Tag: Barack Obama (page 59)

29,000 turned out to hear Oprah stump for Barack Obama in South Carolina today. Here's what the pair had to say:

Obama:

``It's not good enough to tell the people what you think they want to hear, instead of what they need to hear. That just won't do. Not this time,'' he said. ``We can't spend all our time triangulating and poll-testing our positions because we're worried about what Mitt or Rudy or Fred or the other Republican nominees are going to say about us.''

[Note: Read Eriposte's analysis of research showing who is triangulating more.]

Oprah:

``South Carolina - January 26th is your moment,'' .... ``It's your time to seize the opportunity to support a man who, as the Bible says, loves mercy and does justly.''

An attendee: [More....]

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has been very clear about what his message is -- hope, change and optimism. That's all very nice, but for a lot of us, it doesn't tell us what we want to know: where does he stand on issues and what does he propose to do about them if elected President? What's his voting record?

Enter Eriposte at Left Coaster. He's done an incredible analysis by assembling Obama's past statements and voting records on 13 issues.

His objective was to find out if Obama is a triangulator (and, he finds, he is) but it's also very revealing about where he stands on issues and whether he will follow through.

First, what's a triangulator? Wikipedia says:

Triangulation is the act of a candidate presenting his or her ideology as being "above" and "between" the left and right sides of the political spectrum. It involves adopting for oneself some of the ideas of one's political opponent. The logic behind it is that it not only takes good ideas away from your opponent, but that it insulates you from attacks on that particular issue. It is a tactic commonly used in third way politics.

While Eriposte was out to see if Obama was a bigger triangulator than Hillary (turns out, he is) his findings are very instructive on where Obama stands on issues, and whether he's been forthright in the campaign about his stances.

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Andrew Young, former U.N. Ambassador, "civil rights icon" and Martin Luther King "lieutenant" says Barack Obama is not ready to be President.

In an interview posted online, Young also quipped that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has her husband behind her, and that "Bill is every bit as black as Barack."

....I want Barack Obama to be president," Young said, pausing for effect, "in 2016." "It's not a matter of being inexperienced. It's a matter of being young," Young said. "There's a certain level of maturity ... you've got to learn to take a certain amount of (expletive)."

The interview, on Newsmakers Live, is most likely a few months old. You can watch here. Another snippet:

"There are more black people that Bill and Hillary lean on," Young said. "You cannot be president alone. ... To put a brother in there by himself is to set him up for crucifixion. His time will come and the world will be ready for a visionary leadership."

Here's a CNN clip of Oprah and Obama.

Oprah Winfrey in Des Moines, Iowa today:

"Over the years, I have voted for as many Republicans as I have Democrats," Winfrey said — one line that didn't draw applause in the partisan crowd. "This isn't about partisanship for me. This is very, very personal. I'm here because of my personal conviction about Barack Obama and what I know he can do for America."

Obama on Oprah:

"You want Oprah as vice president?" he asked the crowd that responded with enthusiastic cheers. "That would be a demotion, you understand that?"

The Obama campaign gave out 23,00 tickets to the event. It said 18,500 people attended.

Obama spoke after Winfrey, and acknowledged that he was under no illusions that the crowd was there to hear him. Indeed, some people left during his speech, although the majority stuck around to hear him.

The New York Times puts attendance at "more than 10,000 screaming admirers." Oprah spoke for 17 minutes and as to why Obama should be President, said: [More...]

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman criticizes Barack Obama's health care plan as inferior to those proposed by Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. He also writes that Obama's response to those who point out its deficiencies, particularly in its lack of a universal health care mandate which would require health insurance for everyone, is one that will come back to hurt Americans, by fortifying Republican opposition, should he become President.

[L]ately Mr. Obama has been stressing his differences with his rivals by attacking their plans from the right — which means that he has been giving credence to false talking points that will be used against any Democratic health care plan a couple of years from now.

....Mr. Obama is storing up trouble for health reformers by suggesting that there is something nasty about plans that “force every American to buy health care.”

....My main concern right now is with Mr. Obama’s rhetoric: by echoing the talking points of those who oppose any form of universal health care, he’s making the task of any future president who tries to deliver universal care considerably more difficult.

After discussing why Obama is wrong to oppose a mandate and universal health care, he concludes:

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Here comes Oprah Winfrey, all weekend long, beating the drum for Barack Obama, in South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire.

It's now a stadium event in South Carolina. Can "the nation's wealthiest African-American woman" have an impact on the voters of a poor state like South Carolina? The race card is already in play. African American supporters of John Edwards are calling the Oprah-Obama tour a publicity stunt.

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(Speaking for myself only.)

As a weak Obama supporter at this time, folks will likely take my thoughts, rightly, with a grain of salt. But this most recent Gallup poll demonstrates, to me at least, that Barack Obama has a real chance to grab the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton:

Clinton's standing among Democrats dropped by 11 percentage points from early November and Giuliani's standing among Republicans fell by 9 points, though both continue to lead their fields. . . . Among Democrats, Clinton's fall wasn't matched by a statistically significant rise for chief rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards. Obama's standing rose 2 points from early November while Edwards was steady.

Clinton has slipped significantly. But Obama has not moved up. Why? I believe the reason is the doubts I have had and written about for some time - the doubt that Obama can fight for Democratic values against a vicious Republican Party. And I am not just talking about in a campaign. I mean as President as well.

Obama needs to demonstrate that he can fight FOR Democratic values and AGAINST Republican values. He needs to change this:

Clinton leads Obama by 26 points among Democratic partisans and 22 points among women.

Barack Obama is not a supporter of medical marijuana. He is a supporter of more research to determine if it helps reduce pain.

When a voter asked Obama if he was for the legalization of medical marijuana, Obama said that he wasn't in favor of legalization without scientific evidence and tight controls.

..."My attitude is if the science and the doctors suggest that the best palliative care and the way to relieve pain and suffering is medical marijuana then that's something I'm open to ..... (my emphasis).....He added that he was concerned that the reasons for the use of marijuana would grow and create a "slippery slope."

There is a plethora of research showing that medicinal pot reduces pain and relieves disease symptoms.[More....]

The media is loving talking up Barack Obama's chances in Iowa. But nationally, Hillary is easily maintaining her big lead over him among Democratic supporters -- those most likely to vote in a primary or caucus. In fact, she's up 7 points from September. From the latest Harris poll:

More than half of Democratic Party supporters in the United States think Hillary Rodham Clinton should become their presidential nominee next year, according to a poll by Harris Interactive. 52 per cent of respondents would back the New York senator in a 2008 presidential primary, up seven points since October. Illinois senator Barack Obama is second with 29 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 11 per cent.

She has a three point lead over Rudy Giuliani.

Well, you knew this was coming.

Obama made the disclosure while working a crowd at Central High School here, after delivering an education policy speech. A man, Ralph Hoagland, asked Obama—who was mingling and shaking hands-- if Oprah was going to stump for Obama in New Hampshire.

“First she’s coming to Iowa,” Obama told Hoagland, who in 1963 was a co-founder of what is now the giant CVS pharmacy chain. “But we’ll talk about it. We’ll get her up here.”

Was it a planted question? Hoagland is "a member of Obama’s Northeast Steering Group, which is heavily involved in fund-raising. He hopes to bundle together $100,000 for Obama..."

Here's Hoagland's reasoning, or is it Obama's?

Oprah Winfrey can help, Hoagland said, “because I think that Oprah can say to women ‘you do not have to vote for the first woman president. Vote for what you need.”

So, is Obama now resorting to the gender card?

Good for Obama. He's not running from his early experimentation with drugs, including cocaine, and alcohol. He also says he was a "goof-off."

We've come a long way from the "But I didn't inhale" days.

There's nothing that Republicans would like more than to see than some down and dirty infighting among Democrats.

Robert Novak is stirring the pot.

Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it. The nature of the alleged scandal was not disclosed.

Sen. Obama is striking back, not at Novak, but at Hillary, whose campaign has said they have no idea what Novak's talking about.

Obama accused Clinton of "Swift boat' politics" and vowed he will not be intimidated.

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