Sen. Barack Obama is leaving it open that he may run for president in 2008. This would be a first to have an African-American for president. History being made in such a dramatic fashion. I would certainly vote for Obama if he were to be the Democratic nominee.

His statement about how the Bush Regime approaches the problems facing America with a "messianic certainty" hits it spot on. I've been looking at this in much the wrong way. Bush isn't stupid at all; he merely thinks he is doing God's will on earth. How dangerous an approach this is!

MSNBC Story

My cousin lives in Chicago and goes to the same church as the Obamas and mingles at the same social functions as the Obamas. I've met him a couple times and he is just one of those dynamic men who command attention from a room full of people. I already told him that if he runs for President I would like to work on his campaign team. As for a run in '08 I don't know. About a year ago the word was that he was being groomed for a 2012 or 2016 run. I think right now its a bit too early because while he is the Democratic superstar who isn't as polarizing as Hillary...I think he needs to serve out this first term as senator and continue to build his appeal with the public. If a Democrat wins the White House in '08 he would almost definitely run in 2016. He's already written a tell all talking about his past mistakes with drugs and stuff so hopefully there are no skeletons to come out.

Its just...he's black...and even for 2008 I think that many white Americans wouldn't vote for him for that simple fact...enough that would prevent him from winning the presidency. As much as people want to talk about how far we've come and how racism isn't such a thing anymore...it is still QUITE a factor and an issue in this country. But he's got a beautiful family and I wonder what their sentiments are on this. Safety certainly has to be an issue as I would fear for my husband's life if I were Mrs. Obama.

There are worse choices out there.

R

And there are many better choices as well. God help this country if this do-nothing liberal becomes president. He's been in office a mere 21 months and already he--and way too many other lemmings--have the audacity to believe he should be president.

What has he done to earn the presidency? Nothing. So he's good-looking (if you like skeletal types), so what? He's considered intelligent? So are many other politicians. I'll never understand this royalty-like obsession with this left-wing pretty face.

What did Dumbya do to earn the presidency other than be the son of a former president? We all see where that brilliant choice by the American people has done for the last 8 years. Sure can't get any worse.

And what does that have to do with Obama? This fawning over someone who is all style and no substance is perplexing, indeed.

And if you had read my original post you'd see that I agree about the lack of substance part right now. He's got little experience being shortly into his first term as senator from Illinois. I think he needs to stay there, finish out his term, run again, and fatten his resume with policies and a record that would reflect him being worthy of being president of the united states. And why do you care who fawns over someone anyway?

Many people had that same argument about Bill Clinton going into office, that he was a do-nothing from Arkansas. Yet, he was someone who actually did something, like raising taxes which didn't damper a robust economy, reducing the size of the federal government to numbers that hadn't been seen since JFK, and cutting the budget to what would eventually be a surplus in the treasury.

A centrist in that mold is what I see in Obama. He's more of a centrist than a "do-nothing liberal". Besides, he can do no worse harm to our constitutional freedoms than the Bush Regime has. He is a better choice than most, including (and I'm sad to admit this) Hillary or Kerry or even Gore.

Obama's a centrist just like Pat Buchanan's a centrist. Obama's a liberal, pure and simple.

And how dare he challenge Queen Hillary! Doesn't he know that the field has been cleared for her reign, I mean run? She spent 8 years being co-president and has NO intention of waiting another 4 or more to try for the big prize.

I just really don't think Hillary can win the presidency. My cousin's husband retired from the military and he said that military people aren't going to vote for a woman president because the president is also the commander in chief. Hillary is too polarizing. She turns a lot of people off, including many women. You'd think her chances would be great but I think McCain, who I think will be the Republican nominee and a formidable opponent since he's more moderate would put up a stiff challenge. But, I think this is the time she has to make a run. After the last 2 elections I've given up trying to decide if America will do what is RIGHT!

McCain vs. Hillary, huh? Great. Another election with two losers.

Well MIB...who would be your choice for the Republican candidate for the '08 presidential election?

I'm thinking Obama vs. Romney. The two alternatives to what would be Hillary vs. McCain.

None of the names mentioned thrills me at all, either. I liked Senator Warner; however, I am not a big fan of U.S. Senators becoming president. Obama's not that bad, though, MIB. Come on, he's from Illinois, you know.

I honestly don't know. I'm so fed up with politicians that I could really care less right now.

And NCAAUmp, get over your fawning of Obama, too.

I love that this topic has brought MIB back to the P&R boards. The other discussions on the totally morally bankrupt, corrupt, indefensible Republican party left no wiggle room or space for RNC talking points, so I'm glad he didn't even try to chime in.

On the race tip, I think Obama could actually win the presidency, because all he would need to do is win the states Gore won plus a few more. At this point, I think he could get white and Latino votes in states like Colorado, Nevada, and perhaps even Arizona. Certainly most of America is not like Illinois--and I mean even mostly white downstate and rural Illinois, whose voters realized that between Obama and a nutcase they had a clear choice. Obama maintains a 70% popularity rating, one of the highest of ANY Senator (I think only Olympia Snowe's numbers are better), and not just because of Chicago and its wealthy northern suburbs, where Obama's name causes shivers of delight. Outside of extreme right-wingers, I haven't come across anyone who strongly dislikes Obama (unlike good old Dickie Durbin), but many who do feel that he hasn't done that much legislatively, although he has had some successes--and he is one of the sharpest knives in a very large drawer full of mostly Republican dullards.

I doubt he'd win a single southern state, except maybe Arkansas, Georgia (especially as more Latinos move into the state, which is going to keep happening since under the current Incompetent in Chief we have no immigration control whatsoever) and Florida, but he wouldn't need to.

That said, I think he should run as the VP alongside Gore or somone else. He wouldn't be any worse than Georgie WPE (Worst President Ever) Bush, or his daddy, George HW Bush, and the Senate is where many politicians' presidential dreams go to die, but he'd be better off serving as the VP first. At least that's my opinion.

You Kool-Aid drinking lemmings do a fine job of that on your own. You don't need me being overly redundant.

Sorry to disappoint you, though, for I'm not "back" to the P&R boards. I'm on the way out altogether, which I'm sure won't cause any loss of sleep 'round these parts.

Foley-Hastertgate really did a number on you, didn't it? Don't take it so hard. Unless you were one of the pages or their parents, that is.

You really should try to not be such an assumptive ass all the time. Unlike you, I have other things that need my attention, and constantly running in here spewing crap is not at the top of my list.

As I said above, I'm sick of politicians, especially the utterly hypocritical ones--Foley, several members of the GOP, and many Democrats, who so conveniently disregard their own party's immoral sewage while at the same time railing against some members of the GOP.

But hey, if you want to lump into some assumed group everyone who's not in your camp of left-wing robot-mindedness, that's your right.

Someone seems a little bitter tonight, ay there, MIB? You weren't that way over dinner the other night.

I hope Obama does decide to run in '08. I think now is the right time. I've heard several people say he should wait til 2012 or 2016 but now is the right time. In politics, where a week seems like a year, waiting til 2012 would be a big mistake. And he's got the power of Oprah on his side. That's worth at least a few million votes right there.

Oh yeah, I completely agree that Obama would probably be better served as VP, not President. Maybe with former Gen. Wesley Clark (strong military leader) as presidential candidate and Obama as his VP nominee, they could seal off a good deal of votes. I think I just came up with a winning combination here!

Hey, I resemble that remark! As hard as it may be to believe, even people down here who are staunch Republicans were willing to see that Obama was a good candidate. Although there were some who refused to vote for him because his name was too close to "Osama".


In any case, I agree with him possibly being on the ticket as a V.P., but he hasn't done enough for me to trust him as a presidential candidate. I'm really disappointed that fomer VA. governor Mark Warner is taking his name out of the running, I think he would have been a great choice.


Although, MSNBC.com has a poll out there with some interesting results.

I think Bush is incurious and insensitive. For some that appears stupid in a world, and a job, in which curiosity and sensitivity would seem pertinent.

Those traits allowed him to stumble into Iraq thinking that they are like us in the desire for "freedom" in the mode that we understand it. What pushed him to go there was the desire to both one-up daddy and to protect the family reputation - very powerful motivations among proud southern families. The neo-con rationalizations and greed of his underlings merely lubricated his entry into a place he wanted to go all along.

With respect to Obama, his fellow Illinois senator has suggested that spending any more time in the Senate would merely allow him to cast votes that could be used against him in a future campaign. I think that avoiding responsibility would be the wrong reason for anyone to run for president. We already have that.

The better reason for him to run - preferably as a vice-presidential candidate IMO - is because the country really does need someone like him right now. I think his constituency extends beyond the traditional liberal because of his old-fashioned self-acknowledged religious convictions (albeit with progressive interpretations) and his willingness to put the interests of his homeland first despite international connections. Rural Illinoians were probably impressed when he went to Africa and explained to poor farmers wanting a lifting of protectionist tariffs on African agricultural products that he had to serve his home constituency - large farms.

Warner struck me as decent and competent but a bit dull. Not the Democrats need flash, but at the same time, they tend to pick these safe, centrist candidates who get easily slapped around by the Rethuglicans and their media allies. Look at Gore, or Kerry. Either was 1,000 times better than Bush on every front, yet Rove and company, along with the complicit media, literally ground them into the ground. Gore still won in 2000, and Kerry barely lost, and the Republicans will have nothing to run on except failure and scandal in 2008, but the Democrats still can't take any chances. There are people, despite knowing that $500 million given to the Iraqis to suppress the insurgency has GONE MISSING, will still vote for the incompetent GOP on whose watch this fiscal recklessness happened. Maybe those people are a lost cause, but the echo chamber created by their media allies tends to drown out good sense, so Democrats have to be ready.

Senator Ocautious will do just fine in a VP role.

Obama should run. 2008 would not be too soon. The Dems need someone like him with charisma, charm, a good look, great diction and a positive role model. He is a smart, kind man who has a good head on his shoulders. He definately has a political future ahead of himself. He has been in the news, at least in Chicago, for almost a decade, and he has yet to utter a single word that would piss me off. Trust me, that is quite a feat! Oh yeah, welcome back, MIB! For a while, I feared you got busted texting some 16 year old honey in your courtroom!

The more I hear and see him, the more he reminds me of Clinton. Scares the Repuglicans..

Bush's family may be proud but they certainly aren't Southern. His father was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Connecticut and his mother was born and raised in New York. George W. himself was born in Connecticut. In this case it is a proud Yankee family who wants their family reputation protected.

Why don't you come in and spew something other than crap for a change?

My, my, sensitive when we dare to challenge your boy's credentials, aren't we?

Because you didn't type :


"Unlike you, I have other things that need my attention, and constantly running in here spewing crap is not at the top of my list."


I agree, you should spew something else for a change.

I wouldn't give you the pleasure.

He can't respond without personal insults against fellow posters. (Did I call the man an "ass"? Nope. Etc.) I actually was excited that he was gracing us with his presence. It's sad, but typical for people on his far right side of the aisle. But then again, I think the domino effect of sexual and financial scandals has got him and other Republicans in a real tizzy. You should see the bizarre and perverse commercials they're running against moderate Democrats Melissa Bean, Tammy Duckworth (who lost both her legs in Iraq), and Dan Seals. (Our corrupt governor, of course, is another matter.) "Hysteria" wouldn't begin to cover it. He really ought to be nicer, or he might end up finding himself in the hell of his nightmares, which is being trapped in Wrigley Field surrounded by Black female openly gay ultraliberal, pro-Daley Cubs fans!

Isn't that playbook of yours worn out already? You're so unoriginal, always labeling people who don't agree with your extreme, left-wing views as being on the "far right." Uh huh. Whatever you say.




I like Melissa Bean. She had the cohones to stand up to Big Labor. Tammy Duckworth is a Party-propped, carpetbagging wack job. Dan Seals is also a carpetbagger trying to unseat one of the best congressmen in the House (who will crush Seals anyway).




Governor Blago, if re-elected, will be indicted and forced out of office, leaving this sorry state with a certified psycho as its new governor. But hey! That's the Democratic Party for ya! Not content with the GOP being corrupt, the Dems go all out for it.

[quote]which is being trapped in Wrigley Field surrounded by Black female openly gay ultraliberal, pro-Daley Cubs fans!


Oh Fantomas, you slay me! ROTFLMAO!!! (Don't forget to add they are all Oprah fans!) The lies that the Rethuglicans are spreading about Tammy Duckworth are incredible, almost as incredible as the smear they are slinging against Melissa Bean. How pitiful the GOP has become. How anyone could claim the GOP as a party and hold their head up is beyond me. They should all just slink away like a cockroach at 3 AM.

There are 11 days until the election and what's the new superstar of the left doing to help candidates take the House and Senate in November?

Selling books in Looneyville, a.k.a. San Francisco.

The Oracle Speaketh

When Dick Cheney slithers out of his cave you know things are serious. But when he does it to effectively endorse a democratic candidate for president then it's time to carefully inspect the premises for a big fat ole Rattus Rattus.

Obama has apparently flushed up the worst from this sinking hulk of the Bush adminstration.

The Oracle declares him "inexperienced". If that is his strongest criticism then I may have to reaccess my earlier comment that Obama would make a better VP than prez right now. He should go straight for the jugular. The presidency is his for the taking.

After seeing him handle that little dispute with McCain about Obama jumping the wagon on McCain's lobbying bill, I don't think he shrink from the pronouncements of Bush's Rasputin.

It would still be advantageous for him to run with someone of stature, a military background and credible southern credentials. Maybe Wesley Clark would go for VP (born in Chicago but grew up in Arkansas). So they both have something of an Illinois connection - visions of Lincoln dancing in our heads. Run Baby Run!!!

Senator OYummy has traveled all over the country stumping for Democratic candidates, including some right-wing ones like Harold Ford Jr. and Jim Webb. He has visited over 31 states, I believe, numerous locales, and has helped to raise quite a bit of money. He's also give out of his own funds, unlike that greedy self-absorbed robot John Kerry. So rant on. I'm sure the people of San Francisco are snapping up that book (I bought my copy the other day) and basking in his glow. They know, like the majority of people in Illinois and Michelle Obama.



This man is a keeper!

Harold Ford right wing--HAH! What a joke. You sure like to avoid the truth, don't you?

You, MIB, commenting on SOMEONE ELSE avoiding the truth? Now that is RICH! You, I am afraid, would not know the truth if it were a dick smacking you on the cheek. Thanks for playing, try again.

I AM the truth. I cannot be anything but. Blind are you partisan hacks.

Yes indeedy. Mr. O'Bama was here in Washington State last night for a funraiser in the red Seattle suburb of Bellevue, to support Darcy Burner, Dem. I understand he drew more than 2,000 people.

Off topic, but just a few of the Democratic hotties:

Barack Obama

Evan Bayh

Harold Ford Jr.

Scott Kleeb

Patrick Murphy

And yes, Harold Ford Jr. is a good little right-wing Democrat. He still deserves to be elected over that crackpot racist Bob Corker. But he's about as conservative as they come. He even expatiated on his anti-gay marriage stand, mischaracterizing the New Jersey Supreme Court decision and sounding like the crazy little Christianist-leaning soldier he thinks he is. He even said he "loves" George Bush, good company for MIB! Can't get more right-wing than that!

Without specifically addressing whether Obama is appropriately seasoned for the presidency, the aspect of his candidacy that intrigues me right now is the conceptual prospect of a non traditional (read: non-white or non-male) president. It would speak volumes about how far America has come if the general public elected a minority president, particularly one belonging to a historically marginalized group. The presidency is the ultimate glass ceiling -- never in a million years did I think we would see a black president in my lifetime (or a female president, for that matter - sorry Hil), but I'm starting to reconsider the possibilities...

RIP Shirley Chisholm.

I guarantee it you'd be singing a different tune if he were a Republican.

Seriously, did you even read my post, or are you an automated 'bot MIB? My post was only marginally about Obama and not directed at his political leanings. Silly me for thinking you could ever transcend your usual partisan discourse.

Oh BTW, I'm an independent (I suppose in the way you claim to be an "independent") and I would have voted for Colin wholeheartedly had wifey not talked him out of running. So go take your played out kneejerk insults of liberals somewhere else.

[edited to add--MIB, I now realize your previous post was quite cryptic, so I could have overreacted in anticipation of an expected response. If so, sorry.]

Thanks for my laugh of the day. I laughed so damn hard I think funny noises emanated from some unmentionable places.



Indeed.

I went to USC on Fri to a Democratic vote rally featuring the Senator, only because it was featuring the Senator.

Ostensibly there to support Phil Angelides for Gov, his speech sounded very much like a tryout of presidential campaign themes. Given his national position, he was better placed than the locals to comment on national/international issues, and he did. He drew a policy line from FDR through JFK and Clinton and left it hanging for the easy addition of himself. He quoted MLK more than once. And of course, he referred to his "less difference from the 'other party' than we think" theme.

Overall though, his speech, the last of the afternoon, was much more scholarly and interesting than the repub-bashing, policy re-hashing of the Gov candidate, Mayor Viallaraigosa, and the others. Every pause was chorused by an "ah-ha, mmm MM" from some invisible African-American female accent within shot of the microphone.

I think he should run in 08. He would make a very convincing go of inspiring unity after the divison of the W Bush era. Even those who would not naturally agree with his policies would find something of merit in his message. The idea of a non-traditional leader would attract votes.

However, paraphrasing what he said himself, just because he might win is not a reason to run. He has to have something to offer. He strikes me as someone who would inspire. Is that enough for a President? Would we be fed up with inspiration by the end of the campaign. We do not know what kind of actions he would take as leader. What would he do about the intractable Iraq problem.

I guess we should be asking this of every presidential aspirant: what are you going to do about Iraq. I mean, what is John McCain or Rudy Giuliani or some of the other Republicans that people are panting over going to do? I don't mean lip-service, I mean, really? McCain has spoken about more troops. WHERE are they going to come from? Is he going to restart the draft? If so, he should say so. Perhaps it's time we had less lying and more truthtelling. What is Giuliani going to do? Talk about a slick operator. His crony Bernard Kerik was over there supposedly training the Iraqi police, and as we now know, not only did he screw up badly, but many of them constitute the death squads that are causing us and the poor Iraqi people so many problems. Okay, Mitt Romney. Once he gets off his high horse of homo-hating, what's he going to do? I mean, the Republicans have controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the presidency AND the courts since the war began, and they have screwed up to no end. Screwed up royally. So everytime we hear about how bad the Democrats would be on Iraq, how they have no plan, etc., ask yourself, what exactly has been the Republican strategy or strategies, and given how badly all of them have turned out, why should we trust that any of them--including McCain, who's been in the Senate--would do ANY better?

Obama very well may want to wait this one out. He's trying so hard to be a centrist he doesn't know which way he's coming or going. But the fact remains that his opponents have to take the blame for the screwup. It's really that simple. I'm not sure what plan he or Hillary or Bill Richardson or Al Gore or Wes Clark or whomever would put together, but I doubt it could be worse than what we've got. Hell, even Afghanistan is falling apart right now! When the US Secretary of State has to fly corkscrew into the Baghdad airport for fear of her plane being shot down, when she has to wear a bulletproof vest in a supposedly secure venue, when she has to travel by helicopter because three years into this mess the road is too dangerous, when she endures a blackout as she's talking to Iraq's president, you have to ask yourself, who are they kidding? If it's so great, I really want to see George Bush, Dick and Lynn Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Joe Lieberman, and any other nut who keeps advancing this idea to take a page from former Chicago mayor Jane Byrne, and stay in the projects. Hell, Newark's mayor Corey Booker was even courageous to do so in that city's dodge city projects. So these champions of how great Iraq is could stay, oh, a week, outside the damned Green Zone. They tell us Southern Iraq is great. So stay down there. In Basra, Nasariyah, or one of those cities. Stay, and then at the end of the week, tell us how great it is. I think I'd buy at least half of what comes out of their mouths after that.

I do find it amusing that Obama's getting ripped by the left-wing looney bloggers who are blasting him for not campaigning more for and giving money to Democratic candidates in need.

Bill Richardson I like. A sensible guy is he.

And what about Governor Blago here? He has made it well-known he has presidential ambitions. I just wonder if that's before or after he's indicted.