Letters to the Editor
-
hmm
It seems that there is a growing group of people that are implying that Obama is not really the intelligent thoughtful person he clearly is. Regardless of his speaking skills when you read what he has written and his interviews he reacts in an honest and thoughtful way. This attempt to paint him as a used car salesman is really quite silly. I mean he doesn't even do that well in the debates.
What he does is say meaningful things that are clearly very considered. He is not extremely left wing. He is quite likely a left leaning centrist. In the same vain as the Clintons. But what we really need is a thoughtful person who can rebuild what is broken.
HRC is an amazing women. But she has so much baggage. A I have said before it is not just the presidency that is important it is all the down ticket races. If Obama can bring out voters like in Iowa nation wide we will have a strong nationwide Centrist majority. Based largely around progressive ideas.
We don't need a divisive figure we need someone to heal the wounds. And some of that means correcting some very serious mistakes. We need a president with a mandate. I think Obama is the most likely democrat to get it. We need someone who wins 55-60% of the vote. I think he can achieve that. And it would be a great thing for America.
The Clinton's are brilliant but horribly flawed. I am amazed when I listed to him speak. But the truth is we need someone who doesn't have that kind of baggage.
-
Okay one thing that bothers me about Obama
I appreciate that he has his opposition to incarceration mania plainly described on his website.
On the other hand, he makes all of these wonderful promises regarding technology and the environment -- but where is his policy on basic scientific research?
It's the basic research that underlies and gives birth to the innovations in technology.
I like it that Hillary is very unambiguous about her support for basic scientific research.
I'm worried about the future of American science. None of these wonderful applications Obama wants to fund and promote are going to happen in America without much stronger support for basic scientific research coming from the federal government.
-
yup, you might elect obama,
but you've already shown the nation can elect dubya. you can elect carter and clinton, but you've already elected johnson and nixon. electing a 'good' president doesn't cure anything, it just 'pauses' the nation's history between the bad ones..
when the usa evolves past elective monarchy to democracy, you can start voting for policies rather than people. that's what gravel was talking about, and why he was ignored. he was too far out in front of the american electorate, or too difficult for the commentariat to understand.
at best the next democrat president will provide a respite on the empire's grasp at power over oil, and control over the electorate through dis-information. there will be another monster along soon enough. it's not like dubya was outstanding in any way.
-
Alchemy?
Didn't the practioners of alchemy try to turn base metal into gold? Surely not the best metaphor for the Followers to use?
-
Obama and our world neighbors
People here indeed want a change and Obama has the magic. But the real power of Obama goes way beyond the US. People worldwide are disillusioned, enraged, disgusted with the US policies enacted by the Darth Vader team of Bush-Cheney. The US has earned the reputation of being the world's worst neighbor. Obama is the best choice for helping the US begin to reconcile with the world, regaining our friends and hopefully leading the way towards a non-violent, nuclear-free and healthy planet.
-
The Obama and Alchemy..
Alchemy isn't that when you turn bird shit into gold..?
That sounds like The Obama to me..
-
@doc5467
Alchemy was itself a metaphor from the very beginning, and you have articulated it very clearly without even seeing the words you typed: "base" into "gold." The Philosopher's stone was supposed to be the key to the whole deal, and it was turned into plain, old time junk by the coarse, gross, stupid and greedy who took it literally and battled each other in the hunt for The Touchstone which could accomplish the "magic" of alchemy when really all it meant was transfiguration accomplished through love and clarity.
We have allowed ourselves to be taken in by the the basest of characters, Democrat and Republican (the Republicans having been the active partners, the Democrats the passive ones) and it is up to someone -- who happens, I believe, to be Mr. Obama this time -- to transform us into something fine like gold, by drawing us through the eye of the needle and into a new stage of growth, back onto the path our founders laid out for us, back from devolution to evolution, away from the past and into the now and beyond.
Is it that difficult to decipher the meaning of the term and the process? If so then perhaps I can finally stop wondering how we ever got into this condition we've been living in for so very, very long. Maybe half of us really prefer to wallow in their own waste.
I don't. I choose transformation.
-
The Alchemy of Barack Obama
Very idealistic article. What America needs now is a healthy dose of moral fiber, not a spiritual event. Will our hero be able to bring that to the table? Time will tell.
-
Trandscendence through Leadership
What you are seeing is not alchemy, but rather Real Leadership. For real. Leadership can transcend any obstacle , and achieve the seemingly unattainable. It is clear (to me anyway) that Sen. Obama is a real leader, and we have not seen leadership in this country for quite some time.
I was a leader as an NCO in the military (Active duty Navy and Army--Army National Guard that turned into active duty on more than one occasion, but that's quite a different story :)), so I think I recognize true leadership qualities when I see them. A leader does not necessarily have all the answers or experience (I led solders in the Army that had more "Army experience" than I), but rather knows how to mobilize and motivate the people in his/her charge as well as delegate authority to those who are experts in their particular field. Sen Obama is the first genuine political leader I have seen in my lifetime.
I really believe if he is elected he will surround himself with the right people (not that it would happen, but Sen. Clinton or Gov. Richardson would make great cabinet members or advisors--again there is a difference between a leader and a policy expert). I don't look to the executive branch for all the answers--only that they to listen to the right people who can assemble a good solution. This is what Obama suggests--furthermore he is also asking us to share a stake in this--listen carefully to his message; he is asking us to involve ourselves in his endeavor. This is his riskiest proposition. I think we (generally speaking) have been so cynical for so long that involvement and responsibility on our part is a long shot. That being said, I believe it is the only way we can rescue our little experiment here--an experiment, natch, an idea I deeply believe in so I'm "throwing the dice" thank you very much. Clinton and Edwards reflect and articulate the reality of what is wrong with America, and for the most part I agree with them. Obama points to the IDEAL that IS America, and challenges all of us to move toward that goal. That is what a leader does. For the first time in my life I truly believe we might actually move a step closer to that ideal.
On another note I just want to recognize ACCalhoun for all the insightful and rational letters. You always add to any article you comment on. Keep up the good work. What does it mean that the most rational letter writer here is an apostate republican! LOL!