Obama '08?

Here's the transcript of Obama's Wesleyan commencement speech -- really nicely done.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBPzl

I like the emphasis on service. It's something that has come up a lot when I volunteer or get together with other Obama volunteers -- that right now we're focused on getting him elected, but if that happens, we won't just say "well that's great, mission accomplished" and leave it at that. We want to KEEP doing stuff, keep helping out, keep putting our energies to good use. We'll probably do that regardless -- there is plenty to do whether he wins or not. But that's where the inspiration part comes in, too, and where it has practical applications. I think it's safe to say that way more people will be willing to do way more if Barack Obama is busy inspiring them from the White House.

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Very good blueflame. How ever after the presidential election we shall see if delegates are important to the voters. I for one have been watching the caucasus that have put Obama over the top in delegates. When he has to win all the votes to get delegates for the presidency instead a minority he may have more trouble. But he may be ok. After all Bush did it. Just to show how disenfranchised I feel I will probably vote for nadir. I hate nadir with a passion! But he is the best of the ones running.

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Ticomaya wrote:

do you really think there was fact-checking findings posted to counter his point -- remember his point? -- which you feel is not getting acknowledged by MM

Yep. He wrote that "the media ... seemed to either ignore or barely mention that there was a band at the Portland event"; Soz promptly linked in the selection of news stories she found when Googling for coverage of the event, which turned out to pretty much all mention the band. Fact check. She offered to go deeper if there were concerns about it being an unrepresentative sample; instead the fact check was ignored and hopp, the next alleged outrage was on.

And yes, when I post an assertion or a claim or a question and someone goes through the trouble of looking up information to doublecheck it, I think it's polite to respond. I might miss one here or there, but if I do that a couple of times in a row, feel free to call me on it.

Ticomaya wrote:

As to the sickle cell issue, the point being made -- at least as I understand it -- is again a double standard: McCain is disclosing his complete records, but Obama is not.

Sure, if anyone is concerned, let Obama publish his complete records. But the lack of outrage over this "double standard" is not some kind of product of media bias; it's the pretty obvious consequence of, you know, McCain being unusually old for a Presidential candidate and havings suffered grave illness before, and there never having been any health concerns about Obama.

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mysteryman wrote:

I said that I had seen no media mention of the fact that they played before Obama spoke, and I wondered why that was.

Right, and then someone looked it up and showed that hey, actually there were lots of stories that mentioned it, so your concern that it was being "ignored" was unwarranted.

mysteryman wrote:

But you are ignoring my essential point.
Why are the same people screaming about McCains medical records ignoring the fact that Obama hasnt released his?

See my answer to Tico above.

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mysteryman wrote:

I said it before, but I will say it again...

Since the Kennedy family, and especially Robert Nennedy Jr. isnt upset or bothered by her statement, why are the rest of you?

Dont you think that, you know, the Obama family might be a bit bothered about a rival candidate speculating about his assassination?

Mind you, I think the whole thing was a tempest in a teapot. I think she just misspoke. These people are speeching, talking, persuading, interviewing, rallying, hours on end, days on end, months on end, they're bound to mess up - and slip stuff out, as in this case, that's obviously at the back of their mind, but that's really tactless if you say it out loud.

But still, that's why it was good of her to apologise - just weird that she only apologised to the Kennedys, and not the Obamas as well. I mean, it must be a little unnerving to have your husband or father running for President, being the frontrunner, and his main competitor publicly go, hey, you never know what might happen, I mean Kennedy was still assassinated after this time of year..

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Yeah, I found her response almost more problematic than the initial gaffe -- that same thread that keeps coming up, the inability to just plain admit a mistake. (Iraq is the biggest example but there are many.)

Andrew Sullivan has an interesting column (as opposed to blog post -- columns are usually more thoughtful/ tempered) called "Barack Obama is master of the new Facebook politics":

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article3997523.ece

It reminds me of an idea I saw somewhere recently but I don't remember where, drawing a parallel between now and the Nixon - Kennedy campaign. Nixon put more faith in radio than TV, and Nixon came off much better than Kennedy on the radio (evidently, I'm not actually sure of this but that was what I read). But as we all know, Kennedy came off much better on TV, and that made a huge difference.

The parallel being made is then-TV = Internet, and then-radio = now-TV. It's not as much about how they appear in various media, but how they utilize it. And Obama's the king of the Internet, campaign-wise.

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Talking of the Internet...

time for an amusing picture :wink:

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/1_.jpg

There's many more...

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/political-picture-obama-hillary-clinton-synchronized-campaigning.jpg

Other candidates too, obviously...

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/political-pictures-hillary-clinton-3am.jpg

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/political-pictures-edwards-gesture.jpg

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/political-pictures-hillary-clinton-mccain-hate-you-club.jpg

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teenyboone wrote:

mysteryman wrote:
teenyboone wrote:
blueflame1 wrote:
Clinton Kennedy Assassination Reference: Brings Up Bobby's Death In Saying Why She Stays In The Race
link

So, is she looking for Obama to be knocked off? She's a real desperado!

I said it before, but I will say it again...

Since the Kennedy family, and especially Robert Nennedy Jr. isnt upset or bothered by her statement, why are the rest of you?

She, HOPES that something criminal will happen, either by inference or physical, because she wants that nomination, by ANY means necessary, because
1) She is white and
2) She is white!

Any questions?

Yes...What the hell are you saying?

She hopes something criminal will happen because she is white?

She wants the nomination because she is white?

She wants the nomination by any means necessary, because she is white?

Another one...Doesn't your response fit the definition of a racist post?

And one final one...Do you think McCain wants the presidency by all means necessary? After all, he's white too.

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nimh wrote:

Ticomaya wrote:
As to the sickle cell issue, the point being made -- at least as I understand it -- is again a double standard: McCain is disclosing his complete records, but Obama is not.

Sure, if anyone is concerned, let Obama publish his complete records. But the lack of outrage over this "double standard" is not some kind of product of media bias; it's the pretty obvious consequence of, you know, McCain being unusually old for a Presidential candidate and havings suffered grave illness before, and there never having been any health concerns about Obama.

The heightened interest in McCain's records is understandable, but if the press doesn't, eventually, call for Obama's records, it will be evidence of a double standard.

I missed the bit about sickle cell, but we do know Obama has been a smoker for a fair number of years, and while his quitting (with occassional lapses) is a good thing for him, the effects of habitual smoking do not dissappear over night.

I may have also missed this, but has he released the results of a recent comprehensive physical (including chest x-ray)?

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He is releasing his records next week -- the only difference is that it will be a "summary" as opposed to "complete." (McCain's records were over a thousand pages long...)

It seems like a summary would include the important information -- whether he has any lung issues, whether he has any diseases, that kind of thing.

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(Enjoyed the LOL Candidates, nimh. ;-))

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nimh wrote:

Dont you think that, you know, the Obama family might be a bit bothered about a rival candidate speculating about his assassination?

Clinton did not speculate about an Obama assassination. She merely pointed out that it's not unusual for a nomination campaign to go into June.

But would the Obama family be bothered? Of course it would! Campaign politics thrives on manufacturing the appearance of outrage. So if you can get an edge over your competitor by being offended about her phrasing a comparison badly, why wouldn't you? It's not as if Obama wants to rise above politics as usual in Washington or something.

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He hasn't been outraged, though, has he?

He's been pretty consistently, "I don't think she meant it that way..."

Just read something yesterday (argh, where, this is why I started the politics blog thread) contrasting Obama gaffes and Hillary's reaction to them with Hillary gaffes and Obama's reaction to them. Hillary's regularly pounced and tried to get as much mileage out of his gaffes as possible (handing out "we're not bitter" stickers to her audiences, etc.) Obama's regularly said "we all make mistakes, I believe her when she says [explanation for her gaffe]."

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Finn dAbuzz wrote:

The heightened interest in McCain's records is understandable, but if the press doesn't, eventually, call for Obama's records, it will be evidence of a double standard.

I'm sorry, but McCain's health is not going to be on par with Obama's. The media's extra attention to McCain's health is based on real concerns, not some perceived bias. Why does this have to be more complicated?

T
K
O

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sozobe wrote:

He's been pretty consistently, "I don't think she meant it that way..."

Fair enoguh. I shouldn't have made it a statement about him personally. He stays above the fray and the appearance of outrage is coming from surrogates, activists, and reporters. But that's not saying much. For example, George Bush, too, frequently remarked that opposing the war on Iraq shouldn't count against an American's patriotism. He left it to his surrogates to assert that it should. This is not to suggest that Obama is another Bush, just that I'm not terribly impressed when he personally stays above the fray when his campaign does not.

And about the "we're not bitter" stickers: When I said that campaigning thrives on manufacturing the appearance of outrage, I really meant this to be a general comment. I'm not saying the Obama campaign is unique in doing it.

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Fox commentator jokes about 'knocking off' Obama link

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Thomas wrote:

This is not to suggest that Obama is another Bush, just that I'm not terribly impressed when he personally stays above the fray when his campaign does not.

OK... but has his campaign been trafficking in outrage, either?

Their immediate response was, "Sen. Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign." Just that, I think. (If there was more, I haven't found it back.)

That's definitely saying "she made a gaffe," but doesn't seem particularly outraged.

Have they been manufacturing or expressing outrage beyond that?

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Terry McAuliffe is outraged at the use of the word "unfortunate."

Quote:

How does the Obama campaign react? Pour gasoline on the fire, right? McAuliffe is saying outrageous things, they come back in high dudgeon, knocking down his silly allegations...? Well...

Quote:

But David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist, told ABC's "This Week" that the campaign is "beyond that issue now."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-democratsmay26,0,5580119.story

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Heh, this is cool. New website, "Is Barack Obama Muslim?"

http://isbarackobamamuslim.com/

(I wish it wouldn't be such a pejorative though -- who cares if he IS Muslim? But he's not, and it's a pejorative for whatever combination of reasons, and the website is therefore useful, hopefully anyway.)

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