Obama Worries Me

[stepnw1f]

I don't trust him. He says all the right things, yet his actions and the timing of what he says has been mixed to bad. On Majority Report, Sam and Atrios are talking about him right now.

OBAMA is AWOL to BAD for us Dems.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Obama represents Obama.

Everything else is secondary. Just like every other politican under the sun.

[stepnw1f]

4. Nah... It's Not That Bad

It's politically essential to think of self-preservation, while at the same time representing us. There is a balance, and one should never make the mistake to assume that a politician should ever be selfless. It hasn't happened yet.

[MadisonProgressive]

2. I'm still watching him closely

[The Magistrate]

3. He seems Fine To Me, Sir

It was a pleasure to vote for him.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[stepnw1f]

5. I Will Watch Him More Closely

but right now, I am weary.

[Pirate Smile]

9. Weary or wary. Probably both, I would guess.

:-)

[raysr]

6. Listening to a gentleman talking

to Sam Seder on AAR Obama is doing us alot of harm with his mouth. Reid appointed him pointman for the talk shows.

[DELUSIONAL]

8. You obviously didn't listen to Sam on the Majority Report

and the sound bites of the self centered son of a bitch speaking of Democrats as if he isn't a democrat and guess what?? He isn't a democrat -- he is a phony.

When a so called "democratic" senator speaks of democrats as being "they" rather than "we" -- and there is a pattern.

Reid is a DINO and he proves this by appointing a back stabbing SOB.

[bpilgrim]

10. ---- --- --- --- > mp3

http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/aar/mr/obama.mp3

peace

[raysr]

11. Yeah, that's what I heard

[Elidor]

19. I don't expect freshmen senators to set the tone

But I do expect them to pipe up and sing the song a bit louder than he has done so far.

[bpilgrim]

7. we just gotta remind him who's boss

he's young... & trainable :evilgrin:

peace

[NashVegas]

12. Does Obama Know What His Mandate Is?

Maybe he's still finding that out.

I don't mind him being a moderate, but I'd like to see him choose his words more carefully.

[tsuki]

13. Privilege son who doesn't understand what it cost to get where we

are. He is willing to "go along" to "get along" because he never saw a water fountain that said white only, or a sign that said Niceville City Limits, Nigger Don't Let The Sun Set On Your Head.

This is my youth. I remember this. I remember wondering WHO could bomb a house of worship and for what reason. Killing young people in the name of hate.

This generation has lived off the fruits of hard earned civil rights that we labored for, died for. It's easy for them to go along to get along. They just don't understand that although they go along; they will never be accepted. They live in a fantasy world.

**On edit--Never have been able to spell privilege correctly. Worked for what I have.

[Solo_in_MD]

16. He is indeed a son of privledge, and is acting accordingly

[guidod]

25. When I was a kid in the early 50's I remember

seeing some of the signs you speak of. I remember one saying "Negros must be outside of city limits by sun down". I'm white and I knew how it felt to me, It would be sad. I can't even start to imagine how it fealt to be the unfortunate person on the other side of the sign.

[murielm99]

26. Write to him. Tell him this, in the words you used in

this post. Don't leave out the part about not being able to spell privilege.

He is my senator. I voted for him and supported him. He needs to hear from those of us who did that. He needs to be reminded of his roots, too.

We would do well to stand together. African Americans are not the only niggers in bush's new world order.

I have told my girls how unmarried women could not get a prescription filled for birth control. They would have to lie to the doctor and the pharmacist. And if a married woman had a prescription for birth control for a couple of years, a doctor could cut her off, telling her that it was time for her to start a family. My doctor did that. I knew other doctors who did as well.

I have told my girls about illegal abortions, unsafe abortions, and traveling long distances to obtain any kind of abortion. The idea of homes for unwed mothers seemed fantastic to them.

Women must have sex according to their rules, or risk death. And bush wants to re-establish group homes for young pregnant women, too. It is not only death they risk, but having their children sold away from them, too.

If we can't beat them in a fair fight, because they break the rules, we will have to undermine them. We can undermine them while posing as happy, contented slaves.

Maybe the older Black leadership in Congress needs to talk to Obama, take him under their wings. I think it is too late for gentlemanly differences of opinion. Our freedoms are at stake now.

[Hekate]

29. ???? Do you not know where he really comes from?

He never had your experiences, but not for the reasons you state. It's not because he was born into a younger generation, but because of where he was born and to whom.

Barak Obama's parents met and married in my home state, at my alma mater, the University of Hawaii. His mother was a haole girl whose parents came from Kansas, and his father was a foreign student from Kenya, not anywhere in the US, much less the Old South. When he grew up, Barak chose to marry an African American woman, and she would be the anchor for his knowledge of the true Black experience in America.

I don't know how old he was when he came to live on the Mainland, but my recollections of his autobiography are that he was partly raised in Hawaii and partly in Southeast Asia, and partly by his mother's parents in Hawaii. At a certain point, his father returned to Africa. I never got the impression that his upbringing was affluent or "privileged" --just very modest circumstances.

Hawaii prides itself on being color-blind -- up to a point. There is no advantage to being haole of recent arrival, blackness is a curiosity, but mixed race is good because it affirms Hawaii's belief and pride in being a racial melting pot. Better to be mixed-race that ends up looking vaguely Polynesian, though. Looking too black or too white makes it obvious you came from someplace else (says the Irish-American unable to tan).

If I understand correctly, Barak Obama's experiences of being Black in America (that is, on the Mainland) began when he was already an adult, albeit a young adult. Clearly, he chose to embrace that experience in his choice of a wife. After all, he could have returned to Hawaii after college, and could have chosen an entirely different experience. He has not lived what you have lived, nor did either of his parents (now deceased), but how is that his fault? He has given every indication of having empathy and understanding, and of being a good Democrat, although new to the US Senate.

I am sure that you -- or ten other DUers -- will happily tell me if I've gotten anything wrong about Obama's biography, not to mention anything else.

Here's why I think Barak Obama has such appeal: for a politician, he's unique. He carries his diverse heritage quite naturally, and in doing so may provide a literal bridge for black and white voters in some future presidential election. Whatever the challenges he has faced in his life, they have not embittered him to this point, but seem to have made him want to be that "bridge" between races and cultures.

Isn't this the moment your (and my) generation strove for? All who lived through the Civil Rights Era, and all who lived before that -- all Americans, of whatever race or ethnicity, who strove to make this a better place -- weren't we hoping that there would be a generation of Americans like Barak Obama? Both successful and at ease with who they are? Weren't we hoping that a generation would come who never had direct experience of the worst of racism? Something about the content of their character?

Barak Obama seems to be aware of the importance of history to where he stands now -- unlike Dr. Condi Rice, or, God forbid, Assoc. Justice Clarence Thomas. Obama knows he stands on the shoulders of giants -- it's probably why he's a Democrat.

Hekate

[applegrove]

14. They are forcing Obama to keep mod. Very mod. They have

hopes for him and need him to make no wake. He is young. The future of the party.

You cannot throw him to the wolves. Though that doesn't explain to me why he couldn't filibuster on occasion.

But I think it is smart.

GOP machine will target Obama like you have never seen in the next election. Whenever that is for him. He is the future. And we know GOP will attack anything that is strong or has the potential to be strong.

Just wait.

[Dr Fate]

21. I disagree with the "You cannot throw him to the wolves" concept.

This phrasing seems to suggest that standing up to Bush or the Right Wing makes you un viable- I reject that notion.

If they ALL did it there would be no "throwing to the wolves"- they cant attack ALL of us.

We need to stop this kind of thinking and get into a unified fighting mode.

I see two kinds of Democrats at this point- DEMS who want to fight for what is right and those dumb enough or dishonest with themselves enough to think we can "work with" these corrupt crooks & liars.

DEM capitulators are DIVIDING this party and it needs to end.

[bpilgrim]

32. the FUTURE is NOW

he needs to fight for the PARTY and his constituents NOW not some time in the FUTURE.

he needs to stop worrying about his IMAGE and worrying about our RIGHTS,

peace

[applegrove]

40. So we should go with 'everything we got' as Dems? Even FDR

planned for three years for the invasion of Europe and built up enough strengths and small wins... until D Day.

[bpilgrim]

44. no

we need a united front or we need to get rid of the impediments

peace

[Clarkie1]

15. Ugh...can't we please find a REPUBLICAN to bitch about?

:wtf:

Enough is enough!

[Maru Kitteh]

24. No we must eat our own, it's what we've been told and trained to do

Apparently Republicans are blameless. Quaint, isn't it?

[applegrove]

41. Exactly. Saddam Hussein had Iraqis turning in on each other - and

that is how he managed to rule for such a long time.

Why do Dems fall for it?

[orleans]

17. his vote was good today.

but he worries me once in awhile too--

we're hard to please i guess--us flaming liberals or raging liberals or whatever the hell we are.

my best friend tells me i'm the most liberal person he's ever met. "you don't know many people do you?" i say and we laugh--he's a writer, performer, musician, and he knows a ton of people (he has met & interviewed famous people--but he's never had these "in depth" conversations like him and i do so they're not going to spill their political souls to him like i do) he met frank zappa--my hero! my point: us raging liberals can be hard to please.

and back to your point--i wonder about obama too. but if you look at his votes and compare them to say--kennedy--he's actually doing okay.

[Horse with no Name]

18. I've never seen anything from him except hype

I'm not impressed. If his sole intention is to lay low and protect his future political career, then he needs to be told that this isn't about him...it is about America.
Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way and quit taking up space.

[Dr Fate]

20. Obama choose to listen to the activist base today.

Today is not the day to take Obama to task- today is the day to email him and thank him.

[WCGreen]

22. The nature of the Senate exerts a moderating force......

On those who occupy the most exclusive club in the world....

You are surrounded by wealthy people of privilege who need to raise a ton of money in order to keep their job....

You can't raise money and speak out too much...

It is rare, indeed, to see a extreme senator...

On the liberal side, that is....

There is no money in liberal causes, no profit to be made...

Since Wellstone and Metzanbaum left, the closest we come to liberal is Feingold and Wyden...

[depakid]

23. He's a rookie

and the Kerry campaign and the Dem "leadership" made a mistake elevating him to a position of prominence that he didn't earn.

[Hekate]

27. The man is new at his job -- and young -- and has a lot riding on him

The accolades and speculation of the last national convention must have been a very heady experience for him, but scary at the same time. How can any person hope to live up to the immense expectations placed on his shoulders?

Obama may be a rising star, but he's very new at being a US Senator. He needs time to grow into it. Let him have that time. Feedback is fine, but expecting him to walk on water is premature.

Hekate

[ComerPerro]

36. Good point. I liked your other post too, the one above

[AtomicKitten]

28. I predict Obama will be president someday.

I've felt that way ever since he gave the keynote address at the 2004 Dem Convention.

He's got IT.

[Hekate]

30. I think so too. I just don't want to pile too much on him too soon.

[In_The_Wind]

34. I think you are right.

I've been saying good things about him for over a year. I even suggested that he would be a good VP in 2008.

[AtomicKitten]

39. I think you're right.

Gore/Obama sounds about right to me.

[messiah]

31. He worried me after I saw his speech at the convention

a moderate can swing either way.

[salin]

33. Could part of the issue be

being a relative "newby" to national politics? I think many have made misteps along their political maturation.

[qanda]

35. I really don't understand this post

I guess Obama is straying too far away from the reservation. There are tons of other Senators to complain about and yet I see more threads complaining about Obama than just about any other Senator. I wonder why that is the case.

[0007]

37. You may add Ken Salazar of Colorado with Obama, because

Salazar is acting the same way.

[LizW]

38. I don't blame him.

People have been telling him for a long time that he will be president, and he certainly could be. He doesn't want to screw it up, and the DLC is in power in the Democratic party. No Democrat gets to be president, for the last long while and for the forseeable future, without them. Those are the facts.

The vote yesterday and the week leading up to it was an earthquake to the DLC and don't think Obama didn't feel it.

Obama will be responsive to the base of the party, but only so far as the DLC is. The DLC will only be responsive when it is to their political advantage.

The two things we must do:

1. enlarge the progressive Democratic base.

2. communicate our wishes loudly, clearly and often.

Bush's disastrous policies are helping with #1. This week was a huge step in our effectiveness at #2.

[mb7588a]

42. All of Daschle's people are running his Sen. office.

Daschle's former chief of staff is now Obama's CoS.

[mattclearing]

43. Obama is a moderate Democrat.

Not like the DLC corporate right-wingers. Simply moderate. He's not going to go along with every progressive notion that most of us here would like him to. But I think he means well and is a credit to the Party.

[fooj]

45. Speaking to the choir!

Peace.

[mitchum]

46. Sepia Bill Clinton...

and all that entails

[Arkham House]

47. He's all right

He's a cautious pol with decent instincts, from a state with a *lot* of red in it despite his landslide victory, acknowledging that he was running against a hole in the air--Keyes doesn't even deserve to be called an empty suit... and he's living in a conservative-with-a-small-"c" country, that--despite everything--is *not* reactionary, despite our current government...and he knows he has a realistic shot at the White House someday. He's doing pretty well, under the circumstances...