Photo of Shirtless Barack Obama Causes Quite a Stir

Photographers near the beach house the Obama family is renting for a 12-night Hawaiian vacation snapped a shirtless photo of Barack Obama which causing quite a stir today.

Paparazzi on the beach in Hawaii are being watched themselves by the Secret Service, but one photographer managed to get a shot of the president-elect in his least formal wear: without a shirt.

From CBS News:

All eyes are on the Obama transition team as they prepare to release a report on any correspondence with Blagojevich’s office… well most eyes.

A handful of paparazzi-style photographers have begun staking out the Obama compound in Kailua, hoping for a glimpse of the president-elect or his family. Yesterday, a few such photos popped up on various websites of the future president as anyone would be on a Hawaiian vacation—shirtless.

For the traveling press corps, a shot like this is never possible. Between the transition staff and secret service agents which follow our every move, cameras are never allowed beyond the big yellow concrete barricades set up down the road from the Obamas’ rented hideaway.

But local paparazzi have found a spot on the beach about a hundred yards from the secret service detail where they can sit in lawn chairs with huge zoom lenses on their cameras to get a shirtless picture which they can then sell to the television networks at a hefty price.

Paparazzi are far enough away they don’t hear the “come on guys, how many shots do you need?” comments the president-elect gave his traveling press as they snapped pictures of him on a golf course Sunday.

Barack Obama Accepts Presidential Nomination

Barack Obama has officially accepted the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States and in his acceptance speech, declared that the “American promise has been threatened” by eight years under President Bush. He also made it clear that John McCain represented a continuation of the Bush presidency which undermined the nation’s economy and discredited our standing around the world.

Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times

From the New York Times:

The speech by Senator Obama of Illinois — in front of an audience of nearly 80,000 people on a warm night in a football stadium refashioned into a vast political stage for television viewers — left little doubt of how he intended to press his campaign against Mr. McCain this fall. And he linked Mr. McCain to what he described as the “failed presidency of George W. Bush” in cutting language that seemed intended to reassure nervous Democrats that he had the spine to take on what has proven this summer to be a scrappy Republican opponent.

“The record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time,” Mr. Obama said. “Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90 percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.”

“America, we are better than these last eight years,” he said. “We are a better country than this.”

The speech by Mr. Obama loomed as arguably the most important of his campaign to date. It was an opportunity to present himself to Americans who were just now beginning to tune in on this campaign, to make the case against Mr. McCain and to offer what many Democrat said he has failed to offer to date: a idea of what Mr. Obama stood for, beyond a promise of change.

With his speech, Mr. Obama closed out his party’s convention here and prepared for a quick shift of public attention to Republicans as Mr. McCain names his running-mate on Friday and his party begins its convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday.

Barack Obama Chooses Joe Biden as Running Mate

There will be no dream ticket of Obama/Clinton. It’s official, Joe Biden has been selected as Barack Obama’s running mate for the 2008 Presidential election, though not the way that Senator Obama had hoped it would be announced.

Obama and Biden Credit: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

From Associated Press:

Barack Obama selected Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware late Friday night to be his vice presidential running mate, according to a Democratic official, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.

Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator.

Across more than 30 years in the Senate, he has served at various times not only as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but also as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.

In selecting Biden, Obama passed over several other potential running mates, none more prominent than former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, his tenacious rival in dozens of primaries and caucuses.

The official who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, preferring not to pre-empt a text-message announcement the Obama campaign promised for Saturday morning.

Obama’s decision leaked to the media several hours before his aides planned to send a text message announcing the running mate, negating a promise that people who turned over their phone numbers would be the first to know who Obama had chosen.

John McCain’s campaign wasted no time in attacking Biden by using the Delaware politician’s own words against him.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The Republicans have been gathering ammunition against Sen. Biden for weeks now and didn’t have to look very far. Early in the lengthy presidential primary season, while he was still a candidate himself, Sen. Biden criticized Sen. Obama’s inexperience on several occasions, as well as his foreign policy naiveté.

The idea of nominating someone without “unimpeachable credentials on national security and foreign policy,” Sen. Biden said during a radio interview in August 2007, would be “a tragic mistake.”

“There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama’s lack of experience than Joe Biden,” said McCain spokesman Ben Porritt. “Biden has denounced Barack Obama’s poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing — that Barack Obama is not ready to be President.”

Sen. Biden is a key component of the Republicans’ counter-programming for the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver. He’s featured in three videos on a new Web site, to be launched Sunday, of Democrats criticizing Sen. Obama.

All I can say is “Let the games begin”. It should be an interesting 10 weeks until election day! Thoughts?

Barack Obama Set to Pick Running Mate

The time is finally upon us. Barack Obama stated yesterday that he has chosen his running mate for the 2008 Presidential election. Unfortunately, he is not telling the public just yet.

Senator Barack Obama Credit: Reuters

From Reuters:

Obama has dragged out the announcement of a No. 2 for maximum political impact, but is running out of time. The Democratic nominating convention opens on Monday, with the vice president accepting the nomination on Wednesday.

Obama, 47, a first-term Illinois senator, said he had searched for a running mate who will be prepared to step in as president and one who could help him govern.

Obama’s announcement could come at any time, and he is expected to appear with his choice on Saturday in his home state of Illinois as they launch their run to the convention in Denver.

History has shown the choice of a running mate is unlikely to have a major impact on the November 4 White House election between Obama and Republican John McCain, but along with the upcoming conventions the choices give both candidates a chance for the political spotlight.

Senator John McCain

Speculation about Obama’s choice has centered on three prime contenders — Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden.

I believe that this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime and the buzz is intense right now waiting to hear who both Barack Obama and John McCain will choose as their VP running mates. There are many rumors out there of who their choices will be but there is not one definite choice on either side. I expect Obama to make his choice today with McCain’s decision coming in a few days. Time will tell. Thoughts?

John McCain Leads Barack Obama In Latest Poll

It’s true. Barack Obama’s substantial lead is gone, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next week as each candidate is preparing to announce their running mate for the general election in November.

McCain Now Holds a 5 Point Advantage Over Obama

From Reuters:

In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy.

McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, wiping out Obama’s solid 7-point advantage in July and taking his first lead in the monthly Reuters/Zogby poll.