WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama staked a claim to the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday, sweeping Oregon but getting trounced by Sen. Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, exposing problems he might face in winning middle-class white votes in the fall campaign.
Obama traveled to Iowa, the swing state that handed him his first victory — crucial to establishing his viability — to mark at an outdoor rally in Des Moines the milestone of having won the majority of pledged delegates. He said he is “within reach” of the nomination, though he is short of the 2,026 delegates needed to clinch.
WASHINGTON--John Edwards is dropping his presidential bid, deciding he had little chance of being resurrected on Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" votes. Meanwhile, Caroline Kennedy, who already cut a commerical spot for Barack Obama is traveling with him on Wednesday to rallies in Denver and Arizona.
Who does this help? Edwards departure cuts both ways for Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
DES MOINES, IA.--For months, White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who won the Iowa caucus a few minutes ago, ended his rallies with a cry "Fired Up! Ready to Go!"
Now the crowd here at Hy-Vee Hall, watching the returns on big screen tvs here,with Obama clinching, is chanting Obama's signature "fired up" closing.
Some notes and quotes:
From senior strategist David Axelrod on the Obama win: "It'ss very significant. It’s the first contest. We started out very far behind," he said (However, that was only true in national polls. In Iowa the race was always close between Obama, John Edwards and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The is "very very meaningful. What it means is I think there is a real market for the kind of leadership Sen. Obama is offering. I think people want to be unified as a country and get past this divisive politics that has riddled us for so long," Axelrod said.
NEW YORK--UPDATE-With the hostage crisis in her New Hampshire office resolved, Sen. Hilllary Rodham Clinton holds a press availability in Portsmouth, NH Friday night at 9:15 Chicago time.
There is a hostage situation involving a bomb threat at the Hillary Rodham Clinton headquarters on Main St. in Rochester, NH.--and staffers in the Barack Obama's office a few doors down have been evacuated, the Obama campaign said. A man walked into the Clinton office claiming to have a bomb strapped on his chest. MSNBC is reporting he wants to speak to Clinton.
The Clinton campaign released a brief statement: "There is an ongoing situation in our Rochester, NH office. We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction. We will release additional details as appropriate."
The paper is reporting: In an interview with WMUR, Lettie Tzizik, an employee of a nearby medical supply company, said a woman who had been released with her small child by the intruder fled to her nearby worksite to seek help. The woman said a man with pepper-and-salt hair in his 40s with what appeared to be a bomb duct-taped to his chest had entered the office and ordered everyone onto the floor
Clinton is in Des Moines. Obama, who started Friday in Manhattan, traveled to suburban Washington on Friday to appear before a meeting of the Democratic National Committee.
SUNNYVALE, CALIF.--Greetings from Silicon Valley. White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) hosts a townhall meeting Wednesday afternoon at Google's headquarters in Mountain View. He'll unveil his "innovation agenda" LINK and then head north for fund-raising in San Francisco.
( One stop for a low-dollar funder is at the Bill Graham auditorium, named after the legandary rock concert promoter from the Joplin, Jefferson Airplane era).
On the Google front--Google has hosted six other Democratic and Republican candidates, including Obama chief rivals Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). Obama will stress his backing for "network neutrality," a big internet issue in Congress, pledge to appoint a Technology czar and express his hope the next Google is made in the U.S.A.
excerpts below....
WASHINGTON--Presuming, perhaps, that he will be the Democratic nominee, White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) plans a "One Year from 2008 Election" speech Saturday in South Carolina, where he will, according to his campaign "Lay Out the Choice Facing Voters"
WASHINGTON-- Seven Democrats face off for the eighth time at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Nine times, if the AFL-CIO forum in Chicago's Soldier Field is counted.
The two hour debate starts at 8 p.m. Chicago time on MSNBC. The session will be moderated by Brian Williams, joined by Tim Russert. Mike Gravel was not invited.
WASHINGTON--A segment taped earlier featuring White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) airs today on the Ellen Degeneres Show. LINK
Obama's Illinois team in Springfield to file for Illinois ballot and hold press conference. Clinton Illinois team will also be filing their slate, hold presser.
Obama web chat won MTV/MySpace Dialogue at Coe College. Online 1:30 p.m. eastern airs MTV 7 p.m. LINK
PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) cancelled a morning house party in Rochester, N.H. in order to return to Washington for Senate votes on the children-of- immigrant-related DREAM act sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
I'm up here anyway--after winding up reporting duties in Boston last night, at a rally on Boston Common with Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick--because every hotel in Boston and nearby suburbs is sold out, perhaps related to the World Series.
HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.--White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) returns to Los Angeles on Wednesday to tape Jay Leno, Ellen and Tavis Smiley. LINK
Here's the convoluted way the campaign puts this information out.
These television appearences on not on the Obama schedule for Wednesday. Instead, the campaign does give a heads up about a story at www.wilshireandwashington.com that has the scoop about upcoming L.A. political fund-raisers etc. with Obama, Clinton and Edwards.
WASHINGTON--White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) flies north on Monday for a big fund-raising rally near the beautiful campus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
WASHINGTON---The official theme on Friday for White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is the anniversary of the 2002 Senate vote to authorize the Iraq war.
Subthemes not planned by the Obama message team that are ripening:
1. His skipped vote on the Iran terrorist measure. He was against it (Clinton for it) but was campaigning in New Hampshire and did not vote.
2. Chatter about whether winning the Nobel Peace Prize will get Al Gore in the 2008 race.
click for sked...
HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.--White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) logs some jet hours on Wednesday....Hits a rally in Prince Georges County, MD., a wealthy African-American majority county.
WASHINGTON--UPDATE
This Associated Press story from Iowa is about a small detail that could become a larger matter for Obama's Iowa team..."Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has stopped wearing the American flag lapel pin that has become a common symbol of patriotism since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks." (click below for full AP story_
MORNING LEDE When Howard Dean ran for president in 2004, he built a movement--but could not translate it into votes. His loss in Iowa was the beginning of the end of his campaign.
White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) stalled in the polls--especially in the primary states--wants to avoid Dean's mistakes. Obama tells MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Thursday morning he talked to Dean last week. Dean is now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
"I think Howard built an extraordinary movement. But I think what you need to do is be able to translate a movement into an organization," Obama said.
And exactly on this point....Politico's Roger Simon touts Obama's Iowa organizing efforts. LINK
for transcript and other Thursday clip links, click below..
CHICAGO--White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is organizing a series of rallies to mark the fifth anniversary of a speech he gave against the Iraq war. He kicks off his latest organizing drive Tuesday morning with a speech at DePaul University in Chicago.
Obama's foreign policy team will brief reporters an hour before the speech. I'll blog.
The New York Times Obama reporter Jeff Zeleny has the scoop on the speech. Obama will propose a goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Obama has specialized in nuclear non-proliferation issues since joining the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2005 when he became a senator.
Zeleny traveled to former Soviet states with Obama and Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to inspect nuclear facilities.
Zeleny: Mr. Obama, according to details provided by his campaign Monday, also will call for pursuing vigorous diplomatic efforts aimed at a global ban on the development, production and deployment of intermediate-range missiles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/us/politics/02obama.html
HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.--One item on White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's Thursday agenda...an interview on the set of "The Tyra Banks Show." He's taping it in New York this afternoon. A few weeks ago, Banks taped B-roll in Obama's Chicago headquarters. The show will air Monday.
CARBONDALE, Ill.--Democrats debate tonight (8 p.m. Chicago time) at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire with two hour session moderated by NBC's Tim Russert. Watch it on MSNBC.
This just in from Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman: "At the debate, look for Obama to show the country why he’s the one candidate who won’t just change the party in the White House, but will change the broken politics of Washington that has stood the way of our progress on health care, education, energy, and other critical issues for far too long."
CARBONDALE, ILL.--The top Democratic presidential candidates return to Chicago Tuesday to pitch the partner unions who are part of the Change-to-Win labor federation. No endorsement is expected at this time.
Obama then heads to Maine for a fund-raiser. That positions him in New England, where he will travel south Wednesday for the Democratic debate in New Hampshire.
WASHINGTON--Christopher Wills, an Associated Press reporter, got to know Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) while he was an Illinois state senator. Based in Springfield, Wills talked to Obama's poker buddies for his story, “Clues To How Obama Would Play His Hand As President Can Be Found In Poker Style”
Glenn Thrush from Newsday follows Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as closely as I do Obama. But to understand one campaign you have to know the other. Thrush files: “Obama Misses More Senate Votes Than Clinton."
Obama stumps for cash in New York today (see my previous Obamaville post) and Grace Rauh from the New York Sun files an advance.: “Obama Due Here For Fund-Raiser, Then A Rally"
And Dan Gearino from The Quad-City Times in Iowa writes about Obama's campus crusade. “Obama Banks On Campus Strategy In Iowa"
The top of Wills' story...
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ Barack Obama's triumph in the 2004 U.S. Senate race earned him a memorable send-off from his friends in the Illinois legislature — they emptied his wallet in a take-no-prisoners night of poker.
"We brought him down to earth real quick," said state Sen. Terry Link, chuckling at the memory.
Obama was a regular at the low-stakes games — sometimes stud poker, sometimes draw — designed to break up the tedium of long legislative sessions. Poker, beer and cigars were staples; Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers and even the lobbyists who Obama sometimes rails against dealt the cards and placed their bets.
The traits Obama displayed around the card table those many nights are ones he brings to his presidential bid and are certain to be evident — and analyzed — if he wins the White House.
Lynn Sweet is a columnist and the Washington Bureau Chief for the 
Most Popular