Barack has a problem

Barack does have a problem. He makes speeches, but when it comes down to it, his lack of experience shows more and more. He can talk his way out of hot water in a debate, but what would he be like in the world arena if he leads this country. Already, many political analysts from other countries are ready to jeer the ineptitude of the American people if they make him the democratic candidate, and if he is elected Pres it will be their heyday.

I say that he would be a great VP and Hill would be well worth voting for if she has him on her ticket. Any other scenario could become a real downfall.

I don't know Gary, what is going on? The voters will decide eventually if it is a problem. It is a problem for you because Obama is a democrat. he has more experience than Bush Jr ever had--he cannot mcuk things up any worse than Bush ahs for the past 8 years

Resident--you state "political analysts from other countries are ready to jeer the ineptitude of the American people if they make him the democratic candidate, and if he is elected Pres it will be their heyday". Please provide us with the names of these analysts and some links to their comments. Maybe you misheard they are probably jeering the ineptitiude of Bush and you couldn;t hear it with Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter bloviating in the background

CoulterLover, your political analysis might weigh more if you had not neglected the Bush term as governor of Texas.
I do consider it poor form for someone who is a contributing communicant of a church where this nation has been routinely damned to ask that nation to follow him. It is time to bring back the smoke filled room.

walter-- governor of Texas is largely a figurehead position .

It is an executive position. Your assessment reveals the purely partisan nature of your critiques, suggesting there is no real information content.

I wanted Barack to go down, but I wanted him to go down on the basis of his complete ignorance on economics and foreign policy, dangerously naive view of the world resulting in dangerous ideas for domestic and foreign policies, his record for absenteeism in the Senate ( which is why he made such a big deal in his defense last night that he was "voting all day" of the news development), and his inconsistent votes ( voting FOR 3rd term abortion, but AGAINST health care for those babies that survive the attempt to abort them, for example)

Going down over his sitting in the pews for 20 years listening to the vile spewing from Wright's mouth is ok, since it means that he thinks at least nominally the same way, but it is too bad that this is what will bring him down.

Imagine any white guy/gal going to a church for 20 years where David Duke is the preacher,..telling America Duke is his spiritual advisor, putting Duke on his Spiritual Advisory Committee ( for a POLITICAL Campaign for PRESIDENT OF THE USA???? What is THAT all about???), then asking us to believe that he didn't know that Duke was a racist and in charge of the KKK, so please just focus on the fact that Duke is the one who brought him into religion and all the good works that Duke has done.

this would be a non-story if Obama had just been doing the political thing and accepting the support of yet another leader of some sort, as politicians do all the time, even if the person is "unsavory".

give me a break.

walter-- why don't you tell us how you fought in the Korean war. It may be an executive postion but it is one without any real power. Too claim that obama has no experience and ignore bush's similar record is the real partisan position.
No real information content? Sounds like your postings.

Governor of Texas
Main article: George W. Bush as Governor of Texas
Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election as his brother, Jeb, sought the governorship of Florida. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor Ann Richards, a popular Democrat who was considered the favorite.

Bush was aided by several political advisers, including Karen Hughes, Joe Allbaugh, and Karl Rove. The Bush campaign was criticized for allegedly using controversial methods to disparage Richards.

Richards had vetoed a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. Bush pledged to sign it (and did so, after he won the election.)[41] Following an impressive performance in the debates, Bush's popularity grew. He won with 52 percent against Richards' 47 percent.[42]

As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. Bush used a budget surplus to push through a $2 billion tax-cut plan, the largest in Texas history, which cemented Bush's credentials as a pro-business fiscal conservative.[42]

Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs by extending government funding and support for religious organizations that provide social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. He proclaimed June 10 to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day where he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need."[43]

In 1998, Bush won re-election in a landslide victory with nearly 69 percent of the vote

From Wikipedia. I wish our Governor had some of these accomplishments.

Time magazine recently had a cover story about whether experience is needed to be President. Hard to draw a conclusion. Abe Lincoln had very little experience in politics and he is now considered a great one. Wilson had little experience also prior to being elected.
We will see what happens if Obama is elected.

Looks like Bush was resorting to dirty tricks and kowtowing to religiou sright even back then.

driving around town today I notice a lot of Obama signs have disappeared from lawn that used to have them..

gotta admire these folks

At coffee, today, I met a good friend, who is an Obama supporter. We talked, as usual, about a number of things, then came the politics. I mentioned Obama's problem with Rev. Wright. She said she will still vote for Obama, but she took down all signs and bumper stickers, because, "I don't want to be asked about 'if Rev. Wright was David Duke' analogy' ".

My liberal friend is quite nervous at this point. She acused me of gloating (which is, of course, true). I am enjoying this! However, I bought her coffee.

It's over for Obama - no way the Supers will give him the Dem nod - look at this 2004 election map

Web Link

If Obama gets the nod, most of that map will hold - remeber, he has won primaries and caucuses in mostly red states.

surely, against McCain, a moderate, he will lose FL and OH

Hillary will win those two states.

O has an excdellent chance of losing CA, because S. Cal independents (where all the votes are) are 4-1 ex-GOP.

at this point, a vote for Obama is a vote for McCain

I think a vote for Hilary is a vote for McCain. I'm a long time Democrat and will still vote for McCain if my alternative is Bilary...

the fact is - and polls show it - that the more people see of hillary, the more they like her - witness her 67% in favor vote for her last senate run, after everyone she'd never take the seat.

there will always be hillary haters, but obama's true negatives haven't even begun to surface yet. hillary's a known quantity, whereas obama will spend the entire election getting smeared, and playiing defense...basically, a repeat of dukakis and kerry

hillary will beat mccain in FL and OH, with mostly everything else staying the same as in 2004 - winner, HILLARY!!

Web Link

look at the balance of power states - -hillary will win those states against mccain, obama will lose most of them - for sure he loses FL and OH

I think a vote for Obama is a vote for McCain. I'm a long time Democrat and will still vote for McCain if my alternative is Obama...

I'm pretty sure Obama would crush McCain, but who knows. Elections are long processes - the approach of voting the "electable" candidate as often gets trashed as not (seems like Guiliani was a front-runner not long ago). Vote for the person you like the best, not the one you "think" other people will vote for.

BTW, the Obama-Lincoln analogy is pretty interesting. Lincoln had served one-term in the House in the 1840's (and not been re-elected) and hand't won office or served since. He was the #4 dark horse going into the Republican convention and won in a classic split vote scenario. One brilliant move - he recruited William Seward, the nationally renowned long-term Senator from New York, who had been the front-runner, to be his Sect of State. Seward and Lincoln became great friends and supporters and worked together very effectively to hold the country together.

Do you think Hillary would be Obama's Sect of State? That would be a good outcome I think - the benefit of her experience, his judgment and rhetoric, without her polarization.

So a Rumsfeld-Bolton ticket is out? How about a Rice-Connerly ticket?

What did you think of the speech by Obama?

In case anyone cares, I was appalled. Summary, vicious racism from a preacher is ok since there are some vicious racists who agree with him, and since this country was born with the "original sin" of slavery ( excuse me Barack, did you know that slavery existed around the entire world in the 1700s, and that it still exists in Africa? Has anybody noticed that slavery disappeared from the US and that many white people died to make that happen 150 years ago?)

Oh, and it is ok since his white grandmother, who helped raise him, said that she was sometimes afraid of black men going by her and other comments that made him "cringe".

Oh, and by the same logic given in this speech, David Duke or Hamas aren't that bad since they also did and do good things...I mean, really, if all anyone heard was the vile stuff of David Duke or Hamas, then of course they would be appalled, but since we know that Hamas funds schools and health care they must be ok.

Doesn't float.

Vile racism is never ok. Replace every time Wright says "white" with "black" or "brown" or "yellow" and see what you think.

And then ask yourselves if you would vote for a white guy or gal for PRESIDENT of the United States who listened for 20 years to a preacher who says this stuff,...and is raising his kids to believe this crap.



Sorry Barack. You made it worse.

Barack's speech was well crafted. It covered many elements. And that was its problem. Crafty does not mean solid, or honest.

Barack is now facing the David Duke test, and he just failed. If John Edwards or John McCain has spent 20 years with David Duke introducing them to their spiritual maker, they would have been toast, long ago. Geraldine Ferraro is right...Barack IS getting a pass, becasue he is black. Nothing to do with affimitive action. It is called a double standard.

Here is what Barack should have said:

"I am guilty of standing by, while I knew what was going on. Rev. Wright is no better than David Duke. Shame on me. I am not perfect. I have grown through this experience. Please forgive me. We can all grow through this experience, escpecially those liberals who support me.

Thank you."

Geraldine Ferraro was the sacrificial lamb. What she said needed to be said and someone had to be willing to say it. The fact that it needed to be said also meant that that someone had to be willing to go. Therefore it was probably chosen who should say it and then be willing to leave.

I agree with her wholeheartedly.

I thought and thought about what Barack could have possible said to excuse sitting in this church listening to a racist guy spew hate for 20 years..

couldn't come up with anything. COULD have if he left 10 or 15 years ago..THEN could say that he "saw the light and in spite of the good that Wright had done I realized he was sowing seeds of hate and division, of which I did not want to participate or support, so I left that church for blah blah"

Honestly, there is nothing he could have said today, given 20 years fo physical and financial support for this guy.

Though Barack's political beliefs and policies appalled me, I still prefered him to Hilary for the simple reason of finally putting the race issue to rest and giving hope to all the black people in our nation who believe there is no way up for them against "the man"..but now..no thanks.

I also feel sorry for black people who DON'T think in the hateful racist way that Wright does..now there is going to be a belief that all black people think this way and it is simply going to increase racial tensions.

Sort of like when Hilary "cried" because she was losing, setting back the perception of women as fit leaders many years.

I can only hope that the Juan Williams, Larry Elders, Bill Cosbies, and Condie Rices and other black role models win the representation of blacks in white minds in this country.

by Roger L. Simon

Barack, I didn’t do it for this.

Barack, I was a civil rights worker… South Carolina, 1966… 22 yrs old … helping old folks register to vote, teaching kids to read and write, directing Raisin in the Sun…

Barack, I didn’t do it for this.

Barack, I dream of my kindergarten best friend Andy from Walden School, Manhattan, born one day after me, shot dead in Mississippi 1964.

Barack, I idolized Stokley Carmichael and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Barack, I lost the full use of my left hand for life in South Carolina.

Barack, I didn’t do it for this.

Barack, I gave hundreds to the Black Panthers for their children’s breakfast program when I was 25 and a young screenwriter in Echo Park, Los Angeles, even though I knew Huey was crazy and was worried my money might have been going for guns, even though I had my own children in the house when the Panthers came over, their jackets bulging.

Barack, I made excuses for the Black Power Movement even though I knew it was turning racist.

Barack, I didn’t do it for this.

Barack, your speech was bullshit.

Barack, this isn’t about generations.

Barack, this isn’t about the black church.

Barack, this is about a pathological minister whose uncontrolled anger wounds his own people and keeps them down.

Barack, this is about a man who ignored that rage for his own political gain and even now won’t admit a huge mistake and looks for nuance and excuses.

Barack, this about a woman who went on scholarship to Princeton and Harvard and still hates America.

Barack, you say you want Black-Jewish reconciliation but you hung with an anti-Semite.

Barack, I didn’t do it for this.

Roger L. Simon is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, novelist and blogger, and the CEO of Pajamas Media.

I think Barack still has a problem.

Let's face it for some people Obama/Clinton will alwyas have a problem and nothing they say will be "correct". why?? because Obama is a democrat.
Republicans can associate with racist scum, hateful preachers, right-wing fanatics all they want. So-called talking heads like Limbaugh, Coulter, hannity, O'Reilly and Ingraham can spew all the venom they want--not a problem. they are republicans--so it is okay.

Barry Goldwater must be spinning in his grave about what has happened to the republican party

Obama brings up his white grandma, and her fears of black men, while out on the street. She, apparently, made some other racist remarks that made him "cringe". Did his grandma god damn America? Did she blame the the white man for bringing HIV/AIDS to America? Did she say that 9-11 was our just rewards?

Obama is hiding behind his white grandma's skirts. BTW, where was his black father during all of this nuturing by his white grandma?

"A family friend said: "He is haunted by his father's failures. He grew up thinking of his father as a brilliant intellectual and pioneer of African independence only to learn that in Western terms he was basically a drunken lecher."

Web Link

Obama is not coming clean. He is in no position to lecture the rest of us. He should just apologize, ask for forgiveness, then try to move on. Having tried to exploit his grandma, though, I doubt that it is possible. Really pathetic stuff.

In the meantime, he stil has a big problem.

Gary-- obama will always have a problem as far as you are concerned. He had a problem before this issue and he will still have one after this dies down, according to you. He didn't have your vote before and he doesn't have it now. I am sure he is not losing sleep over a right wing reactionary like yourself.

coulter,

You are correct, I will not vote for socialists, as far as I can help it. However, Obama just got in over his head on this one. All that slick, high brow, rhetoric will not work for him, going forward. He will now need to answer hard questions. No more free ride. Expect, finally, some hard questions from the liberal bastions, like the NY Times.

Geraldine Ferraro told the truth. Why did Hillary dump her sister for telling the truth? Where is the 'presidential' leadership? McCain has it, in spades, over those two.

Gary, McCain will be a threat in he general election. Certainly, if he faces Obama, McCain stands an outside chance of even winning California. It could happen. Against Hillary, McCain doesn't have a chance, because all her negatives are out there, and people like Hillary as she gains exposure. If Hillary gets the nod, she's in the White House. If Obama gets the nod, McCain's the next President

pam,

Didn't Hillary just say that she would draw down all troops in Iraq, within 60 days of her inauguration? Obama is not that stupid.

What is going on?

Gary, that doesn't matter. McCain will go down in OH and FL against Hillary.

"Gary, that doesn't matter. McCain will go down in OH and FL against Hillary."

pam,

Maybe so. However, the voters of OH and FL are not stupid, like Hillary thinks they are. Please explain to me, as well as the voters of OH and FL, how Hillary will draw down all troops within 60 days. Is she some kind of miracle worker, in her own mind? Or is she just a major league liar? It is clear, even to her own supporters, that she will do what is necessary to get electted, including staying with Bill, but if she can pull this 60 day deal off, then she is a combinattion of Ghandi and McClellan. Linclon would smile, whimsically, at Ghandi, and fire her, if he was still alive. Same for FDR and Reagan.

This Dem primary is turning into the theatre of the absurd.

Obama breeds controversy. Do you remember about a year ago when everyone was wondering if he is black enough? Now it seems that he is too black. We have questioned his faith when he denied being Muslim and now we question his choice of Christianity? It seems that this man is full of contradictions.

I just wish more of this had come out before the Primary season got into full swing.

Resident--Obama is not "full of contradictions". Read what you wrote--you and all the other pundits wonder is he is too black or not black enough. you and all the other pundits wonder if he is muslim or christian.

The problem that Obama has with some is that he is a democrat.

The idea that McCain would beat Obama is a hilarious joke. McCain didn't even get as many popular votes as Hillary.

The idea that McCain would beat Obama is a hilarious joke. McCain didn't even get as many popular votes as Hillary.