The power of this campaign however rest in his ability to use technology to attract younger and otherwise disinterested voters. When you visit his website, you can’t help but to notice how it grabs you and invites you to explore the various options. How it allows you to become directly involved in the campaign. Everything about this campaign empowers you and helps you feel like “Yes we can” make a change! People are catching Obama fever and his opponents can’t seem to find any way to stop it.

This is the primary reason his opponents have resorted to launching false attacks about his religion and nationality. Barack Obama was born in America, and raised as a Christian.

The blue print for change is the official Obama plan for America, his political platform. This 64 page document was written not for political scientists, but for everyday people, without the double talk in use by most politicians today.

Our political system is broken, and Barack Obama is ready to fix it. He wants to improve the lives of average Americans and take the necessary steps to restore America to its rightful place as the leader of the free world. Yes it may sound corny or unrealistic but change must come to our nation so lets start off on the right food by selecting Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States.

Do I see skin color as a factor in the upcoming election? Sadly the answer is yes I do, but I also see the rainbow of faces, men and women from all nationalities and cultures who are backing the Obama campaign. I also see the issue of basic human rights finally being brought to the forefront of American politics. No longer will any Americans be excluded from our society!

Be sure to look over the special “know the facts section” it will give you tools to verify or clear up misinformation being spread about Senator Barack Obama. We encourage you to get to know Barack Obama as a candidate, and his platform for change.

Recently the Clarksville for Obama steering committee held a rally to introduce itself to the community and let area supporters know that we must continue this momentum of registering people and bring more awareness to the agenda issues that Senator Obama is campaign on.

Clarksville for Obama senior press adviser Terry McMoore opened that rally, emphasizing the importance of ongoing voter registration drives and campaign rallies even though Tennessee and many other primaries have passed. McMoore stressed that “we should not just go home and watch TV and wait to see who gets the Democratic nomination and risk losing the momentum that the Obama campaign currently enjoys. ”If you believe in Senator Obama, then you must continue to campaign up until the national election in November and all the way to the swearing in at the White House.” McMoore said.

McMoore went on to introduce Mr. Credo Amouzouvik(on the left), the local campaign manager for Barack Obama, who introduced the remaining steering committee members in attendence: Bernice Benbow, Secretary; Freda O’Neal, Assistant Treasurer; and Donald O’Neal, Street Team Coordinator. Amouzouvik elaborated on several platform ideals on which Obama is campaigning:

• Americans should not have to work two jobs and still be broke.
• America is the only industrialized country in the world where citizens do not have access to health insurance and the opportunity to attend college. Senator Obama’s health and education plans will provide affordable health care to all who want it, and up to $4,000 for college for all Americans who want to full fill their American dream.

There are many ways to help in the Obama campaign: be a block captain, an area organizers, make phone calls, assist in fundraising, participate in street teams, and “meet and greets”, and travel to other states to assist in their primaries.

McMoore announced a March 1 Rally and Voter Registration Drive to be held at the African American Cultural Center on the campus of Austin Peay State University from 9:30 am to 4:30 p.m. Guest speakers include Bob Turk, former State Democratic Party Chairman and now current Nashville Champaign Manager for Barack Obama, United States Congressman Jim Cooper, and local and statewide union and elected officials.

As we gathered together to take our first Clarksville for Obama campaign supporters photo the shouts and cheers of “YES WE CAN” the official campaign motto of the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign could be heard throughout the room.

For more information or to join the local Obama campaign, go to www.myspace.com/clarksvilleforobama

Clarksville for Obama Rally

Montgomery County, a county that Barack Obama did not do well in, still has a team of energetic people lead by county campaign manager for Barack Obama, Credo Amouzouvik. This re-energized group of supporters will officially introduce themselves to the citizens of Clarksville-Montgomery County as they rally behind the name Clarksville for Obama on February 15 at the Tropicana Restaurant, 233-A Tiny Town Road in Clarksville at 6 p.m.

Amouzouvik said of the Obama campaign: “This train has not stopped. This train goes all the way to the national convention, and then on to the national election in November, and then it will stop in Washington D.C. when Barack Obama is sworn in as this country’s new president.”

The rally will offer Obama supporters the opportunity to meet each other and become involved in the campaign. For more information, call Amouzouvik at 931-378-2378.

Unfortunately, this means Tennesseans often have to rely on news media sound bytes to obtain information about the candidates. However, since news media are businesses and therefore have as their proper goal the making of money, this often leaves viewers with precious little information about how the candidates would actually go about running the county and a disturbing amount about their private lives.

Let’s be honest, does it really matter than Barrack Obama has an Islamic heritage, that Hillary didn’t leave Bill, that Mitt Romney is Mormon or that John McCain allows his adult children to live their own lives?

With this in mind, the author has put together a series of articles about how the candidates stand on some of the hottest issues of today, from abortion to the Iraq war. With that in mind, there are a few necessary disclaimers. First, the author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to OnTheIssues for doing most of the leg work for these articles. Despite their sometimes apparent bias, their repository includes sources for its statements that allowed for easy backtracking to the original source to produce the truth. Secondly, the author wishes to note that the opinions and interpretations of the candidates and their stances on the issues are his own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Clarksville Online, its publisher, or any other member of its staff. Further, the author realizes that he has not included analysis on every possible candidate and at no point intends to do so.

An issue that has become recurring throughout recent political cycles has been that of abortion, with people holding positions from outright bans in all circumstances to completely unregulated abortion. Most politicians do not hold such extreme positions as a matter of political necessity, but there is a wide range in positions among the candidates in this election cycle. Generally Democrats are painted as supporting abortion while Republicans are stereotyped as being staunchly anti-abortion. However, the truth is that these labels are not entirely correct in the current field.

Barrack Obama surprised many with his victory in the Iowa caucuses. How does he feel about abortion, though? Obama believes very strongly in the woman’s right to choose. As the junior senator from Illinois, Obama voted against the partial birth abortion ban. Senator Obama also voted against the bill that would require parental notification for minors seeking abortions outside their home state. Obama advocates age appropriate sex education that includes information about family planning and contraceptive use. Senator Obama says he believes that women should be trusted to make their own decisions regarding abortion, but he also says that he extends the presumption of good faith to abortion protestors. Overall then, Barrack Obama has a very permissive attitude towards abortion in line with the hardcore liberal stance.

Hillary Clinton was the front-runner up until the first primary but had a very disappointing finish there. Mrs. Clinton has a somewhat more centrist view of abortion than Senator Obama that has changed somewhat over the years. Clinton’s failed 1993 national health care plan included the legality and widespread availability of RU-486 and traditional abortion procedures. She has also labored strongly to have the Contraceptive Plan B (the so-called “Morning After Pill”) placed on the market.

Clinton, however, has some consistency problems. Senator Clinton indicates that she supports the banning of late term abortion, but she voted against the Partial Birth Abortion Ban that included provisions for the life of the mother. Clinton also claims to support parental notification for minors seeking abortion, but she voted against that bill too. The Senator did, however, vote for a bill that would fund sex education including information on family planning. Clinton says she believes abortion should be safe, legal and rare. She supports the Cairo document, which claims abortion is a right but not a tool for family planning. Overall, Senator Clinton’s words would suggest someone with a more populist view of abortion supporting reasonable restrictions. However, her voting record is somewhat at odds with this and suggests that in practice she adheres more closely to the liberal line.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee kicks off the Republican side of the issue. Huckabee staunchly opposes abortion in any form. He says that states rights do not exist for moral issues such as abortion. The Governor says that he would ban all abortion if able and that no consensus with pro-choice advocates is possible as he believes that they want a fundamentally different world from pro-life advocates. Huckabee was part of the leadership that led Arkansas to passing a Human Life amendment to the state constitution expressly stating that life begins at conception.

Huckabee believes that it will be a good day for America when (not if) Roe v. Wade is overturned and until then, he has stated there should be no tax dollars for organizations that fund abortion. Governor Huckabee is also a staunch supporter of Woman’s Right to Know legislation. Governor Huckabee has criticized other Republicans for their stances claiming that hating but allowing abortion, stating that it’s like saying “I hate slavery, but people can go ahead and practice it.” Overall, Governor Huckabee is very consistently against abortion, in all circumstances. Mr. Huckabee takes the hardcore conservative line on abortion.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani takes a more populist view on abortion. Giuliani has stated that he would not sign a Federal ban on abortions. He believes that the government should not be involved and that the ultimate choice should be made by a woman and her health care providers. However, the former Mayor does support the Partial Birth Abortion Ban despite opposing parental notification requirements.

Mr. Giuliani, as Mayor, supported adoption and other alternatives to abortion in an effort to decrease the abortion rate by providing other suitable alternatives to having an abortion. As President, he says he would leave individual states to decide whether or not to fund abortion. He claims he would appoint constructionist judges, but that there would be no litmus test for any nominee he put forward. Overall, Giuliani takes the stand that abortion should remain legal, but that it can be reasonably regulated. His stance fits well with the populist line, although his stance on parental notification bucks that trend.

Senator McCain is the moderate conservative on abortion. Senator McCain said he was concerned about women undergoing dangerous and illegal procedures if the culture and views surrounding abortion were not changed before it was outlawed. Senator McCain believes that abortion is acceptable in cases of rape, incest or medical necessity as determined by a medical professional, and that the benefit of the doubt should be extended to a person claiming rape or incestuous pregnancy. Senator McCain claims that he wishes for Americans to work together to make Roe v. Wade and abortions irrelevant.

Senator McCain’s voting record supports this philosophy for the most part. McCain voted to strip tax money from organizations that support or perform abortions. Senator McCain also voted in favor of the Parental Notification bill and in favor of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban. He also voted yes on attaching a criminal penalty to harming an unborn fetus while committing a crime. Despite his claim of supporting alternative to abortion and seeking to make it irrelevant, however, Senator McCain did vote against funding for sex education that includes information on other family planning options as well as contraceptives. Overall Senator McCain has a mdoerate conservative view of abortion, which is fundamentally a view against abortion.

Other candidates generally fall into camp with one of those positions. John Edwards toes the Obama Clinton line. Mitt Romney professes to being roughly in line with Huckabee, although his sincerity on that point could be legitimately questioned given his pro-choice stance as Governor. Fred Thompson is very similar to Senator McCain in his views of abortion, although he opposed the parental notification bill and does include a litmus test for judges. Representative Ron Paul is the odd-man out for both parties, in keeping with his more libertarian mindset and his voting record could reasonably place him on both sides of the fence. However, Ron Paul appears to consistently take decisions that remove the Government from the realm of sex in general, including abortion, at any point in any fashion (he voted against both abstinence only AND comprehesive sex ed, for example) although he did support the partial birth abortion ban.