Kane Farabaugh's Kanestergram

For many people, casting a vote and waiting for the final announcement on election night marked an end to one of the longest and most expensive Presidential contests in U.S. history. For Barack Obama, it could be argued that his race for the White House began on the stage of the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004, during the nomination of John Kerry who unsuccessfully ran against George W. Bush. Obama, then running for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, was invited to give the keynote speech. Called “The Audacity of Hope,” the speech generated the kind of buzz that helped launch the Illinois State Senator on to the national political stage, and ultimately into the White House. For John McCain, it could also be argued his current run for the White House began in the winter of 2000, when he lost a bitterly fought primary race against George W. Bush in South Carolina. For me as a reporter covering this campaign, the journey begins almost a decade ago, in the bicycle and moped c...

... and not just because the city is lit up for tonight's Obama event. Indeed, several of the buildings in Chicago's skyline are decorated for the occasion. One skyscraper has U.S.A. lit by coordinating lights on floors and windows along its structure. Patriotism abounds in the Windy City, as Chicago is known. But the real electricity of this place is generated by the enthusiasm of the supporters who have gathered here to witness what they all hope will be a moment in history. It's a chance for many, including my friends Seth, Casey, and Mark, to say that they had a front row seat to one of the pivotal moments in American politics, perhaps American history. They have been waiting in line for almost six hours to get as close as they can to history in the making. They share a common bond with most everyone who has gathered here, to actively participate in that history in the making. Needless to say, it takes some kind of electricity (translate dedication) to wait it out a...

The weather in Chicago this morning is perfect. As the city looks to set a record for the warmest day on record in the month of November, that story will wind up being the least important one that emerges from Chicago by the end of the day, regardless of the outcome of today’s historic election. U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., knows it. As I made my way along Grant Park and Michigan Avenue this morning to set up for one of the biggest stories to come to Chicago in decades, Congressman Jackson was pressing the flesh with voters, shaking hands with every person he passed. Along Roosevelt Road at the south end of the park, both vehicle and pedestrian traffic came to a standstill as the congressional candidate and close Barack Obama supporter took advantage of the warm weather to encourage people to get out and vote. I tried several times to see if I could get him to stop long enough to talk to Voice of America about today’s historic overtones, but in the end, Congressman Jackson k...

Kane Farabaugh Special to The Times La Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton knows about disaster. "We had a problem in our own county, in the town of Utica, where a tornado came through and killed nine people and devastated the downtown area. So we found out on a small scale how important it is for people to come together, and they came together there just like they're coming together here." "Here" is on the floor of an exhibit hall of the Minneapolis Convention Center, where Templeton is elbow deep in boxes, working to fill care packages that soon will be on their way to people affected by Hurricane Gustav. He is taking part in a hastily assembled relief event sponsored by retail giant Target, the American Red Cross, the Republican National Convention and John McCain's presidential campaign. Templeton is a delegate from Illinois attending the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. It's his first political convention, and it has so far been any...

Kane Farabaugh Special to The Times ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It seemed like Monday might have been a nonstory at the Republican National Convention. Most of the schedule for the delegates and speakers congregating at the Xcel Energy Center was cut, with only two hours of mostly procedural moves taking place as the government, and the nation, braced for Hurricane Gustav. Republicans felt it wasn't the right time to have a party. But it was a holiday, Labor Day. And the weather was nice, with some 5,0000 people not working nor invited nor planning to attend the RNC. And they had an agenda at the steps of the Capitol in St. Paul. It was humid and hot by the time thousands of people gathered there to listen to protest organizers and speakers rally against the war in Iraq. This was the first part of what was expected to be the largest organized protest during the convention. Police and the people gathering to protest were on edge after reports over the weekend of a raid on an anarchist group ...

Kane Farabaugh Special to The Times When our hotel shuttle bus brought us to the Pepsi Center Thursday morning, the line of people waiting to get into nearby Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium was a sign of things to come. We all knew this day was meant to be big, historic and busy. But moving a convention from a heavily fortified and secure area to an open-air arena with tens of thousands of people is something just shy of a miracle to execute. I made my way to Invesco field the day before Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's big moment to gather footage and interviews of the work under way to set the stage for one of the biggest political acceptance speeches in history. When I arrived, crews were busy putting the final touches on the podium where Obama would speak. I gathered footage, and when I finally stopped filming, I realized I was standing at a place that would soon become a moment in history people might remember. As I stood behind the podium, I looked out at all the empty seats t...

Kane Farabaugh Special to The Times In 1976, energy security and gas prices were a growing concern for Americans. Inflation was rising, and many Americans were disenfranchised with the Republican administration then in power. Sound familiar? Former President Jimmy Carter might agree. In 1976 he ran for president against Gerald Ford. He was a relatively young and promising Democrat from the South. Some 32 years later, the issues that drove voters to the ballot then are similar to the themes of the campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain. "I ran on a platform of change. Of course, that's what America was ready for," Carter said, smiling at the similarity to the current Obama campaign message of "Change You Can Believe In." "The difference between me and Obama is I didn't have any money." I talked one-on-one with Carter in a wide-ranging interview for Voice of America in the Pepsi Center studios of the Democratic N...

A smile and handshake after the interview Carter believes that Obama can change foreign perceptions of America "in the first ten minutes" if his presidency. President Carter thinks that a resurgent Russia will dominate future U.S. foreign policy. These are just pics to post up immediately. A print story and blog will follow tomorrow. Cheers! Kane

Kane Farabaugh Special to The Times DENVER - Overwhelming. That's the best way to describe my initial impression of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Overwhelming because of the number of people packed into the Pepsi Center. Overwhelming because of the number of events, news stories and protests going on around the city. I've had a few conversations with colleagues at Voice of America who agree it is easy to lose focus covering a political convention because of everything that is packed into a four-day period. It's understood we won't be able to cover it all. But there are key stories to follow, key people to interview and key events that lead up to Sen. Barack Obama's nomination for president by the Democratic Party. One such event was Monday night's main speaker, Michelle Obama. She already is a popular figure on the campaign trail. Her handshake or autograph is just as sought after as her husband's. She has an appeal that Democrats hope will w...

Kane Farabaugh Special to The Times 8/25/2008 SPRINGFIELD - I began the week preparing for an extended stay away from home covering both the Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Before the week was out, I was preparing for a detour at the beginning of my political odyssey, and I hadn't arrived at the first convention. When word came down earlier in the week that Sen. Barack Obama was planning a rally at the Old Capitol building in Springfield, most reporters knew it could mean only one thing. There was no specific indication in the initial e-mail from the campaign this would be the introduction of Obama's running mate and the unveiling of the ticket that will take his campaign into the November elections. By the time I arrived in Springfield Friday night to prepare for the Saturday rally, that choice was still a mystery to the media speculating on television about who it might be and those who were beginning to set u...

I'm sure that by now most of you have tuned in at some point to watch the Olympics. I'm in the spirit as well... and had a chance to catch up with two of the bigger stars this year... Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Here is the VOA News Story on YouTube:

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has never been one to mince words. And he has said he does not care about what people think of him. Recently, he defied U.S. policy by traveling to the Middle East for meetings with the militant Islamic group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and which Israel and the U.S. say is a terrorist organization. Israeli leaders refused to meet with Mr. Carter during the trip. And the Bush administration criticized him for it. In a wide-ranging interview with VOA's Kane Farabaugh, Mr. Carter defended his decision to meet with Hamas and strongly criticized the Bush administration's Middle East policies. He also spoke about the race for the Democratic party's presidential nomination and when he plans to endorse a candidate-- either Senator Barack Obama or Senator Hillary Clinton. Mr. Carter was touring the U.S. to promote his latest book, "A Remarkable Mother," about the late Lillian Carter, and the influence this strong woman had on ...