America's Finest: Gabby Douglas

My lasting memories of the 2012 London Olympics include gold medalist Gabby Douglas. There were other members of Team USA women's gymnastics team who went into the process hoping to become the toast of the town ... but, Gabby Douglas had other plans. Gabby earned herself 2 gold medals, in the individual all-around and team competitions, and now she is back in America.

They love her in her hometown of Virginia Beach, VA. In fact, a huge mural in her honor has already been created.

They love her in her adopted hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, where she lived with a host family while training for the Olympics. I understand that Oprah Winfrey will interview Gabby about her family's decision to let her train away from home, her mother's support and her experiences in London. That interview will air on Oprah's Next Chapter on Sunday, August 26 at 8:30pm.

They love her in Hollywood. Gabby will join First Lady Michelle Obama later tonight as guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Let's be honest ... all of America loves this 16-year old 4'11" dynamo! You go Gabby!

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) Accuses Barack Obama of Favortism Towards Blacks over Whites in America

Did you hear Iowa congressman Steve King's racist rant against President Obama? Here is some of what he had to say:

When you look at this administration, I'm offended by Eric Holder and the President also, their posture. It looks like Eric Holder said that white people in America are cowards when it comes to race. And I don't know what the basis of that is but I'm not a coward when it comes to that and I'm happy to talk about these things and I think we should. But the President has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race - on the side that favors the Black person...

Take a moment to listen to his full comments on the show:





King, a four-term lawmaker, made similar remarks about Obama in a speech last month.

"When he had an Irish cop and a Black professor, who’d he side with?” King said. “He jumped to a conclusion without having heard the facts. And he ended up having to have a beer summit. The president of the United States has got to articulate a mission. And instead, he’s playing race-bait games to undermine the law enforcement in the state of Arizona and across the country."

I'm beginning to sense more and more of a right-wing agenda of hate that is being laid out along racial lines. Will the Tea Party and others in the Republican Pary go along with this new race-based campaign strategy? Or will someone in the GOP man up and tell Steve King to shove it?

What say u?

Iowa Victory Speech * Barack Obama

I am sharing this video for any of you that did not to see this speech live. History was made on January 3, 2008 in Iowa when Barack Obama won the Democratic primary. I think that many of us will look back to this moment with great pride in our country. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy listening to a true statesman in action....

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: Barack Obama

I'm glad to see the Dennis Kucinich is telling his supporters to vote for Obama tomorrow in Iowa.

Villagers, the first real voting for our next President of the United States begins tomorrow in Iowa. I support Barack Obama for a variety of reasons ... not the least of which is that he would become a remarkable role model for my 8-year old son.

Would you rather see Barack and Michelle Obama in your living rooms over the next 4-8 years? or Hillary and Bill Clinton? Personally, I'm ready for a change in Washington DC that can be felt deep down in our bones. A change that will uplift every family in America as well as every family in most other nations around the world.

Barack Obama Winning in South Carolina; Where Is Oprah Event Coverage This Weekend?

A new Insider Advantage poll of South Carolina (conducted Dec. 3-4 of 421 likely Dem voters) has Obama at 26%, Clinton at 24%, Edwards at 15%, and Biden at 10%.

C-Span TV will have live coverage of the Obama-Oprah event in Iowa today at 4:30 pm here is a preliminary indication the "Road To The White House" program on C-Span TV will have taped coverage of a portion of the Obama-Oprah event from South Carolina on Sunday December 9, 2007 at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm ET.

Villagers can watch the South Carolina event with Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and special guest Oprah Winfrey LIVE on the web at http://www.ustream.tv/ starting at 12:30pm ET on Sunday, December 9.

What do you think about Oprah's support of Barack Obama? Will it matter?

Barack Obama is Winning in Iowa

The winds of change continue to blow in favor of Sen. Barack Obama. The Des Moines Register is a leading newspaper in Iowa, where the first votes of the US presidential race will be cast on January 3. This poll shows:

1. Barack Obama leading the race with support from 28 percent of likely voters (up from 22% in October).
2. Hillary Clinton was in 2nd place with likely Iowa voters at 25% (down from 29% last month).
3. John Edwards stayed steady at 23% of the vote.

Even more significant in some respects is the fact that Obama leads with support from 31 percent of women likely attend the caucuses, compared to 26 percent for Clinton. In October, Clinton was the preferred candidate of 34 percent of women caucusgoers, compared to 21 percent for Obama. In other words, there has been a switch of 18% among likely women voters in this state towards Obama.

Iowa City Democrat Katharyn Browne said she abandoned her support for Clinton in the past month and now supports Obama in light of the Iran issue. Clinton supported a measure that allowed President Bush to declare the Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, a move Obama said was a step toward war. Clinton said the measure enhanced U.S. negotiating strength with Iran.

Browne said she feels Obama is a more inspirational candidate than Clinton, despite the intensifying crossfire between them. "I just think that Obama is more of a positive candidate overall," she said. "Aside from the Clinton-Obama interaction lately, it's nice to hear a candidate with a positive outlook. I think our country needs that right now."

Browne, who supported Clinton early partly out of gender loyalty, represents a shift among some women caucusgoers from Clinton to Obama.

Hopefully this is a trend that will impact on Black women around the country. I've noticed some caustic remarks by Black women bloggers and blog readers on Barack Obama. It appears that Iowa women (few of whom are Black) are realizing that Barack and Michelle Obama is better for their future than Billary.

On the Republican side I see that Gov. Mike Huckabee also overtook the frontrunner. Huckabee's rise is a direct result of his outstanding performance in recent televised debates. I think it is critical that Barack Obama wins a few of the upcoming televised debates this month. He has the character, positions and skills to be a remarkable POTUS.

He needs to apply the knock-out punch to Clinton in the next 30 days.

Villagers, the first votes will be cast one month from today. How are you leaning now? If you had a chance to vote today in the Democratic primary ... who would you cast your vote for?

Obama Pulls Ahead in Iowa Polls

Villagers, did you see the recent polls in Iowa? Barack Obama now has 30% of likely Democratic caucus voters express interest in Iowa. Clinton poll number is now 26%. This is the first poll in quite awhile that shows that Hillary isn't the inevitable Democratic party candidate.
Personally, I think that Hillary is at her peak in Iowa with about 25% of the vote ... while Obama still has room to grow ... especially as other candidates such as Edwards begin to fade. Barack Obama is the favorite second choice for most other candidates. In other words, he benefits when the others begin to drop out of the race.

It seems that those of us that want change and fresh ideas are being heard, especially when we realize that Hillary's honesty and character keep coming into question. Most Democratic likely voters in Iowa, 55 percent, say they're more interested in a "new direction and new ideas" than in strength and experience, compared with 49 percent in July -- a help to Obama, who holds a substantial lead among "new direction" voters. Obama beats her by 2-1 as the most honest and trustworthy candidate. Her advantage on experience, while substantial, has softened since summer. She has notably less support in Iowa than nationally in trust to handle a variety of specific issues -- on Iraq, for example, Obama now runs evenly with her.

I think that the other results from this Washington Post/ABC News poll that should interest folks is how women in Iowa are trending in this primary. Obama is running even with Clinton among women in Iowa, drawing 32 percent to her 31 percent, despite the fact that the Clinton campaign has built its effort around attracting female voters.

Click here for more ABC News polls
Plenty of open questions remain -- including where preferences wind up at the caucuses six weeks from now and whether or how Iowans' choices resonate elsewhere. Clearly there's room to move: Forty-three percent say there's a chance they could change their minds by the Jan. 3 caucuses; 20 percent say there's a good chance of it.

I must admit that I'm glad to see positive news for Obama. Hopefully, there aren't any more televised debates for the brother. He simply doesn't do well in those debates.


Villagers, have you decided who you want to see as our next President of the United States?