Former President Jimmy Carter is calling for deciding the Democratic Party presidential nominee by June 3rd:
"I don’t see any reason at all to continue after June 3rd when we know who got the most [pledged] delegates, who got the most popular votes, who won the most states and so forth,” Carter said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.Carter has not endorsed either Illinois Senator Barak Obama, or New York Senator Hillary Clinton, but made his sentiments clear:
“overseas there is an intense infatuation with Obama, perhaps more than there ever has been in previous history with any candidate," adding, “A lot of them see Obama as kind of a diametrical opposite from George W. Bush and they think that he will bring to the presidency a brand new picture of what the White House and Washington and the United States ought to be.”Carter pondered about the content of the inaugural address, were Obama to win the presidency:
"If the first statement he made was while I’m president of the United States we will never torture another prisoner and while I’m President of the United States we will never go to war unless our own security is directly threatened...it would transform the image of the United States in the minds of many people around the world."Click here for more GPB News coverage of the presidential race, and here for more on Carter.
Congressman John Lewis.
Congressman John Lewis (D), who is known as one of New York Senator Hillary Clinton’s strongest black supporters, suggested Thursday that he may support Illinois Senator Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer instead, according to a report appearing in the New York Times.
“Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap," Lewis was reported as saying.Lewis, who represents Atlanta's fifth district, is a veteran of the civil rights movement.
Muscogee County
Barack Obama will have an edge over Hillary Clinton in Muscogee County, according to a Columbus State University political science expert.
When polling stations open in Georgia Tuesday morning, Columbus headquarters for the two Democratic contenders will have tried to outdo each other, for what one analyst calls the progressive, liberal voter.
Tom Dolan, who chairs the political science department at CSU, says over 4,000 voters cast their ballot in Early elections in Muscogee County so far; the highest the county has seen:
"I suspect Obama will do better in Georgia and I suspect he'll do better in Columbus."Dolan says while Obama attracts younger voters, they were less likely to actually get to polling stations.
Hillary Clinton addresses the Wednesday meeting of the North American Baptist Convention. (Katy Pando)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia's largest newspaper, is endorsing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic race for the White House.
The newspaper said in an editorial published on its Web site Saturday and to be printed Sunday that it believes Obama has demonstrated an appeal across many of the lines that have divided America.
"That is a critically important attribute, because the scale of changes that must be made to correct America's course cannot be accomplished with majorities of 50 percent plus one," the newspaper said.Of Obama's chief rival in the Democratic race, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the newspaper said she has too often chosen to play within the Washington system rather than dare to challenge its assumptions.
"Different moments in history require different types of leaders, and part of the art of picking a president is matching the person to the challenge and to the time," the newspaper said. "So while both Clinton and Obama would make very good presidents, Obama is the person; this is his time."The newspaper plans to endorse a candidate in the Republican presidential race next Sunday.
Young. (Ric Field/Associated Press)
Civil rights icon Andrew Young says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is too young and lacks the support network to ascend to the White House.
In a media interview posted online, Young also quipped that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has her husband behind her, and that "Bill is every bit as black as Barack."
Sen. Barack Obama. (AP /J. Scott Applewhite)
"He's probably gone with more black women than Barack," Young said of former President Clinton, drawing laughter from a live television audience. Young, 75, was quick to follow his comment on Bill Clinton with the disclaimer, "I'm clowning."
Young, a former United Nations ambassador and lieutenant of Martin Luther King, Jr., made the comments at an appearance at "Newsmakers Live," an urban media forum that interviews prominent Atlanta personalities and political figures.
Excerpts of the interview were posted on Newsmakers Journal, the Newsmakers' Web site, though the date of the appearance was not included with the video posting. Young was scheduled to appear on "Newsmakers Live" on Sept. 5, according to a press release.
Repeated efforts by The Associated Press to reach Young were unsuccessful.
Young's comments were prompted by a member of the audience who inquired about his opinion on Obama's candidacy.
"I want Barack Obama to be president," Young said, pausing for effect, "in 2016."
"It's not a matter of being inexperienced. It's a matter of being young," Young said. "There's a certain level of maturity ... you've got to learn to take a certain amount of (expletive)."
Young went on to say that Obama needs a protective network that he currently lacks - a quality that could hurt him if he were to be elected. He said Hillary Clinton already has that kind of network, including her husband to back her up.
"There are more black people that Bill and Hillary lean on," Young said. "You cannot be president alone. ... To put a brother in there by himself is to set him up for crucifixion. His time will come and the world will be ready for a visionary leadership."
One of the nation’s most powerful black politicians has thrown his weight behind Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.
Longtime Georgia (D) Congressman John Lewis issued a statement Friday describing the former first lady as:
"The person best prepared to lead the country."Lewis was elected to Congress in 1986. The son of sharecroppers, Lewis rose to fame in the 60s as one of the so-called "Freedom Riders" promoting civil rights in the South.