Letters to the Editor
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Weird W.E.S.
I love your attempts to neutralize Obama's pre-war stance against the war.
1. First you say he voted for the war so that he could claim omniscience if it went wrong. That's tantamount to saying he voted the right way so that if he turned out to be right he'd be able to say he was right. Oh no! Do politicans often vote with the intention of being proved wrong?
2. Then, when it's pointed out that he didn't vote for the war because he wasn't in the Senate but only spoke out against it, you say that it would be difficult to know how he would have voted if he had been in the Senate. Now, I suppose it's understandable, given the fact that you're a Clinton supporter, that you believe that any politician who espouses a view is only doing it for a temporary tactical advantage, and thus there's no way to know what an anti-war State Senator would vote if he had been U.S. Senator instead. But if we're going to take that point of view, why pay attention to anything that any politician says, because it's all absolute bullshit, and it has nothing to do with what they'll do when they're elected. Why prattle on about policy if it's all just a shuck to get elected? Who cares what's right or wrong as long as it plays in Peoria!
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@ Actions come later
Nice post.
In the NY times today there was an article by Adam Nagorney, about how the Clinton campaign intends to seat the Florida and Michigan "delegates" and how that had the potential of not only creating a huge rift, within the Democratic Party, but the black community as well.
Even if Hillary is elected, it hardly bodes well for her presidency, if she has to alienate half of her own party, to achieve it. If the Clintons win through a scorched earth policy, they may as well change their names to the MacBees. As in Macbeth.
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Seat all the delgates!
Not seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan, who represent over 1 million voters, would be a subversion of Democracy. If people in the Democratic party don't like it--too bad. Obama and the media will try any trick to win. Get rid of the delegates from Michigan and Florida and get rid of the superdelegates.
Let's just crown Obama King.
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@anon
These are not some "tricks"
They are the rules that all (including clinton) agreed too at the start.
Sorry, you don't change the rules at halftime.
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The sheer emptiness of Barack Obama
beggars description.
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BTW, I am an Obama supporter, and agree about superdelegates
Those are the rules. This is PARTY PRIMARY. not an election. It is not our constitutional right to even have primaries.
All these rules for the 08 primary were made up and agreed upon by everyone long ago, from Super delegates to Michigan/Florida to Nevada's caucus rules to how delegates were to be given out, everything.
If all the super delegates go for Clinton, and she gets the nod, fine..those are the rules (I may not be happy about it, but that is how it is)...if the opposite happens, and somehow Clinton gets the most pledged delegates but all the supers go to Obama, same thing....it is the rules (however, I'd be more happy in this version).
However, what I do call BS on, is trying to keep trying to change the rules in the middle to work for an advantage.
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Anonymous @ 02:35 PM
Oh, you can't blame Obama for the fact that the Democratic party made a stupid rule that they weren't going to seat delegates from either Michigan or Florida. That was a decision made by the party idiots when Hillary was still inevitable and Obama a blur in the distance behind her. I have no idea why the party leadership did something so stupid, and they should come up with some accommodation where at least part of the delegates are seated. The only problem I have with it is that it was a bit disingenuous for Clinton to leave to her name on the Michigan ballot, saying "it doesn't matter because no delegates will be seated" and then turn around immediately afterwards and demand for the delegates to be seated. If it's such a matter of principle, she should have publicly appealed the party's decision BEFORE the Michigan primary. It would really suck if she became the nominee through a bad faith gambit like that. It's not a matter of Obama being crowned King; it's simply that a lot of people find it highly objectionable that the Clintons are trying to pull a bait-and-switch here. Or do you think it's ethical to say one thing to get the other candidates not to oppose you in a delegate-rich state and then to immediately change your tune as soon as the primary is over? What sort of lesson should we take away from this about taking the Clintons at their word?
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@ cythera45
Assuming for the moment that you are not actually a Republican troll sent here to sow discord and really do think Hillary is the best candidate, you really should cease and desist from the name calling of Obama supporters. By now, anyone reading these threads knows that you do not support Obama. The Obama supporters will not be swayed by your attacks on them and their character and the folks that are undecided are more likely to be repelled than attracted by your approach.
If you really want to help Hillary you need to be more civil.
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@ Slackie r.e. polls
Yeah, *today* she's up 14 points in Ohio. But I was told on the day of the Potomac primary that she was up 20 points. Don't know where that earlier poll came from, but if it's accurate, then the gap is closing.
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re: cythera45
Come on, guys, cut cythera45 some slack!
If you read all of her posts together, you'll realize that she knows only about twelve words of the English language - "Obamabot," "empty," "suit," and "nuclear" among them - and she's really doing the best she can!
She's obviously a stranger in our country. Show some hospitality!
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here's some solutions....from Obama.com
Obama’s comprehensive agenda to restore fairness and balance to the economy and restore our prosperity includes:
· Protecting Homeowners: Obama has proposed a fund to offer direct relief to victims of mortgage fraud and would ease the burden on struggling homeowners by offering a tax credit to low- and middle-income Americans that would cover ten percent of their mortgage interest payment every year.
· Combating Fraud: Obama would institute tough new penalties for those who commit mortgage fraud, and create a uniform HOME SCORE that would allow consumers to compare various mortgage products so that they can determine which mortgage best fits their needs and financial situation.
· Middle-Class Tax Cut – Obama is the only candidate to propose a middle-class tax cut that will provide relief to 95% of working Americans -- $1,000 per working family. He’ll also eliminate income taxes for any senior making less than $50,000.
· Affordable Health Care – Obama’s universal health care plan cuts costs more than any other plan in this race – it will save the typical family up to $2500 on their premiums.
· Making College Affordable – Obama will provide the middle class a fully refundable tax credit worth $4,000 for tuition and fees every year, which would cover two-thirds of the tuition at the average public college or university.
· Easing the Burden on Working Families – For mothers and fathers who are juggling work and parenting, Obama will expand the child care tax credit for people earning less than $50,000 a year, and he’ll double spending on quality afterschool programs. He will also expand the Family Medical Leave Act to include more businesses and millions more workers; and change a system that’s stacked against working parents by requiring every employer to provide seven paid sick days a year, so that they can be home with their child if they are sick.
· A Secure Retirement – Obama will require employers to enroll every worker in a direct deposit retirement account that places a small percentage of each paycheck into savings. Workers would be able to retain this account even if they change jobs, and the federal government will match the savings for working families.
· A Credit Card Bill of Rights – Obama will institute a five-star rating system to inform consumers about the level of risk involved in every credit card and establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights that will ban unilateral changes to a credit card agreement; ban rate changes to debt that’s already incurred; and ban interest on fees.
· Reforming Bankruptcy Laws – Obama will reform bankruptcy laws to make sure that those who can demonstrate they went bankrupt because of medical expenses can relieve their debt and get back on their feet.
· Rebuilding our Infrastructure – Obama would create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over ten years. This investment generate nearly two million new jobs – many of them in the construction industry that’s been hard hit by this housing crisis.
· Trade that Works for Workers – Obama will end tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas and give breaks to companies who create good jobs with decent wages here in America.
· Millions of New Green Jobs -- Obama’s energy plan will invest $150 billion over ten years to establish a green energy sector that will create millions of new jobs over the next two decades – jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. He will also provide funding to help manufacturers convert to green technology and help workers learn the skills they need for these jobs.