Searching for Unusual Hay in a Haystack: The Case of CDMS

Over the past two weeks, rumors have swirled around the web that the CDMS collaboration had discovered particles of "dark matter". [I have not yet written a promised post on dark matter, but there is this.] It all started with a single blog post which contained "facts", such as the statement that there was a paper in press at the journal Nature, which turned out to be false. One very connected person tweeted about the post, and it spread like wildfire. Soon the Nature editor sent the blogger a snarky letter denying the claim, which the blogger posted. Others speculated that the Nature editor was just trying to throw them off track. The next day the Nature editor posted a comment on the blog apologizing for the snarky nature of the letter, but again refuting the claims. Still rumors shot around the net about what result there might be.

So there was much anticipation Thursday when the CDMS collaboration gave two simultaneous talks announcing their results.

I watched a live stream of one of them. It proceeded in a halting fashion from the strain of the web traffic. Then, when the speaker got to the point of announcing their results, the stream froze for ten solid minutes. When it recovered, it zipped straight to her conclusions (how many of you were assuming the speaker was male--come on admit it), and I was left to guess a number of the details. But the bottom line is this: they saw 2 events with a background of 0.8. What does that mean, you ask?

The experiment looked for a very rare signal: that a particle of dark matter, which rarely interacts with anything, leaves a small ripple in the detector. The detector is located at the bottom of a mine to shield it from most cosmic rays. But there are still background events: interactions in the detector from particles which come from radioactive elements in the rock or particles which somehow survive going through hundreds of meters of rock. There are telltale signatures of dark matter particles (such as the energy and timing of the event) which help distinguish them from background particles, but occasionally a background particle mimics those signatures by chance. In the CDMS experiment, they calculate that over two years of running, that happened on average 0.8 times ( it took heroic efforts to keep it this small) . Maybe this helps: if they ran for 20 years with the same detector, i.e. 10 times longer, then they'd expect it to happen 8 times.

Now they saw 2 events. So what is the chance that those events are really signals of dark matter particles? Well, it is easier to ask "what is the chance they are background events?". If you ran for 20 years, what is the chance that 2 of the background events happened in the first two years. Using something called the Poisson distribution, they find that there is about a 1/4 chance those 2 events are both just background events. That's not a strong signal. As good as their efforts were at reducing backgrounds, it was not enough. If there were no dark matter particles and you ran the experiment for 20 years and divided them into ten two year periods, about two or three of those ten periods would happen to have 2 background events in them.

Still, if the events do turn out to be really from dark matter, it will begin to explain one of the great mysteries of science. So we await future experiments with more signal and less background.

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Why the rising star of Sarah Palin troubles us

This post is directed at fans of Sarah Palin (if there are any amongst my readers!). It may help you to understand why the rest of us are so appalled at her success. I've tried to think objectively about why I find her rising star disturbing.

It is not because she is "folksy", which I suspect is a big aspect of her appeal. Nor does it have anything to do with her being a working mom--many of us admire the ability to balance work and family. No, it is because of her overt incompetence and shallowness. After having just lived through the worst presidency of modern times, that of Geroge W. Bush, where decisions were made on a political basis without regard for competence ("heck of a job Brownie") and as if the world were black and white, it is disturbing that another politician with very limited knowledge and ideological blinders could gain such popularity. It is also disheartening to have such a polarizing figure rise in prominence now. Whatever you think of President Obama, he has made an effort to restore thoughtful dialogue to our national debates. We can disagree, but let us not disagree with the gleeful venom of Sarah Palin.

Whatever you think about Sarah Palin's politics, or her ability to raise children while working, or whatever you perceive as positive, please recognize that she is not fit to be President of the United States. I don't know if she really believes what she says, or she is just an opportunist, but the scariest thing is that her ambitions seem to greatly exceed her abilities.

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Trip to Hawaii Big Island

I attended a conference in Hawaii held jointly by an American and a Japanese physics society. Where else are you going to hold it? It was an incredible trip. This post is about the stuff I did before, after and during breaks in the conference. Here's the list of places I went on the Big Island:

• Waipio valley

• Akaka falls

• Kiluea caldera & lava fields

• Inside the KEK observatory atop Mauna Kea

• Kohala waterfall hike

• Underwater in a sub near Kailua-Kona

I was staying in Waikaloa Village on the west coast of the Big Island. Here is a sunset from a restaurant there:

Here is a dolphin in their lagoon:

A colleague and I drove around the island past gorgeous Waipio valley,

stopped at Akaka falls, the tallest in Hawaii,

and Halema'uma'u crater (big circle) inside the Kiluea caldera (huge circle that goes beyond the edge of the photo):

The sulfur dioxide streaming up with the steam made the air quality poor, and several areas were shut down. Nothing grows in the caldera. Lava flows underneath it via a lava tube to the sea. We went on the lava field at night, and you can make out the lava in the distance (as close as one is allowed to go):

Then several of us took a trip to the top of Mauna Kea, which from sea floor to summit is the tallest mountain in the world. Here are the twin domes of the KEK observatory, the most powerful in the world. Their main mirrors are 10m (30ft) in diameter! (the mountain way in the distance is Haleakala on Maui)

We were honored to receive a tour from a friend of a friend of the inside. This is the secondary mirror of one of the telescopes. You can see the dome opening in the background.

The main mirror is hard to see. It is the honeycomb structure just to the left of the blue girders (the pipes which seem to be on it are actually a reflection):

Then I went on a waterfall hike (the water was cold!)

and finally a submarine trip off the coast of Kailua-Kona:

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Catcerto

Mere words cannot describe this. Watch it.

[thanks N.J.]

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The Two Cultures

Fifty years ago, C. P. Snow lamented in his famous lecture, The Two Cultures, that there was a rift in understanding  between the sciences and the humanities.  He noted that ignorance of the laws of thermodynamics is akin to never having read a work of Shakespeare, and that such scientific illiteracy could prove harmful to society.  How can our leaders solve our problems if they don't understand them?

So it was with great interest that I went last Saturday (9 May) to the New York Academy of Sciences, at the top of the world, to attended a conference exploring the current state of the Two Cultures and what could be done about it.   There were many fascinating people there.

The 192 year old NY Academy of Sciences now resides in the gleaming new building at 7 World Trade Center.  Forty stories up, there is a panoramic view of Manhattan, and an overlook on the unimproved hole of ground zero.  

Actually, one feels the presence of 9/11 as soon as one steps in the elevator.  Each wall of the elevator is roughly polished metal, so that one's reflection is distorted  as it is bounced back and forth, and one is surrounded by ghostly images.

There were two main topics discussed: the nature of the divide between scientists and nonscientists (both in the humanities and the general public), and what one could do to bridge the gap.

  

E. O. Wilson, the famous biologist, described his idea of consilience, and argued that the walls between fields were illusions because of the interdisciplinary bridges which already exist.  He is a hardcore reductionist who believes that complex sociological behavior can be mapped to chemical reactions in the brain.  On the other hand, the historian Ann Blair argued that having walls between fields was important so they can flourish independently.

But most of the day was spent discussing how to bridge the gap between science and the larger society (such as you, dear reader).   There was a panel on "How to more effectively communicate science issues to the public," with the executive producer of Nova, Paula Apsell, and the host of Science Friday, Ira Flatow.   There was a panel on science and politics with the founders of Science Debate 2008.  And there was a concluding keynote address by Segway inventor, Dean Kamen.  I have to say that I was impressed with his organization, FIRST, which sponsors a robot competition that makes science cool for kids.  In just 20 years, it has gone from a handful of people, to something which won't fit in the Houston Astrodome!

Science is  increasingly important for our society.  For democracy to work in such an environment, it is essential that the average citizen be at least somewhat scientifically literate.  For example, everyone should have some vague idea why a perpetual motion machine can't work (thermodynamics says, "there ain't no free lunch").  So I hope we can all work on bridges of understanding between ourselves.

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Report from the 'April meeting'

Scientific conferences have personalities. They shift locations and take on the color of the locale, but the canvass of a given conference is the same. I write this from a hotel room in Denver, CO, site of my society's annual meeting. It does not matter that it is in Denver, or that it's May, it is still the 'April meeting'.  The April Meeting is not a cozy specialized meeting, nor is it a zoo that the largest meetings become. It covers just the subjects of particle physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics. So it is a chimera of the small and the large, the specialized and the very broad.

There is the same rhythm of expansive plenary talks in darkened ballrooms, and frenzied cryptic parallel session talks in small rooms which either are empty or overfull. There are talks on science and society. There are all the organizational meetings. There are the booths and posters. Yet at 1400 people it feels sparse.

The most exciting results this year are from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly called GLAST). Launched in June 2008, it is already changing our view of the high-energy sky. Its main instrument, the Large Area Telescope, or LAT, has made a precise measurement of ultra-high energy electrons and positrons. A previous experiment had shown indications of an excess in number of particles detected, which was hard to explain with known physics. LAT has shown that that "bump" was likely just a statistical fluctuation. Alas, this is what usually happens--most coincidences are actually just coincidences. LAT also showed that there is some new source of high-energy positrons out there, which will surely launch a thousand papers.

Fun anecdote: One of the talks was given by a senior physicist  (he received the Nobel prize for work done in 1964). He admitted that he had a habit of showing data before the large collaboration of which he is a part was ready to release it. After his talk, someone asked a question about the composition of the cosmic rays his collaboration had detected. He excitedly jumped to a slide he'd prepared because he "knew someone would ask that question". He explained that the collaboration would release the data soon, after further analysis, but he'd show the figure now. When the figure popped up there was a big "X" in place of the plot. He was astonished and confused and wondered aloud how it could have happened. Then one of his collaborators raised her hand and admitted to have hacked into his talk. She said, "we knew you might show this but we're not ready to release it yet".   He laughed at being thwarted.

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Evolution in a Nutshell

Sorry I haven't been writing much lately.  My personal life has been evolving.  More on that later.  But I would be remiss if I didn't have some kind of post for Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, which was on February 12th, 2009.  To celebrate, let me give you evolution in a nutshell.  I want to take a slightly different tack than most other treatments.  I want to argue that Darwin's central brilliant idea is so close to a tautology that it can't be wrong.

There are two things which determine whether a creature reproduces: the traits it was born with and the environment it lives in.  This is true even if you believe (which I don't) that a deity has an active hand in forming the creature, or in affecting its environment.  Now, given a bunch of creatures in that same environment, some will have inborn traits that make it more likely they will survive and reproduce, and some will have traits which make it less likely they will survive and reproduce.  For example, if there are a bunch of feral cats in Minnesota, those with heavy fur are more likely to survive than those with very light fur.  But if they are in Mexico, those with light fur are more likely to survive (all other things being equal).

Well, Darwin's central idea is Natural Selection by Survival of the Fittest.  Those creatures which are most suited to the given environment are the ones which are most likely survive.  It is almost tautological, because what else can "fittest" mean than "most likely to survive?"   And what does the "selection" entail other than "having survived"?  Nothing.  Darwin simply pointed out the obvious.  If you have a population of creatures, the ones best suited for the environment are the ones most likely to survive and reproduce.   And how can you tell which creature are the ones best suited for the environment?  Because they are the ones which survived!

So, then,  what's the big deal if it has to be true, almost by definition, that the "fittest" are "selected"?    The answer is that this simple mechanism, which as we have shown has to be true almost by definition, is enough to explain the evolution of life.  How did drug-resistant bacteria arise?  There were some bacteria in the huge population of bacteria which were resistant, and they took over in the patient because they were the fittest (they survived the drugs).  How did polar bears get such thick fur? Because their ancestors who had thinner fur did not survive as well.

Some people are fine with the above until one gets to major changes in species or complicated organs like a wing.  It would take me too long to delve into all possible considerations here, but the central answer is TIME.  Creatures have been roaming the Earth for a very long time, so even very slow change can have a dramatic effect.  Suppose each generation of creatures changes in some attribute by just 0.01%.  Then after 10,000 generations, they could have changed that attribute completely.  Even to take the human value for a generation, 20 years, that would take only 200,000 years.  That may sound  like a lot of time, but life has been on the planet for almost 4 billion years, which is 20,000 times 200,000 years.

So in summary, there has been a selection process going on for millions of generations of life, picking out creatures who are fittest for their environment. That process can explain the diversity of life we see now and in the past, and that is why, despite being essentially a tautology, Darwin's theory of evolution is the cornerstone of biology.  

Happy Birthday Darwin!

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Inauguration Ticket Essay Contest

The Obama campaign is giving away 10 tickets to the Presidential Inauguration via an essay contest phrased as, "what does the inauguration mean to you?"   Here is my entry:

Exclamation Point

Once in a great while, a nation alters its course through history, casts off its shackles of fear, and turns resolutely to face the challenges of the past, present and future.  As its people wake from a nightmare of illogic, indifference and intolerance, they assemble, shoulder to shoulder, ready to overcome old divisions and new obstacles, with reason, determination and humanity.  Celebrating their power to chart a new course, they gather as one, having reached an exclamation point. Yes we can!

[photo: March on Washington (Program), 08/28/1963; Bayard Rustin Papers; John F. Kennedy Library; National Archives and Records Administration.]

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New UK Band: The Script

The Script have just vaulted to the top of the charts in the UK.  They describe their genre as Celtic Soul,  but I would call it Celtic Rock.  They have elements of U2, Savage Garden (listen to "Before the Worst"), and a dash of hip-hop.  Listen, they are good.  Here is their homepage.

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Surprise! President-Elect Obama

What do you say when the revolution is televised?   The world has seen the celebrations in Chicago, New York, Washington DC, and in pubs and gathering places around the country and across the globe.  What can I add to that?  Just this: I was surprised at the surprise.

For months I have been following the polls closely, to the point of knowing , thanks to fivethirtyeight.com, which polls have a Democratic lean (e.g. PPP) or a Republican lean (e.g. Mason-Dixon), why there wasn't going to be a Bradley effect, what kind of inside straight McCain would need to eke out a win, etc.  So I was confident that Barack would win.   And I, and most pundits, and the candidates themselves, downplayed the effect of race on the race.   Race may have played a role earlier in the contest, but by now it was all supposed to be about the economy, Iraq, Palin's lack of competence, McCain's erratic behavior, Bush fatigue.

And then, when the election was called, many people reacted with disbelief.  And they celebrated.  The celebrations were partly about the change in parties and policy, but they were mostly about something which has hardly been talked about.  And so I was surprised at how much of John McCain's gracious concession speech centered on race.

And I realized how important it was to me to see the color barrier broken, to see a dream realized.  For one night, all thoughts of President Bush, war, and the economic crisis faded as we entered a new world.  The impossible has happened.  I should have been surprised.

Caption: Colorado State University student, Mercedes Scott, looks in disbelief at the election results on her cell phone which shows Barack Obama the winner in the presidential race Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008, in the Black Student Services office on the CSU campus.

[photo and caption from the Coloradoan]

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Running List of Obama Endorsements

[Originally posted 2/4/08; FINAL UPDATE 11/4/08  11:30 AM]

[Following Obama's clinching of the nomination, I will include only notable or unexpected endorsements.  IMPORTANT NOTE: The Newspaper endorsements are from the primary season.  I will add 'General Election' next to papers which endorse him over McCain, but I doubt that my marking will be complete.  If you don't see a mark next to a paper, don't assume they haven't endorsed him for the General Election.]

I have decided to leave my two previous endorsement posts alone (Barack Obama Endorsements [January 4-14] and Obama Endorsements January 14-28), and keep one running list of endorsements (people more or less in reverse chronological order; newspapers by state).  I don't claim this is complete, but I hope it gives a sense of the breadth of his support.  Endorsements before the beginning of the year are NOT listed [I've added some to the bottom of the list].  Feel free to email me if I've missed an important endorsement.  (I list endorsers that I think will have an impact—no judgment is made about their positive or negative value.) Recently added endorsements are in green. [3/31: Following the lead of the Superdelegate endorsement list Pelosi Club, I am adding a separate list of people who have not endorsed Obama, but are superdelegates who will vote for the winner of the pledged delegates, which is all but certain to be Senator Barack Obama.  See also The Cantwell Club about the Pelosi Club's most exclusive member (she has now endorsed Obama).]

Politicians and Academics:

• Peter Monroe (Florida Republican & Former President of Resolution Trust Corporation Oversight Board; story)

  "Florida and the United States have the opportunity to vote for one of the 'best and brightest' as president -- without a doubt such person is Senator Barack Obama."

• Ron Reagan (son of President Reagan; audio)
• Nixon & Reagan Speechwriter Jeffrey Hart Obama is the Real Conservative
• Former Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein (story)
  Duberstein says Palin isn't ready:
  
• Prominent New Hampshire Republican Fred Bramante
  
• Former Republican Sen. Larry Pressler (of SD; story)
• Former Republican Sen. Charles McC. Mathias Jr. (of MD; endorsement)
• Former Republican Gov. William Weld (of MA; story)

  "Senator Obama is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America's standing in the world.  We need a president who will lead based on our common values and Senator Obama demonstrates an ability to unite and inspire."

• Former  Republican Gov. Arne Carlson (of MN; story)
• Former George W. Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan (story with video clip)
  
• Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson (story;wikipedia)
• Republican Former WI State Rep. Barbara Lorman (story)
• Conservative Republican Ken Adelman (story; story on story)
• Google CEO Eric Schmidt (story)
• Former Republican Secretary of State General Colin Powell
  
  Endorsement (or see annotated combined video from Daily Kos):
  
  
  
  Image mentioned in Powell's Endorsement:
  
  
  
  Press conference:
  
  
  
  
• Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria (The Case for Obama)
• Christopher Hitchens (A toughly worded endorsement)
• Michael Smerconish (Conservative Radio Host; Story; Audio)
  

  "I’ve decided. My conclusion comes after reading the candidates’ memoirs and campaign platforms, attending both party conventions, interviewing both men multiple times, and watching all primary and general election debates.
  
  John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I’m voting for a Democrat for president.
  
  I may have been an appointee in the George H.W. Bush administration, and master of ceremonies for George W. Bush in 2004, but last Saturday I stood amidst the crowd at an Obama event in North Philadelphia."

• 76 Nobel Laureates  (An Open Letter to the American People)
  

  "This year's presidential election is among the most significant in our nation's history. The country urgently needs a visionary leader who can ensure the future of our traditional strengths in science and technology and who can harness those strengths to address many of our greatest problems: energy, disease, climate change, security, and economic competitiveness.
  
  We are convinced that Senator Barack Obama is such a leader, and we urge you to join us in supporting him."

• Jim and Sarah Brady
• Lilibet Hagel (wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel; video endorsement)
• Catholic Scholar Nicholas P. Cafardi (story)
• Christopher Buckley (son of William F. Buckley; blog post; in his own words) 
  

  "I have known John McCain personally since 1982. I wrote a well-received speech for him.
  ...
  I thought at the time, God, this guy should be president someday.
  ...
  This campaign has changed John McCain. It has made him inauthentic. A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget “by the end of my first term.” Who, really, believes that? Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis. His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?
  ...
  
  As for Senator Obama: He has exhibited throughout a “first-class temperament,” pace Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s famous comment about FDR.
  ...
  
  I’ve read Obama’s books, and they are first-rate. He is that rara avis, the politician who writes his own books. Imagine. He is also a lefty. I am not. I am a small-government conservative...
  
  Obama has in him...the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for."

• Wick Allison (owner of D magazine, former board member of the National Review; endorsement: A Conservative for Obama)
• Former Republican Gov. Linwood Holton (of VA; story)
• Former NY Mayor Ed Koch (he supported Bush in 2004; Why I'm Voting for Obama-Biden)
  

  
  "If the vice president were ever called on to lead the country, there is no question in my mind that the experience and demonstrated judgment of Joe Biden is superior to that of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is a plucky, exciting candidate, but when her record is examined, she fails miserably with respect to her views on the domestic issues that are so important to the people of the U.S., and to me. Frankly, it would scare me if she were to succeed John McCain in the presidency."
  

  
  
• Conservative Activist Larry Hunter (his Daily News opinion piece)
  

  "How could I support a candidate with a domestic policy platform that's antithetical to almost everything I believe in?
  
  The answer is simple: Unjustified war and unconstitutional abridgment of individual rights vs. ill-conceived tax and economic policies - this is the difference between venial and mortal sins."

• Former Vice President Al Gore (TN)
• Senator Hillary Clinton (NY; former first lady, presidential candidate; video of entire endorsement speech) video of news story on her endorsement:
• [Obama Declares Victory]
• Senator Maria Cantwell (WA; switched from Clinton, a promise discussed in this post)
• Superdelegates of 6 June (DNC switchers, Reps, Senators, Governors, DPLs):   Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV)
  Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC)
  Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC)
  Sen. Jack Reed (RI)
  Gov. Steve Beshear (KY)
  Gov. Joe Manchin (WV)
  Rep. Tim Ryan (OH) (switch from Clinton)
  DNC Garry Shay (CA) (switch from Clinton)
  DNC Yolanda Caraway (DC) (switch from Clinton)
  Rep. Jason Altmire (PA)
   
• Superdelegates of 5 June (DNC switchers, Reps, Senators, Governors, DPLs):
  [Note: I am not bolding Reps who switch any more.  The train has already left the station, so to speak.]
  
  
  Former House Speaker Tom Foley (WA; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Jay Inslee (WA; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Nikki Tsongas (MA)
  Gov. Ted Strickland (OH; switched from Clinton)
  DNC Billi Gosh (VT; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Diana DeGette (CO; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Zach Space (OH)
  Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (FL)
  Rep. Corrine Brown (FL)
  Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (FL)
  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)
  Rep. Jim Matheson (UT)
  
  
  All 23 members of the NY Congressional Delegation switched from Clinton:
  Anthony Weiner, Brian Higgins, Carolyn Maloney, Carolyn McCarthy, Charles Rangel, Edolphus Towns, Eliot Engel, Gary Ackerman, Gregory Meeks, Jerrold Nadler, John Hall, Jose Serrano, Joseph Crowley, Kirsten Gillibrand, Louise Slaughter, Maurice Hinchey, Michael Arcuri, Michael McNulty, Nita Lowey, Nydia Velazquez, Steve Israel, Timothy Bishop, Yvette D. Clarke
  
  
  Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH)
  Rep. Betty Sutton (OH; switched from Clinton)
• Superdelegates of 4 June (DNC switchers, Reps, Senators, Governors, DPLs):
  
  
  
  Former VP Walter Mondale (MN; switched from Clinton to Obama)
  Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD)
  Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ)
  Gov. Phil Bredesen (TN)
  Rep. Rahm Emanuel (IL) 
  Rep. Mike Doyle (PA) 
  Sen. Ken Salazar (CO)
  Sen. Tom Harkin (IA)
  Rep. Tom Udall (NM)
  Sen. Ben Cardin (MD)
  Sen. Herb Kohl (WI)
  Sen. Ron Wyden (OR)
  Rep. John Salazar (CO)
  Rep. Mark Udall (CO)
  Sen. Tom Carper (DE)
  Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA)
  Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA; switched from Clinton to Obama)
  Rep. Michael Michaud (ME)
  Rep. Susan Davis (CA)

  DNC Claude "Buddy" Leach (LA; switched from Clinton to Obama)

  
  
• Superdelegates of 3 June (DNC switchers, Reps, Senators, Governors, DPLs):
  
  
  Former President Jimmy Carter (GA; was in Pelosi club)
  DNC Ben Johnson (DC; switched from Clinton to Obama)
  DNC Kamil Hasan (CA; switched from Clinton to Obama)
  Rep. Maxine Waters (CA; switched from Clinton to Obama)
  DNC Rhett Ruggerio (DE; switched from Clinton to Obama)
  Rep. Dennis Moore (KS)
  Rep. Bob Brady (PA)
  Rep. William Jefferson (LA)
  Rep. John Sarbarnes (MD)
  Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (AZ)
  Christine Pelosi (CA; was in Pelosi Club)
  DNC Rachel Binah (CA; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Sam Farr (CA)
  Rep. Bob Filner (CA)
  Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA)
  Gov. Bill Ritter (CO)
  DNC Michael Thurmond (GA; switched from Clinton)
  DNC Patsy Arceneaux (LA; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Bart Stupak (MI)
  Rep. Rush Holt (NJ; one of three physicists in Congress)
  DNC Ian Murray (PA; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Ron Sims (WA; switched from Clinton)
  Rep. Rick Stafford (MN; switched from Clinton)
  Sen. Max Baucus (MT)
  Sen. Jon Tester (MT)
  Governor Brian Schweitzer (MT)
• Rep.  Alan Mollohan (of WV)
  
• Rep. Dennis Cardoza (of CA;switched from Clinton to Obama)
  
• Rep. Jim Costa (of CA)
  
• Rep. Joe Courtney (of CT)
  
• Investor Warren Buffet
• Senator Robert Byrd (of WV; This is an amazing endorsement given his beginnings in the KKK)

  "Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support" 

• Mayor Mufi Hannemann (of Honolulu HI)
• Rep. Henry Waxman (of CA) 

  "I wanted to make sure that Senator Clinton had every opportunity to bring her campaign to the American people. It is now clear, however, that the Democratic Party is nearing a broad consensus on our nominee. And it is with great pride that I endorse Senator Barack Obama for President."

• Rep. Howard Berman (of CA)
  
• Rep. Jim McDermott (of WA)
  
• Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards (of NC; full video)

• William Donaldson (Former SEC Chair, appointed by George W. Bush)
  
• Arthur Levitt (Former SEC Chair, appointed by Bill Clinton)
• David Ruder (Former SEC Chair, appointed by Ronald Reagan)
  
• College Democrat superdelegates Lauren Wolfe and Awais Khaleel 
• Rep. Peter Visclosky (of IN)
• Sen. Daniel Akaka (of HI)
  
• Rep. Tom Allen (of ME)
• Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo (of KY; key endorsement)

  "I believe Senator Obama can unite the Democratic Party and build a coalition of Independents and Republicans to win in November"
  

• Rep. Harry Mitchell (of AZ)
  
• Rep. Mazie Hirono (of HI)
  
• Rep. Donald Payne (of NJ; Switched from Clinton to Obama)
  
• Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR)
  
• Rep. Brad Miller (of NC)
• Rep. Rick Larsen (of WA)
• Former Rep. David Bonior (of MI; Former Campaign Manager for John Edwards)
• Former Presidential Nominee George McGovern (of SD; Switched from Clinton to Obama)

  "Obama has won the nomination by any practical test... It's time to unite the Democratic Party."

• Superdelegate Jennifer McClellan (of VA House; switched from Clinton to Obama)
• Former Gov. Parris Glendening (of MD;add-on superdelegate)
  
• Superdelegate Joe Andrew (of IN; switched from Clinton to Obama) 

  "A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain."

• Rep. Bruce Braley (of IA) 
  
• Rep. Baron Hill (of IN)
• Rep. Lois Capps (of CA)
• Rep. Ben Chandler (of KY; story)
  

  "Now is not the time to be timid. It's instead a time to be bold and support a candidate who can transform our future."

• Senator Jeff Bingaman (of NM)
• Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon (big Clinton donor; switch to Obama)
  
• Rep. David Wu (of OR;story;Chair of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee)
• Governor Brad Henry (of OK; story)
• Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel (of Evansville, IN; story)
• Former Sen. Don Riegle (of MI)
• Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (in the Clinton admin.; three endorsements; his blog)

My avoidance of offering a formal endorsement until now has also been affected by the pull of old friendships and my reluctance as a teacher and commentator to be openly partisan. But my conscience won't let me be silent any longer...

His plans for reforming Social Security and health care have a better chance of succeeding. His approaches to the housing crisis and the failures of our financial markets are sounder than hers. His ideas for improving our public schools and confronting the problems of poverty and inequality are more coherent and compelling. He has put forward the more enlightened foreign policy and the more thoughtful plan for controlling global warming...

...he offers the best possibility of restoring America's moral authority in the world.

• Former Sen. Sam Nunn (of GA; was head of  Senate Armed Services Committee; three endorsements)
  

  I believe Senator Obama has a rare ability to restore America's credibility and moral authority and to get others to join us in tackling serious global problems.

• Former Sen. David Boren (of OK; was head of  Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; three endorsements)
• Rep. David Price (of NC; Obama can change the equation)
  

  "With Barack Obama as our nominee, I believe we can turn North Carolina blue this year"

• Rep. Mel Watt (of NC)
• Rep. Andre Carson (of Indiana)
• Auditor General Jack Wagner (of PA; last of the statewide officials to decide: now 2-to-2)
• Former Gov. Barbara Roberts (of Oregon)
  
• Former Gov. John Kitzhaber (of Oregon; story for both)
  
• Mayor Steve Luecke (of South Bend Indiana; story)
• Former Republican Gov. & Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr (of CT; story)
• Governor Dave Freudenthal (of Wyoming; story)
  
• Former Sen. John Melcher (of Montana)
  
• Former Rep. Lee Hamilton (of Indiana; cochair of the 9/11 Commission; story)

  “I read his national security and foreign policy speeches, and he comes across to me as pragmatic, visionary and tough. He impresses me as a person who wants to use all the tools of presidential power.”

• Senator Amy Klobuchar (of Minnesota;unexpected endorsement)
  
• Mayor John Engen (of Missoula, Montana; story; since some have asked: he is NOT a superdelegate)
• Senator Bob Casey (of Pennsylvania; surprise endorsement; video)

  "I believe in my heart that there is one person whose uniquely qualified to lead us in that new direction and that is Barack Obama."

• Rep. Dan Lipinski (of IL, penultimate superdelegate in IL to decide)
  
• Mayor Yvonne Johnson (of Greesnsboro, NC)
• Doug Kmiec (Republican; Head of Office of Legal Council for Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush; Head the Romney for President Committee on the Courts and the Constitution; endorsement)
  

  "Today I endorse Barack Obama for president of the United States...It is not arrived at without careful thought and some difficulty...I believe him to be a person of integrity, intelligence and genuine good will. I take him at his word that he wants to move the nation beyond its religious and racial divides and to return United States to that company of nations committed to human rights... I do have confidence that the Senator will cast his net widely in search of men and women of diverse, open-minded views and of superior intellectual qualities to assist him in the wide range of responsibilities that he must superintend."

• Gov. Bill Richardson (of New Mexico; former presidential candidate, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 5 times; story)
  

  "I believe he is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world. As a presidential candidate, I know full well Sen. Obama's unique moral ability to inspire the American people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship and reconciliation. There is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama has the judgment and courage we need in a commander in chief when our nation's security is on the line."
  

• Cass Sunstein (U. of Chicago Law Professor; great piece: The Obama I know)
• Rep. Bill Foster (just elected to Dennis Hastert's vacated seat in IL (Hastert, a Republican, was the Speaker of the House); physicist and programmer!) 
• Lt. Gov. Beverley Perdue (of NC; story)
• Brigadier General Larry Gillespie (Army)  
  
• Major General Scott Gration (USAF-Ret;Former Director of Strategy, Policy, and Assessments of the United States European Command)  
  
• Admiral Don Guter (Navy)  
  
• Brigadier General David "Dave" McGinnis (Former Chief of Staff of the National Guard Association of the U.S) 
  
• General Merrill "Tony" McPeak (Former Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force) 
  
• Admiral John B. Nathman (Former Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command)  
  
• Major General Hugh Robinson (military aide to Lyndon Johnson) 
  
• Brigadier General James Smith (USAF-Ret; Former Commander, Joint Warfighting Center) 
• Admiral Robert "Willie" Williamson (USN-Ret Rear Admiral; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy) 
  
• Major General Ralph Wooten (Army)
  
• Rep. Nick Rahall (of West Virginia; story)
  
• Daniel Kurtzer (former US Ambassador to Israel for Pres. Bush, 2001-2005; quote)
• Former Gov. Hugh Carey (of New York; story)
  
• Current and Former Mayors of Brownsville, TX
• Jim Hightower (progressive populist in TX; statement)
• Sen. Jay Rockefeller (of WV; Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; his strong endorsement)
• Rep. Rob Wexler (of FL)
• Rep. John Barrow (of Georgia)
  
• Senator Byron Dorgan (of North Dakota; story)
• Paul Strauss (shadow Sen. of DC)
• Michael Brown (shadow Sen. of DC)
• Former Gov. Mark White (of Texas)
  
• Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (of South Dakota)
• Sen. Chris Dodd (of CT; former presidential candidate; story)
  
• Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley
• Steve Novick (Merkley's opponent in the US Senate race; story)
• Mayor Mark Mallory (of Cincinnati OH)
• Mayor Michael Coleman (of Columbus OH)
  
• Mayor Donald Culliver (of Mansfield OH)
• Mayor Frank Jackson (of Cleveland OH)
  
• Sen. Russ Feingold (of WI; story) 
• Rep. Steve Kagen (of WI) 
• Rep. Kathy Castor (of FL; story) 
  
• Rep. Ron Kind (of WI; voting with his district)
• Rep. Lloyd Doggett (of TX;story)
  
• Mike Panetta (Shadow Rep. of DC)
  
• Rep. Chet Edwards (of TX; story)
  
• Treasurer Richard Cordray (of Ohio)
  
• Former Mayor Ed Garza (of San Antonio Texas)
  
• Mayor Will Wynn (of Austin TX)
• Rep. Brian Baird (of WA) 
• Rep. John Lewis (of Georgia; civil rights elder statesman; switched from Clinton -- maybe, now definitely)
  
• Rep. David Scott (of Georgia; switched from supporting Clinton)
• Former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee (of Rhode Island; story)
• Christine "Roz" Samuels (NJ superdelegate switched from Clinton to Obama) 
• Governor Aníbal Acevedo Víla (of Puerto Rico, location of the winner-take-all last primary)
  
• David Wilhelm (Bill Clinton's former campaign manager; superdelegate)
  
• Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) 
  
• Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (TX)
  
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (of Oregon)
  
• Rep. Jim Oberstar (of MN)
• Rep. Steve Cohen (TN)
• Rep. James P. Moran (of Virginia)
  
• Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) 
• Rep. Rosa DeLauro (of CT)
  
• Rep. John Yarmuth (KY)
• Rep. David Obey (WI) 
• Rep. Michael Capuano (MA)
• Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch
  
• Frank LaMere (Nebraska superdelegate; chair of DNC Native American Caucus)
• Governor Christine Gregoire (of Washington State)
• Doug Wilder (former Governor of Virginia; currently Mayor of Richmond; statement)
• Governor Chet Culver (of Iowa)
• Rep. Tim Waltz (of Minnesota)
• Several Maryland Politicians
• Several Louisiana Politicians
• Marion Barry (controversial former DC mayor)
• Lawrence Lessig (Internet freedom intellectual; really cool video; transcript)
• Katha Pollitt (journalist and feminist; her reasoning)
• Julie Nixon Eisenhower (daughter of Republican president Richard Nixon; story)
• Maria Shriver (First Lady of California, niece of JFK)
• Kate Michelman (former president of NARAL; former Edwards supporter; her reasoning)
• Harold Varmus (Nobel Prize winner; head of the National Institutes of Health in the Clinton admin; story (be sure to read his last paragraph))
• Susan Eisenhower (granddaughter of President Eisenhower, Washington Post Op Ed)
• Paul Volcker (former Chairman of the Federal Reserve)
• Alma Rangel (wife of powerful Clinton supporter Rep. Charles Rangel)
• Rep. Chris Murphy (of Connecticut)
• Rep. John Larson (of Connecticut)
• Rep. Earl Pomeroy (of North Dakota)
• Elizabeth B. Moynihan (window of fomer NY Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan)
• Governor Kathleen Sebelius (of Kansas)
  
• Rep Anna Eshoo (of California)
• Rep. Raul Grijalva (of Arizona, had endorsed Edwards) 
• Toni Morrison (author who famously called Bill Clinton "the first black president")
• Senator Edward Kennedy (of Massachusetts, brother of JFK)
  
• Caroline Kennedy (daughter of JFK, see A President Like My Father)
• Senator Patrick Leahy (of Vermont)
• Former Senator Jean Carnahan (of Missouri)
  
• Rep. Benny Thompson (of Mississippi)
• Rep. Rick Boucher (of Virginia)
  
• Senator John Kerry (of Massachusetts, former presidential candidate)
• Senator Claire McCaskill (of Missouri, vowed to work hard for Obama)
• Governor Janet Napolitano (of Arizona)
• Former Senator Bill Bradley (of New Jersey, former presidential candidate)
• Rep. George Miller (of California, close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, liberal Democrat)
• Governor Jim Doyle (of Wisconsin)
• Senator Ben Nelson (of Nebraska, a conservative Democrat)
  
• Senator Tim Johnson (of South Dakota, a moderate Democrat)
• Mayor Shirley Franklin (of Atlanta)
• Former Senator Tim Roemer (of Indiana; member of the 9/11 commission)
• Rep. Zoe Lofren (of CA, endorsed in Jan 2008; will vote for him unless somehow Hillary takes the lead--i.e. she is a Pelosi Club Superdelegate)
• Rep. G. K. Butterfield (of NC; supporter of Edwards, switched in January)
• Rep. Adam Schiff (of California)
• Rep. Patrick Murphy (of PA;story)
• Former Senator Tom Daschle (of SD; former Senate Majority Leader; Pelosi Club Superdelegate)
• Alice Walker (Pulitzer Prize winning author; video endorsement) 
• Governor Tim Kaine (of Virginia; first official outside IL to endorse him)

[For a complete list of superdelegates, see this great site]

Pelosi Club Superdelegates (those who will vote for the winner of  the pledged delegates) some of whom are listed above:

• Former President Jimmy Carter (story;my post;officially endorsed)

  “It would be undemocratic if the super-delegates blatantly went against the decision of Democratic voters across the nation.
  
  "And I think that many super-delegates who have not yet declared their preference have the same feeling that I do, including the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She’s said over and over that whoever gets the most [pledged] delegates by June 3rd ought to be the nominee.”

• Denise Johnson (DNC in Texas; story)
• Senator Maria Cantwell (of WA; endorsed Clinton, but will vote for winner of pledged delegates; story; officially endorsed)
  

  “If we have a candidate who has the most delegates and the most states,” the Democratic party should come together around that candidate, Cantwell said. The pledged delegate count will be the most important factor, she said, because that is the basis of the nominating process.

• Former Governor Roy Romer (of Colorado; former co-chair of Bill Clinton's '96 campaign; story;officially endorsed)
• Christine Pelosi (DNC member in CA; daughter of Nancy Pelosi; officially endorsed)
  
• Rep. Nancy Pelosi (of CA; Speaker of the House of Representatives; will vote for  the candidate with the most pledged delegates; Pelosi: Party should heed the will of the voters)

  “If the votes of the super-delegates overturn what happened in the elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic Party,’’ she said.
  
  What if one candidate has won the popular vote and the other claims the most delegates?
  
  “It's a delegate race. In other words, one wins the Electoral College and one wins the popular vote -- guess who's president of the United States. The way the system works is that the delegates choose the nominee."

• Betty Ritchie (DNC Texas; story;officially endorsed)
  

Celebrities, Actors, Musicians (very incomplete):

• Billy Joel (first political endorsement ever) 
• Tom Hanks (video endorsement)
• Michael Moore (filmmaker; upset at Clinton tactics)
• Bruce Springsteen (full quote)

  Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

  He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."
  
  At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams from My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.
  

• Dan Rooney (owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers; story)
• Russell Simmons (Def Jam; story)
• Joan Baez (first time endorsing a candidate)
• Kareem Abdul Jabbar
• Charles Barkley
  
• John Legend
• Usher
• Common (super-Tuesday video)
• Dave Matthews
• The Grateful Dead
• Robert De Niro (actor, usually apolitical)
• Garrison Keillor (host of A Prairie Home Companion)
  
• will.i.am
• Scarlett Johansson
• Oprah
• Stevie Wonder
• George Clooney

Organizations:

• Cuban American National Foundation (Jorge Santos column)
• Mathew 25 Network (argues that fewer abortions would occur in an Obama administration)
• 200 Former Diplomats (story)
• National Association of Police Organizations (287,000 police officers;story)
  
• 400 Rabbis (full story requires login)
• Association of Professional Flight Attendants (19,000 members; story)
  
• The National Organization for Women (NOW; 500,000 members; first endorsement in a presidential race since 1984)
•  Business and Professional Women PAC
•  National Association of Social Workers
•  National Congress of Black Women
•  Women's Information Network
• League of Conservation Voters (story)
  
• National Association of Letter Carriers (300,000 members; motion by Sen. Clinton)
• Planned Parenthood
  
• AFL-CIO (10 million members)
• Sierra Club (1.3 million members)
• Oregon AFSCME Council 75
  
• United Steelworkers Union (600,000 members)
• NARAL (!)
• American Federation of Government Employees (600,000 members, the nation's largest federal employee union; press release)
• Friends of the Earth Action
• Princeton College Democrats
  
• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (85,000 members, affiliated with AFL-CIO;story;press release)
  
• 43 NC Mayors
• 29 NC state lawmakers
• The American Hunters & Shooters Association (story)
• US Postal Workers Union (300,000 members)
  
• Some Philadelphia Lawmakers
  
• Philadelphia chapter of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (16,000 members)
  
• Laborers District Council of Metro Philadelphia (10,000 members)
  
• 60 Pennsylvania Jewish Leaders (story)
• 25 Indiana State Legislators (story)

  "There, you've had it, Indiana, north, south, east, west, middle. Black, white, Hispanic. Urban, rural. We cross all of these spectrum. And with those kinds of demographics that Indiana possesses, those are precisely the demographics that will make Barack Obama the next president of the United States." -- State Sen. Earline Rogers

• Oregon  Council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME; story) 
• Harrisburg PA City Council
• Philly for Change
• University of Penn Democrats
• Social Security Administration Union (25,000 members)
• 1500 Feminists for Peace (story; grew out of NY group listed below)
• Akron/Canton group of pastors (story)
• Change to Win (7 unions, 6 million members (many included below); press release)
• The Teamsters (1.4 million members)
• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (65,ooo members; part of AFL-CIO; statement)
• Texas group called the Mexican American Democrats
  
• Service Employees International Union (1.9 million members;press release)
• United Food and Commercial Workers (1.1 million members)
• Washington State Service Employees International Union (100,000 members)
  
• MoveOn.org (3.2 million members)
• New York Feminists for Peace (statement)
• CA Service Employees International Union (650,000 members)
• NY Transport Workers Union (200,000 members)
• Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (800,000 members)
  
• Nevada Culinary Workers Union (60,000 members)
  
• Unite Here
• United Association of Plumbers and Piperfitters (January 2008 endorsement)

Newspapers (Primary and General Election--see also this list) (Republican leaning papers in red):

• UK - The Economist for General Election: It's Time

  "America should take a chance and make Barack Obama the next leader of the free world.

  The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly.

  Merely by becoming president, he would dispel many of the myths built up about America: it would be far harder for the spreaders of hate in the Islamic world to denounce the Great Satan if it were led by a black man whose middle name is Hussein; and far harder for autocrats around the world to claim that American democracy is a sham.  America’s allies would rally to him."

• UK - The Financial Times for General Election
• UK - Nature [the weekly science journal] America's choice
• US - College Newspapers for Obama 66-2 (story)
• US - Esquire for General Election, their first ever
• US - Rolling Stone (I just had to attach this link :) )
• US - The Nation
• AK - Anchorage Daily News (largest newspaper in Alaska) for General Election

  "Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career...

  Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time."

• AL - Birmingham News (primary only)
• AL - Decatur Daily for General Election
• AL - Florence Daily Times for General Election
• AL - Montgomery Advertiser for General Election
• AL - Tuscaloosa News (General Election)
• AR - Benton County Daily Record for general election
• AZ - The Arizona Republic (primary only)
• AZ - Arizona Star for General Election (McCain's home state) Barack Obama for President
• CA - Black Voice News
• CA - Chico News & Review
• CA- The Fresno Bee for General Election
• CA - Hoy for General Election Obama para presidente
• CA - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
• CA - La Opinión (General Election: Barack Obama para presidente)
• CA - Long Beach Leader
• CA - Long Beach Press Telegram for General Election
• CA - Los Angeles Sentinel
• CA - The Los Angeles Daily News for General Election
• CA - The Los Angeles Times (General Election: first time endorsing a Democratic nominee ever, done without hesitation)
• CA - Marin Pacific Sun
• CA - Modesto Bee (General Election)
• CA - Monterey County Herald for General Election
• CA - North Bay Bohemian
• CA - Oakland Tribune for General Election
• CA - Palm Springs Desert Sun
• CA - Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News for General Election
• CA - Precinct Reporter
• CA - Riverside Press-Enterprise
• CA - Sacramento Bee (General Election)
• CA - San Bernadino Sun for General Election
• CA - San Diego City Beat
• CA - San Francisco Bay Guardian
• CA - San Francisco Bay View
• CA - San Francisco Chronicle (General Election)
• CA - San Gabriel Valley Tribune for General Election
• CA - San Jose Mercury News (General Election: "Seize the historic moment")
• CA- San Mateo Country Times for General Election
• CA - Santa Barbara Independent
• CA - Santa Cruz Sentinel (General Election)
• CA - Tri County Bulletin
• CA - Tri-Valley Herald for General Election
• CA - Stockton Record (General Election: first for a Democrat since FDR in 1936)
• CO - Aspen Daily News for General Election
• CO - Boulder Daily Camera for General Election
• CO - Denver Post for General Election
• CO - Durango Times for General Election
• CO - El Semanario for General Election
• CO - Gunnison Times General Election endorsement
• CO - Rocky Mountain News
• CT - The Day (re-endorsement for Rhode Island voters)
• CT - Connecticut Post
• CT - Hartford Courant for General Election (only second Democrat backed in 244 years)
• CT - New Haven Register for General Election
• CT - Norwich Bulletin (General Election)
• DC - The Washington Post for General Election:

  "Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment."

• DE - News Journal for General Election
• KY - Louisville Courier-Journal (and Southern Indiana)
• FL - Daytona Beach News-Journal for General Election
• FL - Florida Today for General Election
• FL - Gainesville Sun
• FL - Miami Herald for General Election
• FL - Naples Daily-News for General Election
• FL - Orlando Sentinel for General Election
• FL - Pensacola News-Journal for General Election
• FL - Palm Beach Post (General Election)
• FL - The Sun-Sentinel (General Election)
• FL - Sarasota Herald-Tribune for General Election (Why Obama? His record, judgment, temperament)
• FL - Tampa Tribune
• FL - St. Petersburg Times (General Election)
• GA - Atlanta Journal Constitution (General Election)
• GA - Atlanta Daily World
• GA - Columbus Ledger Enquirer for General Election
• GA - Macon Telegraph for General Election
• GA - Serma Times-Journal for General Election
• HI - The Honolulu Advertiser
  
• HI - Honolulu Star Bulletin for General Election
• IA - Ames Iowa State Daily
• IA - Des Moines El Latino
• IA - Des Moines Register for General Election
• IA - Iowa City Press Citizen
• IA - Iowa City Daily Iowan
• IA - Logan Herald-Observer
• IA - Mason City Globe Gazette for General Election
• IA - Ottumwa Courier
• IA - Sioux City Journal
• IA - The Storm Lake Times for General Election
• ID - The Idaho Statesman for General Election
• IL - Chicago Defender
• IL - Chicago Sun-Times (General Election)
• IL - Chicago Tribune (re-endorsement: Indiana, go with Obama) (General Election: first endorsement of a Democratic nominee ever)

  "Many Americans say they're uneasy about Obama. He's pretty new to them.
  
  We can provide some assurance. We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president.
  
  We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready...

  It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States."

• IL - Daily Herald
• IL - Belleville News Democrat
• IL - The Pantagraph for General Election
• IN - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette for General Election
• IN - Gary Post-Tribune
• IN - Lafayette Journal and Courier for General Election
• IN - Merrillville Post-Tribune for General Election
• IN - The Muncie Star (general election)
• IN - Richmond Paladium-Item for General Election
• KY - Ledger Independent for General Election
• KY - Lexington Herald-Leader for General Election
• KY - Louisville Courier- Journal for General Election
• MA - Bay State Banner
• MA - Boston Globe (General Election)
• MA - Daily News Tribune
• MA - The Springfield Republican
• MD - Baltimore Sun (General Election)
• ME - Bangor News for General Election
• ME - Brunswick Times Record for General Election
• ME - Portland Press Herald
• MI - Battle Creek Enquirer for General Election
• MI - Bay City Times for General Election
• MI - Detroit Free Press for General Election
• MI - Lansing State Journal for General Election
• MI - Livingston Daily for General Election
• MI - Michigan Chronicle for General Election
• MI - The Muskeegan Chronicle for General Election
• MI - Saginaw News for General Election
• MN - St. Cloud Times for General Election
• MN - Star Tribune for General Election
• MO - Columbia Daily Tribune for General Election
• MO - Joplin Globe for General Election
• MO - Kansas City Call
• MO - Kansas City Star for General Election
• MO - The St. Louis American
• MO - St. Louis Post-Dispatch (general election)
• MS - Jackson Clarion Register for General Election
• MT - Billings Gazette for General Election
• MT - Independent Record for General Election
• MT - Montana Standard for General Election
• NC - Ashville Citizen-Times for General Election
• NC - Charlotte Observer (General Election)
• NC - Durham Herald Sun for General Election
• NC - Greenville Daily Reflector for General Election
• NC - News & Observer for General Election
• NC - Rayleigh News and Observer for General Election
• NC - Wilmington Star News for General Election
• NH - Cabinet Press for General Election
• NH - Concord Monitor for General Election
• NH - Littleton Courier
• NH - Nashua Telegraph (General Election)
• NH - Portsmouth Herald (General Election)
• NH - Valley News
• NM - Albuquerque Tribune
• NM - Farmington Daily Times for General Election We like John McCain, but who is Sarah Palin?  

  "The tip of the scale for us came with McCain's choice of a vice presidential candidate. Few of us are convinced that Sarah Palin is ready to be the president of the United States, and as with any vice president, she would be only one heartbeat away if McCain is elected. Further, we question McCain's judgment in making such a choice...All of our previous endorsements have supported the Republican ticket.  We, however, must break ranks and endorse Barack Obama for president."

• NM - Las Cruces Sun-News for General Election
• NM - Santa Fe New Mexican (General Election)
• NJ - Asbury Park Press for General Election
• NJ - Bergen Record for General Election
• NJ - The Trenton Times (General Election)
• NJ - The Star-Ledger (General Election)
• NV - Elko Free Press
• NV - El Tiempo for General Election
• NV - Las Vegas Review Journal
• NV - Las Vegas Sun for General Election
• NV - Reno Gazette Journal (General Election)
• NY - Buffulo News for General Election
• NY - El Diario/La Prensa for General Election
• NY - Newsday for General Election
• NY - The New York Daily News for General Election
• NY - The New Yorker for General Election
• NY - New York Observer
• NY - New York Post (primary only)
• NY - The New York Times for General Election

  Barack Obama for President

  "It will be an enormous challenge just to get the nation back to where it was before Mr. Bush, to begin to mend its image in the world and to restore its self-confidence and its self-respect. Doing all of that, and leading America forward, will require strength of will, character and intellect, sober judgment and a cool, steady hand.
  
  Mr. Obama has those qualities in abundance...
  
  We believe he has the will and the ability to forge
  the broad political consensus that is essential to finding
  solutions to this nation's problems."

• OH - Akron Beacon Journal for General Election
• OH - The Athens Post (nuanced endorsement)
• OH - Cleveland Plain Dealer (General Election)
• OH - The Canton Repository (General Election endorsement)
• OH - The Cincinnati Enquirer (audio interview) (for primary only)
• OH - Dayton Daily News (General Election)
  

  "Meanwhile, the Republican Party is asking the American people to ignore their discontent with President George W. Bush and give the party another chance. But if a party can retain the presidency after failing in it — just by putting up somebody different — then accountability is undercut. Failure should exact a political price. If it doesn't, failure becomes harder to deter."

• OH - Hamilton Journal-News for General Election
• OH - Mansfield News Journal for General Election
• OH - The Springfiled-Sun News for General Election
• OH - The Times-Reporter for General Election
• OH - The Toledo Blade (General Election)
• OH - Youngstown Vindicator for General Election
• OH - Zanesville Times Recorder for General Election
• OR - East Oregonian for General Election
• OR - Eugene Register-Guard (General Election)
• OR - Mail Tribune for General Election
• OR- Oregonian for General Election
• OR - Portland Tribune
• OR - Salem Statesman Journal for General Election
• PA - Allentown Morning Call
• PA - The Bucks County Courier Times
• PA - Dubois Courier-Express for general election
• PA - The Daily Item
• PA - The Daily and Sunday Review
• PA - Easton Press Times for General Election 
• PA - Erie Times-News for General Election
• PA - The Lehigh Valley Express-Times for General Election
• PA - The New Castle News
• PA - Philadelphia Inquirer (General Election)
• PA - The Patriot-News (general election)
• PA - The Philadelphia Daily News (General Election)
• PA - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (General Election)
• PA - Pocono Record for General Election
• PA - Pottstown Mercury for General Election
• PA - The Scranton Times-Tribune (General Election)
• PA - The Washington Observer Reporter
• PA - The Wilkes-Barre Citizen's Voice
• PA - York Daily Record for General Election
• RI - Providence Journal for General Election
• SC - Charleston Post and Courier
• SC - The State
• SC - The Rock Hill Herald
• SC - The Greenville News
• TN - The Tennessean for General Election
• TN - Tri-State Defender
• TX - Dallas Morning News (primary only)
• TX - The Austin American-Statesman (General Election)
• TX - The Corpus Christi Caller-Times (primary only)
  
• TX - The Eagle for General Election
• TX - The El Paso Times
• TX - Houston Chronicle (General Election)
• TX - Fort Worth Star-Telegram (General Election)
• TX - Longview News-Journal (General Election)
• TX - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (primary only)
• TX - San Angelo Standard-Times
• TX - San Antonio Express-News (primary only)
  
• UT - The Salt Lake Tribune for General Election (A simple choice)
• UT - San Angelo Standard Times for General Election
• VA - Falls Church News Press for General Election
• VA- Staunton News Leader for General Election
• WA - The Columbian for General Election
• WA - The Seattle Times (General Election)
  
• WA - Seattle Post Intell. for General Election
• WA - Yakama Herald-Republic for General Election
• WI - Chippewa Herald for General Election
• WI - Kenosha News for General Election
• WI - Lacrosse Tribune for General Election
• WI - Marshfield News Herald for General Election
• WI - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (General Election)
• WI - State Journal for General Election
• WV - The Charleston Gazette (largest paper in WV) (General Election)

  "We hope they support the brilliant, inspiring, eloquent frontrunner in the race, Barack Obama.
  
  Sen. Obama is a rare figure in U.S. politics - a deep thinker who rises above partisan sniping and makes statecraft seem noble. He raises hope that, after the disastrous Bush years mercifully come to an end, Americans can again be proud of their national leader."

• WY - Caspar Star-Tribune (Dick Cheney's hometown paper) for General Election Obama can lead us through troubled times

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Obama 30 Minute TV Message--It's About Us

Here is the 3o minute video the Obama campaign aired tonight on network television (minus three minutes of live feed from Florida shown at the end).  The video weaves through the tapestry of his campaign by tracing the threads of people across the US.

Senator Obama's campaign has been different in many ways, but principally because it has been driven by ordinary citizens.  We have contributed the money which has fueled it. We have provided the stories which inspired it. We have used our creativity, our ideas, and our heart to further it. We have created art, music, videos, and blogs.  We have made calls and knocked on doors in neighboring states.  We have held house parties and major concerts.  And the campaign has welcomed our participation and involved us at nearly every level.  A vote for Obama is a vote for us.

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Obama's Closing Argument

Here is the full video of Obama's speech in Canton OH, one week before the election.  It is effectively his closing argument:  We cannot afford to keep doing the same thing.  We need to move forward forcefully but pragmatically.  And though the times ahead will be challenging, there is hope if we are willing to change. 

 

If you can't listen to the whole thing, at least listen starting at 28:14 for his inspiring uniting closing message of hope. 

TRANSCRIPT

One week. (Cheers, applause.) One week. (Cheers, applause.)

After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California and everywhere in between, we are one week away from changing America. (Cheers, applause.)

In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks right here in Canton, folks right on Main Street. (Cheers, applause.)

In one week, you can choose. You can choose policies that invest in our middle-class and create new jobs and grow this economy from the bottom-up, so that everyone has a chance to succeed, from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor, from the factory owner to the men and women on the factory floor. In one week. (Cheers, applause.)

In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation, just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region and city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope. In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need. You can do that. (Cheers, applause.)

You know, we began this journey in the depths of winter, nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, the place where Abraham Lincoln served for so many years.

You know, back then, we didn't have much money and we didn't have many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits. And we knew how steep our climb would be.

But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas and new leadership and a new kind of politics, one that favors common sense over ideology, one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans. (Cheers, applause.)

Most of all, I believed in you. I believed in your ability to make change happen. I knew that the American people were a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. (Cheers, applause.)

And I was absolutely convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists or the most vicious political attacks -- (cheers) -- or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are. (Cheers, applause.)

And Canton, 21 months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That's how we've come so far, how we've come so close -- because of you. That's how we'll change this country -- with your help. That's why we cannot afford to slow down or sit back. We cannot let up for one day, or one minute, or one second in this last week. (Cheers, applause.) Not now, not when there's so much is at stake. One week. (Cheers, applause.)

We are in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. I don't have to tell you, Ohio; 760,000 workers have lost their jobs so far this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling. Pensions are disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the cost of everything from health care to college have never been higher. It's getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month.

At a moment like this, the last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired, worn-out, old theory -- (cheers) -- that says -- that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity trickles down on everybody else. The last thing -- the last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations. (Cheers.) Those are the theories that got us into this mess. They haven't worked, and it is time for change. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, Senator McCain has served this country honorably. And Senator McCain can point to a few moments, like torture, where he has broken with George Bush over the past eight years. He deserves credit for that. He deserves credit for that.

But when it comes to the economy -- when it comes to the central issue of our time, the central issue of this election -- the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this president every step of the way, voting for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he once opposed; voting for the Bush budgets that spent us into debt; calling for less regulation 21 times just this year.

Those are the facts.

And now after 21 months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy. (Cheers, applause.) Not one thing. Senator McCain says we can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change, but you understand that the biggest gamble we can take is to embrace the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years. (Cheers, applause.) We can't afford to take that risk.

It's not change when John McCain wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO. It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies or 300 billion (dollars) to the same Wall Street banks that got us into this mess. (Boos.) It's not change when he comes up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans. That is not change. (Applause.)

So look, Ohio, we have tried it John McCain's way. We have tried it George Bush's way. And deep down -- deep down, Senator McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." (Applause.) That's why he's spending these last weeks calling me every name in the book -- (boos) -- because that's how you play the game in Washington. If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas and maybe make some up. (Boos, applause.) If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from. You make -- you make a big election about small things.

Ohio, we're here to say not this time, not this year -- (cheers, applause) -- not when so much is at stake. (Cheers, applause.) John McCain might be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their homes and their jobs and their life savings. (Cheers, applause.) I can take one more week of John McCain's attacks, but this country can't take four more years of the same failed politics -- (cheers) -- and the same failed policies. It's time to try something new. (Cheers, applause.) It is time, Canton, to try something new. (Cheers.)

The question in this election is not are you better off than you were four years ago. We all know the answer to that. The real question is, will this country be better off four years from now? (Cheers, applause.)

I know these are difficult times. They're difficult times for Ohio; they're difficult times for America. But I also know that we've faced difficult times before. The American story has never been about things coming easy, it's been about rising to the moment when the moment was hard. It's about seeing the highest mountaintop from the deepest of valleys. It's about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose.

That's how we overcame war and depression. That's how we've won great struggles for civil rights and women's rights and workers' rights. That's how we'll emerge from this crisis stronger and more prosperous than we were before, as one nation and as one people. (Cheers, applause.)

Remember, we still have the most talented, most productive workers of any country on Earth. We're still home to innovation and technology, colleges and universities that are the envy of the world. Some of the biggest, brightest ideas in history have come from our small businesses; in the back of somebody's garage, in our research facilities.

So there's no reason we can't make this century another American century. We just need --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mike.)

SEN. OBAMA: -- we just need a new direction. We just need a new politics.

Now, understand, I don't believe that government can or should try to solve all our problems. You don't believe that either. But I do believe that government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves -- protect us from harm; provide a decent education for all children -- (cheers, applause); invest in new roads and new bridges, in new science and technology. (Applause.) Our government should reward drive and innovation and encourage growth in the free market, but it should also make sure businesses live up to their responsibility to create American jobs, and look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. (Cheers, applause.)

It should ensure a shot at success, not just for those with money and power and influence, but for every single American who's willing to work. That's how we create not just more millionaires or more billionaires, but how we create more middle-class families. That's how we make sure businesses have customers that can afford their products or services. That's how we've always grown the American economy -- from the bottom-up. John McCain calls this socialism.

I call it opportunity. (Cheers, applause.) And there is nothing more American than that. (Cheers, applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!

SEN. OBAMA: Thank you.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Obama! Obama!

SEN. OBAMA: Look, if we want get through this crisis -- if we want to get through this crisis, we need to get beyond the old ideological debates and divides between the left and the right. We don't need bigger government or smaller government. We need better government. (Cheers.) We need a more competent government. We need a government that upholds the values we hold in common as Americans.

We don't have to choose between allowing our financial system to collapse and spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street banks. As president, I will ensure the financial rescue plan helps stop foreclosures and protects your money instead of enriching CEOs. (Cheers, applause.) And I'll put in place the common- sense regulations that I've been calling for throughout this campaign so that Wall Street can never cause a crisis like this again. That's the change we need. (Applause.)

The choice -- the choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts. It's about whether you believe we should only reward wealth, or whether we should also reward the workers (sic) and workers who create wealth. (Cheers, applause.) I will give a tax break to 95 percent of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paychecks every week. (Cheers, applause.) I'll eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000. (Cheers, applause.) And we're going to give homeowners and working parents more of a break. (Cheers, applause.) And yes, I'll help pay for this by asking the folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. (Cheers, applause.)

No matter what John McCain may claim, here are the facts. If you make under $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime; not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. No taxes. Because the last thing we should do in this economy is raise taxes on the middle class. (Applause.) And we have been saying that throughout this campaign.

Now, when it comes to jobs, the choice in this election is not between putting up a wall around America or allowing every job to disappear overseas. The truth is, we won't be able to bring back every single job that we've lost here in Ohio or across the country, but that doesn't mean we should follow John McCain's plan to keep giving tax breaks to corporations that send American jobs overseas. (Cheers.)

I will end those breaks as president. (Cheers, applause.) I will give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create right here in Ohio, right here in the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country. We'll create 2 million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges and schools, by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country.

And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy -- (cheers, applause) -- to create 5 million new energy jobs over the next decade -- jobs that pay well; jobs that can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid -- (cheers, applause continue) -- jobs building the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow, not in Japan, not in South Korea but right here in the U.S. of A. -- (sustained cheers, applause) -- jobs that will help us eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in 10 years and help save the planet in the bargain. That's how America can lead again.

When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run health care system and the unaffordable one we have now. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower your premiums. (Cheers, applause.) If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress give themselves. (Cheers, applause.)

We'll invest in preventive care and new technology to finally lower the cost of health care for families and businesses and the entire economy. And as someone -- as someone who watched his own mother spend the final months of her life arguing with insurance companies because they claimed her cancer was a pre-existing condition and they didn't want to pay for her treatment, I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most. You can count on that. (Cheers, applause.)

When it comes to giving every child a world-class education -- (applause) -- so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, the choice is not between more money and more reform, because our schools need both. As president, I will invest in early childhood education -- (cheers, applause) -- to close the achievement gap. We'll recruit an army of new teachers. We'll pay them more money. We'll give them more support. (Cheers, applause.)

But I will also demand higher standards and more accountability from everybody, from our teachers and principals and our schools. (Cheers, applause.) And I will make a deal with every young American who has the drive and the will but not the money to go to college: If you commit to serving your community or your country in national service, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. (Cheers, applause.)

You invest in America; America will invest in you. Together we'll move this country forward.

When it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. It is time to stop spending $10 billion a month, in Iraq, while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. (Cheers, applause.)

As president, I will end this war, by asking -- (cheers, applause) -- by asking the Iraqi government to step up, and finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

I will never hesitate to defend this nation. But I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home. We will treat our veterans with honor and respect. (Cheers, applause.)

I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again viewed as that last, best hope for all, who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, who yearn for a better future.

Now, Canton, I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy, especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, the cost of the war in Iraq means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we can afford to do without.

On this, there is no other choice. As president, I will go through the federal budget, line by line, ending programs that we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.

But as I've said from the day we began this journey, all those months ago, the change we need isn't just about new programs and policies. It's about a new attitude. It's about new politics, a politics that calls on our better angels, instead of encouraging our worst instincts, one that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another.

Part of the reason this economic crisis occurred is, because we have been living through an era of profound irresponsibility. On Wall Street, easy money and an ethic of "what's good for me is good enough" blinded greedy executives to the dangers in decisions that they were making. On Main Street, lenders tricked people into buying homes they couldn't afford. Some folks knew they couldn't afford those houses and bought them anyway.

In Washington, politicians spent money they didn't have and allowed lobbyists to set the agenda.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yeah!

SEN. OBAMA: They scored political points instead of solving our problems.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Right!

SEN. OBAMA: And even after the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, all we were asked to do by our president was to go out and shop. That's why what we've lost in these last eight years can't be measured just by lost wages or bigger trade deficits.

What's also been lost is the idea that in this American story, each of us has a role to play. Each of us have responsibilities to work hard, to look after ourselves and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to look out for each other, our fellow citizens. (Cheers, applause.) That's what's been lost these last eight years, our common sense of purpose, our sense of higher purpose. That's what we need to restore right now. That's one of the reasons I'm running for president of the United States of America. (Cheers, sustained applause.)

So yes, government must lead the way on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair, but all of us have to do our part as parents, to turn off the TV set and read to our children, to take responsibility for providing love and guidance. (Cheers, applause.)

Yes, we can argue and debate our positions passionately, but all of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort -- black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; Democrat, Republican; young, old; rich, poor, gay, straight; disabled or not. All of us have to come together. (Cheers, sustained applause.)

Ohio, in this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another, to make us afraid of one another. The stakes are too high to divide us by class and region and background; by who we are or what we believe. Because, despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else. (Cheers, applause. We're one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots. (Cheers, applause.)

There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women who serve in our battlefields -- some may be Democrats, some may be Republicans, others independents, but they fought together and they bled together, and some died together, under the same proud flag. (Cheers, applause.)

They have not served a red America or a blue America. They served the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

It won't be easy, Ohio. It won't be easy; it won't be quick. But you and I know that it is time to come together and change this country. (Cheers.) Some of you may be cynical. Some of you may be fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed and even angry with your leaders, and you have every right to be. But despite all of this -- (applause) -- I ask of you what has been asked of Americans throughout our history. I ask you to believe, not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.

I know this change is possible, because I've seen it -- I've seen it over the last 21 months -- because in this campaign, I've had the privilege to witness what is best in America. I've seen it in the lines of voters that stretched around schools and churches; in the young people who cast their ballots for the first time -- (applause) -- and those not so young folks who got involved again after a very long time. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see their friends lose their jobs; in the neighbors who take in a stranger when the floodwaters rise; in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb. I've seen it in the faces of the men and women I've met at countless rallies and town halls across the country, men and women who speak of their struggles but also of their hopes, of their dreams.

I still remember the e-mail that a woman named Robyn sent me after I met her in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sometime after our event, her son nearly went into cardiac arrest. He was diagnosed with a heart condition that could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay, and their family didn't have that kind of money.

In her e-mail, Robyn wrote, "I ask only this of you -- on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder." (Cheers, applause.)

Ohio, that's what hope is -- (cheers, applause) -- that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting around the bend -- (cheers, applause) -- that insists there are better days ahead if we're willing to work for it; if we're willing to shed our fears and our doubts; if we're willing to reach deep down inside ourselves when we're tired, when we're worn out and we come back fighting harder. (Cheers, applause.)

Hope -- that's what kept some of our parents and grandparents going when times were tough, what led them to say, "Maybe I can't go to college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can go to college -- (applause) -- maybe I can't have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open one of her own." Hope -- it's what led immigrants from distant lands to come to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their families in America; what led those who couldn't vote to march and organize and stand for freedom -- (cheers, applause) -- that led them to cry out, "It may look dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."

That's what this election is about. That's the choice we face right now. (Cheers, applause.)

Canton, don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have a lot of work to do. We have to work like our future depends on it, in this last week, because it does depend on it this week. (Cheers, applause.)

In one week's time, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom up. In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families and education for our kids and renewable energy for our future.

In one week, we can choose hope over fear and unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo. In one week, we can come together, as one nation and one people, and once more choose our better history. (Cheers, applause.)

That's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me and make some calls for me and talk to your neighbors and convince your friends; if you will stand with me and fight with me and give me your vote, then I promise you, we will not just win Ohio; we will win this general election. And together we'll change this country and we will change the world.

God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Let's get to work. (Cheers, applause.)

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Obama's Defining Moment Ad

I have spent all my blog time keeping the running list of endorsements up to date (that post has been getting about 100 hits a day of late).  I will try to make some short posts rather than none at all.

This 2 minute ad lays out Barack's closing argument.  As usual, he balances forward-thinking ideas with pragmatism.

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2008 Nobel Prize in Physics

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to two different achieve- ments.  Both relate to symmetry breaking, but in very different ways.  All three recipients, Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, certainly deserved the prize, but Nambu should have gotten the prize years ago, and they should given the prize to Nicola Cabibbo as well—after all it is called the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism!

In brief, this is what they did.

Nambu explained how protons and neutrons could get mass in the same way that superconductivity happens.  If that doesn't sound ground-breaking, I don't know what does!  He showed that a symmetry in something called a quantum field theory can be "spontaneously broken".   

Think of looking down at a pencil from above.  What is the most symmetric way of placing the pencil?  Why on its point!  That way, if you rotate your view, it looks the same.  But of course that is not a stable situation.  The pencil immediately falls over.  Which way?  Well, it goes spontaneously in a random direction.  And after it falls, the situation isn't invariant under rotations—the symmetry is broken.  That is in essence what Nambu showed worked in a quantum field theory—that the most stable state need not be the most symmetric one.

Now on to a completely different topic.  There are three families of quarks: up-down, charm-strange, and top-bottom (yes, these are silly names).  Back when we knew about only two of them, Nicola Cabibbo realized that they could mix together—that if you started a process with a strange quark, there was a chance you could end it with a down quark.  Such mixing is controlled by just one parameter, the Cabibbo angle.  (It's an angle of rotation in quark mixing space.)

A puzzle at the time was how to explain CP violation—the observation that the symmetries of charge conjugation (C, switching + and -) and parity (P, switching left and right) were not actually good symmetries of nature.   In other words, if you took some processes and switched both + and - charges and left and right, you didn't get the same result (trust me, that's odd).

Kobayashi and Maskawa realized in 1973 that if there were a third family of quarks (there is, but no one knew it then), one would get not only other mixing angles, but something called a phase.  This phase was just what one needed to explain CP violation.

In brief, they came up with a mechanism which explained the existing observation of CP violation by proposing that there was a third family of quarks—and lo and behold a third family of quarks was found a few years later!  Come to think of it, Cabibbo, Kobayashi, and Maskawa should have won years ago.

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