Obama as a presidential candidate

[ianmdrennan 2]

So, I'm curious what people are thinking of him as a candidate. So far my impressions of him have been that he's intelligent, well spoken, and a good middle ground candidate (not too far of either side of the spectrum). I realize that he hasn't got as much political experience (not necessarily a bad thing) as the other candidates and that some people will vote partisan no matter what, but I'd like to know what people think of him...and why.

Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[rushmc 18]

"Middle" ground is a bit of a stretch if you look at his small voting record.

In any event, his entry into the race will be interesting (to say the least) as his opponet is Hillary. And when the Clintons are in the race it is a "no holds barred" type of event. (I am not implying that this is a Clinton only tactic)

The attacks on him this week are not from right but from the Clinton camp. I will enjoy the show (if you know what I mean)

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[kallend 1,647]

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So, I'm curious what people are thinking of him as a candidate. So far my impressions of him have been that he's intelligent, well spoken, and a good middle ground candidate (not too far of either side of the spectrum). I realize that he hasn't got as much political experience (not necessarily a bad thing) as the other candidates and that some people will vote partisan no matter what, but I'd like to know what people think of him...and why.

Blues,
Ian

The last sitting US senator to be elected president was JFK. It doesn't seem a good launch pad.

Experience? Lincoln was only a one term congressman when he was elected.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[tbrown 26]

We shall see. I'm open to hearing what the guy has to say and willing to consider voting for him. He has very little experience at the Federal level, but then Jack Kennedy was still serving his first term in the Senate when he ran in 1960, and only had one or two terms in the U.S. House before that. Hard to tell, sometimes you need a young upstart.

Especially after the idiot we've got now, I'd vote for Anna Nicole Smith before another Bush.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[StreetScooby 5]

I really wish Colin Powell would run.

We are all engines of karma

[nathaniel 0]

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when the Clintons are in the race it is a "no holds barred" type

In this way Obama has a distinct advantage. With less of a track record and what seems to be an relatively understated style, there's fewer things for Hillary to grab hold of. Hillary's record isn't exactly stellar, so it might put her on a defensive footing.

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[vortexring 0]

Isn't Hilary supposed to be a crackerjack?

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[Amazon 7]

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I really wish Colin Powell would run.

Never happen.. he is still in recovery from all the stab wounds in his back

[Zenister 0]

his lack of experience is an ASSET.. if he choses advisers wisely and actually LISTENS TO THEM....

but by the time that happens its to late either way...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[DaVinci 0]

I don't like his views on the second at all.

He seems to be a really honest kind of guy. He was in AZ some mths back and the people out here loved him.

His lack of voting record will help him more than hurt him I think since he can make statments and not have any real history to fight. So he can pretty much make his stands on the trail without past performance being thrown in his face...Like the GOP did with Kerry.

[crwtom 0]

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The last sitting US senator to be elected president was JFK. It doesn't seem a good launch pad.

Indeed - recent presidents were next-in-line executives. That is,
governors or vice-presidents. If you reduce the field of conceivable
contenders to this profile the playing field suddenly looks quite
different. For example

Dems: Gore, Richardson, Vilsack, Warner
Reps: J Bush, Gilmore, Huckabee, Pataki, Romney, Thompson

So you may still expect a lot of movement in the presidential race
in the next 18 months.

Cheers, T

*******************************************************************
Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

[Zenister 0]

assuming he runs Rudolf Giuliani would certainly meet any 'leadership' requirements despite 'only' being a mayor...

Due to its size and complexity the Mayor of NY certainly has as much (or more) responsibility, negotiation and leadership opportunities as ANY State official..

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[crwtom 0]

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assuming he runs Rudolf Giuliani would certainly meet any 'leadership' requirements despite 'only' being a mayor...

Due to its size and complexity the Mayor of NY certainly has as much (or more) responsibility, negotiation and leadership opportunities as ANY State official..

when he pushed for an emergeny extension of his term until
April 2002 - with the excuse to secure funding from Pataki - the
NY State Assembly told him to get lost. Gives you an idea where
his place is in the food chain. I suppose he also had to withdraw
from a homeland security nomination out of fear of what will
surface in senate hearings. His proposal for replacement was a
disaster as well.

And if Giuliani why not Bloomberg too - he dealt with the 9/11
fallout for much longer time than Giuliani. His contribution is
the reconstruction of the city and not being around during the
destruction being witness to gaps in the cities emegency systems.
(plus he his management record is at least as good as that of
Giuliani and he has only a fraction of the scandals to answer
for that Giuliani has)

Just being in office on 9-11-01 is not an indicator of competence
as we should have learned now.

Cheers, T

*******************************************************************
Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

[NCclimber 0]

Here's an excerpt from a column I read yesterday.

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But it's the next part that defines Obama and explains his sudden poll vault. He says, "But challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common-sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions. And that's what we have to change first."

Notice he doesn't blame only Republicans, he blames all partisans. And he doesn't say "I," he says "we have to change" it.

The fact that he says he wants to move beyond the petty bickering of both sides compels me to like him.

Now - If can walk his talk for the next 21 months.

[dorbie 0]

The Hillary camp is already attacking by proxy, he'll be damaged goods by the time the media is through with him. Shame really, but what did you expect.

[dorbie 0]

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And if Giuliani why not Bloomberg too -

How much for a fag in NY these days?

[billvon 2,433]

>he'll be damaged goods by the time the media is through with him.

Yep. FOX just did a piece on the issue where he is accused of being a closet extremist muslim who covered up his past. I think a lot of the right-wing media was caught a bit by suprise by his announcement of his intention to run, and are just now getting up to speed.

[Amazon 7]

Ah the Rove Boys are at it again... the smearmeister and friends are now on the case.

[NCclimber 0]

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Ah the Rove Boys are at it again... the smearmeister and friends are now on the case.

I should get all my news from you. you seem to know about so much that no one else is reporting.

[Amazon 7]

You really should.... then your NEO CON buds would get on with the smears even sooner.

[billvon 2,433]

>Ah the Rove Boys are at it again . . .

I doubt it. I suspect it's FOX doing what news stations do - finding news and then trying to make it spectacular (i.e. interesting to average viewers.) If you want a politician to blame, Hilary was the one who first made a stink about his "muslim background."

[matthewcline 0]

Hillary is NEO CON!?!

Both Parties are gonna slam each other and of course them selves. Nothing new.

The poster who said running against the Bush/Clinton Families strangle hold may have some thing there. Neither name should be in the White House next time around. The two families have to many ties to ineptness.

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[rehmwa 2]

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he poster who said running against the Bush/Clinton Families strangle hold may have some thing there. Neither name should be in the White House next time around. The two families have to many ties to ineptness.

Any citizen that meets the requirements for presidency has the right to run. We should not have a preference for OR AGAINST members of any family. That's what monarchies do, not us. I wouldn't remove the rights of any individual based on what their brother, sister, neighbor, or co-worker does. Teddy Kennedy is pretty reprehensible, but people seemed to like his brothers, GWB has a WIDE range of opinions on him - it has nothing to do with Jeb, or the other brother, or cousin Herman for that matter.

You want to restrict a specific family? Maybe then a specific religion?, or gender? or race?

whatever happened to a nation of individuals? did they get lost in the "village"?

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Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[SpeedRacer 1]

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did they get lost in the "village"?

You are Number Six.

Speed Racer
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[billvon 2,433]

>You want to restrict a specific family?

Personally, I would prefer not to have one (or two) families running the US; that comes perilously close to how a monarchy works, even if the people elect the families. I'd prefer a non-politician who is merely a good businessman, who is elected based on their competence, intelligence and judgment rather than their last name.