The Washington Independent

Posts by Ari Melber

Obama Speaks About his Grandmother’s Death

By | 11.04.08 | 9:10 am

Sen. Barack Obama took a few moments to discuss his grandmother’s death on the campaign trail on Monday, and then he swiftly returned to focusing his message on closing arguments and GOTV.

His campaign also released a statement to traveling reporters, but otherwise avoided the topic on Monday night. More…

On Election Day, Obama Says the People Are the Answer

By | 11.04.08 | 6:01 am

CHICAGO, Ill. — Walking through Sen. Barack Obama’s national headquarters last night, it was striking to see how quiet things were on election eve.

The downtown office building was filled with operatives working late into the night, though the ranks were thinned because some people were deployed to the field. More…

Obama on His Grandmother’s Passing

By | 11.03.08 | 6:08 pm

Sen. Barack Obama briefly discussed his grandmother while calling voters during a campaign stop Monday night, but he did not mention that she died.

From the pool report: “Obama made calls to voters on cellphones. On his fifth call, as he was tossing a tiny red and blue football into More…

GOP Attacks Obama’s Visit to (Now Deceased) Grandmother

By | 11.03.08 | 5:59 pm

On election eve, Sen. John McCain announced his condolences to Sen. Barack Obama on the passing of his 86-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham. But other GOP officials spent Monday attacking Obama for his recent trip to visit Ms. Dunham.

The California GOP filed a last-minute complaint, contending:

The Unbearable Coolness of Obama

By | 11.03.08 | 1:35 pm

Sen. Barack Obama is ending this campaign just like he started it — as the coolest guy in the room.

Obama’s calm vibe is a recurring theme in campaign coverage. Flying on his plane this season, I have often been struck by his relative serenity amid his hard-working aides, amped More…

Breaking: Obama Launches Final Attack on McCain

By | 11.03.08 | 10:51 am

On this last day before the election, Sen. Barack Obama is urging voters to relive some humiliating history. Speaking in Jacksonville, Fla., Obama will remind voters of the infamous declaration that Sen. John McCain made in the very same location about six weeks ago, according to a preview of the More…

Obama Breaks YouTube Records in Homestretch

By | 11.03.08 | 6:00 am

If you upload it, they will watch it.

That was the simple premise of the Obama campaign’s dramatic intensification of its YouTube outreach in the homestretch of this long race.

New data shows the campaign’s official YouTube channel is breaking records, topping 2 million viewers a day at its peak.  More…

Obama Pulls a Google for College Vote

By | 10.31.08 | 5:10 pm

On Halloween, the Obama campaign uploaded another appeal targeting young voters on YouTube, this time starring Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

“You should be worried,” he tells college students, but “President Obama” would address key priorities for young voters, from renewing the economy to helping loan repayment for graduates who do More…

Obama Camp: 200K Events Nationwide

By | 10.31.08 | 4:38 pm

The Obama campaign says it has passed another organizing milestone.

Writing from Chicago on Sen. Barack Obama’s social network, MyBo, Amy Hamblin reports that supporters have posted a whopping 200,000 events, with volunteers steadily “blowing past one milestone after another.”  The pace of event organization has dramatically accelerated, Hamblin noted, More…

Obama Rebuts Ad

By | 10.31.08 | 2:41 pm

Speaking on the Friday before the election, Sen. Barack Obama criticized a last-ditch attack from the McCain campaign, casting it as a revealing touchstone for how differently the two nominees view their political obligations.

The new McCain ad knocks Obama for his past praise of the GOP nominee. But Obama More…