Kerry taps Obama to court African-American vote

[JI7]

<The Kerry-Edwards '04 campaign is now using Barack Obama, the Illinois Democratic Senate candidate, as a surrogate headliner for the presidential campaign in battleground states and will try to leverage his popularity to get out the black vote in November.

Obama stumped for the national ticket in Philadelphia on Monday and had to cancel another appearance in Miami because of Hurricane Jeanne.

After a fund-raiser in Baltimore, Obama starred at a rally at a park in downtown Philadelphia which also featured Pennsylvania Senate candidate Joe Hoeffel. Obama said yes to the request of the folks running Kerry's Pennsylvania campaign after he skedded a funder in Philadelphia to help himself and Dem candidates Ken Salazar from Colorado and Betty Castor of Florida. The event was hosted by one of the Democratic Party's megadonors, Peter Buttenweiser.

In Miami, at the request of the Florida Kerry-Edwards team, Obama was to whip up voter registration and work on getting out the black vote at an event that had been set at Florida Memorial College, a historically black institution.

Obama has been on the receiving end of a stream of flattering and uncritical publicity since he won the March Illinois primary. He is smiling and giving a thumbs-up on the cover of the October issue of Black Enterprise magazine under a subheadline, "a star is born.''>



http://www.suntimes.com/output/sweet/cst-nws-sweet28.html

[Cha]

1. What an Amazing campaigner we have

for truth and justice! Please don't get in any damn small airplanes, Barack Obama!

I guess when bush told Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky at the White House that he hadn't heard of Obama..and she told him .."You will!"..she was Dead On!

[JI7]

7. she was right

notice the huge difference how we had obama at our convention as keynote speaker and the republicans had an old hateful bitter man like zell miller.

[LeinesRed]

2. This is courting the American vote!!!!!!

Get him up to Wisconsin!!! I'd love to see him!

[JI7]

6. agree, although i think he wants to keep a low profile

and not make it seem as if he is taking his own election for granted even though he will easily win now with keyes as his opponent.

so he is mostl focusing on helping the most competitive races and getting out black voters.

once he is senator he will be more free to campaign openly outside of the state in future elections.

[Norbert]

3. Obama is gold

The Rove GOP unwittingly gave us a gift in Alan Keyes, not that he would win even if he wasn't a stumblebum. Obama is an inspiring speaker and can do even more than deliver the African-American vote.

[Racenut20]

4. Makes me wonder what the DNC was doing Jan-Sep.

[WI_DEM]

5. Jeez, with such a tight race against Keyes in Illinois

can he afford to take time out to stump other states for Kerry? :)

[JI7]

8. the republicans never realized

with such a loser opponent against a star like obama. it would help democrats outside of that race with obama more free to campaign for others.

[Cha]

10. I think ..ol' swingin' from

the chandeliers, ryan had something to do with that}(

[ComerPerro]

9. This is a great move by the Kerry campaign

Obama is going to be a star in the Democratic Party