Winfrey put Obama's name in a favorable spotlight

Mr. Silva notes that Obama's visibilty has increased throughout the rest of the country due to the "Oprah bounce." As a resident of Illinois, the state that Senator Obama was elected to represent in the U.S. Senate,I find this rise in "visabilty" ironic as Senator Obama has been basically a "no-show" in his duty to represent the interests of the people of the State of Illinois. As Illinois experiences funding crises for mass transit, health care and infrastructure repair, our junior Senator is no where to be found. While other Senators are able to "earmark" funding for their respective states Senator Obama has failed to deliver for the people that he was elected to represent, the State of Illinois.He has led all of the Presidential candidates in missed votes in the Senate while the state that he was elected to represent suffers. Illinois needs and deserves full time representation in the U.S. Senate and while it is nice that Senator Obama's profile has risen throughout the rest of the U.S., it would be nice to see his visability as the junior Senator from Illinois increase as well.

"He has led all of the Presidential candidates in missed votes in the Senate while the state that he was elected to represent suffers."

Not even close. McCain has that one locked up.

John McCain has missed 55.7% of the votes this Congress.

Biden has missed 37.6%

Dodd has missed 36.2%

Obama has missed 36.0%

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/vote-missers/

Missing votes IS a serious matter. However, so is being accurate when making allegations.

I agree with George. I like Obama as a candidate, but when it comes to all the politicians in Federal and state politics elected by the people of Illinois, it seems that that getting votes to stay in office is more important than getting the job done that they were elected to do. Voting record should count and if you are absent so often, you can't get the job done, you get fired! Politics should be no different.

It's intriguing that despite Hillary's campaign's negative diatribes and her desperation, people are listening to Obama more than ever.

I really think her campaign is failing and will be over if she loses in IA and NH.

People are simply too curios as to whethere Obama can do what he wants to do.

They won't give up on him.

Perhaps that has been his plan all along. He doesn't care about the people of Illinois. H eonly wants to get in the White House and make himself famous. Beware the artful dodger.

Hello, I am extremely excited about Barack Obama's rise in the polls. I think it came from four things: 1) People see how great Obama is; 2) People are starting to see how great Hillary Clinton isn't; 3) Oprah's endorsement; and finally 4) http://www.billslater.com/wfs_with_OBAMA_tag_02.jpg

I am looking forward to President Obama being sworn in 402 days, 22 hours, 25 minutes, and 27 seconds from now. Visit http://www.billslater.com/who_is_barack_obama.htm to see yourself.

Oh come on...just think how much better Illinois will look when Obama is elected president. You don't think Obama would rather be voting for his constituents than attending another rubber chicken fundraising dinner? Until we get publicly financed elections it's a sad fact that candidates have to hit the trail. They get back to D.C. when they can to vote for truly important bills such as the farm bill - as Obama did - but stay on the trail when congress is wasting time on votes such as the MoveOn.org crap a couple of months ago. Hillary's attendance hasn't been 100 percent either, but then again, when you are the default Democratic candidate you don't have to attend as many rubber chicken dinners. She does now that she's losing. Watch her number of votes decline the next month or two.

As an American voter for many years, it pains me we have a canidate who continually disrespects our flag and is Muslem. Then we have a popular television talkshow host on his political trail turning the heads of people who cannot think for themselves. How sad has our beautiful Contry gotten.

THINK PEOPLE...SALUTE YOUR FLAG, BE PROUD OF YOUR COUNTRY & PUT SOMEONE IN THE WHITEHOUSE THAT DOES THE SAME.

Obama is ahead by 9 points in today's new Iowa caucus poll: http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/12/14/news/local/doc4762b62922c47155272760.txt.

The defense of Senator Obama's absentiesm in representing the people of the State of Illinois, the people that he was elected to represent is one of" well the other candidates miss more" or "he only misses the votes that are 'not important.'" I am not interested in the other candidates voting records as there are not the elected Senate representative of the State of Illinois; Senator Obama is.Please show me where Senator Obama has delivered for the people of Illinois on funding for mass transit, for infrastructure repair, for health care. As a voter and resident of Illinois am I asking too much for my elected representative to look out for my interests and those of my state?

I'm actually enjoying this (and it's been a VERY long time since I've enjoyed ANYTHING that had to do with politics). My greatest fear was always Hillary Clinton getting into the white house (the last time when slick Willy was Pres' my wife and I got our salaries cut by over 30%). With the prices of just about EVERYTHING going through the roof we just can't afford another self serving, power hungry, phony getting control over the legislative processes that directly affect our financial lives. Give another trillion dollars to some sand squatter in a 3rd world landfill to buy more weapons aimed right back at our boys? No thank you. Sweetheart deals for every corporate slimeball in an Armani that wants to swindle the American working class in return for a couple million in under the table campaign bucks? NO thank you. I've listened to the candidates talk. And they ALL recognize that the corporate A-Holes have been controlling the economy of this country from behind the scenes for far too long (thats why the middle class is going broke and losing their homes, jobs, livelihoods, and futures now) and if it doesn't stop very soon out country is doomed. And at the same time they have polluted the environment to the point where just about every piece of ice on the planet is getting ready to melt and dump a layer of ice over our entire continent (You KNOW there's something more to it when the entire rest of the Planet is SCREAMING at the U.S. to STOP). Yet when we go home at the end of the day and turn on the TV it blasts ads in our faces for the crap that these same corporations want FORCED down our throats! Now the question is: "Who give us the best fighting chance AGAINST these corporate scumbags"? I'm not sure yet but one things for sure and that is that HILLARY AIN'T IT! Whether Obama is or isn't I can't tell (Yet). But if he can beat that W*tch in the primary then he may just get my vote. At present I have two Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates that I feel could possibly turn this country in the right direction again. And that's a damn sight more than I remember ever having to pick from before. Just gotta hope that everybody else is astute enough to NOT pick Hillary.

LOL, Hillary thought she was on track for a 'big O" when she won the presidency. Now a bigger "O" has her fuming. Poor Bill, I'll bet he's really having fun being with Hillary right now. Payback really bits, eh Bill? Just think what fun Bill & Hillary will have "together" when she loses the primary!! It's going to be Hillaryious!

Posted by: Sandra Sayre | December 14, 2007 2:00 PM

Sandra, as another American voter, it pains me that you post your ignorant, bigotted, completely disproven lies on this blog and further degrade our political discourse.

Educate yourself. Read a book.

Sandra Sayre, we want you on Obama's team. You do not have to live with hatefulness and negativity. I understand the source of your fear and prejudice. George W. Bush has done a fine job of brainwashing folks- especially those folks who are not as politically informed and who are victims of a failed educational system. It is the hope of many that the failures of this country will be changed and that we will work together to make a United States of America where people respect and support one another.

We love you!

Obama '08

I agree with Luke. Sandra, don't be an idiot.

Obama caught the nation during his speech at the Democratic Party's nomination.
Obama made the Republicans IMPORT and get Alan Keyes to run against him in Illinois.
The debates that were held on PBS were some of the best I have ever seen.

Are the Republicans scared of Obama......You bet your Bippy Baby!

Sandra, If you are a Democrat, please become a Republican.
Barrack Obama is a member of the "Church of Christ"

Please educate yourself prior to displaying you ignorance, and inability to spell COUNTRY

To Sandra,
It is patriotic to respect the constitution, of which the flag is but a symbol. Article 6 of the constitution reads

"...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
I don't care how frequently you point at the flag, if you don't respect the constitution then you don't respect America.

Beyond this,
(1) Obama is not Muslim
(2) You raise your hand to your heart during the pledge of allegiance, not the national anthem.

Sandra,
I agree with the others here, it's a shame that you are not taking the time to really research Senator Obama as I have, but instead listened to other ignorant people who obviously have not researched him either. Otherwise your comments would not be so ignorant. And by the way - it's spelled 'Muslim', not 'Muslem'.

The LTTE is heavily involved in fund raising for Hilary Clinton in New Jersey
Thu, 2007-12-13 14:29
By Walter Jayawardhana

Los Angeles, 13 December, (Asiantribune.com): Well known activists of a banned terrorist group in the United States are involved in the fund raising activities of the US Democratic candidate Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton.

According to a fundraising web site for the Senator, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) activists are involved in raising funds from 100 Dollars to 2300 Dollars to help elect Senator Clinton as the next United States President.

New Jersey residents have expressed the fear, that the LTTE or the Tamil Tigers could flush supporters with millions of dollars, to buy influence over the next possible President of the United States of America by infiltrating into democratic fund raising machine.

An email distributed by a female activist, Pat Pathmakumar for the group under the name “Tamils for Clinton” has appealed to contribute for the Clinton fund by sending checks to her or a man named Ram Ranjan, a man who organized the LTTE Heroes day meeting in New Jersey last year. Ranjan has publicly admitted he raised funds for the LTTE front, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).

The terrorist group, that introduced innovative methods like suicide jackets to many terrorist groups in the world, is listed as a foreign terrorist group by the State Department and the US Federal police , the FBI has alleged that the group had offered to them millions of dollars as bribes to lift the ban. The group is alleged to be using bribes to buy influence in India, Malysia and Sri Lanka. The money is being earned mostly by fraudulent business, credit card scams, drug running , voluntary fund raising and extortions of the Tamil Diaspora, according to a recent report of the JanesDefense weekly.

According to the Clinton website a leading LTTE activist, who came to live in New Jersey in 1994, called Ram Ranjan is one of the fund raisers of the Clinton campaign. Several others who are connected with him are also listed among the fund raisers.

He has earlier admitted that he had raised funds for the Tamil Tigers front organization called Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) which has raised funds purportedly for humanitarian purposes but actually diverted those funds for terrorist activities from many countries in the world.

The State Department has identified the TRO as a front organization of the LTTE and it is banned in many countries in the world.

An year ago he told a New Jersey newspaper called Star Ledger that although he supported the TRO it is not connected with the terrorist group LTTE.

The Star Ledger reported, “ … ……… he serves as state coordinator of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, which raises money for medical services, schools and orphanages and the victims of the LTTE, not the LTTE, Ranjan said.”

The Star Ledger newspaper interviewed Ranjan an year ago after he was involved in organizing a LTTE heroes day commemorating meeting with accepted leaders of the LTTE in the US as speakers, local residents said. Pro LTTE website the Tamil Net said that the function started by hoisting LTTE separatist flag. The meeting was organized by a front organization of the LTTE, the South Asian Community Association.

The Sri Lankan Tamil group held the memorial meeting to eulogize dead Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters including suicide bombers as heroes but told the New Jersey newspaper "Star-Ledger" they did not have any connections with a terrorist group.

The group called South Asian Community Association or SACA with Ranjan as an organizer caught attention after it rented an auditorium of the south Brunswick middle School in New Jersey, USA for a memorial to eulogize the dead LTTE fighters including those suicide bombers who targeted unarmed civilians and raised the flag of the LTTE and sang the anthem of the group on December 02 2006.

The meeting was addressed by known leaders of the LTTE in the United States, Visuvanadan Rudrakumaran and Dr. Naglingam Jeyalingam. Some have complained that the meeting held at this government school which was claimed by the Tamil Net website to be 500 also raised funds for the banned terrorist group.

The Star-Ledger newspaper of New Jersey who published two consecutive news articles about the group who rented the Brunswick school reported that , " South Brunswick police officials said last week investigators were looking into allegations that the Princeton Junction-based South Asian Community Association is linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department."

The police investigations started after some residents of Brunswick reported to the police that the organizers of the meeting were actually a front organization for the LTTE.

- Asian Tribune -

Anyone who needs an entertainer to lift him or her up in political arena deserves pity!

What is Obama's track record as a politician? The only thing he could say was that he did not vote for the Iraq war. Of course, if he misses 36% voting events.

"canidate"
"Muslem"
"How sad has our beautiful Contry gotten"

How sad indeed.

im very disapointed in oprah decision to go out and push obama for office. not because she said she supports him but for going on the road this is getting the vote FOR HIM because of his color, ive seen stars support a canadiate but not to go on the road and isent it odd that she know decides to do this and he is a black man i feel she is racist and the country has been shown this by her action going on the road HELLO WE ARE NOT STUPID

America the beautiful...all you american people.. I appeal to you all... Don't elect a president who give way to terrorists..It is our country..Our soul..Let freedom prevail!