McCain talks about the surge all the time, because it is, in his mind,  the only positive thing that he is capable of talking about.

He can't talk about the economy, much, because people may start to notice which party has been in charge of the economy for so many years.

He can't talk about his knowledge of the economy, because people may begin to notice that there isn't any discernible knowledge there.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080717/ap_o n_el_pr/obama_bill_clinton

Bill Clinton said today that he's ready and eager to campaign for Barack Obama whenever they feel they need him. If this doesn't signal something to the minds of the Puma's, then I don't know what will. If Bill can put aside the harshness of the primaries, then why can't everyone else? It's time to get down to the business of electing a democratic President.

The former President stated: "I told him that whenever he wanted me to do it, I was ready, and so it's basically on their timetable," Clinton said. He also had indicated: he had a "good talk" with Obama on the phone and is eager to get out on the road for the Illinois senator.

Everyone knows that Bill can be great on the stump, so this is going to help give the Obama campaign more momentum in the coming weeks. It's nice to know you can have a former President on your side and not have to run away from one like John McCain has to do a daily basis.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?Rele aseID=1192&What=&strArea=;&s trTime=0

In a turnaround from some recent polls showing a much closer race, a poll released today by Qunnipiac opens some daylight for Obama as it shows him with a strong 9 point lead nationally. Obama's lead is built on his strong support from young people, Afro-Americans and women as Quinnipiac reports below:

With commanding leads among women and young voters and near unanimous support from black voters, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has a 50 - 41 percent lead over Arizona Sen. John McCain, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll of likely voters released today.

Independent voters split 44 - 44 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Sen. McCain has a slight 47 - 44 percent edge among men voters and a larger 49 - 42 percent lead among white voters.

Senator Hillary Clinton ripped George Bush and the republicans Saturday in a speech before 3000 delegates at Chicago's American Federation of Teachers conference on Saturday.

Could it be that Hillary was showcasing her ability as a vice-presidential attack dog with this speech, especially her quip calling on the republicans to apologize to America? It also may be significant that the speech was in Barack Obama's backyard in Chicago.

She seemed to be in very good form, ridiculing George Bush on global warming, and then reminding everyone about Dick Cheney shooting someone in the face. It was vintage Clinton and if this was an audition for the VP spot, she gave a nice preview of how she can help the democratic ticket in November.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108772/Gallup -Daily-Obama-Holds-6Point-Lead-Over-McCa in.aspx
The Gallup tracking poll had been trending towards an even split, as John McCain had pulled to within 2 points, 2 days ago. However today's poll shows Obama once again moving out to a 6 point lead 48-42. This is very much in line with a newly released Pew poll which gives Obama an 8 point lead 48-40. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/ 2008/latestpolls/index.html

Undoubtedly the polls will be all over the place as this campaign continues. There will be bumps and valleys for both candidates. However a few things seem very interesting already. Obama appears to lead in virtually all the national polls released in the last month. And furthermore in just about all of them, Obama appears to be in the high 40's, while McCain seems mired in the low 40's.

This is a nice trend, but don't start popping the champagne corks just yet. We have a long road ahead, and Obama needs whatever we can bring to the campaign in terms of money, time and energy. We can't allow the republicans to even entertain the thought that they have a chance this November. We can keep those poll numbers right where they are and even improve them for Obama, but it's going to take one big, united effort.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080705/ap_o n_el_pr/obama

There has been a lot of media hoopla concerning Barack Obama's recent comments on Iraq. There are those that would like people to believe that Obama has somehow flip-flopped on the issue, and that he is no longer committed to ending the conflict and bringing our troops home safely. Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth. In his own words Obama has now made his policy on Iraq very clear:

"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," he said. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."

On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after an upcoming trip there. With a promise to end the war the central premise of his candidacy, the Obama campaign has struggled over the past two days to push back against Republicans and others who say his recent statement could be a softening or change in policy.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/ 2008/latestpolls/index.html

In a flurry of polls released today, Barack Obama has had a great day.

First off there was Quinnipiac which surveyed the three most important battleground states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and in each Obama lead. In Florida it was Obama ahead 47-43. In Ohio it was 48-42, while in Pa., Obama had a 12 point edge 52-40. Winning at least one of these three is crucial for Obama, while taking two of them is pivotal, but capturing all three pertends visions of a landslide in November.

If that's all there was today it would be good enough, but a new national Reuters/Zogby poll showed Obama up 5 points 47-42, confirming almost all the recent national polls showing McCain mired in the low 40's.

I still see too many Clinton supporters who have not yet joined forces with the Obama campaign to elect a democrat in November. We are now just a few short months from the convention, and less than five months from the election. In other words the general election campaign is on. We need the help of all our allies. We need your energy and your vote.

Please look at the alternative, and if you can't yet do it for Obama, then could you do it for our troops stuck in an endless hell in Iraq? We have sent them into a war that should have never been started to begin with. Still, however, they have done everything we have asked of them. Over 4000 have lost their lives there, and 10's of thousands more have lost limbs and suffered brain injuries, and likely will never be the same. How many more have to suffer these fates? Isn't it time we let them come home?