On the Phone With Gov. Howard Dean

Right now, on his birthday and mine, DNC Chair, Gov. Howard Dean is doing a conference call for bloggers, and he's spending the majority of the time taking questions. I asked him about the DNC efforts with regard to Jim Martin's race in Georgia. He said that all of the Obama campaign offices are re-opening or remaining open, and that the DNC is investing significant money in the race, along with the DSCC. Gov. Dean praised Jim Martin, saying that he is a great person and a great candidate who anyone supportive of Barack Obama should be pleased to vote for. Dean correctly noted that this runoff election is all about turn out and stressed the importance of grassroots efforts, especially knocking on doors, to get those all important voters to the polls.

There were also questions from bloggers in West Virginia and Louisiana about how those of us in 'red' states could work to improve chances for Democrats. Again, Dean pointed to both the national trends, the gains made in those states this cycle and said that his eye was on Texas as a prime target for Democrats over the next two election cycles. (Just so we're clear, I'm making it my personal mission to make Georgia a prime DNC target, and we'll talk more about that later.)
In response to a direct question, Dean essentially said that he could not explain why President-elect Obama's overall performance was better than Gore and Kerry, yet in some areas of Appalachia and the "inland South" Obama did not preform as well as they did. Of course, the question essentially raised the issue of to what degree race was a factor in some areas of the country.

I really appreciated the fact that Gov. Dean did this call today, drawing in the bloggers in a substantive way. Thanks, and Happy Birthday, Gov. Dean!

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Dean in Macon This Saturday

I can't remember the last time the chair of the DNC came to Macon. Howard Dean's scheduled visit on Saturday is further indication that Obama is playing for keeps in Georgia this year. Dean will first be in Savannah, then come to Macon and then on to Atlanta. In addition to the fundraiser the Telegraph mentioned this morning, Dean will be participating in voter registration drives and addressing the DPG state committee on Saturday afternoon. He'll be aboard the "Register for Change" bus. I'm expecting to see an Obama office open in Macon any day now. McCain? Not so much.

There is a fundraising luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in Macon this Saturday, and Dean will attend. Tickets are $250 and all proceeds go to Obama Victory Fund. If you'd like more info, drop me an email at AmyMorton@aol.com. I'll be sending out info as I have it.

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America's Convention: DNCC Press Call

I just hung up the phone from the press call regarding the decision to move the 4th day of the DNCC to INVESCO to allow more than 75,000 people to participate. DNC chairman, Gov. Howard Dean said, "Obama does not view this as his convention; it's America's convention." Dean said that opening up the last day of the convention to as many people as possible was consistent with the message and vision of the Obama campaign and with Dean's own philosophy. Dean stressed that this is an historic event, something that has never been done before, and in keeping with the historic nature of this convention.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius also joined the call and stressed that nothing better symbolizes the new face of the Democratic Party than hosting this convention in the Mountain West-a place that was once a Republican stronghold that is now becoming more Democratic. Gov. Sebelius also pointed out that people are enthusiastic about the convention and about Obama's nomination. For example, instead of the 10,000 volunteers the committee sought to recruit, more than 22,000 people have responded to the call for volunteers.

If you read the NYT article today, then you know that there are concern about paying for this change. Because of the long primary season, fundraising for the convention has been a bit late getting started. Gov. Dean and the Obama campaign representative, Anita Dunn brushed aside those concerns, saying that the DNCC is within budget and that the Obama campaign will assist the committee with raising the needed funds for the convention.

In a moment of levity, a reporter asked Gov. Dean whether Republicans and Independent voters would be included in the 75K ticketed guests who would witness Obama's acceptance speech. Dean quipped that there would be "good videos" and then stammered through a response about priority being given to people, especially those in western states, who have worked long and hard for Obama. Gov. Sebelius cut in (thankfully) and said that many Republicans and Independent voters are now Democrats as a result of this historic primary, and that they would certainly be among those witnessing Obama accepting the nomination.

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Is it Over? NH Poll

MyDD's Devastating Zogby NH Poll Released Today is a must read. Just remember, things are not always as they appear-especially in presidential primary politics. Here's a tease. Read the WHOLE post:

Ok, I think I'm about ready to give up. My candidate has dropped to 17%. John Edwards is at 6%:
A new Zogby poll released today, October 24th, of 500 likely voters in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire shows a remarkable lead developing for the frontrunner, who not only currently leads by 23 points --- but careful study of the tabs shows a lead not only in every demographic group but among Independents as well as Democrats.
I think it's about time that we realized that this primary is essentially over. None of the other candidates have managed to gain any momentum. Critical demographic groups are all breaking one way. Endorsement after endorsement is falling into place. Maybe it just isn't worth our energy anymore.
I mean, there are a lot of other races that we could be concentrating our efforts on. The Virginia state senate races that Jerome blogged about for example.
As John Zogby notes in his analysis,
This is stunning. [The frontrunner] leads 43-20 among Democrats and 35 to 11 among Independents. He hits 40 among all age groups, union and non-union voters. His lead is 57-17 among self-described progressives, 50-20 among liberals, and 34-14 among moderates. Married voters give him a 38-13 edge and singles a 45-21 point lead. He holds huge leads among all education groups, among investors and non-investors, men and women. This qualifies as juggernaut status. Can he be stopped?

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