I’m not saying race is a non-issue, I’m saying his mom’s race doesn’t relate to the subject of the piece. The gist of the article, clearly, is that we can’t trust Obama because his dad was a Muslim and he was educated for some years in a Wahabbist school. [The mother’s atheism, I guess, might score some bonus points.] Her race is irrelevant to that point. That’s why I’m saying the author threw it in to bother people who would be uneasy with such things, or to express that he doesn’t like white women marrying Africans.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/
Specifically, http://obama.senate.gov/issues/iraq/index.html
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/seniors/index.html
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/immigration/index.html
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/health_care/index.html
Gay Rights. Hm. Good question. Abortion, too. Let’s see.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/050208-obama_touches_on_variety_of_issues/index.html
Could be worse. Also, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0409250111sep25,1,7098310.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Abortion
http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Barack_Obama_Abortion.htm
Extend presumption of good faith to abortion protesters,
Pass the Stem Cell Research Bill
Protect a woman’s right to choose
Supports Roe v. Wade
Well, I think abortion protesters are scum, generally, but I’ve never been comfortable with the laws banning them. I’m sorry, but it’s like letting Nazis march. Got to do it.
In his own words:
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/
This is what made me a supporter, listening to him talk intelligently about the gas issues over the summer. Generally, he seems to be my kind of guy.
On further reading: Looks like it’s not as ‘sanitized’ as you expected, Eve. Gay rights are on his webpage, just a little hidden.
Another thing about Obama is his cool. He never seems to really lose it, and he has been provoked and put in situations that many other would. During his senate campaign, he was followed, without relent, by a guy with a video camera and tape recorder. He never lost it, managed to never look like a ninny, and yet coherently expressed why he did not like it, why it was not politics as usual, and in general just put up with it until general disapproval made the campaign who was doing that stop.
When he was detained in Russia with Dick Luger, he handled that well. He made the best out of that, and again, never lost his cool.
When McCain blew up at him tried to to make him look like an ass after they had talked and apparently agreed to work together, Obama responded in a respectful, clear way, and reached out again to McCain. I really recommend reading that exchange of letters.
He is sometimes quite passionate, but appears never to be a hot head. I would be a nice change from both the clammy democrats we have seen of late and the hothead who is our current POTUS.
Well, I disagree with him severely on gun control, but most of the rest of the things I disagree with him on, are things that have been spiked so far to the right during Bush’s term that a little chokehold couldn’t hurt.
Not to mention that lately he’s looking like a chipmunk with the mumps.
I’ve heard broadcasts of Obama speak and he’s always impressed me – not just that he’s well-spoken, but that he’s clearly thought through the positions he takes. He also had the guts recently to go before an Evangelical Christian audience, say straightforwardly that he disagrees with them on certain social issues, yet win a large portion of that audience over with what he said about shared values.
I can’t think of another Democratic candidate who could pull that off. I can see him winning votes from thoughtful Evangelicals who are sufficiently distressed by what the Republicans have wrought to want an alternative they can live with.
Rush Limbaugh (R - Drug-Addled) has taken to calling Obama a “half-minority”. The man’s lack of wit is truly mind-numbing.
Dick all. A candidate’s exploratory committee often doesn’t meet, and sometimes doesn’t even have any members. The whole point is to get the candidate’s name in another news cycle. (This gets nuts when they announce that they intend to announce the formation of the exploratory committee.)
Also, if the buzz is really bad and the candidate decides to pull out before a formal decision is made, it isn’t a “failed campaign”. Instead, they were exploring it and they decided against it.
There are also reasons for doing it that way for purposes of election financing laws, but it doesn’t have to be done like that.
Because Obama practices Christianity which for a Muslim is apostasy (pretty much the worst crime under Islamic law) the penalty for which is death. However most Islamic (or any) nations will regard the President of the USA first and formost as the President of the USA, not as a Muslim, apostate, woman, Jew, etc. I think it helps that Obama has never actually practiced Islam (which could also harm his chance among American voters).
Rush obviously thinks this will hurt Obama’s chances with some portion of his listening audience, but I can’t think of what portion he has in mind.
Surely that only applies if he used to be a practicing Muslim? Is this the case? Was he at one time a practicing Muslim? And doesn’t the Koran preach tolerance for Christianity and Judaism? (Even if its adherents don’t). Paging Angua and Tamerlane.
All this is true. It’s only apostacy if you’ve ever been a Muslim and Obama has never been a Muslim. Otherwise you’re a “Person of the Book,” and not considered to be an infidel (You’re only an infidel if you’ve rejected Islam after having a full understanding of it).
Obama can win because Americans, when it comes to the Presidency, are stupid. I don’t mean he’s stupid. I mean, we are.
We romanticized Kennedy & Reagan. We elected Nixon. We elected Carter because he was a nice guy. We elected Poppy Bush to try to keep a piece of Reagan around :rolleyes: . We voted for Bubba because he was “the Man from Hope,” & W. because he was Bush’s son.
Obama is pretty, & he’s colored. We’ve killed and died for men for less.
I’m still predicting Bill Richardson for the win, though.
Obama stole a march on his rivals today by introducing legislation mandating a complete withdrawal from Iraq over the next 14 months.
I can still remember watching him on TV as he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004, and saying to my wife, “that man’s going to be President someday.” I’m still leaning towards Edwards, but I’m starting to think my prediction might come true much earlier than I had expected.
Video of Obama’s speech introducing the bill here.