Was anybody else completely in shock watching the presidential address last night? I felt like it was a time-warp back to a speech he would have given in 2002 or something. He seemed so far away from the reality of the situation, and was trying to sell that same old story, insulting the intelligence of the American people and offending our troops. 36 countries united to support our ally? The misrepresentation of the situation in Anbar and General Patreus report? The claims of success but no clear goal of what that really means? Suggestions of long-term occupation? What a load of shit.
Here's was my reply to the story on CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/13/bush.speech/index.html
A lot of the comments seem to think that admitting that we made a mistake and beginning to withdraw is somehow giving up? We are not giving up, we are facing the reality that we have done all we can - we have toppled Saddam and eliminated the perceived threat of WMD's. Now we have no clear goal. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We have now been doing this for 4 years and keep expecting different results. We cannot win this war militarily, and there has been no political progress in Baghdad. I respect our troops and want Iraq to be successful just like everyone else, but staying there indefinitely with no clear way to win and committing more and more to a failed strategy is just poor leadership and poor decision making. Let's bring some troops home, try to rally international support for a political solution, and start down a new path that has a real chance of succeeding.
If you haven't read about it yet, make sure and check out the plan Barack proposed for Iraq yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/us/politics/13obama.htm
After listening to General Patreus' report on Sept. 11th, I was even more convinced that not only are our goals in Iraq vague, but the leadership is completely blinded to the fact that they cannot win this war by using the military and NOT forming a political coalition around the world and specifically in the region to create a political solution to the situation in Iraq. I found Barack's speech and plan consistent with his strong leadership on this issue and a great proposed step forward to help us get out of this mess.
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The New York Times | September 13, 2007
By JEFF ZELENY and MICHAEL R. GORDON
Senator Barack Obama yesterday presented his most extensive plan yet for winding down the war in Iraq, proposing to withdraw all combat brigades by the end of next year while leaving behind an unspecified smaller force to strike at terrorists, train Iraqi soldiers and protect American interests.
Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/us/politics/13obama.htm
Big news today for my #1 pick for president for 2008. He dropped this bombshell on the world today and has everyone scrambling to figure out what to do next. It's not surprising to me at all. Anyone that's gone to his website, researched him and watched his speeches would tell you that Barack is different. Better. Fresh. Honest. Inspiring.
Here are a few more numbers I found interesting:
That means that Obama now has 100,000 people that he can go back to throughout the next 18 months to raise more money and support him. That is huge. And very indicative of the type of president I think he'd be. Inclusive. Collaborative. Pragmatic.One last point: I think the ISSUES are overrated.I think that they are important, but they are definitely overrated. What this country needs is not one position or another on this topic or that (except the war...;). What this country needs is inspiration. What this country is hungry for is change. For hope. For an opportunity to take back the reputation we had once upon a time as the last great hope on earth. For an opportunity to have a president that actually listens to the people they claim to represent. Here's the point:Barack Obama is a real leader!Can you remember the last time that a political leader actually inspired you in some way? Me neither. You can talk all day long about the issues that they support or don't support, but at the end of the day I'd choose leadership, charisma, integrity and inspiration over any of them. That's how you create change. That's how you make the world a better place. That's what we need to bring this country back together.It's time to come together as a country and regain a sense of pride in our national identity. I think we're all tired of being a little bit ashamed to be an American lately. We need to re-examine our national values and what's important to us. And we need to have a real dialog about how to create a sustainable system in the global village that we all live in.Personally, I think Barack is the man for the job.
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This was a post I wrote today on my regular blog at: darrenjohnson.blogspot.com
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that I posted the Barack the Library! event on Facebook tonight. Please go on and promote the event to your Facebook friends as well - the goal is to pack the place with as many people as possible. I can't wait to meet you all!
Link: Barack the Library! - Facebook Event
If you're not a member of Facebook, I'd encourage everyone to sign up for an account. There are over 375,000 people supporting his campaign through that medium and it's a great place to help build momentum and recruit additional support.
Misty - I just posted the event with the information you provided in your invite (so it has you as the host, contact person, etc.). I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty of promoting the event there :)
I also bought 30,000 flyers that will be distributed on the sidebar of everyone's facebook profile (in Utah) for 3 straight days (starting on Wednesday). That should help get some traction for the event as well.
It's a defining week for Obama - let's get ready to rumble!!!
Has anyone else seen this?
Link: Link don't see anyone from the Obama camp represented - seems like it would be right up his alley to participate in something like this (I mean one of his reps). I posted it on the Facebook discussion boards as well.
So I made the first political donation of my life to Barack this last week. It was a cool feeling to contribute to a candidate that I feel so strongly about. I've never cared or been very interested in politics in my entire life until learning about Barack. I hope everyone else has donated at this point - every little bit helps.
Also, a few of my friends emailed me and said that they saw some Barack supporters holding signs off of 2100 S. and 700 E. here in Salt Lake City - kudos to whoever it was that was out there showing Barack some love. Keep up the good work.
Check out this link for a nice breakdown of Barack's stance on all of the issues:
Link
I just have to say how impressed I am with Barack so far. He is inspirational. I'm not sure if his views and mine line up (not all of them anyway), but he is definitely hitting a chord with a LOT of people right now.
I'd also like to congratulate him on this awesome website. It will quickly get the attention of the blogging community to know that a politician (and the kickass web team he's obviously hired) is paying attention to the blogging community. This is the election where the web will rule the day for the first time in US history.
