State-Journal.com - Backing Obama

Photo By Photo by Kelly MackeyChristian Adair, left, speaks to a group of Barack Obama supporters at Rocco’s Pizza in the Northgate Shopping Center at the first Franklin County meeting of Bluegrass for Obama. Supporter, Liz Mcgrapth, right, wore a t-shirt in support of Obama to the meeting.

Although the presidential primary election is still more than two months away, some local Democrats met this weekend to organize in support of U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

About ten met Saturday afternoon at Rocco's Pizza in the Northgate Shopping Center. Christian Adair helped organize the meeting and said he's pleased with the turnout even though the meeting conflicted with the University of Kentucky basketball game with Georgia in Atlanta, which had been re-scheduled from Friday night.

According to the Associated Press, Obama leads U.S. Senator Hilary Clinton among pledged delegates, 1,385-1,237 while the former first lady has an advantage among superdelegates, 247-211. The Democratic National Convention is in August in Denver.

Upcoming primaries in addition to Kentucky include Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.
Adair told The State Journal that the Obama campaign emphasizes grass-roots development.

"That's why it's grown for him and so many new people are coming out for him," Adair said. "We might get people from Anderson or Shelby county and they could go back and start own group."

Adair coaches track and football at Western Hills High School and said the initial supporters locally was very diverse, including an almost equal number of men and women, whites and blacks, young and old supporters. He went to an Obama campaign event in Cincinnati and said he saw the same diversity there.

"Not at church, athletics, or concerts have I ever seen such a diverse crowd," Adair said. "Today was a true reflection of what the campaign is."

Notable local backers include attorney Bryan Hix and Magistrate Jill Robinson.

Hix said he's excited about the Obama campaign and hopes that Obama will come to Frankfort because of a strong local Democratic history and high voter turnout.

"It's his back yard," Hix said.

Robinson said she had not expected to get involved in either campaign because she didn't think the race would last until the Kentucky primary on May 20.

"Since we are going to be in play, I thought about it long and hard," she said. "I thought a lot about people's perspective of us around the world, I think that helped me decide go ahead and go with Barack. It sends strong message we're moving on."

The race between Obama and Clinton has been spirited, but Robinson said it will only get worse in the fall, when one candidate will face the Republican nominee, U.S. Senator John McCain.

Adair, Hix and Robinson all pledged to reach out and talk to friends and family about Obama and his message.

"Word of mouth is the most powerful tool out there," Adair said.

He said he hopes each volunteer will talk to 10 people and bring at least five friends to the next meeting on April 8 at Rocco's.

The group hopes to reach out to students and faculty at Kentucky State University and help start a grass roots group there as well. Other projects include a voter registration drive on April 15 and a party on May 20 to watch the election results.

They will also raise money by selling Obama wristbands and using the money to buy a campaign package with yard signs and other materials. Adair said everything is on back order because everyone is excited about the candidate.

Liz McGrapth said she really wants an Obama yard sign because he is the first candidate she has ever been excited about.

Adair, who lives in Versailles, said he's afraid someone might take his yard sign because they're so rare. Parents and neighbors have also offered to buy it from him.

Robinson said she has not heard of any local activity in support of Clinton, and supporters said they had not been contacted yet.

The Clinton website does not list any offices or events in Kentucky. A campaign spokesperson referred all questions to an e-mail address but did not reply to a request for information this weekend.

Get information and news about Obama campaign events in Frankfort at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/BlueGrassforObama

48.	Posted by sickofreadingcrapcomments April 13, 2008
	j1978, just saying- you spoke in support of him "attracted to his freshness and vision" and quoted Michelle admitting feeling a kinship to the quote. It is okay to disagree with things that go on and of course be frustrated by them- you don't have to tie it to your country in general. It is not becoming of a potential First Lady to say she has rarley been proud of her country, let alone that the one time she is-is directly connected to personal gain. That America has finally met her approval by electing her husband. Implying that electing her husband rivals the fall of the Berlin Wall or helping to defeat fascism and free the jews or something. How arrogant! I don't care if she is black white or purple. I also don't see how electing someone who raises the race issue in such an ugly way is good for mending the racial divide. The sound bite quoted by sojourner is great- but I am afraid the man is racist and while I like many in this forum am SO ready for the race issue to be over, I think electing someone who is racially divisive is the worst thing we can do. You don't vote have to vote for the first black man or first woman that you have a chance to, you should vote for the best PERSON for the job. And waiting for the BEST black man or woman for the job, would be wise or we might not be electing another one for a long time! Further, yes I am aware that McCain is a Republican. But your charactorization of him is false. So much so that it is appalling to the conservative ear. He is constantly fighting his own party, even on key issues, right up to the election. Check his voting record. He's more of a moderate,actually more like a moderate Democrat, but he is isnt the equivalent of an extreme far, far left democrat, so we conservative democrats along with the republicans will hold our nose and vote for him. The lessor of three evils. Obama isn't an outsider by any means, and I would be interested, seriously in earnest, in what you think his vision is.

45.	Posted by j1978 March 19, 2008
	Sickofreadingcrapcomments, no where in any of my comments does it say that I "hate America," as you contend. No where does it say that I am an Obama supporter - perhaps you didn't read my earlier post, but I have not yet decided on a candidate. On the contrary to hating America, I love America - I think it is the greatest country in the world. But that doesn't mean that it is perfect, and that doesn't mean that it is beyond criticizing, in fact it is those criticisms that have made our country better, made our country what it is today. My frustration stems from the fact that we tend to have these irrational arguments about our politicians - Is Obama the Anti-Christ, Did Hillary stay with Bill because she is power hungry, Did John McCain have a "black child" (from Karl Rove's playbook in South Carolina in 2000). Why can't we have conversations (and disagreements) about the candidates' positions? I think what Michele Obama said was unfortunate and misguided, but I also think that the quote was taken out of context a bit. Perhaps she should have said that she had never been as proud of her country as she was at this moment, when a man of mixed race, mixed nationality, has the possibility of becoming the presidential nominee of a mainstream political party. As this has never happened before (see long list of white male - excluding Ferraro - candidates), it's a pretty big deal for a country that prides itself on being a "melting pot." It is the fulfillment of our stated purpose, in a way. Not that you have to vote for him - I may not either - but it is a step forward for our country. And last time I checked, John McCain was slated to become the nominee for the Republican Party, which, whether you like it or not, makes him a Republican. He has also moved to the right on a number of issues - immigration, abortion, gay marriage, among others, so in my view, his appeal as a "maverick" and an "outsider" is lost.

43.	Posted by yiya0424 March 19, 2008
	By the way-Barak Obama is what America is all about. He is the holder of two great cultures, European and African. It's typical and played out that people only see him from the outside. Besides that, most "Americans", are not "pure" anything. This Nation has acutally taken great care in separating people. It's time to step up and wake up. The only way we can heal as a Nation and go forward is to admit that we have a problem and stop trying to validate our prejudices and "preferences". I have them just like EVERYONE else in this world, but I must and do make the decision to change the way I feel. There is no reason why Barak Obama should have to validate who he is, it's simply put, HE'S A HUMAN BEING, HE'S AN AMERICAN, HE'S A MAN, HE'S A CHILD OF GOD, HE'S A FATHER, FRIEND AND HUSBAND & PROTECTOR, AND HE'S RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA-AMEN. And the same goes for Hillary R. Clinton- I'm proud that she's come this far-she deserves it and she's EARNED her place in the political arena. She's an intelligent human being, beautiful, strong, savvy, honest, a mother, a friend, a child of God and wife and protector. -Both are capable, now it's our duty to figure out who will do the better job. Base it on the facts, not the superficial. AND VOTE!!!!!

41.	Posted by sojourner March 19, 2008
	"And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions " the good and the bad " of the community that he has served diligently for so many years. I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother " a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love."