Liberal bloggers, already a constituency that Barack Obama has done well with, added the Illinois Senator to the list of candidates they're officially raising money for.
Readers of Daily Kos, Swing State Project and Open Left voted this week to put Obama on the Blue Majority list, which has raised more than $359,000 for Democratic Senate and House candidates in 2008.
The list is more noteworthy for its candidates' records in close contests. It includes: Donna Edwards, who upended Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.) in a primary; Bill Foster, who defeated Republican Jim Oberweis to become the congressman in former Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) old district; and Al Franken, whose early success in fundraising and polls in the Democratic primary race for Senate in Minnesota helped ward off a more experienced candidate.
In 2006, Markos Moulitsas and other liberal bloggers behind Blue Majority supported the successful Democratic campaigns of Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.), Sen. Jim Webb (Va.) and Rep. Patrick Murphy (Pa.).
Barack Obama said John McCain's speech yesterday on the economy and mortgage crisis "offered not one policy, not one idea, not one bit of relief" during a campaign event this afternoon.
John McCain warned against any potential bail out during his speech Tuesday, saying "any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren't."
Obama classified McCain's comments as "Bush economics" and said the Bush's push for an "ownership society" has turned into a "you're-on-you're own society."
Former Senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) has decided to leave the Democratic Party and join the Libertarians. Gravel says he is joining the Libertarian Party because of its "commitment to freedom and peace."
Gravel's departure gives us at The Briefing Room an excuse to bring you Gravel's Greatest Hits including "Rock" and "Power to the People." Both videos are after the jump.
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DNC Chairman Howard Dean's response to McCain's speech:
John McCain's empty rhetoric today can't change the fact that he has steadfastly stood with President Bush from day one and is now talking about keeping our troops in Iraq for 100 years. His new appreciation for diplomacy has no credibility after he mimicked President Bush's misleading case for a unilateral war of choice when it mattered most. Why should the American people now trust John McCain to offer anything more than four more years of President Bush's reckless economic policies and failed foreign policy?
Dean has attacked John McCain almost daily while he waits for his party to settle on a nominee.
John McCain said he is a "realistic idealist" who "detest[s] war" in a foreign policy speech today in the Los Angeles. McCain also said he would "build new foundations for a stable and enduring peace." Read the full text of the speech after the jump.
This is the second major speech McCain has delivered this week after addressing the economy yesterday. Today's speech follows the pitch McCain made to European leaders last week where he stressed popular points that break from the Bush Administration while maintaining his support for the Iraq war.
"Those who argue that our goals in Iraq are unachievable are wrong, just as they were wrong a year ago when they declared the war in Iraq already lost," McCain said.
Barack Obama will deliver a "major economic address" tomorrow at 9:15 am Eastern according to his presidential campaign.
Obama will be the third presidential candidate to deliver a major economic speech this week, as Hillary Clinton and John McCain delivered speeches on the housing market Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Clinton called for, among other things, a 90-day freeze on foreclosures and at least $30 billion to be given to state, local, and community groups to purchase foreclosed houses, hire more police and firemen in extensively foreclosed neighborhoods, and help homeowners restructure their mortgages.
McCain called for a meeting of accounting executives to examine valuation methods, and for another of mortgage lenders, to brainstorm a solution. McCain did not rule out the possibility of government assistance to homeowners, saying he would "consider any and all proposals based on their cost and benefits," but offered the caveat that no assistance should be given to speculative buyers.
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Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has campaigned with Hillary Clinton in his home state, and the Clinton campaign today released a web video of Murtha speaking at one of her events.
Murtha is currently serving his 18th term in the House of Representatives, and he is the second-highest ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. Murtha was defeated in a caucus election for House Majority Leader by Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in 2006, despite being backed by newly crowned Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The fiercely anti-war Murtha cited fiscal policy and the opportunity to curtail spending on Iraq as reasons he supports Clinton. See the video below.
A new poll from Gallup shows that in an Obama vs. McCain race 28 percent of Hillary Clinton's supporters would vote for McCain. If the race is Clinton vs. McCain, 19 percent of Obama's supporters would jump to McCain.
Hillary Clinton's campaign sent a memo to reporters today outlining ten instances of Barack Obama embellishing his past. The memo focuses on direct mailings describing Obama as a law professor, Obama's claims that his mother and father fell in love because of the civil rights marches in Selma, Ala., TV ads' questionable use of newspaper quotes in promoting Obama's healthcare plan, and specific exaggerations of legislative achievements in the U.S. Senate.
Clinton has come under criticism in the media for an inaccurate portrayal of her 1996 visit to Bosnia. Clinton claimed March 17 that she had arrived in Bosnia under sniper fire, and that she had been forced to run, head covered, from the tarmac. CBS News debunked this claim yesterday.
See the text of the memo after the jump.
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