Senator Barack Obama Answers Questions by BlogHer Community on Camera on Eve of Oregon...

Senator Barack Obama Answers Questions by BlogHer Community on Camera on Eve of Oregon Primary

Presidential Hopeful Is the First to Address Key Policy Questions
on Iraq, Healthcare, and the Economy Developed by Leading Online
Community of Women Who Blog
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
BlogHer, Inc. (www.blogher.com), one of the top women's online
networks and the Web's number-one guide to blogs by women, today
released an exclusive video interview with Senator Barack Obama during
his visit to Roseburg, Oregon on May 17 for the state's upcoming
primary election. Speaking with BlogHer contributing editor and
political blogger Erin Kotecki Vest, the Senator from Illinois
directly answered questions from the community, discussing his
strategy for withdrawal of troops in Iraq, war veterans, healthcare,
anti-poverty programs for America and his perspective on the climate
crisis. BlogHer has offered each of the presidential candidates an
opportunity to respond to questions created by women who blog and
Senator Obama is the first to accept the invitation. The video
interview is part of BlogHer's ongoing Elections 2008 program and can
be found in its entirety at the following link:
http://www.blogher.com/blogher-exclusive-barack-obama-answers-policy-
questions-women-who-blog-video (Due to its length, this URL may need
to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove
the extra space if one exists.)

"One of the tragedies of this conflict has been the fact that so
many (veterans) are not being treated properly, not getting the mental
health services they deserve and it's partly the reason we have such a
high homeless rate among veterans," said Senator Obama in discussing
his plans for ending the Iraq war. "This is something I have worked on
in the Senate, and I will commit to dealing with when I am president,
is making sure that we have zero tolerance for homeless veterans."
Senator Obama also went on to address healthcare and contraception
saying, "The one thing we should be able to agree on is an unwanted
pregnancy is something we should try to discourage. Making sure every
woman has good healthcare, good reproductive healthcare, including
contraception, I think is going to be a top priority of my
administration as I provide universal healthcare to all people."

The interview with Senator Obama was structured around the BlogHer
community's Voter Manifesto, which is a list of non-partisan questions
for the candidates across four topic areas of intense interest to the
community: the War in Iraq, Healthcare, the Environment and Our
Economic Future. BlogHer also has a number of contributing editors
from both sides of the political spectrum credentialed to attend and
live-blog debates, speeches and conventions on the campaign trail.
BlogHer's Election 2008 coverage can be found at the following link:
http://www.blogher.com/special-events/election-2008. For BlogHer's
Guide to Political Blogs by women, searchable by political party and
state, visit http://blogher.com/politics.

"By taking the time to do this on-camera interview while
campaigning for votes in the Oregon primary, I think Sen. Obama has
made an important statement about the value he and his campaign place
on voters, our questions and opinions, the communities we reach on our
blogs and, ultimately, our votes," said Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO
of BlogHer. "That's a powerful message. Especially since BlogHer is a
non-partisan organization reaching more than nine million women every
month from both sides of the political spectrum. This isn't a
presidential candidate preaching to the converted - it's a
presidential candidate reaching out to an important cross-section of
American influencers, given the audiences these women reach on their
blogs."

A 2008 presidential candidate, Obama has dedicated his life to
public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and
leader in the Illinois state Senate. Sworn into office January 4,
2005, Senator Obama serves on the Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee, which oversees our nation's health care, schools,
employment, and retirement programs. He is a member of the Foreign
Relations Committee, which plays a vital role in shaping American
policy around the world, including our policy in Iraq. And Obama
serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee, which is focused on
providing our brave veterans with the care and services they deserve.
In 2005 and 2006, he served on the Environment and Public Works
Committee, which safeguards our environment and provides funding for
our highways.

Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii. Obama graduated from
Columbia University in 1983, and graduated from Harvard Law School in
1991 where he was the first African American president of the Harvard
Law Review. Obama is married with two daughters living on Chicago's
South Side. For more information on Barack Obama's professional
background, please visit: http://obama.senate.gov/about/.

About BlogHer

Founded in February 2005 by Elisa Camahort, Jory Des Jardins and
Lisa Stone, BlogHer's mission is to create opportunities for women who
blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic
empowerment. BlogHer provides the number-one community and media
network of blogs by women via a community hub (http://blogher.com),
annual conferences and an advertising network of more than 1,800
qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates. BlogHer provides the
highest quality content on a range of topics, with all blogs
continually edited to meet strict editorial standards, including
content quality, category relevance and blog frequency.

BlogHer Inc.
Elisa Camahort, 408-504-5708
elisa@blogher.org
or
Racepoint Group
Kristina Joss, 415-694-6709
kjoss@racepointgroup.com

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