Letters to the Editor
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@Xavier
Damn it: strike the Military Commissions Act part.
I meant to write about the Iranian resolution, which he not only failed to use his oratorical brilliance to lead a charge against, but even failed to vote against it and actually co-sponsored the Iranian Counterproliferation Act (S970), which used the same language in marking the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as "terrorists."
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Obama Leads on Principle
Early in the campaign, I read this about Senator Obama, "when Obama walks in the room every one stops, he is a leader and you just want to follow him." I found out for myself the first time I attended an Obama town meeting in Iowa. The voters in the room immediately knew he was whip smart and genuine. He truly listened, and he answered every question. No generalizations, no inciteful campaign rhetoric.
Barack Obama runs a clean grassroots funded campaign made strong by the organization of hard working, dedicated volunteers. Of course he defends against smear tactics, and ruthless attacks. But consistently he engages in fair debate that requires comparisons of policy. He brings intelligence, integrity, and just plain honesty always flavored with a sense of humor. His message of Hope isnt a gimmick, its a gift he gives like a light shining through. He moves us past fear to possibility - that our country will be restored to greatness.
Thats why we follow him. Barack Obama leads on principle.
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Obama for Vice President!
Barack talks well, but he is general and obvious. When he came to Detroit, we were ready to deify him, but he gave a general, 20-years-out-of-date lecture on the basic economics of the automotive industry.
Snore. And, it was sort of insulting, because we have been talking about this stuff, in much greater detail, since the 1980s.
So, lets's make him the VP, with Edwards or Hillary as the P.
Have you noticed how many Salonistas are picking Edwards lately? Hooray for Edwards! Hooray for Salon!
Happy New Year! I am heading down to Thrasher's favorite restaurant right now, to eat my Chocolate Mousse, and drink my Chanpagne.
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Why I support Barack Obama
1. Barack Obama stands for change – He has run his campaign without taking money from lobbyists. You can’t be part of the system and change the system.
2. Barack Obama has shown sound judgment – he is the only leading candidate who opposed the Iraq war from the beginning – even when it was profoundly unpopular.
He’s the guy who said, Hey, wait a minute. The emperor has no clothes.
3. Barack Obama will restore America –
• He will restore America’s rightful place as a world leader in human rights and civil liberties. We can’t lead if we’re trampling on the very values we were founded on.
• He will restore the rule of law after the shameful performance of the Bush Administration.
• He will restore the unity of the United States of America after the divisiveness of the last eight years.
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I'm sure, but...
"I'm sure Obama has partisan policy goals, but his campaign has decided that instead of making a case for various proposals, this is the time to sell people what they already want -- hope, unity, a promise to solve problems."
What absolute stunning nonsense. Especially the part where the writer speculates that the campaign decided not to share policy proposals with the public but to instead fill their ears with words of unity and promise - that will do the trick! "I am sure Obama has partisan...goals". But you don't know what they are! And you are going to vote for him!
Well, we have a two-party, adversarial system in this country, at least for the next few hours until Mike Bloomberg jumps in to the race. We have a Democratic congress that is helpless to stop this blighted war. We need a strong leader and not a good speaker. We need solid policy not platitudes. I vote, I don't want hope, unity and a "promise to solve problems". What in the blank does that mean anyway?
I am sitting in Manhattan listening to the fireworks while the dog in the next apartment goes crazy. Happy New Year. At the end of January my health insurance goes up to $1200 a month. I would far rather have John Edwards fighting for me than Obama, that's for sure. (And I meant it about Happy New Year!:)
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Our Moment Is Now
Here's what you're missing.
From that first trip into New Hampshire in December, 2006 to the rallies of December, 2007, instead of looking at Obama, look at the people in the audience.
We want to make a statement in 2008 that America is Barack Obama and not George Bush. We want a leader whose personal history, talent and message is the personification of what America is and what it can try to be. Aspiration is inspiration.
God pity the cynics, I'll take the hope monger.
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No Obama Please
Obama is vague as haze. I do not get his appeal at any level. Bush used similar rhetoric in 2000 and was someone people could have a beer with. Obama is similarly lightweight. Once under scrutiny in a national election, against a Republican, there is no way he can hold up. He has NOT been vetted by the media.
People in the media also forget that the bipartisan atmosphere they yearn for, did exist the first four years of Bush's administration after 9/11 -- and it resulted in bad policy, bad direction, bad decisions.
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The Question Is Not "What?"
It is "When?"
The voting public knows, regardless of which school one is speaking, what it wants. "We" over here want to see the US cease its empire building, mindless violence in the name of national security, and to turn away from all the failed policies of the past and toward new ways of thinking about how to make this nation and, ultimately, the world, work better.
Barack Obama has made his policies and platform clear enough if anyone wants to bother to listen or to read. What he does which is different from the others is to set fire to minds once mired in circular thinking, minds trapped in a political "Groundhog Day."
The unwavering support of Salon for Hillary Clinton and its simultaneous attacks on Barack Obama expose a desire to cling to the devil we know. I'm not sure we need any devil, whether it's one we know or not, but right now I'd really prefer to take my chances with the one I haven't been living with nearly all my life. Barack Obama represents that departure. So long as he remains in the race I will support him and his "naive" hope mongering. I will also flip all cynics the bird, because they are the devil I know all too well.
Hope. It's not a bad starting point. Hope for a new way of doing business is even better. It's been articulated. Read it or blunder forward into the past. It's so much more familiar than the Great Unknown.