Years ago I made a decision to take care of my family, do volunteer work, and to somehow fit into a world that I didn’t like. I was tired of swimming upstream and I just wanted to enjoy life.
I believed the Republican mantra of less government, less taxes, and individual responsibility but it didn’t play out that way. It played out that if you knew the rules you could win, and it was important that only certain people knew the rules.
I lived with that until the party became evangelical and then basically except for voting I dropped out of active participation. I was by then jaded, I didn’t believe that anything that was collectively good was possible anymore and that those who were in power were after all smarter and fiscally responsible enough.
Then children started shooting children on a regular basis and all I could think of was how did we get here? What’s wrong? I never thought it was the children. But I became appalled at how easily we began to accept violence as random and as something we could do nothing about. Still, I did nothing except to have an awareness, I guess.
One day two summer’s ago now, I was watching Oprah, and for the first time I became aware of Barack Obama. I have lived in his state for the last 10 years but was basically only aware of national and Chicago politics, so I didn’t know who he was. I became interested in him because of Michelle. I thought to myself if that man is man enough to be married to a woman, who is bright, and independent, and interesting, then I want to know more about him. So I ordered his books, and I began to read about his journey, all this before he announced his run for the the Presidency.
So why does this matter now? Because lately, much ado is being made by candidates and the press about the power of his rhetoric, and that maybe it’s not substantive. I long ago learned not to be so easily swayed by powerful speeches, beyond the moment they occur, and I believe that this man is of substance, that his voting record reflects pragmatism. Life is about compromise, and we can either compromise justly within our government or we can have a stalemate where little happens.
The fact that he is a long-time student of Constitutional Law is one of his most impressive credentials. A President who can interpret the constitution in the light of new laws, and maybe in the light of rescending some laws. And it won’t be easy, George Bush has been stacking the Supreme Court Deck. It will take a powerful litigator and negotiator to create some of the changes that we need for this country. I am wondering why this fact seems to never get brought into the light.
And further, Ralph Nader announced today, and I was a little disappointed in Barack’s comments about Mr. Nadier, in that this is a free country and if you follow the process you can run for office, and I guess if I had been Barack I would have asked why now and not earlier?
I found Nader’s comments unfounded with Barack Obama regarding Corporate America and the labor unions. (On Meet the Press, this morning). It occurred to me when Barack went to GMC and when he went to NASDAQ, and spoke on both occasions, that he offering industry and the investment market the opportunity to police themselves, but making it clear by his very presence and his comments that changes needed to be made. This is the strongest evidence I can find of his style, a style which I like to call pragmatism. If you offend everyone who has money and mandate that they behave in a certain manner, they will just close their businesses and invest there money and you will lose jobs. This is something that seems to escape the American people, particularly when they behave like a “proletariat” or as if there is some magic wand.
There is no magic wand, there is hard work, fairness, collective effort, an end to gender and racial bias, and beyond that inspiration and motivation.
This man must be our nominee, because of what he stands for, because of what he will be able to accomplish, and because of what it means to the future of a country whose greatness is currently somewhat suspect.
Fifteen years of wedded bliss and eight months on the Presidential Campaign Trail.
Best wishes for many more years of happiness.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the event was being celebrated on October 3rd.
According to the web, the official date is October 18, 1992.
Obama appeared on Tyra Banks on October 1st and here is what he had to say:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20091040,00.html
The American People unfortunately love a good fight, there is a reason why the NFL is so successful.
And while it is appropriate on the football field, it is not appropriate in public debate.
It has however become the object of the media, when are they taking the gloves off, when are they going on attack?
It makes for more entertaining news, and unfortunately many Americans have the attention span of a knat. And I mean to offend, they can watch what I consider to be drivel for at least an hour, but to engage and pay attention to a debate that at some point will have a dramatic effect on their lives, they can't be bothered.
There are about 30,000 votes on the MSNBC poll about the debate, and that's not very many, so it will be interesting to see if those numbers climb and if more people watch the streaming video. But I am skeptical that they will.
Becoming elected is a complex process thanks to media, everything a person does today is easily recorded, videotaped, photographed, and so it becomes necessary to always "be on".
If we weren't so media and advertising directed we probably would not be in some of the messes we are dealing with today, because we would have thought through what was being presented to us, made some intelligent decisions and then had them reflected in the way that we voted.
So back to the Donnybrook, the real question is how do you make a lasting impression on the American public in a group of eight people without berating your opponents?
Remember they all belong to the same party, and hold basically the same beliefs with different ideas of implementation.
I think Barack needs to be let out of the restraints, I have seen him one on one and he is marvelous. I think it would be better to tell him what statements are considered "political suicide" and then just let him run with it.
If you noticed the first 15mins, if not more, were focused on Iraq. Iraq is not the only issue, it's one of many. But it makes for ratings.
And remember these stations can be viewed worldwide, and at the very least picked up on the internet on video. So I think the wise course of action is to say a little about your strategy and leave it at that. World leaders do pay attention to what is going on in our backyard, and the wise course of action is not to incense them before you become president.
I also noticed that Senator Clinton and former Senator Edwards were given more floor time.
And yet the media last night and this morning were saying that Barack was off his game. He was a little off, he wasn't feeling well, and they said after the debate, the media, that they were aware of that going into the debate.
I think Barack's ideas were as always well-thought out and feasible, I do not think his presentation rates an A+
Someone experienced in this arena, needs to transistion Senator Obama from one-on-ones to the debate arena and to some of his public speeches. If the same charisma, common sense, and well-thought out responses that come across in the town meetings, personal encounters, and one-on-one television interviews, he will walk away with the nomination.
And I also think that while it requires more airtime and fluctuating ratings, they should start a round-robin of debates, so that we see each candidate paired with one other candidate like a debate is supposed to be. When you are listening to the responses of eight people, it is more difficult to discern what the real agendas are.
Instead they are in a situation where they must deliver their idea or policy in a distinct amount of time, and much gets lost do to the fact that there is not time for elaboration.
So for all people who think it is time for Barack to go on attach, I disagree, but it is time for him to distinguish himself more succinctly.
People want to vote for, be with, hang-out with, people that they know, like, and trust.
So that is the challenge I would issue to the Campaign strategists, what are you doing to assure the American people that they can get to know, like (that party is easy) and trust Barack Obama?
And just in case that sounds a little too simplistic for you, did you catch Ann Coulter's column the other day? If that kind of venom is flying now, what do think will happen once Barack has the nomination?
There's free speech, and then there's slander, and I think she is definitely flirting with it.
So don't give the public a donnybrook, but give them a leader, that they can know, like and trust, because the desparately need one.
Make sure you read this oped page on the home page.
It has been suggested that we write letters to the editor, and once again Barack Obama is leading by example.
Saying what you believe upfront is a dicey thing to do in an election campaign, and he is to be commended for taking the "Damn the Torpedos" approach.
His plan is thoughtful, does not reveal the Senator's name, but puts it out there. This is the kind of info people need to know, not info that jeapordizes our counter-intelligence efforts.
And the press will start digging now to find out who that senator is.
So it's a brilliant piece, and unabashedly honest, and it also offers actions that can be taken to resolve the issue.
I am particularly proud in this moment to be associated with him.
That sounds antiquated doesn't it? In light of the progress that women have made since they finally earned the right to vote. But this week a supreme court ruling dealt us a set-back in terms of financial parity, so maybe it's not so antiquated.
What I wanted to share here is a Mother Day's poem I found written by Julia Ward Howe, a suffragette, poetess, and author of the lyrics for the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".
It struck me as I read this, that this has been our lament, mother's I mean, and hopefully most women, since the advent of the Civil War, and we are still going to war.
Please read and comment on it, and if you think women need to organize more at a grassroots level for peace, to have an impact on policies at a national level, and to have an impact on the cruel and inhumane treatment of many of our "sisters" in other nations:
Blessings to you and your families-
Pat
As I read different blogs across the internet and on the Obama site, I am struck by how quick people are to criticize opposing candidates, each other, the party, and of course Bush.
While constructive criticism is always useful, what I am sensing is an underlying anger about life in general and that people want somewhere to put it.
The economy has shifted and people are up in arms because its affecting their lifestyle, but how up in arms have they been over the years about the homeless, or Appalachia, or the number of children killed on Los Angeles streets, or all that hasn't been done in the wake of Katrina.
The war is an easy focus, because people are dying over there, but if you look deeper, the heat about ending the war, could be somewhat prejudicial. After all we are defending Muslims, another race, a different people. I am for ending the war, because I agree with Barack that the situation needs to be resolved with diplomacy and foreign aid not with guns and tanks, and precious American lives. But I do believe that what was is happening in those countries, that adhere to strict Islamic law, and oppression of women is every bit as much of a Holocaust as what the Jews experienced in World War II.
I think a generational thing happens around tragedies, if it's history and you haven't experienced it in your lifetime, then somehow it's not real, and so drawing a corollary just doesn't seem to compute. This is true of not appreciating the Women's Movement, the War on Poverty when it first began, the Peace Corp, the Civil Rights Movement. But once things are moving in the right direction, people have a tendency to be complacient, and before you know it, the issues are once again upon us.
One of the reasons I am doing whatever I can to get Barack on the dance floor is because he is pragmatic, doesn't engage in rage, and from everything I have seen so far truly believes that we are all just human beings that come in different sizes, shapes, colors, cultural and religious beliefs, and sexual orientation.
Pragmatism means that you still need corporate America unless you want every job in America outsourced or taken over by technology, it means that the "rich" are the ones who donate to causes, get your candidate elected, start foundations, and pay taxes. It means that you can't force people to have health care, you can insist that all children are protected, that the health care is affordable, but you shouldn't mandate it. If we have enough Federal programs that become mandates, our personal freedom will begin to erode.
We have a right to be safe, we have a right to honest government, we have a right to be considered for a job based on our talents and experience, and we have a right to have our children educated. Beyond that, the rest is up to us.
I think compared to our grandparents and great-grandparents we have gotten soft, that we feel entitled to much more than listed above, and think that in order to have it we only need to work 40 hours a week, and if the truth be told we find a way to waste time 8 hours of those 40. How many hours a week do you think Barack is working to create this change?
In the early sixties my father was telling everyone of us, you need an education so that you can have employment. Computers are coming, and there will be many jobs eliminated. Why is this a surprise? If a company is not getting the productivity that it needs for the money it's paying out, then why wouldn't they outsource. Its the same as when you go to WalMart because it's cheaper as opposed to supporting a local merchant. So what I am saying is that things don't just happen.
On a personal note, I went back to college in the late 90's so that I could be a social worker, after volunteering for years in related fields. I couldn't get interviews, and I believe it was because I was 50. Now I can start a huge thing about that, or I can drop back and punt. Easier for me, because I didn't have to take care of or support my children at that point, but still I couldn't even get interviews. It was never an issue when I was young, I could always get an interview and I could always get hired. So my solution? I started my own business on the internet, and learned how to use the internet and computer evern though they weren't using computers when I left the workforce. It's not a big deal, but it speaks to being proactive as opposed to becoming enraged, looking to lay blame, and not creating a resolution to my situation.
Local economies need to be supported, people need to be buying goods and services from each other, in order for everyone to thrive. I think often we are too focused on our own finances and do not look beyond to how the whole picture fits together.
This is not to say that there is not corruption, that corporations who have better than 33% of their jobs outsourced should have a reduction in tax benefits, so that they keep the jobs in the USA, but it is to say, get rid of the victim mentality and don't trade it for an agressive, let's get them mentality.
It's human nature to lay the blames somewhere else, but I think as supporters of Barack, we need to be bigger than that, show that it can be done, reshaping America, by laying a foundation that is based on what we can contribute, how we can help others, and how we can improve our communities.
Governments set policy, they do not necessarily carry it out, it's carried out on the state and local level, and it takes time to set policies, enact them, and get into action around them. So it's necessary to have a vision that Barack Obama will be president for 8 years, and that the things that we are trying to change, will not all come to full fruition in those 8 years, some of them will take 10 years, some of them 20.
Last night during the debate, I must be living under a rock, I was apalled to learn that we owe huge sums of money to China. How could we do that in our right minds, they don't hold the same values that we do, and we need to start connecting our values with our money. Anything or everything in the name of borrowing money or creating a profit is not okay.
Selling farmland, overdeveloping, even if the money stays here, falls in that category.
We are all guilty I believe, if we can make a buck.
For some, non of the above is true, they are single women, working two jobs, trying to raise their children, keep them off the streets, and build a better life. They sincerely need our help in everyway we can give it.
And if all you can think about is personal benefit, then think about this, every kid that falls through the cracks, is another criminal for you to be afraid of, or to pay your taxes for so that you can keep them in jail.
This is not them versus us, it's what as an "us" are we going to do differently to make this a better country, and how are we going to support Barack so he can get those sweeping policy changes done without alienating invidividuals or corporations.
If you are looking for eight years of economic growth, without having to pay a price, then I think you are barking up the wrong tree. I find Barack Obama to be very pragmatic, and while he wants your vote, he is not always going to say what you want to hear, he's going to say what makes sense, what creates a resolution, what will move this country forward and build a strong foundation. In case you haven't noticed, the big problem is that our foundation is crumbling and we are more interested in what Paris Hilton is doing than in what we could be doing to change the way the media behaves, like not engage, until they start reporting real news, and stop the spin. There'll always be some spin, but it has reached unbelievable proportions.
And how can anyone in conscious be so self-serving as to say that we should just send everyone back that came here illegally? Have we now become a country that only believes in freedom and democracy when it's convenient? I am personally appalled at the American public's response to the issue of Amnesty. I think it's small thinking and it's based on a concept of "there is not enough". There's always enough, it's just a matter of how we use it and what we do with it.
We are living in a dangerous world, and creating the diplomacy we need to navigate it, is a delicate matter, and we need good people, and we have to pay them, and we have to understand that often one of things that hurts us is our need to know every last detail, so that the art of diplomacy is compromised.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. (I don't remember who said that) and we are witnessing it, and so I believe that one of the most important things on Barack's agenda is to limit the power of lobbiests and pacs. That will do much to change the way our government operates. It will be easier to stick with a moral standard, and their won't be alot of grey areas.
Did you notice in the latest pics on the site, that Barack's daughters, were not hanging on a cellphone and visiting the mall when they were photographed? They were just being kids. We need to get back to that as well, but it requires spending time as opposed to spending money. These are our future leaders, and it matters how we energize them and what kind of an example we set.
Anyway, I have gotten on my soapbox, but I so believe that if we each take more personal responsibility for our lives, and do some soul searching, we won't need to look for someone to blame, and spend all our energy in what we think is justifiable anger but we will actually advocate for change, create change, and leave a real legacy.
So you want to get Barack elected? Follow his lead, be more like him, and see what a difference it will make in your world, and then watch as it ripples out and creates lasting change for a Better America.
Regards-
JS ONLINE: NEWS: MILWAUKEE:
Leaving a quiet impression Obama's talk changed by day's violence
By GREG J. BOROWSKIgborowski@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 16, 2007
I don't see the news item on the home page here, probably because it's not good news.
Vilsack endorsed Hilary's campagin today in Des Moines and his wife will be the co-campaign manager for Iowa.
If my memory serves me correctly, John Edwards helped Chet Culver get elected.
So now it would appear there will be two candidates backed by Iowa governors, and Barack.
This is not good news. What I am wondering is how to create an effort to get independents to identify themselves with the Democratic Party so that the numbers of those able to vote in the Iowa caucuses will increase, particularly in favor of Barack.
He has to carry Iowa, or I am not so sure what happens in the other primaries will matter.
I realize California could be huge, but he is not considered a landslide there yet.
So anyway, your thoughts on how we can reshape the landscape in Iowa in Barack's favor.
Best-
Link
I have been waiting for the "news" to be in the right mode and not so constant, to post this so that you would take the time to read it.
Michelle Obama, in a speech she gave in New York several weeks ago showed the world that when the time comes she will be a dynamic and special First Lady.
Please be aware as you read that these are reporter's notes and not edited copy.
The event - billed as a "young professionals" event by the campaign - began at 8 pm but the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel on East 42nd Steet didn't get packed until about 8:45 pm. The campaign estimated about 2,000 tickets were sold, but one official involved in the crowd control pegged the attendance as at least 1,500 after the event.And most importantly for me being in this race is I know that Barack is in this not just to win. (It's) so important because we talked about this. This race is not about winning becaue winning isn't enough nowadays. Winning without dignitiy, winning it without honor, winning without authenticity and truth is not winning at all and we're not in it for that. So that's why I'm here.", . . .
Well, you are not going to believe this, Larry King showed Barack this clip during the interview.
So, of course, I had to go to You Tube and hunt for it.
It's had almost 25,000 hits, so you may have seen it.
It's great, a take-off on Apple's 1984 commercial. Let me know what you think.
I hope you watched Barack's interview with Larry King, it was great, and all the clips that were interspersed, showing Barack campaigining, and showing him with his family, and winning the Senatorial election, it was like a free one hour commercial.
It was incredible press.
The clip isn't up yet but the transcript is:
Interview With Barack Obama
Aired March 19, 2007 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Barack Obama in the race for the White House. He's taking the campaign trail by storm. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: And Washington needs to change. (END VIDEO CLIP) KING: But does he have what it takes to catch Hillary Clinton and make it all the way from first-term U.S. senator to the first African-American president in United States history? Now, four years after shock and awe launched a war that's cost more than 3,000 U.S. lives, tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and hundreds of billions of dollars, on this historic day, Barack Obama answers some tough questions about this historic race. It's all next on LARRY KING LIVE. Good evening and welcome to another edition of LARRY KING LIVE, a very special guest. But first, let me thank all my friends, colleagues and others who have written me and sent flowers and the like over the fact that we had very successful corticoid artery surgery on Friday and the hospital was out on Saturday and back today. So that little thing you see here, that's the whole scar from that surgery. And I want to, again, thank you so much for your contact to me and for your so kind and generous feelings. And now let's go to the business at hand. Senator Barack Obama joins us. He's in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. senator from Illinois and "New York Times" best- selling author. In fairness, we did invite Senator Clinton and Senator McCain to join us, on this, the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. They declined. What does that anniversary say to you, Senator? OBAMA: Well, it says that we have expended an enormous amount of blood and treasure on what I think has been a misguided enterprise and that it's time to bring our involvement there to a close. You know, I -- as you know, Larry, I opposed this war from the start. In 2002, in the run-up to the war, I gave a speech saying that this is going to be an open-ended commitment without any clear strategy for success and that ultimately it would distract us from the war on terrorism and the need to pin down al Qaeda and finish the job in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, that's been the case. And now, whether you were for it or against it then, I think we all have to recognize that we're not going to achieve a military solution in Iraq, that stability in Iraq is going to depend on political accommodations between the various parties -- the Shiite, the Sunni, the Kurds. We have got to redouble our diplomatic efforts internally, as well as externally. And that's why I've put forward a bill in the Senate that would start bringing our combat troops home, beginning on May 1st of this year, with a target date of getting all combat troops out of Iraq by March 31st of next year. KING: How do you react, though, when the president says if you give people a target date, then the other side knows when you're leaving? OBAMA: You know, the problem is that the president keeps on doing the same thing, expecting different results. And the fact of the matter is that we have shown extraordinarily -- extraordinary patience and resolve in this effort. The young men and women who I meet across the country -- National Guardsmen and Women, Reservists, have been in Iraq one rotation, two rotations, three rotations, have been completely dedicated to trying to make this flawed mission work. At some point, you have to acknowledge that the approach we're taking is not working and we have to try a different approach. And the president's attitude has been more of the same. I think that the American people sent a strong signal in November that they want a change in course and that's something that I think is long overdue. KING: When you opposed it, you could not have known that there were no weapons of mass destruction, so therefore even if there were, you'd have been against this war? OBAMA: No, I -- I just -- I said very explicitly I thought the evidence for weapons of mass destruction were flimsy. I did not think that the administration had made the case that there were weapons of mass destruction that would cause an imminent threat to the United States. And keep in mind, that was the justification for us going into this war. I did not think that the administration was justified in mentioning mushroom clouds and the fact that if we didn't get in there right away, it might be too late. We had the opportunity, I think, to forge an international coalition around some very tough inspections, because there's no doubt that Saddam Hussein posed a long-term threat to us. And I think the world generally recognized that he was somebody who had already invaded Kuwait once, who was mistreating and abusing his people, that he was somebody who needed to be incapacitated. What we didn't need to do was to launch a full blown invasion. But, again, that's in the past. At this point, what we've got to figure out is how do we move forward. I don't think there are any good options left in Iraq. There are bad options and worse options. It is my judgment -- and I think it's the judgment of most military and political experts -- that the best we can hope for, at this point, is to make sure that we are seeing some sort of accommodations between the various factions. The only leverage we have to encourage those factions to start coming to the table is if we say we are not going to be there in an open-ended military commitment. And that's what my bill is designed to do. It says we begin a phased redeployment out of Iraq starting on May 1st. Our target goal is to get combat troops out by March 31st of next year. But it also provides a series of benchmarks to say to the Iraqi government and the Iraqi factions, if you are willing to disarm the militias, if you're willing to spread oil revenues equitably, if you're serious about rooting out corruption, then we're going to continue to be a partner and we want to engage the entire region in a partnership to make sure that Iraq is stable and that the Iraqi people, who have suffered for so long, actually have some opportunity for a better life. KING: I know you apologized, senator, when you used the word wasted with regard that those who have died. And a lot of things are said in campaigns that are taken back and can be unfortunate. But what would you say to the parent or the wife or the husband of someone killed? OBAMA: Well, what I would say is we are extraordinarily grateful for the devotion of that soldier, that we recognize they have done so because they feel a duty to this country. They are committed to the values and ideals that we stand for. There is no higher calling than sacrificing on behalf of the nation. What I would say is also, though, that our civilian leadership has not provided the same level of devotion to these soldiers as they have shown us. We have given them a mission that was flawed from the outset. We have not adequately equipped them. We have shortchanged them on basics like body armor or night vision goggles. When they've returned, most shamefully, we have shown a disregard for their transition from service into civilian life. Walter Reed and the scandals that occurred there are just the tip of the iceberg. If you talk to any veteran who is back home, they will tell you the extraordinary difficulty just getting their basic paperwork out of the Department of Defense and transferred to the Veterans Administration Committee. People will talk about the inadequacy of services for Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder -- KING: Yes. OBAMA: ... that could make a difference as to whether or not a veteran is going to be able to transition into civilian life. So, what I would say is that all of us -- Republican, Democrat, I don't care what your affiliation is, I don't care what your stance on the war is -- has an obligation to make sure that our soldiers who have returned, our returning heroes, are treated properly. KING: So you're emphatically saying the civilian has let down the military? OBAMA: Absolutely. And I think that there are many in the military who feel that way, as well. KING: Well...OBAMA: And I think that one of the things that -- that I've been struck with in conversations with military officers is the degree to which the military is so much more sophisticated, oftentimes, about the cost of war, the limits of our military in terms of what it can achieve in difficult situations like Iraq. They are much more prudent, much more mindful. And one of the tragedies, I think, of this whole process, has been the fact that you had people like Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney who basically disregarded warnings from the military from the start. KING: Yes. We'll be right back with Senator Barack Obama. He's made an amazing start of this quest for the Democratic nomination. We'll talk about that and other things when we come back. He's in Oklahoma City. Don't go away. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: And if George Bush doesn't listen, then we're going to make him listen because it's time for us to bring our young people home. (END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home. That may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating. (END VIDEO CLIP) KING: Senator Obama, you disagree with that. He says it would be devastating to leave now. You say no. Why not? OBAMA: Well, first of all, I don't know anybody who's been talking about packing up and going home. I think that everybody has recognized we've got a major national security interest in the region, particularly in Afghanistan, where we're starting to see the Taliban resurgent al Qaeda strengthening. So, under my plan, and I think most other proposals that have been discussed, what we want to do is make sure that we've got some forces that are over the horizon to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. Also, forces placed in Afghanistan to make sure that we're finishing the job there. But the president's basic premise, that somehow if we just keep on doing what we're doing now, we're going to see success where we've seen failure in the past, just is not borne out by the facts. You know, we have consistently tried the same approach that the president is trying now...KING: Well, how about more troops now, though? OBAMA: ... even those who are supporting -- but here's the thing, Larry -- even those who support the escalation have acknowledged that 20,000, 30,000, even 40,000 more troops placed temporarily in places like Baghdad are not going to make a long-term difference. What the militias are essentially doing is they've just pulled back. They've said as long as there's these increased troop presence, we'll lie low, we'll wait it out. As soon as the Americans start leaving and redeploying into other areas, we will come back in because we haven't changed the underlying dynamic of the situation, and that is essentially that the Shia and the Sunni don't trust each other, have been unwilling to engage in any serious concessions toward each other and the various players in the region, like Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, have not been effectively engaged and are instead funding these various conflicts inside Iraq in ways that are damaging to the Iraqi people. So what we have to do is make sure that we're taking seriously the diplomatic efforts in the region. We need a diplomatic surge. We need a surge in negotiations among the various parties inside Iraq. What we are not going to be successful in doing is thinking that by putting an additional 20,000 or 30,000 young American men and women, many of whom have already served in Iraq and now putting themselves at risk once again, that somewhere they're going to be able to control what has become, effectively, a sectarian civil war. KING: Senator Clinton has said if she were president, she would leave some troops in Iraq to fight al Qaeda, much after the rest come home. What do you think? OBAMA: You know, I'm not familiar exactly with what Senator Clinton's proposal is, so I don't want to characterize that. I think that there is room for providing logistical training, counter-terrorism support for Iraqis if they have met various benchmarks that would allow our -- our assistance to be effective. The same is true, by the way, economically. One of the things that I've said is that we should help Iraqi -- Iraqis rebuild, but it doesn't make any sense for us to pour money into ministries that are rife with corruption and are not actually delivering electricity or proper sanitation and sewage treatment to the Iraqi people. And I think the same is true when it comes to the military. The bottom line, the precondition for any continuing involvement by the United States in Iraq has to be a willingness on the part of Iraqi leadership and the heads of various Iraqi factions to come together and want to make Iraqi work as a unified country. KING: And if they showed you that willingness as President Obama, then you would provide not only economic aid, but you would leave troops there? OBAMA: Well, I think we would have to examine what would be helpful in actually advancing the cause of stability in the region. What I don't want to do is make commitments to the Iraqi government of American troops being there indefinitely when the Iraqis themselves have not shown that having American troops there is going to make a significant difference. KING: Touching other bases, Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace caused a furor last week. He said homosexuality is immoral. He said he was speaking personally and not on behalf of the Army. First, do you think it's immoral? OBAMA: You know, I don't think that homosexuals are immoral any more than I think heterosexuals are immoral. I think that people are people and to categorize one group of folks based on their sexual orientation that way I think is wrong. I disagreed with General Pace. More importantly, I think, traditionally, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff tries to stick to military issues precisely because of the kind of hot water that he got himself into this time out. And hopefully he's learned his lesson. I hope, more broadly, that we take up the call of previous commanders in the field who have said that it's time for us to examine the policy right now that is very costly and excludes gays and lesbians who have been serving ably in the military from service. KING: The former chairman, John Shalikashvili, who was a frequent guest on this show, was for it at the start and now came out against don't ask, don't tell. Are you against don't ask, don't -- would you change that by executive order if president? OBAMA: I agree with General...KING: Shalikashvili. OBAMA: Help me out here. Shalikashvili. The -- I agree with him that we've got a situation in which we need all the troops we can get who are well qualified, who are able, who are dedicated. It's apparently costing us millions of dollars in -- in -- in us rooting out folks who we have determined are homosexual and kicking them out of the military when they have performed their services well. I think that is a policy that has to be absolutely re-examined. KING: We'll be right back with Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Don't go away. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: It is not enough for the president to tell us that victory in this war is simply a matter of American resolve. The American people have been extraordinarily resolved. They've seen their sons and daughters killed, wounded in the streets of Fallujah. They've spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this effort, money that they know could have been devoted to strengthening our homeland security and our competitive standing as a nation. The failure has not been a failure of resolve. That's not what's led us into chaos. It's been a failure of strategy. (END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) KING: We're back with Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Frankly, senator, are you surprised at how well you're doing? OBAMA: (LAUGHTER) KING: No, I mean really...OBAMA: Well...KING: ... when you announced, you were way behind and now you appear in all the polls to be getting closer. Are you surprised? OBAMA: Yes, you know, I think it's very early at this point, Larry. I think that we're all doing what candidates do early in the campaign, which is meeting folks, raising money, putting together staffs and infrastructure. It's very hard to predict what's going to be happening a year from now. I'm very pleased with the progress we've made. I'm pleased with the enthusiasm. I'm most pleased that we seem to be attracting a lot of people who haven't been involved in politics before and I think that's a good sign for the months to come. KING: There's an anti-Clinton ad out which your campaign said it has nothing to do with causing a stir on YouTube Internet site. It reuses footage from the famous 1984 Super Bowl for Apple Computer to slam Clinton and support Obama. Here's a look and we'll get your comments. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "1984," FROM YOUTUBE.COM)SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Really help this conversation about our country to get started. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope to keep this conversation going all the way to November, 2008. (END VIDEO CLIP) KING: Are you disclaiming -- what are you -- what's your read on that? OBAMA: Well, the -- we knew nothing about it. I just saw it for the first time. And, you know, one of the things about the Internet is that people generate all kinds of stuff. In some ways, it's -- it's the democratization of the campaign process. But it's not something that we had anything to do with or were aware of and that frankly, given what it looks like, we don't have the technical capacity to create something like that. It's pretty extraordinary. KING: Do you like all this chance of a proposed multi-primaries in February, that we can know by next February who the nominees are? OBAMA: I think democracy would be better served if we spread out these primaries a little bit more so we could actively campaign state by state. I still think that Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the four early states, are going to be, you know, very intense. There's going to be a lot of competition, a lot of eyes focused there. February 5th you could see primaries in half the country. And nobody can campaign in half the country. You don't even do that during a general election. So, you know, would I like to see it spread out a little bit more? The answer is yes. But, you know, basically we will compete in whatever rules have been determined appropriately. KING: All right, the most important -- I guess the major issue at hand these days is Alberto Gonzales' firing of the U.S. attorneys. What's your read? OBAMA: Well, I voted against Alberto Gonzales' confirmation for precisely the reason that we're seeing now. My -- and I said this on the floor of the Senate -- that although he seemed to be a capable attorney, he seemed to conceive of his role as being the president's attorney instead of being the people's attorney. And part of the role of the attorney general is to say to the executive branch here are the limits of your power. Here are the things that you can't do. I don't think Alberto Gonzales ever told the president that there was something he could not do. And so, as a consequence, when the White House decides that a -- a U.S. attorney is not carrying out the political vendettas of the White House, then there are some questions as to whether Gonzales was encouraged to fire these individuals. You've got a situation in terms of the FBI where the procedures used for issuing national security letters seemed to have been completely sloppy and based on erroneous fact. There doesn't seem to be any oversight there. What you get a sense of is a -- an attorney general who saw himself as an enabler of the administration as opposed to somebody who was actually trying to look out for the American people's interests. And for that reason, I think it's time for him to step down and for another attorney general who can exercise some independence to be put for the reminder of this president's term. KING: Do you favor executive privilege or should Karl Rove and others in that like position be forced to testify before the House or Senate? OBAMA: Well, you know, I think we'll -- we'll determine over the next several weeks how this administration responds to the very appropriate call by Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to have these individuals come in and testify. You know, there's been a tendency on the part of this administration to -- to try to hide behind executive privilege every time there's something a little shaky that's taking place. And I think, you know, the administration would be best served by coming clean on this. There doesn't seem to be any national security issues involved with the U.S. attorney question. There doesn't seem to be any justification for not offering up some clear, plausible rationale for why these -- these U.S. attorneys were targeted when, by all assessments, they were doing an outstanding job. I think the American people deserve to know what was going on there. KING: We'll be right back with Barack Obama of Illinois. Don't go away. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: When people talk about this campaign, they ask me why it is that we're generating so much excitement. I say it's not me. It's not me that's generating interest and excitement. It's the American people waking up after a long slumber and making a determination that we can have a better America. (END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) KING: It's a pleasure to have as our special guest tonight, Senator Barack Obama. It's his sixth or seventh appearance on this program. It's always good to have him with us.Tonight he's on as a star. He is the guest today and it's always good to see him.The flag over David Geffen, a very prominent, very wealthy Hollywood producer, a former supporter of the Clintons, who came out very strongly and publicly not only anti-Clinton, but for you. First, were you surprised at that and, second, what's your reaction to the postmortem on it?OBAMA: Well, you know, I think that there was a lot of sound and fury that really was overblown on this thing. David Geffen hosted a fundraiser, along with Jeff Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg, and I was grateful for their support. It was a wonderful event. And afterwards he voiced separately his personal opinions with respect to the Clintons. He has a relationship with them and a history with them that I wasn't aware of. But, you know, the bottom line is I've said consistently that I've got enormous respect for President Clinton, for Senator Clinton. I think they've been outstanding public servants. And you know I'm looking forward to having a vigorous debate about the issues that the American people face.I think they're much more concerned with my position on making sure that everybody has basic health care in this country or that we have an energy policy that deals with both the national security and environmental threats of our over-reliance on Middle Eastern oil than they are on whether there are some words back and forth between one of my supporters and one of Senator Clinton's supporters.KING: Is 2000 different, Senator, in this regard? Is black -- being black, is that a mark against a candidate? Will people vote against someone just because they're black?OBAMA: You know, I really don't think so. I think that the country has matured. I think that in this campaign, what we're seeing is that people are getting to know who I am. They want to know my track record. I'm relatively new on the national scene, despite my long track record of service back in the state of Illinois. And so, I think that we will be run through the paces like any other candidate. Are there individuals who might not vote for me because of race? I'm sure there are, but, frankly, I think it's a small minority of the country. And there are folks that might not vote for me because of my political philosophy. And so, I think this race will be won or lost based on how well I am communicating to the American people that I can lead this country, that I can keep it safe, that we can put in place strategies to make sure that our kids are being educated, the American people have health care that is affordable and accessible, that we are dealing with an energy policy that's forward-looking and creating jobs and opportunity, and that we are bringing this war in Iraq to a close.KING: How do you react to the "St. Petersburg Times" writing a view, "The world is too complex and dangerous for this likable, charismatic African-American neophyte to practice on-the-job training? Why should Americans trust you to lead them in difficult times?" Is experience a fair issue?OBAMA: I think experience absolutely is a fair issue. Ad I am happy to put forward my experience against the other candidates. My experience as a community organizer means that I know how to bring people together to solve problems at the grassroots level, as well as at the legislative level. My experience as a civil rights attorney means that -- and as a constitutional lawyer means that I'm going to be mindful of our civil liberties and our civil rights in a way that this administration has not been. My experience as a state legislator, reaching across the aisle to solve difficult problems, like reforming a death penalty that's broken, or expanding health care to children who didn't have it, or passing ethics reform even against the objections of some people in my party, I think those are experiences that will signal to people that I am not about business as usual.And I think even in the United States Senate, over the last several years, my work with people like Senator Dick Lugar, Republican of Indiana, on proliferation of weapons, trying to curb the proliferation of weapons, or working with Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma on creating more transparency in government, those are all experiences that I think are going to be relevant to the American people. And I feel very confident that if they know my vision and what I've accomplished in the past, that we will end up doing very well.KING: Isn't it a little daunting to you, though? OBAMA: Well, I think that anybody who considers the job of the presidency and doesn't think it's a little daunting probably hasn't been paying attention.Look, the scale of the issues that we're going to be dealing with are enormous. And I think that whoever is the next president is going to be dealing with a host of issues that, unfortunately, have been left unaddressed over the last six years. But I'm very confident that the American people are now looking for a different approach to politics, one that's based on common sense, based on pragmatism, that's not based on ideology, but is based on reason and fact. And that suits the approach that I've taken to my politics and my leadership. And I think that it is possible that under an Obama presidency, we may -- we're able to build a consensus, a significant majority consensus around solving some of these major problems that we face in a way that we haven't done in quite some time.KING: Back with some more issues and more questions of Senator Barack Obama on the trail in Oklahoma City. Don't go away.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)OBAMA: I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America.(END VIDEO CLIP)(COMMERCIAL BREAK)KING: We're back with Senator Barack Obama. He's in Oklahoma City. He's a major candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.Scooter Libby, if you were president, would you give him a pardon?OBAMA: No. I think that when you lie, as the jury determined he had, to federal investigators then that's a crime for which you need to pay. I think it is unfortunate that it appears that he ended up taking the fall for a broader attempt to discredit individuals who were serving our government. And I think that's an unfortunate, but he's the one who was prosecuted and I think he should serve his time and hopefully he can then rebuild his life. KING: You're a member of the Veteran Affairs Committee, are you not?OBAMA: I am.KING: Yes. How do you explain to yourself that it would take a newspaper, the "Washington Post," to expose the series of incredible occurrences at a VA hospital or a hospital dedicated...OBAMA: A military hospital.KING: ... to take care of veterans? How?OBAMA: Well, I think it's inexcusable. And, in fact, I'll be going out to Walter Reed this week. You know I had previously visited Walter Reed and obviously, hadn't been given a tour of some of these buildings. I had been hearing from veterans about the difficulty in the transition between when they're in military hospitals and when they're discharged and go into the VA system.And so we have been spending a lot of time focused on basic quality of life issues for veterans, last year and this year, again, trying to force the VA to have an honest budget and have more money allocated to veterans' services. One of the first issues I worked on when I came into the Senate was the fact that disabled veterans in my home state of Illinois weren't getting adequate services from the VA there and making sure that they were getting the same disability payments that folks in other states were getting.So, you know, there have been a raft of problems across the board in terms of how our veterans are treated. This is just one more example of our failure to live up to what we profess to honor, and that is military service. And I think that it's a good wakeup call. I think the American people are disgusted by it. And I now have a piece of legislation in that would not only deal with the physical infrastructure of Walter Reed and other military hospitals, but would also say, how are we providing support to families to make sure that if a mother has to take time off of a job to visit with her wounded son or daughter, that, in fact, she's not going to be fired? How are we dealing with creating a system of one-stop service for veterans so that they're not getting the bureaucratic runaround and we could cut through some of the red tape?I've got separate legislation dealing with homeless veterans. Veterans are seven times more likely to be homeless than non-veterans and that signifies that we're not doing a good job in providing the kinds of social services to them, particularly if they've got substance abuse problems or mental health problems.So this is an area where, again, we should be able to achieve some consensus. There shouldn't be politics involved in this. I don't care whether you're a Republican, Democrat, what your stand on the war is, that -- the one thing we still have the opportunity to get right after this prolonged war in Iraq is to make sure that when our veterans come home, they are treated with the honor and the dignity that they deserve. KING: We're talking with Senator Barrack Obama of Illinois, running tough for the Democratic presidential nomination. We'll be right back.(COMMERCIAL BREAK)KING: Are you surprised generally at the performance of Vice President Cheney?OBAMA: No, I don't know that I'm surprised. I think that the president, the vice president have proceeded from a very ideological perspective. They were very insulated. They didn't listen, it seems, to people who didn't agree with them, whether it was in terms of the conduct of the war or the approach to many domestic issues. Because of that isolation, I think that you've seen not only enormous problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I think you've seen the kinds of tragic failure of federal response after Katrina and Rita.You know my sense is that the American people recognize that. And that's the opportunity we have, I think, is to say that good government matters, competence matters, that if we are going to meet the challenges that we face on a variety of issues, like health care or the environment or energy or jobs, that the government is not going to solve all these problems, but it's got a vital role to play. And we've got to have somebody who believes that government has an appropriate role and is invested in making government work on behalf of people and not just on behalf of some special interests in Washington.And that's the kind of politics that I think people are very hungry for, which is why, when I talk about these issues, we're attracting such huge crowds around the country.KING: We have an e-mail question from Geraldine in Modesto, California. "This question will help me decide whether to give Senator Obama my vote. What's your position on illegal immigration? What would you do to stop it?"OBAMA: Well, I think that there are a couple of things that we've got to do. Number one, we're going to have to secure our borders. And this past year, the Senate invested billions of dollars in improving border security. I think that's important because I think all Americans think that we should be able to regulate who comes in and out of this country in an orderly way, not only for the sake of our sovereignty, but also to avoid the hundreds of people who have been dying across the desert, the enormous costs that are placed on border states and border towns.I also think that we've got to be serious about employers' obligations to check to see whether somebody is here legally or not. Up until this point, we haven't had an employment verification system that was tamper-proof. As a consequence, employers have been getting off the hook when they hire undocumented workers. And typically, it's the undocumented workers that get arrested and punished when there are raids, but the employers themselves are frequently let off the hook.There hasn't been a serious program of employer sanctions. That has to be put in place.But we also have to recognize that we've got 12 million undocumented workers who are already here. Many of them living their lives alongside other Americans. Their kids are going to school. Many of the kids, in fact, were born in this country and are citizens. And so, it's absolutely vital that we bring those families out of the shadows and that we give them the opportunity to travel a pathway to citizenship. It's not automatic citizenship. It's not amnesty. They would have to pay a fine. They would have to not have engaged in any criminal activity. They would have to learn English. They would have to go to the back of the line so that they did not get citizenship before those persons who had come here legally.But I think that if we have a program of that sort, then we can combine the inherent compassion of the American people with the tough- mindedness that's necessary for our security and our long-term wellbeing.KING: We'll be right back with more of Senator Obama after these words.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)OBAMA: If this becomes your campaign, it can't be stopped. If this is your campaign, when a million voices come together, then we will make sure everybody has health care in this country. When this is your campaign, we'll make sure that we stop global warming. When this is your campaign, we will educate every child.(END VIDEO CLIP)(COMMERCIAL BREAK)KING: A couple of other quick things.We have another e-mail from Jan in Raleigh, North Carolina. "Aside from being an obviously devoted spouse and mother, your wife has a very impressive professional resume. If she becomes First Lady, what causes do you expect her to take up as her own?"OBAMA: I'm very careful about not speaking for Michelle. So, Larry, you're going to have to have her on the show and she'll tell you. But, you know, in the past, she has been involved in a wide variety of issues: children's issues, health care issues. She works with a hospital. She's very interested in getting young people involved civically. She ran one of these AmeriCorps programs, called "Public Allies" in Chicago that helped young people connect with public service work and get leadership training. And so, she's really big on encouraging people to get involved in their communities. And I think that's something that she would be likely to continue if she were in the White House.KING: One other thing. It took a heart attack to stop me. How are you doing with the smoking?OBAMA: You know I'm doing all right. That shows you how scared I am of my wife, that I cut that out, chewing Nicorette. It's working so far. And I have to say, Larry, you look great. In fact, I think a bunch of people are going to want to get that procedure so that they look as good as you're looking right now.KING: I feel good, too.OBAMA: We're glad you're back on the show.KING: Thank you, Senator. Thanks so much. You too. Always good having you, thank you.Tomorrow night on LARRY KING LIVE, Heather Mills, the first contestant on "Dancing With The Stars" to ever compete with an artificial leg. That brings us to tonight's "Textbook Question," "Do you expect Heather Mills to be a finalist on "Dancing With The Stars?" Text your vote from your cell phone to CNN TV which is 26688. Text King A for yes, King B for no, and we'll tell you how you voted tomorrow night when Heather Mills will be right here.And of course, you can always e-mail us by going to CNN.com/Larry King. And now, as we close, a look back at the first four years in the war in Iraq.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Coalition forces have begun striking selective targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war.In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got him.BUSH: And my message today to those in Iraq is we'll stay the course. We'll complete the job.DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: I think they're in the last thrills, if you will, of the insurgency.BUSH: Our commanders say the Iraqis will need our help. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. The vast majority of them, five per day, will be deployed to Baghdad.(END VIDEO CLIP)KING: That's it for tonight's addition of LARRY KING LIVE
There is a great video clip from this interview, that you can go to CNN and watch, but I don't think I should put the link on here, lol.
However, the transcipt of the show was on the sight and here's what Bill Mayer had to say about Barack Obama:
KING: . . . Do you think Obama could get this nomination?MAHER: Yeah, I do.KING: What do you think of him?MAHER: I think a lot of him. I think he's a very capable guy. Somebody in the "New York Times" recently wrote a very interesting column. I'm sorry, I can't remember who, it might have been David Brooks but I don't like him so I don't think it was him. Maybe Nicholas Kristof, one of their op-ed writers wrote a great article saying he doesn't have the experience we are used to when we talk about experience.He's only been in the senate a couple years. But he has a different kind of experience. For example, he lived overseas. That might be helpful, since we're in so much trouble overseas. He understands the Muslim world compared to our present president, who had to ask, at the time we were invading a Muslim country, when he was told that Iraq was made up of Sunnis and Shias. He said, I thought they were Muslims over there.To me. This is an impeachable offense. To me, this is an insult to me, when Bill O'Reilly say, you really think he's stupid. Yeah, somebody who invades a Muslim country and doesn't know there's a potential civil war between the Sunnis and the Shias brewing, that's stupid and that's impeachable.
If you are a fan of SNL, or were a fan of "Not Necessarily the News", you will enjoy this. You can read original article with pics here: Link
DES MOINES, IA—Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton officially rescinded her bid for president at an Iowa campaign appearance Saturday. Clinton bids farewell to a sea of new supporters."Just two months ago, I promised that I'd listen to every voice through my town hall meetings, web chats, and trips to communities across the country," said Clinton, whose opponents have accused her of being out of touch with average voters. "America, you spoke clearly and with conviction—and I listened
. And so I say to you today: Let the conversation end."Polls showed that immediately following her speech, Clinton's approval numbers skyrocketed all across the South, wide swaths of the Midwest, scattered pockets of the Northeast, and in California, Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Hawaii, and Ohio.Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, described Clinton's decision as the "single most unifying move" the highly polarizing figure has made yet."Hillary's always had a hard time connecting to audiences, but these Joe Six-Pack Iowans absolutely lit up at her speech," Matthews said.
"For the first time, she's really speaking to the whole nation. Clinton supporters and detractors applaud the move. Along with Clinton's announcement, her campaign website posted the results of a recent telephone poll showing that an overwhelming majority of both Republican and Democrat respondents answered "Yes" to the questions "Don't you wish Sen. Clinton was not even running?" and "Wouldn't everything be better in this country if Sen. Clinton just bowed out now?"Fox News Channel's chief political correspondent, Carl Cameron, called the announcement classic Clintonian triangulation—finding an unorthodox issue that people can agree upon across socioeconomic and party lines."She's cold, she's calculating, she's blind with ambition, but I'll be doggoned if she doesn't have her finger on the country's pulse," Cameron said.
"Hillary's not usually one for surprises, but this was a paradigm-shifting moment that's guaranteed to turn her campaign around."Many Republican-leaning voters said that while they still didn't agree with Sen. Clinton on the issues, they were personally impressed with the boldness of her decision.
"This was an unexpected moment, and it took a lot of courage on her part," said Miami resident Brian Highland, a former supporter of Arizona Sen. John McCain. "I've been a staunch Republican all my life, but now that Hillary's dropped out of the race, she's definitely got my vote."In the political blogosphere, some describe the move as a brilliant political stratagem in tune with the national zeitgeist, while others insist it reveals Clinton's tendency to pander to public opinion.
"I knew Hillary was willing to change her positions based on surveys and focus groups, but I'd always assumed her presidential aspiration was her most deeply held belief," blogger Joe Sudbay of AMERICAblog wrote. "If she's going to pull out of the race just to please voters, maybe she doesn't deserve to be president."Added Sudbay: "She said she was 'in it to win it'—was that just posturing, too?"Clinton will unroll a $15 million ad buy tomorrow covering the major primary states to publicize her withdrawal, and kick off a 19-month bus tour next week through the expected battleground states."I want every potential voter in America to know my position on this important issue," said Clinton, referring to her candidacy. "When people go to the polls next year to vote for 'anybody but Hillary,' I want them to think of just one candidate: me."
Good Morning!
I was on a conference call during Bill Maher's interview last night on Larry King Live, so I was watching the close captioning for his comments.
Thus, I cannot quote him directly. The exciting thing is that he had plenty of bashing comments, and when he was asked about Senator Obama he had only great things to say, for example on the question of Barack's purported "lack of experience", Maher said ' he's lived overseas, do you think that might be helpful considering our current situation', or words to that affect.
And he did have comments for everyone else that was mentioned that were not exactly complimentary.
So this is great press for Senator Obama, particularly since he will be appearing on the same show this evening.
Top of the Mornin! To All of You!
I happen to be Irish and this happens to be my namesake, so this is almost a bigger day for me than my birthday. The Chicago Parade is being broadcast live in one minute.
So I'll be brief. You don't want to miss Larry King Live on CNN at 9pm EST, 8pm for you midwesterners. He is inteviewing Senator Obama. The last time was in October.
Also, I have been watching Bill Maher of late, haven't heard anything direct about the Senator yet but some of the things he is having to say about others are at very best unkind.
He is being interviewed Sunday evening, so it might be a good idea to watch that too, to see if he adds any fodder to the fire for the 2008 race.
That's it for now, and congratulations to Oakland, read Brian's entry on the blog, and it sounds like you are getting an incredible response, and you should be justifiably proud!
Congratulations are in order for the preliminaries for "Baracking the Vote".
Best
Published: March 12, 2007 11:03 am
Obama electrifies Clinton crowd
CLINTON — Hundreds of area residents packed the Clinton Community College auditorium and overflowed into a lecture hall to hear Sen. Barack Obama, D–Ill., speak on Saturday afternoon.The standing-room-only crowd of more than 300 people hushed as Dr. Don Flory and his wife, Marcia, addressed the crowd, noting many had inquired as to how the couple was fortunate enough to have the front row seat.“We’re here today because our youngest son is in the U.S. Army Infantry,” Marcia said to thunderous applause. “Thank you. We appreciate your support, as our troops do as well.”She said her son, Zack, has served in the military for the past three years, but his tour was extended indefinitely because of the stop-loss policy. She remarked while the soldiers have state of the art equipment, there are many basic supplies they ask for, such as latex gloves because it is common for the soldiers while on patrol to have to handle victims bodies. Marcia said Zack has asked for binoculars “so he can see the snipers” and Nomex gloves and hoods as protection from fuel bombs and flash burns. She noted the community has been generous to supply drives, recently donating enough to send 20,000 pairs of latex gloves to soldiers overseas.Don Flory added that as a machine gunner in Baghdad, his son has been involved in intense fighting, both reported in the media and some that has gone unreported.“He has seen buddies killed and maimed, and dozens more civilians suffer a similar fate,” Don said. “His private question to us has been ‘why are we the soldiers asked to sacrifice for a civil war?’” With that, the Florys introduced Obama. Obama thanked the crowd for coming and said the country has some real challenges facing it, citing a broken health care system, inadequate education system, absence of an energy policy and an economy that is leaving many people behind.Obama garnered resounding applause when he said, “Finally, we’ve got a war that never should have been fought, should never have been authorized.” He continued, “Our troops have done everything we’ve asked of them. They’ve performed magnificently. The failure has been in a civilian leadership that has not given them a mission in which they can succeed.”“We cannot have our people policing a sectarian civil war,” he added. “We have now spent over a half trillion dollars, we have close to 3,200 lives that have been lost. We are seeing as much instability as there’s ever been in the Middle East. We are less safe that we were before the war started. It is time to bring our troops home.”Obama said he has a specific plan to bring the troops home and introduced a bill a few weeks prior to that effect, detailing a plan to start bringing troops home as of May 1 with the goal of having all troops home by March 31, 2008. He remarked that one thing that could be done right is treating veterans properly when they return home, including medical care and smoothing the transition back into the workforce. Obama noted that is not being done now and said it is shameful.“We can do better. I think we have higher expectations of ourselves as a nation and as a people,” he said.He said politics has become petty and small with people more focused on making negative attacks then on discovering common ground.Obama said he is proud of his record in bringing people to work together and remarked that he cannot help affect some of the changes needed without the support of the American people.“This is going to be an election for change,” Obama continued. “And you are going to be the agents of change. I hope this campaign becomes a vehicle for your hopes and your dreams, because if that happens, I’m absolutely convinced that nobody can stop us.”After his remarks, Obama met with area residents, shaking hands and letting many people take pictures. His communications director, Tommy Vietor, said the success of events such as the one held in Clinton is attributable to the volunteers who put so much work into planning and details. He commended volunteers and the community for showing such an active interest and genuine concern.Obama then walked to the lecture hall where more than 100 people listened to the talk in an overflow area. Again, he took time to meet with as many citizens as possible. He later said it is very important to him to meet with the public and hear their concerns. In response to criticism that he doesn’t have enough experience, Obama replied he thinks people usually mean that he hasn’t been in Washington that long.“I’ve been in Washington long enough to know that Washington needs to change and that’s part of the reason we’re running this campaign,” the candidate said.
Hi Everyone:
KWQC, and NBC affiliate television station had the news coverage of Barack's Eastern Iowa swing from Dubuque to Clinton to Davenport.
There was a brief interview with the Senator on his views on the Iraq war, and many live video clips along with news comentary. It lasted almost three minutes, which is highly unusual, and incredibly great.
Edwards got exactly a 30 second clip, and I am not making that up.
There's nothing on their news website for today so I can't check the accuracy of the time exposure.
But it was really great to see it!
On Link there is a slideshow of Barack's visit to this area, and it's very complimentary. So go take a look!
Tomorrow Senator Hagel may announce his candidacy for presidency which could certainly change the dynamics of this race. We shall see. The race could then become about issues other than the Iraq war between the parties.
Have a Happy Sunday! The Senator was out working for you this weekend, what can you do this week, however minute, to help move the Senator closer to becoming the 44th President of the United States?
Best Regards,
