(For arguementitive purposes, yes, I do realize he is only 1/2 black)As a democrat, I believe he is exactly what the country needs. He is a great speaker, has a great personality, and is just a very personable guy. From what I've learned about JFK, these two guys are really similar. JFK was the sign of a change in the country. He represented a revolution. I think this is what we need in a president now. Hes not that much of a politician which is one reason that he may be elected, especially a reason he'd get in over Hilary.
Only problems are that if he runs he's going to have every minute of his life uncovered and inspected with a microscope. Hilary won't even run and if she does, she won't win. Too Political
This country wont vote in a non white president, or a female. its a nice dream but most the voters in this country are too "old school" to allow that to happen. I actually like Obama, I dont really see him as more of a moderate, which is something this country needs. Hitlery is to much of a socialist, plus Bill is going to be a liability to her.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (redneck @ Dec 20 2006, 10:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This country wont vote in a non white president, or a female. its a nice dream but most the voters in this country are too "old school" to allow that to happen. I actually like Obama, I dont really see him as more of a moderate, which is something this country needs. Hitlery is to much of a socialist, plus Bill is going to be a liability to her.</div>He's only 1/2 non white :winkglasses: Fans of Oprah will vote for him, thats like 1/2 the women in the country. Those "old school" people you are talking about. They will vote on respect, not on color. If he runs they will hear nothing but this guys voice for a year before the election. They will learn to respect him.
he wont win for the simple fact people in this country are childish and ignorantthey will assume he's a terrorist because his name rhymes with OsamaI know it sounds stupid but there's a lot of morons in this country
I like the guy and would vote for him but I'll be a few months too young to vote by election time which pisses me off. It should be close between him and McCain but I see McCain winning it. I wouldn't mind McCain but I kept hearing stuff about him being more supportive of Bush but I don't know much about that. I'd rather see a Democrat in office in the next term even though McCain is Arizonan.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>He's only 1/2 non white Fans of Oprah will vote for him, thats like 1/2 the women in the country. Those "old school" people you are talking about. They will vote on respect, not on color. If he runs they will hear nothing but this guys voice for a year before the election. They will learn to respect him.</div>1/2, 1/4, 1/10 it doesn't matter to the "Jesusland states", they wont vote for him, and since thats about half the country its going to be nearly impossible for him to win. the sad thing is maybe 1/2 of the women in this country want him to win, but of that 1/4 only 1/1000th of them will actually get out a vote. just because the 04 election had a good turnout doesn't mean 08 will have a good turn out. the old school people wont vote on respect, those are the same people 50 years ago who would have lynched him for no other reason than he is 1/2 black. The one thing Obama does have going for him is the under 30 voters have been turning out in better numbers than before, and the old schoolers are dying off.
He is a great speaker! He came and talked to our school in the auditorium. I will be voting for him next year.
The amount of black people voting for Barack will probably even out the amount of old school racist voters.
What I like about him is, even though hes a "democrat", he still has his own opinions. Many democrats agree with everything that other democrats do. He sides with them, but he makes his decisions from situation to situation. I can vote by 08 also, and ill probably vote for him cause I feel he can make the right decisions to his moral, not a republican and democrat moral.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (redneck @ Dec 20 2006, 10:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>1/2, 1/4, 1/10 it doesn't matter to the "Jesusland states", they wont vote for him, and since thats about half the country its going to be nearly impossible for him to win. the sad thing is maybe 1/2 of the women in this country want him to win, but of that 1/4 only 1/1000th of them will actually get out a vote. just because the 04 election had a good turnout doesn't mean 08 will have a good turn out. the old school people wont vote on respect, those are the same people 50 years ago who would have lynched him for no other reason than he is 1/2 black. The one thing Obama does have going for him is the under 30 voters have been turning out in better numbers than before, and the old schoolers are dying off.</div>that is so wrong....lie you pointed out, the people of the '60s and '70s who were well into there life are dying off. Most the people who vote today didnt grow up in the enviroment.
This country is half ready for him!adjfipasdfjda that was too easy, dammit.But really, I don't know. I kinda agree with redneck about this. I think Hilary will get destroyed if she does end up getting nominated. I'm not so sure about Obama... certainly there will be some prejudice against him. However, I'm not sure that there's a better Democrat candidate out there.
Obama's toughest sell for White House bid may be to other blacks WASHINGTON (AFP) - US political darling Barack Obama has received enthusiastic support for a possible 2008 presidential bid -- except from fellow African-Americans, a group many believed would be among his staunchest backers.In contrast to the effusive reception Obama has received from white Americans, many US blacks so far have been cool, saying that while they may share skin color with Obama, they do not have a common culture or history."Obama did not -- does not -- share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves," wrote African-American newspaper columnist Stanley Crouch last month in an article entitled "Barack Obama -- Not Black Like Me."Radio host George Wilson, whose nationally-broadcast talk show tests the opinions of a cross-section of African-American listeners, said response to the Illinois senator so far has been "lukewarm.""He's not getting as much of an enthusiastic send-off from black people as he is from whites," Wilson said.Obama draws enormous, mostly white crowds, even though the first presidential primary election is more than a year away, and is he seen as a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.But Crouch said that the first-term US senator -- the bi-racial progeny of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother -- does not share with most American blacks the painful legacy of slavery, repressive Jim Crow laws, and civil rights struggles."While he has experienced some light versions of typical racial stereotypes, he cannot claim those problems as his own -- nor has he lived the life of a black American," Crouch wrote in his New York Daily News column."If we then end up with him as our first black president, he will have come into the White House through a side door -- which might, at this point, be the only one that's open."Political analyst Ron Walters said that Obama is a black whom many whites find reassuring, with his Harvard pedigree and law degree rounding out his half-European ancestry."If you take this in almost anthropological terms, there's a sense in which whites are more comfortable with blacks who they believe reaffirm them," Walters said.He said other whites apparently view Obama not so much as a black trailblazer but as a multicultural figure, with his racially-mixed parentage and childhood spent in Hawaii and Indonesia.African-Americans however, who are are accustomed to leaders who emerge from the civil rights movement, sometimes appear to struggle to relate to Obama."For some African-Americans, he has not really affirmed their identity. He has affirmed his own mixed identity, but he has not strongly affirmed the right and the claim of African-Americans in this society to equal treatment," said Walters, a professor at the University of Maryland.Others said Obama is simply an unknown figure to many African-Americans who are almost reflexively suspicious."There's a feeling that if white folks like him so much he must not be good for us. For some blacks it's a turn-off," said Wilson.If he does run, Obama would be the first African-American candidate for president who does not come out of the civil rights movement. US Representative Shirley Chisholm, of New York, was the first African-American to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972.Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson was a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. A CNN poll last week found that 60 percent of Americans said they have no reservations about voting for a black president, although experts caution that polls are not always a reliable measure of racial bias. Some wonder whether whites who now are urging him to run will be as enthusiastic in the voting booth. "There are individuals who say one thing publicly, but time and time again has shown that when ... they're in the privacy of the voting booth, they do something else," said Wilson. Despite the adulation he has received from Democrats around the country, some blacks said it will be nearly impossible for Obama to win the White House in 2008 without massive support from the African-American community. "The American population is not ready -- despite of what Barack says -- to have a black man be the president of the United States," Wilson said. "When it's all said and done, if he declares, then he will have to convince African-Americans to support him, and just his color alone is not going to be enough," he said.http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061221/ts_al...08_061221085638
Right now I see 4 contenders for the 08 presidential race (Clinton, Obama, Giuliani and McCain)Weaknesses:Obama:1. Racial issues - certain people will never vote an african-american into office and as the article above mentions he hasn't been receiving the support you would figure from the african-american voters.2. History - While some might few this as a good thing as not being around the corruption of D.C. for long enough he doesn't have much of a track record which will take some votes away from him.Clinton:1. Love her-hate her - People either like her or hate her, there isn't much of a middle ground for her. She is an "extremist" for the democratic party and to the majority of the public is the Democrat's version of what George Bush means to Republicans2. She is a woman - Just like Obama and racial issues there are people who will not vote for her just because of gender.Giuliani:1. History - He has Mayor of New York and not much else to list under credentials. He has become more of a celebrity rather than politician and was forced to back out of running for the Senate due to scandals and marital infidelities.2. 9-11 withdrawal: His strongest base is the support he gained after the 9-11 attacks. Once the primary races begin will that "sympathy" support he has hold up to whatever other candidates throw at him?McCain:1. McCain biggest problem is getting the support from the core republican voter base to get through the primaries. He is often seen as a moderate/independent which has taken votes away from him in the past. 2. Ties to Bush: Though he has stood against Bush on various issues for the most part McCain has been one of Bush's primary supporters throughout his presidency and with this current hatred for Bush that could potentially hurt him as he runs for office.Injecting my opinion among this I believe that both Giuliani and McCain would be favored over Obama and Clinton. Specially McCain who if he manages to get through the primaries I don't see anybody the democrats could nominate that would take away McCain's advantage with the independent and moderate dem/repub voters.
I love this guy, he is an amazing speaker and he isn't too far left, almost more moderate than democrat.
