Obama's closing argument: Stand up

Powerful speech. From the world's most charismatic and brilliant figure. And look at the controversial stands Obama takes.

He's for "education", and against "fear". Favors "standing up" for "the future", "health care", and "energy".

As to specifics, "you know in your gut that we can do better than we are doing now". Can't get more specific than a GUT!

The fact is that Barack Obama is polling better than all of the other Democratic candidates against the top Republican candidates. We truly have nothing to fear in voting for Barack Obama. He is clearly the best candidate to bring this nation together and lead us as we address the challenges we face as a nation.

By the way, there are plenty of specifics on Barack Obama's campaign website.

'We will transform this country'
Barack Obama 12/22/07

1. Socialism.
2. Abortion on demand.
3. No guns.
4. Left wing Supreme Court Justices.
5. High taxes.
6. A Quran in every motel.

Paulo

I wonder what principaled Republicans think of posts like yours Paulo.

Fear. Smear. Holier than thou. More patriotic than thou.

If you and RNC Bruce and the rest of the gang think you can win in '08 by repeating your 2006 strategy - please - keep it up.

'We will transform this country'
Barack Obama 12/22/07
1. Socialism.
2. Abortion on demand.
3. No guns.
4. Left wing Supreme Court Justices.
5. High taxes.
6. A Quran in every motel.
Paulo

Posted by: Paulo | December 22, 2007 11:04 PM

Paulo,
Are you retarded or are you just playing on mommies computer during Christmas vacation?

I don't agree with most of the Republican posters on here but at least they don't come across like a racist bigot like you do.

I was thinking about voting for Ron Paul but after repeatedly reading your hate filled, lying posts on here I have decided to vote for Barack Obama because he must be doing somthing right if Republicans like you are so desperate to smear him that you'll outright lie about him.

Not only am I now voting for Senator Obama, I'm also going to be making a big campaign donation to him, thanks for helping me make up my mind Paulo.

Republicans out there, does this "Paulo" nut speak for all of you?

Some comments on these blogs are so far out there. Barack Obama will transform this country by bringing people together under our common American values.

1. "I believe that America's free market has been the engine of America's great progress."
-- Barack Obama

2. "But, you know, my Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. So I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence that all young people should have for the act of sexual intimacy."
-- Barack Obama

3. "[There is] a tradition of gun ownership in this country that can be respected.... [Gun ownership] is an individual right and not just the right of a militia.... Like all rights, though, they are constrained by the needs and the rights of the community."
-- Barack Obama

4. "If you guess that [Barack has] surrounded himself with people who are highly ideological, left-wing or dovish, you would guess wrong. These folks cannot easily be typecast by ideology."
-- Philip Zelikow, a former senior Bush administration official

5. "If we're going to keep that social compact for a new century, we need a tax code that's fair - a tax code that rewards work and advances opportunity. Every American who is ready to work for their American dream should be able to trust that they have a government that works for them. I'll keep that trust by cutting taxes for working people, homeowners, and seniors, and by simplifying tax filing for middle class Americans."
-- Barack Obama

6. "I'm hopeful because I think there's an awakening taking place in America. People are coming together around a simple truth - that we are all connected, that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper. And that it's not enough to just believe this - we have to do our part to make it a reality. My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work."
-- Barack Obama

Paulo:

I might have agreed with your list were it not for the fact that you included # 6 again. I don't think the claim that he's a Muslim is well founded or proven. To the contrary, his answer to the question, "What is a Christian?" was much better than I expected from anyone in his denomination (the U.C.C. being a “liberal” church). His name means nothing if the space between his ears says he’s a Christian.

As for the rest, we already have socialism and abortion on demand. However, in Obama’s defense, he would probably not bring much more socialism, and certainly not as much as Hillary or Edwards have in their plans. He has, after all, refused to commit to a total nanny state resolution to all issues on the table; a claim that Hillary can’t make. Gun restrictions, taxes and left wing judges come with the territory of electing Democrats; in which case, your implied criticism of Obama is equally applicable to the balance of the Democrat slate, if not more so.

The bottom line is that you points lose a lot by adding criticism that is not credibly within the realm of reality. Unless you simply post this stuff to raise people’s hackles, I wouldn’t do it if I were you.

Paulo,
do you support
1. Anti social corperate medical insurance rape of America.
2. Back alley abortions
3. Thugs with Guns (IE the NRA)
4. Right Wing Clown appointments of the last 8 years.
5. Every Tax dollar wasted in Iraq.
6. Baby Jesus as the only option for religion in this nation?

Hey Paulo, how you doin'?

Obama's approach is a far cry from the slash and burn revolt against the powerful of the Edward's campaign, and the let's just go back to the halcyon days of my husband campaign of Hillary/Bill. He has a message of inspiration and engagement and speaks of people coming together to solve problems in a union of the government and the citizens. Edwards wants the government to beat up the bad ol guys, and Hillary/Bill wants the government to continue to continue to make promises it can't keep.

Please take up Mr. Lynch's offer and look at the "specifics" of Obama's issue positions on Obama's website.

You'll find the same vagueness and boilerplate generalities on the website as you would in Obama's speeches.

For example, quoting from Obama's website, Obama's Iraq War stands amount to:

1) a "call for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, convened with the United Nations, which would not adjourn until Iraq's leaders reach a new accord on reconciliation".

Huh? Isn't calling a constitutional convention Iraq's business, not the U.S.'s? How can any president dictate that Iraq's leaders "reach a new accord"? And how can any president dictate when such a convention may or may not adjourn? And even if they reach a "new accord", what guarantee is there that the "new accord" will be respected?

2) "He would use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all of the nations of the region on behalf of a new regional security compact."

The is NO substance that can be extracted from this. Other than, perhaps, the hope that the nations of the middle east, nations that haven't agreed on anything for 1500 years, will suddenly become bosom buddies when they hear the magic of Obama's voice.

3) "And he would take immediate steps to confront the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Iraq."

He would "take immediate steps" "to confront".... Can anything be less specific than that?

Obama insults the voter's intelligence by substituting such piffle for policy.

Are there any Republicans running? Wouldn't know it if your reading was limited to the Swamp.

Are there any Republicans running? Wouldn't know it if your reading was limited to the Swamp.

Posted by: Gonzaga | December 23, 2007 11:00 AM

Nope, the GOP is void of idea's again.

Hey, is Zombie Reagan running for the Repubs again? you would think so with how many times these loser GOPer candidates mention his name.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kolkxwRPcI

It is truly a new day. Not only did Bruce say this about Senator Barack Obama:

"Powerful speech. From the world's most charismatic and brilliant figure"

but now he is urging everyone to visit Barack Obama's campaign website. I know there are a lot of specifics to read on the web site so take your time.

6. A Quran in every motel.
Paulo

Why not? Sounds great to me. A hotel I stayed at had a book on Buddhism in the drawer next to the Bible and it continues to motivate me years later. You may think that ignorance is bliss, Paulo, but it only leads to depravity.

Paulo doesn't want to transform this country....he wants to keep it the same as his world:
White
White
White
White
Can you throw in a few more fried chicken jokes?

Obama is polling below Edwards, despite the fact that the corporate media are trying to kill Edwards off.

In 2008, we don’t need to choose the lesser of the evils; this time around, it’s the GOP voters who find themselves in that position. Democrats have a field of qualified, experienced, intelligent, viable candidates, while Republicans are scrambling to determine whose skeletons are least likely to fall out of the closet before the general election.

The Clinton campaign has made a big to-do about Obama’s supposed lack of experience, and his relatively short tenure in Washington, D.C.

Given the corruption that runneth over in the nation’s capitol, I’m not entirely certain that lack of years in Washington is a negative quality. In fact, I think it’s one of Barack’s strongest advantages.

Barack Obama is a candidate that the average American voter can relate to. He wasn’t born into wealth, or a political family, or big business. His mother and grandparents were from Kansas, his father a student from Africa, and he was born in Hawaii, a state known even in the tumultuous 1960s for its tolerance and acceptance of diversity. Like most of us, he went through a phase in which he partied and experimented with drugs, but ultimately his intelligence and drive led him on a path away from temptation and towards great academic success. He was the first African American editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He established himself as a civil rights lawyer, and taught at the University of Chicago. He got elected to the state legislature in Illinois, fighting for health care and welfare reform and an end to racial profiling by law officers. He won his U.S. Senate seat with 70% of the vote and became a household name after his moving speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

He didn’t spend eight years in the White House as the spouse of the President. He’s been in the Senate only four years shorter than Hillary. He didn’t tour the world as Hillary did in her role as First Lady, he lived abroad, in Indonesia. There’s something to be said of experience, the kind of experience that Senators Biden and Dodd have after decades in the Senate. But Hillary’s attacks on Barack’s experience are unfounded, particularly when her own experience is not so involved as she often makes it seem. There is a great deal to be said for real world experience, the kind that Barack had while Hillary’s husband (not Hillary) ran this country from 1992-2000. Indeed, Hillary has served in the Senate a few years more. But Barack has served as an elected official since 1997, and his understanding of the political process is every bit as developed as hers.

Real world vs. Washington experience is why I believe Barack is the best candidate for the Democratic nomination. Hillary has been in the public eye and Washington for 15 years, and with that comes a degree of protection that makes walking down the street impossible. Barack has spent more time, more recently, with everyday people. Before 2004, he was everyday people. His anti-lobbying stance has helped him elude the number of special interest friends and enemies the Clintons and other Washingtonian politicos have made.

I think Barack Obama is the candidate most likely to bring a fresh, untainted perspective to the presidency. We need that, in this day and age where all the friends in high places and experience cannot guarantee our safety from our enemies or a balanced budget. I’m tired of the old establishment. I don’t feel 20+ years of Bush and Clinton presidencies will bring about any significant degree of change in the way the rest of the world views our nation, or peace in the Middle East. If Hillary Clinton is such a foreign policy expert, why have many of Clinton’s advisors decided to lend their support to Barack Obama and not their former boss’s wife?

Hillary’s campaign has taken ugly turn after ugly turn since Obama’s recent surge in the polls, and I’m not a fan of Democrats who focus to much of their attack on their Democratic colleagues in the primaries. The big picture is, can you beat Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, and Fred Thompson? Many feel Hillary has the best chance because of her noteriety across America. I think she is vulnerable to attacks from the GOP that will make the Swift Boat ad look like child’s play.

Barack Obama conducts himself with a calm, collected, level-headed demeanor. He speaks openly and honestly, admitting to past mistakes like his drug use with a frankness Americans aren’t used to hearing from their leaders. He is a deliberate debator, and while many consider the pauses in his speech to be a sign of unpreparedness or stage fright, I believe he is the kind of candidate who likes to think about what he’s saying to you. He’s not spewing talking points hashed by a team of advisors and debate prep staff. He listens, he thinks, and then he talks. He doesn’t have the rapid-fire responses Hillary has, and I believe that helps him avoid damaging missteps in debates and Q&As.

I like that he’s young. I like that he’s new. I like his open-mindedness, his honesty, his sense of humor, his intelligence, his diverse background which has given him an original perspective. I like him, which is a lot more than I can say about many politicians in Washington.

Simply because I’m not supporting Hillary Clinton doesn’t mean I don’t want a woman in the White House someday. But America is at a critical junction, and so much is at stake in this election. I believe now isn’t the time to vote based on gender, race, or religion. It’s time to vote for a change. Out of the entire candidate pool, GOP and Democratic, I feel Obama is the one most likely to bring about change for our nation.

On February 5, 2007, in the Illinois primary, I will proudly cast my vote for Barack Obama, and I encourage each and every one of you to do the same.

NO more Clinton dynasty and corrupted Health Industry.

!!! VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA !!!

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ (Here you go, "Bruce" -- who said:
"As to specifics, 'you know in your gut that we can do better than we are doing now'. Can't get more specific than a GUT!")

RNC bruce is keen on "specifics", like those his hero Donald Rumsfeld used to supply:

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know".

And then we have Dubya, mangler-in-chief, who doesn't have to worry about specifics because he's never successfully articulated a sentence in his life.

It's obvious the RNC is getting very concerned about Obama because brucebot is getting increasingly desperate to discredit the senator. Be afraid, bruce, be very afraid.

When challenged about Obama's specifics, not one Obama supporter bothers to defend, or even mention, Obama's specifics. Perhaps out of embarrassment, because even they can't cite specifics that make any sense.

Instead, Obama's supporters (such as "dt") attack--Donald Rumsfeld?

Donald Rumsfeld????

But to be fair, if they pledge not to vote for the empty suit from Chicago, I'll be happy to pledge not to vote for Rumsfeld.

Instead, Obama's supporters (such as "dt") attack--Donald Rumsfeld?
Posted by: Bruce | December 24, 2007 10:40 AM

Kinda reminds me of the old reliable cheer from the right whenever confronted on an issue....
It's Clintons fault!

Bruce,

I'm not an Obama supporter, but I think you know that no candidates, Dem. or Repub go up in front of potential voters with power point and a list of all the specifics to attain their desired goals. Your attacks are empty and absurd. The specifics are out there and you know where to find them.

As far as Rumsfeld, you could fill in the blank for any of the incompetents, future and past, that work for BushCo. I pick on Rummy because you fawned over him so, despite the fact that he blew off the proven "specifics" of years of war planning and the advice of his top Generals to prosecute the Iraq war HIS way. The failure to secure the peace in Iraq falls largely on his shoulders. Now pass the candy and flowers, brucie, it's Christmas. And have a merry one, friendo.