Democratic Campaign Chatter 5-26-2008

Today, take a moment to think of and appreciate the efforts of our many members of the armed services. Whether you agree or disagree with the current U.S. foreign policy which includes the war in Iraq and the conflict in Afghanistan, the men and women in the armed services carry out in a professional manner the missions they are asked to perform. The NY Times has an article today written by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reminding troops to keep politics out of what they do. Let's hope the future will bring a change in U.S. foreign policy that will lead to peace.

Yesterday, Senator Barack Obama stood in for Senator Ted Kennedy and gave the commencement address at Wesleyan University. His speech (watch video here) centered around giving back to the community and although a good speech, it was not as inspiring as when the late President John F. Kennedy said "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". JFK inspired many to get involved in the Peace Corp and community based organizations.

Interestingly, FEC computers could not handle the latest finance reports submitted by the Obama campaign. The huge number of individual contributors exceeded the amount of data the FEC computers were programed to process. Read more here.

Former President Bill Clinton while campaigning for his wife in S. Dakota complains about how his wife has been treated by the press and how many are unfairly trying to push her out of the race. Read more here.

Another former President, Jimmy Carter said yesterday that after the last primaries on June 3, it will be time for Senator Hillary Clinton to withdraw from the race.

Meanwhile, Obama continues to add to his delegate lead, picking up three more superdelegates to move within 52 delegates of the 2025 presently needed to secure the nomination. He now leads Clinton 1973 to 1780.