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To: Sea Otter who wrote (150387)	10/29/2008 2:27:09 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361421

Obama Blitz Swamps McCain abcnews.go.com McCain Counters 30-Minute Obama Special With an Appearance on 'Larry King Live' By MARK MOONEY Oct. 29, 2008 — Sen. Barack Obama intends to overwhelm Sen. John McCain in an air war today that will feature a new television ad, a 30-minute prime-time infomercial on most TV networks, an interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson and a late-night appearance on the "The Daily Show." McCain's response is a 30-second ad and a CNN interview on "Larry King Live." Watch Obama's Interview With Charles Gibson on "World News" at 6:30 p.m. ET With six days to go in the presidential race, the candidates are shadowing each other through states that are vital to both strategies for victory. They went toe-to-toe in Ohio on Monday and held competing rallies in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Their slugfest heads to Florida today, where both will woo voters in a state that is seen as essential to McCain and could be decisive for Obama on Election Day. Yet polls released today brought bad news for McCain. The latest Quinnipiac University survey showed Obama with a nine-point point lead, 51-42, over his Republican rival nationally. Even bleaker for McCain is a Pew Research Center poll that showed Obama with a 16-point lead among the country's registered voters. Those are tough numbers for McCain to overcome as voting has already begun in much of the country. Everyday Families The centerpiece of today's furious round of campaigning is Obama's multi-network, multi-million dollar TV extravaganza that begins at 8 p.m. ET and ends just moments before the World Series resumes. Obama will be sitting at a table with average Americans he met on the stump as they tell their stories, each illustrating an economic challenge facing voters. Several prominent American supporters are expected to make cameo appearances to vouch for Obama. The candidate will talk about his mother's struggle with her insurance company while dying of cancer, and the spot will climax with Obama speaking live from a campaign stop in Florida. It will be the first time a candidate has spent so lavishly for a solid block of prime-time television since 1992, when billionaire Ross Perot bought several half-hour segments as part of his unsuccessful independent bid for the White House. Obama and Bill Clinton's Joint Appearance in Florida Adlai Stevenson also bought several 30-minute spots on television during his run against Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, but he also lost. If you miss Obama's special, you may stumble across him at 6:30 p.m. ET during his sitdown with ABC News' Gibson during "World News," or again on "The Daily Show" at 11 p.m. ET. Veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf warns that there is a danger that Obama could overdo it, that some voters who aren't emotionally committed to Obama could object to having him hijack their television sets. More serious, however, "There could be a danger if this is seen as a victory lap," Sheinkopf said. "That kind of arrogance people won't tolerate." Jeffrey Pollock, head of Global Research Group, believes "there's no such thing as overdoing it." Polls indicate that voters believe Obama is running a positive campaign "and you can't overdo positive." Pollock also noted that Obama is hitting very different audiences with his televised blitz. "The audience for Charlie Gibson and the audience for 'The Daily Show' are vastly different," he said. "It could be a danger if voter interest wasn't so intense," said Tad Devine, who also advised Democratic candidates. "But it's enormous. It's the highest level of interest we've seen in a generation." Dan Schnur, a GOP strategist, doubts that many people will watch the Obamathon. "Most people will find out about it through news coverage" on Thursday, Schnur said. "The real benefit for the Obama campaign is that this unusual approach helps them dominate the news cycle for a day when there aren't many days left." For voters in the battleground states, it will also be hard to miss Obama's new ad that uses McCain's own words to skewer him on the issue of the economy. The Democrat's newest commercial quotes McCain saying on Dec. 18, 2007, "The issue of the economy is not something I've understood as well as I should." It also includes a McCain quote from last Nov. 28, saying, "I might have to rely on a vice president that I select" for expertise on economic issues. It then cuts to a picture of his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, without any commentary -- apparently questioning whether her selection did indeed boost the GOP ticket's economic credentials. One moment that won't be televised will be Obama's first joint campaign appearance with former President Bill Clinton in Orlando. McCain tries to deflate Obama's 30-minute appearance with a new 30-second ad that says, "Behind the fancy speeches, grand promises and TV special, lies the truth: With crises at home and abroad, Barack Obama lacks the experience America needs." McCain's Newest Attack on Obama McCain will press the experience issue today at a rally in Florida, where he will be backed by four former secretaries of state who have endorsed him along with a platoon of retired army generals. He also renewed his attack on Obama's friends. After criticizing Obama for weeks over his acquaintance with former Weather Underground radical Bill Ayers, McCain lashed out at Obama today for his friendship with Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Khalidi advised former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during the 1990s, but has decried suicide bombers and more radical groups like Hamas. He is a currently a professor of Arab studies at Columbia. A tie to a pro-Arab person like Khalidi could hurt Obama with Jewish voters in Florida, now considered a toss-up between the candidates. When asked about Khalidi in May, Obama acknowledged that he knew Khalidi when both taught in Chicago and their children went to the same schools, but said, "He is not one of my advisers, he's not one of my foreign policy people." The McCain camp continues to press its argument that Obama's tax policies will further damage the reeling economy. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told "Good Morning America" this morning that Obama would tax capital gains, dividends, payroll taxes and would "suffocate job growth." Pawlenty was countered on "GMA" by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who argued an Obama presidency would produce a new stimulus check for Americans and would create jobs by boosting spending on state infrastructure projects. Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

To: Sea Otter who wrote (150387)	10/29/2008 5:15:19 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361421

Greed, When Others Are Fearful, Is Good seekingalpha.com

To: Sea Otter who wrote (150387)	10/30/2008 1:58:42 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361421

Live from Quebec City, It’s Alan Patricof ______________________________________________________________ Posted on: October 28th, 2008 / PeHub.com I just got finished interviewing Alan Patricof, as part of the North American Venture Capital Summit here in Quebec City. For the uninitiated, Patricof is a legendary venture capitalist who current manages a New York-based firm called Greycroft Partners. A few quick quotes and takeaways: * “We no longer invest with the idea of taking our companies public. If they do, it’s an accident.” * Patricof recently suggested that the attention given Sequoia Capital’s “Graveyard” presentation could become a self-fulfilling prophesy, with a bad situation that would be made worse artificially. He stuck by that, but stressed that he gives Sequoia no blame for making the presentation. He added that if firms do lay off, to make the aftermath appear “tight.” For example, not too many empty cubicles or other demoralizing reminders of better times. * Patricof believes that capital gains rates will be raised next year, and that carried interest will be reclassified as ordinary income (no matter the president, although he’s a former Hillary campaign official who now supports Obama). He also thinks there may be some sort of carve-out for startup investments, which is currently defined as being in companies that have raised less than $50 million. * He confirmed that Greycroft will return to the fundraising market sometime next year, but that it “won’t raise a dollar more than $150 million.” Its current fund is $75 million.

To: Sea Otter who wrote (150387)	10/30/2008 2:03:44 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361421

Why Venture Capitalists Should Support Barack Obama _______________________________________________________________ Posted on: October 21st, 2008 / PeHub.com The following was written by Julius Genachowski, founding partner of LaunchBox Digital and special advisor to General Atlantic, and Mark Gorenberg, a partner with Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. This is a defining moment in our history and the most important election of our lifetimes. We face unprecedented economic, energy, environmental, and healthcare challenges. It is critical that the United States have a President who can respond to these challenges, regain the respect that we once enjoyed across the globe, and enact a plan to strengthen America’s competiveness in the 21st century. Senator Barack Obama believes America is a nation where the power of innovation and the world’s strongest work ethic can come together to provide solutions in these hard economic times. Senator Obama is the leader we need now. Barack Obama has laid out a comprehensive plan for America called the “Blueprint for Change.” These proposals incorporate the belief that science, technology, and innovation are critical parts of the solution to America’s most pressing problems. Senator Barack Obama launched his campaign for the Presidency in Springfield, Illinois on February 10, 2007 with a speech that let us know at the campaign’s earliest moments that technology and innovation would be key components of an Obama Administration. In November 2007, he gave a landmark speech on the Google campus in Silicon Valley and laid out his comprehensive Technology & Innovation Plan. Since then, the role of science and technology has appeared in Obama’s speeches on the economy, energy, health care, urban policy and government reform – together, comprising an unprecedented Innovation Agenda for America. Just last month, the Obama campaign rolled out its science plan with the endorsement of 61 Nobel Laureate Scientists, which was followed by the recent endorsement of all three American scientists who won Nobel Prizes this fall. Barack Obama’s Technology and Innovation plan details his proposals in six key areas: ensure an open Internet, create a transparent and connected democracy, encourage a modern communications infrastructure, prepare all of our children for the 21st century economy, improve America’s competitiveness, and employ science and technology to solve our nation’s most pressing problems. As part of his Innovation Agenda, Barack Obama will: Deploy a 21st century information infrastructure, and bring universal access to broadband to all of America’s communities. Lower health care costs and reduce medical errors by investing in electronic medical records. Invest in climate-friendly energy development by investing $150 billion over the next ten years (and creating five million new jobs) to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote commercial-scale renewable energy, and begin the transition to a new digital energy grid. The plan will work to ensure that 25% of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2025 and implement a cap and trade program to reduce greenhouse emissions 80 percent by 2050. Make a national commitment to science education and training by recruiting some of America’s best minds to teach K-12 math and science and by tripling the number of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowships. Restore integrity to science policy to ensure that decisions that can be informed by science are made on the basis of the strongest possible scientific evidence. Double the federal investment in basic research. Encourage innovation to flourish by making the R&D tax credit permanent and streamlining our patent system. Reform immigration to further enable high-skill immigrants to contribute to the U.S. economy. Support regional innovation clusters to support American entrepreneurs. Use technology to build a 21st century government that is open and participatory, relying on the best minds and technologies to address our country’s problems while generating significant cost savings. Appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government operates most efficiently for the 21st century. Barack Obama also understands that startups and small businesses create two-thirds of new jobs and will be the engine behind our next economic recovery. He not only supported the recent financial market rescue legislation, but he has also proposed a separate Small Business Emergency Rescue Plan to ensure small business can receive capital during this tough economic period. His plan includes both a zero capital gains rate for investments in startups and small businesses and a $250 million fund to create a national network of private company incubators to support small business growth. These are just some of the reasons we endorse Barack Obama for President of the United States and why the venture capital and private equity communities should enthusiastically support him as well.

To: Sea Otter who wrote (150387)	10/30/2008 5:38:15 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361421

Big tech goes bargain hunting _____________________________________________________________ If you're a corporate giant with billions in cash, there's good news in the fear spreading around Silicon Valley. All those startups with technology you coveted? Fire sale!!! By Michael V. Copeland senior writer October 28, 2008 (Fortune Magazine) -- These are the days that bring out the power shopper in Larry Ellison. With so much chaos in the markets and panic in the boardrooms, the Oracle CEO sees right now as a fine time to stroll through Silicon Valley and buy pretty much whatever he wants. "We are better positioned than our peers to do well in tough times," Ellison declared at Oracle's annual meeting in October. "Acquisitions we have been looking at for some time are more attractive." He's not talking about buying anything with stock. Like every tech company's shares, ORCL has been clobbered - it's down 22% since January, compared with -36% for the Nasdaq. No, he's talking about cash. Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) has $13 billion - and Ellison is ready to spend. Some of that money will be deployed to repurchase Oracle shares. (The company's board recently approved a stock buyback of up to $9.3 billion.) But Ellison said at the annual meeting that he planned on keeping up his 12-company-a-year buying habit. What's he feeding on? A diet of "small companies that are fast-growing," though he doesn't rule out big purchases. Two days before his speech, as markets were melting, Ellison put down an estimated $300 million to buy Primavera Software, a privately held project-management technology company. Ellison, of course, isn't the only tech potentate sitting on a pile of cash. Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500)'s John Chambers, HP (HPQ, Fortune 500)'s Mark Hurd, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500)'s Steve Ballmer, and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500)'s Eric Schmidt, among others, all have billions at their disposal. Even the normally purchase-resistant Steve Jobs sounded a bit acquisitive during Apple's recent earnings conference call. (Other big tech names may not join in the shopping spree - Sun Microsystems (JAVA, Fortune 500) and Yahoo come to mind, both of which have had serious sales declines. IBM is still growing revenues and has cash, but it's also carrying $34.4 billion in debt.) So who's going to get bought? For now, the quarry seems to be small private outfits with technology the big guys covet. Recent examples: HP's purchase of storage startup Lefthand Networks for $360 million; Intel's acquisition of networking-gear maker NetEffect for $8 million. "The deal flow is as busy as I've seen it," says Michael Barker, managing director with Revolution Partners, a boutique investment bank. "Sure, you have some VCs who think their zero-revenue social-networking company is still worth $500 million, but mostly they understand that prices are coming down. If you are a buyer, you have carte blanche." If you are a seller, you are over a barrel. VCs are loath to sell their best companies now, because they know it's a buyer's market. "In this environment it turns into a fire sale," says Jason Green, a VC with Emergence Capital, based in San Mateo, Calif. But those sales are happening anyway, as VCs comb through portfolios deciding which companies to hang on to and which to let go. Two types of companies are destined for the sales bin. Type one: startups without revenue that will soon need another round of financing just to get by. Any number of the dozens of Internet video startups that launched in the past two years fall into that category. Type two: later-stage companies with big burn rates that have been hoping to go public. Just scan the tech companies withdrawing IPOs, such as content-delivery company Synacor and software maker Varolii, for example. With both types of companies, the money they and their VCs were banking on has been squeezed off, so selling for cheap might be the only option. Even facing that pain, there is no lack of sellers, says Ned Hooper, Cisco's head dealmaker. Hooper led Cisco's purchases of WebEx (online conferencing service) and IronPort (security software). And Cisco, which has a Valley-leading $26.2 billion in cash, is in the market for more. Before 10 o'clock one recent morning, Hooper already had three eager bankers dial him up. He says recent calls tend to start the same way: "Hey, Ned it's been a while. I've got a great idea I want to run by you." Then they talk about Cisco buying their company. "If it's not nailed down, it's for sale," Hooper says. "It hasn't been like this since 2001." Cisco has always been a buyer, in good times and bad, but it likes picking up companies during downturns, after they've had to learn some financial discipline. Hooper says that any purchase Cisco makes will have to be strategic (translation: add revenue). That, more than price, will determine Cisco's level of interest. "If you are three months from raising a round of financing and it's clear that is why you are selling, don't come to us," Hooper says. "We are not the buyer of last resort." What's clear is that after several years of paying up for tech companies - of being forced into bidding wars with massive private equity shops and hedge funds dabbling in venture capital - the Valley's big tech leaders are glad to be back in demand and in control of the deals. Case in point: Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of data-storage company Network Appliance. Over lunch in San Francisco recently, Warmenhoven clearly enjoys his fish and chips about as much as he relishes his new position of strength. NetApp may not have the massive coffers of Cisco, but Warmenhoven has $2.1 billion in cash at the ready. He says he wouldn't mind picking up "something that adds to our toolkit." Like what? "Technology that would have cost me $100 million a year ago but might go for $11 million today. Deals like that." He checks a burst of incoming messages on his BlackBerry and says with a grin, "Look, the offers are coming in right now."