Michelle Obama Encouraging People to Make a Pledge

Possible first lady to be, Michelle Obama, raised her voice today at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gathering in support of veterans. She joined families and veterans of the Middle Eastern wars to assemble care packages with destinations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Michelle began her speech by encouraging people to commit to the veteran cause and to serve America by supporting soldiers on the front and at home. "You have an obligation to your community," Michelle stated to the crowd of blue t-shirts, "I'm pleased to see all our blue shirt families here today." The blue t-shirts were emblazoned with "SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS" and were worn by the majority of the audience.

"I'm very pleased with Michelle attending this meeting," said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director and founder of IAVA, a nonpartisan organization.

Also present was Jill Biden, Senator and Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's wife, supporting the veterans. "I'm honored to have the Biden family on the team," said Michelle Obama expressing her happiness that they both share the interest of improving the community service and the situation for veterans all over America. Michelle also announced her happiness that her husband, Barack Obama, wants to focus on these issues

Pictures from the Democratic Convention 2008

The Talk Radio News Service is at the Democratic Convention 2008 - Full photostream at Flickr.

The Hunt for Blue November

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held a press conference to discuss elections being held in November. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the press that Saturday, July 29 begins the 100 day countdown to the November election, saying that the DSCC has overwhelming evidence that Americans are looking for change and finding it in Democrats.

Schumer said polls indicate that Americans are more concerned over topics like health care and education rather than national security and abortion, a concern he said shows a preference for Democratic policies. He noted Mississippi, which he described as the most conservative state, is leaning Democratic in November and becoming a swing state. Schumer, who said that only 3 of the 35 seats contested in the fall are in blue states, said Sen. Barack Obama’s popularity in the Republican Deep South is a valuable asset for Democratic senatorial contests. Schumer said Democratic senatorial candidates are well ahead in Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado, New Mexico, and Alaska while candidates in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska are behind but gaining momentum.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) stated that elections are also looking promising for Democrats on the House side of the Hill. He said that the DCCC is focusing on early contact and persuasion, launching “Get Out and Vote” campaigns in 50 districts throughout the United States. With a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress, Van Hollen said policies concerning stem cell research, children’s health care, Iraq, and gas prices would be successfully addressed.

Gingrich Discusses Fixing America the "Right" Way, Criticizes Obama

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and current senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute of Public Policy Research (AEI), gave a speech today focused on the problems America faces domestically and his thoughts about correcting such problems.

Gingrich's speech was critical of Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and American culture in general. Gingrich expressed a desire for America's poor to learn to bring wealth into their communities for themselves, not by doing so with the benefits of government programs.

Gingrich criticized Obama's plans to improve urban education, even opining, "no one on the left is prepared to rebuild Detroit," a city the former member of Congress was particularly adamant about rebuilding.

Gingrich's plan to rebuild America focused primarily upon improving the cultural values that dominate our society today. Also, Gingrich praised former Mayor of New York City Rudy Guliani for his efforts to curtail crime in New York. Gingrich explained that American education must be reformed for our students to be able to compete with Chinese and Indian students.

Obama Campaign Responds to Geraldine Ferraro in a Press Conference Call

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky hosted a press conference call to address recent comments made by Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY 9) that “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position … And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” Campaign representatives criticized the Clinton campaign for failing to distance itself from the comments and denounce such divisive sentiments. They claimed that campaign leadership comes from the very top, and hold Sen. Clinton responsible for accepting this kind of behavior asking “Is she serious about policing the tone of this campaign?” The whole affair was described as a continuation of the kind of detrimental “tear-each-other-down” politics against which they are striving, said Obama surrogates. Calls were also made for Ferraro to be censured and removed from her positions within the Clinton campaign.