Sen. Obama continues to use his political capital to move the progressive football down the field.
From The Hill:
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) yesterday added election fraud to the spectrum of weighty issues he has covered since informally launching his presidential bid, further fleshing out a legislative record that could be an inviting target in the intensifying 2008 campaign.
Obama sought to stay focused on his bill criminalizing voter suppression and deceptive electoral tactics, his third momentum-building effort in two weeks, even as the Republican National Committee drove a wedge through the Democratic field by circulating critical comments made by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) about his fellow White House hopefuls.
“I don’t spend too much time worrying about what folks talk about during campaign season,” Obama said yesterday.
Yet he has embraced several politically charged debates this winter, signaling his readiness to compete in the media glare of the primary trail and his ability to project presidential gravitas while displaying Democratic bona fides.
Yesterday’s voter-deception bill, which would allow injunctive relief for individuals targeted by fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls during the run-up to Election Day, earned plaudits from civil-rights groups and the co-sponsorship of Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the Democratic Caucus’s No. 3 and a backer of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2008.
Obama acknowledged the greater megaphone he commands as a presidential contender, observing that the Democrats’ new majority status also allows him to expand his legislative reach with some confidence of floor time and success.
