http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:15:02 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2rc4-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss By Michael D. Shear Within seconds of Barack Obama's final word, Sen. John McCain's campaign issued a point-by-point rebuttal of Obama's historic acceptance speech. "Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama," spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm's way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President." The statement then offered what it said were seven misleading claims Obama made in the speech, with documentation they said supported their position. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_campaigns_instant_respo.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_campaigns_instant_respo.html John McCain Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:15:02 -0500 Barack Obama takes the stage Thursday night at Invesco Field. (Reuters/ Jim Bourg ) DENVER -- 11:39 p.m. Hillary Rodham Clinton convention delegate Betty Fraley, a retired teacher with the Tennessee delegation, said the speech was "really good, covered everything he needed to." She said she was a bit surprised by his forceful tone in lines about the Republicans. "That shocked me a little -- I had not heard him do that before," she said. But she thought it was the right tack to take "because a lot of stuff is going to be coming at them" from the other side. Jerome Wiley Segovia, 34, of Arlington, a member of the Virginia delegation, said he did not worry that the setting and theatrics were too imperial, as the GOP had described the staging before the event. "This is a historic moment for a country as great as we are. It http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/inside_invesco.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/inside_invesco.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:39:04 -0500 By Alec MacGillis DENVER -- There are a lot of people inside the Invesco Field football stadium -- an astonishing turnout for a political event. But for all the people packed in here, there are others who got left outside. Kiki Farley, a retired teacher in Denver, volunteered often for the Obama campaign last winter when it targeted the Colorado caucus as one of its key states in the battle against Hillary Clinton, helping Obama rack up a handsome delegate pile in the Rocky Mountain state. She made phone calls, served as a precinct captain and contributed money. Her husband Gordon Farley, a retired physician, picked up the baton when the campaign moved into the general election, going door to door in Denver every other week. But when the couple called the campaign a few weeks ago to inquire about getting tickets to the big night here, they were told http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/high_and_dry_at_mile_high.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/high_and_dry_at_mile_high.html Conventions Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:32:40 -0500 By Jose Antonio Vargas DENVER -- It might be hard to find anyone who traveled farther than 27-year-old Abby Arnold to get here, just to be in the same city on the night Sen. Barack Obama gives his speech. Arnold flew in from Aarhus, Denmark, with her Danish husband yesterday, and she's been driving around, map in hand, to several watch parties being held across Denver outside the Invesco Field. The first site she drove to was canceled. The second, at City Park, was already closed -- too many people. And now, minutes after arriving on Washington Street here at Five Points, the historic black neighborhood, another viewing party is too packed to let her and husband in. "I'm so mad at the Denver Post!" said Arnold, who's biracial and grew up in Trout Lake, Wash. She moved to Denmark seven years ago. "We read the list of viewing parties http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/watching_the_speech_from_a_wat.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/watching_the_speech_from_a_wat.html Conventions Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:26:16 -0500 By Robert Barnes DAYTON, Ohio -- While Obamaniacs competed for tickets and withstood long lines to see their hero at Denver's Invesco Field, John McCain's rumored announcement of his running mate here tomorrow is not exactly drawing the same interest. McCain arrived here tonight to news reports that free tickets are still available to his rally tomorrow at a basketball arena at Wright State University. The Nutter Center has a capacity of about 12,000. While McCain aides have mocked as grandiose Obama's plan to give his acceptance speech before more than 75,000 at the stadium where the Denver Broncos play, McCain's events Saturday and Sunday on his "Road to the Convention" tour are also at stadiums. Minor league stadiums. Home to the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things of the Frontier League, and the River City Rascals of O'Fallon, Mo. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_stadium_rally_has_ticke.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_stadium_rally_has_ticke.html John McCain Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:49:48 -0500 By David S. Broder DENVER -- The Michigan delegation, which had to endure months of legal and political challenges just to be seated at the Democratic National Convention, is headed home Friday with a new worry. On Wednesday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm will open hearings that could lead to the removal of her fellow Democrat, Kwame M. Kilpatrick, as mayor of Detroit. The mayor, who was targeted in a sex scandal with his former executive secretary, now faces ten felony indictments in two separate cases. The Detroit City Council has called for his resignation and when he balked, it urged the governor to use her authority to remove him. Members of the Michigan delegation, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the situation, said today that Granholm is likely to find that "the preponderance of evidence" supports Kilpatrick's ouster. But she is reportedly uncomfortable at the prospective reaction if she, a http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/kilpatrick_poses_quandary_for.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/kilpatrick_poses_quandary_for.html Battlegrounds Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:40:05 -0500 The Obama campaign has released advance excerpts of his remarks, "The Promise of America," set for delivery later tonight. He is expected to say: "Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. "It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well. "It is why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/advance_excerpts_obamas_speech.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/advance_excerpts_obamas_speech.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:56:47 -0500 Barack Obama and Joe Biden in Denver, August 27, 2008. By Dan Balz DENVER -- When Barack Obama formally accepts the presidential nomination Thursday night, the Democratic Party will become Obama's party. But what kind of party will it be? That question has puzzled many of the people who think about the state of the political parties in this country, for the rise of Obama has come without some of the clear indicators that have accompanied the emergence of other politicians. In general, Obama assumes control of a party generally united -- more so than at some points in the past. He is the beneficiary of a party lacking in real divisions, even despite the long primary battle against Hillary Clinton. The talk at this convention of discord and division had little to do with disagreements over policy and everything to do with the fact that the nomination battle pitted http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/becoming_obamas_party.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/becoming_obamas_party.html Dan Balz's Take Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:09:34 -0500 Updated 5:11 p.m. By Juliet Eilperin Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) campaign has unveiled the "historic" and "very exciting" ad his spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker alluded to earlier today on Fox News, which will air tonight on national cable as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) prepares to accept his party's nomination. Heads up: the ad is not very exciting. The ad, titled "Convention Night," consists of McCain offering Obama his congratulations for becoming the first African-American in history to win the nomination of a major party. Speaking to the camera with just a simple black background, McCain declares, "Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations." Alluding to the fact that today is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, the presumptive GOP nominee continues, "How perfect http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_congratulates_obama_in_1.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_congratulates_obama_in_1.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:48:21 -0500 The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963. By Alec MacGillis DENVER -- Chatter among convention-goers here has it that the classical columns inside the football stadium where Barack Obama will deliver his speech tonight are meant to evoke not imperial grandeur but the Lincoln Memorial, before which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech 45 years ago this day. But for one Obama delegate here today, making that link required no architectural flourishes. John Rauh, a former U.S. Senate candidate from New Hampshire who now runs a campaign reform organization, was one of Obama's first prominent supporters in the Granite State. He is also the nephew of Joe Rauh, the legendary civil rights lawyer and founder of Americans for Democratic Action. Forty-five years ago, Joe Rauh was in the van that drove to Capitol Hill to pick up King, who had http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/recalling_the_dream_speech_45.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/recalling_the_dream_speech_45.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:14:59 -0500 Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our enhanced content. var thisObj = "flashobj082808X12v"; var so = new SWFObject("http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/wpniplayer_blog.swf", thisObj, "454", "305", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "always"); so.addParam("swfliveconnect", true); so.addVariable("thisObj", thisObj); so.addVariable("vid","082808-12v_title"); so.addVariable("playads", "yes"); so.addVariable("adserv",""); so.addVariable("autoStart", "no"); so.write("flashcontent082808X12v"); By Shailagh Murray DENVER -- Enough about the pillars, said Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe. "The backdrop is about exactly what President Bush used in 2004," Plouffe said in an interview with Washington Post reporters and editors, pushing back against Republican attacks that the classical columns on stage tonight conjur images of Obama as Caesar. Nor is the variety-show programming, also derided by the opposition, anything special. "Obviously we've had entertainers playing brief roles each night, so have the Republicans," said Plouffe. The Democratic National Convention this week has at times had a somewhat stilted feel -- probably because the format is so old school. Invesco Field has about four http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/beyond_the_pillars_a_speech.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/beyond_the_pillars_a_speech.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:08:49 -0500 Workers make final preparations on stage at Invesco Field, the site of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008. (AP/Jack Dempsey) By Jonathan Weisman DENVER -- Barack Obama will accept the nomination of his party on a deep blue circular stage jutting out of a monumental, columned semicircle adorned with American flags and the Obama-Biden logo. Obama aides call the set sober and simple. Republicans are mocking it as the Barackopolis, a grandiose monument to his ego. The setting, which is not ornate, bears a striking resemblance to the new World War II memorial monument on Washington's Mall. The stadium is already beginning to fill up. The Jumbotrons are firing videos, extolling Obama, the party, even Lyndon Baines Johnson on his birthday. And the Denver Broncos' concession stands are humming. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/invesco_field_stadium_begins_t.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/invesco_field_stadium_begins_t.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:59:53 -0500 Barack Obama in Denver, Colo., August 28, 2008. By Matthew Mosk DENVER -- Barack Obama surprised the women of the Illinois delegation in the midst of lunch at a hotel here this afternoon. "I have a speech tonight. I wanted to practice it out on you guys," Obama joked as the women cheered. "See if it works." Received with hugs and kisses, one woman interrupted his brief remarks with a scream: "I love you!" Obama told the gathering he wanted to drop in to thank them for getting his political career started. He pointed out friends whom he said worked on his state senate campaign, his failed congressional bid and his run for U.S. Senate. "This is like going back on memory lane," he smiled from the podium of the Marriott Hotel ballroom. "I have not forgotten where I came from," he said. "I haven't forgotten who got me here. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/obama_surfaces_briefly.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/obama_surfaces_briefly.html Barack Obama Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:43:52 -0500 By Matthew Mosk Barack Obama's top fundraisers got a sneak peek at some tough new political ads and had their first formal meeting with running mate Joe Biden this morning. The meeting of the campaign's National Finance Committee -- those who have committed to raising $300,000 or more -- featured discussions with Michelle Obama, campaign manager David Plouffe and finance chair Penny Pritzker, according to several who attended. IN PROFILE Wolf Helps Obama Strike Gold IN THE NEWS Probes UBS Bank MAJOR BUNDLER Wolf in Elite Group That's Raised $500,000-plus Among those present was megafundraiser Robert Wolf, the chairman of UBS Americas. "The mood was fantastic," Wolf said, describing the briefing by the usually low-key Plouffe as "a rousing speech that really excited the crowd. " Plouffe previewed ads coming soon in battleground states that focused on the economy and the need "to avoid four more years of the same," http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/obama_campaign_manager_rallies.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/obama_campaign_manager_rallies.html The Green Zone Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:52:35 -0500 Cindy and John McCain, August 28, 2008. Updated 5:45 p.m. By Michael D. Shear Speculation about who Sen. John McCain will pick as his vice presidential running mate reached a fever pitch today as all signs pointed to an answer coming as soon as tonight. The top possibilities continued to be former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. Other names included former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge and Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. One senior Republican who has talked personally with Romney, Ridge and Pawlenty during the past two days said none of them had been told yet by McCain. "All of them believe that it's not them," the GOP source said. Republicans on Capitol Hill, lobbyists and consultants said they continue to believe Romney is the most likely pick for McCain. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_veep_watchers_on_high_a.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/28/mccain_veep_watchers_on_high_a.html Republican Party Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:40:06 -0500