Audra Ostergard Speaks About Superdelegate Status
Apr 02, 01:31 PM CST
Audra Ostergard, 1st Associate Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, spoke yesterday to a crowd at Doane College, her alma mater, about her role as an Unpledged Party Leader and Elected Official Delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
Don Walton from the Lincoln Journal-Star has the story:
Surreal.
That’s the word Audra Ostergard kept choosing as she tried to describe her life as an uncommitted Democratic superdelegate in an election year like no other.
Ostergard was dealing with morning sickness from her pregnancy when Hillary Clinton called.
Since then, she’s been playing phone tag with a former president, the other Clinton, and fielded a 20-minute phone call from Hollywood celeb Rob Reiner last week.
And there was that long phone conversation initiated by Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state, and the meeting with Barack Obama in Omaha and the call from Michelle…
Ostergard is one of two uncommitted superdelegates from Nebraska. Also waiting is State Chairman Steve Achelpohl of Omaha.
Nebraska’s other four superdelegates have committed their support to Obama, a landslide winner over Clinton in Nebraska’s Feb. 9 caucuses.
While Obama supporters suggest she should vote for the caucus winner, Ostergard said, Clinton supporters can argue that two superdelegate votes for Clinton would match the proportionate allocation of delegates determined by the caucus results.
Senator Ben Nelson, Vince Powers, Kathleen Fahey, and Frank LaMere have all committed to Senator Obama.
If you’re interested in lobbying Steve and/or Audra, I am sure that they will read comments on this page. I am also forwarding respectful emails intended for them that we receive at info@nebraskademocrats.org.
– by Eric Van Horn | Send this to a friend
I am extremely concerned about Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee.
I am a Caucasian 58 year old American. This is a difficult letter to write as it may be viewed as racial. My intent is not to express that, whatsoever. I would love to see the Democratic candidate in the White House. However, Senator Clinton should be the nominee.
Speaking for my community, Senator Clinton’s supporters will not vote for Senator Obama. I believe that many, especially white people, will not admit this to anyone. My community is against Senator Obama, not because he is an African American, but instead because of his ties with his pastor that demonstrates hate towards our country and supports radical leaders such as Louis Farrakhan.
Reverend Wright’s comments were anti racial and hateful. The Trinity United Church of Christ is a black church with ten bylaws teaching black theology that are also frightening to many. Lastly, Louis Farrakhan is highly regarded in this church. There was an award given to Louis Farrakhan only recently. All these issues are very unsettling.
Senator Obama continues to support Reverend Wright. Obama had the opportunity to distant him from his pastor for the sake of the Democratic Party but instead chose to speak about race. Senator Clinton supporters will not vote for Senator Obama for that reason alone. After the Reverend Wright clips and investigating Senator Obama’s Church thoroughly “Obama supporters” have expressed in many blogs over the internet that they have been deceived by Senator Obama and are completely embarrassed to support him as the Democratic nominee.
This is much more serious than what the news media portrays. The news will not and can not cover these issues properly. Too much discussion would indeed portray the media as racists. I, myself, find this very difficult to write about.
The second issue is there questions about Senator Obama’s ties with criminal Antoin Rezko from Chicago. Senator Obama has not addressed this properly.
Please find two of the many articles from the Sun Times of Chicago newspaper and
ABC’s web site:
SUN TIMES
Obama: Rezko was ‘a significant fundraiser’
March 14, 2008
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH
In an extensive 80-minute interview with the Sun-Times, White House hopeful Barack Obama laid out just how close he and indicted Chicago businessman Tony Rezko grew personally and financially.
Rezko could have donated as much as $250,000 to Obama’s campaigns over the years—much more than the $60,000 to $70,000 Obama’s campaign initially estimated, Obama said.
Barack Obama discusses his relationship with Tony Rezko with a group of Sun-Times reporters and editors Friday.
(John H. Kim/Sun-Times)
“Rezko was not my largest fund-raiser but a significant fund-raiser” on his campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama
Obama estimated a total of $170,000 was raised by Rezko, he said. Could it be more than $170,000, Obama was asked. When pushed, he said it could be as high as $250,000.
“It’s hard for me to know precisely,” Obama said. “I may not know who are friends of his.”
Obama said he would talk to Rezko daily during some of his political campaigns. Obama and his wife Michelle had ‘two or three dinners’ with indicted businessman Tony Rezko and his wife over the years and made one day trip to the Rezkos’ home in Lake Geneva.
Obama agreed to meet with Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reporters after many months of refusing to answer all the questions about the extent of his friendship with Rezko and the amount of money Rezko raised for him over the years.
Rezko is standing trial on unrelated charges that he used his influence to control jobs and appointments to state boards in Gov. Blagojevich’s administration and that Rezko got kickbacks. Obama is not implicated in the indictment.
Obama denied he got any discount on the purchase of his Hyde Park home after Rezko toured the house with him and agreed to buy the adjoining lot that was for sale at the time. When Rezko told Obama he woud like to purchase the next-door lot, Obama told him that would be fine, he said.
“Having somebody that I knew, who was a friend of mine, developing the lot would be great,” Obama said. “Tony agreed to pay for the erection of a fence.”
Obama said even though “there were some noises” about Rezko having potential legal problems, he went ahead with the transaction, which he now thinks is a mistake.
An even more serious lapse was his later argreement to purchase a five-foot strip of land from Rezko after Rezko’s legal problems became more public, he said.
“The larger problem is me purchasing the strip of land,” Obama said. “At that point it was clearer he was going to have significant legal problems. For me to enter into a business transaction with him was . . . a boneheaded move.”
All along the way, red flags should have been going up but were not because he had known and trusted Rezko so long, Obama conceded.
“He never once asked me for any favors, or ever did any favors for me,” Obama said. “He never gave me any gifts or gave me any indication he was setting me up to ask for any favors in the future.”
ABC news web site: http://abcnews.go.com/
Reformer: Trial Will Reveal ‘Cesspool’ of Obama’s Allies
Trial for Indicted Fundraiser Tony Rezko Set for Monday
By BRIAN ROSS, RHONDA SCHWARTZ and AVNI PATEL
Feb. 29, 2008—
With the corruption trial of one of Sen. Barack Obama’s longtime friends and supporters set to begin Monday in Chicago, Ill., reform watchdogs say it will reveal the “cesspool” of Illinois politics in which Obama came of age and has said little about in his campaign for president.
“We have a sick political culture,” said Jay Stewart, the executive director of the Chicago Better Government Association, “and that’s the environment that Barack Obama came from.”
Stewart says he does not understand why Obama has lectured others about corruption in Washington and Kenya but “been noticeably silent on the issue of corruption here in his home state, including at this point, mostly Democratic politicians.”
There was no immediate comment from the Obama campaign.
The trial Monday involves federal charges of bribery and extortion against Tony Rezko, a real estate developer who became known in Illinois politics as a behind-the-scenes operator and fixer.
While Obama is not considered a target of the Rezko investigation, Stewart says it will shed light on a man who was pivotal to Obama’s political career.
“This wasn’t just some guy who wrote a check once for Barack Obama, it’s someone who was an early supporter and had a personal relationship with Sen. Obama for quite some time,” Stewart said.
Indeed, even after he was elected to the United States Senate, Obama involved Rezko in a land deal that enabled the senator to buy his current home on Chicago’s South Side.
Obama has since called his decision to involve Rezko “a bone-headed mistake.”
“Tony Rezko is all that is wrong with the old kind of politics or any kind of politics,” said the Better Government Association’s Stewart.
The Rezko trial will focus on Rezko’s alleged role in steering Illinois state contracts in exchange for kickbacks and political contributions to Rezko friends.
The most damning examples cited by prosecutors involve Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but several of the contributions were directed to Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign.
A motion filed by federal prosecutors identifies two instances when Rezko directed contributions to an unnamed “political candidate” who has since been identified by Chicago newspapers as Obama.
The Obama campaign says it has donated to charity some $160,000 that can be traced to Rezko or others involved in the corruption investigation.
In his campaign for president, Obama has railed against people like Rezko.
“If you are ready for change, then we can go ahead and tell the lobbyists and the fat cats that their days are over,” he said in a speech last month in Akron, Ohio.
The Better Government Association’s Stewart says Illinois politics is the opposite of the sentiments Obama now praises.
“That’s a noble version he is describing. He is not talking about Illinois when he does that,” said Stewart, who acknowledges Obama was “a cut above” most state legislators and reliably supported ethics legislation.
“I don’t begrudge him for speaking out on it (corruption) in Washington or Kenya. If it’s appropriate, you should say it. To say it’s appropriate in Illinois is a huge understatement,” Stewart said.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Relevant to the Trinity United Church of Christ please find the ten point visions posted on their web site:
From http://www.tucc.org/about.htm
The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:
1A congregation committed to ADORATION.
2. A congregation preaching SALVATION.
3. A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
4. A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
5. A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
6. A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
7. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
8. A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
9. A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
This church has also endorsed Louis Farrakhan in a recent issue of “Trumpet Magazine”. Louis Farrakhan recently led a rally of nearly of 20,000 followers in Chicago to support Senator Obama according to the Chicago Tribune.
chicagotribune.com article:
Louis Farrakhan backs Obama for president at Nation of Islam convention in Chicago Senator has criticized him, says support not sought
By Margaret Ramirez Tribune reporter February 25, 2008
Speaking to thousands of members of the Nation of Islam at their annual convention Sunday in Chicago, Minister Louis Farrakhan praised presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama as the only hope for healing the nation’s racial divisions.
Farrakhan, 74, the longtime leader of the Nation of Islam, said the war in Iraq, the nation’s faltering economy and the increased number of natural disasters were signs of “a nation in peril.” He said those problems provide the broader context for Obama’s rise.
“We are witnessing the phenomenal rise of a man of color in a country that has persecuted us because of our color,” Farrakhan told the crowd of nearly 20,000 gathered at McCormick Place.
“If you look at Barack Obama’s [diverse] audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed from what they were,” he said. “This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better.”
Although Farrakhan’s praise for Obama may generate increased support from the black community, the Obama campaign’s response was cool.
“Senator Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan’s past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister’s support,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Farrakhan’s two-hour speech, titled “The Gods At War—The Future is All About Y.O.U.th,” closed the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day Convention, which commemorates the birth of the movement’s founder, Wallace D. Fard Muhammad.
In his opening remarks, Farrakhan commented on his unexpected return to the public stage. Last February, the controversial leader said his Saviours’ Day speech in Detroit would likely be his last public address.
Speculation also arose about a potential successor to Farrakhan after he handed leadership of the Nation of Islam over to an executive board and underwent surgery for complications due to his treatment for prostate cancer.
On Sunday, Farrakhan said he was thankful that God had granted him another year. He said he had spent most of the last year working internally within the Nation of Islam to put the movement on “the best road possible” to the future.
“I’m still here. I’m alive. My mind is very sharp,” he said.
In the past, Farrakhan has sparked outrage for his controversial comments, which include anti-Semitic statements. But in recent years, most significantly after his battle with prostate cancer in the 1990s, he has tried to strike a more conciliatory tone. His popularity among young black Americans grew significantly after the 1995 Million Man March.
Farrakhan said he refused to be a stumbling block to Obama’s success.
“Why do you hate him so that you want to make me a stumbling block?” Farrakhan asked. “I want to see that brother successful and I don’t want them to use me or that Nation of Islam.”
After Farrakhan’s speech, some Nation of Islam members such as Jabari Muhammad, said Farrakhan’s comments had changed their opinions of Obama.
Muhammad, who traveled from New Orleans for the convention, said he had become disenchanted with politics, until he heard Farrakhan’s message.
“I was never political because I felt like nothing changes,” he said. “But, after all that Minister Farrakhan said, I’m going to look at Obama a little closer and see what he’s about.”—————-
maramirez@tribune.com Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
The Republicans would like for Senator Obama to be the nominee because he would very easy to attack. The list is endless. This is just a sampling:
Lack of experience, unpatriotic, Michelle Obama’s unpatriotic comments, ties with criminal Antoin Rezko in Chicago, Reverend Wright’s anti American, anti-Semetic views supporting Louis Farrakhan, Senator Obama’s Muslim Father, Senator Obama’s middle name “Hussein”, Obama’s remarks about his white grandmother
Then there is Obama’s deceptive issues: Obama not knowing that one of his staff was having conversation with Canada pertaining to NAFTA, Obama’s Selma Speech pertaining to Kennedy, Obama’s denying ever hearing Reverend Wright’s disturbing remarks over twenty years, then admitting later that he did hear remarks in his speech. Obama’s admitting he only worded for Rezko for a few hours during a debate, when in fact he knew Rezko for over 17 years. , Obama not wanting Michigan and Florida revotes.
Lastly, McCain Republicans are encouraging Republicans to endorse Obama NOT Senator Clinton because they know that Senator Obama will be very easy to attack. They also know that recent polls have shown that over thirty percent of Clinton supporters will NOT support Senator Obama. Those Clinton supporters will vote for McCain.
The media is painting a picture much different than the true reality of what is going on.
According to Lou Dobbs Tonight the news has a favorable bias towards Obama and against Senator Clinton. Here are the statistics from his web site.
Lou Dobbs Tonight – March 31, 2008
Lou Dobbs had a quick vote on his show tonight and the results were as follows:
Quick Vote
Do you believe there is a media bias against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Barack Obama?
Yes 72% 13161
No 28% 5013
Total Votes: 18174
My community wants a Democrat to win the White House. There are just too many issues about Senator Obama that would be raised by the Republicans that he would never be able to withstand. Please endorse Senator Clinton or Democrats will not win the White House.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alice Rea Garrison
PS Please forgive me for any errors in this message as I suffer from PTSD and have a difficult time with concentration skills. I hope and pray that I have not expressed myself as a racist as that certainly has not been my intent.
— Alice Rea Garrison Apr 07, 08:25 AM CST #
— Alice Rea Garrison Apr 07, 08:26 AM CST #
I am extremely concerned about Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee.
I am a Caucasian 58 year old American. This is a difficult letter to write as it may be viewed as racial. My intent is not to express that, whatsoever. I would love to see the Democratic candidate in the White House. However, Senator Clinton should be the nominee.
Speaking for my community, Senator Clinton’s supporters will not vote for Senator Obama. I believe that many, especially white people, will not admit this to anyone. My community is against Senator Obama, not because he is an African American, but instead because of his ties with his pastor that demonstrates hate towards our country and supports radical leaders such as Louis Farrakhan.
Reverend Wright’s comments were anti racial and hateful. The Trinity United Church of Christ is a black church with ten bylaws teaching black theology that are also frightening to many. Lastly, Louis Farrakhan is highly regarded in this church. There was an award given to Louis Farrakhan only recently. All these issues are very unsettling.
Senator Obama continues to support Reverend Wright. Obama had the opportunity to distant him from his pastor for the sake of the Democratic Party but instead chose to speak about race. Senator Clinton supporters will not vote for Senator Obama for that reason alone. After the Reverend Wright clips and investigating Senator Obama’s Church thoroughly “Obama supporters” have expressed in many blogs over the internet that they have been deceived by Senator Obama and are completely embarrassed to support him as the Democratic nominee.
This is much more serious than what the news media portrays. The news will not and can not cover these issues properly. Too much discussion would indeed portray the media as racists. I, myself, find this very difficult to write about.
The second issue is there questions about Senator Obama’s ties with criminal Antoin Rezko from Chicago. Senator Obama has not addressed this properly.
Please find two of the many articles from the Sun Times of Chicago newspaper and
ABC’s web site:
SUN TIMES
Obama: Rezko was ‘a significant fundraiser’
March 14, 2008
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH
In an extensive 80-minute interview with the Sun-Times, White House hopeful Barack Obama laid out just how close he and indicted Chicago businessman Tony Rezko grew personally and financially.
Rezko could have donated as much as $250,000 to Obama’s campaigns over the years—much more than the $60,000 to $70,000 Obama’s campaign initially estimated, Obama said.
Barack Obama discusses his relationship with Tony Rezko with a group of Sun-Times reporters and editors Friday.
(John H. Kim/Sun-Times)
“Rezko was not my largest fund-raiser but a significant fund-raiser” on his campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama
Obama estimated a total of $170,000 was raised by Rezko, he said. Could it be more than $170,000, Obama was asked. When pushed, he said it could be as high as $250,000.
“It’s hard for me to know precisely,” Obama said. “I may not know who are friends of his.”
Obama said he would talk to Rezko daily during some of his political campaigns. Obama and his wife Michelle had ‘two or three dinners’ with indicted businessman Tony Rezko and his wife over the years and made one day trip to the Rezkos’ home in Lake Geneva.
Obama agreed to meet with Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reporters after many months of refusing to answer all the questions about the extent of his friendship with Rezko and the amount of money Rezko raised for him over the years.
Rezko is standing trial on unrelated charges that he used his influence to control jobs and appointments to state boards in Gov. Blagojevich’s administration and that Rezko got kickbacks. Obama is not implicated in the indictment.
Obama denied he got any discount on the purchase of his Hyde Park home after Rezko toured the house with him and agreed to buy the adjoining lot that was for sale at the time. When Rezko told Obama he woud like to purchase the next-door lot, Obama told him that would be fine, he said.
“Having somebody that I knew, who was a friend of mine, developing the lot would be great,” Obama said. “Tony agreed to pay for the erection of a fence.”
Obama said even though “there were some noises” about Rezko having potential legal problems, he went ahead with the transaction, which he now thinks is a mistake.
An even more serious lapse was his later argreement to purchase a five-foot strip of land from Rezko after Rezko’s legal problems became more public, he said.
“The larger problem is me purchasing the strip of land,” Obama said. “At that point it was clearer he was going to have significant legal problems. For me to enter into a business transaction with him was . . . a boneheaded move.”
All along the way, red flags should have been going up but were not because he had known and trusted Rezko so long, Obama conceded.
“He never once asked me for any favors, or ever did any favors for me,” Obama said. “He never gave me any gifts or gave me any indication he was setting me up to ask for any favors in the future.”
ABC news web site: http://abcnews.go.com/
Reformer: Trial Will Reveal ‘Cesspool’ of Obama’s Allies
Trial for Indicted Fundraiser Tony Rezko Set for Monday
By BRIAN ROSS, RHONDA SCHWARTZ and AVNI PATEL
Feb. 29, 2008—
With the corruption trial of one of Sen. Barack Obama’s longtime friends and supporters set to begin Monday in Chicago, Ill., reform watchdogs say it will reveal the “cesspool” of Illinois politics in which Obama came of age and has said little about in his campaign for president.
“We have a sick political culture,” said Jay Stewart, the executive director of the Chicago Better Government Association, “and that’s the environment that Barack Obama came from.”
Stewart says he does not understand why Obama has lectured others about corruption in Washington and Kenya but “been noticeably silent on the issue of corruption here in his home state, including at this point, mostly Democratic politicians.”
There was no immediate comment from the Obama campaign.
The trial Monday involves federal charges of bribery and extortion against Tony Rezko, a real estate developer who became known in Illinois politics as a behind-the-scenes operator and fixer.
While Obama is not considered a target of the Rezko investigation, Stewart says it will shed light on a man who was pivotal to Obama’s political career.
“This wasn’t just some guy who wrote a check once for Barack Obama, it’s someone who was an early supporter and had a personal relationship with Sen. Obama for quite some time,” Stewart said.
Indeed, even after he was elected to the United States Senate, Obama involved Rezko in a land deal that enabled the senator to buy his current home on Chicago’s South Side.
Obama has since called his decision to involve Rezko “a bone-headed mistake.”
“Tony Rezko is all that is wrong with the old kind of politics or any kind of politics,” said the Better Government Association’s Stewart.
The Rezko trial will focus on Rezko’s alleged role in steering Illinois state contracts in exchange for kickbacks and political contributions to Rezko friends.
The most damning examples cited by prosecutors involve Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but several of the contributions were directed to Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign.
A motion filed by federal prosecutors identifies two instances when Rezko directed contributions to an unnamed “political candidate” who has since been identified by Chicago newspapers as Obama.
The Obama campaign says it has donated to charity some $160,000 that can be traced to Rezko or others involved in the corruption investigation.
In his campaign for president, Obama has railed against people like Rezko.
“If you are ready for change, then we can go ahead and tell the lobbyists and the fat cats that their days are over,” he said in a speech last month in Akron, Ohio.
The Better Government Association’s Stewart says Illinois politics is the opposite of the sentiments Obama now praises.
“That’s a noble version he is describing. He is not talking about Illinois when he does that,” said Stewart, who acknowledges Obama was “a cut above” most state legislators and reliably supported ethics legislation.
“I don’t begrudge him for speaking out on it (corruption) in Washington or Kenya. If it’s appropriate, you should say it. To say it’s appropriate in Illinois is a huge understatement,” Stewart said.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Relevant to the Trinity United Church of Christ please find the ten point visions posted on their web site:
From http://www.tucc.org/about.htm
The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:
1A congregation committed to ADORATION.
2. A congregation preaching SALVATION.
3. A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
4. A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
5. A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
6. A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
7. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
8. A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
9. A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
This church has also endorsed Louis Farrakhan in a recent issue of “Trumpet Magazine”. Louis Farrakhan recently led a rally of nearly of 20,000 followers in Chicago to support Senator Obama according to the Chicago Tribune.
chicagotribune.com article:
Louis Farrakhan backs Obama for president at Nation of Islam convention in Chicago Senator has criticized him, says support not sought
By Margaret Ramirez Tribune reporter February 25, 2008
Speaking to thousands of members of the Nation of Islam at their annual convention Sunday in Chicago, Minister Louis Farrakhan praised presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama as the only hope for healing the nation’s racial divisions.
Farrakhan, 74, the longtime leader of the Nation of Islam, said the war in Iraq, the nation’s faltering economy and the increased number of natural disasters were signs of “a nation in peril.” He said those problems provide the broader context for Obama’s rise.
“We are witnessing the phenomenal rise of a man of color in a country that has persecuted us because of our color,” Farrakhan told the crowd of nearly 20,000 gathered at McCormick Place.
“If you look at Barack Obama’s [diverse] audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed from what they were,” he said. “This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better.”
Although Farrakhan’s praise for Obama may generate increased support from the black community, the Obama campaign’s response was cool.
“Senator Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan’s past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister’s support,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Farrakhan’s two-hour speech, titled “The Gods At War—The Future is All About Y.O.U.th,” closed the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day Convention, which commemorates the birth of the movement’s founder, Wallace D. Fard Muhammad.
In his opening remarks, Farrakhan commented on his unexpected return to the public stage. Last February, the controversial leader said his Saviours’ Day speech in Detroit would likely be his last public address.
Speculation also arose about a potential successor to Farrakhan after he handed leadership of the Nation of Islam over to an executive board and underwent surgery for complications due to his treatment for prostate cancer.
On Sunday, Farrakhan said he was thankful that God had granted him another year. He said he had spent most of the last year working internally within the Nation of Islam to put the movement on “the best road possible” to the future.
“I’m still here. I’m alive. My mind is very sharp,” he said.
In the past, Farrakhan has sparked outrage for his controversial comments, which include anti-Semitic statements. But in recent years, most significantly after his battle with prostate cancer in the 1990s, he has tried to strike a more conciliatory tone. His popularity among young black Americans grew significantly after the 1995 Million Man March.
Farrakhan said he refused to be a stumbling block to Obama’s success.
“Why do you hate him so that you want to make me a stumbling block?” Farrakhan asked. “I want to see that brother successful and I don’t want them to use me or that Nation of Islam.”
After Farrakhan’s speech, some Nation of Islam members such as Jabari Muhammad, said Farrakhan’s comments had changed their opinions of Obama.
Muhammad, who traveled from New Orleans for the convention, said he had become disenchanted with politics, until he heard Farrakhan’s message.
“I was never political because I felt like nothing changes,” he said. “But, after all that Minister Farrakhan said, I’m going to look at Obama a little closer and see what he’s about.”—————-
maramirez@tribune.com Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
The Republicans would like for Senator Obama to be the nominee because he would very easy to attack. The list is endless. This is just a sampling:
Lack of experience, unpatriotic, Michelle Obama’s unpatriotic comments, ties with criminal Antoin Rezko in Chicago, Reverend Wright’s anti American, anti-Semetic views supporting Louis Farrakhan, Senator Obama’s Muslim Father, Senator Obama’s middle name “Hussein”, Obama’s remarks about his white grandmother
Then there is Obama’s deceptive issues: Obama not knowing that one of his staff was having conversation with Canada pertaining to NAFTA, Obama’s Selma Speech pertaining to Kennedy, Obama’s denying ever hearing Reverend Wright’s disturbing remarks over twenty years, then admitting later that he did hear remarks in his speech. Obama’s admitting he only worded for Rezko for a few hours during a debate, when in fact he knew Rezko for over 17 years. , Obama not wanting Michigan and Florida revotes.
Lastly, McCain Republicans are encouraging Republicans to endorse Obama NOT Senator Clinton because they know that Senator Obama will be very easy to attack. They also know that recent polls have shown that over thirty percent of Clinton supporters will NOT support Senator Obama. Those Clinton supporters will vote for McCain.
The media is painting a picture much different than the true reality of what is going on.
According to Lou Dobbs Tonight the news has a favorable bias towards Obama and against Senator Clinton. Here are the statistics from his web site.
Lou Dobbs Tonight – March 31, 2008
Lou Dobbs had a quick vote on his show tonight and the results were as follows:
Quick Vote
Do you believe there is a media bias against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Barack Obama?
Yes 72% 13161
No 28% 5013
Total Votes: 18174
My community wants a Democrat to win the White House. There are just too many issues about Senator Obama that would be raised by the Republicans that he would never be able to withstand. Please endorse Senator Clinton or Democrats will not win the White House.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alice Rea Garrison
PS Please forgive me for any errors in this message as I suffer from PTSD and have a difficult time with concentration skills. I hope and pray that I have not expressed myself as a racist as that certainly has not been my intent.
— Alice Rea Garrison Apr 07, 08:27 AM CST #