# Obama forms committee to explore presidential bid **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 16, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233 "2007-01-16T19:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/41 "2007-01-17T18:06:44Z")
. . . and that site is completely useless; it’s just him tooting his own horn and being careful not to say anything controversial (and thereby, nothing on issues like abortion, religion, gay rights . . .). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/42 "2007-01-17T18:23:58Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] [Obama to announce run for presidency February 10](http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/105603.asp) Personally, I’d very much like to see him elected vice-president in 2008 (ah, but with whom?), and president in 2012 or 2016 if all goes well. [/QUOTE] As I’ve said before, I think there’s a good chance that he is, in fact, running for VP. What better way to get there than to be one of the main contenders for P? Probably not if Hillary wins the nomination, but almost anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/43 "2007-01-17T18:36:30Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Looks like the right wing-nuts are jumping on this. Someone sent me this e-mail today, and I think it’ll be popping up in more than a few places: [/QUOTE] Interesting that they took time to mention his mother’s ‘miscegenation’ while discussing his secret conversion to radical Islam. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/44 "2007-01-17T18:39:09Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] What are his views on foreign relations? National security? Immigration? Healthcare? Abortion? Gay rights? I’m sure all this will come out eventually, but I don’t want to even think about voting for him w/o knowing at least some of this. [/QUOTE] A good place to look is[On The Issues](http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm) A multilateralist and a longtime critic of Iraq policies and actons. Big on balancing security and civil rights. Voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act but against wiretapping. For the right to basic healthcare but no specific plans proposed. For right to choose and voted for more money to educate teens and for contraceptives. Also for protecting the rights of abortion protesters. Against gay marriage and for civil unions and protection from discrimination. Enjoy the site. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/45 "2007-01-17T18:49:23Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] Jesus kee-rist, I assume you did not _mean_ that to come off as obnoxious as it did? [/QUOTE] Of course you may assume that. My apologies. But really, **Eve** , you’ve never struck me as an intellectually lazy person – in fact, quite the opposite. So why would you sit around and wait for some ‘eventuality’ to learn about Obama’s stand on issues you’re concerned about? If you “never read or hear anything substantive about Obama” it’s because you haven’t looked for it, not because it isn’t there. Could more be fleshed out over time, as he gets hit with more direct questions over the next year? Of course. But there’s certainly more out there right now than merely the fact that he’s a well-spoken man of mixed race. [QUOTE=Eve] . . . and that site is completely useless; it’s just him tooting his own horn and being careful not to say anything controversial (and thereby, nothing on issues like abortion, religion, gay rights . . .). [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > [Floor Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the Federal Marriage Amendment](http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060605-floor_statement_of_senator_barack_obama_on_the_federal_marriage_amendment/index.html) > > \ > > Now, I realize that for some Americans, this is an important issue. And I should say that personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. > > But let’s be honest. That’s not what this debate is about. Not at this time. > > This debate is an attempt to break a consensus that is quietly being forged in this country. It’s a consensus between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Red States and Blue States, that it’s time for new leadership in this country - leadership that will stop dividing us, stop disappointing us, and start addressing the problems facing most Americans. > > It’s a consensus between a majority of Americans who say, “You know what, maybe some of us are comfortable with gay marriage right now and some of us are not. But most of us do believe that gay couples should be able to visit each other in the hospital and share health care benefits; most of us do believe that they should be treated with dignity and have their privacy respected by the federal government.” > > And we all know that if this amendment were to pass, it would close the door on much of this - because we know that when similar amendments passed in places like Ohio and Michigan and Utah, domestic partnership benefits were taken away from gay couples. > > This is not what the majority of the American people want. > > \ > > I agree with most Americans, with Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Cheney, with over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage, as they always have, should be left to the states. > > \ > [@](#): > > [Remarks of Senator Barack Obama at the National Women’s Law Center](http://obama.senate.gov/speech/051110-remarks_of_senator_barack_obama_at_the_national_womens_law_center/index.html) > > \ > > Now, the ability for a woman to make decisions about how many children to have and when - without interference from the government - is one of the most fundamental freedoms we have. We all know, becoming a parent is one of the most - if not the most - important jobs there is. No one should make that decision for a woman and her family but them. And we must keep defending their right to make this choice in the years to come. > > \ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/46 "2007-01-17T18:56:32Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] Of course you may assume that. My apologies. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the pertinent quotes–sadly, as we all know, as the election gains steam he will (like all politicians) veer away from any remotely dangerous viewpoints and skew “safe.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/47 "2007-01-17T18:59:34Z")
[QUOTE=Knorf] According to one of the links cited above, if a man’s father were a Muslim, then the Islamic world considers the man to be also a Muslim. Is this true? [/QUOTE] I don’t know, but if it were true, it might make it easier for President Obama to form good relations with Islamic countries. (Unless the Shi’ites object because they perceive him as a Sunni, etc., etc.) Even if it’s not true – Obama’s heritage should give him better insight than most American pols have into how Muslims think; which might, again, make it easier for President Obama to form good relations with Islamic countries. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/48 "2007-01-17T19:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Obama has no experience of any kind which qulaifies him to be president. [/QUOTE] [shrug] Neither did Lincoln. In 1860, he was just an autodidact lawyer who had served in Congress. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/49 "2007-01-17T19:04:03Z")
If he’s got eight years to give us as POTUS, I fail to see how everyone wouldn’t benefit from him carying more experience into the arena. Two years as a senator? Geez, I’m not that impatient. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/50 "2007-01-17T19:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=DSeid] How would he face up against McCain in a general election? That depends on how Bush’s “surge” goes. If it works (which I hope it will despite my every belief that it will be a catestrophic move) then McCain becomes unbeatable for his support of it before it was even announced. If it is the mistake most of us think it is then McCain is toast and any other potential Republican nominee is an underdog to vitually anyone other than HRC, IMHO. Even Edwards. Okay not Kucinich. [/QUOTE] No matter how things go in Iraq, McCain will not get the Pub nomination in 2008. He’s too old, and the religious right hates him too much (he has been trying to mend fences there, but I doubt it will be enough). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/51 "2007-01-17T19:14:48Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] As I’ve said before, I think there’s a good chance that he is, in fact, running for VP. What better way to get there than to be one of the main contenders for P? Probably not if Hillary wins the nomination, but almost anyone else. [/QUOTE] 😕 Why would Hillary not want Obama as her running mate? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/52 "2007-01-17T19:17:49Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Interesting that they took time to mention his mother’s ‘miscegenation’ while discussing his secret conversion to radical Islam. [/QUOTE] 😕 I didn’t see the word “miscegenation” in that e-mail. It does mention that Obama’s mother was white and his father black, but the whole world knows that and no discussion of his personal background can reasonably ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/53 "2007-01-17T19:24:34Z")
I’d wager that a lot of people don’t really know what miscegenation is anymore. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/54 "2007-01-17T19:27:20Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] 😕 Why would Hillary not want Obama as her running mate? [/QUOTE] She wouldn’t. That’s why I said it probably wouldn’t happen if HRC won the primary. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/55 "2007-01-17T19:29:55Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] She wouldn’t. That’s why I said it probably wouldn’t happen if HRC won the primary. [/QUOTE] But, that’s what I’m asking. Why wouldn’t she? A Clinton/Obama ticket would appeal to centrists and progressives both, besides sewing up the black vote (on which the Dems can usually rely anyway, but not necessarily at a high level of turnout; but Obama on the presidential ballot could reasonably expect to get the vote of every legally eligible African-American but Alan Keyes). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/56 "2007-01-17T19:31:00Z")
[QUOTE=Knorf] According to one of the links cited above, if a man’s father were a Muslim, then the Islamic world considers the man to be also a Muslim. Is this true? [/quote] No. You’re not a Muslim unless you practice Islam. That means actually practicing the Pillars. Even if you believe it but you don’t practice the Pillars, you’re not considered a Muslim. There is certainly no belief that having a Muslim parent makes you a Muslim. I read all three of those links and the bullshit gets higher on each page. The Freeper page is the worst of course. As much as those people hate Islam, they sure know fuck-all about it. I guess if the right can’t find any real dirt on Obama, they’ll just make shit up. The blogger quoted in the first link even admitted that he didn’t care if Obama wasn’t really a “secret Muslim,” he would be happy to spread the rumor anyway. I guess that’s the meme they’re going to go with. He’s lying about being a Christian. he’s secretly a mole for the terrorists (apparently, all Muslims are automatically terrorists as far as they people are concerned). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/57 "2007-01-17T19:32:53Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] But, that’s what I’m asking. Why wouldn’t she? [/QUOTE] :smack: My bad. Too risky, and HRC is nothing if not a cautious politicians. Why give people a gender and a race button to push? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/58 "2007-01-17T21:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] 😕 I didn’t see the word “miscegenation” in that e-mail. It does mention that Obama’s mother was white and his father black, but the whole world knows that and no discussion of his personal background can reasonably ignore it. [/QUOTE] My use of that word was sarcastic. Obama mama’s race is irrelevant, as is her atheism, since the thing is supposedly about his fundy stepdaddy and the anti-American terrorist beliefs he must’ve instilled in young Barack. In reality I think both items were included because they shocked the author and/or were expected to bother the readers, if only on a subconscious level. If everybody knows his dad was black and his mom was white, why is it in that message at all? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/59 "2007-01-17T23:22:59Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I’d also like to see the field widened to include people posessing Ph.Ds-God knows we’ve had enough incompetent presidents! [/QUOTE] Are you suggesting that Woodrow Wilson, Ph.D., was our only competent president? And **Eve** , I would suggest you try either of Obama’s books, which are quite good. _Dreams from My Father_, written before his political career, is an interesting look at his upbringing and life as a tenant organizer in Chicago, viewed through the lens of how he tried to relate to his absentee African father. _The Audacity of Hope_ summarizes his current views on domestic and world issues, and is almost shockingly readible for a political work. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233/60 "2007-01-17T23:25:12Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] My use of that word was sarcastic. Obama mama’s race is irrelevant . . . [/QUOTE] 'Fraid not, **Marley.** Not to whites, not to blacks, and not to Obama himself, I’m sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-forms-committee-to-explore-presidential-bid/388233.md?page=4)