New Obama biography...paints him as a more calculating pol than his supporters believe

[SaveElmer]

Obama: From Promise to Power

A soon-to-be-released biography about Sen. Barack Obama "portrays the Democratic presidential candidate as a far more calculating politician than his most ardent supporters might imagine," the Chicago Tribune reports.

"One such calculation was his much-heralded 2002 speech in Chicago about the impending Iraq war, according to Obama: From Promise to Power, a nearly 400-page book by Tribune reporter David Mendell to be released in August. Obama gave the speech not just because of a desire to speak out about the impending invasion, Mendell asserts, but also to curry favor with a potential political patron, Bettylu Saltzman, a stalwart among Chicago's liberal elite, and to also try to win over his future top political adviser, David Axelrod, who was close to Saltzman."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/06/21/obama_from_promise_to_power.html

[NYCGirl]

1. Chicago politics is cut-throat. Obama didn't get to the top blindly.

And we need a book to tell us that?

[Bitwit1234]

3. Hillary has handled the constant swiftboating by the republicans well.

Lets see how Obama fairs. I guess it was only a matter of time. Republicans know they can't win anything fairly, why do you think the smear and slur democrats. Trouble is, the stupid butts out there believe a lot of their lies.

[wyldwolf]

2. DU Flashback: May 1, 2007

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3243862&mesg_id=3243895

[rinsd]

5. One man's food for thought and all that jazz......

:hi:

[draft_mario_cuomo]

6. Ironic, isn't it?

The same people who promoted the most negative paragraphs from a several hundred page HRC book are now angrily denouncing one passage that is making headlines from a 400 page Obama biography. :rofl:

[Ethelk2044]

9. You need to worry about your candidate and knocking on doors to try to get him support

Obama is doing just fine.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

14. Another Obama supporter telling someone what they "need" or "should" do

The audacity of arrogance. :boring:

[Tellurian]

16. Wow..Michelle Obama..

From the OP:

"The book highlights the deep concerns about security on the part of the candidate's wife, Michelle Obama, who continually worried about her husband's safety as he evolved into the highest-profile black politician in the country. She told Mendell her family needed financial security in case her husband should be killed.

"Michelle indicated that she had thought deeply about the prospect of losing her husband, presumably to an assassin," the book says.

"'I don't worry about it every day, but it's there," she told Mendell in December 2006. "'I need to be in a position for my kids where, if they lose their father, they don't lose everything.'"

Geeze, I can see Obama's wife's concern for his safety, but more in the way of an adequate security detail, even if it meant at their own expense.

[ellisonz]

17. I assume she's referring to this thing called 'life insurance.'

Do you have a policy? If so, how, when, and why did you decide to get life insurance?

Like Miss Student Body President of Wellesley College via Park Ridge, IL is somehow less materialistic than Michelle Obama of South Shore, Chicago...

:eyes:

[Tellurian]

19. I assume she's referring to this thing called 'life insurance.'

How MLK..JFK...RFK... The difference between a fraud and the real thing..

I don't ever remember, Coretta, Jackie or Ethel making such a cold materialistic statement. If they did make a remark about their financial fears, they did it in private and certainly had more class than using such a personal reality as fodder for a journalist's excerpt. This whole Obama thing is starting to stink to high heaven.

[ellisonz]

20. LOL.

1. The Kennedy's had money. That alone makes everything coming out of your mouth disingenuous.
2. I have no doubt Coretta Scott King had similar concerns and expressed it both privately to her husband and to friends and family (very different time).
3. Like Hillary and Bill have some moral high ground on class...CLENIS!

Furthermore, may I dare say that the comparison of RFK/JFK to MLK Jr. denigrates the man and his accomplishments:thumbsdown:

[Tellurian]

21. Haven't you read the papers..

How Obama's Kennedyesque? One doesn't fault another for wanting more security to protect a candidate's life, it's the money thing that stinks. I'm sure Mr. Rezko would have paid Lloyds of London the premium on OB's Life Insurance to allay, Mrs. Obama's fears. At this point, nothing surprises me about these people.

[ellisonz]

23. Put down the M$M.

And think for yourself...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pendergast

You don't think Mrs. Obama has a right to be worried about some nutcase White Supremacist with a firearm? :crazy:

The Empress has no clothes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewater_%28controversy%29

[Tellurian]

24. Don't change the subject..

you know exactly what I mean. She's as DeClasse as her fraudulent, hypocritical husband..

[ellisonz]

25. Ha.

:nopity:

[Tellurian]

28. back to the treadmill..

:hi:

[Grandrose]

36. You crossed the line about Mrs. King!

Dr. King's Nobel Prize money went to the SCLC and when he was assassinated, people like Harry Belafonte and others were supportive to her and the children!

Michelle is right on...her husband is in the most danger and I wonder why, could it be a reality? You bet your ass!
It is just silly and dumb to even mention Jackie and Ethel needing life insurance, that's really reaching...even for you!

If your candidate is so special, why are you so mean, vitriolic about Democrats, save it for the Republics!

I try so hard to stay out of these trashing and bashing posts, but it is wrong to denigrate others! When the primaries are over it's going to be really hard to support some candidates....because of their supporters!

Stink to high heaven is right, are you projecting yourself?
:grr:

[Henryman]

4. How would the Tribune know what Obama's supporters believe?

Strawman tactic!

[rhombus]

7. The Tribune is a rightwing hack paper

They have been anti Obama for as long as I can remember. Same with the Chicago Sun Times. This nonsense from this Chicago tribune reporter is so trashy. Same with the two hit piece books on Hillary Clinton.

I'll take the words of any of our Dem candidates anytime to that of any rightwing media machine gunning against any Democrat in 2008.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

8. How about his friends saying he changed his vote on abortion for political gain?

So this is not entirely out of the realm of possibility, unless Obama's own friends are part of the vast HRC conspiracy. ;)

[rhombus]

10. Well, you can get selective quotes if you have an agenda in mind

Its not hard to do. They are many Obama friends who will vouch against this piece of trash reporting from the rightwing hack Tribune.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

12. Yes, The Tribune, HRC, and the Illumanti conspired to force Obama's friends to lie about him!

They are so devious, they also forced every Obama supporter at DU and the Obama campaign, including Obama himself, to not dispute the allegation!

[Tellurian]

22. It's worse than that..

When you've got a prosecutor as aggressive as Fitzgerald on the Rezko case, he's not going to leave any stone unturned. In the other Rezko thread there seems to be a problem with OBama filing accurate records with the Federal Elections Committee. That may be the hook dragging Obama into the Rezko investigation.. if they're not already gathering evidence to put before a Grand Jury.

[karynnj]

27. When and if that happens it woukld be a major issue

Seeing that you personally have attacked me and others who have mentioned any unethical behavior by the Clintons as bad for the Democratic party, I really wonder why you feel that pushing these inneuendos about Obama is not bad for the Democrats. Obama has pushed ethics reform in both the Illinois Senate and the Senate. He, unlke Hillary, voted with people like Kerry and Feingold for the Demint amendment to the Senate ethics bill that incorporated the stronger Pelosi provisions. Obama and Feingold just introduced a very strong ethics bill.

However, if ethics, is an important issue to you, the Clintons are not poster children for this cause.

[Tellurian]

29. It would be a monumental happening if you ever posted a response

that didn't include the names of Clinton or Kerry..

The subject is Obama...it's all downhill from here for him.
This hasn't even hit mainstream yet...

[karynnj]

32. I spoke of Obama's ethics votes

The topic was Obama and ethics. Please dispute my statements on Clinton's vote on the Demint bill. Obama, not Hillary, has some votes and accomplishments on ethics reform.

I have many posts not mentioning either Kerry or Clinton. I don't see you ever doing anything other than pushing Hillary or defaming Obama. You've told us months ago that Obama was history - and he is still here.

[jefferson_dem]

33. "They" would much rather smear and bash Obama than try to defend their own candidate.

Typical and sad.

[Tellurian]

37. Where are the smear and bash posts?

links please?

[TeamJordan23]

38. Here is an example of one of your smears: A likely self-made Craigslist posting, very credible

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3334836&mesg_id=3334873

I guess you must be guaranteeing that Hillary will have a higher # of donors than Obama since Obama is a no longer a star according to the very credible source of Craigslist.


Many more like this on your Obama smear website, Hillaryis44

[Tellurian]

40. Self-made Craig's List!... Laughable!!

you've got to do better than that!

The quote in question is not mine, and the reason it is in quotes! :)

[TeamJordan23]

41. So are you saying that it is okay for Team Clinton to us Craigslist as credible sources for stories?

[Tellurian]

43. Just remember, YOU Asked For It!

The Obama Illusion Presidential ambitions from the start

* lent his support to the aptly named Hamilton Project, formed by corporate-neoliberal Citigroup chair Robert Rubin and “other Wall Street Democrats” to counter populist rebellion against corporatist tendencies within the Democratic Party

* lent his politically influential and financially rewarding assistance to neoconservative pro-war Senator Joe Lieberman

* supported other “mainstream Democrats” fighting antiwar progressives in primary races

* criticized efforts to enact filibuster proceedings against reactionary Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

* voted for a business-friendly “tort reform” bill that rolls back working peoples’ ability to obtain reasonable redress and compensation from misbehaving corporations

* oppose the introduction of single-payer national health insurance on the grounds that such a widely supported social-democratic change would lead to employment difficulties for workers in the private insurance industry

* expressed reservations about a universal health insurance plan recently enacted in Massachusetts, stating his preference for “voluntary” solutions over “government mandates.”

* voted to re-authorize the repressive PATRIOT Act

* voted for the appointment of the war criminal Condaleeza Rice to (of all things) Secretary of State

* opposed Senator Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) move to censure the Bush administration after the president was found to have illegally wiretapped U.S. citizens

* distanced himself from fellow Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin’s forthright criticism of U.S. torture practices at Guantanamo

* refuses to foreswear the use of first-strike nuclear weapons against Iran

* makes a big point of respectfully listening to key parts of the right wing agenda even though that agenda is well outside majority sentiment

* joins victim-blaming Republicans in pointing to poor blacks’ “cultural” issues as the cause of concentrated black poverty

* he claims that blacks have joined the American “socioeconomic mainstream” even as median black household net worth falls to less than eight cents on the median white household dollar

* “If the Democrats don’t show a willingness to work with the president, I think they could be punished in ‘08”

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2007/street0207.html

Obama rallies state Democrats, throws support behind Lieberman

By Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press Writer | March 31, 2006
…
Lieberman, Connecticut's junior senator, is under fire from some liberal Democrats for his support of the Iraq War. He was key in booking Obama, who routinely receives more than 200 speaking invitations each week.
…
"The fact of the matter is, I know some in the party have differences with Joe. I'm going to go ahead and say it," Obama told the 1,700-plus party members who gathered in a ballroom at the Connecticut Convention Center for the $175-per-head fundraiser.

"I am absolutely certain Connecticut is going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate so he can continue to serve on our behalf," he said.
…
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2..

[Tellurian]

39. Karynnj..

you have to accept the fact everyone on this board isn't mandated to follow your prescription for failure.

I want my candidate, Senator Clinton elected and entering the White House in 09'. Senator Clinton will not falter, or run from a fight after election night, IF there is a "voting dispute."

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

11. Agreed, although I have to say anyone who thinks Clinton, Edwards, or Obama

are not shrewd calculating politicians just isn't paying attention. I don't know the circumstances of the speech, but I know he has always been opposed to the war and it doesn't surprise me in the least if he made some political calculations in so doing. He is a politician. However, if anyone thinks Clinton and Edwards didn't initially support the war and now oppose it based off political calculations, they need to wake up and smell the coffee.

[illinoisprogressive]

13. you mean like the books that paint Hillary as a cold, calculating bi***?

besides, how do you call someone who has made his tax returns public and his earmarks as well a bad person?

[TeamJordan23]

15. Recycled posting. I posted this yesterday. nt

[snowbear]

18. ** EVERY DAY ** Another Trash em, Bash em. I read the title of the thread....

And that's it.

If we didn't have a daily trash Obama thread ----- every----single-----day, more than the same group of people might actually start reading them.

Good lordy you poor thing. You must be bored out of your mind.


Well. The good news for you is that you have your "trusty 5" and no matter how much you bash Senator Obama, you can always count on them to rush to your thread, out of breath, to rate it up .... just for you.

[William769]

26. To bad you don't say that about Hillary threads, NT.

[SaveElmer]

34. Exactly...the angst on here seems to correspond with...

negative stories on Obama...

Not so much handwringing when the same thing is done to Hillary

[paulk]

31. I don't see this as bashing

Politics is a brutal business and I'm glad to see that Obama knows how to play the game.

My opinion of him went up because of this article.

[Major Hogwash]

30. So, the Tribune is out to get Obama? Good luck. My parakeet doesn't even read the Tribune anymore.

He just uses it to take a dump on!
You should see him get waayyyy over on the end of his perch to take a crap whenever he sees a picture of Robert Novak below him.
Uncanny.

[eallen]

35. When I see criticism like that, it gives me more confidence in Obama.

What terrible secret will they next reveal? He uses a tax accountant to minimize what he pays each year? He bought a house not just as a place to live, but also as a way to build up equity? He actually plans to win the election, and is willing to make some political compromises for that purpose? Quelle horrible!

:rofl: :rofl:

:hippie:

[Tellurian]

42. The side of Obama he doesn't want you to know :

The Obama Illusion Presidential ambitions from the start

* lent his support to the aptly named Hamilton Project, formed by corporate-neoliberal Citigroup chair Robert Rubin and “other Wall Street Democrats” to counter populist rebellion against corporatist tendencies within the Democratic Party

* lent his politically influential and financially rewarding assistance to neoconservative pro-war Senator Joe Lieberman

* supported other “mainstream Democrats” fighting antiwar progressives in primary races

* criticized efforts to enact filibuster proceedings against reactionary Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

* voted for a business-friendly “tort reform” bill that rolls back working peoples’ ability to obtain reasonable redress and compensation from misbehaving corporations

* oppose the introduction of single-payer national health insurance on the grounds that such a widely supported social-democratic change would lead to employment difficulties for workers in the private insurance industry

* expressed reservations about a universal health insurance plan recently enacted in Massachusetts, stating his preference for “voluntary” solutions over “government mandates.”

* voted to re-authorize the repressive PATRIOT Act

* voted for the appointment of the war criminal Condaleeza Rice to (of all things) Secretary of State

* opposed Senator Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) move to censure the Bush administration after the president was found to have illegally wiretapped U.S. citizens

* distanced himself from fellow Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin’s forthright criticism of U.S. torture practices at Guantanamo

* refuses to foreswear the use of first-strike nuclear weapons against Iran

* makes a big point of respectfully listening to key parts of the right wing agenda even though that agenda is well outside majority sentiment

* joins victim-blaming Republicans in pointing to poor blacks’ “cultural” issues as the cause of concentrated black poverty

* he claims that blacks have joined the American “socioeconomic mainstream” even as median black household net worth falls to less than eight cents on the median white household dollar

* “If the Democrats don’t show a willingness to work with the president, I think they could be punished in ‘08”

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2007/street0207.html

Obama rallies state Democrats, throws support behind Lieberman

By Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press Writer | March 31, 2006
…
Lieberman, Connecticut's junior senator, is under fire from some liberal Democrats for his support of the Iraq War. He was key in booking Obama, who routinely receives more than 200 speaking invitations each week.
…
"The fact of the matter is, I know some in the party have differences with Joe. I'm going to go ahead and say it," Obama told the 1,700-plus party members who gathered in a ballroom at the Connecticut Convention Center for the $175-per-head fundraiser.

"I am absolutely certain Connecticut is going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate so he can continue to serve on our behalf," he said.
…
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2..