if you can read that objectively, ignoring all party affiliations, and say to yourself "now THAT'S Vice President of the United States of America material!" i suggest you try setting your standards just a little bit higher. this whole new conservative approach of electing the "salt of the earth" type people just like you and i is hilarious, though. to hell with our best and brightest... give us some regular joe! it's definitely an indication at the overall intelligence level of many in this country, that's for sure. who would've thought that we'd reach a day where people with advanced law degrees from places like Harvard would be frowned upon? i guess it goes hand-in-hand with this country's continuing drop in education.
Let's work backward. 1) I never made fun of community organizers. I said their purpose is noble but not nearly as responsible nor as important as being mayor. 2) That 2007 Ethics Reform Bill -- Obama didn't pass it or even sponsor it. He voted for it (to his credit) as did McCain, but that's it. McCain trumps that with the McCain-Feingold Finance Reform Bill (with across-the-aisle cooperation BTW). Palin, on the other hand, cleaned up a corrupt state government, i.e. she acted rather than pontificated. Also, as a BTW that was the same time frame in which Rezko was "helping" Obama with his ethical house purchase. 3) If Obama passed so many bills, why isn't there some buzz about how they affected governmental operations or Chicago citizenry? It's not like the moonstruck media is trying to hide his accomplishments. 4) Transparency in government is a good thing -- but neither Obama nor his staff wrote it. He just hung his hat on Coburn's (and staff's) work. We will need it when he is elected and starts spending at such a rate that George Bush the younger will look like a miser.
You have it right. Compare what the two were doing at the same time in their lives. Similar dishonesty would be to say Obama was in the US Senate while Palin was a mere member of the local PTA in a village of 5,000. As far as contempt for community organizers. I believe it is a code for "poor people" and even "black and brown people". Have to always appeal to that aspect of the conservative base.
Obama said he wanted Change away from the same old Washington Politics...and he choses Biden who's the poster child for same old Washington politics.
Judging from the right wing pundits and followers on this board, I don't think they want you to know that.
The country is tired of the Yale types, don't you think? Since the elite school products haven't done the job, maybe some more typical Americans can. Who knows?
The people who bash community organizers and then turn around and try to play the populism card are preposterous. It is a difficult and rewarding job in which one helps residents of neighborhoods with symptoms of poverty - poor schools, crime, low paying jobs, etc. etc. - implement interventions to slow, stop or reverse the cycling of community problems. If it goes well, you end up with homelessness prevention programs, neighborhood watches, development of political coalitions, fostering communication with city leadership, partnerships with commercial neighborhood interests, neighborhood safety programs, etc. Basically, communities tend to break down when in poverty - safety concerns, scarce financial resources, poor law enforcement, etc - the bad apples tend to take over. Community organizing draws on internal resources to strengthen and revitalize poor communities. I worked in SW Philadelphia at a school for two years as a social worker - the community organizing element was really effective, I studied two models as part of my graduate work. One worked, the other did not. It was pretty clear. It's the sort of thing George H W Bush would have called "a thousand points of light" or whatever. It does not pay, there is nothing cush about it, and it can be very frustrating. So it is always nice to see the GOP belittling the very sort of 'people-helping-people' who put "country first" that their party ostensibly espouses. They have nothing this year other than deferring to the most callous instincts of the american electorate - cynical, mocking, and misinformed.
Obama went from being raised in a poor single-parent home to graduating top of his class at Harvard law. That's far from a typical "elite school product." In fact, it's far closer to the American Dream (TM) of class mobility.
1) I'm happy you didn't laugh with the masses of repubs. Pork-Palin certainly made a joke at it 2) McCain-Feingold Finance Reform was a good idea. I approve of the attempt and hope more is done. (bonus points, mccain also introduced the transparency act) 3) I don't know, you tell me 4) prove your lies.
Poor? You make it sound like he was raised in the Ghetto? He was raised by TWO Grandparents and went to the BEST private school in Hawaii! How is that closer to the American Dream?
OMG... not one.. but TWO grandparents!? I'm surprised Obama even knows how many grandparents he has!! SNOB
I was just trying to point out that he wasn't raised by a single-parent. He had a mother and father figure growing up with his Grandparents.
