West Wing Obama Video

Our previous inclinations have been validated by Slate! It turns out that West Wing presidential candidate Matt Santos was based in part on Barack Obama.

Interview With KNBC Los Angeles

I have had the opportunity to take a wonderful class by California State University-Los Angeles Professor Taylor Dark this quarter entitled, "Parties, Campaigns & Elections." As the class watched the Super Tuesday results flow in, a crew from KNBC Los Angeles came in to gauge how the young vote is playing out in California. I proudly affirmed my support for Barack Obama.

Back in Time for a Timeless Message

On the eve before Super Tuesday, I would like to pay homage to that beautiful day in 2004 when Barack Obama gave a legendary speech that entered him into America's mainstream consciousness.

Here is my favorite two minute excerpt:

Women for Obama

Future First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver at UCLA on Sunday. This highlights video illustrates the magical energy produced when all of these strong leaders joined to fight for Senator Barack Obama.

Dear Undecideds...

You already know that my heart and mind are both very much committed to the idea that Senator Barack Obama is the best candidate to lead our great nation, but my support of Senator Obama is not in opposition to Senator Clinton, in fact I am a big fan of Senator Clinton. This is why I understand why so many of you are going back and forth between these two candidates.

Lets all just take a moment to realize how truly blessed we are as Democrats right now. We have two great candidates to choose from, while the Republicans are fighting over who is the most "conservative."

Before about half of the country votes tomorrow, I could try and try to find that one sentence that will solidify your vote for Senator Obama. I could try to channel the Senator to use the power of speech to reach into the hearts of the voters to let them know who the best person is for the job.

Though, on this morning, I think that the best way to help you make your decision is through this amazing will.i.am music video highlighting Senator Obama's words.

Thanks very much to Dan for the hat tip. Enjoy!

Original Debate Rally Video

The last Democratic debate before Super Tuesday was amazing, but outside the debate was truly magical. Thousands of supporters of both candidates converged upon Hollywood & Highland and even though everyone was passionate about their candidate, most were very respectful and compassionate toward supporters of opposing candidates. It was extremely inspiring and simply fun to be a part of. After the rally, we had the opportunity to go to the Debate Viewing Party hosted by the Democratic National Committee which was equally cool of an experience.

I strongly encourage you all to watch the footage, comment on it and then pass it around to your friends. The sights and sounds of the rally are really fun to experience. Enjoy!

Substantial Latino Support for Obama

Some media outlets have tried to create a "Black vs. Brown" divide that doesn't appear to exist at all. As much as the media tries to force identity politics down our throats, the reality is that people are voting for the candidate who shares their vision of America, and for a substantial amount of Latinos/as, that candidate is Senator Barack Obama.

We already profiled one influential Latina Congresswoman, but Linda Sanchez is definitely not alone in her Obama support.

This short video shows many powerful Hispanic politicians in California who firmly believe that Barack Obama is the best candidate for the job.

Gay Mention in Obama Acceptance of Kennedy Endorsement

This morning, Senator Edward Kennedy, Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy all proudly endorsed Barack Obama for President at American University in Washington, D.C. In accepting these endorsements, Barack gave yet another incredible speech. Every time he speaks, you can feel the political momentum running up the mountain.

At about 10 minutes into the video, Senator Obama includes the gay community in his speech in an incredibly potent sentence:

"It lives on in those Americans, young and old, rich and poor, Black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight, who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the sense of purpose that we had when John Kennedy was President of the United States of America."

2004 Illinois Senate Debate on Marriage Equality

Senator Obama's support of the LGBT community goes back a long time, as evidenced in this 2004 debate with vehemently anti-gay "presidential candidate" Alan Keyes. Obama was fighting Keyes for the open Illinois Senate seat and the two could not be more ideologically divergent.

Keyes is perhaps most famous in the LGBT community for his awful treatment of his lesbian daughter Maya Marcel-Keyes. He also was interviewed in the "Borat" movie about gay wrestling.

Barack holds his own and keeps in line with his current viewpoint of relationship recognition. He does get a little preachy with the "marriage is between one man and one woman" message, but it is understandable since he was trying to gain moderate votes from his crazy anti-gay competitor.

Linda Sanchez Endorses Obama

I am extremely proud to announce that my district's representative, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D - Calif.) has endorsed Barack Obama for President!

I had the tremendous opportunity to intern with Rep. Sanchez a few years ago and she is an incredible person who has a very bright future. She is definitely one of the most outspoken progressive advocates in Congress and she was one of the very few Democratic representatives who did not support ENDA unless it was trans-inclusive.

Interestingly, her sister Loretta, who is also a Congresswoman, is supporting Senator Clinton. Could be smart strategy for the sisters or it could genuinely be a family divided.

Linda's endorsement is one of many that debunks the media-perpetuated theory that Latinos/as will not support Obama.

Here is the official endorsement:

Gay Mention in Obama MLK Speech

The Democratic party platform is supportive of many LGBT civil rights and it is supportive of civil unions. This means that Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama are all pretty similar on gay issues. All of the Democratic candidates have no problem voicing their support for the community when they are speaking to predominately gay audiences and when they are taking millions of dollars from gay fundraisers. The difference is that Barack Obama has no problem voicing his support for the LGBT community no matter where he is.

Never before has this been more evident than in Senator Obama's speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia--the church where the great Martin Luther King Jr. served as Pastor. In the past, there have been some contentious run-ins between aspects of the African-American religious community and the LGBT community, so for Barack to speak about gay issues in this church is a testament to his commitment to equality.

At about 11:00 into the video, he says:

"If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that there have been times when we have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them."

I highly recommend taking a half-hour out to watch the entire speech, it is definitley worth it:

Gore Comes Out for Marriage Equality

Former Vice President and progressive rock star Al Gore has done what none of the major presidential candidates have done--he has proclaimed his support for full marriage equality.




While I obviously wish that Senator Obama was also a proponent of full marriage equality, I am still confident that an Obama administration will be very positive for achieving equality and I am hopeful that after he is in office, he will make the next step for full marriage rights.

Obama on Civil Unions

Senator Obama explains his position on relationship recognition at the 2007 Presidential Forum hosted by the Human Rights Campaign and LOGO. Thanks to glassbooth.org for the video.



There is obviously room to grow for Senator Obama's policy viewpoints on marriage equality, but in a Democratic field that only featured two candidates (Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel) who are in favor of full marriage equality, the reality is that Barack's support for civil unions will have to make due for now.

Obama on Marriage Equality

Senator Obama reiterates his support for civil unions and equal relationship recognition in a University of New Hampshire townhall session.