Plans for Obama inaugural ball discussed in Wichita

WICHITA, Kansas--If you can't make it to Washington D.C. for Barak Obama's historical inauguration, don't worry there will be plenty of excitement in Kansas, where the president elect has family ties.

On Saturday, the Obama Kansas Change Committee continued discussing plans for what it is calling the Obama Kansas Historical Inaugural Ball.

The all day event will feature lunch, a church service, a parade and of course live television coverage of Obama's swearing in in Washington.

Donations of $150 are required, you must RSVP by January sixth.

Call (316) 729-7109 for more information.

Visit The NEW Obama Leadership Store: http://www.cafepress.com/obama_change_08

Happy Holidays!

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Barack Obama: Yes, He Could

Quite A Year, As Illinois Senator Claims Presidency


President-elect Barack Obama Accepting The Mantle
(AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)


The Rise Of Barack Obama

In one of the most talked about Presidential campaigns in U.S. history, Barack Obama took the nation and the world by storm. Joel Brown reports on his meteoric rise to the White House.

In the first week of 2008, Barack Obama rocked the political world with a win in the Iowa caucuses. But the question remained: Could this black man with a rich personal history and sparse elective resume make it all the way to the presidency?

Yes, he could.

Obama took us along on a wild ride, smashing political and racial barriers as he was elected the nation's 44th president in an electoral landslide. His message of hope and change - and the viral YouTube mantra of "Yes, we can" - resonated with millions of voters after eight years of George W. Bush.

All election years are for the history books, but this one seemed especially historic: The racial angle. The high stakes. The fascinating personalities. The huge amount of money raised. The intense, sometimes over-the-top interest in this campaign.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," Obama told his supporters gathered in Chicago's Grant Park on election night, and multitudes more in a restive nation.

It was quite a year.

Iowa is 95 percent white and 2.5 percent black, hardly hospitable numbers for a black candidate.

Yet, on Jan. 3, Obama glided to a win in the leadoff Iowa caucuses, a victory that signaled the strength of his campaign organization and the candidate's appeal beyond racial lines. It was Obama's oratory - delivered by memory - at the state's Jefferson-Jackson dinner months earlier that got Democrats thinking about the Illinois senator as their nominee.

"I never expected to be here. I always knew this journey was improbable. I've never been on a journey that wasn't," Obama told the Iowa audience.

Visit The NEW Obama Leadership Store: http://www.cafepress.com/obama_change_08

Forward this link to everyone you know. All profits help the cause,

Happy Holidays!

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BACK TO THE OBAMA LEADERSHIP HOMEPAGE:

Visit The NEW Obama Leadership Store

Visit The NEW Obama Leadership Store: http://www.cafepress.com/obama_change_08

Forward this link to everyone you know. All profits help the cause,

Happy Holidays!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACK TO THE OBAMA LEADERSHIP HOMEPAGE:

Obama's Staff Cleared in Blagojevich Affair

Internal report conducted by the future White House legal counsel has cleared the staff of US president-elect Barak Obama of any wrongdoing in the Blagojevich affair.

Rod Blagojevich is the governor of Illinois, the state that Mr Obama represented in the US Senate before being elected president. The governor is suspected of attempting to sell to the highest bidder the Senate seat left vacant by Mr Obama.

The internal report has determined that none of Mr Obama's staff were involved in the attempted sale. In particular, the role of Mr Obama's future chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel came under particular scrutiny. The report determined that, while Mr Emanuel had discussed the vacant seat with Mr Blagojevich, and suggested a possible candidate, he had offered the governor no reward for choosing that candidate.

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