DNC Convention = War

Can Obama Talk Smart to Dumbed-Down America?

New York  |  Jun 24, 08 10:33 AM CDT

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s trip to the DNC podium is expected to be the "rhetorical blockbuster of the summer," writes Sam Anderson in New York .  But is the senator up to using his oratorical sophistication to expand his popularity among Americans hooked on a junk-food diet of low-brow stump speeches? Can a "Clinton-style natural who flaunts the artifice of his speeches and refuses to strategically hide his intelligence" score with an audience ambivalent about exactly those qualities?" More »

Obama Shifts DNC Power to Chicago

Politico  |  Jun 13, 08 11:01 AM CDT

(Newser) - The Democratic National Committee is moving its field operations to Chicago as part of Barack Obama's strategy to centralize the party and streamline efforts for the general election. The move has been welcomed publicly by the DNC, even though it clearly shifts power from Washington to Obama's unassuming headquarters in the Windy City, Politico notes. Chicago hasn't had such national political focus since the 1968 convention. More »

Obama's Press to Cherry-Pick Top Clintonites Under Way

Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 3, 08 12:37 PM CDT

(Newser) - Perhaps just hours from securing the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama's campaign is moving to grab the best donors, advisers, and operatives from Hillary Clinton's team, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some are merely waiting for primary voting to end to make the jump; others, out of personal loyalty or sheer animosity, are waiting for approval from Clinton herself. More »

Democrats to Settle Score on Fla., Mich.

Washington Post  |  May 31, 08 7:33 AM CDT

(Newser) - The Democratic rules committee has begun a daylong meeting to try to settle the dispute over the seating of Florida and Michigan’s delegates, chosen in violation of party rules. Many Dems expect half the delegations from each state to be seated, the Washington Post reports, which would do little to alter the delegate math that underscores Barack Obama’s virtual lock on the nomination. More »

Mich.-Fla. Plan, Net Gain of 19 for Clinton, Picking Up Steam

Talking Points Memo  |  May 29, 08 5:10 PM CDT

(Newser) - A plan to give each of Florida’s Democratic delegates a half-vote and to split Michigan’s halved delegates evenly between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is “gaining some traction in the right circles” ahead of Saturday’s DNC meeting, Talking Points Memo discerns from an MSNBC report. The compromise would net Clinton 19 delegates and set a new “magic number” of 2,118. More »

DNC Lawyers: Only Half of Fla., Mich. Can Be Seated Saturday

Talking Points Memo  |  May 28, 08 2:06 PM CDT

(Newser) - By Democratic Party rules, the long-awaited committee meeting on Saturday is authorized to re-seat no more than half of the outlaw delegations from Florida and Michigan, party lawyers have advised in a new memo. The Rules and Bylaws Committee is required to maintain a penalty for the leapfrogging states that cuts their original delegate counts at least by half, the AP reports. More »

Obama to Fans: Don't Protest Rules Meeting