Barack Obama's Iowa crowd elects him president already

The Ticket needs to apologize because apparently we missed a little something, like the next three months and that bothersome thing called election day.

Sen. Barack Obama walked into a town hall meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, a familiar place where the freshman senator launched his onetime long shot and now sure shot campaign to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The crowd was an enthusiastic one, like so many of Obama's gatherings. Its members were ready to see and cheer their leader. And he was ready for them too, ready to denounce John McCain's "negative ads" showing Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, as devoid of new ideas and only criticizing the Democrat without offering the Republican's own positive agenda. "Is that all you've got?" the Democratic candidate would ask his opponent in absentia.

But before listening to his usual stump speech, the crowd, perhaps spontaneously, perhaps not, had something that seemed just right to do for their guy, according to the From the Road blog of CBS News' Allison O'Keefe. The nominee-to-be's fans sang "Happy Birthday" to him. On Monday Obama will turn 47.

But the happy crowd did not sing "Happy Birthday, Sen. Obama."

It was a small but revealing thing. The very confident crowd sang the song, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."

And Barack Obama looked very pleased to hear it.

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo credit: Chuck Neibergill / Associated Press

Comments

[Bull S.]

All hail The KING Obama! Not!

[US Citizen]

So what. Everytime time McCain enters a townhall he is announced as the next president of the United States. This is typical supporter fervor. How about reporting on some of the racist t-shirts and buttons sold outside McCain townhalls and RNC conventions? How about doing a story on the percentage of hate and racist bolg posts> now there is a story

[Brett]

Don't allow your ignorance and bitter nature to cloud the facts. If only Americans took the time to research policy papers and truly understand each candidate's positions, this election would be a landslide in favor of Obama. McCain= Same politics.

[plankbob]

It's very common for enthusiastic supporters to introduce their candidate as "the next president of the United States!"
Terry McAuliffe did it over and over for Clinton and I expect McCain's surrogates regularly do it too.
Malcolm has bought into the media meme of presumptuous. Such a herd mentality. I think they're just jealous of the enthusiasm and hope Obama generates. But hey, it generates hits on Malcolm's pathetic and cynical pieces.

[Cerulean Romance]

Cute.

[08vote]

TOP OF THE TICKET needs to get a real life, or, more like a REAL job.... at leat come out and stop hiding your incredible DISLIKE for Obama (the person)..... had this whole election year been the narrative of a sour Democratic Congress with Obama running as the presumptive Republican nominee, you mainstream media types would be throwing rose petals, getting down on your journalism knees, chanting oh, Chosen One....

[Marta]

From www.swamppolitics.com:

Sen. John McCain's call for off-shore oil-drilling may not have caught on in Congress, where Republicans view it as a way to bolster the world's oil supply and lower gasoline prices and Democrats tend to side with environmentalists on the sanctity of the Outer-Continental Shelf.

But it has caught on with the oil industry, whose executives contributed $1.1 million to McCain's presidential campaign last month, the Washington Post reports today on an independent watchdog group's study of the McCain campaign's fundraising.

Three quarters of McCain's oil haul followed the senior senator from Arizona's call for an end to the long-standing congressional moratorium on off-shore oil-drilling, the Post notes. And that $1.1 million take from Big Oil executives in June outstrips the industry's giving before that: $208,000 in May, $283,000 in April, $116,000 in March, by the Post's count.

"We have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States,'' McCain had said in June, when he called for an end to the moratorium. "But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

The Post notes that McCain made this address before "heading to Texas for a series of fundraisers with energy industry executives.'' The day after the speech, the Post has found, McCain raised $1.3 million at a closed-door luncheon and reception at the San Antonio Country Club.

""The timing was significant," David Donnelly, national campaigns director for the Public Campaign Action Fund. The nonpartisan campaign finance reform group -- whose Web-site does appear to target Republicans in hts bid for "clean money' -- conducted the analysis of McCain's oil industry contributions, the Post reports today. "This is a case study of how a candidate can change a policy position in the interest of raising money."

[Patricia]

So John McCain describing himself as "President McCain" a couple weeks back, and John McCain telling us what the year 2013 of his presidency would look like isn't presumptuous? No.. historically in theUS, only Obama can be presumptuous (code for "uppity").. in fact, not even code, since I read at least 6 writers who actually descirbed him as "uppity"

Guess Obama should be getting back to learning how to wait tables and shine shoes, eh?

[madison]

cocky punks

[Sam]

God bless American is the usual saying common in American society. What ponders me is why we Americans do not believe in God. King Solomon was a very young and unskilled when he was chosen as the successor of King David. I believe the Israelites know this story better. King Solomon was the best king that has ever ruled (1 King 3: 5, 7-10). Well, I am an independent but I will like to make the following point to those who think he is young and inexperience are missing the point because a good leader is one who is able to discern between good and evil. I guess you can make the judgement for yourself. Amongst thes two candidates, which of them is a war monger and which of them has been accused of being an appeaser?

[MKSinSA]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAHcA0igE7w&feature=PlayList&p=58DD855E32F0A382&index=20

Then this President McCain ad from a year ago, in which he not an audience declare him president, should just blow your socks off.

[Max]

It's very common for enthusiastic supporters to introduce their candidate as "the next president of the United States!"

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So why didn't they sing "happy Birth Mr.-Next-President?"

Because Obama supporters are arrogant.

[poprock]

Obama is a sissy!