Your $7.00 monthly contribution will go a long way to helping us expand the coverage and services you enjoy.
GET THE LATEST PUBDEF NEWS 24/7:
ABOUT PUB DEF
PUB
DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
City of St. Louis, Missouri. Our goal is to cast a critical eye
on lawmakers, their policies, and those that have influence upon
them, and to educate our readers about legislation and the political
processes that affect our daily lives.
CONTACT US
Do you have
a press release, news tip or rumor to share?
According to David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager, by sweeping today's caucuses and primaries, Senator Obama more than doubled his pledged delegate lead over Senator Hillary Clinton.
Before today, Obama led Clinton by 27 pledged delegates (pledged delegates are those won through caucus and primary election wins, as opposed to superdelegates which are basically endorsements by officials. These superdelegates are not necessarily fixed and can change their alliances).
"In the four contests today, we estimate we won 103 delegates to Clinton’s 58 delegates for a net gain of 45 delegates," wrote Plouffe on the Obama website.
"The pledged delegate total through February 9 now stands at 1,012 for Obama and 940 for Clinton."
As more precincts came in it became clear this was going down to the wire. By 11:00, Barack Obama was within 5,000 votes. After midnight, results showed Obama winning by about 9,000 votes.
With 3,357 of 3,371 precincts reporting, Obama leads Clinton 403,343 votes to 394,566. That's 49.1% to 48.1% .
Supporters of Barack Obama will be watching tomorrow's Super Tuesday results at the Moolah Theater, 3821 Lindell Blvd, starting at 7:00 tomorrow evening.
Lines wrapped around three sides of the Edward Jones Dome before the doors opened and crowds of supporters poured onto the stadium floor.
"I haven't seen so many people in this dome since the Rams were having better days," Congressman Lacy Clay told the crowd, which by stadium officials numbered at 20,000 22,500.
The man they all came to see, Presidential candidate Barack Obama, was accompanied on the stage by Clay, Congressman Russ Carnahan, former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan, State Auditor Susan Montee, County Executive Charlie Dooley, and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a woman PubDef first reported as a possible Vice-Presidential selection and who is currently featured in an Obama campaign commercial running nationwide.
According to a new poll from SurveyUSA, the contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is now too close to call in Missouri.
The poll shows Hillary Clinton at 48% with a slight lead over Obama at 44%, but that's within the margin of error (3.9%).
There is a clear age difference among supporters of the two Democrats. 61% of 18-34 year-olds support Obama while 61% of voters over the age of 61 support Clinton.
Obama has the support of 76% of blacks, 38% of whites, and 57% of Hispanics in Missouri. Clinton is supported by 54% of whites, 17% of blacks, and 41% of Hispanics.
As for party affiliation, Obama continues to attract moderate Republicans and Independents. Among the Republicans planning to vote Democratic, 60% support Obama (compared to Clinton's 30%). Meanwhile, 55% of Independents support Obama.
Among Democrats, 52% support Clinton and 41% support Obama.
As you may have heard, the biggest thing in politics since the ballot box is coming to St. Louis today and they could barely find a place big enough to hold the expected crowd.
The "Stand for Change" Rally with Senator Barack Obama is today (Saturday) at the Edward Jones Dome. Doors open at 7:00 PM and it is free to the public. So come on down!
VIDEO: Barack Obama in Kansas City: 'Don't Fall for the Ol' Okie-Doke'
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 6:01 AM
KANSAS CITY -- When Barack Obama stopped in Kansas City Tuesday, he was welcomed by a crowd so big that the fire marshal wouldn't allow anymore people inside the Municipal Auditorium. The Kansas City Star put the numbers above 6,000. Others put the number closer to 8,000.
Senator Claire McCaskill and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius stood behind the presidential hopeful as he delivered a speech filled with humor and hope.
Obama asked his supporters not to be fooled by his opponents distortions. "People want to hoodwink you," said Obama. "They want to bamboozle you. They want to run the 'okie-doke' on you."
Sorry about the bouncy camera. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to get this video.
JEFFERSON CITY -- We heard an interesting rumor today in Jefferson City -- at a John Edwards rally of all places (check back later for video). If Senator Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination for President, would he select Sen. Claire McCaskill as his runningmate?
Selecting McCaskill would do two important things: repair relations with some female Democrats now supporting Hillary Clinton, and almost certainly ensure the Democrats win the State of Missouri, which has a nearly perfect record for selecting the President.
Comptroller Darlene Green, former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan and her son, Congressman Russ Carnahan, were among a dozen Missouri officials who gathered Sunday to show their support for Presidential candidate Barack Obama.
More than a dozen Missouri elected officials, including U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan, and Congressman Russ Carnahan, gathered today to announce Senator Barack Obama is returning to St. Louis next weekend.
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill broke the news at a press conference a few minutes ago: Barack Obama will be in St. Louis on Saturday for a 9:00 PM public event (no word yet where). That's just three days before Missouri and 20 other states get a chance to vote on the Democratic and Republican candidates.
Senator Barack Obama defeated The Clinton Machine 2-1 in the South Carolina Democratic Primary last night.
With 99% of the precincts reporting, Obama received 295,091 (55%) votes to Hillary Clinton's 141,128 (27%) and South Carolina native John Edwards' 93,552 (18%) votes.
Obama has won more delegates (not including so-called "super delegates", Obama has won 63 delegates, Clinton 48, and Edwards 26) and more votes (in all the primaries and caucuses so far) of any other Democratic candidate.
This contest is not about white vs. black, rich vs. poor, or women vs. men, said Obama in his eloquent victory speech last night. This contest is simply about the future vs. the past.
In today's edition, The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonansays it as well as it can be stated...
We begin, as one always must now, again, with Bill Clinton. The past week he has traveled South Carolina, leaving discord in his wake. Barack Obama, that "fairytale," is low, sneaky. "He put out a hit job on me." The press is cruelly carrying Mr. Obama's counter-jabs. "You live for it."
In Dillon, S.C., according to the Associated Press, on Thursday Mr. Clinton "predicted that many voters will be guided mainly by gender and race loyalties" and suggested his wife may lose Saturday's primary because black voters will side with Mr. Obama. Who is raising race as an issue? Bill Clinton knows. It's the press, and Mr. Obama. "Shame on you," Mr. Clinton said to a CNN reporter. The same day the Web site believed to be the backdoor of the Clinton war room unveiled a new name for the senator from Illinois: "Sticky Fingers Obama."
Bill Clinton, with his trembly, red-faced rage, makes John McCain look young. His divisive and destructive daily comportment—this is a former president of the United States—is a civic embarrassment. It is also an education, and there is something heartening in this.
There are many serious and thoughtful liberals and Democrats who support Mr. Obama and John Edwards, and who are seeing Mr. Clinton in a new way and saying so. Here is William Greider in The Nation, the venerable left-liberal magazine. The Clintons are "high minded" on the surface but "smarmily duplicitous underneath, meanwhile jabbing hard at the groin area. They are a slippery pair and come as a package. The nation is at fair risk of getting them back in the White House for four years."
That, again, is from one of the premier liberal journals in the United States. It is exactly what conservatives have been saying for a decade. This may mark a certain coming together of the thoughtful on both sides. The Clintons, uniters at last.
Mr. Obama takes the pummeling and preaches the high road. It's all windup with him, like a great pitcher more comfortable preparing to throw than throwing. Something in him resists aggression. He tends to be indirect in his language, feinting, only suggestive. I used to think he was being careful not to tear the party apart, and endanger his own future.
But the Clintons are tearing the party apart. It will not be the same after this. It will not be the same after its most famous leader, and probable ultimate victor, treated a proud and accomplished black man who is a U.S. senator as if he were nothing, a mere impediment to their plans. And to do it in a way that signals, to his supporters, How dare you have the temerity, the ingratitude, after all we've done for you?
Watch for the GOP to attempt swoop in after the November elections and make profit of the wreckage.
Senator Claire McCaskill told reporters yesterday that President Bill Clinton was playing "fast and loose" with the facts when attacking Senator Barack Obama on his wife's behalf.
"Because of the larger megaphone he has as a former president," said McCaskill, an Obama supporter, "he needs to be very careful with the truth. … He has tried to manipulate the facts in a way that is patently unfair."
On the day before the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Senator Barack Obama addressed the congregation of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
Over the weekend, former Senator Jean Carnahan joined current Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill and announced her endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President.
"While I know and admire all the Democrats running for president, I am convinced that Barack Obama is the candidate best able to unite our nation and restore our moral leadership in the world," said Carnahan. "As president, he will be a strong voice and a powerful force for change during this critical time in our nation's history. Barack Obama is an inspirational leader, who embodies the ideals of our democracy and the hopes of a new century. I heartily endorse him for president of the United States."
Jean Carnahan was the first woman to serve as a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 2001-2002. Carnahan joins her son, Congressman Russ Carnahan, Congressman Lacy Clay, Senator McCaskill, State Auditor Susan Montee, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and several other current and former Missouri elected officials who have endorsed Obama.
Missouri supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama are taking to the streets this weekend, going door-to-door to get out the vote for the Illinois senator.
The statewide canvass will be taking place this Saturday, according to Hollie Saunders, one of the organizers. "We will be having volunteers knock on doors in the community to help encourage people to get out and vote on primary day, and talk to voters about why they are supporting Barack for the presidency," said Saunders.
Missourians will have their first chance to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice ofn February 5.
Those interested in canvassing for Obama this weekend can meet at one of the following locations Saturday at 10:00 AM:
Frontyard Feature 2000 S. 39th Street St Louis City 314-436-5426
Congressman Russ Carnahan's Campaign Office 7370 Manchester, Suite 20 St Louis County 314-436-5426
The Obama campaign's Chesterfield office is holding an open house tonight at 6:00. The office is located at 16401 Swingley Ridge Rd., 63005.
And all you Obama Girls are welcome to come out to Flamingo Bowl, 1117 Washington Ave., Friday night for St. Louis Women for Obama's "Ladies Night Out" starting at 7:00.
And make your cell phone do the talking for you. Get your Barack Obama ringtones right here.
The Columbia Tribune reports that former Sen. John Edwards will be in St. Louis Saturday at the Carpenters' District Council headquarters at 9:15 A.M.
The Tribune also reports that Sen. Barack Obama "said yesterday in response to a Tribune query that he would arrive in Missouri - with Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri - before Super Ultra Mega Tuesday on Feb. 5."
McCaskill to Endorse Obama, Might Have Something to Do with '06 Comment
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 8:53 AM
The AP is reporting that Senator Claire McCaskill is going to endorse Barack Obama for President today.
McCaskill has praised Obama often and was widely believed to favor the Illinois senator over Clinton. But the Senate freshman had resisted openly supporting a candidate until now, saying she wanted to preserve working relationships with Senate colleagues.
She said last week that she identifies with the desire for change that Obama supporters have reported to pollsters.
One factor in McCaskill's endorsement may have been that her relationship with Hillary Clinton has been a bit shaky dating back to when McCaskill was running for the senate in 2006.
During an appearance that year on NBC's "Meet the Press", McCaskill said she didn't want former President Bill Clinton, who had previously appeared at a rally for McCaskill in St. Louis, anywhere near her daughter. PubDef.net learned that the next day a fundraiser the Clintons had scheduled for McCaskill in New York was canceled.
MR. RUSSERT: You’re having Bill Clinton come in to raise money for you. Do you think Bill Clinton was a great president?
MS. McCASKILL: I do. I think—I have a lot of problems with some of his, his, his personal issues. I said at...
MR. RUSSERT: But do you...
MS. McCASKILL: I said at the time, “I think he’s been a great leader, but I don’t want my daughter near him.”
MR. RUSSERT: You said that, according to New Yorker magazine, that you don’t think Hillary Clinton would be a good Democratic nominee because she couldn’t win Democrats in Missouri. True?
MS. McCASKILL: Well, you know, honestly, the presidential politics is going to get very intense and very, frankly, there’s going to be a lot of back and forth after November. I don’t want to get into presidential politics today.
MR. RUSSERT: Would you like to see her president?
MS. McCASKILL: You know, I, I, I think any Democratic nominee is going to be better than this president.
U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is about to announce his endorsement of Illinois senator Barack Obama for President, according to reports.
The message here seems to be: John Edwards (Kerry's former running mate) can't win the primary election, Hillary Clinton can't win the general election.
Before today, Obama led Clinton by 27 pledged delegates (pledged delegates are those won through caucus and primary election wins, as opposed to superdelegates which are basically endorsements by officials. These superdelegates are not necessarily fixed and can change their alliances).
