Posts with the tag Presidential

Joe Biden is my homeboy's homeboy

Barack Obama Fan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:52:50 EDT

I think Obama has chosen the absolute best candidate for his running mate. Congrats Biden... you're not just my homeboy, you're my homeboy's homeboy.

It couldn't have been said better. This is perfect...
Joe Biden is my homeboy's homeboy

Why is Sen. Obama ignoring West Virginia?

Bordelon — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:45:42 EDT

Why is Sen. Obama ignoring West Virginia? I know that he is behind in the polls there but He has enough money to have really campaigned there. Is he afraid that he can not convince rural America that he is a good candidate? I have problems with his lack of fight in states where he really can not depend on the over 90% Black vote to win or at least keep things close. After seeing his actions here I really question why he took his name off the ballot in Michigan. Was it premeditated knowing that he would loose there anyway and make himself look weak? He still has issues I would like him to clarify?

Who Will You Vote for if Obama is the Democratic Nominee McCain or Obama?

Progressive Democrat — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:53:48 EDT

I am interested as a Democrat to see where your Political vote is now that Obama will be our Democatic Nominee.

Now I know their are 100's of members on here just reading the blogs who are Democrats.

What really interests me is how you will vote if Obama is our nominee in Denver which it appears he will be .

Simple quesion Do you support McCain or Obama ?

If you support McCain are you going to switch parties and become a Republican?
So these are my questions to all Democrats on the DNC site today?

Is Senator Hillary Clinton Lying Again ?

Progressive Democrat — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:03:24 EDT

Candidate Clinton to Richardson: 'Barack Obama Can't Win'
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Share April 02, 2008 7:39 PM

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former President Bill Clinton are making very direct arguments to Democratic superdelegates, starkly insisting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., cannot win a general election against presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Sources with direct knowledge of the conversation between Sen. Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., prior to the Governor's endorsement of Obama say she told him flatly, "He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win."

Richardson, who served in President Clinton's cabinet, disagreed.

At a rally in Oregon, standing next to Obama, Richardson insisted, "My great affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver." But he added, "It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting among ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall."

Yet here's a wrinkle, from a source with direct knowledge of Richardson's conversations with the Clintons: Richardson himself told Sen. Clinton and former President Clinton that he didn't think Obama could win, back when he was (according to the Clintons) telling them earlier this year that he wouldn't endorse Obama.

"Too inexperienced," Richardson said, the source tells ABC News.

WATCH GEORGE'S FULL WORLD NEWS REPORT BY CLICKING HERE.

A report in the San Francisco Chronicle detailed another explosive exchange in which the former president angrily objected to Richardson's endorsement.

"Five times to my face [Richardson] said that he would never do that," Clinton said, according to the Chronicle -- before, the newspaper reports, he "went on a tirade that ran from the media's unfair treatment of Hillary to questions about the fairness of the votes in state caucuses that voted for Obama. It ended with him asking delegates to imagine what the reaction would be if Obama was trailing by just 1 percent and people were telling him to drop out."

Another, neutral superdelegate who was in the room for that meeting called the Chronicle's take "a bit exaggerated." But there is no question the Clintons are passionately arguing their case against Obama in what is fast becoming an intense race not just for the votes of the public but of the Democratic elite known as superdelegates.

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The problem here is figuring out who is telling the truth.
After Senator Hillary Clinton lied about Bosnia recently and her contacts with Canadian Government officials regarding Nafta I am inclinded to believe that Gov.Bill Richardson did not say he would endorse Senator Clinton.

No person should have to be a puppet on strings which I believe the Clintons feel their former people in their Administration should be .

Gov. Bill Richardson has a mind of his own like we all do.

What I like about him is I believe he is telling the truth about the way he feels regarding Senator Barack Obama.

My conclusion as I write this is that Bill and Hillary are lying once again and believe the Whitehouse should be theirs at any cost at this point in the campaign.

If any of their friends go against them watchout then your their enemy.

If you support them then your as good as gold.

Its time for the Clintons to stop lying the desperation is showing now big time.

Their campaign is getting out of control or maybe since losing so many times to Obama they lost it a long time ago.

Jimmy Carter Will Endorse and Vote for Senator Obama

Progressive Democrat — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:17:18 EDT

4/3/08 CNN) â€" Former President Jimmy Carter all but said Wednesday he plans to cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama.

Speaking with a Nigerian paper while in Abuja, Carter noted several reasons why he might be leaning toward the Illinois senator.

"Don’t forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia," Carter said. "My town, which is home to 625 people, is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama."

"As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for but I leave you to make that guess," Carter added.

The Carter Center confirmed to CNN the newspaper did quote Carter accurately.

Responding to the comments, Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said Thursday, "Both Senator Clinton and President Clinton have a great deal of respect for President Carter and have enjoyed their relationship with him over the years, and obviously he is free to make whatever decision he thinks is appropriate with regard to presidential choice."

Wolfson also acknowledged "people will be interested in the choice that he makes."

Carter's remarks are the latest from the former president that suggest he is backing Obama over rival Hillary Clinton, although he has made no official endorsement. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January, Carter said Obama's campaign has been "extraordinary and titillating for me and my family."

He also said then that Obama "will be almost automatically a healing factor in the animosity now that exists, that relates to our country and its government."

Another Superdelegate that will very soon come out directly for Senator Obama.

As I have said before the Superdelegates are starting to make their voices heard and moving from undecided to Obama.

I belive at some point even Al Gore will support Obama before the Denver Convention happens .

I am sure Senator Obama in his private talks with former Vice president Al Gore are about opne support aswell.

Gallup and Pew New National Poll Out 3/29/08 Clintons Margins Continue Downward

Progressive Democrat — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:30:41 EDT

Race Poll Results Spread
Democratic Presidential Nomination Gallup Tracking Obama 50, Clinton 43 Obama +7

As I have been saying as we go into each day and week the National Polls will show Senator Clinton going down .

Lets take a look at the latest Pew National Poll and what they are saying .
Released March 27, 2008

The videos of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial sermons and Barack Obama's subsequent speech on race and politics have attracted more public attention than any events thus far in the 2008 presidential campaign. A majority of the public (51%) said they heard "a lot" about the videos, and an even larger percentage (54%) said they heard a lot about Obama's speech, according to the weekly News Interest Index.

Most voters aware of the sermons say they were personally offended by Wright's comments, and a sizable minority (35%) says that their opinion of Obama has grown less favorable because of Wright's statements.

However, the Wright controversy does not appear to have undermined support for Obama's candidacy. The latest nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted March 19-22 among 1,503 adults, finds that Obama maintains a 49%-to-39% advantage over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, which is virtually unchanged from than the 49%-to-40% lead he held among Democrats in late February. Obama and Clinton continue to enjoy slight advantages over John McCain in general election matchups among all registered voters.

The new polling suggests that the Wright affair has not hurt Obama's standing, in part because his response to the controversy has been viewed positively by voters who favor him over Clinton. Obama's handling of the Wright controversy also won a favorable response from a substantial proportion of Clinton supporters and even from a third of Republican voters.

More than eight-in-ten supporters of Obama (84%) who have heard about the controversy over Wright's sermons say he has done an excellent or good job of dealing with the situation. Reactions from Clinton supporters, and Republicans, are on balance negative; however, 43% of Clinton voters and a third of Republican voters who have heard about the affair express positive opinions about Obama's handling of the situation.

The survey finds that, in general, Obama has a highly favorable image among Democratic voters, including white Democrats. But while Obama's personal image is more favorable than Clinton's, certain social beliefs and attitudes among older, white, working-class Democratic voters are associated with his lower levels of support among this group.

In particular, white Democrats who hold unfavorable views of Obama are much more likely than those who have favorable opinions of him to say that equal rights for minorities have been pushed too far; they also are more likely to disapprove of interracial dating, and are more concerned about the threat that immigrants may pose to American values. In addition, nearly a quarter of white Democrats (23%) who hold a negative view of Obama believe he is a Muslim.

Less educated and older white Democrats, who have not backed Obama in most primary elections, hold these values more commonly than do other Democrats.

These patterns suggest the potential for future reverberations from the Wright controversy if Obama wins the Democratic nomination. More conservative beliefs about equal rights and race are not only related to negative opinions of Obama among Democrats, suggesting the potential for defections among Democratic voters, but also are associated with negative views of him in the electorate at large.

An analysis of the survey finds that holding conservative positions on political and social values is associated with a greater likelihood of supporting McCain over Obama among Republicans, Democrats and independents, and all demographic groups. In contrast, however, this pattern is much less apparent in the Clinton-McCain matchup, excepting views about women in leadership roles.

One of the few negative trends for Obama following the Wright affair is that a larger number of conservative Republicans hold a very unfavorable opinion of him in the new poll than did so in February. The survey also finds that Obama no longer enjoys the favorable image rating advantage over McCain among independents that was apparent in previous polls.

White Democrats and the Candidates

Large majorities of white Democratic voters view Obama as honest, inspiring, patriotic, and down-to-earth. Obama's personal image surpasses Clinton's on almost every personal attribute tested in the survey, except patriotism.

In addition, roughly twice as many white Democrats say the word "phony" describes Clinton than say it describes Obama (30% vs. 16%). And the gap is even larger in perceptions of likability; 43% of white Democratic voters say the phrase "hard-to-like" describes Clinton, while just 13% say it describes Obama.

Gender makes a significant difference in personal perceptions of Hillary Clinton. Democratic women voters are much more likely than their male counterparts to view Clinton as honest and down-to-earth, and they more often report that Clinton makes them feel proud and hopeful. However, Democratic women voters are about as likely as Democratic men to say the descriptors hard-to-like and phony apply to Clinton.

Views of Obama More Tied to Voters' Emotions

White voters' views of Barack Obama are more influenced by how he makes them feel than by specific characteristics voters attribute to him. Saying that Obama makes them feel hopeful and proud are the strongest predictors of the ratings white Democrats give him. And of the personal traits tested, "inspiring" is more closely linked with views of the Illinois senator than any of the others.

On the other hand, views of Hillary Clinton among white Democratic voters are more influenced by perceptions that she is phony than by any other trait or emotion tested. But saying that Clinton makes them feel proud and hopeful also are significant predictors of how these voters rate her. Interestingly, while sizable minorities of white Democratic voters say Clinton is hard-to-like (43%), this opinion does not have a significant impact on her favorability ratings.

McCain Out of the Spotlight

Opinions about John McCain are mostly unchanged in the current survey. In part, this may be explained by his low level of public visibility.

In the current weekly News Interest Index survey, just 3% mentioned McCain, unprompted, as the candidate they had heard most about in the news. That compares with 71% who named Obama and 15% who named Clinton as the candidate they had heard most about.

More positive for McCain, however, is that a growing proportion of Republican voters say that the GOP will solidly unite behind the Arizona senator; 64% express that view currently, up from 58% in late February. Along with this expression of increased partisan unity, the survey finds that by a considerable margin (52%-37%), independent voters say that if McCain is elected, he will take the country in a different direction rather than continuing Bush's policies.

This comes at an opportune time for the GOP candidate. Bush's job approval rating has slipped to 28%, the lowest of his presidency. In addition, just 22% express satisfaction with the way things are going in the country. This, too, is about as negative an evaluation of the course of the nation as measured in nearly 20 years of Pew surveys.

Other important findings include:

The Wright controversy has not heightened the public's impression that Obama's race will undermine his chance in the general election if he is the nominee. Only 21% say Obama's race will hurt his chances, compared with 25% who held that view in January.
One-in-ten voters believe that Barack Obama is Muslim; 14% of Republicans, 10% of Democrats and 8% of independents think he is Muslim.
Fewer Democratic voters now think that a long primary contest is a good thing for the party. Just 44% think it is a good thing for the party that the nominating contest has not been settled. A month ago 57% expressed that view.
Most Democratic supporters of Clinton and Obama express favorable opinions of the other candidate. However, the campaign has taken a toll on positive views of both candidates among their rival's supporters. Still, majorities of Obama and Clinton supporters still believe the party will solidly unite behind the nominee even if their favored candidate does not prevail.
Nearly six-in-ten Democratic voters (57%) believe that Obama is most likely to win the party's nomination, while 28% expect Clinton to prevail. Last month, 70% said Obama was most likely to win, while 17% expected Clinton to win.
Pre-recorded campaign calls, or "robo-calls," have become the leading form of campaign communication in the 2008 primary season. Nationwide, 39% of voters say they have received a pre-recorded call about the campaign, up from 25% in November.

As again I have consistantly stated Senator Clinton will not do well and as we continue down the path of her trying to win the noination her negatives will continue to go up as the American decide enough of this lets talk about issues and beating Senator McCain.

Again I will continue to review whats happening in the Polls .

Its not looking good for Senator Clitnon.

This is one Hillary & Barack supporters will enjoy

Mike Barack Hussein — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:12:03 EDT

It's from Alternet and titled: "Not Wright: Black Man Damns US and Gets Vilified, White Man Calls for Nuking Cities and Gets Applauded" in case you already read it. I know about Francis Schaeffer because of my study of theology; and he is a very intelligent and thorough writer. I just don't happen to agree with him.

Read the whole article at:

LINK

Larry King Live Public Opinion Poll

Sharkhunter — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:23:41 EST

Who do you believe will get the Democratic Presidential Nomination?

Clinton 39% 7967

Obama 61% 12202

This is not a scientific poll.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

Leap Year

Democrat in Chapel Hill, NC — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:02:04 EST

Today is February 29th and in 4 short days it looks like we will probably know our two candidates:

John McCain has essentially secured the nomination

Barack Obama is the front-runner, no doubt, and in recent polling it seems highly unlikely that Hillary Clinton can catch up to him in delegates.

I attended a forum tonight asking us to consider a black candidate for President, and think if America is ready for a black President. While many people at the start of Barack Obama's campaign said no, many now are saying they think America is ready. Polls show that Americans SAY they are ready, but it is still a long time before the ballots are cast in November.

One thing to think about is how Obama has carried himself through this campaign, not soliciting to the black community like candidates before him, and truly being a candidate on the issues ignoring his race. As MLK Jr. said, his dream was one day we would not be judged by the color of our skin, but the content of our character, and it seems America has finally reached this point, at least it seems.

Another thing to think about is he will be going against John McCain, a decorated war hero with much experience in public office. Barack Obama, in all honesty, does not have near the experience John McCain has had in his life, since her is almost 25 years older. While McCains strengths will be national security, experience, and his personal character Obama can continue to run as the candidate of change, hope, a generation standing up for a better America, and a promise of a new direction for the country in general.

The question I will be pondering with your responses over the next few months will be what America feels is more important in this historic election. Does America feel like we need an older, safe President with experience or are we ready for change, to take a chance and vote for a younger voice to bring America hope once again. Recent polls show the two candidates about even. Historically, black candidates receive about 5% less support on election day due to racism. I feel this might actually give McCain an advantage right now, especially with the fight between Obama and Clinton still going on in the present. It seems to me that this election will come down to the situation in Iraq come late October, America's current state of racism, and Obama's ability to show America he is a capable leader regardless of his race and past. Is America ready for a black President? Maybe, but we have a long ways to go before anything can be said definite.

At the end of each blog post I will give my current prediction of who will win the election.

If the election were held today, I say John McCain wins by a small but respectable margin.

On Healthcare:

Democrat in North Canton, OH — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:32:44 EST

As Hillary and Barack debate, discuss and tackle the issue of healthcare, I present one idea not being looked at seriously enough. Barack talks about, "getting insurance and pharmaceutical companies to let go of some of their profits." Certainly this will be part of the end solution to the extreme cost of health insurance. However, it does little to address the actual cost of the care.
My mother is on medicare and medicaid. Two Sundays ago she dropped a bag of potatoes on her foot. After seeing the black and blues, she decided the pain was bad enough to call medicare to see what to do about it. They told her to go directly to the ER. She told me later that they took xrays and gave her a fake shoe so she couldn't move the toe. It was sprained. My mother was greatful for having medicare because she said if not she would have had to pay the $1,200 bill herself.
Two years ago I was unemployed and sprained my wrist in an auto accident. Although I had no coverage at the time, I knew the state was going to start medicare coverage for me. In fact, the accident happened on the way to the caseworkers office to apply for it. I called a few clinics and doctor's offices, all of them telling me that if this was going to be covered and I could not pay at the time of service, I needed to go to the ER. I did. They took xrays and gave me a splint for my wrist. The bills [between doctor and xray and ER] came to just under $2,000. Two days later I got a new job and no longer qualified for the medicare. But I did qualify for paying the bill.
So, as we look for ways to cut the cost of care, $1,200 for a sprained toe and $2,000 for a sprained wrist might be a good place to start. If anyone reading this has access to Hillary or her staff, please, pass this up the line. Maybe she can use this to show she really is the one who should be president.

Voters To Get Chaotic Presidential Race Banner-100,000 points.

Michael Tiffany — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:28:37 EST

With this blog the 100,000 point level has been broken, and even though the points do not covert to cash they do show how much work you can do. If I the dial up boy can top 100,000 point level in six months then I know everyone else can do it too, so the more all of you use this website the more our right to freedom of speech is exercised. Please contribute your efforts as much as possible here, and rock n’ roll this country back to a democracy that we can all be truly proud to say is the best.

While we're Talking about Health Care, Here's More of Barack Obama's Plan:

D. Tree — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:32:00 EST

(thanks to Democrat in St. Petersburg, VA's comment in Moses' post semantics of health coverage)

Both the health plans being floated can be confusing, so thanks to this comparison chart I'm learning some new things about Barack's plan that I like.

Now, the chart is funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation (so if anyone has a better reference please share it), but according to the comparison, Barack Obama's plan is also different in terms of changing the existing private insurance industry:

* Prohibit insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

* Prevent insurers from abusing monopoly power through unjustified price increases.

* Require health plans to disclose the percentage of their premiums that actually goes to paying for patient care as opposed to administrative costs.

Now, I'm not an expert at any of this - so feel free to jump in and correct me - but those look like good ideas to me.

In a way I'm glad for the recent controversy over the competing health care proposals, because the more I learn about Barack Obama's plan, the more I like it.

Check out the chart for yourself and let people know if you see anything else that stands out.

Best,
D. Tree

Early Voting starts today in Florida

Jim Callahan — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:03:57 EST

In person, early voting starts today (Monday, January 14, 2008) in Florida at a limited number of locations in each of Florida's 67 counties for the January 29 primary.

On the ballot, is the Presidential Preference Primary, Amendment #1 concerning property taxes and in Orlando there is the Mayor's race and one City Council race (District #6). There is also a special election for Florida House district 32 in eastern Orange County and portions Brevard County.

The district 6 City Council seat is held by City Councilman Sam Ings and his district includes predominately African-American neighborhoods.

A City of Orlando District 6 ballot:
http://www.ocfelections.com/Ballots/23.PDF

Early voting sites and other information is available here:

Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL

Liveblogging the caucus

Michael Link — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:29:09 EST

Just wanted to make sure everybody sticks around PartyBuilder tonight to talk about the caucus results when they come in.

Somebody, I'm sure, will have a single, neutral thread for everybody to comment in.

And for caucus results themselves, last night Mark T tipped us off to this website from the Iowa Democratic Party. Google also has a really cool mashup that will display the live results as they come in tonight.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up.

Democratic Ethics Hogwash

halfcentury — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:19:32 EST

Wake Up! How long have you people been sleeping, obviously through the entire Clinton Presidency.

I really am not believing this, seriously.

We do not need another Clinton in the White House. Have you forgotten about all the scandals?

Do you really believe they were innocent in Whitewater? Come on.

Our President, the man who represented our country, the man who was supposed to set presidence for your children bald faced lied, cheated, and did not have any ethics on national television when he said that Monica only sucked his dick!

Clinton should have been thrown out of the White House and never have received any payments for the rest of his life!

I cannot believe that this is the type of people you would choose to run our country.

I know others have probably had affairs but at least they had the decency to keep it out of the public eye and off national tv.

Senator Clinton has only stayed married to him to futher her career. You don't divorce in their world of politics.

Everyone wants to blame Bush for the mess this countries in and I'm not saying he is not partly to blame however, you do not see the results of a presidents time until after his term and Clinton started this nasty ball rolling a long time ago.

Many things are to blame for the state of the US and yes Ethics goes a long way. However, our very own ethics and the ethics we instil in our children contribute to the state of the US. We need to look within ourselves as well. Where are parents these days? Kids are being raised by others not by us. Our children are selfish because of us. They are impatient because of us. They don't want to work for "that" amount of money, or "those" hours and the list goes on... why? because of us. They have nasty mouths, bad attitudes, and think the world owes them something. Why? Because of us.

Yes, we love them, but the truth is the truth. We've all had a hand in making the US a worse place.

Still....A CLINTON IS NOT going to fix it.

The race to the finish!

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:36:20 EST

Days have now turned to hours, and the day we've waited for is almost here! So I make another pitch to yall about Bill Richardson, maybe to convince atleast 1 more voter!

Bill Richardson has served 14 years in the United States Congress. He is the only candidate to have served as UN ambassador, He is the only leading candidated who has worked in the White House in an official capacity. He knows how to run a government, he's done a stellar job in New Mexico, dealing with all aspects of government. He has been on the frontlines of the illegal immigration problem. He's created over 80,000 new jobs, unemployment is at its lowest in 30 years, teachers are being paid more, students are performing better, and the state is one of the leading states on cleaning up the environment. He turned around a struggling economy with tax cuts and controlled spending. He has defended the 2nd Amendment, and has fought for equality for EVERYONE! He is the only candidate in the top 4 with serious foreign policy experience.

Bill Richardson has the experience we need in America! He is the only leading candidate who has pledged to get our troops out of Iraq. He knows how to deal with the bullies of the world, and turn America into a respected nation once more. So I ask you Iowa and New Hampshire voters to go out and support Bill Richardson, because we can't afford 4 more years of the wrong President...

www.richardsonforpresident.com

NPR Reports:Presidential Hopefuls Woo Voters with Holiday Ads Banner.

Michael Tiffany — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:57:23 EST

On The Issues Presidential Statistics Banners.

Michael Tiffany — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:44:18 EST

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Democrat in Bull Shoals, AR — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:27:29 EST

I recently wrote an open letter on my personal blog and want to post it here.
Monday, November 26, 2007 Open Letter to Presidential Candidates (U.S.)

Well, since it is here and easy to step onto, I am pulling out the soapbox this morning. This is an open letter to all the presidential candidates about what I want from my next president. Here it is not in priority order since I don't want to make this too hard:

BEST OF OBAMA's Transparent Gov Bills = Please Copy + Pass Out As You Canvass + "Blog Everyhwere"

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:26:15 EST

""Obama on Ethics and Lobbying Reform""

Link

Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has fought for open and honest government. As an Illinois State Senator, he helped pass the state’s first major ethics reform bill in 25 years. And as a U.S. Senator, he has spearheaded the effort to clean up Washington in the wake of numerous scandals. In the first two weeks of the 110th Congress, Senator Obama helped lead the Senate to pass the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act, a comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform bill, by a 96-2 vote. This landmark bill was signed into law by the President in September 2007.

PART OF ARTICLE INCLUDED

""Alone among the U.S. Presidential candidates"", Barack Obama is confronting the question of how to produce more accountable and effective politics in our democracy. His just-released Tech Plan (Download Obama Tech Plan) uniquely understands that the time, expertise and enthusiasm that ordinary people invest in making Wikipedia better, for example, can be transformed into practices to make government work better and more accountably. So he doesn't just call for making information more transparent to citizens; he wants to hear what we have to say and enable us to participate. The Plan calls for citizen engagement in the work of federal agencies and demonstrates respect for the intelligence and expertise of the American people. He calls for opening up the closed practices of government and using new technology to enable genuine citizen participation and engagement in our democracy. This is a major and unprecedented step. No other candidate “gets it.” They pay lip service to transparency. He proposes making government data available online as well as ensuring that agencies do their work in public. They talk about citizen congresses that would deliberate in quaint town hall meetings having nothing to do with real world politics or power. He proposes engaging citizens in the actual and ongoing work and decision-making of government -- not Americans talking to elected officials but Americans genuinely participating. They talk about technology and innovation. He offers a comprehensive broadband strategy, commitment to media diversity, and a proposal to improve patent quality, including the practice of rigorous, public peer review like Peer-to-Patent. They talk about strong IP. He balances his support of strong IP with recognition of the need to promote collaboration and innovation. I am excited about Obama’s Tech Plan. In fact, it should be called the “Democracy Plan.”

He alone does what a President should do, namely articulate a vision for democracy in the digital age.

CLICK LINK TO SEE WHAT He wants to DO: Link