I don't know what's worse, the whitewash of Obama's "accomplishments" (hardly noteworthy over the full time of his service, and completely ignores the wrangling Obama's often done to get co-sponsor credit) or that you fall into the "McCain = Bush" trap. Regardless of how you feel about the former, you're much too smart to fall for the latter.

I'm probably going to vote Barr, for the record.

(Reply) (Thread)

I've looked at McCain's voting record and listened to what he's said. I don't see a whole lot of difference between him and Bush on the things that matter to me.

As far as the whitewash of his accomplishments, depending on who you talk to they're either overstated or understated. I've looked at Hillary's record in the Senate fairly extensively, and in terms of what she's accomplished, I haven't seen a lot of difference between her and Barack - and everyone agrees she's an impressive first-timer. So either there's some internal Congressional measure I'm not getting, or it's not being whitewashed.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

Quite true. John McCain wants to stay in Iraq a hundred years, George W. Bush only wants to stay in Iraq until he's out of office and the blame can fall on someone else. John McCain wants to start a war with Iran, George W. Bush wants to start a war with Iran (whoops, that's no different)

John McCain admits he doesn't know anything about economics, and his main economic advisor is Phil Gramm, who was the main force behind legislation that let the whole subprime mortgage scam happen, George W. Bush just wants to cut taxes for the richest.

John McCain thinks global warming is real, and wants to make a cap and trade program, but doesn't want it to include a mandatory cap (?) while George W. Bush pretends global warming doesn't exist. George W. Bush wants to make his tax cuts that were supposed to expire in ten years permanent, John McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.

George W. Bush lied the country into invading Iraq, John McCain enthusiastically supported it.

George W. Bush thinks the way to deal with countries we don't like is to not talk to them and then bomb them. John McCain thinks the way to deal with countries we don't like is to not talk to them and bomb them.

George W. Bush wants to be able to torture "bad people" at his say so. John McCain says we shouldn't torture people, but has voted for torture every time it's mattered.

There's no doubt that John McCain is different in many ways than George W. Bush, and probably would be a better president than Bush. But they're not that different on a lot of the most important issues, and "better than Bush" is about the lowest possible bar for President ever.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

... If it's a Ferrett post, it begins with a quote. (And a lot of the time, vice versa.)

[Okay, having looked back at two or three screens' worth of posts, it's not nearly as ubiquitous as that. Still frequent enough that I notice the bejeesus out of it, though, which I doubt is your intention.]

Don't know if you care what one reader from A Message Board Far, Far Away thinks. But I thought I'd drop you a note to let you know that, at least for me, the hook isn't so hooky any more; the formula is getting old and you may want to change it up [more]. (Or you may not. Certainly your business. [g])

(Reply) (Thread)

I do that a lot. The problem is, how do you change it up? I write a lot of posts. They use a lot of words. Everything I've said has been done.

I could start with cat macros.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

Obama, he speaks like Hitler

I have this recurring nightmare of Farrakhan or Wright spending the night at the White House in the Lincoln bedroom. Or Barack Hussein Obama having a luncheon on the lawns with Hamas representatives, Ayers, Meeks and company. Lord help us. This life-long will also be pulling the lever for John McCain, a man who is actually proud of his country.


We are judged by the company we keep.

I have a very good picture of Barack Hussein Obama's kind of change he wants to make. I can't beleive that the Democrat party could want this Obama instead of Hillary. I would never vote for Obama not because he's black but because of all the anti-American friends he has.

Once again the DNC has come up with an inadequate candidate, Barack Hussein Obama is a empty suit and I don't believe a word he says.


I am definately voting for John McCain. I like him alot so it is an easy move. He loves this country and went through hell during the POW days.

I am one of them Sc.D. a son of holocaust survivor who witnessed results of 1930’s appeasement, I saw what my mother had to live through when she was in the concentration camps. She saw what is like when you cannot defend yourself from the Nazi tyranny, she saw her family burn in the ovens of Auschwitz and Birkenau, she witnessed the les affaires of the comatose Europeans Jewry while their fellow Jews were being shipped to their death camps, and the silence of the conciliators, she bore the numbers of her arms so we will never relent in our pursuit of freedom. Today I see in Barack Obama, he speaks like Hitler and hardly set down and argue like a human being, he bring an old memories that invokes the fears of Hitler days, he promised everything under the sun and that worries me the most. Hitler promised the German people everything and only destruction came about.


Shalom,

--- Leland Milton Goldblatt, Ph.D. ®
Distinguished Professor

http://drgoldblatt.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/miltongoldblatt

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Not to kidnap the post, but:

More good stuff about Obama -- including tons of articles on his record as both Seantor (US and IL) and Community Organizer -- can be found on my del.icio.us tag for him.

I especially recommend this '06 article from hilzoy over at Obsidian Wings; she does a great job of also underlining in detail how much of a wonk Obama was from the start of his US Senate career, and how his bipartisanship works in practice.

(Reply) (Thread)

Yep that DailyKos was the thing I used to "convert" many a supporter of Clinton to the O-team.

Gooooooooooooo O!

(Reply) (Thread)

Here in France there has been a lot of coverage of the Dem primaries, and the American electoral process in general, over the past half-year or so. The media here is very pro-Obama, and his face is all over the television and papers today. If the French populace could vote, i'm quite sure that Barrack would be your new president. :)

Of course, they can't - but there are tens of thousands of Americans living in France during any given year, and while i strongly suspect they're all Democrats, i'm not entirely sure that they're interested in a non-Hillary ticket. Will they vote McCain though ? Probably not - which means they might not vote - which, of course, is basically like voting for McCain anyways. Politics is a strange, strange beast that way.

All said, however, i don't get to vote either in France or the USA, so perhaps my observations don't really amount to much. :P

(Reply) (Thread)

The ironic thing is that because Obama has isolationist tendencies economically - one of the things I don't support - France may wind up hating him. But we'll see how that goes if he gets elected.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

exactly. A lot of Hillary supporters (particularly women) are currently poised to not vote at all because they're not convinced Obama can do the job.

If they get the dream ticket going, this issue goes away for the most part but otherwise the race is going to get interesting if half the dem voters stay home on election day.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

they never mention McCain's unwarranted reputation as a "maverick" when really, he's Bush 2.0

Conservatives, and some Republicans, would point to McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy as two examples of him being a "maverick."

Just because he is being portrayed as Bush 2.0 doesn't mean Conservatives wouldn't consider him a "maverick." It wouldn't surprise me if Conservatives consider W a "maverick." Because he certainly isn't a Conservative.

(Reply) (Thread)

McCain-Feingold is one meritable instance. But one or two times does not a maverick make, except by current "take no prisoners" Conservative standards. His abortion record, his thoughts on the economy, and his attitude towards the war? All near-purely Bush, at least based on what he's touting these days.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

Not to mention McCain-Leiberman, McCain-Edwards-Kennedy, the gang of 14, his vote against the Federal Marriage Ammendment (albeit on federalist grounds), his support of embryonic stem cell research, his opposition to ANWR drilling, his consistently low ratings with the NRA and GOA, his ammendment to the Defense Appropriations Act limiting interogation techniques and his unequivocal opposition to the use of water-boarding... Blah blah blah.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

What are your thoughts on an Obama/Clinton ticket?

I think it would be a big mistake, but some are selling it as a sure fire way to appease angry Clinton supporters.

My vote would be for Mark Warner, if Obama could pull him away from his Senate campaign. If he is going to pick a former primary contender, he may be better off selecting Bill Richardson.

(Reply) (Thread) (Expand)

I like the idea of an Obama/Warner ticket, except for the fact that it would probably send Gilmore to the Senate. *shudders*

I live in Virginia and I can tell you that Jim Gilmore is an idiot.

But I do like the thought of that ticket.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

HUGE mistake. It might win him the election, but the friction in the Oval Office afterwards? Hoo boy. I can't see anything getting done with Hillary gunning like that.

My dream guy's Wesley Clark, but that's just 'cause I like Wes.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

Thank you for this post. I love Obama even more now that I have read all of that.

(Reply) (Thread)

I've never understood the people who said if Hillary didn't get the nomination, they'd vote for McCain. It's simple spitefulness, and if they want a liberal Democrat (or any Democrat) to be president, voting for McCain makes absolutely no sense.

(Reply) (Thread)

The only people I ever heard saying "if not my candidate, then McCain" were the legions of Obama voters who had nothing better to do but make snide comments at me while I was at the caucus.

Not sayin' that you're not hearing it, but I haven't heard it from anybody but the Obama camp.

(Reply) (Thread) (Expand)

I'm hoping that the Hillary supporters are as rational as I think they are. I keep getting told there are shrill blog posts and angry anti-Obamites out there, but I haven't seen them. (Wouldn't want to if I did.)

I trust that the pro-Hillary crowd is smart enough to see a distinction. if they go for McCain, and some of them might, I hope it's because they believe in what McCain does more than Obama, not because of some hype that McCain's a maverick.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

... a man who's voted more conservatively than almost anyone in the Senate...

For the record, Mccain is ranked 35th among current Senators by the American Conservative Union.

Edited at 2008-06-05 03:37 pm (UTC)

(Reply) (Thread)

Thank you for that last paragraph. I sincerely hope most voters in this country are rational people like you and not the tantrum-throwers that they've been showing all over TV this week.

Although maybe I'm just as bad, because I might have written in Obama had Hillary been picked. Never would have voted for McCain, though. And only because I'm from Massachusetts and am unlikely to be faced with throwing off a swing vote.

(Reply) (Thread)

We've been through thousands of panics in the past during the typical news-cycle, so I need to keep reminding myself that people are going to come around and vote for Obama. The stakes are way too high, and everyone is going to see that.

It's not going to be a cakewalk, but I think the election has already been won.

(Reply) (Thread)

>>I think the election has already been won.

Oh hell no. The Democrats still have plenty of opportunity to fuck it up. And probably will.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

I've been behind Obama since he became an option, but not with any real fervor. I would've voted Hillary if she had been picked, but I'm glad I don't have to because I don't really like her. Mostly it all just gives me a headache. Admittedly, I didn't even vote in my state's primary, mostly because I'm lazy and forgot to check on my registration in time, but he won it anyway so I didn't feel bad. n.n;;; I'm not a good voter.

(Reply) (Thread)

Now for Obama to pick his VP.

My brother and I were talking about Obama and Wes Clark. I know he's more of a Clinton-sort, but Wesley Clark has resume bullet points Obama doesn't, and it's been 4 years since last I saw him, I miss him.

Obama vs. McCain - I'm all about Obama. I just hope he finds a good older, white, Southern man with some military experience for the VP slot to help pick up the conservative Democrats who might be compelled to vote for McCain.

(Reply) (Thread)