New York, Aug.30 (ANI): The New York Times has said that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has made significant progress in terms of molding his party and his image ahead of the November 4 presidential poll

In an editorial, the paper claims that the Democratic Party of 2008 is different from the one that lost the last two presidential elections.

"It is bigger, younger and less visibly linked to traditional Democratic interest groups," it adds.

It also says that Obama has removed all doubts about his skills as an orator, and this proved more emphatically when gave substance to his many promises of hope to the American people.

He was also successful in his mission to state that the Government has responsibilities, which it was not fulfilling under President Bush.

He tied his opponent, John McCain, tightly to Mr. Bush and to an "old, discredited Republican philosophy.

According to the NYT editorial, Obama also challenged McCain's absurd charge that because Obama opposed the war in Iraq, he will leave America defenseless.

"We are the party of Roosevelt," he said. "We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country," he said.

The party rallying around Obama in Denver looked noticeably different.

Part of that is real: His campaign's unprecedented registration drives have brought many new voters into the party and, "we hope, permanently into the democratic process as a whole."

But the paper cautiously adds that that the process could have been stage-anaged.

Obama's strategists also believe that their route to victory lies in the careful selection of battleground states, and in the vast expansion of their base of voters. (ANI)

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (0)

Bhubaneshwar/Bangalore, Aug 30 (ANI): Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has claimed that the situation is improving in Orissa's Kandhamal District, which was gripped by religious violence following the killing of VHP leader Laxamananda Saraswati.

Patnaik, who will visit the district today, said: "The situation in Kandhamal district is returning to normal."

The visit comes as the Central Government has indicated that it favours a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the violence that claimed at least ten lives.

Expressing serious concern over the communal violence in Orissa, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said on Friday: "We would have liked ideally that this matter be handed over to the CBI because those responsible should get justice immediately as judicial probe takes longer time,"

He hoped that Chief Minister Patnaik would take adequate measures to restore normalcy and ensure quick justice to the victims.

While the police are still carrying out investigations into the killing of the VHP leader, people of the region are living in a state of panic.

Shoot-at-sight orders were issued on Wednesday in eight blocks -- Phulbani, Baliguda, Tumudibandh, Raikia, Nuagaon, G Udaygiri, Tikabali and Sankarakhol of Kandhamal District.

Meanwhile, a group of intellectuals, academicians, human rights activists and students organised a candlelight vigil in Bangalore against the increasing violence in Orissa. (ANI)

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (0)