Barack Obama Brings Campaign to NJ, NY

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama made a campaign swing into our neighborhood yesterday, drawing a crowd of thousands to Yanitelli Center at St. Peter's College, and as well as supporters to a fund-raiser in Midtown last night. At St. Peter's, He told the audience, "I'm not running because of long-held ambitions. I'm running because of what Dr. (Martin Luther) King called the 'fierce urgency of now.'"

Obama also complained about his opponents trying to seize upon his relative inexperience in Washington as a reason not to vote for him and drew upon a theme of hope. From the Star-Ledger:

Hope isn't "wishful thinking," he said, then referred to slaves, abolitionists, union organizers, women, and the young crusaders of the Civil Rights Movement who rolled up their sleeves to get things done. His father abandoned the family when he was 2, Obama said, leaving his mother and grandparents to raise him. "All they could give me was love, education, and some hope," Obama said.

His criticism about his main rival, Hillary Clinton, was apparent, if "oblique." While saying Clinton uses polls to aid policy-making, Obama said, "We can't poll test every position because we are worried about what Mitt or Rudy will say."

And at the fund-raiser, held at the Grand Hyatt, brought in $700,000, celebrities like Iman, Spike Lee and Richard Gere were present (Iman said Obama's NH 2nd place showing was "nothing" and a "glitch"). The Post reported that while Obama listed what he's been doing ("a lot of traveling, a lot of planes... a lot of automobiles, a lot of handshaking, a lot of picture-taking, my retinas burned, singed..."), someone yelled, "Don't cry!"

Update: 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry will be endorsing Obama in South Carolina today. The endorsement is expected to widen Obama's appeal with older, more traditional Democrats.

Photograph by Raymond Haddad

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By Jen Chung in News on January 10, 2008 10:16 AM

Comments [rss]

Elderta

Leon... you're serious, aren't you?

Haha. Some folks crack me up.

Polite New Yorker

Obama may be a fine candidate, but don't be so naive to think that he's some kind of savior for the Democratic Party or for America. He's an ivy-league educated attorney who takes the same kind of filthy lobbyist money that Hillary Clinton does. I'm voting for Edwards in the primary, which may be essentially over by the time it reaches New York.

I'm still hoping that Ron Paul runs as an independent.

Leon Freilich

NEW OBAMA

You're likable enough, Barack,

Although there's been a change:

You're now ungracious and you're strident--

Broadening your range?

EastRiver

MJG, So you're going with the two wrongs make a right defense?

VanessaNYC

Obama 08!

matthew gannon

Do the Obama true believers think, for one second, that he DIDN'T poll test the following statement: "We can't poll test every position because we are worried about what Mitt or Rudy will say."?

The notion Obama has evolved beyond polls and focus groups and that Hillary is the only calculating politician running is silly and naive. He knows people respond well to a critique of the cynical nature of politics and polling.

EastRiver

I'd hate to be the intern that has to clean up all the broken glass in John Edwards' campaign office today.

Bob Shrum's book says the Kerry was uneasy about picking Edwards as his running mate. And their relationship has gone sour since the 2004 election. I doubt Edwards was counting on the endorsement.

babyhitler

hmmmm. I think he's gonna be quoting MLK for the entire campaign.

Politburo

NY and NJ's primaries are Feb 5, so they are likely to provide input to the process.

Rocknrope

Update: 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry will be endorsing Obama in South Carolina today.

I'd hate to be the intern that has to clean up all the broken glass in John Edwards' campaign office today.

chuzzlewit

did LBJ tell them to do that?

TimSPC

Factoid: Saint Peter's College was the first college in America to give MLK an honorary degree.

coolmidwestguy

Rudy Giuliani 08!

neoconfascist

Go Ron Paul!

matty

"unfortunately, we are only an ATM machine stop for him."

he was in chicago last night for the same thing.

yes, big cities have money. wow.

re poll checking:

the clinton crying thing was calculated and was a result of poll checking. Bill checked polls every single day of his presidency, he probably got Hillary to do the same, find out people think she is an automaton, and then pretend to cry.