Barack Obama plans to be the next President of the United States. Once he becomes President, he will be in the same position as George W. Bush: he wants all the power he needs to protect the country. Moreover, he will be the beneficiary of a Democratic-controlled Congress, and he wants to get some important legislation passed in his first two years in office. Given these facts, why in the world would Obama oppose the current FISA compromise bill?
- Balkinization
posted july 10, 2008
Telling Obama that you'll cheer for him no matter what he does, that you'll vest in him Blind Faith that anything he does is done with the purest of motives, ensures that he will continue to ignore you and your political interests.
- Glen Greenwald
posted july 9, 2008
Once Obama is through with his props, he doesn’t need them anymore.
- The Confluence
posted july 8, 2008
Collectively, they are the scribes of the Democratic Anti-Party, the postmodern critique of politics, the oh-so-smart, oh-so-ironic journalistic institution that speaks truth to power, rather than accept responsibility for wielding it.
- Falstaff
posted july 7, 2008
Those democrats who do not support this unity, aren't really democrats are they!?
They are the people who want to manipulate politics, and when they don't get their way from one party, they hop over to the next and beg there. They have no loyality to issues, only to what power they can gleen off someone they support.
The babies of politics.
- commenter, LA Times
posted july 6, 2008
Nancy Pelosi said not too long ago that she supported Obama because he has the judgment to be President. This is of course, like a homeless person giving advice on how to fix the housing crisis.
- Marc Rubin
posted july 5, 2008
The Republicans couldn’t have come up with a better way to destroy the progressive movement from within if they’d invented him. Which maybe they did.
- Reclusive Leftist
posted (for) july 4, 2008
Resolved, that 18 million Americans voted for Hillary Clinton, more than any other presidential primary candidate in history, and they have a right to help shape the agenda and processes of the Democratic Party.
- Declaration of Objections
posted july 3, 2008
I know that candidates usually run toward the center during the general, but, damn, they don’t usually run all the way to the opposite goal!
- commenter, Corrente
posted july 2, 2008
...that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution; and that our votes will be counted.
For me, it is the love and defense of these ideals that constitutes the true meaning of patriotism.
- Barack Obama
posted july 1, 2008
The patriot must not just accept, but in his or her own way protect the ideals that gave birth to our country: to stand against injustice and for the rights of all and not just one's own interests.
- John McCain
posted june 30, 2008
If a candidate announces a major policy initiative but nobody hears about it, did it really happen?
- Paul Krugman
posted june 29, 2008
All Democrats should unify in expecting the Democratic Party to abide by democratic principles and procedures at its convention this summer. I believe that those principles require the highest standards of transparency and meticulously fair procedures. Indeed, I believe this so strongly that I am working hard to help Democrats unite in the name of democracy - a cause that has little or nothing do with which particular candidate any particular Democrat voted for during this primary season.
- Heidi Li
posted june 28, 2008
No political leader deserves that sort of blind faith -- not Bush and not Obama. That's how a small child thinks about his Daddy, not how a citizen should think about a political leader.
- Glen Greenwald, Salon
posted june 27, 2008
I want her campaigning as much as she can. She was a terrific campaigner. She, I think, inspired millions of people, and so she can be an extraordinarily effective surrogate for me and the values and ideals we share as Democrats.
- Barack Obama (referring to Hillary)
posted june 26, 2008
I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law. Haven't heard a thing.
- Ralph Nader
Nader presumes to tell a black person what that black person is supposed to be talking about. The 'plight of the poor' MUST be addressed. If such a candidate isn't doing that, he is 'talking white.' Nader is, in so many words, saying that Obama 'doesn't know his place' as a black candidate.
- Robert A. George
Of course, in Mr. Nader's mind black = poor. Never mind that 74% of black Americans are not poor...and most black Americans haven't been poor since the 1960s. Perhaps Mr. Nader hasn't heard Sen. Obama talk about these issues, because Sen. Obama is aware of the social class diversity and progress in Black America.
-"Shay" at Booker Rising
posted june 25, 2008
My impression is that for many of these voters who don't plan to support Obama, this primary is just the final straw of a long, slow pile-up of disappointments and betrayals from the Democratic Party, and in shocking, flamingly sexist fashion. Seriously, if these voters believe that the Party has betrayed them, and that they cannot in good conscience support such a system anymore, then instructing them of how they should be thinking only further insults their analysis of their OWN situations and their agency in their attempts to change their situation.
- Hillary1000, commenting at The Left Coaster
posted june 24, 2008
Remember that classic of pop-psychological cheese, "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus"? This offensive but rhetorically useful book (yes, I'm invoking it; address your letters of complaint to rtraister@salon.com) states that often, in conflict, women simply want to be heard. They want to air their grievances and let their opponents know where they're coming from. Now the Democratic Party is moving forward, as it must, but it is doing so without giving the Clinton women a real hearing -- without letting them vent their anger. It is the social equivalent of talking over them, waving off their complaints, assuming they'll come around. This is a mistake. This is only making things worse (even if, as Walter Shapiro notes, history says they will come around...)
- Rebecca Traister, Salon
(btw sweetie, don't bet too much on that. Mind if I pat your butt? You're just so cute....)
posted june 23, 2008
Senator Obama, your campaign theme is "Change We Can Believe In." Just what sorts of change, exactly, Senator?
What we've heard is some gibberish about "new politics," but how about an example. Have we seen any of that "new politics" in this long campaign so far? The only new things seem to be new, unprecedented levels of race baiting, sexism, misogyny, thuggery, rule breaking, delegate stealing, delegate bribing, caucus shenanigans, lying, and deception. Is that what the "new politics" is all about? Better ways to cheat and steal an election?
- Alegre's Corner (blog)
When every crass lie and foundationless rumor is repeated and discussed as though it were real, on an equal basis with rational and logical positions, then every topic becomes suspect; when all sides are spreading baseless rumor and lies, then every commentator is seen as equally unreliable.
- Corrente
posted june 21, 2008
No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her - that's by Susan B. Anthony.
- Democratic Party Pledged Delegate Debra Bartoshevich
quoting Susan B. Anthony
posted june 20, 2008
This is a big, big deal. He has completely reversed himself and gone back, not on his word to me, but the commitment he made to the American people.
- John McCain
(on Barack Obama's reversal of his promise to meet and match his rival's willingness to accept integrity limits on campaign funding. According to the NYTimes, Obama became "the first major party candidate to reject public financing and its attendant spending limits".)
posted june 19,2008
Obama's tone stands in marked contrast to his primary campaign's anti-NAFTA fusillades. The pact creating a North American free-trade zone was President Bill Clinton's signature accomplishment; but NAFTA is also the bugaboo of union leaders, grassroots activists and Midwesterners who blame free trade for the factory closings they see in their hometowns.
The Democratic candidates fought hard to win over those factions of their party, with Obama generally following Hillary Clinton's lead in setting a protectionist tone.
- Nina Easton Obama: NAFTA not so bad after all
Fortune Magazine
posted june 18, 2008
Hillary has her reasons for backing Obama.
I have mine for withholding support.
So do countless other people who could tilt the balance of power in the general election.
People like me drive Democrats crazy.
That’s why I’m re-thinking my party affiliation.
- Steve Corbett
posted june 17, 2008
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur
(The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived.)
- Paul Krugman
posted june 16, 2008
The process the DNC used to take Clinton out was planned. It was probably in the works before the primaries started. We don’t need to get too conspiratorial here. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence that points to plans to elect the anti-Clinton candidate. But what do we do about it? Well, at this point, the superdelegates are probably out of our reach. They have either been paid off or intimidated. Writing to them may be of little use. But what if our movement grows stronger?
- Riverdaughter
posted june 15, 2008
Long before Hillary ran for President, long before Barack Obama smugly assured the world that Hillary’s supporters would vote for him in a flash, we had a problem. The Democrats weren’t earning our loyalty. They were taking us for granted, knowing that no matter how little they did to earn our support, every year women would still go to the polls and vote Democrat anyway because, remember, the Republicans are even worse.
- The Reclusive Leftist
posted june 14, 2008
Remember when we liberals used to claim that we were smarter than those dumb-*ss conservatives?
- Bob Somerby
posted june 13, 2008
We wonder who would win in a fight? Obama's bus, or Christine?
- DONE (Democrats Over Nominating Elitists)
posted june 12, 2008
For those threatening to vote for John McCain or to stay home and help ensure Barack Obama’s defeat, as a way to protest what you call Obama’s sexism (examples of which you seem to have difficulty coming up with), all the while claiming to be standing up for women…
Your whiteness is showing.
- Tim Wise
posted june 11, 2008
If nationalism could create a strong and effective insularity, deliver on its promise of self-respect, then the hurt it might cause well-meaning whites, or the inner turmoil it caused people like me, would be of little consequence.
- Barack Obama
posted june 10, 2008
And the joke about him needing a permanent food taster is not a joke from where I sit; it would be a statement of FACT.
She's a lying,racebaiting, amoral snake who cannot be trusted UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
- a pro-Obama blogger
(on why Hillary Clinton is not fit to be Obama's VP)
posted june 9, 2008
It's no secret that I look to the Mountain West for the future of the Democratic Party, people like Brian Schweitzer and Jon Tester. But I also look to candidates like Jim Webb in Virginia and Paul Hackett in Ohio.
And what is the common thread amongst these candidates?
They are all Libertarian Democrats.
- Kos
It's a good thing he's facing [this challenge] with "profound humility," isn't it? Because otherwise who knows what he'd be saying. But mark it in your calendars: June 3, 2008 – the long-awaited day, after 232 years, that America began to provide care for the sick. Just a small test program: 47 attendees of the Obama speech were taken to hospital and treated for nausea. Everyone else came away thrilled that the Obamessiah was going to heal the planet and reverse the rise of the oceans: When Barack wants to walk on the water, he doesn't want to have to use a stepladder to get up on it.
- Mark Steyn, syndicated columnist
posted june 7, 2008
We don't have vitriol towards Clinton supporters in general, just towards the retarded, shrill, middle aged, cat ladies who say they'll vote for McCain in the General (despite McCain saying he wouldn't be opposed to repealing Roe V. Wade).
- commenter at CNN
posted june 6, 2008
I refuse to just follow orders because I have a say in the future of my nation and my Democratic Party and intend to use it.
- Steve Corbett
posted june 5, 2008
BARACK Obama’s victory will put modern day America to the test.
Voters must choose between their first black leader — or their oldest President.
And the world will find out if the US has dealt with its explosive race problems.
- Rupert Murdoch's Sun
(suggesting that a vote for anyone other than Obama equals a vote against racial equality)
posted june 4, 2008
None of you, none of you is invisible to me. You never have been.
I see you, and I know how hard-working you are. I’ve been fighting for you my whole adult life, and I will keep standing for you and working for you every single day.
Because in your courage and character, your energy and ingenuity, your compassion and faith, I see the promise of America every day. The challenges we face are great, but our determination is greater.
- Hillary Clinton
posted june 3, 2008
The way this campaign has been run is the way we need to be forever. Don't trust bloggers or someone else's opinion, because people lie.
- Michelle Obama
posted (for) june 2, 2008
My momma taught me to play by the rules and respect those rules. My mother taught me, and I'm sure your mother taught you, that when you decide to change the rules, middle of the game, end of the game, that is referred to as cheating.
- Donna Brazile
posted june 1, 2008
Asking me to vote for Obama is like asking a black person to vote for George Wallace.
- Red Queen
posted may 31, 2008
They [working class white voters] may lack a formal higher education, but they're not stupid. What they're waiting for is assurance that an Obama administration won't leave them behind.
Hope, change, and inspiration don't do it.
- Geraldine Ferraro
posted may 30, 2008
I really believe that she just always thought ‘This is mine. I’m Bill’s wife. I’m WHITE. And this is mine. And I jus’ gotta get up. And step into the plate. And then out of nowhere came, ‘Hey, I’m Barack Obama.’ And she said: ‘Oh, damn!’ WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!? I’M WHITE! I’M ENTITLED! THERE’S A BLACK MAN STEALING MY SHOW.
- Father Michael Pfleger
posted may 29, 2008
If you read the Washington Post, you will read no letters—none at all—which accurately describe what Clinton said. The one letter published in her “defense” grossly misstates what she said.
Can this possibly have been done in good faith?
- The Daily Howler
posted may 28, 2008
“I know there are some people worried about the Democratic Party being divided. We will be united.”
- Barack Obama
posted may 27, 2008
And even if you think (as I do) that the Clintons have made too big of a deal out of the "sexist" and "unfair" portrayal their candidate has received in the press, if you watch enough MSNBC, you realize that their claim isn't without truth.
- Isaac Chotiner, New Republic
posted may 26, 2008
She is winning the general election today and he is not, according to all the evidence. And I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running.
- Bill Clinton
posted may 25, 2008
Hillary's a success too, but she's a worker, and women don't get respect for being hard workers, they get respect for having good legs. She's a woman dedicated to social justice, but women don't get respect for their dedication — they get it for their baking skills. She's a woman with staying power. But women don't get respect for their staying power, they get respect for their sexual power.
- Susan Cheever, "Why I Love Hillary", NPR
posted may 24, 2008
If we do well in Puerto Rico, there is no reason why I will not be announcing that I am the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.
- Barack Obama
posted may 23, 2008
How do you respond to a sociopath like this?
- Andrew Sullivan, TheAtlantic.com
(on Hillary Clinton's Florida speech comparing the current refusal to count Florida's votes to what happened in 2000)
posted may 22, 2008
There is no way the super-delegates can take this away from Barack Obama. There will be race riots in the street.
- Michelle Bernard, MSNBC
posted may 21, 2008
Now I’ve heard some say that counting Florida and Michigan would be changing the rules. I say that not counting Florida and Michigan is changing a central governing rule of this country, that whenever we can understand the clear intent of the voters, their vote should be counted.
- Hillary Clinton
posted may 20, 2008
If I want information I go to the informed. If I want fun, I go to those who look like they are having fun. And, if I want success, I seek out the successful and rehearse their attitudes and behaviors.
Why then, are the least successful in our culture, so eager to dismiss successful and skilled men and women on the basis of elitism? Why does that word create fear and a reflexive dislike? Why do so many people turn away from learning and growing with disgust?
If, everywhere I turned, I was being told that highly educated, affluent, sophisticated voters were supporting one candidate, and low educated, economically stressed, uninformed voters were supporting another, what part of group identification would keep me from wanting to follow the lead of successful people?
- Granny Doc, What Will It Take? Daily Kos
Unity is not obedience or falling into line. It is being able to strongly and persuasively present yourself and your objectives and be victorious, but do so in a way that does not demand the humiliation, denigration or destruction of your opponents. It is to treat others as valued colleagues to be won over, not as enemies to be obliterated.
- Anglachel
posted may 18, 2008
Those who are responsible for putting Democrats in the broken place we are in right now with regard to Barack Obama had better own it to the end.
- Kristin Breitweiser, You Broke It, You Own It - Obama Style, Huffington Post
posted may 17, 2008
So, when she stops casting the nomination as a standoff between the Dukes of Hazzard and the Huxtables and accepts the outcome as a fait accompli, the party can unite, and there will be a better sense as to which states are in play.
- Charles Blow, New York Times Op-Ed
posted may 16, 2008
Even if party bosses tell me that we must get behind the nominee and that the nominee will be Obama, I have a choice. Even if family, friends and colleagues tell me I’m wrong, I have a choice. Even if you hate my decision, I have a choice.
And I will use it. To do otherwise would violate the principles I work hard to uphold. I’ve made a decision – a well-thought out, reasoned and rational decision.
- Steve Corbett, WILK-FM
posted may 15, 2008
History will not treat you kindly. You'll be remembered as part of the howling mob who tried to tear apart the woman who dared reach for the highest office in the land. And for what?
- angry letter-writer, NARAL
posted may 14, 2008
"Obama’s core support all comes from AA’s. African-Americans. Affluent-Americans. And Adolescent-Americans. And they’re all capable of buyer’s remorse."
- ronkseattle, The Confluence
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