Yvette Clarke is the Democratic Representative for New York's 11th CD, an expanse of Brooklyn that includes a lot of downtown as well as some up-and-coming neighborhoods like Cobble Hill.

Yvette is a freshman trying to fill the big shoes of the legendary Major Owens. Despite having been burned by Hillary Clinton's arrogance in the past, Yvette made the decision last fall to endorse Hillary Clinton, the then-frunt runner.

What was she going to do? It's no small thing when the junior Senator from your state's delegation is running for President.

But then a funny thing happened on Super Tuesday. Yvette's district voted for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, yes, the same Hillary Clinton who tried to run over you in 2006.

--More below the fold--

Barack Obama picked up three major newspaper endorsements this morning - all in upcoming battleground states. Obama has been picking up the endorsements of editorial boards at a much greater pace than Clinton in recent weeks but I really think the following papers' endorsements really demonstrate the momentum his movement is gaining and (from what you'll read) the sourness that surrounds Hillary Clinton:

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Honolulu Advertiser

It's all great reading to enjoy with your Froot Loops. I hope it gets you fired up and ready to go to help Barack Obama over the long Presidents Day Weekend!

Excerpts below the fold...

Hi all,

We just got back from the Times Square Obama rally a few hours ago. (We had to stop and get dinner.) The Obama campaign had the area outside Mtv studios reserved on Broadway between 44th and 45th. When we got there at 415, it was kind of quiet (maybe 20 people) but we got buttons! Finally, the elusive Obama buttons!

But it didn't take long for the crowd to get Big Apple sized!

Many more pictures below the fold.

Back in the summertime, I got hitched to the Draft Gore movement. I believe that Al Gore is our next FDR-caliber  President and he's just waiting for his time. I was a daily Draft Gore diarist (you remember how persistent we were by October) and a statewide organizer for New York.

In early November, a cryptic email,  claiming to have heard from his Nashville office, called off the whole movement in the middle of the night. When I recovered, I chose Obama.

In Gore, I wanted a statesman, someone who was above the fray, someone respected and trusted. If I couldn't have that, I wanted a Kennedy type figure (not that these conflict). I felt like America could instead benefit from a President who was young and exciting. He might make a few early mistakes, but we're all routing for him. I felt like I'd made the right bet after I saw his Iowa victory speech.

That night, my fiancee (know around these parts as brooklynkrow) decided on Obama. Now she's an avid Democrat: volunteering, donating for Obama, donating for some obscure House candidate. She is turned on to America's political fortunes for the first time in her life.

And that is what this diary is about. How all the people in my life have switched to Obama.

There's one type of diary on daily kos that I will always read and I know many who feel the same way. I love and seek out diaries about local politics. I like to know what's going on in some dude's Congressional race or in the next district over. I like to read diaries about how regional concerns weigh on the final outcome. (Think the Verrazona Narrows bridge toll to NY-13.) I like to know about recruiting efforts in red districts. I call these diaries "My Backyard" diaries. I love 'em like kitten slippers.

Now with all the mess and the name-calling going on with the Presidential candidates (and it's NOT over despite this mythical truce between Clinton and Obama),  you and I should be sharing more information on all the close races and challenges we face in our own backyards:

-- keep goin' --

October 30 has arrived and New York for Gore is ready to start collecting petitions. We need to collect 5,000 signatures across New York state which means we really need upwards of 10,000 signatures to get enough valids. We have over 100 volunteers from across the state but, yes, with a high concentration in NYC. The goal is to blow the 5,000 number out of the water and make sure we get lots of signatures from all CDs.

We do not need Al's signature to get him on the ballot though he has until December 10 to ask the Board of Elections to ignore our petition.

If you are a registered Democrat in New York, you can be a petitioner. Visit New York for Gore and click on Petitions to get your petitions and petitioning instructions. I'll be doing Smith St in Brooklyn on Wednesday and I'm going to try and hit three or four locations this weekend.

New York can get 5,000 signatures in the city alone but I can't stress how important it is to get petitions from across New York state. Get your instructions and petitions!

See below the fold for why I am still working to Draft Al Gore!

Tomorrow in Chicago, Al Gore will make his first public appearance since his press conference regarding the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday. Al will be speaking before the Economic Club of Chicago. I really don't know much about this organization but when he arrives at the hotel where it's being held, he will be met by a Draft Gore rally.

The Draft Gore movement has taken on a life of it's own in the last week. The truth is we are big enough to be talked about. And Al Gore has heard us.

We don't know what he's thinking. We don't know which way he's leaning. But we do know that he heard us. And, frankly, if someone was trying to draft ME, I'd keep up on what they're doing. Oh yes, Al Gore is aware that there is a Draft Gore movement afoot all across this nation and he knows what we are up to. Not only has he not told us to stop... he released three videos of himself speaking frankly about the issues on current.com.  

It's time to take the Draft Gore movement to the next level. It's time to build the buzz. It's SHOWTIME!

-- draw the curtains please --

New York Draft Al Gore will seek to obtain the requisite 5,000 signatures to place Al Gore on the Democratic primary ballot. In order to obtain 5,000 valid signatures, we need to get more in the league of 10,000 signatures (on the low end).

Petitioning can not officially begin until Oct. 31. Petitions must be in by the first week of December but in reality the collection must begin more than a week in advance.

Al Gore's signature is not required. He does, however, have until Dec 10 to ask the Board of Elections to refuse our petitions.

But that's a chance I for one am willing to take to restore America. Only Al Gore can inspire and restore the integrity of America at home and overseas. Let's show Al Gore that he has New York's support!

Whoever the next President is, he or she will be tested by history with one question: Did you play Augustus to Bush's Caesar?

The 'Bush Error' will be written into history as either a short period of imperial tendency by one President or the beginning of a new Presidential era in which the Presidency continually redraws the lines of our checks and balances.

Inheriting the moral equivalent of the Great Depression, the next President will sit on a fulcrum in American history. Whether they like it or not, whether they're good at it or not, they will sit on the tipping point between our constitutional American tradition and the historical tendency of Republics to become... something else.

Indeed, there is a calling for a great President. But what will the next President have to do to be a great President? Restore America's credibility in the world. Restore the rule of law. Inspire the American people.

Out of 300 million plus Americans, I can think of only one who will make a great President - the kind that ends up on your money.

His name is Al Gore.

There will surely be a live blog for the debates on the site tonight. But I figured that us Gore-illas who are in the mist tonight might have a place to expound on OUR candidate while the others are arguing. What an opportunity to get some organizing done!

Tonight, we should expect to see Obama and Edwards go after Hillary because they need to eat at her support. And she'll try to appear above the fray by avoiding tit-for-tats with them. What a bunch this is. Hillary is deader than she has ever been for me having authorized war with Iran today. The other two need a helluva lot more experience.

My candidate is Al Gore. And while the three stooges smack each other around on the TV in the background, I'll be hanging out on this diary talking about and organizing for the only candidate who could rescue America from the brink: Al Gore.

- more and GoreWatch below the fold -

The time to draft Al Gore is now folks! Do not be discouraged that Al has not yet announced a bid for the Democratic nomination. That is the point of a draft. If we build the organization, get him on the ballots, raise the money and get the word out - Al Gore will run. Ike did. And they didn't even have the internet then.

This is Draft Gore Action Central - broadcasting live from Brooklyn.

Below the fold you will find:

• Draft Gore organization updates
• Immediate action items
• What you can do to Draft Gore

Recent unscientific polls here on daily kos have established that a majority of Gore diary readers believe that, if Al is going to jump into the race, he must do it by late October. I share this opinion. There are several reasons stated around several diaries including past GoreWatch diaries but I won't rehash all that here.

I have been tracking primary filing deadlines in GoreWatch to help illustrate a picture of when Al Gore needs to get his organization in gear. Remember, many of these filings require HIS signature, not just ours. I've been really busy at work this week but I managed some time to do research into filing deadlines.

I've organized and sourced the filing deadlines for many key primary states. The picture is becoming absolutely clear that the Draft Gore movement needs to kick it into high gear STAT!

-- full story with GoreWatch calendar below the fold --

GoreWatch has kept me incredibly busy over the last month or so. I've posted several GoreWatch diaries keeping everyone up to date on his whereabouts so that we might guess at his plans. And I have to say, it's been slow going lately.

Since September 1st and possibly earlier (I'm looking back now), Al Gore has booked one new event: the Environmental Conference of the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands on November 20th. Everything else has been crickets. Even this site which updates very quickly has been quiet.

Has Al Gore stopped booking new events? Are his booking agents on hold? Will he simply be working on his new book? We can not say of course.

But either way you look at it, he is underbooked after the Nobel Peace Prize announcement. And that is when most people agree has to shit or get off the pot. Looking at his calendar, Al Gore HAS THE OPTION of announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination and running for President. He would have a couple international events to cancel but he would ample time to give notice.

Full details below the fold...

[This is my contribution to Blog About Gore Day.]

When I started Gore Watch, I wasn't quite sure what I was trying to achieve. I'd hear a story about a Gore event here or that Gore cancelled some international event there. And it got me to wondering what Al's schedule looked like. He couldn't run for President if he was traveling all over the world.

Moreover, I was hoping to get a clear picture of what Al Gore's plans were. Maybe I could decipher his intentions from the dates. All I could come up with was:

He'll announce after the Nobel Peace Prize. His schedule is (mostly) clear after the announcement on Oct 12. But you can't make any kind of solid argument about that. Maybe he doesn't announce events this far in advance.

While there may not be one clear story coming out of the calendar, there ARE a short number of possibilities... below the fold.

Thursday, September 13th is Blog for Gore Day. That's just two days away so I hope you've been thinking about the blog you're going to post about Al Gore on Thursday.

I think it's generally understood among us Gore believers that the day Al Gore jumps into the race, he will automatically have the MONEY and the MUSCLE needed to effectively run for office. But we need to lend a hand with the MESSAGE!

MONEY: I know I've been holding back on opening my wallet to a Presidential candidate until I know definitively whether Gore is in or out and, if he jumps in, he gets an automatic hundred bucks from yours truly.

MUSCLE: The organization, well, that's already taking shape. Gore groups are energizing all across the country. Al Gore has built himself a bank of support through his various organizations. MoveOn might deny it now but I be they'll have his back if he jumps in as well.

MESSAGE: This is where we come in. The goal is to extend the narrative that Al Gore is the superior Democratic candidate to reclaim the America we lost. Yeah, Al Gore is the champion of saving our planet. And sure he's written about several other matters in Assault on Reason. But the man is far more compelling than just this.

More on Blog for Gore Day below the fold...

Thursday, September 13th is Blog for Gore Day. Here's the idea again...

My daily web adventures generally follow a lot of websites and feeds and newswires in sidebars and general news aggregation. One thing that's a little cumbersome about this is that the same story will pop up dozens of times with every blog that covers it. One story breaks. This blog blogs it and that blog blogs that blog and so on. It can get hairy.

That got me to thinking that this could work to our advantage. If the netroots selected a specific day in which everyone was to blog about Al Gore, we could drown the feed-o-sphere with news about Al Gore. This could take buzz to a whole new level.

The key to its success is that we would need to write more than "Gore is awesome" diaries. We would need to write about his Vietnam record, about his congressional record, about his history on several different issues, reviews of his books, you name it. The topics have to span the whole spectrum. In short, no matter what you're reading on the internet, you've probably read about Al Gore.

A lot of folks are gearing up to write articles for Blog for Gore Day. More below the fold...

Last week, I ran an idea past y'all:

My daily web adventures generally follow a lot of websites and feeds and newswires in sidebars and general news aggregation. One thing that's a little cumbersome about this is that the same story will pop up dozens of times with every blog that covers it. One story breaks. This blog blogs it and that blog blogs that blog and so on. It can get hairy.

That got me to thinking that this could work to our advantage. If the netroots selected a specific day in which everyone was to blog about Al Gore, we could drown the feed-o-sphere with news about Al Gore. This could take buzz to a whole new level.

The key to its success is that we would need to write more than "Gore is awesome" diaries. We would need to write about his Vietnam record, about his congressional record, about his history on several different issues, reviews of his books, you name it. The topics have to span the whole spectrum. In short, no matter what you're reading on the internet, you've probably read about Al Gore. (Picture Google News, he he)

The idea was well-received so Blog Blitz for Gore Day is a GO! This Thursday, September 13, blog about Al Gore. Details below the fold...

There hasn't been much Gore news tonight so I thought I'd post a Gore diary to keep the blood flowing. Because I'm not writing GoreWatch diaries as much, when I do, they've guite a bit new information. Here are the latest movements on Al Gore's upcoming schedule:

1. Al's Australia trip has a minor schedule trip but it's possible the trip can still be called off. Relations with Australian Prime Minister John Howard are not rosy.

2. Al had cancelled and turned down invitations to ALL international events on his schedule until a recent announcement that he will make a keynote speech at "the first ever Environmental Conference hosted by the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands" in mid-November. An event in Israel is also planned for November though details have been scarce. Not encouraging news but events can be cancelled.

3. As I suggested a few weeks back, Al continues to fill out his schedule in late September, early October with more trips around western states.

4. Al Gore may appear at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Eh.

The most comprehensive Al Gore calendar on the internets and more pro-Gore blabber below the fold...