Amazing how this stuff works out, huh? Just a few months ago he wasn’t on the radar, but looky here!
Obama filed paperwork forming a presidential exploratory committee that allows him to raise money and put together a campaign structure. He is expected to announce a full-fledged candidacy on Feb. 10 in Springfield, Ill., where he can tap into the legacy of hometown hero Abraham Lincoln.
Obama’s soft-spoken appeal on the stump, his unique background, his opposition to the
Iraq war and his fresh face set him apart in a competitive race that also is expected to include front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
His middle name is Hussein, and he did coke once, and he’s religious and talks about his faith openly. He’s going to piss off a lot of folks on the secular left as well as the Muslim-hating right. I hope he’s ready for it, because every candidate will be gunning for him. If Howard Dean taught us anything, it’s to not peak early.
I can’t wait for Campaign 2008!!
by Will, 01/16/2007, 3:03 PM
But did he inhale?
ba-dum-bum
The field of potential candidates for the Democratic presidential nominations looks incredibly strong. We will have some very substantial candidates running, any number of whom would make an outstanding president (Obama, Hillary, Edwards, Biden, Vilsack, etc.) Choosing a favorite will be most difficult. On the other side of the partisan fence, The R’s look to be rounding up some tired and cranky idealogues who will appeal to all of about 30% of the electorate. I, too, am looking forward to the ’08 campaign.
Sorry, but I’m a professional drummer, saw the opportunity and couldn’t pass it up.
Top of his class at Harvard and editor of the Harvard Review and said to be the “smartest kid I ever taught” by one of his professors. Instead of going to work at elite law offices, he goes back home and works for the people.
He sounds pretty promising to me.
What ‘secular left’ are you talking about, Goldy?
I was in California when Tom Bradley ran for Governor. We all thought he’d make the move to Sacrsamento, the polls said he would.
George Deukmejian won. Go figure, people lied about voting for a black for Governor.
‘secular left’ wtf is that?
wil is trotting out his DLC-lite catagories of the world – anoyone NOT on subscribing to the Clinton Sell-Outs right wing definitions of ‘moderate’ and ‘centrist’ is a dreadlocked lefty out to ruin the party with extremism.
is it possible that barack’s ‘centrism’ is just dlc-lite right wing crap?
rmm.
And just what qualifies Obama for the highest office in the land? What in the world has he proven except that he can get elected to the senate – and from some of the folks there that’s not saying much…
@ 9
And just what qualifies Obama for the highest office in the land?
He’s over 35 and was born in the USA. Those are the qualifications.
9
Abraham Lincoln had all of one term in Congress in the 1840s (plus some time in the Illinois Senate, like Obama) before becoming president. His lack of experience sure showed, didn’t it?
@ 11
You should read the vile shit people wrote about Abraham Lincoln back then. They called him retarded, they called him a n*****, all sorts of stuff. Awful stuff.
Skagit,
Top of his class at Harvard? That’s odd
http://www.nydailynews.com/fro.....1414c.html
Because before he did so great at Harvard, he was a nobody at Columbia, and living with an illegal immigrant from Pakistan. Or maybe he wasn’t, because his memoirs contain “Composites”. Boy, you guys sure do know how to pick them. Sounds like another Waffle House Diner commercial to me. “I did, but I really didn’t.” Thanks for the confidence. The more I see and hear here, the more I am convinced that we will have another Republican President in 08.
Hey Goldy, your NutRoots did so great in Washington last November (With High Profile candidates), so on the heels of their success in ousting Reichert and McMorris, are they going to endorse Obama too?
Any Democrat is better than any Republican.
@ 13
If there’s any profession that’s KNOWN for treating black folks with respect, it’s firemen!
UF @ 13
You sure have an eye for talent, don’t you? Obama’s got an intelligible quality that appears only every now and again on the national scene. He is smarter than hell, and I could give a rat’s ass how he did in college. I most surely would not want to be judged by my performance in college. Some people take longer than others to hit their stride. Let me assure you that editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Review is a big deal. I will take Obama against anyone your side might puke up in ’08, especially if you guys continue to believe the last election was an aberration.
I meant “intangible,” not “intelligible.”
Just talking about Obama at dinner with friends last night. They asked me why I would support him (my first choice would be Russ Feingold but he’s not running). I would support him, despite his lack of experience because he offers something intangible – hope. We are running on empty in this country, becoming jaded, partisan, nihilistic and setting the worst example for our children. We have got to have someone to believe in and Mr. Bush has left us practically gasping for air from the number of times he has done something jaw-droppingly stupid. (Didn’t say he’s stupid but he does a lot of stupid things.)
Hilary and he might make an interesting running team except that if she is the nominee the Republicans will make it the dirtiest, ugliest campaign in history. There is a visceral hatred among the right for Bill and Hilary that defies understanding.
But as Goldy says, it will make for an fascinating election. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Westello,
Amen.
#4 –
Hey Columbo – when you take a break from banging on those drums, riddle yourself this:
What self-respecting nihilist from Eugene would even post on this frakkin’ blog?
P.S. Voting is a waste of time.
Proud Leftist,
What the hell is your Question? If you don’t care how he did in college, then why even mention that he was the Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Dude, take a Zanex and get your thoughts in order.
Left said
“I could give a rat’s ass how he did in college”
and then
“Let me assure you that editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Review is a big deal.”
Which is it?
Sorry, Union Fireman, if I’m wrong . . . I heard it on the radio a couple days ago . . . I’m sure they said the Harvard Law Review . . . hmm. It caused me to reconsider him positively.
thanks.
HEY, UNION FIREMAN @ 13: “Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983, and moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.
That’s union help for ya. Lazy bastards.
I think you mean he did coke AND Marijuana. Kind of like a bad nightmare, seeing as he is a mix of Klinton and Bushie
B, and your mother evidently took Thalidomide while pregnant with you, and look how well you overcame those odds.
There’s no way in hell a partying cheerleader like GWB never toked a reefer, so he’s already paved the way. Obama will probably have fewer gay porn-star “reporters” “speaking directly into the mike” than Bush had, too.
PUBLIC NOTICE TO THE TROLLS WHO CAN’T READ:
Goldy did not write this post. To find out who did, you WILL have scroll back to the top. You WILL find the answer there if you have the WILL to learn something. The question is, WILL you?
Fucking Wingnut Troll moe-rons.
And to be on topic, sometimes hope is what this country needs. A man who has a vision, and the WILL, can change the course of this country. Something that is sorely needed now.
20 “Former Voter says: What self-respecting nihilist from Eugene would even post on this frakkin’ blog? 01/16/2007 at 6:11 pm
Hmmm … you?
@21 Editor in chief of Harvard Law Review is a big deal.
Of course, making Law Review is not a guarantee of a successful career. Exhibit A: Richard Pope.
Man I love to pull Richard’s cord! Picking on him is easy, because he’s a lawyer.
@9 Getting elected to the U.S. Senate was more than Road Kill McGavick could manage.
And getting elected to the Tennessee state senate was more than Low Tax Looper could manage:
“Looper’s name … was the only one listed on the ballot … [but] … a write-in candidate, won the seat with 30,252 votes compared to Looper’s 1,531 votes.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Looper
You see? It’s not that easy to get elected senator. But then, Barack didn’t steal the waitress tip jar (McGavick) or murder his opponent (Looper), either.
Where do the Republicans come up with these bottom-of-the-barrel candidates, anyway?
Speaking of bottom-of-the-barrel candidates, the only guy the GOP could find to run against Rep. Chopp in ’04 ws Mark Griswold, who later posted on the pathetic little competing blog:
“Congratulations Speaker Pelosi, now let the bombs fall where they may. My prediction: terror attack on domestic soil passenger aircraft within the next six months. Casualties in the 2-300 range. And, unfortunately, maybe that’s just what we need. It’s obvious people don’t remember what happened 5 years ago. Posted by FullContactPolitics at November 8, 2006 10:52 AM
http://blog.usefulwork.com/cgi.....ry_id=7430
(HA ace investigator Richard Pope ID’d “FullContactPolitics” as Griswold from an FCP post in which Griswold included his real name.)
@26 “PUBLIC NOTICE TO THE TROLLS WHO CAN’T READ”
That pretty much takes in all of them.
HEY SKAGIT THEY DONT SELL COKE AT ELITE LAW OFFICES
I am so ready for people to shut the fuck up about their religion.
I’m with you, me. Unless their religion is diddling naughty high-school college cheerleaders. That I could get behind, so to speak.
Huh. Strike through is available in preview but not in the actual posts. Makes me look like I have the intelligence of the average republican (ie, low).
Let’s talk history….
If history is any indication, your next president will be someone from the south.
They will have either been a governor or a vice-president. or maybe even a general.
Barack Obama doesn’t fit into any of those catagories. In the last 80 years we have only elected one president that didn’t meet one of the last three critera..and that was Kennedy. And you know what happened to him. (the FBI had him wacked)
Barack Obama will do wonderful things for this country. But he won’t be doing them as your president.
“Hilary and he might make an interesting running team except that if she is the nominee the Republicans will make it the dirtiest, ugliest campaign in history.”
So what? They’ll do that anyway. They’d do that Jesus Christ and Mother Theresa were on the Democratic ticket.
Hilary won’t get the nomination.
She has the highest “disapproval ratings” of any of the people that are thinking of running for president.
Hilary won’t get the nomination.
She has the highest “disapproval rating” of any of the people that are thinking of running for president.
@41 You’re forgetting that Kerry, who did not win a single southern state, would have won the election if he had carried Ohio. Take a good look at the 2004 election map. All the Democrats need is the west coast, northeast, and upper midwest.
Not only that, after the 2010 census, the South will become even more expendable. Why? Because the U.S. population is moving away from the heartland to the coasts, and “blue” states will gain electoral votes (and “red” states will lose them) in the next reapportionment.
P.S., Washington is expected to gain a new House seat (and electoral vote) in 2010.
@43 It doesn’t matter who gets the Democratic nomination. Donald Duck could beat the GOP in ’08. By ’08 the voters will be so tired of the GOP a fucking hamster could beat them.
@43 (continued) And don’t forget, the Democrats have been in charge of Congress for only a week, and the investigations haven’t even started yet.
I expect Goldy to get on Barack’s case for this outright lie (Goldy has said many times that lying to the American People is bad – and Obama said *unequivocally*):
From November 04, 2004 (see http://www.dailyherald.com/opi.....?id=266302 )
“So look, I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years, and my entire focus is making sure that I’m the best possible senator on behalf of the people of Illinois.”
From January 16, 2006:
“I wanted to tell you first that I’ll be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee.”
Gee, I had always assumed that Obama was Muslim (considering his name), but on the radio this week I heard he was actually a Christian. I haven’t confirmed it, and I’m not sure it really matters enough to check it out.
But if Obama is Christian, don’t expect Fox News to mention that fact. They will be happy to encourage most Americans into believing he is the “Muslim Candidate”.
Apparently Mr. Obama is an active member of the United Church of Christ, so Faux News probably does not consider him to be a Christian. It’s one of those “liberal” churches that oppose going to war for profit and work for social justice, and help to feed the poor…
We can be sure that Faux News will be including his middle name in all of their reporting about him.
@ 49
He didn’t lie. He changed his mind as facts on the ground changed. We should have more of that.
@52
Yeah, right. By that logic, all politicians can say whatever they want whenever they want–then change as “facts on the ground” change.
That’s a great precedent.
How about this one instead: elect people who keep their word! In this particular case, it’s all about Mr. Obama’s personal commitment. He flopped. This isn’t a quality normally associated with ethical, character-full presidential candidates.
While I find myself liking Mr. Obama, I also find myself asking why I like him. To be honest, I know very little about the man or his politics, and his statement that he would not run for “national office” gives me reason to pause and reflect.
If the main “fact on the ground” that changed was his opinion of his chances of winning, then I find myself in agreement with Mr. Trainwinder. (Stranger things have happened, but not often.)
How do Mr. Obama’s positions on issues differ from the other people running for President? How would he be a better choice than Ms. Clinton, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Gore or any of the other Democrats? I cannot believe that he is the only moderate Democrat that has a chance of winning the Presidency in 2008, and as long as we don’t decide to run someone from the fringe wings (sorry SeaBos84 and rightequalsstupid, you’re out of the running) we can beat anyone that the Republicans are likely to run.
Of course, this presumes that the Republicans will continue to pander to their neo-con wing. If they’re smart enough to tell those folks to take a hike, and then we run someone that our fringe wing likes, we could still lose in 2008. Fortunately, I do not believe that they are that smart, or we are that stupid.
But I’ve been wrong before.
roger @ 45,
Would’ve won doesn’t change history. The fact is he didn’t win. Unlike Gore (who does fit the critera of being your next president) Kerry didn’t win the popular vote.
Spend your time debating candidates that fit the critera and stop wasting time figuring out how Barack is going to win. Lots of good candidates from both parties that do fit the critera. You’ll also notice that John McCain doesn’t fit the critera either……..and people are touting him as a front runner for 2008. If he gets the nomination it’s a sure win for Demo’s if they follow “the plan”
My Left Foot says:
Why does it have to be a man?
It’s very very easy to see that he is a good candidate.
Sean Dumbass and Rush Gasbag are all over his middle name.
Therefore, they’re scared.
I will vote for anybody who can pronounce “nuclear.”
Union Fireman – Top of his class at Fire Academy, taught to be a money grubbing tax handout.
2 words; white guilt
(that said, if he stays no further left than Hilary, what the heck, i could vote for him
pls post what he has to say about
china
radical islam
competiting in the world
free speech, bill of rights issues
deficit
etc