Obama does it Truman style -- giving 'em hell over Iraq Chicago Sun-Times Sun, 13 May 2007 2:20 AM PDT KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- This is former President Harry Truman's stomping ground, "give 'em hell" country, and that's exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave 'em hell.
This is former President Harry Truman's stomping ground, "give 'em hell" country, and that's exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave 'em hell. He played off the enthusiasms of a fervent crowd of 2,000 in a downtown hotel ballroom to lambaste President Bush's policy in Iraq, noting the Democratic effort to use legislation to bring troops home in a phased withdrawal is meeting an impenetrable stone wall: the president's veto. "I don't think we are going to change George Bush's mind," Obama said. "He doesn't seem to be someone who examines the facts." Obama has been arguing all along that the solution to the war in Iraq is a political one and the lengthy presence of American troops will do nothing to solve the impasse among the various Iraqi ethnic groups. He asserts the solution is political, not military. ... Obama reiterated his own theme that Americans need to find a unity of mind amongst themselves and also to reach out to the rest of the world to resolve issues such as global warming, the debacle in Darfur and nuclear proliferation. We need to mend our relationships abroad, he explained. "The day this president steps down, the rest of the world will breathe a sigh of relief," Obama said. He also called for the closing of Guantanamo -- the American military base in Cuba where putative al-Qaida terrorists are imprisoned: "Why don't we say we don't do torture, we don't do rendition, that's not who we are as a people." He concluded with another theme he regularly invokes: that America needs to be transformed into a country that expresses humanity and "core decency" so it can remain a "beacon of hope" to the rest of the world.
This is former President Harry Truman's stomping ground, "give 'em hell" country, and that's exactly what Barack Obama did Saturday afternoon: He rousingly gave 'em hell.
He played off the enthusiasms of a fervent crowd of 2,000 in a downtown hotel ballroom to lambaste President Bush's policy in Iraq, noting the Democratic effort to use legislation to bring troops home in a phased withdrawal is meeting an impenetrable stone wall: the president's veto.
"I don't think we are going to change George Bush's mind," Obama said. "He doesn't seem to be someone who examines the facts."
Obama has been arguing all along that the solution to the war in Iraq is a political one and the lengthy presence of American troops will do nothing to solve the impasse among the various Iraqi ethnic groups. He asserts the solution is political, not military.
...
Obama reiterated his own theme that Americans need to find a unity of mind amongst themselves and also to reach out to the rest of the world to resolve issues such as global warming, the debacle in Darfur and nuclear proliferation. We need to mend our relationships abroad, he explained.
"The day this president steps down, the rest of the world will breathe a sigh of relief," Obama said.
He also called for the closing of Guantanamo -- the American military base in Cuba where putative al-Qaida terrorists are imprisoned: "Why don't we say we don't do torture, we don't do rendition, that's not who we are as a people."
He concluded with another theme he regularly invokes: that America needs to be transformed into a country that expresses humanity and "core decency" so it can remain a "beacon of hope" to the rest of the world.
Trail is new place for Michelle Obama Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA Barack Obama of Illinois, said he is running for president. After she ends her duties as vice president of community and external affairs at the University ...
Glamour, grit and homespun charm: Mrs Obama gets another day job Times Online - UK Michelle Obama, the Harvard-educated African-American wife of the Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, announced yesterday that she was quitting ...
Obama assails private Medicare plans Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA DES MOINES, Iowa --Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Friday proposed cutting government subsidies to private insurance companies under ...
Grassley-Obama sparring continues over veto override DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA Washington, DC - Barack Obama and Iowa's senior US senator continued to spar Friday over a call to bring troops home from Iraq. ...
Corporate gifts to Obama? It never happened ... Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago,IL,USA I have watched Barack Obama since he entered the state Legislature many years ago. I have compared him and his ethics with those of people I have known in ...
Corporations did not give any money to Obama and they are not going to have any hold on him in his public life. I have watched Barack Obama since he entered the state Legislature many years ago. I have compared him and his ethics with those of people I have known in political arenas over the last 50 years that I have been active in public life. He is in the mold of the late Senators Paul Douglas and Paul Simon. The only "Inc." you can put after his name is if you are starting to spell the word "incorruptible."
Jesse Jackson Jr. asks black Dems to back Obama The Decatur Daily - Decatur,AL,USA Barack Obama in the state’s presidential primary. The ADC, the state’s oldest and most influential black political organization, will not formally endorse a ...
Jackson said it’s time to come together and build a more perfect union. Instead of questioning whether a candidate is “black enough,” some people need to let go and move on, Jackson said. That would mean some people will have to stop holding onto the past and start looking to the future, he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, rich or poor,” Jackson said. “We need to build a more perfect union for everybody.” The ADC convention theme was “Taking Back Alabama in 2008.” ADC Chairman Joe Reed said he looked forward to October when the group will meet in Birmingham to make its endorsements.
Jackson said it’s time to come together and build a more perfect union.
Instead of questioning whether a candidate is “black enough,” some people need to let go and move on, Jackson said.
That would mean some people will have to stop holding onto the past and start looking to the future, he said.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, rich or poor,” Jackson said. “We need to build a more perfect union for everybody.”
The ADC convention theme was “Taking Back Alabama in 2008.”
ADC Chairman Joe Reed said he looked forward to October when the group will meet in Birmingham to make its endorsements.
Obama's candidacy raises, answers myriad concerns The Argus - Fremont,CA,USA THE PICTURES I took at the Oakland rally for Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama include about four of the Rotunda building across from where he ...
In recent weeks, Obama has been gaining in the polls. Most show him making steady progress. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been running a parody that calls Obama "the Magic Negro" white liberals can support and assuage their racial guilt. Some have called it offensive, particularly with the increase in hate mail and Web postings. Obama's campaign has called it simply dumb. I have another take on the racial angle. The Limbaughs of the world would dismiss it as white liberal guilt, but I wonder if electing a black man as president wouldn't help our country begin the process of racial healing. It wouldn't negate the need to continue the work to eliminate entrenched discrimination and racial disparities in health, education and wealth. However, if we can send a black man to the White House and he can serve his term or terms, we've made progress I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime.
In recent weeks, Obama has been gaining in the polls. Most show him making steady progress.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been running a parody that calls Obama "the Magic Negro" white liberals can support and assuage their racial guilt. Some have called it offensive, particularly with the increase in hate mail and Web postings. Obama's campaign has called it simply dumb.
I have another take on the racial angle. The Limbaughs of the world would dismiss it as white liberal guilt, but I wonder if electing a black man as president wouldn't help our country begin the process of racial healing. It wouldn't negate the need to continue the work to eliminate entrenched discrimination and racial disparities in health, education and wealth.
However, if we can send a black man to the White House and he can serve his term or terms, we've made progress I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime.
Obama's half-sister helps kick off local campaign Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Honolulu,HI,USA Hawaii-born presidential candidate Barack Obama sees Hawaii as "a fabulous model for the kind of America I hope this campaign will bring about." ...
"He was instrumental in helping me make good decisions, and reminding me of my strengths," she said. Race and Obama's Kenyan heritage have been the focus of many discussions around his candidacy, and Soetoro-Ng said it gets frustrating because Obama comes from a culturally diverse family. "I think to focus on that is to cheapen things," she said. "He has enough complexity so that when he acts or speaks, he's thinking of people of all races and creeds." Locally, the campaign hopes to recruit as many as 7,000 supporters to join the Hawaii Democratic Party and vote in the Feb. 19 precinct caucus, campaign coordinator Andy Winer said. More than 100 people showed up at yesterday's kickoff and planning session. State Sen. Clarence Nishihara said Obama reflects Hawaii's aloha spirit. "Internationally, if people find you come from Hawaii, somehow they think we're something special, something out there," Nishihara said. "We provide a different kind of American ... the kind we need to work toward."
"He was instrumental in helping me make good decisions, and reminding me of my strengths," she said.
Race and Obama's Kenyan heritage have been the focus of many discussions around his candidacy, and Soetoro-Ng said it gets frustrating because Obama comes from a culturally diverse family.
"I think to focus on that is to cheapen things," she said. "He has enough complexity so that when he acts or speaks, he's thinking of people of all races and creeds."
Locally, the campaign hopes to recruit as many as 7,000 supporters to join the Hawaii Democratic Party and vote in the Feb. 19 precinct caucus, campaign coordinator Andy Winer said.
More than 100 people showed up at yesterday's kickoff and planning session.
State Sen. Clarence Nishihara said Obama reflects Hawaii's aloha spirit.
"Internationally, if people find you come from Hawaii, somehow they think we're something special, something out there," Nishihara said. "We provide a different kind of American ... the kind we need to work toward."
The easy case for President Obama St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg,FL,USA Anyone who underestimates the Illinois senator's ...
In a crowded field where at least 20 states may vote on Feb. 5, 2008, campaign money can't be underestimated. As the field of aspiring Hillary alternatives winnows, that only helps Obama. "We're going to be competing everywhere on Feb. 5. The only other person that can say that is Hillary, " said Miami lawyer Kirk Wager, Obama's Florida finance chairman. Given his lack of experience on the national stage, Obama, of course, must hope that the 2008 election is more about change than it is about the war on terror. But even there judgment may trump experience; unlike his leading rivals, Obama opposed invading Iraq from the start. "I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. ... I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida, " Obama said in 2002. "In some ways, Obama's redefining what experience is. His line - 'look what experience has gotten us' - I think that resonates, " said Bernie Campbell of Tampa, a veteran Democratic consultant who sees Obama as a strong contender. "He's got a message that competes, he's got a staff that competes, and he's got the money that competes, " said Campbell. Once he beats Clinton in the primary, the general election looks almost easy given the state of the Republican image lately. That Obama is winning over his share of Republicans at the same time he's pulling liberals from Clinton's camp, shows how strong he could be in the general election. Never underestimate the strength of a candidate that a broad array of people feel good about supporting. Barack Obama, the embodiment of the American dream, may prove the perfect candidate for an electorate hungry for optimism.
In a crowded field where at least 20 states may vote on Feb. 5, 2008, campaign money can't be underestimated. As the field of aspiring Hillary alternatives winnows, that only helps Obama.
"We're going to be competing everywhere on Feb. 5. The only other person that can say that is Hillary, " said Miami lawyer Kirk Wager, Obama's Florida finance chairman.
Given his lack of experience on the national stage, Obama, of course, must hope that the 2008 election is more about change than it is about the war on terror. But even there judgment may trump experience; unlike his leading rivals, Obama opposed invading Iraq from the start.
"I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. ... I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida, " Obama said in 2002.
"In some ways, Obama's redefining what experience is. His line - 'look what experience has gotten us' - I think that resonates, " said Bernie Campbell of Tampa, a veteran Democratic consultant who sees Obama as a strong contender.
"He's got a message that competes, he's got a staff that competes, and he's got the money that competes, " said Campbell.
Once he beats Clinton in the primary, the general election looks almost easy given the state of the Republican image lately. That Obama is winning over his share of Republicans at the same time he's pulling liberals from Clinton's camp, shows how strong he could be in the general election.
Never underestimate the strength of a candidate that a broad array of people feel good about supporting. Barack Obama, the embodiment of the American dream, may prove the perfect candidate for an electorate hungry for optimism.
Newark mayor to back Obama Chicago Tribune Sun, 13 May 2007 3:53 AM PDT Sen. Barack Obama will pick up a significant endorsement Monday when Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J., is expected to formally announce his support for the Illinois Democrat in the 2008 presidential primary.
Obama Draws 3000 in Missouri Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama urged about 3000 supporters Saturday to help send members to Congress who will oppose the war in Iraq. ...
Ireland Claims Obama as Its Own Washington Post Sat, 12 May 2007 7:23 PM PDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is the talk of the tiny Irish village of Moneygall.
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