Barack Obama’s speech responding to the Jeremiah Wright
controversy, on race in America, this morning in Philadelphia.
** THE WRIGHT/WRONG EFFECT. A new CBS News national poll shows that most who have heard of the Jeremiah Wright comments — and it’s not a majority, despite all the fuss — say they don’t care that much. But of those who do, it’s very negative. Among Democrats, the damage is limited, as I suspected at the end of last week. 76% say their view of Barack Obama is unchanged, while 15% say they think less of the presidential frontrunner for the association with his former pastor. Among all voters, 65% say their view is unchanged, but 30% say they view more Obama more negatively as a result. Clearly something Obama needed to get in front of. Which he has done with a speech which will undoubtedly lead to ongoing discussions of race in America for weeks and months to come.
** THE OBAMA SPEECH: SHORT FORM (RE-PUBLISHED). I wrote this a few hours ago, but don’t see it. Eh, technology. Barack Obama’s speech this morning in Philadelphia was clearly quite the success. (Um, which may be why I have the video and full text on NWN.) Obama may well have locked up the Democratic presidential nomination today, not that he did not have a strong grasp on the prize before, as readers are well aware. But what does it mean for the country? What does it mean for a general election race against John McCain, should the Clintons continue to fail in their relentless efforts to derail the tyro Illinois senator?
For that, we will have a column tomorrow. Because Obama is not exactly out of the woods here.
** MICHIGAN RE-DO PRIMARY PROBABLY DEAD. In another blow to Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, the make-over Michigan primary now appears dead. Michigan jumped the queue, violating Democratic National Committee rules that all the candidates agreed upon, to go early. Clinton nonetheless declared victory there, after ending up as the only major candidate to leave her name on the ballot. Despite her claim it was obvious she would get no delegates from the Motor State, nor any votes to make up her gap in the popular vote against Barack Obama. Her backers pushed for a re-vote in Michigan on June 3rd. But the do-over required a two-thirds vote in the Michigan Legislature, and Republicans were not anxious to pay the freight. In addition, the Clinton campaign was too cute by half. When you read the actual plan their allies put forth, you discovered that anyone who voted in the Republican primary in January — the only one which counted, mind you — was barred from voting in the real Democratic primary in June.
Obviously, a great many independents voted for John McCain in January. Many of them would have voted for Obama in a real Michigan primary. As the Clinton campaign was very well aware.
I wonder if the Clinton campaign really wanted another Michigan primary. Unlike Florida, where Clinton would have been favored, Michigan looked to me like a true toss-up.
Next move for the Clintons, with the Florida and now Michigan make-over votes now dead? Attempts to have the delegates she “won” in these states seated at the convention. In my view as an analyst, not to mention someone who in an earlier life served on many committees of the national Democratic Party (as well as a member of Veterans for McCain), it ain’t gonna happen.
** OBAMA SPEECH ON RACE IN AMERICA: “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.
This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.
I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.
Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.
And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.
On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.
I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way
But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:
“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”
That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.
This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What’s remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician’s own failings.
And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.
But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans — the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.
Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright’s sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.
The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old — is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know — what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.
There is one story in particularly that I’d like to leave you with today – a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King’s birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn’t. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.
Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”
“I’m here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.
** WHERE THEY ARE TODAY.
Barack Obama speaks and campaigns in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hillary Clinton campaigns in Philadelphia and Millersville, Pennsylvania.
Bill Clinton campaigns across Indiana in Lawrenceburg, Richmond, and Fort Wayne.
John McCain continues his tour of the Middle East and Europe.
** MY LATEST PODCAST. The road ahead after the Mississippi primary, which continues to play well nearly a week later.
** SCHWARZENEGGER LIVE WEBCAST ON BUDGET REFORM THIS MORNING. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses California budget reform with local elected officials, business, and community leaders from the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) in this live webcast at 9:45 AM.
New York investor/publisher Mort Zuckerman thinks the US is
in its worst economic crisis in decades.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel.
You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND U.S. ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Crude oil is trading in the $107 to $108 per barrel range.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum.
Digg This
del.icio.us
PJM Home
150 Comments
Jonas Blane:The Zuckerman video is scarey.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:08 am Jonas Blane:The Zuckerman video is scarey.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:08 am Jonas Blane:That is a helluva speech.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:11 am Jonas Blane:That is a helluva speech.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:11 am Brasky:“The Zuckerman video is scarey.”
Scarey gets on tv
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:13 am Brasky:“The Zuckerman video is scarey.”
Scarey gets on tv
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:13 am James- The Historian:Obama speaks well, again. But the damage may have already been done. Mrs. Bill Clinton will say something nice but her operatives will drive the pastor issue to no end.
What follows is one take. It may have some merit.
“I think Hillary will make the argument to the super-delegates that Obama will lose the election in the fall, that the super delegates should concentrate on the importance and size of her states versus his, and that aggregate popular votes should trump delegate counts, many of them acquired through caucuses rather than through plebiscites. Obama’s current disaster will give Clinton greater margins in the remaining primaries and allow her to gain the greater aggregate popular vote and to use that as well as an argument in the brokering to come. She may succeed but it won’t be pretty and will alienate millions.”
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:14 am Capitol Boy:I think Obama nailed it with this speech. Game over.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:18 am Capitol Boy:I think Obama nailed it with this speech. Game over.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:18 am James- The Historian:Economic movements are driven more by greed or fear than by economic fundamentals.
Zuckerman is fear mongering and thus contributes greatly to more fear and painc.
Brasky makes a point: “Scarey gets on tv”. Is Zuckerman working to raise is public profile?
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:19 am James- The Historian:Make that “his public profile”.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:21 am Ann:Are you for real?
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:27 am Ann:Are you for real?
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:27 am Hap Hazard:I like that Obama didn’t pull any punch and gave the history of his relationship with Wright, and the context.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:27 am paul m:The Obama speech was amazing. It took real conviction (and huevos) to make such a honest speech about race in America. Regardless of it’s impact on the primary (though I think it helps him a lot), it was a real and substantive contribution to a national dialogue about race relations. The pundits on the teevee are all describing it as the most meaningful speech on race since MLK Jr’s “I Have A Dream”, and I have to agree.
It’s really nice to see a politician actually lead, rather than simply respond to polls or events.
My respect for Obama increased substantially. It will be interesting to see how it plays in a broader electorate.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:38 am James- The Historian:Ann:
Help. What do you mean?
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:44 am James- The Historian:Ann:
Help. What do you mean?
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:44 am Ann:Schwarzeneger is late again.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:46 am alpha:Why doesn’t Arnold wear a tie?
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:11 am Bill Bradley:That’s kind of his classic look, suit with no tie.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:19 am Bill Bradley:That’s kind of his classic look, suit with no tie.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:19 am Sacramento Solon:I fully agree with both Hap and Paul M.
I’ve just finished reading the speech and will do so a couple more times. Quite the statement.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:19 am Bill Bradley:We’re in uncharted territory.
>Jonas Blane :
The Zuckerman video is scarey.
Mar 18, 2008 09:08 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:22 am Bill Bradley:We’re in uncharted territory.
>Jonas Blane :
The Zuckerman video is scarey.
Mar 18, 2008 09:08 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:22 am Bill Bradley:Indeed.
>Jonas Blane :
That is a helluva speech.
Mar 18, 2008 09:11 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:23 am Bill Bradley:True.
>Brasky :
“The Zuckerman video is scarey.”
Scarey gets on tv
Mar 18, 2008 09:13 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:26 am Brasky:“In addition, the Clinton campaign was too cute by half.”
…seems to be their campaign theme…
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:27 am Brasky:“In addition, the Clinton campaign was too cute by half.”
…seems to be their campaign theme…
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:27 am Bill Bradley:Actually, in my experience as an operative, and observation as an analyst, the Clintons are the last people who can be around this.
>James- The Historian :
Obama speaks well, again. But the damage may have already been done. Mrs. Bill Clinton will say something nice but her operatives will drive the pastor issue to no end.
What follows is one take. It may have some merit.
“I think Hillary will make the argument to the super-delegates that Obama will lose the election in the fall, that the super delegates should concentrate on the importance and size of her states versus his, and that aggregate popular votes should trump delegate counts, many of them acquired through caucuses rather than through plebiscites. Obama’s current disaster will give Clinton greater margins in the remaining primaries and allow her to gain the greater aggregate popular vote and to use that as well as an argument in the brokering to come. She may succeed but it won’t be pretty and will alienate millions.”
Mar 18, 2008 09:14 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:29 am Bill Bradley:That is an extremely impressive speech.
>Capitol Boy :
I think Obama nailed it with this speech. Game over.
Mar 18, 2008 09:18 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:29 am Bill Bradley:That is an extremely impressive speech.
>Capitol Boy :
I think Obama nailed it with this speech. Game over.
Mar 18, 2008 09:18 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:29 am Bill Bradley:Here’s the thing. It’s not morning in America.
I hope it’s midp-afternoon.
>James- The Historian :
Economic movements are driven more by greed or fear than by economic fundamentals.
Zuckerman is fear mongering and thus contributes greatly to more fear and painc.
Brasky makes a point: “Scarey gets on tv”. Is Zuckerman working to raise is public profile?
Mar 18, 2008 09:19 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:31 am Brasky:“That’s kind of his classic look, suit with no tie.”
That’s as formal as it gets in Santa Monica.
Can’t watch the video (Flintstone technology), but I bet we’ll see him with shirtsleeves rolled to mid-arm soon…working hard on the budget crisis.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:31 am Bill Bradley:It’s an extremely impressive speech, which I’m told he wrote largely himself.
>paul m :
The Obama speech was amazing. It took real conviction (and huevos) to make such a honest speech about race in America. Regardless of it’s impact on the primary (though I think it helps him a lot), it was a real and substantive contribution to a national dialogue about race relations. The pundits on the teevee are all describing it as the most meaningful speech on race since MLK Jr’s “I Have A Dream”, and I have to agree.
It’s really nice to see a politician actually lead, rather than simply respond to polls or events.
My respect for Obama increased substantially. It will be interesting to see how it plays in a broader electorate.
Mar 18, 2008 09:38 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:32 am Bill Bradley:It’s an extremely impressive speech, which I’m told he wrote largely himself.
>paul m :
The Obama speech was amazing. It took real conviction (and huevos) to make such a honest speech about race in America. Regardless of it’s impact on the primary (though I think it helps him a lot), it was a real and substantive contribution to a national dialogue about race relations. The pundits on the teevee are all describing it as the most meaningful speech on race since MLK Jr’s “I Have A Dream”, and I have to agree.
It’s really nice to see a politician actually lead, rather than simply respond to polls or events.
My respect for Obama increased substantially. It will be interesting to see how it plays in a broader electorate.
Mar 18, 2008 09:38 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:32 am Bill Bradley:Perhaps.
>Capitol Boy :
I think Obama nailed it with this speech. Game over.
Mar 18, 2008 09:18 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:34 am Bill Bradley:He rose to the occasion. This guy is the real deal.
>Sacramento Solon :
I fully agree with both Hap and Paul M.
I’ve just finished reading the speech and will do so a couple more times. Quite the statement.
Mar 18, 2008 10:19 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:35 am Bill Bradley:He rose to the occasion. This guy is the real deal.
>Sacramento Solon :
I fully agree with both Hap and Paul M.
I’ve just finished reading the speech and will do so a couple more times. Quite the statement.
Mar 18, 2008 10:19 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:35 am James- The Historian:Thanks Bill: thought provoking as always.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:37 am James- The Historian:Thanks Bill: thought provoking as always.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:37 am Bill Bradley:Obviously, the Clinton campaign didn’t think it could win in a truly open Michigan primary.
>Brasky :
“In addition, the Clinton campaign was too cute by half.”
…seems to be their campaign theme…
Mar 18, 2008 10:27 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:37 am Bill Bradley:Obviously, the Clinton campaign didn’t think it could win in a truly open Michigan primary.
>Brasky :
“In addition, the Clinton campaign was too cute by half.”
…seems to be their campaign theme…
Mar 18, 2008 10:27 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:37 am Sacramento Solon:Bill,
Yes, he is the real deal. I’ll listen to the speech after I return from some time on the path. Should be a lovely day to hoof beside the Sacramento River.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:38 am Bill:Actually, he’s in Riverside or whatever. Arnold hardly ever wore a tie in the 2003 campaign.
He and Obama (early on) and Ahmadinejad all have the same intrinsic style …
>Brasky :
“That’s kind of his classic look, suit with no tie.”
That’s as formal as it gets in Santa Monica.
Can’t watch the video (Flintstone technology), but I bet we’ll see him with shirtsleeves rolled to mid-arm soon…working hard on the budget crisis.
Mar 18, 2008 10:31 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:39 am Bill:Actually, he’s in Riverside or whatever. Arnold hardly ever wore a tie in the 2003 campaign.
He and Obama (early on) and Ahmadinejad all have the same intrinsic style …
>Brasky :
“That’s kind of his classic look, suit with no tie.”
That’s as formal as it gets in Santa Monica.
Can’t watch the video (Flintstone technology), but I bet we’ll see him with shirtsleeves rolled to mid-arm soon…working hard on the budget crisis.
Mar 18, 2008 10:31 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:39 am Bill Bradley:… Which is actually the George Clooney Ocean’s 11 style.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:40 am Bill Bradley:I’m not a personal fan of Mort Zuckerman, for some personal reasons, but he may be right.
>James- The Historian :
Thanks Bill: thought provoking as always.
Mar 18, 2008 10:37 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:43 am Brasky:“OBAMA SPEECH ON RACE IN AMERICA”
You gotta love it when the kid steps-up to make a big league play. This guy has chops.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:45 am Brasky:“OBAMA SPEECH ON RACE IN AMERICA”
You gotta love it when the kid steps-up to make a big league play. This guy has chops.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:45 am Brasky:“(Schwarzenegger) and Obama (early on) and Ahmadinejad all have the same intrinsic style … :)”
But not suit sizes! They would have to shop at Mutt & Jeff Tailors.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:48 am Jack Aubrey:Obama is a very serious man. This eliminates any question about that. Will Hillary drop her pre-fabricated soundbites? Why are we even talking about Hillary? She’s already lost.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:49 am Brasky:“Obviously, the Clinton campaign didn’t think it could win in a truly open Michigan primary.”
If you look at the chessboard NOW, it doesn’t really favor either side. The only way to lose is to be outplayed. That is telling.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:52 am Brasky:“Obviously, the Clinton campaign didn’t think it could win in a truly open Michigan primary.”
If you look at the chessboard NOW, it doesn’t really favor either side. The only way to lose is to be outplayed. That is telling.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:52 am carole w:I agree with James.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:57 am Bill Bradley:I believe you are behind the curve, Carole, perhaps out of waning hopes for Hillary.
Mar 18, 2008 - 10:59 am Bill Bradley:Actually, the chessboard favors Obama.
It will be extremely difficult for the Clintons to prevail now.
>Brasky :
“Obviously, the Clinton campaign didn’t think it could win in a truly open Michigan primary.”
If you look at the chessboard NOW, it doesn’t really favor either side. The only way to lose is to be outplayed. That is telling.
Mar 18, 2008 10:52 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:00 am Bill Bradley:Actually, the chessboard favors Obama.
It will be extremely difficult for the Clintons to prevail now.
>Brasky :
“Obviously, the Clinton campaign didn’t think it could win in a truly open Michigan primary.”
If you look at the chessboard NOW, it doesn’t really favor either side. The only way to lose is to be outplayed. That is telling.
Mar 18, 2008 10:52 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:00 am Bill:Thanks.
Incidentally, I was a member of Veterans for McCain in 2000.
>James- The Historian :
Thanks Bill: thought provoking as always.
Mar 18, 2008 10:37 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:02 am carole w:Perhaps…But, I have that weird intuition that has been correct on occasion. Obama is the most inspiration speaker I have ever heard but, I am not electing speeches or speakers. I am electing someone that will protect and promote growth of my income. Sorry everyone.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:04 am Capitol Boy:Do we think Obama is going to become President of the United States without addressing the fact he is a Black man?
Grow up.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:07 am Capitol Boy:Do we think Obama is going to become President of the United States without addressing the fact he is a Black man?
Grow up.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:07 am Bill Bradley:That’s candid, if not uplifting.
You will have to judge whether the black guy or the old Navy vet is better for your self interest.
Like the rest of America.
>carole w :
Perhaps…But, I have that weird intuition that has been correct on occasion. Obama is the most inspiration speaker I have ever heard but, I am not electing speeches or speakers. I am electing someone that will protect and promote growth of my income. Sorry everyone.
Mar 18, 2008 11:04 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:08 am Bill Bradley:That’s candid, if not uplifting.
You will have to judge whether the black guy or the old Navy vet is better for your self interest.
Like the rest of America.
>carole w :
Perhaps…But, I have that weird intuition that has been correct on occasion. Obama is the most inspiration speaker I have ever heard but, I am not electing speeches or speakers. I am electing someone that will protect and promote growth of my income. Sorry everyone.
Mar 18, 2008 11:04 AM
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:08 am carole w:inspirational…sorry
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:09 am carole w:Cb,
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:14 am carole w:If your talking to me????
The color of his skin has nothing to do with whether or not I can retire with enough income to provide for my family. This coming from a grown up, with a mortgage. Attack away, that is why I am here today:)
Cb,
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:14 am Jonas Blane:If your talking to me????
The color of his skin has nothing to do with whether or not I can retire with enough income to provide for my family. This coming from a grown up, with a mortgage. Attack away, that is why I am here today:)
Obama’s speech, one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:14 am Scott:No one is attacking anyone… deep breaths people.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:39 am Scott:No one is attacking anyone… deep breaths people.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:39 am Capitol Boy:Carole, I’m not attacking you, I’m not responding to you, I’m not thinking about you. Check the time stamp before you invoke your feminist outrage.
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:49 am Chris M:Well, Scott, I’m attacking McCain, who despite having proven himself to be a remarkably strong and courageous individual, is simply the wrong man to be President at this time, as this major gaffe shows:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/18/a_mccain_gaffe_in_jordan.html
Mar 18, 2008 - 11:50 am Scott:–
So, on the same day, Obama makes the speech of a generation, and McCain commits his biggest screw-up to-date. I’m a happy warrior today.
Chris M, fair enough. Attack away.
I was more talking about personal attacks on the boards here. We’d all be well served to remember that when this is all over, most of us will be uniting behind the dem nominee, and it would behoove us to not personally destroy one another between now and then.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:07 pm Scott:Chris M, fair enough. Attack away.
I was more talking about personal attacks on the boards here. We’d all be well served to remember that when this is all over, most of us will be uniting behind the dem nominee, and it would behoove us to not personally destroy one another between now and then.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:07 pm Bill Bradley:Chris, my friend, you are grasping at straws.
Everyone misspeaks on occasion.
Let me tell you what I know, from experience wi the current Dems.
A. Obama doesn’t really know this stuff.
B. Clinton constantly defers to Wes Clark.
End of story.
>Chris M :
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:12 pm carole w:Well, Scott, I’m attacking McCain, who despite having proven himself to be a remarkably strong and courageous individual, is simply the wrong man to be President at this time, as this major gaffe shows:
Feminist outrage…LOL my husband is laughing now.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:14 pm Chris M:Scott,
Very good point.
Bill,
“End of story?” That’s one way to spin it. Really, that’s up to you guys who spill ink by the gigabyte. After all, Gerald Ford “misspoke” about Soviet influence in Eastern Europe once, too. Just when is a gaffe not a gaffe?
OTOH, one could assert with some evidence that McCain has been wrong on Iraq from Day 1 and that, for all his admitted experience, doesn’t really understand the situation there very well.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:29 pm Chris M:Bill,
“End of story?” That’s one way to spin it. Really, that’s up to you guys who spill ink by the gigabyte. After all, Gerald Ford “misspoke” about Soviet influence in Eastern Europe once, too. Just when is a gaffe not a gaffe?
OTOH, one could assert with some evidence that McCain has been wrong on Iraq from Day 1 and that, for all his admitted experience, doesn’t really understand the situation there very well.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:29 pm Bill Bradley:Nobody thinks McCain is Gerald Ford.
I know McCain, he obviously knows the difference.
With the Dems floundering, this gains no notice.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:33 pm marcus:Chris, are you stuck in the 1960s with the Weather Underground? You seem smart but hysterical.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:49 pm marcus:Chris, are you stuck in the 1960s with the Weather Underground? You seem smart but hysterical.
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:49 pm Capitol Boy:A good day for Barack!!
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:58 pm Bill Bradley:Indeed.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:01 pm Bill Bradley:Indeed.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:01 pm Chris M:Marcus, there’s no doubt that this medium brings out the most strident aspects of my political being. That’s not an uncommon malady…and it makes me appreciate those here who are so adroitly concise with their e-humor. I’ll try harder.
When will we see more of substance from you? For example, you associate my opinion that the war in Vietnam was a mistake or even immoral with the Weather Underground, whereas mine is a majority opinion.
Yes, the McCain video featured on this wonderful site is the classic “bio” spot. In that way, it’s highly effective.
But I am, if you will, just slightly hysterical about this nation’s electing someone president based in large part on their role forty years ago in one of the events that so terribly stains this nation’s history. That would be, to borrow a phrase, a bridge back to the mid-20th century.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:12 pm Ann:lol
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:22 pm Ann:lol
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:22 pm Sacramento Solon:Good afternoon,
My aren’t we a fiesty group this Tuesday. Did some of us perhaps have a wee bit too much Irish last evening and aren’t feeling too well this day? Perhaps?
I have pretty much kept my large yap shut about the Clintons and my total, complete, dislike for them. I have done some because I will support her if she gets the nomination. I will hold my nose, but will vote. And I think I will continue to keep quiet as to how much I dislike them both.
But I want the Hillary supporters on this list to know one thing, you are dead wrong if you think that all Barack Obama is about is talking. Dead wrong.
You don’t make you’re way through Harvard Law School, nor become editor of the Harvard Law Review, without have a first-class mind. A notch above what most others, even at Harvard might have.
And when you walk out with the piece of paper from there, especially after being editor, you are pretty much assured of making big bucks from day one.
It takes a special person to walk away from that and do what Obama has done. A very special person.
It also takes a special person to make the speech he made this morning. From my perspective, it takes a man of rare courage.
So please stop the nonsense that somehow she is more qualified to hold the office than him. You make like her more, you might support her for the historic value, you may even think she offers a better policy package, but she is in no way more qualified. In my opinion, from a policy perspective, they would both do a fine job.
Sorry to be so long and windy. I shall now return to my role as court jester. Hope you all have a fine day.
Final note, please forgive any typos. Just back from five miles and ‘taint going to spend anytime correcting them!
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:41 pm Bill Bradley:Folks, really, you know what, John McCain knows more about this stuff than you do.
Barack Obama is not a phony and just gave an outstanding speech.
We move on from there.
That is where I place the bar.
For you.
Proceed from there.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:41 pm Chris M:Ann, thanks for reading! Your blitheful obliviousness is always refreshing.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:42 pm Chris M:Ann, thanks for reading! Your blitheful obliviousness is always refreshing.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:42 pm Ann:Fuck you too, tweetie.
Mar 18, 2008 - 1:49 pm Chris M:So is conceding that McCain is a foreign policy expert now the ante to play here? Please clarify.
Nobody here questions McCain’s enormous sacrfices, bravery or courage. His conduct as a POW was remarkable. As Reeps go, he’s been a pretty good Senator.
McCain’s candidacy deserves to discussed in a respectful way. He of course knows all sorts of things I don’t.
But there’s knowledge… and then there’s judgment…and temperament.
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Bush, McCain, Clinton et al obviously KNEW more about “this stuff” than any of us in terms of life experiences, people met and access to information.
But they were dead wrong on perhaps the most critical decision of their professional careers.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:05 pm Chris M:———–
OK, that’s way more than enough from me today (The crowd mockingly cheers). I’ll check back tomorrow to discuss how the masses are responding to Obama’s speech.
So is conceding that McCain is a foreign policy expert now the ante to play here? Please clarify.
Nobody here questions McCain’s enormous sacrfices, bravery or courage. His conduct as a POW was remarkable. As Reeps go, he’s been a pretty good Senator.
McCain’s candidacy deserves to discussed in a respectful way. He of course knows all sorts of things I don’t.
But there’s knowledge… and then there’s judgment…and temperament.
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Bush, McCain, Clinton et al obviously KNEW more about “this stuff” than any of us in terms of life experiences, people met and access to information.
But they were dead wrong on perhaps the most critical decision of their professional careers.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:05 pm Brasky:———–
OK, that’s way more than enough from me today (The crowd mockingly cheers). I’ll check back tomorrow to discuss how the masses are responding to Obama’s speech.
Wow, bad vibe in here today. Shouldn’t Obama’s speech inspire us to have a virtual group hug or something?
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:23 pm Sacramento Solon:Brasky,
Spot on! Appears as if we have lost that loving feeling!
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:26 pm Hap Hazard:I couldn’t help but notice how the world and regional leaders have received McCain on his foreign policy tour. It seems to say quite a bit about the how the nations view the qualifications and experience of Sen. McCain, let alone that of our own commanders.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:27 pm Hap Hazard:I couldn’t help but notice how the world and regional leaders have received McCain on his foreign policy tour. It seems to say quite a bit about the how the nations view the qualifications and experience of Sen. McCain, let alone that of our own commanders.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:27 pm Hap Hazard:I mean, let alone how our own commanders value McCain’s vantage point…
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:28 pm Brasky:Hap - lets also remember that the Democrats are letting McCain go on his world tour.
If Obama or Clinton had gotten a bye week (month, quarter?!), they might have had similar receptions. Never too early to kiss the tuchas of the next potential leader of the free world.
And this is a comment about OPPORTUNITY not EXPERIENCE.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:39 pm Brasky:Hap - lets also remember that the Democrats are letting McCain go on his world tour.
If Obama or Clinton had gotten a bye week (month, quarter?!), they might have had similar receptions. Never too early to kiss the tuchas of the next potential leader of the free world.
And this is a comment about OPPORTUNITY not EXPERIENCE.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:39 pm Len:This is hysterical.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:41 pm Len:This is hysterical.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:41 pm James- The Historian:For Chris, today’s “happy warrior”, a dueling link that basically supports the point Bill made some time ago:
>”Chris, my friend, you are grasping at straws. Everyone misspeaks on occasion.”
http://www.willisms.com/archives/2007/08/obama_gaffe_che.html
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:45 pm Hap Hazard:Brasky I don’t disagree at all. I mentioned McCain so that folks who might have issues with his judgment, temperament, etc., could perhaps take into account how some of the foreign leaders are viewing him.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:51 pm Hap Hazard:Brasky I don’t disagree at all. I mentioned McCain so that folks who might have issues with his judgment, temperament, etc., could perhaps take into account how some of the foreign leaders are viewing him.
Mar 18, 2008 - 2:51 pm Brasky:Hap — I try to keep the crazy ones real close so I can monitor their meds.
I think for Obama, he has to distill his campaign against McCain as moving forward vs. moving backward. That’s the prism to look through.
This partisan backchatter is just noise and not all that helpful in getting my guy elected. I was a tot during the evac from the Embassy roof and I STILL have to live in the shadow of Vietnam?
Vietnam…Jesus, where do I go to light a candle and put this thing to bed once and for all?!
Kerry v. Bush was Archie v. Meathead. Archie won, so get over it. Could we maybe, oh I don’t know, TALK ABOUT TODAY!
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:03 pm Kid Shelleen:no.
because I said so.
:-}
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:21 pm Kid Shelleen:no.
because I said so.
:-}
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:21 pm Sacramento Solon:Is it too early to begin drinking?
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:24 pm Capitol Boy:A very good day for Barack Obama!
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:52 pm Capitol Boy:A very good day for Barack Obama!
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:52 pm Kid Shelleen:>>Sacramento Solon: Is it too early to begin drinking?
I’ll drink to that!
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:54 pm Brasky:“no.
because I said so.
:-}”
Sounds like an argument between my parents…just like Vietnam.
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:59 pm Brasky:“Because Obama is not exactly out of the woods here.”
What about the Bear in the woods?
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:01 pm Brasky:“Because Obama is not exactly out of the woods here.”
What about the Bear in the woods?
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:01 pm Bill Bradley:Not to mention the wolves …
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:11 pm Bill Bradley:Incidentally, NWN passed the 53,000 comments mark sometime in the past week.
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:12 pm Bill Bradley:Incidentally, NWN passed the 53,000 comments mark sometime in the past week.
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:12 pm Brasky:“Not to mention the wolves …”
Sequels are almost always a disappointment. That one certainly was (is).
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:23 pm Brasky:In case anyone out there thinks we’ve started talking about forest management…
Wolves (2004, Bush)
http://tinyurl.com/3be4no
Bear (1984, Reagan)
http://tinyurl.com/2mg58q
What will McCain’s animal be? I’m going with Killer Bees or maybe sharks. Sharks with bees in their mouths would probably be too much…
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:32 pm Ann:The wolves were scary in Dr. Zhivago. That’s probably what Bill is referencing.
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:33 pm Ann:The wolves were scary in Dr. Zhivago. That’s probably what Bill is referencing.
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:33 pm Brasky:“Dr. Zhivago”
chick flick.
now the wolves in Conan…
Mar 18, 2008 - 4:43 pm Len:I think this speech by Obama is one of the best speeches by a politician ever.
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:25 pm Ann:The wolves in Dr. Zhivago are RUSSIAN. lol
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:25 pm Ann:The wolves in Dr. Zhivago are RUSSIAN. lol
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:25 pm Brasky:“THE WRIGHT/WRONG EFFECT”
Given this tempest in a teapot, those are good numbers. And they’ll only improve.
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:28 pm Brasky:I think the wolves in Zhivago are actually Czarist Russians.
Now the wolves in Conan are Cimmerian…very nasty…
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:35 pm Brasky:I think the wolves in Zhivago are actually Czarist Russians.
Now the wolves in Conan are Cimmerian…very nasty…
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:35 pm Bill Bradley:This is an overall win for Obama.
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:38 pm Brasky:When life gives you lemons…Obama-naid.
Mar 18, 2008 - 5:53 pm Jonas Blane:A big day for Obama, I like his speech.
Mar 18, 2008 - 7:50 pm Jonas Blane:A big day for Obama, I like his speech.
Mar 18, 2008 - 7:50 pm James:carolew: “I am electing someone that will protect and promote growth of my income.”
Hillary will try to paint Obama as an economics newbie but in truth she is a newbie as well. The two camps have roughly equal economic adviser firepower. Obama has several highly regarded economic advisers, including Daniel Tarullo, who represented Bill Clinton at G7/G8 negotiations. Hillary has Gene Sperling, the chief econ adviser to Bill during the late 1990 boom years.
McCain hurt himself when he said, “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” (12/18/07, Boston Globe). His notorious flip-flop on Bush’s tax cuts doesn’t help him earn his Economics merit badge either. Wanting to keep the Bush tax cuts permanent plays to the base but it’s bad economics. If he would revert to his old anti-deficit posture then I would give McCain more credit on the economy.
Mar 18, 2008 - 8:45 pm Dr. Sam Loomis:Today’s Obama race speech was absolutely massive. It even made me cry a tiny bit. What a refreshing turn where he pretty much takes control of the race issue, owns it, and gives the people a culture lesson on black churches.
The Clintons say Barack Obama is like Jesse Jackson, well the Clintons are assholes. JJ would *never* say those sorts of unifying leadershipy things.
Mar 18, 2008 - 9:54 pm sergei:That is amazing speech.
Mar 19, 2008 - 5:51 am sergei:That is amazing speech.
Mar 19, 2008 - 5:51 am Jonas Blane:What video today?
Mar 19, 2008 - 6:59 am Bill Bradley:The war.
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:16 am Bill Bradley:The war.
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:16 am Bill Bradley:Indeed.
>sergei :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:16 am Bill Bradley:That is amazing speech.
Mar 19, 2008 05:51 AM
He had to do it. But he is the black candidate now.
>Dr. Sam Loomis :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:17 am Bill Bradley:Today’s Obama race speech was absolutely massive. It even made me cry a tiny bit. What a refreshing turn where he pretty much takes control of the race issue, owns it, and gives the people a culture lesson on black churches.
He had to do it. But he is the black candidate now.
>Dr. Sam Loomis :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:17 am Bill Bradley:Today’s Obama race speech was absolutely massive. It even made me cry a tiny bit. What a refreshing turn where he pretty much takes control of the race issue, owns it, and gives the people a culture lesson on black churches.
Yep.
>Brasky :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:18 am Bill Bradley:When life gives you lemons…Obama-naid.
Mar 18, 2008 05:53 PM
It’s a lot more than a tempest in a teapot. And I’m not convinced he’s found the way to win over the Scots-Irish male.
>Brasky :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:20 am Bill Bradley:“THE WRIGHT/WRONG EFFECT”
Given this tempest in a teapot, those are good numbers. And they’ll only improve.
Mar 18, 2008 05:28 PM
Actually, it wasn’t.
>Ann :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:21 am Bill Bradley:The wolves were scary in Dr. Zhivago. That’s probably what Bill is referencing.
Mar 18, 2008 04:33 PM
Actually, it wasn’t.
>Ann :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:21 am Bill Bradley:The wolves were scary in Dr. Zhivago. That’s probably what Bill is referencing.
Mar 18, 2008 04:33 PM
The wolves spot actually worked pretty well.
>Brasky :
Mar 19, 2008 - 11:22 am The Historian:In case anyone out there thinks we’ve started talking about forest management…
Wolves (2004, Bush)
http://tinyurl.com/3be4no
Bear (1984, Reagan)
http://tinyurl.com/2mg58q
What will McCain’s animal be? I’m going with Killer Bees or maybe sharks. Sharks with bees in their mouths would probably be too much…
Mar 18, 2008 04:32 PM
ELECTION RACE, RACE ELECTION
ELECTION RACE, RACE ELECTION
America is in the midst of one of the most significant and fascinating presidential election campaigns of this or any other lifetime. We will end up with a new president who will be different from any other we have…
Mar 24, 2008 - 2:18 pm The Historian:ELECTION RACE, RACE ELECTION
ELECTION RACE, RACE ELECTION
America is in the midst of one of the most significant and fascinating presidential election campaigns of this or any other lifetime. We will end up with a new president who will be different from any other we have…
Mar 24, 2008 - 2:18 pm