Obama Releases Official Soundtrack Album

You knew it was coming...Barack Obama's presidential campaign is now getting an official music soundtrack.

“Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement,” which takes its title from an Obama campaign slogan, features hip hop artist Kanye West, r&b crooner John Legend, singer Sheryl Crow, r&b legend Stevie Wonder and others. It will be available for sale exclusively through Obama’s campaign.

Proceeds from the CD ($24.99 for a digital download, $30 for a physical product) will help fund Obama’s campaign until Nov. 4, Election Day, according Hidden Beach Recordings, which created the CD.

The “Yes We Can” CD is only the latest musical project inspired by Obama. Earlier this year, an all-star music video featuring Legend, Scarlet Johansson, Kate Walsh, Common, and others, led by the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and titled “Yes We Can,” became a viral sensation, garnering millions of views on the Internet. Will.i.am followed that up with another celebrity-filled video, “We Are The Ones.”

To make sure the CD project met federal campaign standards, Hidden Beach CEO and longtime Obama supporter Steve McKeever said it went through a rigorous vetting process. The Obama campaign purchased the rights to the CD, he said, declining to name the price.

“The artists on the CD “are all being compensated as fair market value for their services,” he added.

After the election, the CD is due to be released through other outlets and Hidden Beach will reap the profits.

The McCain camp said it had no plans to release a CD of its own and greeted news of Obama’s with a dig.

“It’s ironic that on a day when the economy is in turmoil, Barack Obama fails to release an economic plan, but instead chooses a celebrity rock album,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.

Libertarian says GOP, Dems missed deadline for Texas ballots

R.G. Ratcliffe - San Antonio Express-News

AUSTIN — The Libertarian Party of Texas and party presidential nominee Bob Barr are asking the state Supreme Court to remove the names of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain from the presidential ballot.

Barr said the two major parties missed an Aug. 26 deadline for giving the official names of their nominees to the Texas secretary of state for certification. In a filing Thursday, the Libertarians asked the court to halt Saturday's planned mail-out by counties of absentee and military ballots.

At a news conference outside the Texas Supreme Court building, Barr said the state ballot certification law is clear and the court should have no problem ruling in the Libertarians' favor.
“It should require no legal contortions whatsoever to stand for the rule of law,” Barr said. “The law we have here in Texas is not ambiguous. It is not vague.”

If Barr and the Libertarians win the lawsuit, Barr would be the only presidential candidate on the Texas ballot and likely would carry away all of the state's 34 electoral votes.
A lot is at stake for the two major parties in the lawsuit. McCain probably could not win the presidency without Texas, and Democrats are counting on enthusiasm for Obama to help drive turnout and create victories in down-ballot races.

The Libertarians claim both national parties missed a 5 p.m. Aug. 26 deadline for submitting the name of their presidential candidate to the Texas secretary of state for certification.
The Democratic National Convention was occurring as the deadline passed, and the Republican convention occurred a week later.

While neither national party officially had a presidential nominee by that date, both state parties filed paperwork with the secretary of state's office regarding their intent. The office certified McCain and Obama as having positions on the ballot.

The lawsuit, filed this week, contends this amounts to an illegal pre-certification. The state's high court has given the state and national parties until 3 p.m. Monday to respond. The motion filed Thursday seeks to stop the mail-out of ballots until after the lawsuit is resolved.
Texas Solicitor General James Ho in a letter to the state Supreme Court described the lawsuits as “meritless.”

Barr is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who became prominent during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. He became a Libertarian after leaving office.