Sen. Ted Kennedy, shown in May 2007, was rushed to a hospital Saturday morning.
Sen. Ted Kennedy (America’s Royalty) has apparently suffered a seizure, not a stroke according to CNN. Details are still developing. Recently, Kennedy made news when he endorsed Obama. Thoughts and prayers are with Kennedy and his family.
Hillary Clinton
“I never felt that I was in a dangerous position. I never felt being in a sense of peril, or ‘Oh, God, I hope I’m going to be OK when I get out of this helicopter or when I get out of this tank.”
In Pennsylvania,Obama told reporters that he would address racial issues, and the mess created by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. The speech is to be a “discussion on race and politics.”
In reference to Jeremiah Wright, Obama says:
“I think the caricature that is being painted of him is not accurate, and so part of what I will do tomorrow is to talk about how these issues are perceived from within the black church community for example which I think skews this very differently.”
Yeah ok, if you say so Obama.
This oughta be interesting.
Stay tuned until tomorrow.
For more on this story, read here.
I’m not going to clown Hillary…shoot she’s doing a good job of that by herself, but I just cannot get over the audacity of her asking Obama to be her running mate-in Vice Pres capacity at that. Poor woman, denile is not just a body of water, ok??? smh. *sigh* Well, Obama definitely has momentum going and I wish I could be a fly, ant, beetle, millipede, boll weevil whatever kind of insect that can eavesdrop on Hillary’s wall, corner, bathtub, fooor etc. I’m sure she is absolutely beside herself…and poor Bill- who thought he was undercova brotha from another motha! Well the least he could do is portray himself as caring about Hillary and help her to campaign, considering all the hell he’s put that woman thru. I know, Hillary truly underestimated the Drama known as Obama!!
Anyhooo….the beat goes on, and Obama is workin’ it out!!
(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama claimed victory by a wide margin over Sen. Hillary Clinton in Mississippi’s Democratic primary Tuesday.
Sen. Barack Obama claimed a big victory in Mississippi’s Democratic primary.
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“What we’ve tried to do is steadily make sure that in each state we are making the case about the need for change in this country. Obviously the people in Mississippi responded,” Obama told CNN after his win.
Mississippi had 33 pledged delegates up for grabs, which will be allocated proportionally.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Obama had 61 percent of the vote, compared with Clinton’s 37 percent.
The state’s Democratic voters were sharply divided among racial lines, exit polls indicated. 
Watch what the results mean »
As has been the case in many primary states, Obama won overwhelming support from African-American voters. They went for him over Clinton 91-9 percent. See the results
The state has a larger proportion of African-Americans (36 percent, according to the 2000 census) than any other state in the country. And black voters make up nearly 70 percent of registered Democrats.
But Mississippi white voters overwhelmingly backed the New York senator, supporting her over Obama 72 percent to 21 percent.
According to The Associated Press, only two other primary states were as racially polarized — neighboring Alabama, and Clinton’s former home state of Arkansas.
The exit polls also indicated roughly 40 percent of Mississippi Democratic voters said race was an important factor in their vote, and 90 percent of those voters supported Obama.
In Ohio, roughly one in five voters said race factored into their decision. About 60 percent of those voters picked Clinton over Obama.
Clinton’s campaign issued a statement congratulating Obama on his win, and said they “look forward to campaigning in Pennsylvania and around the country as this campaign continues.” 
CNN’s political team weighs in on the results »
Pennsylvania is the next battleground for the Democrats. It holds its primary April 22 and has 158 delegates at stake.
Obama also finished first in the Texas Democratic caucuses. The caucuses were held last week, but the race was not called until Tuesday night. Watch Obama talk about his win »
Obama will get more delegates out of the state than Clinton, who won the state’s primary.
Under the Texas Democratic Party’s complex delegate selection plan, Texas voters participated in both a primary and caucuses last week.
Two-thirds of the state’s 193 delegates were at stake at the primary, while the remaining third were decided by the caucuses.
Obama leads Clinton in the overall delegate count 1,597-1,470, but neither candidate is close to the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.
Between 125,000 and 150,000 voters were expected to cast ballots Tuesday, according to Pamela Weaver of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.
While the number would represent a 25 to 50 percent increase in turnout from the 2004 primaries, Weaver still described the voting rate as light to moderate.
Obama touched on the Mississippi Delta’s economic struggles during a final campaign stop in Greenville, Mississippi, according to the AP.
“We just haven’t seen as much opportunity come to this area as we’d like,” he told those gathered at a restaurant, the AP reported. “And one of the challenges, I think, for the next president is making sure that we’re serving all communities and not just some communities.”
Obama campaigned in Mississippi on Monday and spent part of Tuesday doing the same, while rival Clinton made a swing through the state on Thursday and Friday.
In addition, former President Bill Clinton made the rounds for his wife in Mississippi over the weekend.
For Mississippi, it’s a moment to bask in the national spotlight. And for a state with images of a strictly segregated past, the Democratic primary is a chance to alter some long held stereotypes.
I’m not a dr., nor do I play on one tv…but if I had to diagnose Sen. Clinton with a mental illness, I would say she appears to be suffering from Delusions of Grandeur. Granted, deluding oneself is a lot easier to face then our reality, but lady come on!! Senator, I’m not sure as to who’s been whispering false sweet nothings in ur ear, but have u looked at the results from these Super Tuesdays?? And please don’t let OH & TX be an indicator as to how you think you’ll end up. I mean, not the results your people pass onto you, but go to a credible website such as CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo! News…I mean the choices are endless. You’ll get real results in real time! Why did you think Obama would risk his life (literally) to begin this foray only to give it up in March-EIGHT MOS before the elections to accept your irrational proposal??? I’m not a dr., nor do I play one on tv, BUT R U CRAZY?! Lady shelve the hallucinogens, stop letting Bill blow smoke up your keister, make a cup of coffee w/a shot of strong liquor and sit down and read the REAL RESULTS OF THIS RACE…UR LOSING! Sorry I had to be the one to break it to u…but it’s true. Now read on about what Obama had to say about your insane proposal:
(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama Monday flatly rejected suggestions he would be a vice presidential running mate for Sen. Hillary Clinton.
President Clinton Saturday suggested a Clinton-Obama ticket would be “unstoppable.”
“He would win the urban areas and the upscale voters. She would win the rural areas that we lost when President Reagan was president,” he said while campaigning in Pass Christian, Mississippi. “If you put those two things together, you’d have an almost unstoppable force.” Watch Bill Clinton tout a ‘dream ticket’ »
Obama forcefully shot that idea down.
“Sen. Clinton is fighting hard. She’s tenacious. I respect her for that. She is working hard to win the nomination. But I want everybody to be absolutely clear. I’m not running for vice president. I’m running for president of the United States of America,” Obama told supporters during a rally in Columbus, Mississippi.
“With all due respect. I won twice as many states as Sen. Clinton. I’ve won more of the popular vote than Sen. Clinton. I have more delegates than Sen. Clinton. So, I don’t know how somebody who’s in second place is offering vice presidency to the person who’s in first place,” he said. Watch Obama spike a Clinton-Obama ticket »
Obama also said the Clinton campaign was “hoodwinking” voters when it suggested he was not ready to be president while also floating the possibility of a joint Clinton-Obama ticket.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “If I’m not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president?”
Obama was campaigning in Mississippi a day before the state holds its primary Tuesday, while Clinton keeps her eye on the next big prize on the Democratic calendar, Pennsylvania.
Thirty-three delegates are at stake Tuesday, and in the tight Democratic race, every delegate is critical. CNN estimates Obama leads Clinton 1,553 to 1,438. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the nomination.
Obama won the Wyoming caucuses Saturday, where he picked up seven delegates. Clinton won five delegates.
Obama was also scheduled to hold a rally in Jackson, Mississippi, Monday, while Clinton was set to hold campaign events in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania holds its primary April 22.
The divergent paths on their campaign trails may be a reflection of what the campaigns view as their political strengths.
Obama has done well in Southern states that have large African-American populations. Clinton has done better in industrial states with large groups of blue-collar voters such as Ohio, which she won last week. Watch why black voters are flocking to the polls »
Going into Tuesday’s voting, Obama has a double-digit lead over Clinton in Mississippi, polls suggested. An American Research Group poll conducted March 5-6 of likely primary voters had Obama leading Clinton 58 percent to 34 percent with 5 percent supporting another candidate and 3 percent unsure. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Watch an Obama aide explain why Obama will not be a VP candidate »
Clinton has not conceded the state to Obama, however. She campaigned there last week, and her husband campaigned there over the weekend. Watch how Hurricane Katrina is shaping Tuesday’s election »
As the race has remained in a virtual deadlock, pressure has been mounting on party officials to find a solution that lets Michigan and Florida have some input in the nomination process.
Both states were stripped of their delegates by the national Democratic Party after they violated party rules and moved their primaries to January. Clinton won both contests.
None of the top-tier candidates campaigned in either state before the votes, and Obama was not on the ballot in Michigan.
How the question is resolved could have a significant impact on the Democratic race. Florida has 210 delegates, while Michigan has 156 delegates.
Ann Lewis, a senior Clinton adviser, argued the outcome of Florida’s January primary should be used to allocate Florida’s delegates. Watch Lewis explain why the Florida results should count 
“Here’s what we think the criteria should be: Recognize and respect the fact so many Florida Democrats did come out,” Lewis said. “Let’s remember and recognize the people who did show up and appreciate that they thought votes should be counted.”
But comments by Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, suggested party leaders would not support that position.
“I think it’s very unlikely that Florida and Michigan, given how close this race is, are going to be seated as is,” Dean told CBS Sunday. “But everybody’s going to work very hard to find a compromise within the rules that’s fair to both campaigns that will allow Florida and Michigan in the end to be seated.”
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, has proposed Florida Democrats get a chance to vote again using mail-in ballot, saying a full primary using regular voting machines would be prohibitively expensive.
Nelson estimated the cost of conducting an election using mail-in ballots would be about $6 million. Florida’s Democratic Party would raise the money to pay for the mail-in election, he said.
Two prominent Democratic fundraisers — Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Gov. John Corzine of New Jersey — suggested they would be willing to help raise the funds necessary to hold new elections in Florida and Michigan.
Sen. Barack Obama speaks to supporters during a rally in Columbus, Mississippi, Monday.
A letter outlining their proposal was published Sunday in the Washington Post. Rendell and Corzine said they would help raise half of the $30 million they estimated it would take to hold primaries in Florida and Michigan.
Both Rendell and Corzine back Clinton, but former Sen. Tom Daschle, Obama’s campaign co-chairman, said the Obama campaign would be open to the two campaigns raising funds for new primaries. source
UPDATE:: HEEE-HAWWWWW! Obama hog-tied the Wyoming Votes, comes out the winner!!
Read more about his awesome victory here.
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CASPER, Wyo. - Barack Obama took the lead over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in early returns Saturday as Democrats crowded caucuses in Wyoming, the latest contest in the candidates’ close, hard-fought race for the party’s presidential nomination.
Obama led Clinton 61 percent to 38 percent with 11 of 23 counties reporting.
Obama generally has outperformed Clinton in caucuses, which reward organization and voter passion more than do primaries. The Illinois senator has won 12 caucuses to Clinton’s three.
But Clinton threw some effort into Wyoming, perhaps hoping for an upset that would yield few delegates but considerable buzz and momentum. The New York senator campaigned Friday in Cheyenne and Casper. Former president Bill Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, also campaigned this week in the sprawling and lightly populated state.
Obama campaigned in Casper and Laramie on Friday, but spent part of his time dealing with the fallout from an aide’s harsh words about Clinton and suggestions that Obama wouldn’t move as quickly to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq if elected. In Casper, Obama said Clinton had no standing to challenge his position on the war because she had voted to authorize it in 2002.
Clinton, buoyed by big wins in Ohio and Texas last Tuesday, said she faced an uphill fight in Wyoming. Her campaign also holds out little hope for Tuesday’s primary in Mississippi, which has a large black population.
Both candidates were looking ahead to the bigger prize — delegate-rich Pennsylvania on April 22.
In Wyoming, 12 national convention delegates were at stake. During the first caucuses of the day, it appeared the state’s Democrats were showing up in record numbers. In 2004, a mere 675 people statewide took part in the caucuses.
In Sweetwater County, more than 500 people crowded into a high school auditorium and another 500 were lined up to get inside.
“I’m worried about where we’re going to put them all. But I guess everybody’s got the same problem,” said Joyce Corcoran, a local party official. “So far we’re OK. But man, they keep coming.”
Party officials were struggling with how to handle the overflow crowds. The start of the Converse County caucus was delayed due to long lines.
In Cheyenne, scores of late arrivers were turned away when party officials stopped allowing people to get in line at 11 a.m. EST. A party worker stood at the end of the line with a sign reading, “End of the line. Caucus rules require the voter registration process to be closed at this time.”
State party spokesman Bill Luckett said they were obligated to follow its rules as well as those of the Democratic National Committee regarding caucus procedures.
“Everybody knew the registration began over an hour before the caucus was called to order. We’ve done everything we could to accommodate people in the long lines,” Luckett said.
In Casper, home of the state party’s headquarters, hundreds were lined up at the site of the Natrona County caucus. The location was a hotel meeting room with a capacity of 500. Some 7,700 registered Democrats live in the county.
“We’ll have to put ‘em in the grass after a while,” said Bob Warburton, a local party official.
About 59,000 registered Democrats are eligible to participate in Wyoming’s caucuses.
Only in the last few weeks have the campaigns stepped up their presence in Wyoming, opening offices and calling voters and sending mailers. The first visit came Thursday, when former President Clinton made three appearances in Wyoming.
Not including Wyoming delegates, which have not yet been allocated, Obama held the lead in delegates, 1,571-1,463. But Clinton has the edge with superdelegates — the party officials and elected leaders — 242-210. A total of 2,025 delegates is needed to win the nomination.
Although a win in Wyoming may not persuade many superdelegates, it will be one more prize for the candidates as they make their case for the nomination.
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This is good news for Obama-ites! Although it’s still early I think Obama can pull this off. Here’s to hopin’ he’ll lasso in the majority of the votes!
Go Obama!
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — Will the recount state become the re-primary state? And will voters in Michigan have their say in picking a Democratic candidate for president?
Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, shown in 2006, called for her state’s delegates to be seated.
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Political leaders from Florida and Michigan were busy Wednesday talking about plans to make sure that voters in their states are heard in picking a Democratic nominee.
The discussions unfolded amid a grueling, delegate-by-delegate fight between Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
The national Democratic Party stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates to the national convention after the states moved up the dates of their primary elections.
That means votes that were cast in primaries in those states will not translate into delegates awarded to one candidate or the other in the contest for the Democratic nomination for president. Watch Florida’s mounting frustration »
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said the states can either come up with a new plan to choose a slate of delegates or appeal to the party’s credentials committee when the convention opens in August.
“Out of respect for the presidential campaigns and the states that did not violate party rules, we are not going to change the rules in the middle of the game,” Dean said in a written statement Wednesday.
The national Democratic Party stripped Florida — epicenter of the 2000 election debacle — of its 210 national convention delegates as punishment for the state’s decision to move its party primaries to January 29.
Michigan received the same treatment after moving its primary date to January as well, losing its 156 convention delegates.
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, called on the Democratic National Committee to seat their states’ delegations. They accused the party in a statement of silencing “the voices of 5,163,271 Americans” who voted in their primaries.
“It is intolerable that the national political parties have denied the citizens of Michigan and Florida their votes and voices at their respective national conventions,” they wrote.
And at a news conference in Tallahassee, Crist — who signed the bill that changed Florida’s primary date — pointed fingers outside the state.
“It’s unconscionable to me that some party boss in Washington is not going to permit the people to be heard,” he said. “That’s not what America is all about, and it’s wrong.”
Wednesday night in Washington, Democratic House members from Florida and Michigan met for about an hour to talk about possibilities that would lead to delegations from those states influencing the outcome of the Democratic nominating contest.
“Both delegations feel very, very strongly — adamantly — that our delegations be seated at the national conventions,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz of Florida.
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan said he’s not sure of the best way to resolve the dispute but that voters from Florida and Michigan should have their voters counted.
“I think the key is the voice of Michigan and Florida is heard and there’s a procedure that is fair to the residents and fair to the two candidates,” he said.
Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan suggested Wednesday that his state could hold caucuses to select its delegates.
Participants declined to say whether there is general agreement on a way forward — for example, whether the two states should redo the votes there or use results from the previous primaries. They pledged to continue discussions, though no formal meeting has been scheduled.
The national Republican Party also penalized Florida and Michigan, but cut each state’s allocation in half rather than stripping them entirely. And since Arizona Sen. John McCain clinched the GOP nomination Tuesday night, any fight over seating Florida and Michigan’s delegates will matter little to the GOP race.
Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, was the only leading Democrat to appear on ballots in Michigan and made a handful of allowed fund-raising appearances in Florida in the last days before the vote, while other candidates skipped the state. She won both contests.
Now, as she trails Obama by 100-plus delegates, Clinton has called for the Michigan and Florida delegations to be seated at the party’s convention in Denver, Colorado.
The Democrats’ next big primary is seven weeks away in Pennsylvania, where 158 delegates are at stake. Adding new contests to the mix could prolong the Democrats’ heated battle for the nomination while giving McCain more freedom to focus on November’s general election.
Crist told CNN’s “Late Edition” on Sunday that he supported holding another primary to resolve the dispute. But Wednesday, he said the state would not pay for a second contest.
The Florida Democratic Party estimates that a new primary could cost as much as $18 million — and Sen. Bill Nelson said the DNC should pick up the tab.
“There’s no way the state legislature is going to fund another election when they are in economic cardiac arrest right now,” said Nelson, a Florida Democrat. “They are cutting payments to health care, education, social services and payments to the cities and counties.
“There’s no way that they’re going find an additional $18 million to fund another election, nor should they. This shouldn’t be the burden of the taxpayers of Florida — this should be the burden of the Democratic National Committee.”
Party officials have said they will not pay for Florida to hold a new primary because they warned the state not to move up its primary.
“The Democratic nominee will be determined in accordance with party rules,” Dean said. But he emphasized that his goal was to maintain party unity, and called the statement by Crist and Granholm “good news.”
“We look forward to receiving their proposals, should they decide to submit new delegate selection plans, and will review those plans at that time,” he said.
But Nelson said the party’s stance was unfair, since it was Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee and a Republican governor, Crist, who decided to move up the state’s primary over the opposition of Democrats.
And if the state’s decision to move the primary remains controversial, it pales in comparison to a bill two Florida state senators are discussing. Sen. Nan Rich, a Clinton backer, is proposing that the state remove the party’s eventual presidential nominee from the state’s ballot unless it seats Florida’s delegates.
“That’s one option,” Rich said.
Legal scholars say they doubt removing the Democratic or Republican nominee’s name from the ballot would be constitutional. But state Senate Democratic leader Steve Geller said he been approached by Republicans promoting the bill.
Geller said it is a sign of how bitter the fight over the delegates has become and how deep the self-inflicted wounds are among Democrats, calling it “a typical Democratic firing squad.”
(CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton got her campaign back on track with projected wins in the Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries.
Sen. Hillary Clinton claimed victory in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island.
Delegate-rich Texas and Ohio were considered must-wins for her campaign.
Obama, who claimed victory in Vermont, had won 12 straight contests since Super Tuesday on February 5.
Texas also held Democratic caucuses Tuesday, but it was too close to declare a winner.
“For everyone here in Ohio and across America who’s been ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone who works hard and never gives up — this one is for you,” Clinton said before supporters in Columbus.
“You know what they say,” she said. “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Well, this nation’s coming back and so is this campaign.”
Obama congratulated Clinton on her victories but downplayed his losses. CNN’s political team weighs in on the results »
“We know this: No matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead as we had this morning, and we are on our way to winning this nomination,” Obama told supporters in Texas.
Sen. John McCain swept all four Republican contests on Tuesday to become his party’s presumptive nominee. Read about McCain’s victory
McCain won primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island, giving him more than the 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination.
“I am very, very grateful and pleased to note that tonight, my friends, we have won enough delegates to claim with confidence, humility and a great sense of responsibility, that I will be the Republican nominee for president of the United States,” McCain told supporters Tuesday night. Watch McCain claim victory »
Mike Huckabee dropped out of the Republican race after the results came in.
“It’s now important that we turn our attention not to what could have been or what we wanted to have been, but now what must be — and that is a united party,” Huckabee told a crowd in Dallas. Watch Huckabee bow out »
McCain is slated to go to the White House on Wednesday to receive the endorsement of President Bush, according to two Republican sources.
The Arizona senator’s campaign — his second run for the White House — was largely written off for dead last summer amid outspoken opposition from the party’s conservative base, a major staff shakeup and disappointing fundraising.
But McCain said earlier Tuesday that he was confident he would emerge as the presumptive nominee by the end of the night.
McCain overwhelmingly won moderates and conservatives in Ohio, but he lost the evangelical vote to Huckabee, according to exit polls.
Obama’s campaign pressed to extend voting by one hour in two Ohio counties. See county-by-county results in Ohio
“Due to reports of ballot shortages in Cuyahoga and Franklin counties, we requested a voting extension in those counties,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
A judge ruled to keep parts of Cuyahoga county open an extra hour.
In Texas, Clinton held a two-to-one advantage over Obama with Hispanic voters, while ObamaSee county-by-county results in Texas had the overwhelming advantage with black voters in the state’s Democratic primary, according to CNN’s exit poll.
Eighty-three percent of blacks voted for Obama, while 16 percent supported Clinton, according to the exit poll.
Meanwhile, 64 percent of Hispanics backed Clinton, while 32 percent went for Obama.
Early exit polls indicate a distinct “age gap” in both states.
Obama appealed most strongly to younger voters while older voters favored Clinton. Among Ohio Democratic primary voters aged 17 to 29, 65 percent went for Obama, and 34 percent went for Clinton. Among those age 60 and older, Clinton led Obama 67-31 percent.
The same pattern held true in early exit polling from the Texas Democratic primary. Among voters aged 18 to 29, Obama led Clinton 61-39 percent, and among voters 60 and older, Clinton led Obama 63- 36 percent.
Poll workers in Collin County, near Dallas, estimated that nearly three-quarters of the Democratic voters would participate in the Democratic caucuses to be held after the polls close.
In an unusual system, the 193 delegates that Texas will send to the Democratic National Convention will be split between Obama and Clinton according to the results of both the primary and the caucuses.
State party officials say the dual primary/caucus system promotes participation in the party. Both Clinton and Obama have encouraged supporters to do the “Texas two-step” and vote in both events.
Obama came into the day with momentum on his side. He had 1,378 pledged delegates and superdelegates to Clinton’s 1,269.
Neither candidate is close to the 2,025 needed to win the Democratic nomination. Allocate delegates yourself and see how the numbers add up »
Former President Bill Clinton said in February that if his wife won Ohio and Texas, she’d go on to win the nomination. source
Here’s a sight for sore eyes! I haven’t seen Dick Gregory since he was peddlin’, promoting his weight loss goods! I heard it was a success too. We may not have seen D.G., in recent years but some things never change…including Dick Gregory.
Listen as he tells black americans about themselves, ourselves. Thanks Twin!
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