I think his quote is pretty self-explanatory, don’t you? "Barack Obama. . . [is] uniquely qualified to build the broad coalitions needed to address our nation’s challenges.” How will merely getting the Democratic nomination and not the Presidency allow him to do that? It’s a full out endorsement for Obama for President.
I wonder why he didn’t say so then. The article specifically states that he favors Obama for the Democratic nomination but nowhere is mention of the presidency made.
It occurs to me that he may feel somewhat like I do. That he’d prefer a republican for president, but if we are to have a democrat in office anyway he’d prefer it to be Obama because once there he could build coalitions, etc.
I don’t get what’s obscure about his statement, but if you want something more concrete, here you go:
Hope that clears it up for you.
Yeah, that’ll work. Thanks.
I guess I’ve just learned with experience to closely parse everything a politician says, and it struck me as odd that he phrased his endorsement so as to specifically endorse Obama for the Democratic nomination without also mentioning the presidency.
If you haven’t already seen Obama’s thoughtful responses to intelligent questions on a number of substantive issues at the recent “Compassion Forum” held at Messiah College, you should take a look. Here’s the link to the first of five YouTube clips capturing what he had to say.
You may well come out of watching them with greater comfort in Obama being our next president – perhaps (miracles do happen!) even seeing him as a better choice to address this country’s many problems than McCain, mired as he is in the policies and mindsets of the failed past. There are an amazing number of other Republicans and conservatives (not an identical set) who are taking a good hard look at Obama and choosing to give him their support and their vote.
I’ll take a look. Thanks for the link.
I watched all five segments, ETF, and I have to say first of all that this is a much better way to conduct debates. (Technically, I suppose one could contend they were just separate Q & A sessions, but there really isn’t much back and forth debate in the ones like we had last night either.) Each candidate gets truly good questions and has time to answer them fully, without having to contend with snide remarks from the other candidate, time limits, and/or moderator favortism.
Obama is a very likable guy. One also gets the sense that he’s a genuinely good person and one who is truly motivated to try to accomplish good things for the nation in general, as opposed to Hillary who just seems mostly to want to get her hands on the reigns of power.
Many of the things I’ve come to like about Arnold Schwarzenegger, I also see in Barack Obama. Both recognize that digging in their heels and refusing to deal with the other side accomplishes nothing. Both also recognize that it’s okay for those on the other side to feel differently than you do and that they are entitled to feel that way. Both appear to have the ability to compromise and work with the other side in order to get things accomplished. And both are charismatic and inspirational people who have the unique ability to rally people behind them in a bipartisan way and get things done.
Naturally, I would prefer Schwarzenegger (were he able to run) to Obama, because in spite of their similarities, Schwarzenegger still tilts right and Obama tilts left, and the political philosophies of the right are the ones that resonate with me.
Still, like I’ve said here before, if Obama winds up in the White House, I don’t expect to be all that unhappy about it. He’s the first democratic presidential candidate I’ve liked on a personal level since JFK, and like I’ve also said before, I believe that he will moderate some of his liberal views once he’s in office and that the republicans in congress will serve as a moderating influence as well.
So in the main, if he’s elected in the fall I won’t exactly be happy about it but I’ll be less unhappy than I’ve been with the election of any Democratic president since JFK. This feeling may change once the nominating process is over and issues actually become the focus, but for now, like I said, I’ll be okay with it if he gets elected.
You might also be interested to know, too, ETF, about a brief conversation I had a couple of months ago with a young woman I know who is about as staunch a republican as I am. (She’s twenty-one and a friend of one of my nieces’.) She asked me who I was gonna vote for and I said McCain, although I wasn’t really all that crazy about him (as a republican, that is, not as a person). She looked at me with eyes a’ twinkle and said, “I like Obama.” I told her I did, too. She said, “Wow, that’s really cool. I thought I was in for a tongue-lashing for sure.” 
She’s still gonna vote for McCain, but it does illustrate how strongly Obama resonates with people across the board. And that, I think, speaks strongly for his ability to rally people behind him and get things done in a bipartisan way, which this country really does need.
And I strongly doubt any significant number of Republicans will be feeling comparable resonance with Mrs. Clinton; moreover, I well understand why they don’t–and it’s not simple misogyny for the most part.
The fact that Republicans/conservatives can disagree with Obama’s policies and philosophy, yet see him as someone they can respect and work productively with is an important part of why I’m for him. The problems we face are staggering and will require a President who “resonates with people across the board” and can get the bulk of Congress working with him rather than against him.
Oh, it won’t be puppies and rainbows, of course not! There’ll be plenty of tough fights over the initiatives he’ll offer. But I do see Obama as someone who can get a real sense of “We’re all in this together” percolating through the government and the populace.
ETA: By the way, I recommend you read his Dreams from My Father – you’ll come away from it with a deeper appreciation of what a remarkable man he is, and where he comes from.
I believe I will as a matter of fact.
::gives EddyTeddyFreddy a moment to pick herself up off the floor::
And then I’m gonna read The Audacity of Hope.
How do ya like them apples?
Seriously, though, it’s really looking like he’s going to be the Democratic nominee and it’s time to start taking him seriously and finding out what he believes and why. I’m looking forward to reading what he has to say.
Excellent! You won’t see any justice in the “empty suit” label when you’ve finished them.
Good on you, Starving Artist. Thanks for keeping an open mind.
In the meantime. . .
Long-Time Clinton Ally Robert Reich to Endorse Obama
This one’s going to have to sting as much as the Richardson endorsement. Of course the article goes on to say that they’ll just dismiss it with a hand wave, but deep down they cannot not feel personally offended that a 40-year friend has publicly endorsed her rival.
And then. . .
Forty Virginia party leaders ask uncommitted superdels to back Obama
OBAMA SCORES BACKING OF TWO SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC ICONS
I think this is going to be another good day. 
Nunn’s a wash for me. I still haven’t forgiven him for fighting as hard as any Republican against repealing the ban on gays in the military early in Clinton’s first term.
Her argument to the supers just gets harder to make.
That said, I must say that Obama has been off his game. The general may be closer than I’d like.
It *might * have been, if not for Clinton getting three.
Why is it that you never mention such things?
Because it’s not her job to shill for Clinton?
This is the forum designated for witnessing, that’s true. Sure would be nice to see it acknowledged as such a little more often, though.
Yeah, because your candidate has so much greater a chance after throwing MoveOn and party activists under a bus this weekend.
MoveOn, an organization which was formed in the first place to aid her husband during his impeachment ordeal by advocating a simple censure and “moving on”. Party activists…you know, the people who actually DO THINGS in the party, like GOTV and phonebanking and rallying and campaign volunteering. Those people?
Guess they’re just not that important to Mrs. “Lobbyists are people, too” Clinton. Sort of like how all the states that didn’t go her way are “insignificant”.
I sure hope Pennsylvania turns out to be insignificant, too. Maybe, like Nebuchadnezzar, she’ll finally see the writing on the wall. Or at least the superdelegates will…
Oh, and maybe you can send her a message to pay her bills like the rest of us have to, 'kay?