Obama is largely running as the candidate of change...

but I've heard very little of the details regarding what change he intends to bring about and exactly how he's going to do that. Can anyone explain just exactly what Sen. Obama is planning to do that will bring about significant change in our government?

Of course so does DK

Clinton, I'm not sure. She talks the talk, but is evasive when it comes to details. Obama has at least said troops out by a certain date (not sure exactly what that is)

They're all saying that. Sen. Biden, I believe, has the most detailed plan for getting us out. Should that give him extra points as the "change" candidate?

Not stumping for him.

I like them all, personally. Biden has cajones for sure.

I like Obama. My asking is sincere.

Barack Obama opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. In 2002, as the conventional thinking in Washington lined up for war, Obama had the judgment and courage to speak out against the war. He said the war would lead to "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences." In January 2007, Obama introduced legislation to responsibly end the war in Iraq, with a phased withdrawal of troops engaged in combat operations.

Obama has a plan to immediately begin withdrawing our troops engaged in combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year. He would call for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, convened with the United Nations, which would not adjourn until Iraq's leaders reach a new accord on reconciliation. He would use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all of the nations of the region on behalf of a new regional security compact. And he would take immediate steps to confront the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Iraq.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

Clinton, Obama Agree That Troops Could Stay In Iraq By 2013 ...From NBC's Chuck ToddIt took Obama about 10 seconds to bring up his initial opposition to the war. Interesting that Obama, when given the chance to pledge ...
firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/26/381643.aspx - 30k -

The meme, 'Obama was agin it from the beginning' is quaint, but meaningless.

I think Obama is simply acknowledging that this is not a simple matter (nuance the horror!). I wouldn't make tht pledge either because despite the hysterics, this is still a very complex and dangerous situation. Besides, if he does, he looks like he's going to keep major combat forces in Iraq until 2012 which is not his intention.

Your man Richardson doesn't have a date certain either: http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/iraq

Obama being against the war from the beginning is neither quaint nor meaningless, it represents the ability to exercise good judgment.

Fucking primaries.

Empowering Citizens to Crack Down on Government Waste

Every American has the right to know how the government spends their tax dollars, but for too long that information has been largely hidden from public view. That's why Senator Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) teamed up to pass a law that will lift the veil of secrecy in Washington by creating a Google-like search engine that will allow regular people to track approximately $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, earmarks and loans online. More than 100 organizations across the political spectrum praised this legislation.

Putting Teeth into Congressional Ethics Rules

Congress can pass all the ethics rules it wants, but without meaningful independent enforcement, these new rules are less effective. Senator Obama introduced legislation to create an independent ethics commission to receive complaints from the public on alleged ethics violations by members of Congress, staff, and lobbyists. The commission would have the authority to investigate complaints and present public findings of fact about possible violations to the House and Senate Ethics Committee and Justice Department. By taking the initial fact finding out of the hands of members of Congress, who are often reluctant to investigate their colleagues, the bill ensures prompt and fair treatment of public complaints.


Shining Light on Earmarks and Pet Projects

Over the past 12 years, the number of earmarks (pet projects promoted by individual legislators) in the federal budget has tripled to 16,000, totaling $64 billion a year. Many of these projects are important, but many are wasteful and only benefit special interests. Senator Obama introduced the Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act to shed light on all earmarks, by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for the earmark and a written justification for each, 72 hours before the earmarks can be approved by the full Senate. Senators would be prohibited from advocating for an earmark if they have a financial interest in the project. Finally, earmark recipients would have to disclose to an Office of Public Integrity the amount that they have spent on registered lobbyists and the names of those lobbyists. Parts of this legislation were passed by the Senate in January 2007.

Senator Obama also introduced the Curtailing Lobbyist Effectiveness through Advance Notification, Updates, and Posting Act (The CLEAN UP Act). The bill aims to improve public access to information about all legislation, including conference reports and appropriations legislation, in particular after hurried, end-of-session negotiations. Conference committee meetings and deliberations would have to be open to the public or televised, and conference reports would have to identify changes made to the bill from the House and Senate versions. Finally, no bill could be considered by the full Senate unless the measure has been made available to all Senators and the general public on the Internet for at least 72 hours.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/corruption/

:thumbsup:

Every one I have listened to want change. They want to change the way this country is doing things. They want to change Iraq, they want to change energy policies, they want to change and give support for Veterans, the middle class, social projects. So tell me what does Obama want to change. Him for president instead of bush....they all want that.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/fightingpoverty/

Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama believes that people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Even though the minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour by 2009, the minimum wage's real purchasing power will still be below what it was in 1968. As president, Obama would further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the EITC to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families out of poverty and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing -- things so many people take for granted.

Make College More Affordable: College tuition rates are rising almost 10 percent a year. These surging tuitions priced over 200,000 students out of college altogether in 2004. Two decades ago, the Pell maximum grant covered 55 percent of costs at a public four-year college, compared with only 32 percent today. The very first bill Barack Obama introduced in the U.S. Senate was a bill to help make college more affordable by increasing the maximum Pell Grant amount to $5,100. Barack Obama will also eliminate wasteful subsidies to private banks under the federal student loan program. Reforming this program will save taxpayers billions of dollars each year -- money that Obama will direct to fund need-based grants, such as the Pell Grant.

Create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund: In too many communities, low-income families are priced out of the housing market. Between 1993 and 2003, the number of units of affordable to low-income households fell by 1.2 million. Barack Obama believes we should create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to develop affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund would use a small percentage of the profits of two government-sponsored housing agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to create up to 14,000 new units of affordable housing every year.