Obama Can Unite, But Can He Fight?

By Ellen Goodman

BOSTON -- I bow to no one in my distaste for food-fight politics. I don't want to dine with absolutists and ideologues hurling red meat at each other.

So I am drawn to the brand known as Generation Obama. This presidential candidate has repeatedly offered himself as the post-boomer, the one person in the race who can take us past the great divides of the last 40 years.

In announcing his candidacy, Obama used the word "generation" 13 times. In "The Audacity of Hope," he described boomer politics with something close to disdain as a psychodrama "rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago." On TV, he described Hillary Clinton and others as people who've "been fighting some of the same fights since the '60s."


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/obama_the_postpolarization_can.html


IMHO, this a nuanced article and a good read... I have a self imposed policy of not posting hit pieces on any of our candidates here and I don't think this piece is... I think it's thoughtful and provactive...

a "baby boomer" himself.(anyone born between 1946-1964) And I do think he is ignoring baby boomers. His decision to 'skip' the AARP debate is what proved it to me. He stated that "there were too many debates scheduled" as the reason he didn't go.

I see no reason to believe he could.

:shrug:

Since he's already dividing along generational lines, I don't think so.

:)

He says one "inspirational" thing to one audience, and another "inspirational" thing to an opposing audience, and hopefully both audiences are so "inspired" they go home happy without realizing he was completely full of shit.

politician in the city of Chicago knows how to fight.

Also, ask Hillary Clinton if he knows how to fight. She hasn't exactly gotten the better of him the past month or so.

Also see this video of his: "I like a good fight:"

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=e1f9fbbb-a045-46ed-b7a9-3245ae9911d5

Those that question him shall be banished!


:sarcasm:

The point being that you don't rise up through Chicago politics without being able to throw an elbow when the refs aren't looking.

Sounds like the same case being made for Ghouliani. Managing a country is a bit bigger task.

You just proved my smart ass point.

The only thing he has done so far is unite anti-gay bigots around his candidacy...

I thought of him as a slightly more liberal Hillary before the McClurkin crap. Edwards was my favorite, but I had a mild preference for Obama to get the nomination over Hillary. Now he's dead to me, that's uniting?

By winking and nodding at anti-gay bigots he knew he could sew up that voting bloc, just like Bush knew he could solidify the racist vote by speaking at Bob Jones in 2000. Obama was, in effect, saying "I'm your candidate" to bigots. This is not new. Republicans have done this since the 60's. It is a shame to see a Democrat resort to this, though...

Anti-gay bigots have united around his candidacy? Any evidence for that?

I'm sure there are pictures somewhere you can find.

while Donnie McClurkin spoke for 30 minutes, and condemned and mocked the GLBT rights movement, and denied the existence of gay and lesbian people as an identifiable minority entitled to recognition under the law, is a bigot.

Yes.

without throwing a single punch.

Those who believe that are truly guilty of wishful thinking.

All they can do is deny and attack. You hardly ever see an Obama supporter actually defending Obama.

This one thinks his rising in the polls absolves him of any and every flaw

this isn't one of those times.

but alas, tis not true

that Obamas Healthcare plan was more politically safe (i.e. to the right) of Hillary's plan in an attempt to defend Obama recently.

but then again, I never understood Obamalogic

The meek Obama is just lucky the media has hyped this as a two-way race so he benefited by default from the damage inflicted by Edwards when the race turned around in Philadelphia.

Obama and Edwards have been kissin' cousins every step of the way!

If there is a "culture war" between red America and blue America can it really be solved through negotiation and not capitualation?

If he has the fight to win that battle, one should safely be able to assume that he can win others.

As for the real-world indications of Obama's commitment and ability to perservere get things done in the battle between red and blue, here's an article you should read:

In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd

==Mr. Obama did not bring revolution to Springfield in his eight years in the Senate, the longest chapter in his short public life. But he turned out to be practical and shrewd, a politician capable of playing hardball to win election (he squeezed every opponent out of his first race), a legislator with a sharp eye for an opportunity, a strategist willing to compromise to accomplish things.

...By the time he left Springfield in 2004, he had built not only the connections necessary to win election to the United States Senate but a record not inconsistent with his lofty rhetoric of consensus building and bipartisanship.

...With the assistance of Senator Jones, Mr. Obama helped deliver what is said to have been the first significant campaign finance reform law in Illinois in 25 years. He brought law enforcement groups around to back legislation requiring that homicide interrogations be taped and helped bring about passage of the state’s first racial-profiling law. He was a chief sponsor of a law enhancing tax credits for the working poor, played a central role in negotiations over welfare reform and successfully pushed for increasing child care subsidies.

...Illinois had one of the least regulated campaign finance systems in the country and a history of corruption. Paul Simon, the former United States senator, was running a public policy institute at Southern Illinois University and asked each of the four legislative leaders to name a trusted lawmaker to work on a bipartisan ethics bill.

Mr. Jones recalls receiving a call from Abner J. Mikva, a former Chicago congressman, federal judge and friend of Mr. Simon. Judge Mikva, who had once tried to hire Mr. Obama as a law clerk, suggested him for the job. Mr. Jones says he knew that the new senator was hard-working and bright and that few others would want the assignment.

“He caught pure hell,” Mr. Jones said of Mr. Obama. “I actually felt sorry for him at times.”

The job required negotiating across party lines to come up with reform proposals, then presenting them to the Democratic caucus. Senator Kirk Dillard, the Republican Senate president’s appointee, said, “Barack was literally hooted and catcalled in his caucus.” On the Senate floor, Mr. Dillard said, “They would bark their displeasure at me, and then they’d unload on Obama.”

Mr. Obama entered the discussions favoring contribution limits, said Mike Lawrence, now director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. But he realized they had no chance of passing. So the legislation, passed in 1998, banned most gifts by lobbyists, prohibited spending campaign money for legislators’ personal use and required electronic filing of campaign disclosure reports.

“I know he wanted to limit contributions by corporations or labor unions, and he certainly wanted to stop the transfers of huge amounts of money from the four legislative caucus leaders into rank-and-file members’ campaigns,” Mr. Dillard said. “But he knew that would never happen. So he got off that kick and thought disclosure was a more practical way to shine sunlight on what sometimes are unsavory practices.”==

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

was always the candidate offering himself for coronation.I think Obama truly believes he is owed this nomination. Not because he is the more qualified of the candidates but Obama wants to be the new Joshua. Like Joshua who took the mantle from Moses, Obama wants to leap frog over all the civil right leaders and crown himself the new leader. ( The most respected civil rights leader in the country is Rep. John Lewis. He is supporting HRC)

Obama and his wife interjected race into this campaign when Mrs Obama said and I paraphrase, " If You're Black, Vote for Barack. Because He's Black." Voting for a person because of the color of his skin is racist.It also is stupid.

"Obama was a fundamentally immature man who had been spoon fed by the white establishment that anointed him as their African-American champion. Obama had no credible professional record. He was slavish in prostrating himself to the sleaziest elements of Chicago and Illinois politics. His sole claim to fame was his glibness and his invented ethnic heritage."(andy martin)

She was asked about a middle-aged Black woman who said she likes Obama, and would LIKE to vote for him, but she probably won't because she doesn't think a Black person could win the presidency. Michelle was talking about that woman and other Black people who felt the same way. She did NOT say Black people should vote for Obama because he's Black. :eyes:

Obama's as much a "uniter" as dumbass in the white-house.

GOP doesn't want him to be our nominee. Repubs. would drive over their grandmothers to get to the polls to vote against Hillary.

I'm feel sooooooooooooooooooooo united to support Obama if Hillary doesn't win.

Just as I would vote for Hillary. I'm talking about Repubs. as I said in my post.

Yeah I'll vote for him.

I've felt that I had to hold my nose to vote for a democrat .... EVER ... if Obama is the nominee, it will be the first time I'll have to do that.

Yeah, I feel so "united" and warm about the politics of "hope". :puke:

And I have his supporters on DU to thank for that.

and I feel the same exact way you do, but towards Hillary.

Haven't you heard regular Repubs. calling into c-span saying how even though they're Repubs. they kind of like Obama and his message of uniting red and blue America? The same people also say they can't STAND Hillary, don't want the Clintons back in the WH, and would vote for any Repub. to stop her.

I come from a very GOP family. Each and every one of them was for Obama - first time ever they all jumped ship to a Dem. Guess how many are now pro Obama? Out of 10 voters in my immediate family zero. He lost 9 votes (Im for Kucinich). I keep seeing this pattern too - he drew in a lot of people from both parties at the beginning with all his talk of hope and change - the problem is he brings neither to most people when they start looking at him and his rhetoric.

Obama has peaked to soon IMO - he needed to wait to peak after Christmas.