Barack Obama for President

[Mark Holmes]

I have to comment on one thing. All of you intentionally mis-spelling Barack Obama’s name as Osama should really get out of your chair, walk to the bathroom, look in the mirror and ask yourself if it’s right to be part of a smear campaign that tries to associate a good man with the terrorist behind an attack that just six years ago was responsible for the horrendous deaths of thousands of other Americans. How do you think those people would feel about this? Not only have we not caught and brought to justice the man behind those attacks, but now it’s considered acceptable political fodder to use that name to confuse voters and malign an American whose only crime is to have a name that sounds a little different than ours. It’s ignorant, racist and xenophobic. If you want to criticize Obama and his supporters, at least try to find an adult, educated way to do so, but name-calling of this sort is just juvenile.

[PerryChase]

partypup, I agree that Obama “is not going to lead us into the New Age of Enlightenment.” I don’t expect him to. Obama won’t solve all of our problem. Nobody can. But Obama will lead us in a new direction.

As far as Iran is concerned, I haven’t been paying much attention to Obaman’s statements on the subject. Most likely, his aim is to avoid being painted as soft on terrorism. Sad to say but the American public likes a don’t-mess-with-us-or-we’ll-blow-your-head-off type approach to world problems.

I don’t believe that America will invade Iran. As great as our military is, we don’t have the wherewithal to occupy another country. We may bomb Iran but we’ll pay dearly for that in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Overall, our policy in the Middle-East is failing and it’s becoming a no-win situation. Bush can’t withdraw because that will only show how disastrous his policy was; and we can’t stay and put more American lives at risk — as you said, we are caught between the Scylla and Charybdis.

Considering the civil war in Iraq, the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, and Musharraf’s weakening position in Pakistan, we can ill afford to add instability to the mix.

Obama will not bring upon a revolution in American politics. He’ll take the existing system and improve it. At the very least, he’s better than any of the Republican or Democratic alternatives. That’s good enough for me. Actually, I think that’s the only way, Obama will get elected. Voters are only willing to take a chance on someone who they trust will not change things too much.

[partypup]

Mark, you are so right. Anyone who resorts to slandering Obama by feeding into racist stereotypes about his name, or how similar it sounds to “Osama”, is simply unintelligent and too lazy to address the real issues. I have never, and would never, play into such racism. That said, I heard this AM that 23% of Americans wouldn’t vote for Mitt Romne because he’s MORMON! Not because he’s a Republican, or because he’s pro life — but simply because he’s Mormon. Do we think these people are more open-minded about a black man with a Muslim surname…?

“Actually, I think that’s the only way, Obama will get elected. Voters are only willing to take a chance on someone who they trust will not change things too much.”

Sigh…on that we can agree, Perry. But it truly saddens me, because given the very serious issues facing this country ,we now find ourselves at an inflection point. Maintaining the staus quo simply won’t work anymore: hard decisions must be be made about dependence on foreign credit, alternative energy sources, outsourcing, tax cuts (or increases) to support imminent Baby Boomer entitlements… We don’t need pragmatic politics or someone who plays it safe; we need a firebrand who will speak his/her mind and — for once — be more invested in telling the truth than playing the game. We need a candidate who has the balls to stand up and deliver the bitter pill of truth instead of spending their time courting special interest groups! But if you are right and Americans are really only looking for someone who won’t change things too much…then I fear we are doomed.

And again, Perry — I remind you that one of Obama’s closest friends is Warren Buffett. Think about that. He receives investment advice from the richest American. Is it possible that he receives counsel from him on other matters? Indeed, who wouldn’t be swayed or intimidated by a man of such wealth? Do you really think Buffett is advising Obama to take the existing system and improve it? Do you think Buffett or any of Obama’s other insanely-wealthy supporters have any interest in making that happen? And consider this: Obama has made more appearances at AIPAC events than any other Dem except Hillary. Perhaps this is where his hawkish talk on Iran comes from. The sad truth is that it’s hard to change the system or chart a new course for our country when you spend so much time appealing to powerful and wealthy investors and interest groups.

Say what you will about Howard Dean, but the primary reason I supported him was because the mainstream was not supporting him. He was isolated from Hollywood and Wall Street. He stood on his own two feet and raised money from the BOTTOM up without the help of the wealthy. Because he did this, I had faith that he would hold the interests of most Americans — and not his wealthy donors (because he really had none) — at heart. This man had a seriously strong shot of being the Democratic candidate. But what did the media do? Use a silly crowd-pleasing gesture to torpedo him because he became too threatening to the establishment. I have a theory and would curious to get your thoughts on it: the establishment is represented by corporate America; corporate America controls the media. By deduction, if the media is enraptured with a candidate, it necessarily means that they aren’t threatening the establishment. My feeling is that if the media ever torpedoes Obama like they torpedoed Dean, that will be some evidence that he is truly a threat to the system. Until then, I remain suspicous of his ties to the elite and the media’s fascination with him.

“At the very least, he’s better than any of the Republican or Democratic alternatives.” I am curious, why is Obama a better candidate than Edwards? What about his platform distinguishes him from Edwards? I really can’t find any solid distinctions in my research, so I would appreciate an education here. As an aside, I am actually most impressed with Ron Paul. Certainly, he is not charismatic, but he is dousing Americans with much-needed truth about the true state of our economy and our military. Perhaps if the media wasn’t as infatuated with charismatic, well-funded candidates Americans might learn more about this man and like what they hear.

On the subject of Iran…I think we’ll know sometime this year whether this administration is ignorant enough to make the same mistake twice. I am not encouraged by how feeble the Democratic-controlled Congress has been to date: they supported Bush’s Iraq funding bill, WHILE also affirming that Bush does not need Congressional approval to strike Iran. I question why that rider was even included in the bill if an attack on Iran is merely hypothetical. Given that we have several thousand troops now mobilized along the Iraq/Iran border, 3 aircraft carriers off the coast of Iran and the largest fleet build-up in the Gulf since the eve of the Iraq invasion, and the fact that Iran is now selling 60% of its oil in other currencies, thereby reducing global demand for the dollar significantly over the past 6 mos (chart the dollar index — it’s at an all-time low), I would bet that a strike is coming. I hope I am wrong.

Perry, it has been delightful corresponding with you!

[Anonymous]

MH and pp, go pour yourselves a drink. It’s fun calling him Osama, and I refuse to do otherwise. Harmless fun.

Yeah, people think of him as a terrorist because of such; gimme a break. Worse for him, people think of him as milquetoast because of his lack of firm stances on the tough questions of the day, because he runs away from his white grandparents, and because he denies that he was raised, early on, as a Muslim in a madrassah. State the facts, clearly, then get on with your life and campaign, Osama. Be a man, Osama, otherwise, Billy Bob and the other white Southern Democrats ain’t gonna vote for you, and your campaign will be (milk) toast.

[Wiley]

Party,

I would hope Obama takes advice from Buffett. From what I’ve read about him (Buffett) he’s very much a straight shooter and obviously very savy on matters of economics. Rich does not always equal corrupt or bad intentions.

In the end it really doesn’t matter who you vote for. I can assure you either party will grow the government. They always have. This is the fundamental problem. I think we’re at the point where even a Ron Paul couldn’t stop it from happening.

Gov’t is so big and powerful now and Americans are so apathetic to the tyranny they are voting in for themselves that I think it’s all futile to even debate the merits of one candidate or another.

There…I killed the thread.

[Mark Holmes]

jg, I suppose you can call him Osama all you like, it just means I won’t take any posts you make too seriously, as your use of slurs indicate at best a lack of maturity and at worst a lack of intelligence. I’m sure many people would feel the same.

[TheBreeze]

“And again, Perry — I remind you that one of Obama’s closest friends is Warren Buffett. Think about that. He receives investment advice from the richest American. Is it possible that he receives counsel from him on other matters? Indeed, who wouldn’t be swayed or intimidated by a man of such wealth? Do you really think Buffett is advising Obama to take the existing system and improve it? Do you think Buffett or any of Obama’s other insanely-wealthy supporters have any interest in making that happen?”

Uhhhh, do you know anything about Warren Buffett? Here’s a good place to start:

Buffett slams dividend tax cut

You appear to be clueless about many things pp.

[Anonymous]

As we’ve pointed out elsewhere, Buffet is a peerless investor. However, he has the following idiosyncracies: for the ‘death tax’; tried paying his son to lose weight (didn’t work); lived with a mistress in Omaha for decades while his wife lived in San Francisco. All as the son of a conservative Republican Congressman from Nebraska.

Great investor, but like lots of other rich folks — Soros, Bloomberg — has odd, sometimes dangerous ideas in other areas.

Wouldn’t surprise me that he’s a ‘good friend’ of Osama. Flighty birds of a feather.

[partypup]

“Uhhhh, do you know anything about Warren Buffett? Here’s a good place to start: Buffett slams dividend tax cut. You appear to be clueless about many things pp.”

Buffett slams the dividend tax cut, so that classifies him as a man who isn’t part of the establishment and who is willing to take the existing system and improve it? Bring your heads out of the clouds, TB. 35% of the financial community slams the dividend tax cut. The dividend tax cut, like the inheritance tax, isn’t exactly a revolutionary issue because it affects primarily the WEALTHY. Why don’t you share with me Buffett’s thoughts on issues that affect the bulk of Americans?

You, my friend, are the one who is completely clueless. I’d love to hear you give more examples of Buffett’s efforts to take on the system and change it. I’d love to hear Buffett’s thoughts on outsourcing, tax cuts and credits for corporations shifting the base of their operations out of the U.S., eliminating the electoral college, and a variety of other issues that would truly indicate where his interests lie. Don’t over-simplify the matter, TB.

And by the way, what else do “I appear to be clueless about,” TB? I write a lengthy post outlining specific concerns, and the best you can do is tell me I’m clueless? Do you have any thoughts on the questions I raised about Obama’s position on Iran or any of the other issues I raised? Please, before you start name-calling, please do me the favor of calling out the specific issues you take umbrage with. Otherwise, don’t even bother to weigh in with your one-note thoughts. And show some decency by giving posters who disagree with you some degree of respect and courtesy. I have done that in all of my previous posts, even when disagreeing with others. Name calling is the last resort of an ill-informed mind.

[partypup]

“In the end it really doesn’t matter who you vote for. I can assure you either party will grow the government. They always have. This is the fundamental problem. I think we’re at the point where even a Ron Paul couldn’t stop it from happening.
Gov’t is so big and powerful now and Americans are so apathetic to the tyranny they are voting in for themselves that I think it’s all futile to even debate the merits of one candidate or another.
There…I killed the thread.”

I wish I could disagree with you, but I’m having trouble coming up with reasons why I would…

[TheBreeze]

“You, my friend, are the one who is completely clueless. I’d love to hear you give more examples of Buffett’s efforts to take on the system and change it. I’d love to hear Buffett’s thoughts on outsourcing, tax cuts and credits for corporations shifting the base of their operations out of the U.S., eliminating the electoral college, and a variety of other issues that would truly indicate where his interests lie. Don’t over-simplify the matter, TB.”

PP, do you know how to use Google? I typed in “Buffet + outsourcing” and found the following on the first page of results:

“Mr. Buffett argued vociferously against the trend in global outsourcing. While he believes that outsourcing should play a small role in our trade policy, he said that the numbers have gotten to a point where it is starting to make a difference, particularly for those less-skilled laborers most vulnerable to falling through the social safety net. Mr. Buffet argued that outsourcing constitutes a wholesale transfer of wealth to other countries, and that as America increases its reliance on outsourcing it is ” selling off a piece of the farm”. He also demonstrated concern about the national deficit, arguing that it had grown to a level so that it was tantamount to “a 5% tax on productivity in this country”. Furthermore, while the national deficit is growing, he is concerned that the Bush Administration is not using the national deficit in the way it should be used: to generate economic stimulus. While Mr. Buffet recognizes the necessity of rationalizing health care, he spoke in favor of widespread medical coverage, arguing that “some base level should be assured to everyone in society.” Students were very receptive to Mr. Buffett’s message of social concern, noting that it’s rare to hear such a preeminent capitalist speak out regarding equality and justice.”

http://media.www.harbus.org/media/storage/paper343/news/2004/11/15/News/Warren.Buffett-806510.shtml

Please, before you make an even bigger fool of yourself, verify your inane statements with a simple Google search first. If you are going to be an Internet troll, you at least need to learn how to do simple Google searches so that people don’t reject everything you say without even reading it.

I leave you with this quote: “It is better to be thought a fool than to make a post on the Internet that removes all doubt.”

[TheBreeze]

By the way, PP, I’m starting to understand why you and Obama didn’t get along. A man on his way to becoming POTUS can’t waste time on someone who won’t even do two seconds of research before making an argument.

Were you really on Harvard Law Review? If so, you have really lowered my opinion of Harvard grads. Are you sure you didn’t go to Haverford or something? It sounds like you’ve been out of school a long time and maybe you’ve grown confused on which school you attended.

[PD]

TheBreeze, I have no trouble believing PP went to Harvard. His arguments are reasoned and informative. I also have no trouble believing that you went to the school of Name Calling With Little Substance. I have a clear vision in my mind of you typing away with a curled lip and an “I’m fabulous” tee-shirt.
I’m curious as what name you are going to call me? Will it be an old standby? How about Stupid or Idiot? No? Maybe you will branch out and expand your horizons.
I’m in a fever of anticipation.

[patientlywaiting]

Good call, zk.

We’ll see if he wins in the general elections. I hope he does.

[patientlywaiting]

Good call, zk.

We’ll see if he wins in the general elections. I hope he does.

[Author]

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