Letters to the Editor
loper2008
Published Letters: 29 Editor's Choice: 5
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The only danger
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]of Obama's speech was that he wrote a speech that could not be reduced to sound bites and aired on t.v. It is silly that people (meaning you, Fox news, and rabid HRC supporters) are hounding on this.
As a white woman, I was raised that all races are equal but picked up on this feeling that I should be more afraid when a black man walks down the street. I am under 30 and I know how pervasive this feeling is among many white people, especially those born in rural areas or areas without many blacks.
HRC referred to Gennifer Flowers as "trailer trash" which is certainly a negative white stereotype. But she is 100% white (we assume) so she can get away with it. The fact that you are so bothered by these comments shows that you see Obama as too black to be able to make generalizations. Imagine if Edwards had made the slip, "typical white person." It would have gone unnoticed, especially if he was talking about someone in his own family.
Obama explained this quote perfectly well on Larry King Live, and sure he could have said it better, but part of his speech was saying we are never going to move forward unless we let people talk about their beliefs, which is why I respect his refusal to reject Rev. Wright. Why don't you reflect on Bill Clinton's recent comments in N. Carolina about patriotism?
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Hey Clinton supporters---
[Read the article: The Democrats' anti-momentum]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]who are so arrogant to presume your candidate is fully voted. Obama has raised none of the problems that Republicans would use against her in the fall. They are going to use the Bosnia incident and her tea chat in Ireland in ads and make a mockery of her. They will show that she went to the opera on the first attack at the World Trade Centers. They will show clips like these non-stop on Fox. They will mock her experience in the White House and as first lady of Arkansas.
They will talk about how her health care program is socialized medicine because it requires a mandate. They will make insinuations about Bill's sexual practices. Who knows what will be found in their tax returns to play with? They will try and paint any Democrat as weak on patriotism and national security. They will talk about how she will raise taxes.
My problem with Clinton is she is still trying to beat Republicans at their game and its not going to happen. Kerry tried to do this and he lost fair and square.
Obama has weaknesses for sure, but he is the only candidate with credibility on criticizing this war before it began. He is also still perceived as more honest and authentic than HRC, so he will be able to compete in this way.
I cannot guarantee he would win the general but neither can HRC supporters guarantee she can win the general. As much as they say this. If she is having this much trouble in the primary (losing), and she came into this with total name recognition and institutional backing I think she has a tough case to make that she is more electable.
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Whoever controls the words controls the world
[Read the article: Rev. Jeremiah Wright isn't the problem]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The problem here, and the letter responders show this, is people fail to see nuance in arguments or beliefs. It is highly possible to believe that US foreign policy aggravated people around the world enough to hate us AND also believe that the attack on 9/11 was horrific and unjustified. Especially since it killed civilians who do not have much power over their government's foreign policy. People in the US do not understand how much power we have in the world and yes people have reason to dislike us.
People here cheered the death of Saddam Hussein and would likely cheer the death of Osama Bin Laden. If they aired this in Muslim countries we would look bad in their eyes. We are all connected. Osama Bin Laden may have reasons to attack us that have nothing to do with our foreign policy but Al Qaeda sure could recruit a ton of people to kill us after the Iraq war. It makes our enemies stronger.
I support Obama and I find it interesting that everyone has ignored the economic populism in his speech. He correctly pointed out that racial, class, gender divisions only serve the corporations who want to distract us while they continue to threaten our livelihoods, exploit our labor, and destroy the planet. This is the real issue. Patriotism is just one big distraction.
The Dems are in a really bad place right now. We need to reframe the whole patriotism issue. I actually think Obama is in a better place to do it than HRC, because he has the intelligence and rhetorical skills to pull it off ... at least enough to win the election. HRC will just try the whole Republicanlite scheme, which didn't work for John Kerry. She just tries to beat them at their game, which is impossible.
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ouch ...
[Read the article: The best-laid plans]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]why is everyone so angry at the writer?
it is well-written. say what you want about the topic but don't assume you know her whole life story from a short essay.
i have a feeling most of you are writers because what else could provoke such bitterness?
if you can do better, do it ... don't be a hater
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Not Bloomberg
[Read the article: Obama-Bloomberg '08?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama's safe veep pick will be Sen. Jim Webb. The more risky picks would be either the female governor fom Kansas or Arizona ...