Why Barack Obama ?

I'm sorry but I would definitely not refer to Obama as "a product of our children in the finest form."  He admits to sniffing cocaine in high school and college to deal with the stresses in his life.  How is he going to handle the stress of the oval office??  He was known as Barry Soetoro (after his Indonesian Step Father) until he decided "to be true to his African Homeland".  He hid his white heritage in college, distrusted white people and desired to emulate the anti-white, father of Black Power, Malcolm X.  Obama's politics and ideology reflect that of Malcolm X and I am not convinced that is a good thing. Is he truly capable of being representative of all the people?  Especially since, as a doctrine of his church, he has vowed to be allied with the black masses.  I don't know and the reason I don't know is because everytime someone raised the issue of race -- he yells "foul".  What worries me is that there is a reason Republican run newspapers are backing Obama and that is because they are waiting in the wings to attack.  They have been quiet up until now in order to get rid of Hillary but just wait until the primaries are over.  We just might have another Republican in office. 

This much of an uneducated oaf?

Try picking up a book and reading.  Better still, it's obvious you have a computer; try using it for something other than spewing this uninformed bile.

Hillary's plan:  #1 Insurance for All

Limits insurance cost to percentage of family income: Tax credits for working families so they will not have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for health care.  

Discrimination:  The insurance companies can't deny coverage if you have a pre-existing condition.

Portable:  If you change or lose your job, you keep your health care.

Same coverage as Congress:  You choose from dozens of the same plans available to members of congress, or opt for public plan like Medicare.

Cannot be denied:  Insurance companies have to offer and renew coerage to anyone who applies which will force them to be competitive. 

Obama's plan:  People can choose whether they want insurance or not

Discrimination:  Same as Hillary's plan

Affordability:  Tax credit.  Insurance Premiums not tied into percentage of income. 

That's it.  Obama believes that people will buy insurance if it is affordable and he believes he can work with the insurance companies.  Fat Chance. Just a sign of his inexperience.

Healthy people are going to take their chances and we will still see our premium rise to pay for these free loaders who have been bankrupting our hospitals.  Note:  Just recently Obama has mentioned penalizing those who do not sign up but, as usual, he has no plan -- just rhetoric.

And don't forget, his wife works for a not-for-profit hospital (that has posted in excess of a million $$ a year in profit) where she collects over $300,000.00 a year ($200,000.00 raise after Obama became a state senator) and that relies heavily on collecting agencies to go after the poor.  Of course now, she doesn't influence his decisions - does she? 

Many things, and I'm sure you can find his resume at BarackObama.com and many other places, so I won't copy it here.

Another thing I have personally witnessed Obama accomplishing, as I explained above to some degree, is changing the tone of campaigning.  I, for one, have had enough of bickering and mud slinging and spinning and twisting so that nothing gets done except choosing sides and arguing about which side is better, and always finding some new piece of dirt that can be spun into a complete lie and used to destroy the other side.

IN ADDITION TO HIS CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, running a national campaign successfully also demonstrates leadership skills.  I'm not sure anyone in history has done it as well as I have seen Obama do it this time around.   It's harder than it looks.  Anyone who has run a company knows. 

Stay on point, manage a budget, fundraising, staffing, a unified team, a unified message well expressed with enough detail to be clear and enough charisma to be interesting, answer your critics, deflect attacks, stay on point, etc.   -- all on the high road overall. 

It also doesn't hurt that he is a Constitutional Scholar which is promising that he will restore our basic rights and fundamental freedoms that the current administration has ransacked, raped and pillaged over the last 7 years. 

Hi There,

 I've experienced a very positive campaign when attending a Hillary Clinton Town Hall.  It was an amazing experience.  I have advanced degrees and don't impress easily but Hillary Clinton has a very sharp mind and an amazing grasp of these many complex issues that the next President will be dealing with.  And I feel just like you do that all this negatvity is making it difficult for voters to rational assess the candidates based on the merits of their policies and programs and their unique individual strengths and unique experiences.  I am especially disgusted with the national media which for some unexplainable reason has launched a propaganda campaign against Clinton which is unprofessional and unfair.  The remark made about Chelsea Clinton was over the top but only the tip of a very big iceberg threatening to sink the Clinton campaign.   Unfortunately, pundits, polls, and poor journalism have only served to make this historic contest between the first woman and the first mixed race man more divisive than any campaign I have witnessed in recent years. 

I am worried about Obama's qualifications to serve as President and Commander-in-Chief.  I have read most of Obam's major speeches and have listened to him speak on tv and he is an inspiring speaker but it is what he doesn't say and doesn't do that bothers me. In terms of policy and programs, he had virtually nothing in the beginning and Edwards came out first with an extensive blueprint followed by Clinton and Obama's has borged many of their major positions.  

I spent most of my time looking at Barak and Hillary's Senate web sites, reading their floor statements, their sponsored legistlation, their voting records, etc.  I was surprised to find that Obama has never traveled to Iraq or Afghanistan to meet with the troops and the commanders,  I find that odd given that he serves on the Foreign Relations Committee and given his position on Iraq and desire to exit as quickly as possible.  I also found it rather curious that in the year that he has served as Stewart of the subcommittee on European Affairs he has never visited Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and only London on a brief stop.  I'm curious because last night in the debate, Barak indicated that he planned to be the Diplomatic President so I would have thought he might have been the diplomatic senator. It might have given him better training and better insight.  Many have noted that he is absent a great deal and not as involved as one might expecta  junior Senator.

Meanwhile Hillary Clintom has traveled several times to Iraq and Afghanistan to meet with the troops and meet with field commanders.  She has also traveled extensively around the world meeting with world leaders.  And I believe that strengthens her case that she is more prepared and ready on Day 1 to make critical decisions about troop withdrawals and NATO deployments. Hillary Clinton's work eithic in the Senate is remarkable and acknowledged by even her non fans.

As for the Obama Campaign.  It is quite amazing but not really when you look at the unique forces which have propelled him forward.  On a technical point, Barak Obama is not leading the campaign, his campaign manager is and that is Axelrod. And there is little love between Edwards and Axelrod.  Indeed in December in an ABC interview Edwards labeled as "ridiculous" comments made by the Obama campaign that seemed to link former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination to Sen. Hillary Clinton's vote to authorize the use of force against Iraq .  Axelrod also ran Deval Patrick's campaign when he ran for Governor of MA -- interestingly he ran against a woman.  I could go on about Axelrod and his bag of tricks but my point is that to suggest that Obama is running this campaign is the same as suggesting that he writes original speeches.  And indeed Obama is wise enough not to feign any direct management of the campaign.

There is no doubt that Barak is appealing to young democrats not unlike Eugene McCarthy in 1968. And this is great, new faces and new energy into the party.  But any one who claims to be a democrat really needs to keep an open-mind, try to be fair and reasonable, ask questions, lots of questions, and while it is good to feel good about someone and to believe in them with your whole heart and soul, a tad bit skepticism never hurts, and when they vote for a nominee or a President to vote for the person that they believe, without any hesitation, is the one that can win a national election and can become a great President and not just a good one. 

I worry about Obama because I would hate to see someone with his potential be drafted too early and fail miserably but more importantly because America can't afford the mistakes that often come with inexperience.  It was Bush's inexperience that got us in Afghanistan and especially Iraq.   Whoever becomes President in November is going to inherit a total mess and that is not going to be an easy mess to resolve. And the American public gives you at best 100 days before they start blaming you for everything and unfortunately as we have seen the terrorists and other global players give zero time and zero notice.  Indeed history has shown, they often like to stike early and test the new President.

I am a former Naval Aviator and have a PhD in Political Science and one in Economics and corporations haven't taken over the goverment! How do you plan on making a living without corporations, or do you just get welfare?

We the people are the government, the government is not a separate entity. Unfortuntley our elected officials go to Washington and support their own interest most of the time. Look at the Congressional approval rating. Great job Dems.

Corporations built our great nation into the economic superpower we are today.  Redistribution of wealth (i.e. the death tax) that your boy Obama speaks of is Socialism, look it up in your dictionary!

All you libs want is handouts and to hate America, go serve your country in the military as I did and quit whining.  Your issue is that you think America owes you something not the other way around.

Hey there Mr. Former Naval Aviator, let me tell you something. My grandfather was in the Army in World War II, served under MacArthur in the Pacific theater. He taught me something I've never forgotten. Which is that, in America, the branches of government aren't executive, legislative, and judicial Instead, they are the oil companies, banks, and insurance companies.

Now, since GW Bush got into office, we've seen my grandfather proven right. We saw a "bankruptcy reform" bill that was literally written by the banks passed into law, on the back of $50 milllion in lobbying money. We've seen the price of oil skyrocket, while Bush watches the money going to his father's friends over in Saudi Arabia. And the insurance companies have pit the doctors against the lawyers in the whole tort reform issue and laughed all the way to the bank. 

Corporations didn't build america into a superpower, the middle class did that. And the middle class wouldn't exist if the big corporations got their way. It wasn't until after FDR that the middle class started to be built, because the big businesses couldn't break the unions anymore.  

Liberals, by the way, love america and don't want hand outs. We want to offer people a hand-up. Big difference. And by the way, would you care to name the percentage of americans who pay that dreaded "death tax"? Less than 1% my friend, and it'd be lower if the Republicans would allow the ceiling to be raised. 

Got both my PhDs at the University of  Virginia in Charlottesville VA. after attending Annapolis and flying 176 combat missions in Desert Storm.

I respect your father's service but I disagree with his words. You prove my point hate America with "Instead, they are the oil companies, banks, and insurance companies."

What is you solution to the "evil corporations?" Frankly, the one I work for pays me very well and my family has a nice life. You can help people out, pay voluntary taxes, send a check to the IRS, just don't ask me to do it. I pay enough in taxes and don't want to support your free loading friends.

The corporation I work for pays me very well too. Thankfully, I work for a foreign company, since Americans who work for foreign companies have a higher salary on average than those who work for American companies. 

"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help" are exactly the words that the people of New Orleans wanted and needed to hear in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Except "Brownie" and George W Bush were out to lunch. And the people of New Orleans were out of luck.

You didn't answer my question. How did you get your degrees? You went to a high school, didn't you? You had a community that supported you in getting your education. You probably had good parents who raised you in a upper middle class suburb. Then you decided to give something back by going to Annapolis. That's admirable.

Giving people a hand up, however, is about trying to lift out of poverty those who didn't have a good education in a good high school in an upper middle class suburb. And most of the people you deride as "free loading" are actually working two or three minimum wage jobs. (No More welfare remember) who would kill for the opportunities you had just because you had good parents. That's what giving people a hand up means. 

Dr Truth I agree with you, my family lived through Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992 and it was horrible. I was in Saudi Arabia which wasn't that great either, hot, no beer, flying all the time, getting shot at by Saddams nuts, but they had a hard time in Miami.  I think President Bush has been a failure on many things especially the border and Hurricane Katrina. I just wish there was more heat put on Slick Willy while people were suffering in south Florida.

You are correct I went to high school, raised in an upper middle class family and wanted to give back to this great country. I'm really just having some fun with you, I meant no disrespect. We take ourselves too seriously these days. Life is too short and I know after being chased by SAM missles every day. Believe me seeing those chasing you will make you treasure life. Returning from some missions I was so exausted I wasn't sure I could hit the third wire on the carrier. I did "bloter" a few times running low on fuel at night in combat conditions meaning no lights on the carrier.

 I'm all for helping people out, I do a lot of volunteer work through my church, in fact I'm going on a relief trip to Nicaragua in March. Now they have some true poverty there, no food, clothes, medicine. We are taking soap, towels, toothbrushes, etc. It is very sad.

Unfortunatley none of the candidate either dem or repub grab me.  Nobody wants to control the border and we are going to get attacked again probably by some nut walking into the US. I don't trust them, as I said before they are more interested in there own self interest than the American people. Frankly you have to ask yourself why members of Congress don't participate in Social Security and have their own private plan yet they think we are to dumb to invest on our own. It is running out of money, that is a fact but people seem to believe it won't affect them.

You don't sound like a Blame America or hate America guy but there are a great deal of them, i.e. the People's Republic of Berkeley and I find it strange.  I fought for their freedom as your grandfather did in WWII my father in Korea and saw some of my buddies die for it. I just wish they would pick up a rifle and stand a post instead of denegrating the US Military and our country.

 Think Obama is kidding himself if he thinks he can talk to people who goal in life is to die.  Hillary is jut not believable, I don't trust her. McCain, while I respect his service as a fellow Naval Aviator and POW he is too soft on interrogation and the border. We do have serious problems here but our greatest civil right is not to be blow up by some guy who wants 70 virgins or whatever it is they believe.

Nice speaking with you, God bless.

"Yes we can" restore our contstitution!

 "We are Americans, and in our America we do not torture, we do not imprison people without charge or legal remedy, we do not tap people's phones and emails without a court order, and above all we do not give any President unchecked power. I pledge to fight to protect and defend the Constitution from attack by any President."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=239574

You think the current administration is out of your business? 

I've been following politics religiously for over 40 years.  Since Bobby Kennedy in 1968, I have never seen a candidate who so transcends the political landscape as Barack Obama does.  He can mobilize the masses; he can get the disaffected to listen; he promises change from the 50+1 gridlock that typified the Clinton era.  Hillary has less elective experience than Barack Obama.

Except in a few minimal ways, the policy positions between Obama and Clinton are quite similar.  However, in the most important vote, whether to give Bush a blank check on a war with Iraq that the neocons had been pushing since the beginning of the Clinton Presidency, Hillary caved.  She caved to show she was tough, when a more reasoned practical approach was needed in the Bush rush to war.  She has since refused to admit that HUGE mistake.  John Edwards and others admitted their mistake, why can't Hillary?  This isn't just one vote; this was a vote that has transformed the entire American position for the worse, both at home and abroad. Then, Bush foists the same type of proposal concerning Iran.  Instead of learning from her mistake and saying no to the Bush-Cheney war-mongering, Hillary caved again; ostensibly to show how tough she is.  That's just plain dumb. 

The Clintons helped put the Dems back on the national map in Presidential politics, but at a steep price.  Triangulation, the parsing of words and positions to the point of ridiculousness, closed door meetings, bickering, division.  Moreover, they helped give us a Republican Congress that his been hell-bent on stripping away our freedoms, as well as leaving a lot of people behind.  The sorry manner in which she ran her campaign in the primary season gives us the best glimpse as to how she would run the fall campaign or her administration: a disaster waiting to happen.

Hillary carries too much baggage and will have zero coattail effect to help elect Dems down the ticket even if she were to beat MCCain, which looks highly doubtful.  Rightly or wrongly, approximately 50% of the electorate will never even condsider voting for HRC under any circumstances.  Even if she won, she would have a difficult time getting anything accomplished except more Congressional gridlock.

Barack Obama will have tremendous coattails; the contrast between him and John McCain is so stark that the choice becomes a clear one to either retreat to the past, or march to the future.

Lastly, this race is pretty much over.  The Democratic voters have been speaking loud and clear in record numbers.  The clear choice to lead us is Barack Obama; he will bring together the different factions to talk that Hillary could never do.  He is one of those once-in-a-generation leaders who can honestly change the political discourse in this country that Hillary could never hope to do.

The time is now for Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Hillary worked on the corporate board of Walmart watch here:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoBciMIlIT0