Today, Obama won an upset victory in Maine, a state where internal and external polls had Clinton leading in the days leading up to the caucuses. Obama is projected to win 15 delegates to Clinton’s 9, capping off an Obama sweep of this weekend’s contests.

Barack Obama has won nearly twice as many states as Hillary Clinton. He won a Red State, Purple State, and Blue States this weekend – showing he has broad national appeal and can win in every corner of this country. Obama has now won 20 contests to Clinton’s 11; he’s won a larger share of the popular vote; and he’s projected to more than triple his current pledged delegate lead since Super Tuesday from 27 pledged delegates to 84, a net gain of 57 pledged delegates.

This weekend’s net gain of 57 pledged delegates represents more than the 42 delegate net gain that Clinton won in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee and Arizona – combined.

While Obama’s victories demonstrate his broad national appeal, he still faces an uphill battle in every upcoming contest because the Clintons are far better known and have a political machine that’s been honed over two decades. But the more voters get to know Obama and his message of change, the more they support him, which bodes well for the upcoming primaries.

Obama’s victories reflect what a recent Time poll confirmed the other day – that he is the candidate best suited to win Independents, play well in Red States, and beat John McCain in November. As the nominee, Obama will also help down-ballot Democrats get elected to Congress across the country, especially in those Red States where Democrats haven’t fared well for decades. So Obama won’t just win an election, he’ll win a new majority for change, so we can finally solve the problems we’ve been talking about for decades.

Thank you so much.

Tonight, we are hearing the voices of people across America.

People of all ages and of all colors, all faiths and all walks of life. People on the day shift, the night shift, the late shift with the crying baby. Moms and dads who want a better world for our children. Young people who deserve a world of opportunity. All those who aren't in the headlines, but have always written America's story.

After seven years of a President who listens only to the special interests, you're ready for a President who brings your voice, your values, and your dreams to your White House.

Tonight, in record numbers, you voted not just to make history - but to remake America. People in American Samoa, Arkansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennessee... and the great state of New York.

On just one really serious note, we want to keep the people of Arkansas and Tennessee in our prayers. They suffered horrible tornados tonight. We just talked to some of our folks there and people have died in both states, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them in this moment of their need.

Tonight thought is your - tonight is America's night.

It's not over yet, because polls are still open in California for a few more minutes.

I hope all of you will join our campaign at http://www.hillaryclinton.com because you know - you know that politics isn't a game. It's not about who's up or who's down. It's about your lives, your families, your futures.

It's about the people who have shared their problems with me, looking for solutions. The mother whose insurance company wouldn't pay for her child's treatment. The couple so determined to send their daughter to college, they're willing to mortgage their home with a sub-prime second mortgage. The man who asked me what to do after training the person who will take his job in another country, the veterans who come home only to find they don't have the healthcare, the compensation, and the services they need.

It's also about the people who want to seize America's opportunity. It's about the unions and businesses who are training people for green collar jobs. It's about the auto companies and auto workers who want higher gas mileage cars so we can compete with the rest of the world. It's about our scientist and researchers who want to be able to do stem cell research right here in the United States of America.

It's about our contractors and construction workers who want to get to work to rebuild America from the bridges in Minnesota to the levies in New Orleans.

For seven years, we have seen President Bush's answer. They don't know what's at stake in this election, but we do. We know what we need is someone ready on day one to solve our problems and restore our opportunities. Because when the bright lights are off and the cameras are gone, who can you count on to listen to you, to stand up for you, to deliver solutions for you?

Well, the Republicans want eight more years of the same. They see tax cuts for the wealthy - and they say, why not some more? They see nine trillion dollars in debt - and say, why not trillions more? They see five years in Iraq - and they say, why not a hundred more?

Well, they've got until January 20, 2009 - and not one day more.

Now we know the Republicans won't give up the White House without a fight, well let me be clear, I won't let anyone swift boat this country's future. Together we're going to take back America because I see an America where our economy works for everyone, not just those at the top, where prosperity is shared and we create good jobs that stay right here in America.

I see an America where we stand up to the oil companies and the oil producing countries, where we launch a clean energy revolution and finally confront the climate crisis.

I see an America where we don't just provide health care for some people, or most people, but for every single man, woman and child in this country - no one left out.

I see an America where when a young man or woman signs up to serve our country, we sign up to serve them too.

An America with a 21st century GI bill of rights to help veterans go to college, buy a home or start their own businesses.

I see an America respected around the world again, that reaches out to our allies and confronts our shared challenges - from global terrorism to global warming to global epidemics.

That's the America I see - that's the America we will build together.

I am so lucky to have the most extraordinary staff, volunteers, and supporters...

And I am so grateful for all those long hours and late nights that you've been putting in.

And I want to thank the most important people in my life, first Bill and Chelsea, for their incredible love.

They have done so much day in and day out and I want to thank all my friends and family, particularly my mother, who was born before women could vote, and is watching her daughter on this stage tonight.

I also want to congratulate Senator Obama for his victories tonight. And I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debate about how to lead this country better off in the next generation, because that is the work of my life - that is why I started my career fighting for abused and neglected children, children who have drawn the short straw in life, because this nation gave me every opportunity and we can do the same for every child.

We must continue to be a nation that strives always to give each of our children a better future, a nation of optimists who believe our best days are yet to come, a nation of idealists holding fast to our deepest values, that we are all created equal, that we all deserve to fulfill our God-given potential, that we are destined for progress together.

It is the ideal inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty in this great city, that has overlooked our harbors through wars and depressions and the dark days of September 11, the words we all know that give voice to America's embrace: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free" - a constant reminder that here in America, we face our challenges and we embrace all of our people.

So today we say with one voice, "Give us the child who wants to learn, give us the people in need of work, give us the veterans who need our care. We say give us the economy to rebuild and this war to end, give us this nation to heal, this world to lead, this moment to seize."

I know we're ready.

Thank you all and God bless you.

The night before elections Obama and wife Michelle continue to ignite the crowds in SC. If you believe in change and believe in Obama you can best believe a change is going to come. People in Columbia seem to be feeling the spirit. Tomorrow will show how much when we go to the polls.

Photo & Story by Carmen Rodriguez -GUARDIANCHRONICLE.COM

A day after Barack Obama's inspiring victory in South Carolina, elected,labor,faith based and grassroots leaders joined Obama delegate candidates from across New York City, Long Island and Westchester, on the steps of City Hall to kick of the final push towards New York's February 5th Primary and declare "YES WE CAN."

"Here in New York, we have a big, grassroots campaign.  We have big numbers of volunteers.  We have big passion and big energy.  We have a big vision and a big message of change we can believe in." said State Senator Bill Perkins.  "More than 150,000 New Yorkers have joined our support list.  Thousands of volunteers- and the number keeps growing- are working with us every day on a movement to bring change in this country by electing Barack Obama.  No campaign can match this energy an d commitment and that's what wins elections.

"The people of South Carolina voted for change.  The voters chose to reject the same old divisive politics that has distracted us from solving out problems for so long.  Because they know this election isn't about race or gender, income level or education level, it's about the past versus the future.  And the future won."

Norman Seabrook, President, Correction Officers' Benevolent Association and the first labor union to endorse Barack Obama said, "The more people see Barack Obama, the more our support grows.  Barack Obama is the candidate to deliver change by bringing people together and building a broad coalition that will win in November; unite us behind a common purpose; and transform our country.  Our members are committed to working as hard as we can, day and night, to growing this movement and electing Barack Obama President."

Thank you, Iowa.

You know, they said this day would never come.

They said our sights were set too high.

They said this country was too divided; too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose.

But on this January night - at this defining moment in history - you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do. You have done what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days. You have done what America can do in this New Year, 2008. In lines that stretched around schools and churches; in small towns and big cities; you came together as Democrats, Republicans and Independents to stand up and say that we are one nation; we are one people; and our time for change has come.

You said the time has come to move beyond the bitterness and pettiness and anger that's consumed Washington; to end the political strategy that's been all about division and instead make it about addition - to build a coalition for change that stretches through Red States and Blue States. Because that's how we'll win in November, and that's how we'll finally meet the challenges that we face as a nation.

We are choosing hope over fear. We're choosing unity over division, and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America.

You said the time has come to tell the lobbyists who think their money and their influence speak louder than our voices that they don't own this government, we do; and we are here to take it back.

The time has come for a President who will be honest about the choices and the challenges we face; who will listen to you and learn from you even when we disagree; who won't just tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to know. And in New Hampshire, if you give me the same chance that Iowa did tonight, I will be that president for America.

Thank you.

I'll be a President who finally makes health care affordable and available to every single American the same way I expanded health care in Illinois - by--by bringing Democrats and Republicans together to get the job done.

I'll be a President who ends the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and put a middle-class tax cut into the pockets of the working Americans who deserve it.

I'll be a President who harnesses the ingenuity of farmers and scientists and entrepreneurs to free this nation from the tyranny of oil once and for all.

And I'll be a President who ends this war in Iraq and finally brings our troops home; who restores our moral standing; who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes, but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the twenty-first century; common threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease.

Tonight, we are one step closer to that vision of America because of what you did here in Iowa. And so I'd especially like to thank the organizers and the precinct captains; the volunteers and the staff who made this all possible.

And while I'm at it, on "thank yous," I think it makes sense for me to thank the love of my life, the rock of the Obama family, the closer on the campaign trail; give it up for Michelle Obama.

I know you didn't do this for me. You did this-you did this because you believed so deeply in the most American of ideas - that in the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.

I know this-I know this because while I may be standing here tonight, I'll never forget that my journey began on the streets of Chicago doing what so many of you have done for this campaign and all the campaigns here in Iowa - organizing, and working, and fighting to make people's lives just a little bit better.

I know how hard it is. It comes with little sleep, little pay, and a lot of sacrifice. There are days of disappointment, but sometimes, just sometimes, there are nights like this - a night-a night that, years from now, when we've made the changes we believe in; when more families can afford to see a doctor; when our children-when Malia and Sasha and your children-inherit a planet that's a little cleaner and safer; when the world sees America differently, and America sees itself as a nation less divided and more united; you'll be able to look back with pride and say that this was the moment when it all began.

This was the moment when the improbable beat what Washington always said was inevitable.

This was the moment when we tore down barriers that have divided us for too long - when we rallied people of all parties and ages to a common cause; when we finally gave Americans who'd never participated in politics a reason to stand up and to do so.

This was the moment when we finally beat back the politics of fear, and doubt, and cynicism; the politics where we tear each other down instead of lifting this country up. This was the moment.

Years from now, you'll look back and you'll say that this was the moment - this was the place - where America remembered what it means to hope.

For many months, we've been teased, even derided for talking about hope.

But we always knew that hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it.

Hope is what I saw in the eyes of the young woman in Cedar Rapids who works the night shift after a full day of college and still can't afford health care for a sister who's ill; a young woman who still believes that this country will give her the chance to live out her dreams.

Hope is what I heard in the voice of the New Hampshire woman who told me that she hasn't been able to breathe since her nephew left for Iraq; who still goes to bed each night praying for his safe return.

Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire; what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation; what led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom's cause.

Hope-hope-is what led me here today - with a father from Kenya; a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.

That is what we started here in Iowa, and that is the message we can now carry to New Hampshire and beyond; the same message we had when we were up and when we were down; the one that can change this country brick by brick, block by block, calloused hand by calloused hand - that together, ordinary people can do extraordinary things; because we are not a collection of Red States and Blue States, we are the United States of America; and at this moment, in this election, we are ready to believe again. Thank you, Iowa.

David A. Allan Matheson

David A. Allan Matheson is the son of Correction Officer Marlene Henry, shield # 2502, CMD AMKC and Sergeant First Class Milton Henry of the United States Army.  David is the eldest of four children; Lloyd, Shawniquica and Natasha.

David A. Allan Matheson was born February 5, 1982 at the Downstate Medical Hospital in Brooklyn NY.  In his early childhood, David grew up with his great grand mother Alma Harris and spent 8 years in Guyana.  He returned to the United States and attended St. Mary Catholic School then went on to PS 104.  After junior high school, he attended Brooklyn Technical High School where he graduated with honors.  David went on to attend The United States Military Academy at West Point in June 2000.  He then graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in May 2004 and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army, Field Artillery Branch. 

His first assignment was Korea Camp Casey, with the 1-15 Field Artillery Battalion (Task force 2-9 Infantry) in January 2005 through December 2005.  His follow-on assignments include: Fort Lewis Washington; 2-8 Field Artillery from January 2006 through May 2006: Germany; Fire Squadron 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment from May 2006 through July 2007.  David A. Allan Matheson was promoted to Captain in June 2007 and is currently serving in Iraq Camp Taji with the Fire Squadron 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment (SCR).

His awards include; Army Service Ribbon-1, National Defense Service Medal-1, Global War on Terrorism, Korea Defense Service Medal, Overseas Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal and the Army Achievement Medal-1.

David is currently enrolled at Troy University pursuing a Master degree in International Relations.