Obama to visit Jacksonville

[David]

don't you dare dis the ONE we have been waiting for.  The seas shall part, the lion will lie down with the lamb, northsiders and southsiders Shall live as one.  HE is comming  LOL

hehehe seriously after visiting Portland that's how they view him over there. Their version of the folio weekly's cover had him emerging from the water dressed in white with the sun glistening off him. Borderline homoerotic.

[David]

Link to said photo:

http://wweek.com/editorial/3425/10910/



HE HAS RETURNED!!!

Here's some political commentary on what will happen if he doesn't get elected:

Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! !

[Driven1]

lol.  VERY nice.

[copperfiend]

"I sense jealousy"   Nope you have mistaken my saracasm 

I don't think I have.

[RiversideGator]

For more on the Obamessiah:  http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

[RiversideGator]

"I sense jealousy"   Nope you have mistaken my saracasm 

I don't think I have.

Copper:  For those of us not enthralled with Obama because of his far left political views and strange associations, I can say that the fawning attention given to him by his adherents is really quite humorous.   

[copperfiend]

And I am sure it was funny to people in 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was rallying support from minorities and young people as well.

[David]

it really is amusing to watch those on the extremes. I mean, i'm left leaning but sometimes people are just so far to one side they fall off..

this is quote from one of the wweekly's reader that sums up some of the rabid followers:

"Sandy  writes on May 13th, 2008
I'm not an Obama supporter (I think he just guarantees the White House to McCain)...but I REALLY think that those of you who do support him need to put a better face forward. A good chunk of the country thinks you're a little out-there already, don't give them anymore ammunition like this painting. I mean...is that a UNICORN in the background?"

but if you really want the facts on getting to know this canidate here's a great article:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/black_guy_asks_nation_for_change

"CHICAGOâ€"According to witnesses, a loud black man approached a crowd of some 4,000 strangers in downtown Chicago Tuesday and made repeated demands for change....."

[vicupstate]

And I am sure it was funny to people in 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was rallying support from minorities and young people as well.

I was but a toddler when RFK ran, but I do remember the 1980 race well.   

Democrats thought for sure Reagan was viewed as too extremist to win, and in fact the race was close until the last week or so. 

They also thought Reagan was wasting valuable time when he visited SC just few days before the election.  After all, SC has Carter's second best southern state (after Georgia) in '76.  However, it did raise some eyebrows that 5,000 people showed up to Reagan's public rally. 

The Democrats weren't laughing when Reagan won a landslide, including SC.     

Being underestimated by the opposition is probably the greatest gift a candidate can ever receive from the opposition.   

[vicupstate]

Damn, riverside, if he cant carry s.c. what will he carry? and i think youre right. us demos can only hope that disgust in the govrnment will propel voters to vote against the republican status quo. and mc cain is already distancing himself from that status quo. and actually has always.  

In seriousness, McCain will win SC, but it might be closer than one might expect. 

Here is the best argument I've seen for why...

Believe or not, Obama will win state

By Phil Noble

Most pundits and even some senior Democratic Party officials in our state have said Sen. Barack Obama doesn't have a prayer of carrying South Carolina in the fall election. He will.

History is, admittedly, on the side of the doubters. Since 1960, the only Democrat to carry South Carolina was Jimmy Carter from neighboring Georgia in 1976. In the seven presidential contests since then, Democrats have averaged only 40 percent of the vote. John Kerry got 41 percent.

But predicting the future based solely on the past is like trying to steer a car by looking backwards through the rearview mirror -- often with the predictable results.

There are five reasons the results of an Obama candidacy in South Carolina will be different:

First, it's time. Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, and Obama's time has come. Americans are ready for something fundamentally different in our national politics. Americans are fed up with politics as usual and the politicians who deliver it. They want to move beyond the stale division, the senseless partisanship and the corruption of special-interest politics. Obama represents this fundamental change.

Second, the map and the math will be different. Traditionally, the two parties analyze past election returns and focus on a dozen or so battleground or swing states and ignore the rest of the country. The South in general and South Carolina in particular have fallen victim to this traditional math, and we have been ignored as a safe Republican state.

But Palmetto state Democrats are excited and are turning out to vote in record numbers. In the presidential primaries, more Democrats than Republicans voted for the first time in many years, with Democratic turnout up 80 percent and Republicans down 25 percent from 2004. The number of African-Americans who voted in our state's presidential primary more than doubled.

With the realization that Obama has a real shot at becoming the first black president, excitement will grow to a fever pitch in the African-American community. About 250,000 blacks are not registered to vote, and the Obama campaign has already launched an aggressive voter registration drive. Black turnout in November will likely increase by at least a third, maybe more, over '04 -- fundamentally changing traditional Election Day math.

Third, Democrats will be united like never before. Forget all the talk about the Clintons dividing the party. In order to repair the damage they have done to the Clinton brand, they will see it in their own self-interest to enthusiastically embrace and support Obama. I predict their rehabilitation performance at the Democratic Convention will make it seem like they were the ones who made Obama's historic breakthrough possible.

Fourth, the money. When Obama made his first trip to South Carolina in January of last year, I suggested that with a strong online effort he could raise $500 million. His response was wide-eyed amazement and disbelief. Today, he has raised more than half this amount, and he's just now secured the nomination. I predicted that by Election Day the combined Obama/Democratic Party effort will raise $1 billion -- yes, "billion" with a "b."

The impact on the state and local level will be dramatic. For years we Democrats have fanaticized about a strong, united party with an energizing message and adequate resources to run a truly coordinated campaign from the White House to the Court House. This time, it will happen.

Fifth, Sen. John McCain's candidacy is fundamentally flawed. Just like Bob Dole in 1996, McCain is likely to fade into bit player. Everyone respects McCain's service to the country; he is a true American hero. But that's not the point.

He lacks a clear and compelling vision of where he wants to take the country. His plan for Iraq looks like more of the same. And when compared to Obama's youth and charisma, he simply seems too old and tired.

The Obama campaign will also accelerate change politics in South Carolina beyond November. It already has. In the January primary, he brought out a whole new generation of young and black voters who, having tasted success, will not likely fade away but instead will demand more. And most importantly, there is now emerging a whole new generation of reform candidates, both black and white, who are committed to changing politics as usual -- from the school boards to the courthouses to the State House.

So, it's time. It's time for us to quit gazing backwards in the rearview mirror into the political darkness of the past. It's time for us to look ahead to the bright new day that is dawning in Palmetto State politics.

[RiversideGator]

And I am sure it was funny to people in 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was rallying support from minorities and young people as well.

Ah yes, the Kennedy connection.  Obama is the new JFK... no he is the new RFK...  No, he is the Messiah!

BTW, the Republicans won in 1968 (and I dont know that had RFK not been assassinated things would have been different). 

[Charleston native]

He got 75k in Portland, Oregon, 35k in Philly and 30k in Columbia, SC.

...75,000 for a political rally is HUGE, and almost unheard of. It indicates broad grassroots support.

Uh, the 75K was because Obama gave a speech before a rock concert. Hardly grass roots...though many people were probably smoking grass so technically you have a point.........

As for the crowd in Columbia, the city has a large black population, almost 1:1 ratio of blacks and whites, and the most liberal university in the state (USC) is located there, so he will naturally garner a large crowd. Philly has similar demographics.

Let's see how many people in Jax come to see Obama. Stephen and Midway, I expect to see you two up front. 

[Charleston native]

Oops. Just saw David's post. Sorry for reiterating.

[Driven1]

He got 75k in Portland, Oregon, 35k in Philly and 30k in Columbia, SC.

...75,000 for a political rally is HUGE, and almost unheard of. It indicates broad grassroots support.

Uh, the 75K was because Obama gave a speech before a rock concert. Hardly grass roots...though many people were probably smoking grass so technically you have a point.........

As for the crowd in Columbia, the city has a large black population, almost 1:1 ratio of blacks and whites, and the most liberal university in the state (USC) is located there, so he will naturally garner a large crowd. Philly has similar demographics.

Let's see how many people in Jax come to see Obama. Stephen and Midway, I expect to see you two up front. 

Columbia also has a large Chinese-Canadian immigrant population. 

[Charleston native]

LOL. Really? I have not seen many of them!