Hello
Last night we went to see VP Biden leads a rally with many Union groups for Governor Pat Quinn in Chicago. With the "enthusiasm gap" firmly in our minds, we really didn't expect much. Oh well, there's a whole different world outside.
- The first thing we saw was a table with 4-5 young people around it, and the always heartwarming Obama/Hitler "photo". There was also the mandatory "Impeach Obama" sign, so obviously we thought those were the usual teabaggers. Alas, just next to Obama/Hitler, was a real picture of FDR, hailed as a hero by those guys, who were kept in some distance from the venue itself. So, honestly, we have no idea who and what they were, only that they hate Barack Obama. And we didn't bother to stop and check, life's too short.
- Inside the hall, there were 1500 people - maybe more, i'm not good at estimating - mostly Unions members. And they were fired up! And, ready to go!! They came in all kinds of colors (!!!) and really didn't look like "Real America", except that's exactly what THEY WERE. Nice, friendly, passionates, optimistic, ridiculously proud, and just all around a wonderful group of people to be surrounded by.
- The entire Democratic team in Chicago is quite awesome. Young, idealistic, diverse and fearless.
- Chicago Unions really really really loves Quinn.
- Joe Biden is just a bundle of optimism.
- He told the crowd that already this year, this administration created more jobs than Bush did in 8 years.
- He said that people have no idea how really terrible things were back in January 2009.
- He said that everyone from the insurance companies to oil companies to Wall Street are working together to bring this administration down, that WE are the only ones who can stop them, and that this is even MORE IMPORTANT THAN 2008, because this time there's a real threat to this entire Democracy.
- He said that when he just started traveling the world as VP, he was shocked by how much basically everyone hated the US. And now, 21 months later, this is once again the most admired country in the world.
- He didn't hesitate for a second before promising that we'll keep both chambers.
- He thinks that Barack Obama is "amazing" and unlike anyone who came around in at least a generation.
- I wish you could all see and hear the audience whenever anyone mentioned Obama's name. It's damn shame that Obama lost the Unions. Damn shame...
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All in all, we left with a good feeling. When we came outside, the Obama/Hitler - FDR/Awesome mutation was nowhere to be seen. I think we'll be more than okay in Illinois. And we took some pictures (ALL THESE ARE NOT BY AP!!!):
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By the way, Mr. Bob Woodward, this is for you:
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Biden: Obama asked me to run with him again. Of course i will. I'll be happy to
Joseph R. Biden Jr., unyielding optimist, Democratic cheerleader and vice president of the United States, wants Americans to know that the midterm elections will not be a Republican rout. And after Democrats win in 2010, Mr. Biden says, he will be on the ticket with President Obama in 2012 — all that buzz about Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton replacing him notwithstanding.
"I tell you what, there’s real trust, that’s why he’s asked me to run again," Mr. Biden said Monday, dropping this tidbit at the end of a 40-minute conversation, just before he dashed off to his third fund-raiser of the day. "Look, he said, ‘We’re going to run together, are you going to run?’ I said, ‘Of course, you want me to run with you, I’m happy to run with you.’ "
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President Obama's campaign schedule for the next two weeks:
Friday, Oct. 15: Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attend fundraiser for Senate candidate Chris Coons in Wilmington, Del.
Saturday, Oct. 16: Obama attends fundraiser for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in Boston.
Sunday, Oct. 17: Obama attends fundraiser in Cleveland, Ohio, for Democratic National Committee and Gov. Ted Strickland, and a rally with first lady Michelle Obama in Columbus, Ohio.
Wednesday, Oct. 20: Obama attends Portland. Ore. fundraiser and rally for gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber.
Thursday, Oct. 21: Obama attends public event with Sen. Patty Murray in Seattle, WA; DNC fundraiser in San Francisco.
Friday, Oct. 22: Obama attends a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.); a DNC "Moving America Forward" rally in L.A.; and joint fundraiser for Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, Oct. 23: Attends a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event for Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton in Minneapolis.
Monday, Oct. 25: Attends DCCC fundraiser in Providence, R.I.
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The on-line twonhall from yesterday:
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Rolling Stone: The Case for Obama
The charges are familiar: He's a compromiser who hasn't stood up to the GOP or Wall Street. But a look at his record reveals something even more startling — a truly historic presidency
It's one thing to call the president on his shit. It's quite another to paint his entire presidency as shit — even if Joe Biden and Robert Gibbs are losing their shit, accusing you of being a "whining" member of the "professional left."
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But if the passions of Obama's base have been deflated by the compromises he made to secure historic gains like the Recovery Act, health care reform and Wall Street regulation, that gloom cannot obscure the essential point: This president has delivered more sweeping, progressive change in 20 months than the previous two Democratic administrations did in 12 years. "When you look at what will last in history," historian Doris Kearns Goodwin tells Rolling Stone, "Obama has more notches on the presidential belt."
In fact, when the history of this administration is written, Obama's opening act is likely to be judged as more impressive than any president's — Democrat or Republican — since the mid-1960s. "If you're looking at the first-two-year legislative record," says Ornstein, "you really don't have any rivals since Lyndon Johnson — and that includes Ronald Reagan."
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Mark Halperin, please kiss my butt. Respectfully. Thanks.
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Here's more sex-appeal in one frame than in 8 years of Dick & Dick:
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President Barack Obama discusses the situation in Sudan with actor George Clooney during a meeting outside the Oval Office, Oct. 12, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)