By Sam Graham-Felsen - Feb 13th, 2008 at 12:58 pm EST

JANESVILLE, WI – Following a tour of the Janesville General Motors Assembly Plant this morning, Senator Barack Obama will deliver a major economic policy address where he will lay out his comprehensive agenda to restore economic balance and fairness, reclaim the American dream, and create millions of new jobs.

Obama’s comprehensive agenda to restore fairness and balance to the economy and restore our prosperity includes:

· Protecting Homeowners: Obama has proposed a fund to offer direct relief to victims of mortgage fraud and would ease the burden on struggling homeowners by offering a tax credit to low- and middle-income Americans that would cover ten percent of their mortgage interest payment every year.

· Combating Fraud: Obama would institute tough new penalties for those who commit mortgage fraud, and create a uniform HOME SCORE that would allow consumers to compare various mortgage products so that they can determine which mortgage best fits their needs and financial situation.

· Middle-Class Tax Cut – Obama is the only candidate to propose a middle-class tax cut that will provide relief to 95% of working Americans -- $1,000 per working family. He’ll also eliminate income taxes for any senior making less than $50,000.

US Democrats have clashed over the role of unelected party leaders in choosing between senators Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama to be the party's White House nominee.

Advisers to Senator Clinton, who is trailing Senator Obama after losing eight straight contests, suggested today hundreds of "superdelegates" - party activists, lawmakers and former presidents who get a vote at the Democratic convention in August - were not bound by the results of voting in their home states.

Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio, a Clinton supporter and himself a superdelegate, said the independence of superdelegates was part of the process, and "those are the rules".

"To imply that somehow party bosses are going to thwart the will of the people, I think, is a distortion of the process that we have in place, that we have created as a Democratic Party," he said overnight on Fox.

As a superdelegate, Gov Strickland said "I think my responsibility is to vote my conscience, and I intend to do that".

"I would hope that all the superdelegates would do the same."

Friday, February 15, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the shooting at Northern Illinois University:

"Yesterday, twenty-two men and women were shot, and six were killed, when a madman walked into a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and opened fire.

"We hear about heartbreaking, mindless acts of violence like this day after day, week after week. They come in and out of the headlines, and after awhile, most of the world goes on. But for all the loved ones who are left behind, the pain and the sorrow remain for a very, very long time. Today we offer them our prayers, but we must also offer them our determination to do whatever it takes to eradicate this violence from our streets and our schools; from our neighborhoods and our cities. That is our duty as Americans, and that is our solemn obligation as mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, neighbors and friends.

"Michelle and I offer our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims. They will be in our prayers."

Washington, Feb 13 (Latin Press)

After winning the primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the capital, US Senator Barack Obama is leading Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

With the three wins yesterday, the legislator has had eight victories in an equal number of competitions in the last days, including the primaries in Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, Virgin Island, and Maine.

In views of those defeats, Hillary Clinton replaced her campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle by her advisor Maggie Williams, to give a new course to her plummeting electoral popularity.

Her deputy campaign manager Mike Henry also resigned last night.

According to polls, Obama stands as favorite in the Wisconsin and Hawaii elections next week, but his rival hopes to counteract the predicted triumphs by winning Texas and Ohio in March, two states with a considerable number of delegates.

After his success was confirmed last night, Obama gave a speech in Wisconsin, where he criticized the Iraqi invasion and called for a change in the white House.

To win the Democratic presidential nomination in the US, 2,025 delegates are needed .

The Constituent Dynamics/RT Strategies poll, conducted Feb. 8-9, attempts to give both popular vote percentages and likely delegate outcomes by district for the Potomac Primary elections. Barack Obama is on his way to a clear and decisive sweep of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to this poll. Here are its results:

Maryland: Obama leads Clinton 53 percent to 36 percent when you combine strongly decided and leaning voters. It projects Obama winning 38 delegates, Clinton 26 and 6 being too close to call. Margin of error is 1.75 percent.
Virginia: Obama leads 51 percent to 34 percent among strong and leaning voters. Margin of error is 1.48 percent. The poll projects Obama winning 45 delegates to Clinton's 32 with 6 too close to call.
District of Columbia: Obama leads 63 percent to 27 percent, with the margin of error 2.82 percent. Obama wins 10 delegates to Clinton's 4, with 1 too close to call.