It’s official. Obama is vying for the Oval Office.
He is so charismatic and has many great ideas. It’s gonna be tough to derail this train.
Can’t wait for the right-wing attack dogs to start their siege. In the current political climate, it just might backfire and send the GOP further into the hole they are digging for themselves. Wishful thinking.
I like the guy, a lot, so far. But I want to start seeing both methods/ approaches and concrete details.
As wonderful as he seems, his experience seems AAA league.
The dems should find themselves a nice gov’ner.
I’m with JD, he’ll be better in 4 years, or if not then 8. He shows some promise, at least as far as his rhetoric goes (his voting so far has been a little liberal for my tastes) but I still think Hillary comes out with the democratic nomination.
Too many syllables in Obama, statistically speaking. He’s doomed.
If I were working his campaign, I’d recommend he trim it down to Ob. Much easier on the tongue and kind of ominous and powerful, like Zod from Superman. Oba would be workable, but only if pronounced Oh-ba.
[quote=“Hondu Grease”]It’s official. Obama is vying for the Oval Office.
He is so charismatic and has many great ideas. It’s gonna be tough to derail this train.
Can’t wait for the right-wing attack dogs to start their siege. In the current political climate, it just might backfire and send the GOP further into the hole they are digging for themselves. Wishful thinking.[/quote]
They’ve already started, courtesy of the Washington Times, Fox News, the Murdoch press and right-wing blogs :
[quote]Allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was educated in a radical Muslim school known as a “madrassa” are not accurate, according to CNN reporting.
Insight Magazine, which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last week that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, had unearthed information the Illinois Democrat and likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.
…
The Insight article was cited several times Friday on Fox News and was also referenced by the New York Post, The Glenn Beck program on CNN Headline News and a number of political blogs. (Watch how the Obama “gossip” spread Video)
School not a madrassa
But reporting by CNN in Jakarta, Indonesia and Washington, D.C., shows the allegations that Obama attended a madrassa to be false. CNN dispatched Senior International Correspondent John Vause to Jakarta to investigate.
He visited the Basuki school, which Obama attended from 1969 to 1971.
“This is a public school. We don’t focus on religion,” Hardi Priyono, deputy headmaster of the Basuki school, told Vause. “In our daily lives, we try to respect religion, but we don’t give preferential treatment.”
Vause reported he saw boys and girls dressed in neat school uniforms playing outside the school, while teachers were dressed in Western-style clothes.
“I came here to Barack Obama’s elementary school in Jakarta looking for what some are calling an Islamic madrassa … like the ones that teach hate and violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Vause said on the “Situation Room” Monday. “I’ve been to those madrassas in Pakistan … this school is nothing like that.”
Vause also interviewed one of Obama’s Basuki classmates, Bandug Winadijanto, who claims that not a lot has changed at the school since the two men were pupils. Insight reported that Obama’s political opponents believed the school promoted Wahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Islam, “and are seeking to prove it.”
“It’s not (an) Islamic school. It’s general,” Winadijanto said. “There is a lot of Christians, Buddhists, also Confucian. … So that’s a mixed school.”[/quote]
The surprising thing is not that the Moonie Times would spread this crap, but that the MSM actually did some reporting, instead of mindlessly repeating wingnut slurs.
Update:[quote]Why has he sometimes said his first name is Arabic, and other times Swahili? [/quote]
politico.com/news/stories/0207/2694.html
Is laziness and stupidity a job requirement for the Washington commentariat?
“Barack” (“blessing”) is both Arabic and Swahili. Swahili has a lot of Arabic loan-words in it. (Hell, it’s good Hebrew too, for that matter.)
i live in illinois, the state that mr.obama is using a s a springboard to greater aspirations. here we all have one question: WHAT HAS HE DONE THAT MERITS A BIGGER JOB, MUCH LESS RE-ELECTION BASED UPON HIS RECORD IN iLLINOIS?
at present his greatest assest is his skin’s melanin level. if he was deficent in this regard he would not be placed where he is today. he may have great potential, but the office of the president is not the place to develop skills (as the present resident there shows all too frequently).
jack danforth for president.
More dishonest reporting from the Loony Moony Times. I’m amazed anyone reads that crap.
Oh yeah and I like Barack. For a summary of his positions on a wide variety of issues, see this page on his website:
JD, you might find this interesting. From the veteran’s section:
[quote]Benefits Disparities
Illinois has a large proportion of aging veterans. Unfortunately, Illinois ranked 50 out of 53 states and territories in disability benefits for at least 20 years. In light of this troubling reality, Senator Obama led efforts to uncover the reasons for this disparity and correct it. As a result of his involvement, the VA has increased the number of claims reviewers in the Chicago office, providing for a faster processing of claims. The VA has also increased training to ensure more consistent decisions. Senator Obama has worked with Senator Durbin to require the VA to provide veterans in six states, including Illinois, with notification of their rights to appeal any benefit decisions. As a result of these appeals, Illinois veterans are starting to see larger benefit checks.
The Bush Administration’s approach to handling veterans’ health care ignores the reality of increasing demands on the VA, and the additional burden placed on veterans. The Administration has established a means test for VA health care eligibility, and it has banned hundreds of thousands of veterans – some who make as little as $30,000 a year – from enrolling in the system. These changes affect both older and younger veterans, and Senator Obama has opposed them, fighting instead for greater funding for veterans’ health care.
Greater Funding for Veterans Health Care
As early as February 2005, Senator Obama warned of a shortfall in the VA budget. Four months later, the VA reported that in fact it had more than a $1 billion shortfall. Senator Obama cosponsored a bill that led to a $1.5 billion increase in veterans’ medical care. During the debate on the Fiscal Year 2007 budget, Senator Obama cosponsored measures that would have provided additional funding increases for veterans.
In January 2007, Senator Obama reintroduced the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act to improve the VA’s planning process to avoid budget shortfalls in the future. The bill requires the VA and the Department of Defense to work together and share data so that we know precisely how many troops will be returning home and entering the VA system.
Homeless Veterans
Every year, 400,000 veterans across the country, including an estimated 38,000 in Chicago, spend some time living on the streets. Senator Obama has been a leader in fighting homelessness among veterans. He authored the Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act (SAVE Act) to strengthen and expand federal homeless veteran programs that serve over 100,000 homeless veterans annually. During the debate on the Fiscal Year 2007 budget, Senator Obama passed an amendment to increase funding for homeless veterans programs by $40 million. These funds would benefit programs that provide food, clothing, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and employment and housing assistance to homeless veterans.
Working with Senators Akaka and Craig, Senator Obama passed legislation in December 2006 to provide comprehensive services and affordable housing options to veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development and nonprofit organizations. This legislation was signed into law and is modeled on parts of the SAVE Act and the Homes for Heroes Act, a measure that Senator Obama had previously authored.
Food for Recovering Soldiers
Senator Obama introduced an amendment that became law providing food services to wounded veterans receiving physical therapy or rehabilitation services at military hospitals. Previously, service members receiving physical therapy or rehabilitation services in a medical hospital for more than 90 days were required to pay for their meals.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Senator Obama fought a VA proposal that would have required a reexamination of all Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) cases in which full benefits were granted. He and Senator Durbin passed an amendment that became law preventing the VA from conducting a review of cases, without first providing Congress with a complete report regarding the implementation of such review. In November 2005, the VA announced that it was abandoning its planned review.
Senator Obama passed an amendment to ensure that all service members returning from Iraq are properly screened for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBI is being called the signature injury of the Iraq war. The blast from improvised explosive devices can jar the brain, causing bruising or permanent damage. Concussions can have huge health effects including slowed thinking, headaches, memory loss, sleep disturbance, attention and concentration deficits, and irritability.
Easing the Transition to the VA
Senator Obama passed an amendment that became law requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to report to Congress on the delayed development of an electronic medical records system compatible with the VA’s electronic medical records system. DOD’s delay in developing such a system has created obstacles for service members transitioning into the VA health care system.
Part of the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act, which Senator Obama reintroduced in January 2007, would help veterans transition from the DOD health system to the VA system by extending the window in which new veterans can get mental health care from two years to five years. The Lane Evans bill also would improve transition services for members of the National Guard and Reserves. [/quote]
What are the most salient political points about him, other than the obvious?
(1) He’s liberal. Not wildly leftist, but liberal.
(2) He’s in favor of increased government spending. Think about his pet projects. How much are they going to cost?
(3) He supports gun control. (Maybe you do to, but this is going to make him some enemies.)
Is this enough to sink him?
By the way, here’s some little known trivia:
(1) He’s actually a Baptist.
(2) His middle name is Hussein.
[quote=“jdsmith”]As wonderful as he seems, his experience seems AAA league.
The dems should find themselves a nice gov’ner.[/quote]
I think all of the Democratic candidates so far are average candidates at best. Ms. Clinton is a thoroughly polarizing figure. Most of rural America will never even consider voting for her, and she has pissed off large segments of the anti-war left within the Democratic Party (whose support and votes can be crucial during primary season). Furthermore, she will definitely energize the core Republican base (who despise her)!!! In other words, she may be the darling of Westchester County dowagers and the Eastern elite, but I do not see her as being a truly national candidate.
John Edwards lacks experience, and, by not firing his staffers recently when their blogs made racist comments towards Catholics, he came across as a poor manager and a racist to boot–basically a “David Duke” with expensive hair. Chris Dodd (hot tub parties with Ted Kennedy and “sandwich” incidents with waitresses in famous Washington DC eateries)? I don’ think so 
Bill Richardson? (also question marks regarding his supposed womanizing). Joe Biden? (plagarized a speech from former UK Labour Leader and EU “technocrat” Neil Kinnock). Two Democrats who would be formidable opponents (haven’t declared themselves yet) would be Joe Lieberman or Evan Bayh of Indiana. However, I don’t think these two have a chance in hell of being nominated by the Dems.
And then comes Mr. Obama. I think Ms. Clinton would receive a lot more support from the black community (who revere former Pres Clinton). Furthermore, I don’t think Obama has been completely forthcoming with the American people regarding his years in Indonesia as is mentioned in the blog below. Basically, he is the darling of the media and academic elites right now as Dean was before the 2004 election. I expect as more people look into his background and realize how inexperienced he actually is, they will not be so enthusiastic about him.
WELCOME to Forumosa JAS.
Welcome back.
QUIET,you fool! 
jdshhhhhh
QUIET,you fool!
jdshhhhhh[/quote]
Oops! Was it supposed to be a secret?
Not a very good disguise…
I mean, come on, that’d be like…
like… uhm… I’ve got it! That’d be like me smurfing as “Ellipsis”!
Or jdsmith smurfing as jdsmurfsomething.
elephant
room
shhh!
Right, off to feed the fishes.
“Here Flounder, flounder, flounder! Here fishy, fishy, fish!”
QUIET,you fool!
jdshhhhhh[/quote]
Oops! Was it supposed to be a secret?
Not a very good disguise…
I mean, come on, that’d be like…
like… uhm… I’ve got it! That’d be like me smurfing as “Ellipsis”!
Or jdsmith smurfing as jdsmurfsomething.
elephant
room
shhh!
Right, off to feed the fishes.
“Here Flounder, flounder, flounder! Here fishy, fishy, fish!”[/quote]
A lot you know. My smurf is Whitecottonpanties.
Mine was “sour cream”.
Still waiting for Dragonbones to deliver my messages.
Aren’t smurfs with sour cream known as “Smurfettes”?
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Aren’t smurfs with sour cream known as “Smurfettes”?[/quote]Toasted, on a bagel, they’re lunch.