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From ABC News:

[Convention organizers report that Hillary Clinton’s name will be placed in nomination at the Democratic National Convention next week.]

Obama and Clinton "are both committed to winning back the White House and to ensuring that the voices of all 35 million people who participated in this historic primary election are respected and heard in Denver," the statement read in part. "To honor and celebrate these voices and votes, both Sen. Obama's and Sen. Clinton's names will be placed in nomination."

… "This truly was a joint decision," according to a Clinton source. "This wasn't something she was itching for, looking for. But so many of her supporters said it was important to them. And the Obama people got how important it was to smooth over any tensions and that it was the right thing to do."

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe has been negotiating the deal with former Clinton campaign officials Cheryl Mills and Minyon Moore since June and the default position for Obama was to ask what the Clinton camp wanted to do, Democratic sources told ABC News.

Finally this week, Clinton officials said they wanted Clinton's name to be in nomination. Obama personally had let his staff know that was fine with him, Democratic sources said.

… Obama, who is in Hawaii on vacation with his family this week, argued in the statement that having Clinton's name on the roll call would be a symbol of unity.

"I am convinced that honoring Sen. Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion," Obama said in a joint statement.

… "With every voice heard and the Party strongly united, we will elect Sen. Obama President of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again," Clinton said in a joint statement.

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Both major party presidential campaigns surfaced in the Twin Cities on Thursday, the most recent evidence that they expect Minnesota to be a battleground state in the November election.

In the morning, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of Social Security, the Minnesota campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama brought out several state DFL party elders to launch a grass-roots program designed to promote Obama to senior citizens.

Obama's "Seniors Talking to Seniors" program will involve phone banking and person-to-person contacts by Minnesota senior citizens with others to promote Obama's plans to protect Social Security and to make affordable health care available.

From the Washington Post:

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that while a majority of young white evangelicals describe themselves as conservative on social issues, slightly more identified this year as either independents or Democrats than as Republicans. In 2001, about the time that Merritt was working as precinct captain for the Republican Party, an overwhelming majority of young evangelicals identified with the GOP.

In 2004, nearly eight in 10 white evangelicals supported Bush, according to exit polls. They accounted for a third of the president's total votes. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll of registered voters last month, McCain led Obama 67 percent to 25 percent among white evangelical Protestants.

McCain and Obama will try to appeal to them Saturday, when they sit down with Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California and one of the most influential evangelicals in the country. Warren, whose best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life" helped shift the conversation in evangelical circles beyond culture wars to serving and loving others, is expected to ask the candidates about global poverty, the HIV/AIDS crisis and climate change. He is one of a new generation of evangelical leaders who have shaped Merritt's worldview.

"There's a shift in issue focus," said Joshua DuBois, 25, who was associate pastor of a small evangelical church and is responsible for Obama's faith outreach. "I don't think any young evangelical is ignoring the traditional values issues, but they are adding other issues, including poverty and war, and they are also looking at integrity and family."

Earlier today we launched the Obama mobile website, making it even easier for people who access Obama news on the go through their mobile phone Internet browser.

Our mobile website (called WAP for Wireless Application Protocol) will work on most phones that have mobile Internet access. You can text SITE to 62262 from your mobile phone to receive access.

We've added new features for the WAP site, including ringtones, wallpaper, and -- for the first time ever -- videos that you can download to your cell phone.

We'll be updating our WAP site often with news, videos and more. This site is ideal for all the people in your life that live and breathe on their cell phones.

Tell your friends to text SITE to 62262 to get connected to the official Obama for America mobile website.

Last night, we achieved something amazing: Over 2,000,000 individuals now own a piece of this campaign. Two million donors is a number that was previously unimaginable for presidential campaigns and a goal that few believed was attainable.

And it hasn't stopped there. All day long, ordinary people across the country have continued to step forward to show their support – one donation at a time. People like:

People like:

Shirley, a teacher in Lafayette, GA

Wayne, a paramedic in Philadelphia, PA

Mary, a stay-at-home mom in Port Washington, WI

Williams, an engineer in Richmond Heights, OH

Robert, retired Marine in Colorado Springs, CO

Samuel, a pastor in Mauldin, SC

Joseph, a firefighter in Coventry, RI

Caroline, a teaching assistant in New Freedom, PA

Sharon, a hairdresser in Longview, TX

Barbara, a social worker in Detroit, MI

Ryan, a waiter in Temecula, CA

Mannery, an aircraft mechanic in College Park, GA

Moses, a welder in Shreveport, LA

Nicole, a student in Hope Mills, NC

Earline, a nurse in Glenwood, IL

Robert, a truck driver in Columbia, SC

Ellen, a librarian in Carlsbad, CA

Jacquelyn, a small business owner in Newport, OR

Joshua, an auto glass technician in Derry, NH

Winona, a retired teacher in Richardson, TX

Madie, a child care specialist in Johnston, IA

Vicki, a gift shop manager in Louisville, KY

Francisco, an electrician in San Juan, TX

Gary, a contractor in Conifer, CO

These are just a few of the thousands of people who have donated in the past few hours. These are the people who, along with millions like them, are transforming the way political campaigns are run.

Jerome Corsi is back with a new book of lies -- this time about Barack Obama.

In the Swift Boat smear campaign of 2004, Corsi co-authored a book of distortions and lies about John Kerry.

With his new book, Corsi and his cohorts are rehashing distortions and the same old lies about Barack Obama.  These smear-peddlers actively seek to distract Americans from serious issues and to derail the efforts of the millions of people who own a part of this election and are working tirelessly to bring about real change in this country.

Corsi and his cohorts must be stopped.

Read the facts about Corsi and his desperate fabrications here.

Want to push back on Corsi and his smear machine? Join the Obama Action Wire and help spread the truth.

As a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the U.S. Senate, and a strong advocate for Veterans when he was in the Illinois State Senate, Senator Obama has secured broad support from Veterans across the country. More than 170 grassroots Veterans groups have been organized in support of Senator Obama's candidacy, including groups representing every state and every branch of the Armed Services.

On August 5th, North Carolina Veterans for Obama worked with the campaign to host two events with Major General Geoffrey Lambert, United States Army (Ret.). The events, located in Fayetteville's VFW Post 6018 and Charlotte's Campaign for Change office, each had about one hundred attendees, most of them veterans who had served on tours ranging from Korea to Iraq.

Lambert is the former Commanding General of the Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and the Army's school for Green Berets at Fort Bragg. A lifelong Republican, he supports Senator Obama because he thinks Obama is a better leader than McCain, with a better leadership style.

I have been a Republican most of my life, with North Carolina friends on both sides of the aisle. And I did not come to my decision to support Obama lightly. But because we now have an opportunity to move beyond the past and to usher in competent new national leadership, I want to do all I can to help put Senator Obama in the White House.

He says that on a wide variety of issues important to soldiers - including Traumatic Brain Injury research, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, keeping the costs of TRICARE down, enhancing health benefits, and prosthetic research - Senator Obama is the best candidate (see Senator Obama's proposals in support of Veterans here).

The bottom line is leadership. On foreign policy, veterans issues, and security for our nation, Senator Obama displays the judgment and ability to lead that the American people can count on.

If you are a Veteran and would like to join Veterans for Obama, you can do so here.

The editorial page of this morning's Wall Street Journal features an op-ed penned by Obama for America Economic Policy Advisor Jason Furman and Senior Economic Advisor Austan Goolsbee. Furman and Goolsbee offer specifics about the Obama Tax Plan in the op-ed. They draw contrasts between the Obama Tax Plan and McCain's tax plan, and they also correct distortions and misinformation about the Obama Tax Plan that have been spread by defenders of the status quo in recent days.

Read an excerpt from the op-ed below:

Both candidates for president have proposed tax plans. But they are starkly different in their approaches and their economic impact. Sen. Obama is focused on cutting taxes for middle-class families and small businesses, and investing in key areas like health, innovation and education. He would do this while cutting unnecessary spending, paying for his proposals and bringing down the budget deficit.

In contrast, John McCain offers what would essentially be a third Bush term, with his economic speeches outlining $3.4 trillion of tax cuts over 10 years beyond what President Bush has already proposed and geared even more to high-income earners. The McCain plan would lead to deficits the likes of which we have never seen in this country. It would take money from the middle class and from future generations so that the wealthy can live better today.

Related Information:

Watch a video of Deputy Economic Policy Advisor Brian Deese debunking recent distortions of the Obama Tax Plan here.

To learn more about the Obama Tax Plan, visit barackobama.com/taxes.

Read Furman and Goolsbee's op-ed in its entirety in the extended entry.

According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money in contributions from troops deployed overseas than has Republican John McCain.

From OpenSecrets.org:

Army Specialist Jay Navas contributed $250 while deployed in Iraq, but it wasn't over the Internet. "It took some effort to get that check. I had my mom send me my checkbook and I walked to the post office in Camp Liberty in Baghdad with an envelope addressed to Barack Obama in Chicago, Illinois," he said. "He was right on Iraq long when others were jumping into the sea like lemmings, and that's hard to do. We're soldiers and we respect courage."

Barack recently took part in an in-depth interview with Stars and Stripes, in which he discussed a wide range of issues facing our military, our servicemembers and their families. Barack explained: 

Partly because my grandfather was a vet, and he instilled in me that we have a sacred trust to our veterans, I joined the veterans affairs committee the minute I entered the Senate. The first issues I worked on in the Senate were veterans issues. Eliminating the practice of charging wounded soldiers for meals and telephone calls at Walter Reed. Fixing the disability payment system in Illinois, where we were ranked 50th for 20 years in a row when it came to disability payments.

So this is something I care deeply about.

You can read more about Barack's position on a number of important military and veterans issues at Veterans.BarackObama.com.

John in St. Louis, Missouri didn’t just normally vote for Republicans – he used to work for them. "The last Democrat I voted for was John F. Kennedy in 1960," he says.

Since then, John served three Republican presidents in the White House – Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and the first George Bush.

But John went to an Obama rally in St. Louis a few months ago and realized it was time for change.

When I heard and saw Obama in person, I was sold. He inspired feelings in me that I have not had since college. I have read his positions on issues, his calls for a change in Washington. I like his message of bipartisanship, and he is right on the need for more transparency in government.

John also appreciates Barack’s approach to foreign policy. “I’m convinced that he understands what it is to be a citizen of the world, and that matters right now.”

Since his Obama conversion, John has made multiple donations to the campaign, and his wife is an avid phonebanker.

He says:

We’re ready for a new direction and new leadership, and we have an able, bright, person who can communicate well. I believe that Barack Obama does trust the American people and despite the temptation to pander to media, he actually thinks about and answers hard questions with thoughtful answers.

 

Voices for Change is a series featuring profiles of Barack Obama's grassroots supporters from across the nation. The people who make up this movement come from all different backgrounds, but they share a common goal of helping bring about fundamental change in Washington.

Statement from the Obama and Clinton Press Offices
August 14, 2008

Since June, Senators Obama and Clinton have been working together to ensure a Democratic victory this November. They are both committed to winning back the White House and to to ensuring that the voices of all 35 million people who participated in this historic primary election are respected and heard in Denver. To honor and celebrate these voices and votes, both Senator Obama's and Senator Clinton's names will be placed in nomination.

"I am convinced that honoring Senator Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion," said Senator Barack Obama.

Senator Obama's campaign encouraged Senator Clinton's name to be placed in nomination as a show of unity and in recognition of the historic race she ran and the fact that she was the first woman to compete in all of our nation's primary contests.

"With every voice heard and the Party strongly united, we will elect Senator Obama President of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again," said Senator Hillary Clinton.

Senator Obama and Senator Clinton are looking forward to a convention unified behind Barack Obama as the Party's nominee and to victory this fall for America.

Obama Campaign Economic Policy Director, Jason Furman, on today’s Consumer Price Index Report...

Today, we got the truly shocking news that inflation hit a 17-year high of 5.6 percent as the prices of gas and groceries continued to soar. Families have now lost an entire decade’s worth of raises to inflation as weekly earnings adjusted for inflation lie below the level they reached in August 1998.  While Senator McCain apparently thinks the economy is doing just fine, and refuses to support any meaningful, short-term relief for America’s struggling families, Barack Obama has proposed an Emergency Economic Plan that would immediately put $1,000 in the pocket of families to help them pay for gasoline, groceries and other necessities. In addition, the Obama plan includes $50 billion in immediate measures to save more than one million jobs from being lost. America cannot afford four more years of a policy that puts tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations ahead of the real change America’s middle-class families need.

Click here to learn about Senator Obama's plan to strengthen our economy.

Obama Campaign Releases New TV Ad to Air During the Olympics 30-Second Spot Highlights Senator Obama's Plan to Stand Up for the Middle Class

CHICAGO - Today, the Obama campaign unveiled a new ad to run during the Olympics. The ad, "Three Bedroom Ranch," discusses Obama's plan to put the middle class first by growing the economy, ending tax cuts for companies that ship jobs overseas, creating new jobs here at home, investing in education and cutting taxes for working families. Barack Obama will ensure the economic security of middle-class families in the short-term, and restore balance and fairness to our economy; to make sure that Americans aren't just getting by, but getting ahead.

"Three Bedroom Ranch" will air on national cable and broadcast in all 50 states beginning Monday.

Watch the ad below:

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, former Bush foreign policy advisor Rita Hauser, and former US Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island announced their support of Obama and the formation of "Republicans for Obama."

... Why jump the party line?

Chafee, in the morning conference call announcing the group, said McCain just wasn't the same old McCain anymore:

"I served with McCain and we were the only two Republicans to vote against the Bush tax cuts," said Chafee, referring to a Senate vote in 2001. "He says now he would make them permanent. It's a different John McCain."

... [Leach] switched parties earlier this year to vote for Obama in his state's presidential primary.

"Until I voted for Sen. Obama, I had never voted for a Democrat so I think my Republican credentials are sincere," Chaffee said.

As for Leach, the former Congressman said it was time for a change.

"Barack Obama's platform is a call for change," said Leach. "But the change that he so gracefully articulating is more renewal than departure."

From the Wall Street Journal:

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. will speak Tuesday night at the convention, the Democratic National Convention Committee announced today.

... "Barack Obama believes you can't have a strong economy when you have a weak middle class, and speakers like Senator Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania and Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will share how Obama's policies have been directly shaped by the people he has met as he traveled the country," the DNCC said in a statement.

... The DNCC also announced today that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will speak Tuesday night-another Democrat believed to have been on Obama's list. Also speaking Tuesday: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, and former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, who also held the Transportation and Energy secretary posts in the Clinton administration.

From the Hendersonville Times-News:

Henderson County resident Rich Brinegar is championing Sen. Barack Obama. Named a "Crew Chief" for the Democrat's presidential campaign, Brinegar is responsible for two precincts in the county and plans to knock on hundreds of doors before the election.

"I'm going to work my little tail off," Brinegar said.

The campaign has identified North Carolina as one of 18 battleground states in the race against Republican Sen. John McCain. It has pumped $2 million into North Carolina in media advertising and has 75 paid staffers. The campaign plans to push millions more into the state before the election, Obama state campaign director Marc Farinella said in a conference call Wednesday.

"It's not that big a stretch for Barack Obama to win North Carolina this year," he said. "This is a battleground, and we're going to win it."

While Obama won the North Carolina Democratic primary over Sen. Hillary Clinton by a significant margin, Obama faces challenges in Western North Carolina. Henderson County is a Republican stronghold and Obama only won Buncombe and Watauga counties during the primary.

Farinella admitted that "we have lots of ground to make up" in areas like Western North Carolina.

Brinegar worked for Obama during the primary and received positive feedback. The residents of Western North Carolina have been receptive to Obama's message, he said.

"I think the 11th Congressional District is winnable by Sen. Obama," Brinegar said.

... North Carolina has seen an increase in Democratic registration and a large number of people moving to the state. Farinella said 600,000 people have moved to North Carolina since the 2004 election and a large number of those new residents have registered Democrat or unaffiliated.

From the Associated Press:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Never mind the last days of the presidential campaign. The busiest days for Barack Obama's campaign in this perennial swing state are likely to be a month before Election Day.

Ohio has created a window in the election calendar that would allow residents instant gratification - register one minute, vote the next. It's also given the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain a chance to bank thousands of first-time voters during that Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 window.

The move will benefit Obama, who enjoys a 2-to-1 lead over McCain among 18- to 34-year-olds, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month. If Obama's campaign were able to tap into college campuses with one-stop voting, it would add thousands of votes to his tally in a state where, in 2004, John Kerry lost to President Bush by only about 118,000 votes, putting Bush over the top in the electoral count.

Of the more than 470,000 students enrolled in Ohio's public colleges and universities in 2006, the most recent figures available, nine out of 10 were Ohio residents, the state Board of Regents said. To register to vote in Ohio, a person must be a resident of the state for at least 30 days immediately before an election.

... Obama's campaign is eager to take advantage of it this year.

"This is one of many ways we'll be encouraging our supporters to skip the lines on Election Day and make sure their vote is cast early," said Isaac Baker, an Obama spokesman.

Reba, 60, of Hickory, North Carolina, considered herself a lifetime Republican. But that all changed when Barack Obama came along.

I liked his idea of change. In the last eight years we have seen the White House do whatever they want to do -- it doesn’t matter what the people want. So I decided to switch to Democrat and vote for Obama. Obama makes a whole lot more sense than the Republicans have. I can’t believe I voted for Bush a second time! I’m embarrassed.

As a realtor, Reba has been hit hard by the housing crisis. “It’s hard to help people buy a house right now. Being in so much debt is hard; it’s harder than ever to pay off a house.” The economy has impacted her in a big way. Reba used to own a small real estate brokerage company, but had to sell it when the housing market went bad. “It’s tough,” she says. “I’ve been in the real estate market for 24 years, and this is the worse I’ve ever seen it.”

She’s hoping Obama will bring much-needed change.

Everything Obama  says makes so much sense. Like his tax plan – it’s hard for most of us to pay our taxes right now, but Obama’s going to help those of us who don’t have a lot of money. The Republicans ask a lot from us, but give little in return.

Before the Obama campaign came along, Reba had never been politically involved. “I’d never volunteered, and never donated before.” But this time she’s given both time and money to the movement.

He’s something special, and I don’t want him to lose the election because he doesn’t have enough money to compete.

She says she got involved this time because she was inspired by Barack’s understanding of the issues.

What’s different is the desire to have someone in the White House who has a grasp of what’s going on and what real people need.

“And I think Obama will take North Carolina,” she says. “Just about everyone I talk to is going to vote for him!”

Voices for Change is a series featuring profiles of Barack Obama's grassroots supporters from across the nation. The people who make up this movement come from all different backgrounds, but they share a common goal of helping bring about fundamental change in Washington.