (PACs).


 * "Jen Psaki, an Obama campaign spokeswoman, said no member of Obama’s staff has lobbied since taking a full-time role with his campaign."


 * "Teal Baker, who received her first payment from Obama’s campaign on June 13, represented 18 corporations between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year while working as a lobbyist for Podesta Group, a K Street powerhouse. Clients paid Podesta Group over $2 million during those six months for Baker and her colleagues to represent them, according to documents filed with the Senate Office of Public Records.


 * "Clients such as Oshkosh Truck and Pinkerton Consulting paid more than $700,000 for Emmett Beliveau and his colleagues at Patton Boggs to represent them during the first half of 2007. Beliveau received a $3,050 payment from Obama’s campaign for advance work on Feb. 21, a campaign finance report shows.


 * "Brandon Hurlbut, Obama’s liaison to veterans, union members and senior citizens in New Hampshire, represented clients such as the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Allegheny County Housing Authority from January to June, according to public records. Six clients paid B&D Consulting $380,000 for Hurlbut to lobby their causes. ... Until recently, Hurlbut had a voice mail greeting at B&D Consulting informing callers that he was on “a temporary leave of absence” to work for Obama’s campaign.


 * "A receptionist at Podesta Group said Baker was on leave for the next year. Beliveau is no longer listed in the Patton Boggs directory."

On going "oppo"

 * Jake Tapper, "Dropping Oppo," Political Punch/ABC News, December 10, 2007.
 * eriposte, "The Unloading on Hillary Clinton," The Left Coaster, December 15, 2007.

On being "Progressive"

 * Chris Bowers, "What Really Bothers Me About Obama," OpenLeft, December 10, 2007.
 * Also see Attack on Paul Krugman.

"Pinocchio"

 * Michael Dobbs, "Young Black Males Headed for Extinction?" Fact Checker Blog/Washington Post, October 3, 2007.
 * Michael Dobbs, "Obama Tells a Whopper," Fact Checker Blog/Washington Post, November 27, 2007.
 * Also see Michael Dobbs' Fact Checker archive.

Social Security: blame the Baby Boomers
On January 21, 2007, John M. Broder wrote in the New York Times

"'The time has come, Senator Barack Obama says, for the baby boomers to get over themselves. ... Obama calculates that Americans of all ages are sick of the feuding boomers and ready to turn to the generation that came of age after Vietnam, after the campus culture wars between freaks and straights, and after young people had given up on what überboomer Hillary Rodham Clinton ... called in a 1969 commencement address a search for 'a more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating mode of living.''"

"Obama is running ads reinforcing the right's bamboozlement that Social Security is running out of money! The language in this ad implies that Social Security's retirement payments are responsible for the shortfall, and does not say that the trust fund was taken to pay for Reagan and Bush's tax cuts," Dave Johnson wrote October 29, 2007, at Seeing the Forest.

"This language in this ad, if seen and heard by millions of people, could make it so much harder to fight back the next time the right tries to kill off the program by claiming it is insolvent.

"I know that Senator Obama's heart is in the right place and he has no intention of harming Social Security. But this ad is a mistake that could backfire. Please stop running this ad and please change the language. Instead of reinforcing the right's lie that Social Security has a problem, let people know that the conservatives took their money from Social Security and gave it out as tax cuts to the rich and THAT is the problem!" Johnson wrote.

Related external articles
 * Kenneth T. Walsh, "Talkin' 'Bout My New Generation. Barack Obama says the baby boomers' time has passed. Many voters seem to agree with him–so far," U.S. News & World Report, December 31, 2006.
 * Liza Featherstone, "Election Starting Way Too Early," The Nation, January 22, 2007.
 * Michael McAuliff, "Barack Obama says Hillary Clinton too old to unite U.S.," New York Daily News, November 8, 2007.
 * Andrew Sullivan, "Goodbye to All That," Atlantic Monthly, December 2007 (issue).

Leadership ability and experience (plus "infalliability and righteousness")
"It's normal for a neophyte candidate on the national stage to get puffed up from his own glowing 'anyone but Hillary' press clippings and on-air fluffings from the likes of Matthews and Russert. But if Obama is going to campaign between now and Iowa on this 'put me on a pedestal' theme, then the Hillary campaign can make some hay over Mr. Obama’s infalliability and righteousness. Of course, when Hillary brings it up, Obama will adopt his own version of the 'they’re ganging up on me' defense by saying she’s resorting to the politics of destruction. But the more and more Obama talks about himself as a righteous, never-wrong truth teller with correct instincts, who runs away from Washington, the more and more he resembles another candidate who bamboozled us back in 2000," Steve Soto wrote November 13, 2007, at The Left Coaster.

Legal career

 * Abdon M. Pallasch, "Strong, silent type. He was 'smart, innovative, relentless,' and he mostly let other lawyers do the talking," Chicago Sun-Times, December 17, 2007.
 * Andy Martin, "Barack Obama was an 'arm candy attorney," ContrarianCommentary.com (PR-Inside.com), December 18, 2007.

Related external articles
2006
 * Jay Tea, "Holding out for a zero" and A couple of followups," Wizbang Blog, October 24, 2006.
 * Dafydd, "The Obama Drama," Big Lizards Blog, October 24, 2006.
 * Papa Lu, " Elections Obama," Papa Familias, October 25, 2006.

2007
 * Greg Saunders, "Obama's Aura of Unreliability," The Huffington Post, October 18, 2007.
 * Jane Hamsher, "All Hat, No Cattle," Firedoglake Blog, October 18, 2007.
 * Ben Smith, "Jittery donors want Obama to step it up," The Politico, October 19, 2007.
 * Matt Stoller, "Some Strikingly Harsh Words for Obama," Open Left, October 19, 2007.
 * Glenn Thrush, "Obama gets in his own way," Spin Cycle Blog/Newsday, November 2, 2007. See comment by Jim Kelly: re "Obama is the The Media Made Man"
 * Christina Bellantoni, "Obama touts life in public positions," Washington Times, November 12, 2007.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "Obama vs. Bill Clinton?" Talk Left, December 15, 2007.
 * Jim Addison, "Bill Clinton Says Obama Isn't Ready," Wizbang Blog, December 16, 2007.
 * Paul Krugman, Opinion: "Big Table Fantasies," New York Times, December 17, 2007.
 * Steve Clemons, "Obama vs. Clinton on Putting Legislative Machinery to Work," The Huffington Post, December 17, 2007.
 * Tom Curry, "McCain assails Obama for lack of experience. GOP contender criticizes Democrat's call for shift from Iraq to Afghanistan," MSNBC.com, December 19, 2007.
 * Greg Sargent, "In An Interview With TPM, Krugman Ramps Up Case Against Obama," TPMElectionCentral, December 19, 2007.
 * eRiposte, "Why I Have More Foreign Policy Experience than Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," The Left Coaster, December 29, 2007.

2008
 * Richard Cohen, "The Mendacity of Hope. What We Want to Believe About Obama," Washington Post, January 1, 2008.
 * B Merryfield, "Will Obama convene the Subcommittee on Europe now?" Daily Kos, January 25, 2008.

On the Black vote
Margaret Talev of McClatchy Newspapers reported November 26, 2007, that while speaking in Orangeburg, S.C., Michelle Obama "has a heavy message for blacks in this early voting Southern state: Her husband's chances of defeating Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination may hinge more on them than they do on white voters…. 'I know folks talk in barbershops and beauty salons, and I've heard some folks say, 'That Barack, he seems like a nice guy, but I’m not sure America's ready for a black president,' Michelle Obama told a crowd Tuesday at historically black South Carolina State University. 'We've heard those voices before, voices that say, 'Maybe you should wait' — you know? — 'You can'’t do it,' she said. 'It’s the bitter legacy of racism and discrimination and oppression in this country.'"

Related external articles
 * Ben Smith, "Obama on the Black vote," The Politico, October 19, 2007.

Bob Kerrey (on his name)

 * "Bob Kerrey discusses leadership," Democracy in America Blog/Economist, October 30, 2007.
 * "Kerrey Off: His 'Barack Hussein Obama' Remark in Press Stirs Criticism," Editor & Publisher, December 17, 2007.
 * Kate Phillips, "Kerrey tries to explain Obama Muslim remarks," The Caucus Blog/New York Times, December 17, 2007.
 * "Bob Kerrey: Barack Obama ‘Spent A Little Bit Of Time In A Secular Madrassa’," Think Progress, December 17, 2007.
 * Ken Bazinet, "Madrassagate Part II: The Clarification," Mouth of the Potomac Blog/New York Daily News, December 17, 2007.
 * Ed Tibbetts, "Clinton: Kerrey was paying compliment," Quad City Times, December 18, 2007.

By Mitt Romney

 * "Mitt Catches S**t Over Hillary-Bashing Sign," TMZ.com, July 21, 2007.
 * Eric Kleefeld, "Spokesman: Romney Not 'Equating Or Comparing Anyone' When Holding 'Obama Osama' Sign," Election Central Blog/TPM Cafe, July 21, 2007.
 * Jake Tapper, "Romney Grabs a Sign," Political Punch Blog, July 22, 2007.
 * Phil Bailey, "Romney Denies Ties to Osama Signs," The Stump AOL Elections Blog, July 22, 2007.
 * Dave Wedge, "Mitt blasts Dems in N.H.: Likens Clinton’s views to those of Marx," Boston Herald, July 23, 2007: "blasting Sen. Barack Obama for backing kindergarten sex education and comparing Sen. Hillary Clinton to communist Karl Marx."
 * Steve Benen, "Romney’s convenient slip," The Carpetbagger Report, October 23, 2007.
 * "Romney refers to Osama as Obama," Think Progress, October 23, 2007.

General views & experience
"From his uncritical stance of Israel's treatment of Palestinians to his statements about Iran, Barack Obama seems to be trying to prove his hawkish credentials," Bill Fletcher, Jr., wrote May 12, 2007, in The Black Commentator (AlterNet), May 12, 2007.

Obama's article "Renewing American Leadership" was published in the July/August 2007 issue (available online May 30, 2007) of the Council on Foreign Relations' publication Foreign Affairs.

In summary, Obama wrote, "After Iraq, we may be tempted to turn inward. That would be a mistake. The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew. We must bring the war to a responsible end and then renew our leadership -- military, diplomatic, moral -- to confront new threats and capitalize on new opportunities. America cannot meet this century's challenges alone; the world cannot meet them without America."

Related external articles
 * Byron York, "Obama’s Bad Night. At the Democratic debate, the Illinois senator’s experience gap was showing," National Review Online, July 24, 2007.
 * Ben Smith, "Difference/no difference," The Politico, July 25, 2007.
 * Mark Murray, "Biden Also Calls Obama 'Naive'," First Read/MSNBC, August 2, 2007.
 * "Barack Obama, Neocon," Wall Street Journal Online, August 3, 2007.
 * Patrick J. Buchanan, "Onward – Into Waziristan!" Antiwar.com, August 3, 2007.
 * Justin Raimondo, "Obama As The New Kennedy. And not in a good way …," Antiwar.com, August 3, 2007.
 * Marc Ambinder, "RNC's Caustic Response To Obama's Claims Of Experience," The Atlantic, November 19, 2007.
 * Mark John, "Six Year Old Obama Learns Foreign Policy," The Conservative Voice, November 20, 2007.
 * Holden Caulfield, "Obama's Foreign Policy 'Experience'- Joe Biden Chimes In," MyDD, November 21, 2007.
 * Jay Newton-Small, "Obama's Foreign-Policy Problem," TIME, December 18, 2007.
 * Tom Baldwin, "'Stay-at-home' Barack Obama comes under fire for a lack of foreign experience," Times Online (UK), December 21, 2007.
 * Joe Conason, "Obama's European problem. The senator may have traveled widely, but the critically important subcommittee on Europe has languished under his leadership," Salon, December 29, 2007.

On nuclear weapons

 * David Mendell, "Obama would consider missile strikes on Iran," Chicago Tribune, September 25, 2004.
 * Joshua Frank, "Democrats and Iran: Look Who Supports Bush's Next War," Antiwar.com, January 22, 2005.
 * "Remarks of Senator Barack Obama About America's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Policy," Office of Sen. Barack Obama, May 26, 2005.
 * Richard G. Lugar and Barack Obama, "Junkyard Dogs of War," Washington Post, December 3, 2005.
 * "Lugar-Obama Bill to Keep Weapons Out of Terrorists' Hands Heads to Senate Floor," Office of Barack Obama, May 23, 2006.
 * "Transcript Excerpt: Sen. Barack Obama," CBS/60 Minutes Interview with Steve Kroft, February 11, 2007.
 * "Barack Obama Speech on Nuclear Issues," Chicago Council on Global Affairs, April 23, 2007.
 * Jeff Zeleny, "Barack Obama criticizes Bush as he outlines foreign policy goals," International Herald Tribune, April 23, 2007.
 * Scott Shepard, "Democrats Tout Anti-War Credentials In First Debate," Cox News Service, April 27, 2007.
 * Eric Garris, "Gravel Won’t Be Buried," Antiwar.com Blog, April 27, 2007.
 * Josh Deaver, "The Duplicity of Barack Obama. Democratic poster boy preaches anti-war sentiment to supporters and war escalation to AIPAC lobbyists and Washington power brokers," Jones Report, May 20, 2007.
 * Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank, "Barack Obama’s Nuclear Ambitions. Another Automaton of the Atomic Lobby," Dissident Voice, July 4, 2007.
 * Ben Smith, "Obama on nukes: policy or character? (Updated)," The Politico, August 2, 2007.
 * "Obama says use of nuclear weapons to fight al-Qaida 'not on the table,'" Associated Press (PR-Inside.com), August 2, 2007.
 * Michael McAuliff and Michael Saul, "Barack stumbles over nukes question," New York Daily News, August 3, 2007.
 * Michael Luo, "Nuclear Weapons Comment Puts Obama on the Defensive," New York Times, August 3, 2007.
 * "Obama: No nuclear arms against terror," Chicago Tribune, August 3, 2007.
 * Anne E. Kornblut, "Clinton Demurs On Obama's Nuclear Stance. She Says It Is Unwise to Rule Out Using the Arms Against Terrorists," Washington Post, August 3, 2007.

On Trade Agreements/free trade
"Obama voted to approve the 2006 FTA with Oman. He opposed CAFTA, however, explaining in 2005, 'It does less to protect labor than previous trade agreements, and does little to address enforcement of basic environmental standards in the Central American countries and the Dominican Republic.' In an August 2007 Democratic debate, Obama said he would meet with the Canadian and Mexican heads of state to 'try to amend NAFTA,' saying the agreement 'should reflect the principle that our trade should not just be good for Wall Street, but should also be good for Main Street'."

"But Obama said a proposed treaty deal with Peru is enforceable, and he would support it, ... 'What I am not willing to do is to say on a blanket basis 'We aren't going to have international trade agreements' ... I think that is a mistake. We can't draw a moat around the U.S. economy.'"

Obama's "trade strategy, like much else, is still short on details ... But judging by his latest book, Mr Obama is more concerned with helping people deal with globalisation than trying to slow it down. One trade wonk who knows both candidates says that Mr Obama is more of an instinctive free-trader than Mrs Clinton," The Economist wrote May 10, 2007.

Related external articles
 * David Sirota, "The Offshoring of Hope: Obama Now Misleads Voters About NAFTA Expansion," Sirotablog/WorkingForChange, October 10, 2007.
 * Glenn Hurowitz, "Barack Obama: World's Worst Negotiator," Open Left, October 10, 2007.
 * TomP, "Obama Supports Peru Trade Pact that Unions and Many Progressives Oppose," The Daily Kos, October 11, 2007.
 * "Senator Obama, Labor Differ On Upcoming Peru Free Trade Vote," Workers Independent News, October 17, 2007.

On Israel and the Middle East
On July 20, 2007, Eric Lynn, OB08 "Jewish affairs and Middle East advisor", beamed out an email Subject: Barack Obama: A Strong Record of Supporting Israel.
 * Shmuel Rosner, The Israel Factor: Ranking the presidential candidates: "Why Obama came last," Ha'aretz, December 9, 2006.
 * Joseph Grosso, "Barack Obama: The Great Vague Hope," ZMag, February 12, 2007.
 * Nathan Diament, "Obama on Israel on 60 Minutes," Institute for Public Affairs, February 13, 2007.
 * James D. Besser, "Obama Set For Big Jewish Push. Major Mideast policy speech could come at JCPA plenum; ex-Clinton official on board as Jewish adviser," The Jewish Week, February 14, 2007.
 * Shmuel Rosner, "Sen. Obama: U.S. must support Israel's right to self defense," Ha'aretz, February 18, 2007.
 * Shmuel Rosner, "Obama will soon make the case that he'll be as strong on Israel as anyone," Rosner's Blog/Ha'aretz, February 19, 2007.
 * Shmuel Rosner, "Obama supports Israel. Period," Rosner's Blog/Ha'aretz, March 2, 2007.
 * Yitzhak Benhorin, "Obama: US should never dictate what's best for Israel," ynetnews.com, March 2, 2007: "Obama reveals strongly pro-Israel platform: US must preserve 'total commitment to unique defense relationship with Israel', work to stop Iran's nuclear program even if military action is necessary.'"
 * Ali Abunimah, Editorial: "How Barack Obama learned to love Israel," The Electronic Intifada, March 4, 2007.
 * Barack Obama, "On Israel and AIPAC. 'We Must Preserve Our Total Commitment to Our Unique Defense Relationship with Israel'" (Remarks as Prepared for Delivery, AIPAC Policy Forum, Chicago, Ill., March 2, 2007), CounterPunch, March 5, 2007.
 * Justin Raimondo, "Obama, the Lobby, and the Next War," antiwar.com (The Palestine Chronicle), March 6, 2007.
 * Joshua Frank, "The Problem with Barack Obama's Israel Pose," antiwar.com, March 16, 2007.
 * Ben Smith, "Obama's Rhetoric Chills Some Supporters of Israel," The Politico, March 19, 2007.
 * Ben Smith, "Obama advisor worries Israel supporters," The Politico, September 12, 2007.

Iowa

 * Taylor Marsh, "Is Edwards' Goose Cooked?" TaylorMarsh.com, November 19, 2007.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "Is Edwards Crashing And Burning In Iowa?" Talk Left, November 19, 2007.
 * "Obama and Fraudulent Voting," Anglachelg Blogspot, December 4, 2007.

On the campaign trail

 * Patrick O'Hannigan, "The Linguistic Case Against Barack Obama," American Thinker, March 20, 2007.
 * David S. Broder, Opinion: "In early innings, Clinton shows Obama why experience counts," San Jose Mercury News, April 2, 2007.
 * PM Carpenter, "When will Obama bring the (cooked) pork chops?" p m carpenter's commentary, April 9, 2007.
 * "Obama not in 2008 race for second place," Reuters, April 10, 2007.
 * Mark Finkelstein, "'Today' Has No Time for Negative Obama, Edwards Stories, But Plenty for Bush's '1776'," NewsBusters, May 9, 2007.
 * John Hinderaker, "What's With Obama?" Power Line Blog, May 9, 2007.
 * Noel Sheppard, "Obama Says '10,000 People Died' in Kansas Tornado, Media Couldn't Care Less," NewsBusters, May 10, 2007.
 * "Obama publicly scolds staff for scheduling decision," CNN, May 11, 2007.
 * Michael van der Galien, "The Linguistic Case Against Barack Obama," The Moderate Voice, May 11, 2007.
 * Brian Charlton, "Obama's sister debuts as campaigner," Associated Press (The Politico), May 13, 2007.
 * Maria Sudekum Fisher, "Obama urges voters to oppose war," Associated Press (The Politico), May 13, 2007.
 * Robert Novak, "Hillary up, Obama down," Chicago Sun-Times (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review), May 13, 2007.
 * Mike Dorning, "Obama mocks Bush in interview," Chicago Tribune, May 13, 2007.
 * Thomas Lifson, "Obama Isn't Ready For Prime Time," RealClearPolitics, May 13, 2007.
 * Charles Winters, "Obama rally in Clinton turf bombs," GaySocialites.com, May 13, 2007.
 * Craig Crawford, "Obama Frenzy? Not in the Polls," Trail Mix / CQ Politics, May 14, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "For war funds, or not? Obama pressed to explain opposition to Iraq spending as Senate candidate vs. votes for it in office," Chicago Sun-Times, May 14, 2007.
 * "On Refusing To Apologize: Obama," The Hotline Blog On Call / National Journal, May 14, 2007.
 * Kevin A. Hassett, "So, Where's the Beef in Obama's Big New Ideas?" Bloomberg News (American Enterprise Institute), May 14, 2007.
 * Matthew Sheffield, "Lefties Fail in Defense of Obama Error," NewsBusters, May 14, 2007.
 * Mary Katherine Ham, "The Blandness of Obama," Townhall.com, May 14, 2007.
 * Chris Cillizza, "Obama's Got a Memo, Too," The Fix Blog/Washington Post, May 24, 2007.
 * Lee Bandy, "Obama goes where other Democrats won’t," The Politico, June 25, 2007.
 * "Obama Smeared As Terrorist Again On Fox News," Think Progress, June 26, 2007.
 * Peter Hamby, "Obama: GOP doesn't own faith issue," CNN, October 8, 2007.
 * Mark Halperin, "Halperin's Take on Obama Selling Risk," The Page Blog/TIME Magazine, October 18, 2007.
 * Aswini Anburajan, "Obama Fine-Tunes Hillary Distinctions," FirstRead/MSNBC, November 4, 2007.
 * Philip Stephens, "Obama and Edwards battle against the inevitable," Financial Times, November 8, 2007.
 * Dan Balz and Shailagh Murray, "On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers. 'I Try to Stick to What I Think'," Washington Post, November 9, 2007.

Obama "Fact Check"
Imitation, they say, is a form of flattery. On November 12, 2007, Barack Obama's campaign launched a "Fact Check" section on its website in direct response to rival Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's The Fact Hub on her Hillary Hub website.

Facebook

 * Joshua Levy and..., "Did Facebook Play Favorites with Obama?" TechPresident.com, June 4, 2007.

Ads

 * John Aravosis, "McCain supporter does ad for Obama," AMERICAblog, June 25, 2007. re John McCain's presidential campaign.
 * Scott Martelle, "Obama ad gets personal," Top of the Ticket Blog/Los Angeles Times Blog, September 20, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "New Obama spot a re-reading. Repeats portion of anti-Iraq war speech he delivered in October 2002," Chicago Sun-Times, October 13, 2007.

Debates

 * Ben Smith, "Obama Ditches CBC/Fox Debate," The Politico, April 9, 2007.
 * Transcript: "The Democrats’ First 2008 Presidential Debate," New York Times, April 27, 2007.
 * Paul West, "Candidates fight for voice, aim at Bush," Baltimore Sun, April 27, 2007.
 * Mike Allen, "Politico Playbook: The debate in 5 mins.," The Politico, July 24, 2007.
 * "CNN’s post-debate analysis tackles the tough questions," Think Progress, July 23, 2007.
 * Michael Roston, "Obama, Gravel tangle on campaign donations in 2008 'YouTube' debate," The Raw Story, July 23, 2007.
 * William A. Arkin, "Clinton 1, Obama 0," Washington Post, July 26, 2007.
 * John Whitesides, "Clinton, Obama spar at labor union debate," Washington Post, August 7, 2007.
 * Roger Simon, "Democrats woo labor but bash each other," The Politico, August 7, 2007.
 * Dan Balz, "Obama and Clinton Take the Gloves Off In AFL-CIO Debate. Democratic Hopefuls Court Union Support," Washington Post, August 8, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "Obama turns to his favorite weapons. When in doubt, blame Washington," Chicago Sun-Times, August 8, 2007.
 * John McCormick, "Obama to skip some future forums," The Swamp Blog/Chicago Tribune, August 18, 2007.
 * Marc Ambinder, "Enough's Enough: Obama Will Limit Forum/Debate Participation," TheAtlantic.com, August 18, 2007.
 * "Obama to curb participation in debates, forums. They cut into time better spent 'engaging with voters,' aide says," Chicago Sun-Times, August 19, 2007.
 * Jamison Foser, "A 'terrible' performance," Media Matters for America, November 9, 2007.

Secret Service protection

 * "Barack Obama placed under Secret Service protection," CNN, May 3, 2007.
 * Ulysses R. Rivers, "Obama 'black enough' for S. Service," NorthJersey.com, May 10, 2007.
 * John Ibbitson, "Racial hatred stalks Obama campaign. Illinois senator given unprecedented early protection by Secret Service," The Globe and Mail (Canada), May 15, 2007.

Related SourceWatch/Congresspedia articles

 * Barack Obama's online campaign in the U.S. presidential election, 2008
 * McCain doctrine
 * troop "surge" in Iraq

Active

 * Citizens for Barack Obama.com.
 * Hopefund for America, Obama's PAC.
 * Obama2010.us.
 * Obama for Illinois, Obama's Campaign website, redirects to BarackObama.com.
 * Obama Nation.com, a Christians for Social Justice website "exposing the hypocrisy of Obama on the greatest moral issues of our time – abortion and homosexual unions."

Inactive

 * Obama Media Watch (last updated January 10, 2007.)
 * Obamapedia.org (last updated January 2008 but mostly consists of Obama-related links.)
 * Obamarama.org (postings ended June 15, 2007; appears to have returned to active status.)
 * Obama Truth.com (last updated February 6, 2007; no longer active.)
 * Obama Was Right.com brought to you by DraftObama.org (updated January 25, 2007; no longer active.)

Series

 * Timothy Noah, Part 1: "The Obama Messiah Watch," Slate, January 29, 2007.
 * Part 2: "A Harvard Law wunderkind masters laws that govern the universe," February 5, 2007.
 * Part 3: "Obama, D.C.," February 7, 2007.
 * Part 4: "'Barry' Obama Discovers Jazz," February 9, 2007.
 * Part 5: "Do Space Aliens Advise Obama?" February 13, 2007.
 * Part 6: "Obama: Better Than Civil Rights," February 14, 2007.
 * Part 7: "Accept no substitutes," April 4, 2007.
 * Part 8: "Obama Calms Turbulent Iowans!" September 12, 2007.


 * "On the Campaign Trail ... Obama," Chicago Tribune.

On the Issues

 * Political views of Barack Obama in the Wikipedia.
 * GovTrack Statistics: Barack Obama
 * Barack H. Obama, Project VoteSmart.
 * Compare where Barack Obama stands on the issues at whereIstand.com.
 * liberal democrat, "Obama's Congressional Record," Kucinich 2008, January 22, 2007.