Nightline: The Obama Campaign

ABC takes a look at the inside of Obama for America:

Barack Obama is the choice of free-agent donors

From the Los Angeles Times:

Campaign donors who previously backed also-ran Democratic candidates have adopted Sen. Barack Obama as their second choice, preferring Obama by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1 over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and giving him twice as much money.

Obama has collected more than $2 million to Clinton's $900,000 from donors who once backed former Sen. John Edwards and other Democrats who have dropped out, a Times analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows.

Obama's success at attracting the donors of the also-ran Democrats underscores a phenomenon apparent throughout the Democratic primary: Many Democrats take an ABC or "Anybody but Clinton" view. The Times analysis shows that roughly 3,000 donors to the Democrats who quit the race have switched to Obama, and 1,100 have gone with Clinton. Obama has fared best among Richardson's donors, collecting 73% of the money they gave in February and March. Clinton's best showing was among donors to Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., though she collected only 40% of the money they gave in February and March, to Obama's 60%.

Two of the former candidates, Richardson and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, have endorsed Obama. Edwards and Biden are neutral.

By far, the largest source of money for the two remaining candidates came from Edwards' backers -- $1.2 million for Obama and $500,000 for Clinton. The analysis omits most donations of $200 or less, because candidates are not required to itemize small donations.

ABC's John McWethy has died at 61

ABC News reports the death of their longtime correspondent, John McWethy:

John McWethy, a longtime national security correspondent -- who, ABC News president David Westin said, "represented the very best of ABC News" -- has died at age 61 after a skiing accident in Keystone, Colo.

McWethy died of blunt force chest injuries after witnesses said he missed a turn on an intermediate trail this morning, and slid chest first into a tree, Summit County, Colo., coroner Joanne Richardson told The Associated Press. McWethy was pronounced dead at 2:05 p.m., Richardson said.

As national security correspondent, McWethy reported extensively on the lead up to the war in Iraq as well as reporting from Afghanistan. McWethy was a graduate of DePauw University, where he was active with the campus community in his alumni life.

ABC: Every Soldier I talked to is for Obama

Friday Nite Retro

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!! That means it's time once again to grab a couple of cold ones, lock the door, pull down the shades, and. . .GO RETRO! Tonight's feature is ABC:

In 1980, music journalist Martin Fry, interviewed the band Vice Versa for his fanzine Modern Drugs. They adopted Fry as lead vocalist and changed their name to ABC. The revamped band were pigeonholed as part of the New Romantic movement of the time, which included bands such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and The Human League.

The band offered many stylistic spins within it's career. Perhaps their most distinguishing feature was their non-ominous use of synthesizers. Ominous, dischordant, or minor-keyed synthesizer parts were something that would unite the majority of true New Romantic bands. Also, from the very beginning, ABC incorporated a predominate funk and soul sound into their compositions.

Their debut album, Lexicon of Love was heavy on rhyming couplets and tales of unrequited love. The first single:

Look of Love



Followed by the second single from Lexicon, Poison Arrow. In 2002, Poison Arrow was featured on the soundtrack to the video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City":

Poison Arrow


ABC found it difficult to follow up their debut, and 1983's Beauty Stab, barely charted.It's dramatic departure from the lush, melodramatic pop/funk of The Lexicon of Love, with emphasis instead placed on guitar-based rock didn't fare well with fans.

Their next effort, the 1985 album How To Be A...Zillionaire!, marked another change of style, in this case toying with mid-1980s dance beats and samples. It spawned their first top ten US hit:

Be Near Me


The album also featured this hit:

How to be a Millionaire


Following a hiatus while Fry was treated for Hodgkin's disease, ABC returned to the studio to record Alphabet City, which they thought might be their final album. It pretty much was. . .from that last chartable effort:


The Night You Murdered Love


As well as this one that you all will remember:

When Smokey Sings


ABC officially broke up in 1992. Fry, however, still tours as ABC, often in conjunction with other 1980s nostalgia or revival acts. In 2004, the VH1 show Bands Reunited attempted to get the line-up of Martin Fry, David Palmer, Stephen Singleton and Mark White together for a reunion concert. Martin Fry and David Palmer appeared and played together for the first time in over twenty years. Singleton and White opted not to participate.

Having completed a tour of the U.S. in May and June 2006, Fry and Palmer, together with Chuck Kentis, are putting the finishing touches on a new ABC album with a working title of Traffic, scheduled for release later this year. Gary Langan, who worked on The Lexicon of Love and Beauty Stab, is producing.

And, easy as ABC, that's a wrap on yet another edition of Friday Nite Reto!