Barack Obama or Barach Obama or Barak Obama

I was just looking at Google's keyword suggestion tool. Interesting that 3 of the top 10 search terms related to Sen. Barack Obama are mis-spellings of his name.

I've personally heard multiple people ask me how to spell it. I wonder if his unfamiliar name will hurt his campaign in any way?

I suspect that it won't matter once people are looking at a ballot, but it might make it a bit more difficult for people to search for Internet content and blog posts about his campaign.

Here are the top 10 search phrases associated with "Barack Obama":

• barack obama
• barach obama
• barack obama 2008
• obama barack
• barack obama bio
• barak obama
• barrack obama
• senator barack obama
• barack obama biography
• barack obama book

Barack Obama draws a crowd in Austin

Barack Obama spoke in Austin this week and had a crowd of over 15,000 people. He's getting bigger and bigger audiences as he continues his early campaign for the Presidential race in 2008. He is building a lot of momentum, but I wonder if he can really keep up this pace for another year and a half. That's a long time to hold onto the "big mo"

One thing is for sure, he's catching up to Hillary

Tom Vilsack bows out of the race

Democrat Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor, abandoned his bid for the presidency after struggling against better-known, better-financed rivals. Obama and Clinton have too much momentum (in popularity and financial support) for Vilsack to rise above the din.

``It is money and only money that is the reason we are leaving today,'' Vilsack told reporters at a news conference. But I don't agree... it isn't only money. Money doesn't always lead, sometimes it follows. Obama wasn't a bank-rolled candidate in this race until he gained grassroots support and started to look like a viable winner. The big money donors are putting their money into the campaigns that have the best chance of beating the Republican ticket. Clearly, these financial backers didn't see Vilsack as a viable option.

Geffen, Obama, Clinton

Geffen, Obama, Clinton... seems that these three names are making the rounds in the political blogosphere. Geffen snubbed Clinton and picked Obama, Clinton put a shot over Obama's bow asking for him to diss Geffen, Obama shot back, and on and on....

The fact remains that Geffen is a big democratic donor and he decided to support Barack Obama's campaign. Let's move the discussion along and start talking about ISSUES

Why did Geffen choose Obama? Which policy issues drove the decision?

Tom Daschle picks Barack Obama

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle formally endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the 2008 Presidential race, according to the Associated Press.

Barack Obama 2008 Appearance in Las Vegas Nevada, Feb. 18, 2007

Video of his speech in Las Vegas last week.

David Geffen says bring Obama Barack!

DreamWorks movie studio founder David Geffen has decided to back Barack Obama for 2008.

This is newsworthy because Geffen was a big supporter of Bill Clinton back in the day. Shifting his alliance from the Clinton camp to the Obama camp is big news because it's a trend that will need to continue if Barack Obama hopes to raise a big enough war chest to compete with Hillary in the pending advertising wars.

TV advertising salesmen must feel like kids in a candy shop - just think how much money is going to be spent in this presidential race! Yikes.

I just wish more of that money could be spent on preserving open space or paying teachers' salaries or funding scientists.