From My Brown Eyed View 08/25/08

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

It is time to focus in on Denver, Colorado. The Mile High City is the site where the Democratic National Party is holding their convention. Barack Obama will be formally named as the POTUS candidate and Joseph Biden will be named as the Veep.


Since the O~State is going to be one of the major battle grounds during the campaign, I wanted to share an article that appeared in The Columbus Dispatch regarding the Ohio Delegates opinion of Obama's electability.


Sunday, August 24, 2008 10:53 PM
By Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
DENVER - With Barack Obama poised to become the first black candidate nominated by a major party for president, Ohio's delegates to the Democratic National Convention this week say race is his biggest obstacle to being elected.



Delegates also are concerned about what could be perceived as Obama's inexperience or an agenda that's too liberal, but race by far was the top worry of those who responded to a mail survey by The Dispatch.


"If he had the exact same agenda and he was a white male named Stanley Smith, he would crush John McCain," said Jaladah Aslam, 48, a delegate from Austintown near Youngstown. "America needs to face one of its foremost demons in the face and deal with it once and for all: racism."

Several delegates said they especially are concerned about Obama's winning over white, middle-aged and older voters, as well as blue-collar workers. Ohio Democrats voted convincingly for Sen. Hillary Clinton over Obama in the state's March primary.
"Quite honestly, we have to ask ourselves, 'Is this nation ready for a black president?' " said delegate Leslie Ford, 42, a Middletown councilwoman. "This election will be an interesting barometer of where we really stand, socially."



The Ohio Democratic delegation is diverse and balanced, with an equal number of men and women and 31 percent black, Latino or Asian-American. They hail from 41 of the state's 88 counties. (source)

Senator Clinton won Ohio during the primary race. Governor Ted Strickland supported Clinton's bid for nomination.


Meanwhile, Politico is reporting that the feud between the Obama and Clinton camps has reignited. Check out this report from Denver.



According to the post on Politico:

DENVER — As Democrats arrived here Sunday for a convention intended to promote party unity, mistrust and resentments continued to boil among top associates of presumptive nominee Barack Obama and his defeated rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
One flashpoint is the assigned speech topic for former president Bill Clinton, who is scheduled to speak Wednesday night, when the convention theme is “Securing America’s Future.” The night’s speakers will argue that Obama would be a more effective commander in chief than his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

The former president is disappointed, associates said, because he is eager to speak about the economy and more broadly about Democratic ideas — emphasizing the contrast between the Bush years and his own record in the 1990s.
This is an especially sore point for Bill Clinton, people close to him say, because among many grievances he has about the campaign Obama waged against his wife is a belief that the candidate poor-mouthed the political and policy successes of his two terms.

Some senior Democrats close to Obama, meanwhile, made clear in not-for-attribution comments that they were equally irked at the Clinton operation. Nearly three months after Hillary Clinton conceded defeat in the nomination contest, these Obama partisans complained, her team continues to act like she and Bill Clinton hold leverage. (read more here).

Plus the Republicans are in town hoping to draw attention away from the Democrats with their presence. The GOP has set up a War Room. They are planning to do battle with Obama and Democrats in Denver. (source)


It all sounds like the makings of a hot time in the Mile High City!
I'll be keeping as many tabs on what is going on as possible. As Barack Obama continues to make history by being the first African American nominee for the Presidency of these United States.

Let the games commence!