Friday, June 20
Chicago Economic Discussion with Democratic Governors
Chicago History Museum
1601 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
Program Begins: 9:15 AM

The Daily News reports:

Hillary Clinton will join Barack Obama for a joint appearance in Washington next week to persuade her donors to begin giving to the Democrats’ nominee, the Daily News has learned.

It’s the first known plan to bring together the victor and vanquished from the Democrat primary race and put their pledges of unity for the fall campaign into action.

Jonathan Mantz, Clinton’s national finance director, sent top Clinton fundraisers an e-mail today inviting them to the event on June 26.

“As we move forward, we invite you to join us for a National Finance Committee meeting with both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Thursday, June 26th in Washington, D.C., to discuss how we can work together to support Barack Obama and the Democratic Party,” Mantz wrote.

According to a new Civitas Institute poll, Sen. Barack Obama has pulled to within four points of Sen. John McCain in North Carolina.

Among all voters, McCain leads Obama, 45% to 41%, with Libertarian Bob Barr getting 2%.

Said pollster Francis DeLuca: “Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama improved their numbers over last month by solidifying the support of their party’s base voters. Obama increased his support among Democrats by five percent, while McCain increased his support among Republicans by three percent.”

Dear Matthew,

A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.

Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges — including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.

This moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action.

That’s why I am asking you to join me in showing your support by making a contribution to this campaign today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/gore

Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.

With the help of millions of supporters like you, Barack Obama will bring the change we so desperately need in order to solve our country’s most pressing problems.

If you’ve already contributed to this campaign, I ask that you consider making another contribution right now. If you haven’t, please take the next step and own a piece of this campaign today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/gore

On the issues that matter most, Barack Obama is clearly the right choice to lead our nation.

We have a lot of work to do in the next few months to elect Barack Obama president, and it begins by making a contribution to this campaign today.

Thank you for joining me,

Al Gore

Dear Matthew,

Together, you and I changed America forever. We touched so many lives over the course of this campaign, and I can’t thank you enough for the support you showed me. I met so many wonderful people out on the trail, and I wanted to share some of those memories with you.

I hope you’ll take a moment to view our online album with some favorite photos from the campaign.

Thank you so much — I’ll be in touch soon.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Matthew –

Are you ready for the next big challenge of this campaign?

On Saturday, June 28th, more than a thousand supporters like you are hosting Unite for Change house meetings all across the country.

Ordinary people will be opening their homes and inviting friends and neighbors to come together and talk about our common cause of change.

See what Barack has to say about these Unite for Change events and sign up to host one in your community:

http://my.barackobama.com/uniteforchange

The goal of Unite for Change is to bring together people who supported all of the Democratic candidates, as well as Independents and even some Republicans. We want to reach out to anyone who is tired of the politics of the past and looking for new solutions to the challenges we’re facing.

We’ll talk about the common values we share and our strategy for bringing more people into the political process than ever before.

Hosting a Unite For Change house meeting will be easy and fun. Whether you are a seasoned campaign veteran or a first time volunteer, our staff will be there to help you every step of the way.

Sign up now to host a Unite For Change event on June 28th:

http://my.barackobama.com/uniteforchange

Since last February, we have worked to build a grassroots movement that will enable us to compete in all 50 states in the general election.

It’s going to take all of us working together to bring about the change our country needs.

Help us grow this movement and Unite For Change:

http://my.barackobama.com/uniteforchange

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

This is the bounce following the close of the Democratic Primary that everyone has been waiting for.

I’ve never thought that McCain has much of a shot at Pennsylvania, and these new Quinnipiac University poll numbers bear this out with Obama up by 12 in the Keystone state.  He’s also ahead in Florida and Ohio.

FLORIDA: Obama 47, McCain 43
OHIO: Obama 48, McCain 42
PENNSYLVANIA: Obama 52, McCain 40

Dates conducted: June 9-16. Error margin: 2.5-2.6 points.

Regarding those Clinton voters jumping to McCain, it’s real so far.  But, as Ambinder points out, doesn’t seem to matter much:

Obama’s getting the votes of 13% of ‘04 Bush voters in Florida and Ohio, and 19% in Pennsylvania. McCain gets the support of 24% of Clinton voters in PA and roughly equivalent percentages in OH and FL. So, from O’s perspective, maybe it doesn’t really matter that a quarter of Clinton Democrats turned Red.

From Q-PAC:

Florida

Florida women likely voters back Obama 50 – 40 percent, while men go 47 percent for McCain and 44 percent for Obama. White voters back McCain 50 – 40 percent while black voters back Obama 95 – 4 percent. Obama leads 57 -35 percent with voters 18 to 34 years old; he splits 48 – 46 percent with McCain among voters 35 to 54, and 44 – 46 percent with voters over 55.

Ohio

Obama leads 51 – 39 percent among Ohio women likely voters, while men go 46 percent for McCain and 45 percent for Obama. White voters also are narrowly divided with 47 percent for McCain and 44 percent for Obama, but Obama commands black voters 90 – 6 percent. The Democrat also leads 58 – 36 percent among voters 18 to 34 and 49 – 42 percent among voters 35 to 54, while McCain has the 47 – 43 percent edge among voters over 55.

Pennsylvania

Obama tops McCain 57 – 34 percent with women as men go 47 percent for McCain to 45 percent for Obama. Obama leads 61 – 33 percent among voters 18 to 34 years old, 51 – 41 percent among voters 35 to 54 and 48 – 43 percent with voters over 55. The Democrat inches ahead 47 – 44 percent among white voters and leads among black voters 95 – 1 percent.

Obama gets a 54 – 25 percent favorability, to 43 – 33 percent for McCain.

I would’ve normally emailed Mark Halperin, his staff, or left a comment on their blog, but none of these options are available at The Page.

As you can see from the screen cap, he’s writing about Obama’s Monday visit to Detroit.  However, the photo is clearly of Pittsburgh at night.  Even if you don’t recognize the buildings, look at what’s spelled in the foregrounded building lights: “Go Pens”.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, aka Pens, just finished the Stanley Cup Playoffs against … Detroit!  So, my best guess about what happened here, as a fellow Getty purchaser, is that the photo editor for The Page used the keyword “Detroit” at Getty’s website to  find pictures.  This photo of Pittsburgh probably had that keyword, because of the Stanley Cup finals, and used this one of Pittsburgh, thinking it was of Detroit.  We also know that nobody at The Page is a hockey fan either!

UPDATE: Randy from The Page was kind enough to email (within the hour) to let me know that this has been fixed.  Politics up to the minute — that’s The Page (and why I like it so much)!

Hey–
Thanks for the heads-up on the wrong skyline shot. There are hockey fans
working on The Page– we just got the wrong picture in there. It’s now
fixed.
Thanks for reading.

Earlier, I mentioned why many libertarians are abstaining from McCain.  Economic conservatives, one branch of the triumvirate conservative family, also strongly dislike and distrust McCain.

Andrew Sullivan, noted blooger and author of The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How We Get It Back, has this to say about the morality of debt and the conservative problem with McCain:

That’s why I’ve come to see the Republican party as a deeply corrosive force with respect to public morality. It perpetuates the idea that debt – and constantly increasing debt – is a virtue. Over the last seven years, as I often repeat, the Bush Republicans have added $32 trillion to the unfunded liabilities that future generations have to pay. After instituting torture, this is easily the most grotesquely immoral act of the current administration and Congress. It is thieving from the next generation. Reagan bears a burden of responsibility in this, but Bush II has combined the ideology of supply-side fantasy with trust-fund rich kid insouciance. I want government small and I want it solvent. And, to my mind, that is the core conservative position – which is why the current Republicans are not just un-conservative; they are the enemy of conservatism.

All this is a preamble to a pettier matter. Contrast the two candidates on their personal fiscal morality. Obama, who grew up on food stamps and foreswore a lucrative corporate law career, “reported no liabilities in his annual financial disclosures.” McCain, who married an heiress worth millions, has more than $100,000 in credit card debt:

The presidential candidate and his wife Cindy reported piling up debt on a charge card between $10,000 and $15,000. His wife’s solo charge card has between $100,000 and $250,000 in debt to American Express. Another charge card with American Express, this one for a “dependent child,” is carrying debt in the range of $15,000 and $50,000.

More saliently, McCain’s tax and spending proposals add far more to the federal deficit than Obama’s. After the massive debt racked up in the last eight years, both McCain and Obama unforgivably want to add more. But McCain is the worst. Sometimes, personal morality is a sign of public morality, isn’t it?

Mark Murray of NBC:

In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Obama leads McCain by six points (47%-41%) among registered voters. While polls can’t accurately gauge an election five months out — after all, so much can still happen — it’s worth putting Obama’s lead into this perspective: Bush never trailed Kerry in the 2004 NBC/WSJ polls that measured registered voters’ preference for Bush, Kerry, and Nader. And Bush’s lead was never bigger than four points.