So I guess you are admiting that there is hype, but saying that hype is OK? That is a legitimate argument. Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I prefer honesty. I would prefer it if he could tell us why he is a better president than Mike Huckabee or Hillary Clinton as opposed to JFK and Bill Clinton. Right now, he really reminds me of the aforementioned Mr. Clinton and there is nothing wrong with that. If he becomes president and acomplishes what Bill Clinton did, he would be a successful president, unless you are basing your expectations on what we are told beforehand. If you think hype is cool, then fine. I personally think that hype is bad for the electorate, because they don't look at the more mundane issues, and ultimately bad for Obama when he doesn't live up to the hype.
Where did he anyone claim he's already a better president than Clinton? Or JFK? Everything I've seen says he has a the characteristics to be a once-in-a-generation politician like JFK or Reagan and that's why America "needs" him (or why people are supporting him, depending on if its a pro-Obama or analytical piece) - not that he's already succeeded at it. Who are the other politicians in our generation that redefined American politics (in a good way)? Clinton certainly wasn't - regardless of your thoughts of him as president, the political part was the same as always - red state, blue state partisanship. I'd say the last was Reagan and the Reagan Democrats.
I appreciate this and agree. I'm just saying that I would prefer to base my vote on an honest evaluation as opposed to a desperate hope.
If he is once in a generation then necesarily he is better than Clinton as Clinton is of the same generation. Unless of course Clinton was once in a generation as well. But then we come back to the Reggie Bush hype comparison. How many once-in-a-generation anything can you have in a single generation? If you have a once-in-a-generation running back every year, then isn't that hyperbole?
Absolutely, if someone had stated that Obama was a once in a generation President. But nowhere did the article claim that. It said he was a once-in-a-generation politician and candidate. And the reasoning had absolutely zero to do with policies that would be implemented or anything like that. It was all about the impact he can have on the American political process, the mood/optimism of the country, voter turnout, voter alignment, etc. He specifically said that all the candidates on both sides have some good ideas on the issues. I think you're mixing policy with the political process. Regardless of your thoughts on Clinton as a President, he didn't have any real (positive) impact on the political process. There's a difference between a President's role as President and as national political figure - I think that's the distinction that's being lost here.
OK. That's a legitimate point. I'm still not sure that there really is that much of a difference (JFK - great candidate & politician, ineffective in the office but still remembered as a 'great president'), but that was a distinction I wasn't picking up. I would say that my general point that I think that people are building up Obama too much stands. If he is doesn't completely redefine or shake-up the political process, is he a failure? I hate to go back to him, but ‘they’ talked about Bill Clinton in the same way when he went on MTV or played his saxophone. He was the embodiment of the 1960's made real. Remember this: <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ODVfREMS8s&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ODVfREMS8s&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> or this: <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Alv7N6Ynm1Y&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Alv7N6Ynm1Y&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> Remember all the hype surrounding all that? They really did honestly gush about Clinton in the same way they are doing about Obama. I remember it.
So do I. Having gone to campaign rallies here in Austin leading up to '92, I can tell you that the excitement over finally getting real change in Washington was very real. And he brought real change. Damn the guy all you want for his personal life, but he balanced the budget and worked with a GOP Congress (under different leadership) to bring it about. No, Hillary isn't Bill, but Bill wasn't bad, either, as President. If we didn't have term limits, he might still be in office. We certainly wouldn't be in this mess in Iraq. Impeach Bush.
Damn! The new SurveyUSA poll in South Carolina shows some huge movement for Barack Obama. Here are the numbers, compared to the last poll released December 19: Obama 50% (+11) Clinton 30% (-11) Edwards 16% (-1) Obama's share of the black vote has jumped from 57% up to 69%, and his share of the white vote from 18% to 29%. ---------------- I'm beginning to think we are witnessing a once in a lifetime phenomenon. Obama's numbers are starting to reflect nationally not just in the current races. Talk about a tidal wave!
You have a heck of a lot of company! This is the biggest Iowa bounce I've seen in years. What I hope for the most from Obama, post Iowa, is that the "youth vote" is for real. In the past, they polled well for Democrats, but couldn't be bothered to vote. In Iowa, they came out and actually voted for Obama. As a Democrat, that has me pretty excited. I hope it continues. Impeach Bush.
It's not just the youth. It's across the board. Women, minorities, rich, poor, independents, some republicans, they're all breaking Obama. it's amazing
You want to read a mind-blowing quote? (maybe you've seen it) "Barack Obama, who might be mercifully closing the Clinton parenthesis in presidential history, is refreshingly cerebral amid this recrudescence of the paranoid style in American politics. He is the un-Edwards and un-Huckabee — an adult aiming to reform the real world rather than an adolescent fantasizing mock-heroic "fights" against fictitious villains in a left-wing cartoon version of this country." - George F. Will http://www.statesman.com/search/content/editorial/stories/01/07/0107will_edit.html Impeach Bush.
There's an interesting side storyline that will play out if Obama does win the nomination and go on to win the presidency is the effect on race relations. It's been discussed a little by some pundits, but it will become a bigger thing down the line if these trends continue. The "angry" part of the black community that feels like society looks down on them and feels that white America is racist - how do they react to white America voting "one of their own" in? There was a lot of talk about the South Carolina black community wanting to believe he could win in a white America before letting go of the Clintons - and that seems to be happening according to this poll. But what happens beyond that? Is there a longer lasting effect? The similar (but more controversial) corollary is how it affects relations with the Muslim world. T_J and company try to use fear to scare people away from Obama. Currently, that stuff is also used to create fear of the west - "the evil, white western world - so different from us". And that's nothing new - discrimination and hatred has been built based on visual & cultural diffferences since the beginning of time. But what happens in the Middle East when Al Queda is trying to recruit or Iran is trying to stir up hatred, but now the leader they are being asked to hate is a someone who looks a bit more like them and has the name Barack Hussein Obama? In both cases, it could very well have no impact. But if you believe in the power of imagery and association and the whole "winning the hearts-and-minds" idea, there could be some subtle changes - moreso in the US minority community than abroad of course because AQ will adjust, but it certainly forces some changes in how you go about the demonization process. It will be an interesting storyline to watch.
I myself said "unwarranted hype" in a follow-up response to the Obama endorsement post. With that said, he's gotta be doing something very right to even get accolades like that. When have we truly heard that kind of talk about any candidate the the past 30 years? A poster said Democrat voters are "stupid" voting in a guy with no experience. But how come they weren't stupid like that before? Using another analogy (sports of course) Its fine by me if he gets Lebron James hype, but just produces like Michael Finley. It beats the Moochie Norris we have in office now
When was the last time? Man, I have to go waaaay back to about 60 days ago when we heard that talk about Hillary Clinton. LOL. You have no perspective on history if you believe the junk you just wrote. The overwhelmingly liberal media is going to give ANY lib front-runner the red carpet treatment because as studies have shown, 90% of journalists are libs. Obama = the most undeserved hype of any politician ever.
The media was gushing with praise for Hillary and what an awesome president she'd be? Hm. I only remember them talking about her 'inevitability' which seemed apparent in the polls back then.
So how do you explain the words of George F. Will, that astonishing liberal, in praise of Obama? Thanks in advance. Impeach Bush.
and the winning continues: http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/2008/01/08/mccain-obama-win-first-ballots-in-dixville-notch-nh/ McCain, Obama Win First Ballots in Dixville Notch, N.H. John McCain and Barack Obama won their parties’ early polling in the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire Tuesday, though it was no indication of how the state’s votes would turn. Nonetheless, the early excitement for poll watchers predicting the outcome of Tuesday’s primary was marked by pandemonium in the northern hamlet of Dixville Notch along New Hampshire’s Canadian border, where the number of media and spectators outnumbered residents by multiples. The town has 17 voters — two Democrats, three Republicans and 12 independents. Turnout was 100 percent. Four votes were cast by absentee ballot despite the fact that each voter was given his or her own booth at the town’s single polling station. The results were: McCain with 4 votes, Mitt Romney with 2 votes, Rudy Giuliani with 1 vote. Those were the only Republican votes cast. On the Democratic side, Obama won a landslide 7 votes compared with 2 for John Edwards, one for Bill Richardson and none for Hillary Clinton.
