Obama '08?

Quote:

Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged Sunday he was considering a run for president in 2008, backing off previous statements that he would not do so.
The Illinois Democrat said he could no longer stand by the statements he made after his 2004 election and earlier this year that he would serve a full six-year term in Congress. He said he would not make a decision until after the Nov. 7 elections.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/22/D8KTOAJ05.html

Stay tuned!

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That was my "Gahhhhhhhhh!" on the previous page, Phoenix. :-D

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Sorry, Soz- I had not read through all the pages!

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It's great news, happy to see it all over the place!

Hey since you're here, what is your current take on him?

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Soz- I will have to learn more about him. My concern is his lack of experience, but I am keeping an open mind.

Hey, you know how I am. No one really satisfies me. If he does run, whether I will vote for him will have a lot to do with who is running on the GOP ticket. If Rudy Giuliani runs, it is a no-contest as far as I am concerned. With anyone else, who knows?

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Phoenix32890 wrote:

Soz- I will have to learn more about him.

179 pages, Phoenix. You make that, easily. :wink:

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Thomas wrote:

On the other hand, what if nimh is right and I am wrong about the rationality of assassins? There could be no better insurance policy for President Obama than a Vice President Clinton a heartbeat away from him.

Ha!

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Walter Hinteler wrote:

Phoenix32890 wrote:
Soz- I will have to learn more about him.

179 pages, Phoenix. You make that, easily. :wink:

Funny! What I meant, was that between now, and 2008, I want to see what happens, and his reactions to current issues, as they unfold.

Right now he is the chirasmatic "poster boy". If I ever want to consider him, I have to make sure that he is not "all sizzle, and no steak". I remember the last president that we had, whose greatest asset was his charisma!

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I think his inexperience will be an issue. But considering the current whitehouse inhabitant, it will be hard to argue it with a straight face.

I think Bill Richardson would make a good vp candidate. Another option: Richardson at the top of the ticket with Obama as vp. Then in 8 years, he can run for the top job.

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Whenever Obama talks about or is asked about him running for president he seems like he's afraid of holding that office.

Could be a good thing or bad. As long as he doesn't do it because his Party 'needs' him is the main rub.

I just don't ever see him convey very much self confidence which makes me a bit uneasy with the prospects of him being elected.

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Brand X wrote:

Whenever Obama talks about or is asked about him running for president he seems like he's afraid of holding that office.

Could be a good thing or bad. As long as he doesn't do it because his Party 'needs' him is the main rub.

I just don't ever see him convey very much self confidence which makes me a bit uneasy with the prospects of him being elected.

Perhaps your model is the arrogant and simplistic and incurious presentation of self/ideas, the current presidential persona.

David Brooks, talking last week on PBS Newshour, describing Obama...

Quote:

DAVID BROOKS: First of all, he's the only person maybe in American politics with McCain who generates real excitement, real, real excitement. And Hillary Clinton, to all her credit, does not generate that excitement. So that's important.

So why does he generate excitement? It's because he has a deliberative mind. Whenever he sees an issue, he sees all sides of it, and then he works his way through.

And, you know, I've had many conversations with him, and we disagree on most things. But you have a conversation with him, and you feel like he really understands your point of view. And he may differ, but he has a deliberative process that goes on in his mind.

And I think it's because of his background. He comes from Kansas. He lived in Chicago. He lived in Hawaii. He lived in the Pacific. He's got all these things coming through him in his life story, and he's had to negotiate between them -- poverty, Harvard Law School -- and so he's about negotiation.

And he may be young, but if you have that process going on, I think you'll be able to magnify the knowledge you have. There, I've just done my pay on (ph) to Obama. I mean...

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec06/sb_10-20.html

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Yeah, whatever you and Brooks say. Rolling Eyes

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You are, of course, absolutely entitled to your own opinions on this matter as any other. But I do note that you are intermittently peering upwards. That's prudent. Something is about to fall.

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Hi Brand X, haven't seen you in a while and yours is a type of voice I'm especially interested in on this thread. (Leans right but independent-minded.)

Brand X wrote:

Could be a good thing or bad. As long as he doesn't do it because his Party 'needs' him is the main rub.

How come?

Someone referred to an article about Mark Warner that had a comment something like, "the sad thing is, the person who thinks he shouldn't be president is exactly the kind of person who should be." I'm loving the idea of electing someone with some humility rather than the kind of strutting faux-cowboy we've got now. I think doing it because he feels he's needed (whether by the party or his country as a whole) is a pretty noble way to get started.

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sozobe wrote:

Hi Brand X, haven't seen you in a while and yours is a type of voice I'm especially interested in on this thread. (Leans right but independent-minded.)

Brand X wrote:
Could be a good thing or bad. As long as he doesn't do it because his Party 'needs' him is the main rub.

How come?

Someone referred to an article about Mark Warner that had a comment something like, "the sad thing is, the person who thinks he shouldn't be president is exactly the kind of person who should be." I'm loving the idea of electing someone with some humility rather than the kind of strutting faux-cowboy we've got now. I think doing it because he feels he's needed (whether by the party or his country as a whole) is a pretty noble way to get started.

Hi,

It does seem the people who we really need to do the job never run for it, and I can't say I blame them.

I don't know what Obama's reservations are and wouldn't blame him if he stays right where he is. There probably hasn't been a president who didn't at least wake up one morning whilst in office and hate the day he decided to run.

I'm still forming my opinion of Obama...just saying that he doesn't seem he really wants it....and that makes me feel he could get caught up in his own hype which has already began. The top of all news stories yesterday was his decision 'to start thinking about running'.

Would hate to see a Howard Dean-ish groundswell sway his decision for the wrong reasons.

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Not quite sure I get it yet... Do you mean something like you're worried that he'd be glamored into it before he's really ready and that would have consequences down the line in the campaign if his heart isn't really into it?

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I'm not very far into his new book, but I'm getting the clear impression that his concerns with running are based more on what the campaign would do to his family rather than not wanting the job.

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Oh, you have it too? Great!

That's definitely the impression I have too, just from the general news coverage I've been reading. I think he wants the job and thinks he would be good at the job and is thrilled and inspired by the possibilities, but a) doesn't know if NOW is the right time vs. later in terms of electability, and also b) is worried about the impact on his young family.

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I'm almost through reading the book.

As far as his feelings about running, I've heard him say several times, and read words to the same effect in the book, that he has based all his decisions about running for public office on how it would affect his ability to be of "most use".

This is one of the things about him that has always impressed me - I get the distinct impression that he not only is not mostly motivated by the kind of megalomaniac ego that convinces some politicians of their indispensibility, but that he actually cares about how his particular talents can be best used to serve the most people. Call me crazy, but I believe it.

Near the beginning of the book, he shares that one of his favorite things to do since becoming a public official has been holding town meetings. At some of those meetings, he has been pointedly asked about his motivations, and told about the wariness people have about the corruption that besets those who have become too comfortable in Washington. He strikes me as someone who is clear-headedly circumspect about the significance of a run by him for the presidency.

I also especially liked the way he answered Russert's questions this weekend with actual answers - how many politicians can say, simply and clearly - "the situation changed, so I changed my mind" - without a lot of smarmy, mealymouthed equivocating?

Damn, I like this guy.

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snood wrote:

This is one of the things about him that has always impressed me - I get the distinct impression that he not only is not mostly motivated by the kind of megalomaniac ego that convinces some politicians of their indispensibility, but that he actually cares about how his particular talents can be best used to serve the most people. Call me crazy, but I believe it.

Me too!

Quote:

Near the beginning of the book, he shares that one of his favorite things to do since becoming a public official has been holding town meetings. At some of those meetings, he has been pointedly asked about his motivations, and told about the wariness people have about the corruption that besets those who have become too comfortable in Washington. He strikes me as someone who is clear-headedly circumspect about the significance of a run by him for the presidency.

Me too!

Quote:

I also especially liked the way he answered Russert's questions this weekend with actual answers - how many politicians can say, simply and clearly - "the situation changed, so I changed my mind" - without a lot of smarmy, mealymouthed equivocating?

Damn, I like this guy.

Me too!!! :-D

(I'm getting a little too enthusiastic -- have to back down a bit and remember that he's only going to consider it, nothing's decided yet.)

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