by Christi Parsons
AUSTIN, Texas – Barack Obama entered the convention hall here to the usual chants and applause this morning, but there was a noticeable lack of Bono blaring wildly in the background as he stepped onto the stage.
Instead of the customary "City of Blinding Lights," the campaign opted for the sound of silence to set the scene for a more low-key campaign event.
This week, aides are also intentionally planning at least one or two town hall meetings each day, where they try to draw no more than 2,000 people.
For the Obama operation, the goal in the stretch of open time before the Ohio and Texas contests is to hold as many small, more familiar events as possible.
"There's really a chance in these states for people to get to know him," said Obama aide Robert Gibbs, surveying a crowd of 1,500 at a morning town hall. "If we wanted to do huge crowds, we could, but it's almost impossible to do a good town hall like that."
The strategy is a nod as much to what has worked for Obama throughout the presidential campaign as to what hasn't worked.
In the days after he won the Iowa caucuses, for example, he moved on to New Hampshire to find huge, clamoring crowds wanting to meet the candidate on the rise.
That meant a lot of exposure, but, in the end, New Hampshire voters didn't follow the lead of Iowa voters – who, the campaign noted, had had almost 90 full campaign days in which to get familiar with the candidate.
"What we learned in new Hamsphire is, 'Don't take anything for granted,'" said David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist. "We didn't campaign as close to the ground as we should have . . . And it may have looked a little like a victory lap."
Even if Obama is heading into next Tuesday's contests with the wind at his back, as many signs indicate, he's determined not to act like it.
This morning, for example, he took a pass on the chance to give his usual stem winder, with its patriotic, humanistic strains and lines designed to bring Democrats to their feet.
After the music-free introduction, he launched almost immediately into an almost dry discussion of his plans and policies, before getting into a lengthy question-and-answer session.
He offered a discourse on the U.S. patent office, which he alleged doesn't move quickly enough to keep up with technological developments and thereby fails to offer incentive for innovative thought.
He explained at length why he thinks too much standardized testing robs children of a good education.
And he discussed his idea of doubling U.S. foreign aid now as a way to prevent more expensive problems in the future.
"It's like an inoculation," he said, noting "huge pandemics out of Africa" as an example of a preventable problem. "It is much cheaper for us to invest in foreign aid" than to intervene later.
Obama has two town hall meetings scheduled for today in Texas, and then plans to return to Ohio over the weekend with more of the same in mind.
There will be rallies, too, and plenty of Bono and Stevie Wonder, staples of his pre-rally score.
But on Thursday morning, there was only quiet music spilling out of the speakers at the very end of the event – a little Earth, Wind and Fire to help folks at the rope line understand the thing was over.
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Comments
Barack Obama will be one of the greatest leader in America through his vision for world peace, unity, love and respect for all human kind and achieving prosperity in America and of the world.
Posted by: Susan | February 28, 2008 1:14 PM
"OBAMA WILL SPEAK"
HE SAID HE WOULD FOLLOW OSAMA BIN LADEN TO THE GATES OF HELL!
HE SAID HE KNEW AL QUEDA BEFORE AL QUEDA KNEW AL QUEDA!
HE SAID HE WALKED THE STREETS OF BAGHDAD WITH "BLACKWATER INSURGENT GROUP" THE "SUNNI INSURGENT GROUP" THE "SHIITE INSURGENT GROUP"
HE SAID HE WALKED THE STREETS WITH AMERICA'S "COALITION SURGE GROUP"
AND NOW THEY SAY, TURKEY (NATO INSURGENT GROUP)
HE SAID HE, SHE SAID, CAN SOMEONE IN THE JOHN MCCAIN GOP PARTY SAY WHO THE REAL INSURGENCY GROUP IS!
JOHN MCCAIN AS OLD AS HE IS, SAYS 100 YEARS FROM NOW, HE WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE, NEXT TO THE GATES OF HELL AND KNOW AL QUEDA IN IRAQ!
CHANGE OR "STAY THE COURSE"
Posted by: Roger Morris | February 28, 2008 1:20 PM
I hope he runs the country as well as he runs his campaign. A deft touch and good people, and they make it look effortless--which as most of us know, requires huge effort and organization.
Posted by: Deborah | February 28, 2008 1:43 PM
I predict an Obama victory in November will instantly improve our standing in the world by 20 points...probably more. I predict his cabinet choices and advisor appointments will be exciting and innovative (not to mention competent). I predict he'll make excellent judicial choices. I believe he'll take steps to roll back the draconian excesses of the Bush-Cheney chickenhawk junta that turned the executive branch into a virtual monarchy.
And I believe he'll be the kind of leader who can tell the "lie, hate and smear" wing of the Republican party to go to hell in such a way that they thank him for the directions.
And here's something else. I've been waiting for cracks to appear in his campaign---something from the inside that goes CLUNK! Aside from an occasional stray comment that raised some eyebrows and set the chattering class a'chattering, I'm not seein' any. That's almost surreal.
Did I mention coattails? I predict his will be a mile long, helping House and Senate candidates generate the kind of money and ground support that'll help 'em win their races more easily at both the fed and state level.
Posted by: BinPM | February 28, 2008 2:34 PM
Todd Spivak in the Houston Press has written an article that shows that Obama was the Illinois state legislator that took other politician's legislation and put his name on it. Of course, he would then have numerous bills that he sponsored.
Here is an exchange by Hendon and Spivak about how Obama stole Hendon’s bill. It was with the assistance of Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr.
"I took all the beatings and insults and endured all the racist comments over the years from nasty Republican committee chairmen," State Senator Rickey Hendon, the original sponsor of landmark racial profiling and videotaped confession legislation yanked away by Jones and given to Obama, complained to me at the time. "Barack didn't have to endure any of it, yet, in the end, he got all the credit.”
In the article it is described as "bill jacking". With this maneuver, he found the best way to pad his resume when he ran for higher office.
http://news.houstonpress.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/
Posted by: Mark | February 28, 2008 3:13 PM
In other news from the Obama campaign, aka the "Double-Talk Express", CTV, Canada's largest private broadcasting network, reports that Obama has told the Canadian government that his fiery anti-NAFTA talk on the campaign trail is jsut campaign puffery:
"Within the last month, a top staff member for Obama's campaign telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA, according to Canadian sources.
The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value.
But Tuesday night in Ohio, where NAFTA is blamed for massive job losses, Obama said he would tell Canada and Mexico "that we will opt out unless we renegotiate the core labour and environmental standards."
Late Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign said the staff member's warning to Wilson sounded implausible, but did not deny that contact had been made."
Posted by: Cronkite | February 28, 2008 3:26 PM
Obama for president!
Posted by: Suzan | February 28, 2008 3:38 PM
But Tuesday night in Ohio, where NAFTA is blamed for massive job losses, Obama said he would tell Canada and Mexico "that we will opt out unless we renegotiate the core labour and environmental standards."
Late Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign said the staff member's warning to Wilson sounded implausible, but did not deny that contact had been made."
Posted by: Cronkite | February 28, 2008 3:26 PM
You Republican crybabies and smear merchants might want to clean up your own house before you start throwing mud around during this election:
On Feb 25th the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against John McCain. Why? In the words of DNC Chair Howard Dean:
We want John McCain to obey the law with his own name on it.
This afternoon Dean and officials at the DNC held a conference call in which they spelled out why they will file a complaint with the FEC against McCain. The background is that in December and January, McCain was broke and had to tap in to a massive amount of lobbyist money to keep his campaign afloat. Doing so put him in danger of exceeding the spending limits attached to participation in the federal matching funds program, in which an eligible candidate can receive monies voluntarily contributed by taxpayers to match low-donor campaign contributions in exchange for abiding by spending limits.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani had opted out of the federal matching funds program. John Edwards and several other candidate had opted in, but since there was insufficient money in the fund, they had to secure a loan against the money they were certified to receive.
McCain publicly declared that he would accept the matching funds (and therefore abide by the spending limits). But since he was broke, he had to go to a bank and secure a loan under dubious conditions. Since he appears to have secured the loan by using his eligibility to accept the federal matching funds, it seems fairly clear that he is committed to the federal matching funds system.
The DNC's complaint will allege the following. Fist, that McCain used his status as a candidate operating under the federal matching fund program to gain access on state ballots without having to spend any money to submit signatures. From the DNC's press release:
The McCain campaign has incorrectly stated that McCain is doing what Dean did when he withdrew from public financing in his presidential bid, but they have the facts wrong. Dean did not use the promise of matching funds as collateral for a loan. Dean withdrew before the FEC determined eligibility for funds, unlike McCain. And he spent millions of dollars to get his name on the ballot after withdrawing, unlike McCain, who had free ballot access in many states because he pledged to accept matching funds.
That is a material gain from pledging to accept the matching funds. Another material gain from pledging to accept the matching funds is the ability to use his eligibility as collateral, which he did to secure his loan.
Finally, by receiving these material benefits from his pledge to enter the matching funds system, he is bound to abide by the spending limits. The matching funds program requires one to spend no more than approximately $57 million dollars for the entire campaign up until he officially becomes the nominee in September. Through January, he had already spent over $46 million.
If you follow the implications, since he entered the federal matching funds program, John McCain is now essentially at the spending limit, and is legally prohibited from spending any more money until September. To spend more money would be to break federal law.
That law, by the way, is sometimes named after its Senate sponsors:
McCain-Feingold.
Posted by: DHinMI | February 28, 2008 3:39 PM
Go Obama!
Posted by: Laura | February 28, 2008 3:53 PM
Hey Cronkite - did your Republican spin-machine happen to mention that the story you're citing has been totally debunked? The Ambassador of Canada has denied speaking to 'anyone in any US presidential campaign' about NAFTA or any other issue.
I love how the Tennessee GOP has edited a story ripping Sen. Obama, saying that they removed the picture of him in Somali tribal garb and mentions of his middle name because 'apparently it distracts from the real issues of the 2008 campaign.'
Hmmm...I wonder if 'distraction from real issues' was what the Republicans were worried about when spreading this false NAFTA in Canada story, or lies about Sen. Obama not being patriotic because he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin, or when stirring up the fear that THEY have worked to instill in America since 9/11 by using Sen. Obama's middle name.
Of course, I'm sure if you ask a Republican, this is all par for the course, since the 'liberal media' threw the first punch at John McCain. And by extention a Republican would see that as Sen. Obama's fault...
Posted by: TekTami78 | February 28, 2008 5:00 PM
Obama claims he's for “change” but looks like he's copying Hillary's campaign strategy for small crowds and town hall meetings.
Not to mention going back in history and quoting JFK, RFK, MLK, etc. And getting the endorsements of the good old boys Teddy and Kerry, unions, etc.
He IS the status quo and the Washington insider.
Copying Hillary’s strategy, other’s words, associating with Washington insiders. How hypocritical!!
What makes him think he will be different from any other politician in Washington?
His followers are surely blind and foolish, to believe he is any different and will bring change.
“Kumbaya” anyone?
Posted by: mbs | February 28, 2008 6:49 PM
binPM,
So when Obama goes to his inaugural, will he walk across the surface of the Potomac, or simply part it so he doesn't get the bottom of his feet wet?
Posted by: JB | February 28, 2008 9:25 PM
As far as I can tell, some reporter at CTV just made the story up. You see, the whole NAFTA renegotiation thing is a big story in Canada right now since we are directly impacted (obviously). So my guess is that some hack made the story up but didn't realize it would become such a big deal. (Otherwise, the story really doesn't make sense, on its face. Why on Earth would they tell anyone that, even if it is what they intend, which wouldn't surprise me. Clinton also doesn't mean it.)
I would guess heads are gonna roll. CTV has not been able to back up their sources and I wouldn't believe a wit of it until they do. They bring shame on Canada.
-- Doug in Montreal
Posted by: Doug | February 28, 2008 9:32 PM
YOU MIGHT BE AN IDIOT:-)
If you think Barack Obama with little or no experience would be better than Hillary Clinton with 35 years experience.
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that Obama with no experience can fix an economy on the verge of collapse better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) led the greatest economic expansion, and prosperity in American history.
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that Obama with no experience fighting for universal health care can get it for you better than Hillary Clinton. Who anticipated this current health care crisis back in 1993, and fought a pitched battle against overwhelming odds to get universal health care for all the American people.
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that Obama with no experience can manage, and get us out of two wars better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) went to war only when he was convinced that he absolutely had to. Then completed the mission in record time against a nuclear power. AND DID NOT LOSE THE LIFE OF A SINGLE AMERICAN SOLDIER. NOT ONE!
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that Obama with no experience saving the environment is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) left office with the greatest amount of environmental cleanup, and protections in American history.
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that Obama with little or no education experience is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) made higher education affordable for every American. And created higher job demand and starting salary's than they had ever been before or since.
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that Obama with no experience will be better than Hillary Clinton who spent 8 years at the right hand of President Bill Clinton. Who is already on record as one of the greatest Presidents in American history.
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think that you can change the way Washington works with pretty speeches from Obama, rather than with the experience, and political expertise of two master politicians ON YOUR SIDE like Hillary and Bill Clinton..
You Might Be An Idiot!
If you think all those Republicans voting for Obama in the Democratic primaries, and caucuses are doing so because they think he is a stronger Democratic candidate than Hillary Clinton. :-)
Best regards
jacksmith...
Posted by: jacksmith | March 1, 2008 10:07 AM
Hillary 08!
Let's the best person win. In this race, she is by far the most qualified and intelligent candidate.
Please read history! In the tale of human evolution, changes did not occur by just nice words, but mostly by people working hard for their principles, achieving them through hard fight. Please read legislations of Obama, every time something difficult issue was in senate (state or federal) - he failed to show up or vote.
This is not his leadership - it is his weakness.
Go HILLARY! :)
Posted by: Meg | March 1, 2008 4:39 PM