Obama’s Running Mate – Analyzing the Premise Question
SAN DIEGO — 8 a.m. PDT
As Barack Obama heads to Hawaii for a week-long vacation, its virtually certain he will use this time to pick his running mate (if he hasn’t already). In this decision, the “who” seems less important than the “what.”
I don’t mean to suggest the person isn’t important. Not at all.
What I do mean is that the “what” behind the selection will define the direction of the Obama candidacy as much if not more than the “who.”
By “what” I mean, what is the premise of the campaign at this stage? If the premise is “change” must the running mate personify change? If so, this eliminates a vast array of possible contenders (basically the entire roster of U.S. Senators).
If the premise is not change, what is it? Is it governing to achieve change? If so, must the running mate carry the gravitas, record and rectitude of a wise Washington figure — someone well-versed in legislative dynamics who knows where the bodies are buried and how to curry favor with potentially recalcitrant committee chairs on Capitol Hill? If this is the premise, several other potential running mates are instantly eliminated (basically, all governors and private-sector and retired military types).
What if the premise is neither change nor governing, but leadership in dangerous times? If so, it seems certain the running mate must fulfill a perceived gap in foreign policy and national security experience that many analysts, Democratic strategists and pundits believe to be Obama’s central biographical weakness. If this is the premise, then only a handful of Democrats would appear to fill the bill.
It appears there is no Democrat who would allow Obama to hit all three categories: change, governing and leadership.
[For this discussion, it's obvious millions of Hillary Clinton supporters believe she would do all this and much, much more for Obama. But her Tuesday speaking slot at the Democratic Convention followed by former President Bill Clinton's speech on Wednesday -- just before the vice presidential speech -- assures the convention will not produce an Obama-Clinton ticket. But it may produce some made-for-TV "catharsis."]
In all my conversations with Obama aides, I’ve never detected a sense that they or the candidate accept the premise that Obama MUST address his perceived deficiency in foreign policy and national security experience.
If anything, Obama has rejected this notion — arguing with vigor and conviction that Washington’s “experience” led the nation into a ruinous war in Iraq (with prominent Democrats such as Clinton, Dick Gephardt and even enthusiastic Obama supporter Jay Rockefeller backing the preemptive war).
Obama has also asserted that he’s been ahead of the curve on dealing more intently with Pakistan and trying to find ways to police and secure loose nuclear material. On these three issues, Obama has won crowds and votes by arguing that his “inexperience” helped him see things more clearly and develop better potential solutions. Whether this is true is open to debate. That Obama believes it to be true is not.
I wonder if at this very important moment Obama would suddenly reverse course and acknowledge through his choice of a running mate that yes, indeed, the Beltway bromides about him were always true, that he does lack foreign policy and national security experience and that he needs a crutch to compensate for this suddenly discovered political limp.
Therefore, what Obama believes about himself will determine whom he choses as his running mate. He’s believed one thing from the beginning. If he stops believing it, I would venture to guess that shift will weigh more in the minds of supporters and opponents than whomever stands next to the freshman senator from Illinois.
For further insight, The Bourbon Room turned to Larry Sabato, who leads the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and Steve McMahon, a top Democratic strategist. I interviewed both separately. Sabato is first, followed by McMahon.
LARRY SABATO
Q: What about Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine?
Sabato: He’s clearly on a short list. How short the list is, is in dispute. But I think Kaine has such personal chemistry with Obama that he probably is under serious consideration.
Q: Loyalty works in Kaine’s favor?
Sabato: Loyalty is one of the major reasons why Kaine is on the short list. He was the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse Obama and that was back when Obama wasn’t considered a particularly powerful candidate.
Q: What’s the downside with Kaine?
Sabato: If inexperience is the Achilles Heel for Barack Obama, then he adds another Achilles Heel with Tim Kaine. Because Kaine has no military, no defense experience. Those are the precisely the areas where Obama needs to strengthen his own portfolio.
Q: But what about Obama’s sense that he doesn’t lack foreign policy experience and has shown better judgment?
Sabato: You hear lots of different things. I suppose one of the theories within the Obama camp is if Obama picks someone with foreign policy or national security experience, it simply points out to everybody the fact that Obama doesn’t have much. If they choose someone who reinforces Obama’s (change) themes then perhaps that adds some punch to the Obama approach for the general election. I don’t necessarily buy that. I think tickets are for balancing. We don’t balance tickets in the same way we once did. They used to be based almost entirely on balancing geography or on balancing a party faction. But there are other ways to balance a ticket. And the best way to balance for a president’s success in office is to bring somebody on the ticket who has some strengths in policy and in experience that the president doesn’t have
Q: Is Kaine a plus because of Obama’s near-obsession with winning Virginia’s 13 electoral votes?
Sabato: The greatest advantage of putting Kaine on the ticket with Obama is winning Virginia. Right now, Virginia is on the edge of the butter knife. It could go either way. The incumbent governor, who is relatively popular, can almost certainly add a point or two to Obama. And that may be all he needs.
Q: Who beside Kaine would work for Obama?
Sabato: Probably the strongest and safest candidate is Sen. Evan Bayh from Indiana. He brings everything to Obama with very little cost: two terms as governor, two terms as a senator, strengths in domestic policy, and strengths in foreign policy. He also potentially brings a heavily Red State to the Democratic ticket. There have been some polls showing obama within hailing distance of McCain in Indiana. With Bayh on the ticket, it’s not impossible that Obama could carry Indiana. Plus, it’s right next to Ohio. Bayh has real strength in Ohio. There are several media markets that overlap between Indiana and Ohio. I think probably Bayh’s greatest strength for Obama is being the kind of vice presidential candidate and potentially a Vice President that Obama can really depend on — who won’t overshadow the president, who is not gaffe-inclined and who is squeaky clean.
Q: And Bayh was with Hillary Clinton, while Kaine was always with Obama…
Sabato: Kaine strongly supported Obama from the beginning. Bayh was a strong Hillary Clinton supporter and I think the Clinton folks at this point would like to have something thrown in their direction. And the vice presidential nominee would be a substaintial piece to throw.
Q: Could Obama pick a woman who isn’t Hillary Clinton?
Sabato: Superficially, you’d think that if Hillary Clinton weren’t chosen, that Clinton and her supporters would want another woman. But the other theory is that if you pick another woman it’s an insult to Hillary Clinton. It’s really substituting and promoting another woman over Hillary Clinton, who got about half the vote and half the delegates.
STEVE MCMAHON:
Q: What are the choices confronting Obama with his running mate pick?
McMahon: There are two paths here for Sen. Obama. One is to continue on the change trajectory and ‘we’re bringing new leadership and a new style’ and that might favor Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia. He’s somebody that most people aren’t familiar with and don’t know very much about. There’s the other path, which is probably a little bit safer, which is the experience path. Bringing somebody onto the ticket with Washington, D.C. experience, with national security experience, with a foreign policy credential. Someone like a Joe Biden (Delware Democrat) or perhaps an Evan Bayh. I think those two paths kind of diverge and it will be interesting to see which way he goes.
Q: Do you think Obama needs a running mate with experience?
McMahon: I think if you look at why Sen. Obama hasn’t been able to move up to 50% or 51% or 52% in the polls, it’s because, as he says, people are taking a look under the hood and kicking the tires. I think if he had somebody with some national security experience, with some Washington experience, somebody who could do for him what (then-Texas Sen. and Senate Majority Leader) Lyndon Johnson did for John Kennedy (in 1960), it would really benefit him enormously. Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, all those names come to mind.
Q: How big a decision is this for Obama?
McMahon: This is the frist major decision Sen. Obama is going to have to make all by himself in this campaign. And it’s going to have lasting implications. Does he want to continue this trajectory of change, bring someone most Americans maybe have never heard of, Kaine or someone like that? Or does he want to do something to shore up an area where many Americans might be asking questions — national security, Washington experience and that would bring someone like Biden, Sen. Clinton or someone like Bayh into play.
Q: A big decision means lots of advice, right?
McMahon: There’s no doubt that Obama is getting a lot of advice from a lot of different people, from Caroline Kennedy to his campaign staff. There are geographic considerations, there are gender considerations, there are political considerations. But at the end of the day this is a decision for Sen. Obama and he should base it on one thing: who does he want sitting down the hallway from him, who does he trust to be there in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning when a crisis hits, who is it that he feels he can work best with? That, at the end of the day, is how he ought to make this decision.
Q: What about loyalty as a factor?
McMahon: Loyalty has been a big factor in the Obama campaign from the beginning. Gov. Kaine of Virginia was very loyal in February of 2007 when he endorsed Obama. His campaign staff is shared, his pollster is somebody the Obama campaign uses — so he’s a well-known commodity in that sense. And I think he was critically important to winning Virginia for Sen. Obama (in the primaries) and he helps to put Virginia in play in the fall. If Barack Obama can win Virginia, it’s going to be almost impossible for John McCain to win this election. I think that there’s a comfort level with Gov. Kaine that perhaps doesn’t seem to exist yet with Sen. Bayh. Having said that, Sen. Bayh would be a great choice because he does bring Washington experience. He’s got a foreign policy credential. And he would put Indiana in play, which normally is out of reach for most Democrats.
Q: Could Obama pick a woman not named Hillary Clinton?
McMahon: There’s not another woman out there today who would bring what Sen. Clinton would bring to the ticket. And I think for many Clinton supporters, it would be very difficult to see another woman like Gov. (Kathleen) Sebelius, as qualified as she may be, take the spot of what most people or many people would regard to be the spot that belongs to Sen. Clinton. If it’s going to go to a woman, I think most Clinton supporters would hope and expect that it would be Sen. Clinton.
I am so tired of Govenor Sebelius’ chances for the vice presidency being held hostage by the “slap in the face” people. How dare they go against the spirit at least of the law of this land, which does not discriminate based on gender. She is not “Hillary-lite.” She is an accomplished governor, and seems like she would work very well with Senator Obama. She might not be the one who brings the exact set of electoral votes, foreign policy experience etc. to the ticket. Then do not pick her. But don’t refuse to pick her because of this collective tantrum that is being thrown. mg
It would be incredibly dramatic for President Clinton to introduce Hillary Clinton on Wednesday night of the convention as the vice presidential nominee… If Obama wants to unite the party, this would be the night and the way to do it. Senator Clinton is the obvious choice. She got 18 million votes and has the intense loyalty of many party activists who may jump ship if she’s not the nominee.
I personally cannot imagine any democratic nominee not selecting a male candidate who had that many votes as the party would demand his selection. It would demonstrate incredible sexism by both him and the party if she’s not selected. Hillary Clinton earned her place on the ticket, and while my preference is that she would be listed first, she would be a definite asset to him and our country if she became vice president.
If Obama picks Hillary as a running mate. He has many of our votes. If he does not.
He does not! How badly does he want to win??
Fox News conservative republican hell bend organization spreading all the lies is exactly not the kind to predict or influence what Obama should do or not do. US politics is all about winning. From past experience Reagan the senile old two bit actor had nothing but experience as a two time Governor of California and his running mate had experience only as a Congressman and CIA director. Bill Clinton too was a Governor from a hick state AR. The world knows what happened to Al Gore. Bush W. was only a favorite son two term Governor of Texas. A State who economic he left in as bad as what he is leaving the US. Dick Cheney was out of Government for quite a few years and running Hiellburton with a bunch of cronies. The whole Bush administration is nothing but a bunch of incompetent hack conservative republican hacks with the worst ever record all around. The whole 8 years have been nothing but a complete total and unmitigated royal fiasco from the megalomaniac, compulsive-obsessive, sociopath, with his divine religious mandate and being the messenger of his god to the least bit pion in the Administration. Obama would be wise to have all cabinet members under 65 and none of the has been politicians and Washington hangers on. Except for may be Biden, Collin Powell and a handfull of others. Collin Powell at defense plus in charge of all the National Security and intelligence operations would be ideal to clean up the mess. For Practical purposes Hillary Clinton would a good VP choice, after election, she can resign and, go back to her Senate seat and Obama can then name his choice.
In comparison, what real experience does McCain have. He has enjoyed preferential treatment all his life from his birth in Canal Zone Panama. Neither US soil or US sovereign territory. He is a citizen but not ” Natural Born” i.e. on US soil or US sovereign Territory. His Naval Academy admission and subsequent graduation ranked #496 out of 499 was nothing more then a favor to his admirals father and grand father.
He is directly responsible for the destruction of five Naval Aircraft. Unprecedented in the US Naval History. He has some major responsibility for disobeying direct order of not removing the oversize and over weight bombs from his jet fighter. It is highly questionable that a stray rocket ( not incoming ) just dropped from the clear blue sky and managed to hit his jet fighter that was awaiting take off. The huge explosion, fire, other damages, death of over 110 naval personnel and loss of 15 jet fighter aboard the USS Forrestal is something that the US Navy and McCain has to answer, but all McCain’s records and the real story behind what took place on board the USS Forrestal has never been released. WHY.
Lt. Commander McCain’s version of what took place in Vietnam, where he was a POW for five years differs radical from much higher ranking other military officer who were POWs much longer. Having received preferential treatment , his credibility is zero. His total so called combat hours of bombing runs over Hanoi and N. Vietnam totaled 25 and the bombs that he dropped and the resulting US military advantage or any heroic acts were zilch. Yet McCain was awarded 25 medals. For what.
After his release the admiral’s son was ushered before Nixon. Based on his injuries sustained during his bail out, the Navy declared him 100% disabled. As per DOD and Navy Regulations, he should have been discharged. But with more preferential treatment the son of the admiral was promoted to a full commander and given a choice of his own assignment. McCain’s admission to the war college, where only high ranking military officers with merits and distinction are admitted was nothing but preferential treatment. McCain’s merits and distinctions were #496 out 499 in his class at the Academy, destruction of five Naval Aircraft and 5 years as a POW. After nine months of R and R at the Naval College, the son of the admiral was again promoted to the rank of Captain and assigned as a Naval Liaison to the US Senate. Despite the fact that he had neither the experience or any training for the job. He was nothing more then an Aid to an other Navy hack Senator John Tower of Texas, the Chairman of the all powerful Armed Services Committee. All McCain did for his mentor the boozer and womanizer is provide all the booze and woman in places like Saudi Arabia. The other benefactor of McCain’s services was Senator Gary Hart of CO, another boozer and a womanizer. McCain’s mentor , John Tower was the greaser and the instrument for McCain’s Congressional career.
The other McCain main link is Jim Hensley, another Navy hack and a AZ and Las Vegas mafia associate, a felon who served time in the slammer. Jim Hensley, Cindy Lou father kept his mouth shut and not implicate his mafia boss, For being a stand up guy, he was awarded a beer distributorship, a spin off the much larger Liq. empire, the United Liq. of the S.W. US.
It is no coincidence that McCain the calculating and fake war hero with his hypocrite so called code of honor divorced his crippled wife in favor of a rich AZ hussy rodeo queen. Who’s felon mafia associate bank rolled McCain’s 1st Congressional campaign. The other major contributor being no other then Charles Keating, the other felon, the Reagan Savings and Loan King Pin. The other notables were the Land Swap developers from AZ, CO, NM, NV, UT for whom McCain pushed through all these private bill.
No doubt, you are selective for your conservative republican, like minded with their perversity of inequality and rights only of their kind.
OBAMA/BAYH 08! Change AND Experience!
I have thought from the beginning that Bill Richardson should be his running mate.
Yes he comes from a small state but it has voted Red in the last 2 elections and Richardson’s foreign policy skills are well known in D. C.
Chui,
You have your head so far up your alimentary orifice that you think and express youself just like Obama. I’ll bet you could write a 100,000 word essay and contradict yourself (flip flop) on every topic and in conclusion, will have said nothing.
Sounds like you would make a good running mate for Obama, assuming he doesn’t pick Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. Your vast knowledge and experience would be a great asset to Obama since he has neither.
Of course you must be fluent in many languages to avoid embarassing your country. Also, you must carry your tire pressure gauge with you at all times to make sure your car is always fuel efficient. You must lead, by example, the people you will rule.
But, on the positive side, your nest will always be sufficiently feathered by the taxes the socialist democrats extort from the little people. Doesn’t it inflate your ego tremendously to know that you’re among the elite celebrities.
Artificial intelligence is no substitute for natural stupidity.
Oh my effing God,
Fokkks is pushing Bayh, what is wrong with Bayh? Must be something wrong with him, they must have some dirt on him that they’re gonna put out there, a week after being selected.
Or,
they want us to think that there’s something wrong, and ditch the winning veep choice.
Listen,
I’m from Indiana, and I never understood why most of my neighbours think that voting for tax-breaks for the rich, for Big Oil is gonna help them get their kids proper education and decent healthcare.
How’s Haliburton building bridges for Iraqis, PAID FOR BY THE U.S. TAXPAYER gonna help me? It’s a complete mystery to me!!
Chui….I think you should stick to your gig on ther Chelsea Lately Show. Your grammar and powers of persuasion are on a 6th grade level. Have a great day munchkin!!!!!
I would like to thank Chuck and tool Time for responding to Chui so i don’t have to take the time to spank his left wing ass and send him home to mommy. As far as a VP for Obama I think he will keep it in the family like most dictators do.
Chui, you’re an idiot. Not only do you sound like an idiot, but you have the grammatical skills of a flaming idiot. Of course, nothing you wrote is even half true, but then I wouldn’t expect you to know that. You just spout what you hear from MSM.
Good luck to you with that rage. I’ll be looking forward to your convention.
So, how much of the centrist democrat, white vote did Edwards siphon off of HRC? Enough to land Obama the nomination? Perhaps Obama and Edwards colluded, with the promise of VP to the other. Of course, Edwards’ “little secret” ruined their plan. Why else is Obama now scrambling at the 12th hour for a VP and trying to make nice with the Clintons all of a sudden? Given this new information…HRC should place her name in nomination!!!
Obama can’t hide his inexperience by selecting another new-comer, Kaine……
My guess is squeaky clean Evan Bahy.
A vote for Obama, no matter who his VP running mate is, is still a vote for Obama. A vote for Obama is a vote for Wright, Rezko, Ayers, Soros, Pfleger………….
If OBAMA picks hillary he prooooooooves no change just WORD’s
I don’t think anyone can help Obama now.
If you haven’t read the new book “Obama Nation” you must read it !!!
I used to be for Obama but changed my mind after really researching him & his record. This book convinced me that ” Change ” is just a word that can mean anything.
The things he has always supported are the types of “change” that I definitely don’t want…
Don’t be fooled !!!! Read this book….. it has been reviewed for accuracy by many independent lawyers & even gives hundreds of footnotes so you can look the info up yourself..
Thank God we have the internet !!!!!!!
It really should not be called a “running mate” it should be a “fooling mate”. The purpose today for the VP person is to fool the people into believing that the candidate believes in something they really don’t. Like if McCain chose Romney the we should believe that McCain really understands the economy, when we know he is clueless.
It is a shell game played on voters.
Obama will pick someone not because of how good they will be in making America a better place, but on how many people they can fool into voting for him.
http://www.fightagainstmccain.com/
Obama must chose Hillary Clinton if he and the Democrat want to win the election, or else, Obama is sure to loose, for millions of Clinton supporters will surely change ship, and the Democrat will have to wait for at least another four more years to assend the thrown of the White House.
The only running mate who could match Obama’s evil is the devil himself.
If Barack Obama wins we will have meaningful change as implemented by his 11 changes in policy:
1) Obama will pull the troops out of Iraq where the oil, oil producing equipment, and refineries are and move them to Afghanistan a land locked dust bowl that produces nothing but heroin. This will leave the Radical Muslims to take over Iraq and its ability to produce huge wealth. This wealth and the manpower of the Iraqi Military will enable the Radical Moslems to take over the small oil producing nations of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The Royal family of Saudi Arabia will not be able to stand up to the combined military might of Radical Moslem controlled Iraq and Iran. They will then control the world’s oil supply. Notice how oil prices claimed in the weeks as Boroc finished winning the Democratic nomination.
2) Changing the tax on capital gains from 15 % to 28 % will cause the stock market to collapse as investor try to get out before the new tax rates apply. The collapsing stock market will greatly decrease everyone’s retirement funds, 401K’s and Roth IRA’s. (3) The collapsing stock market will force insurance companies to raze premiums on car, personal, business, and home insurance. (4) As people no longer have their retirement funds they will have to sell their homes forcing housing prices down.
5) Barack Obama has stated that he wants to give drivers licenses, Social Security, Universal Health Care, and free College Tuition to immigrants ago are currently illegal. Right now millions of them pay into the SSI system under false or duplicate numbers with no means of ever collecting. This will be a huge expense to a system already financially in trouble. This will be a huge expense to the nations health care system, even if the money comes from the Federal Budget. Why should emigrants get preferential treatment in college financial aid over people who have lived in this country their entire lives.
6) Barack Obama has stated that he wants to create universal healthcare. This means people who have never worked a day in their lives and drug dealers who get shot up are going to have the exact same level of treatment and entitlements as people who have worked their entire adult lives. It will create unprecedented shortages of health care facilities and personnel.
7) Barack Obama has stated that he wants to give .7% of the US Grouse National Product to the undeveloped nations of Africa. This while Us citizens drive through massive traffic jams twice a day, have school systems that are failing to provide a adequate education for 20 % of the students. This while we have over crowded courts and prison systems. This while we have a collapsing industrial base as jobs go overseas.
9) Barack Obama has no solution to the outflow of capital (money) from this country to pay for energy. Until yesterday he was against drilling off shore. He is still against atomic power, He is still against using shale to produce oil unless it comes from Canada. He is against using coal to produce electricity. The only thing he seams to be for is to keep sending money to the Middle East.
10) Barack Obama’s plan to keep minor nations from acquiring atomic weapons it to negotiate with them. This would seam rational except he is putting pre conditions on the USA. Stating that the US pull out of the Middle East before negotiations can start.
11) If the US pulls out of the Middle East the people who worked with the USA and for the USA will end out getting shot along with their families. It will be indelible world opinion that it is fatal to be a USA ally. As in the cases of the Shah of Iraq, Nationalist China, the South Vietnamese, the Cambodians, and the Lebanese Christians.
A close look at Barack Obama’s career reveals it has been even more mediocre than generally recognized.
Before being elected to the Illinois state Senate, Obama worked as a community organizer and a lawyer in Chicago.
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In his memoir, Obama says being a community organizer taught him how to motivate the powerless and work the government to help them. His chief example is an effort to remove asbestos from Altgeld Gardens, an all-black public housing project on Chicago’s South Side.
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But those who were involved in the effort say Obama played a minor role in working the problem and never accomplished his goal. A pre-existing group at Altgeld Gardens and a local newspaper, the Chicago Reporter, were working on the problem before Obama came on the scene, yet Obama does not mention them in his book, “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.”
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“Just because someone writes it, doesn’t make it true,” says Altgeld resident Hazel Johnson, who had been pushing for a cleanup of the cancer-producing substance years before Obama showed up.
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Rep. Bobby L. Rush, D-Ill., says it was Johnson’s work, along with asbestos testing by the Chicago Reporter, that got Chicago officials interested in the issue. Rush, who launched an inquiry into the situation when he was a member of the Chicago City Council, says he is “offended” that Obama did not mention Johnson in his account.
“Was Obama involved in stuff? Absolutely,” says Robert Ginsburg, an activist who worked with Johnson and Obama on the problem. “But there was stuff happening before him, and after him.”
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After three years working as an organizer, Obama could say he helped obtain grants for a jobs program and got asbestos removed from some pipes in the project. But as the Los Angeles Times has noted, the “large-scale change that was needed at the 1,998-unit project was beyond his reach.” To this day, most of the asbestos remains in the apartments.
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Fruitless though his efforts were, Obama devoted more than 100 pages to his experiences at Altgeld Gardens and surrounding areas. Michelle Obama has said his work as a community organizer helped him decide “how he would impact the world,” assisting people to improve their lives. Yet, in a revealing passage in his book, Obama wrote, “When classmates in college asked me just what it was that a community organizer did, I couldn’t answer them directly.”
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Instead, he said, “I’d pronounce on the need for change. Change in the White House, where Reagan and his minions were carrying on their dirty deeds. Change in the congress, compliant and corrupt. Change in the mood of the country, manic and self-absorbed. Change won’t come from the top, I would say. Change will come from a mobilized grass roots.”
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Thus, Obama admitted that he accomplished little but that he was able to cover that up with fancy talk about change.
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After going to Harvard Law School, Obama returned to Chicago, where he briefly headed a voter registration drive and then became a lawyer. While Obama’s campaign has touted him as a civil rights lawyer, “Over the nine years that Obama’s law license was active in Illinois, he never handled a trial and mostly worked in teams of lawyers who drew up briefs and contracts in a variety of cases,” according to David Mendell’s “Obama: From Promise To Power.”
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A review of the cases Obama worked on during his brief legal career “shows he played the strong, silent type in court, introducing himself and his client, then stepping aside to let other lawyers do the talking,” the Chicago Sun-Times has reported.
“A search of all the cases in Cook County Circuit Court in which Obama made an appearance since he graduated from Harvard in 1991 shows: zero,” the article said.
Instead, his practice was “confined mainly to federal court in Chicago, where he made formal appearances in only five district court cases and another five in cases before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — a total of 10 cases in his legal career,” the paper said.
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If Obama had virtually no impact as either a community organizer or as a lawyer, he was even more invisible in the state Senate and later in the U.S. Senate.
In both bodies, Obama had a reputation for voting “present,” thus avoiding controversial decisions that could be used against him later. In the U.S. Senate, he has missed more than one in five votes.
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Only one of the measures Obama has sponsored as a U.S. senator was enacted: a bill to “promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Contrary to Obama’s portrayal of himself as a unifier, on every bipartisan effort in the Senate to forge compromises on tough issues, Obama has been missing in action.
Go to an on line site that shows legislative record of members of Congress and you will see that bills introduced by Obama rarely ever got more than three co-sponsors.
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In sum, it would be difficult to imagine a more mediocre record. Most candidates for School Board have contributed more to society. Yet with the help of adoring reporters, Obama has managed to parlay extraordinary speaking and political skills into a presidential campaign built on sand.
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The idea that America might entrust its security and future to someone who has never demonstrated an ability to get anything of significance done is scary.
In response to Carmen:
If Obama picks Hillary as a running mate. He does not have my vote.
Many of us do not support the Clinton “machine.”
I think he should pick a great democrap in Nancy Pelosi. The democraps already has this country in shambles let her keep doing what she is doing. Democraps are not for drilling, they want to raise my taxes, they want me to pay more at the pump. 4 more years of these democraps in the house in senate and we will all be broke and living in cardboard boxes. We will be considered a third world country. Unbelieveable how President Bush is getting blamed for this when the democrats of the house and senate pass most of these bills that are killing our GREAT COUNTRY!!!
oboma is a lier and does not deserve to be elected as the democrate president with john edwards he’s a lieing cheating man who helped get sen. hillary out and helped a lieing oboma get it so these two are a like hand in hand
[...] hardly ever comment on American politics, but I was reading a piece on running mates for Obama, and I encountered a statement that made me think for a second. If anything, Obama has rejected [...]
The only way I will vote for Obama is if Hillary Clinton is his VP. Otherwise, I’m voting for Hillary Clinton. Think of it. You have a 50/50 chance of not voting for the person who will win. In my case, I have 100% chance of voting for someone I don’t believe in because I don’t want Obama or McCain. At least if I vote for Hillary Clinton, I will feel like I have used my vote for the purposes of voting for the person most qualified to run this country. So if Obama goes with Clinton, I’m voting for the ticket. If not, he’s lost my vote and a good majority of the 18 million people who voted for Clinton.
I understand Obama wants you to sign up to receive notice of his VP pick. I believe this is just another way for him to get names and address, so whoever is supporting him will contribute money to his campaign using your name. If he keeps it under $200, no one knows that he is using you as a campaign contributor. How else is getting several million people to contribute? How many of you have contributed?
Senator Clinton as VP would make so many voters extremely happy and supportive of the Democratic ticket that I can’t imagine for the life of me why Senator Obama woud not pick her for his running mate. If it should be, as some have suggested, that it is because of the “Clinton” factor, I have the following to say on the subject. If Senator Obama cannot work with the Clintons, how can he possibly deal with really tough issues such as wars, terrorists, and civil unrest in our own country??
WOULD THE DEMOCRATIC – VICE PRESIDENTIAL – CANDIDATE PASS THE VETTING PROCESS WITH THIS LINEUP OF FRIENDS?
Pastor-mentor was – Rev Wright – who has – does preach – anti-American views – A 20 yr membership with a church deeply involved with the black liberation movement where allegiance is to Africa – first. Friend/neighbor/ fellow Woods Board member/known Weatherman – is terrorist Bill Ayres – who admitted bombing the US Pentagon – who also said he would have done more – if he could! Another friend – Louis Farrakkan of the Nation of Islam? What do they all have in common? All have a known opposition to the government of the United States of America.
So why is it that the Democratic leadership and Democratic party elected the – Flim Flam Obamaman – as their Presidential candidate who has these associations? Why are the vetting standards more stringent for the Vice President – yet the same standards are not required of the Presidential candidate?
It is not that the – Flim Flam Obamaman – is young and inexperienced – it is not that he is half black – it is his tendency to align himself with individuals who consider the US government as their enemy. Old adage: Birds of the feather flock together!
Wake up America! America cannot afford to have such a man elected to the highest office in our land – the Democrats should be ashamed of selecting him as their candidate and based on his history of choosing friends that are enemies of the United States – he is unqualified for the office of the presidency!
Definition of “flim flam” by Merriam-Webster on-line: deception, fraud, double dealing.
There are Other names out there that no one is talking about. He should stick to what got him this far and that is the theme of change. It is people with the so called Washington Expierience that has the country going in the direction that it is going. Bye the way, it is the “WRONG DIRECTION”. The Republican and the Democratic party need to step aside and let new leadership at the very least try to get us back to being admired by the rest of the world.
Chui
I find it amazing how you see the world, with that one cell you call a brain. You need to spend a day reading the text from the web suite idiotsforobama and quit speaking out your anal orifice.
OBAMA-POWELL. That is the real ticket for change. If Sen. Obama is daring enough to pick a Republican, C. Powell is the man. He will bring the much needed foreign policy credential to the ticket.
With the results of the primary elections, the only person who has the largest number of supporters in the democratic party is Hilary. If the democratic party is not the Obama-Clinton team, then the next president is John McCain. It is almost a reality that 50% of hilary’s supporters will either vote for McCain or refrain from voting a president. This does not include the friends, relatives, and uncommitted electorates that these disgruntled hilary supporters will persuade to vote against Obama. No matter what Obama-favoring pundits and biased commentators say, approximately half of hilary’s supporters will take a 180-degree turn from the democratic party. This is one of the unavoidable realities of life!
OBAMA / BIDEN ‘08 : ENOUGH SAID
OBAMA -BIDEN : ENOUGH SAID!
Thanks for all the information Chiu. Now if only the “Obama Loving” media would starting bringing up all of McCain’s history instead of ignoring it, the people would have a clearer choice.
I knew about his school record and about ditching his wife for Cindy. The naval record was interesting. I still don’t get how he as a POW gets all the pub about being a hero. What about the other POW’s? If he is a hero then they all are. Talk about elitist!
Question: I have heard that he was screwing around with Cindy before he was seperated from his wife and before her accident. If true doesn’t that alone blew up in his face? Then I heard he dumped the wife after accident but before she recovered. Which is it?
It is overwhelming the racism and sexism in this country, especially on Fox. I’m extremely ashamed of McCain, he’s a better man than he’s posing to be during this campaign. This is the greatest year of the most important century of our history. Let’s stop throwing garbage at each other and congratulate each other that a black person is running for president, and had a tough run from a woman. Let’s be grown-ups. Isn’t this great?