Barack Obama

But seriously Barack, why no text message yet? I thought we had something.

The New Yorker: Chicago is not Obama’s home town, but it’s where he chose to forge his identity. Several weeks ago, he moved many of the Democratic National Committee’s operations from Washington to Chicago, making the city the unofficial capital of the Democratic Party; his campaign headquarters are in an office building in the Loop, Chicago’s downtown business district. But Chicago, with its reputation as a center of vicious and corrupt politics, may also be the place that Obama needs…

NYT: A new black consciousness is emerging in France, lately hastened by, of all things, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States. An article in Le Monde a few days ago described how Mr. Obama is “stirring up high hopes” among blacks here. Even seeing the word “noir” (“black”) in a French newspaper was an occasion for surprise until recently. Meanwhile, this past weekend, 60 cars were burned and some 50 young people scuffled with police and…

Please, gag me with a flag pin. I know I’m not the first to say this, but please, NYT: “closed-fist high-fives” it is not. Terrorist fist jab, it is not. Fist bump, fist pound, or dap are the acceptable nomenclature. Props to Gawker for this deft analysis: These are kids (meaning “18-35-year-olds across the entire nation), white and black, for whom respect knuckles are second nature. And Obama’s bump and shoulder-brush, probably simply because he’s such a natural actor, don’t…

Seriously, if you needed any more convincing about who to vote for, I present the following: McCain is selling golf gear on his website. Obama offers (free) mobile phone wallpaper and (as I mentioned before), ringtones. Could the symbolism be any more striking?

There’s no way that Obama will pick Clinton as VP. After reading The Huffington Post‘s analysis about VP picks, it would seem that there are three likely contenders: – Gov. Bill Richardson – Sen. Jim Webb [Here’s a Slate commenter and other bloggers on why Webb should get it.] – Gov. Kathleen Sibelius Harping on my international theme, Richardson seems the best choice here. He’s got the foreign policy creds, and hell, HE SPEAKS SPANISH. And as David Boyk pointed…

Like the French, I’m pretty stoked about Obama’s victory, largely because he is America’s first “global candidate.” If Obama were to be elected, he would be: – the first American president to have significant, non-political and non-military experience of living overseas in some time. – the first American president to speak a foreign language — at least halfway decently — since Herbert Hoover. (He and his wife apparently spoke Mandarin Chinese.) Also Le Monde mentions: La société américaine est de…

WashPost: The first time Hillary Clinton called, Heather Mizeur didn’t pick up. Listening to the message, she heard Clinton’s voice and assumed it was a campaign robo-call. But then the New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate asked Mizeur to call back — and left her personal cellphone number. In the weeks that followed, Mizeur’s iPhone was besieged. Chelsea Clinton, Bill Clinton and Terry McAuliffe called to check in. So did Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), three…

AP: Obama sealed his victory based on public declarations from delegates as well as from an additional 16 who have confirmed their intentions to the AP. The count also included 11 delegates Obama was guaranteed as long as he gained 30 percent of the vote in South Dakota and Montana later in the day. It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination. Clinton stood ready to concede that her rival had amassed the delegates needed to triumph, according to officials…