Obama 2008

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Grazie, Obama: Campaign Alum Wins in Italy

Dual national Elly Schlein is the surprise new leader of Italy's Democratic Party

(Newser) - Elly Schlein, a 37-year-old US-Italian national and longtime left-wing political operative who worked on two presidential campaigns for former President Obama, defied polls to become the first woman to head Italy’s opposition Democratic Party. Schlein’s surprise victory Sunday over the popular governor of Emilia-Romagna, a traditional left-wing stronghold,...

Paul Ryan: I'm Happy to Cling to Guns, Religion

VP candidate talks 2008 Obama gaffe on campaign trail

(Newser) - Paul Ryan reminded voters at a Pennsylvania steel plant today of President Obama's campaign-trail gaffes—from 2008. "Remember this other time when he said people want to cling to their guns and religion ?" said Ryan, who has frequently brought up his Catholic faith on the campaign trail....

Obama 2008 Co-Chair Hits Trail ... for Mitt

Artur Davis will campaign in Virginia today

(Newser) - The man who seconded Barack Obama's presidential nomination at the DNC in 2008 is now campaigning against the president. Artur Davis was co-chair of Obama's first campaign, but he'll today campaign in Virginia in support of Mitt Romney, a Romney campaign aide tells CNN . Davis served four...

Team Romney's Game Plan: Win These 6 States

On the to-do list: Winning back Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia

(Newser) - While Team Romney certainly isn't expecting a landslide win for its man this November, the Republican's campaign staffers see a clear—but narrow—path to 270 electoral votes and victory, the Washington Post finds. The campaign plans to focus on winning back three GOP-leaning states Obama took in...

RNC Slogan Tweaks Obama: 'Hype and Blame'

He's not the candidate of 'Hope and Change' argue Republicans

(Newser) - Hope and Change? Try "Hype and Blame." That's the message from the RNC, which unveiled its not-quite-rhyming variation on President Obama's 2008 slogan today. Going forward, both the RNC and the Romney campaign will start using the slogan (and selling $10 bumper stickers emblazoned with it),...

Democrats Lead the Way in Voter Registration
Democrats Lead the Way in Voter Registration
Analysis

Democrats Lead the Way in Voter Registration

Obama's 2008 effort gives party an edge in 2010 Senate races

(Newser) - Senate Democrats have a silver lining heading into the 2010 election: their party’s made huge gains in voter registration. The last time this crop of senators was on the ballot was 2004, when George W. Bush’s field operation, then the most sophisticated ever, was registering hordes of Republicans....

Hey, Barack: Yes, You Still Can
 Hey, Barack: Yes, You Still Can 
Arianna Huffington

Hey, Barack: Yes, You Still Can

Plouffe book recalls a historic campaign that got lost in transition

(Newser) - 'Yes, we can" was the rallying cry of a game-changing campaign that swept Obama to victory on the shoulders of a grass-roots tidal wave one year ago—and President Obama would do well to remember Candidate Obama, writes Arianna Huffington in a lengthy look at David Plouffe's new campaign memoir....

Obama's Lobbyist Ban Haunting Him
Obama's Lobbyist Ban Haunting Him
analysis

Obama's Lobbyist Ban Haunting Him

He's losing good people for hard-to-fill administration spots

(Newser) - President Obama’s campaign pledge to run a lobbyist-free White House is coming back to haunt him, writes Jonathan Martin in Politico. The problem is that there’s an army of Democratic specialists in hard-to-master policy areas who worked as lobbyists during the Bush administration—and they're all off-limits. “...

Obama Poster Artist Arrested
 Obama Poster Artist Arrested

Obama Poster Artist Arrested

Shepard Fairey was on his way to DJ at his exhibition's opening

(Newser) - Shepard Fairey, the hot graphic designer and street artist behind the Obama "Hope" poster, was arrested yesterday on two outstanding warrants as he arrived at the opening for his new exhibition at a Boston museum, the Boston Globe reports. He's accused of tagging two Boston locations with graffiti, the...

It's the Small Change We Should Believe In

(Newser) - The 2008 election marked the death knell of post-Watergate public financing, Mark Schmitt writes for the American Prospect, but the raft of small donations that killed the system heralds a hopeful future. The public financing system was designed—and failed—to limit the influence of special interests: “Since the...

Plouffe Snags 7-Figure Book Deal

(Newser) - Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, has agreed to a 7-figure deal to write a book about last year's presidential election. The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory will be published by Viking next fall. Two publishing executives said that bidding for the...

Nate Silver: Win the Cities, Win America

Fast-growing urban demographic handed Obama election victory

(Newser) - Barack Obama's strength in cities won him the election, meaning he "might be America's first urban" president, statistics whiz Nate Silver writes in Esquire. Obama's "pragmatic, superior, hip, stubborn, multicultural" ways make him unmistakably urban, Silver writes, and America's changing demographics mean that urban voters matter now more...

Small Donors Didn't Drive His Campaign: Study

(Newser) - The little guy didn't fill Barack Obama's campaign coffers after all, a new non-partisan study says. True, almost 50% of his donations were $200 or less, but many of those donors gave again. Only about a quarter of them stopped at two C-notes, a figure in the same range as...

Finally: Mac Wins Missouri
 Finally: Mac Wins Missouri 

Finally: Mac Wins Missouri

Last state to be called leaves tally at Obama 365, McCain 173

(Newser) - Missouri, the last state up for grabs, looks to have gone Republican by less than a 1% margin, leaving John McCain with 173 electoral votes to Barack Obama’s 365, the Kansas City Star reports. There are still 3,000 uncounted provisional ballots, but McCain’s margin is large enough...

How Obama Won
 How Obama Won 
GLOSSIES

How Obama Won

Campaign strategists decided early on to own the economy and to define the Democrat as a change agent.

(Newser) - Barack Obama succeeded in his bid for the presidency because he became the anti-Bush, Ryan Lizza writes in the New Yorker. Campaign advisers agreed early on to keep it simple: own the economy and emphasize bringing change to Washington. Little did they know how well the financial crisis and...

Obama's Youth Mandate Far Greater Than JFK's

His lead with under-30s is biggest in 'modern American history'

(Newser) - Barack Obama enters office with the biggest youth mandate in modern political history, Politico reports. He outpolled John McCain by 34 points—66% to 32%—among voters younger than 30. That's four times the margin that led John F. Kennedy to say, “The torch has been passed to a...

Oprah IDs Mystery Man
 Oprah IDs Mystery Man 

Oprah IDs Mystery Man

Supportive election- night shoulder belonged to Obama campaigner, on the show today

(Newser) - The shoulder Oprah Winfrey cried on during Barack Obama’s election-night rally belonged to a mystery man the media mogul has now identified as a top Silicon Valley Obama operative, the Chicago Tribune reports. Sam Perry, a complete stranger before the celebration, will appear on Oprah’s show today. Having...

Gay Bishop, Obama Discuss Dangers of Being 'First'

Obama camp sought out Robinson three times

(Newser) - Barack Obama had three private conversations with the Episcopal Church’s only openly gay bishop during the campaign to discuss what it meant to be "first," the Times of London reports. “The first words out of his mouth were: ‘Well you’re certainly causing a lot...

Plouffe: the Other Big Winner in the Obama Victory

Campaign manager's unswerving strategy praised; administration role uncertain

(Newser) - Barack Obama, in his victory speech Tuesday, called campaign manager David Plouffe the effort’s “unsung hero,” and his steady strategy is earning praise from Democrats, Republicans, and academics, the Wilmington (Del.) News Journal reports. Plouffe, 41, said he’s not planning on a White House post,...

In Paris, President Envy: 'There Is No French Obama'

Country's egalitarian tradition takes a hit

(Newser) - Sacre bleu! With Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential race, the French, who’ve long prided themselves on a tradition of egalitarianism, are being forced to take a closer look at themselves—and they’re not happy with what they see, the Wall Street Journal reports. “This...

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