Barack Obama's campaign has been impressive so far

[rhombus]

At least to me. Here's why -

1. He's a relatively new comer on the national political scene

2. He hasn't built a ton of entrenched establishment interests

3. As a senator, he has even impressed some of his Republican colleagues like Dick Lugar, Lamar Alexander and even gasp! Trent Lott, who have all praised him for his ability to create consensus on issues and his very approachable demeanor from all sides of the political spectrum.

4. Russ Feingold praised Obama for being the one with the most serious Iraq plan that got the whole Iraq debate moving this year

5. He has built an enormous small donor base in a relatively short time, something that speaks of his ability to draw in new voters

6. His campaign's focus on the grassroots, with organizing national events like Walk for Change and Hope Action Change

7. He is not getting all the endorsements like some of his competitors who have been on the national political scene much longer than he has, but his endorsements have been from a small group of quality folks, like New Hampshire's Yogurt guru, Gary Hirshberg and his wife.


8. He is running a positive, inspiring campaign with a message of inclusiveness


9. He avoids pandering too much or throwing red meat to the base, just for the sake of scoring cheap political points. It attests to his efforts to say or do things that may be unpopular with some within his own support base.


10. Barack has said pointedly that if he loses, he won't blame it on anything like race, but rather on the fact that he didn't sell his message well to the people. Essentially, he's says he will win or lose on his own campaign's merit.




Ok, this is my small list of why I like what the Obama campaign has been doing so far.

Obama supporters, chime in. Wavering or undecided DU'ers chime in. Opponents are also welcome. What do you or do not like about Barack Obama's campaign so far? Constructive criticism is always welcome. Keep this thread flame free.


:patriot: :hi:

[DemKR]

1. juanita brodderick n/t

[mzmolly]

2. Sorry?

:shrug:

[alteredstate]

8. Huh? n/t

[jmp]

15. Juanita Broaddrick

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

[ripple]

16. What does she have to do with Obama? n/t

[SoxFan]

3. K&R

:applause:

[maximusveritas]

4. I think he's in a great position

He's building up an organization and raising the funds necesary to compete. He's laid out his positions on the issues and has held his own in all the debates, getting better every time. We're still a long ways away, but he's put himself in position to have a chance of winning and that's all you can ask for.

[Sadie4629]

5. I haven't decided yet

A couple of the things that bother me about him:

1. When something has gone wrong in his campaign, he tends to try to shift the blame to someone else. I think candidates should have a "buck stops here" attitude.

2. Some of his mis-statements have been ginormous. 10,000 people in Kansas dead in that tornado? The right-wing will make micemeat out of him over things like that in the general election campaign.

[papau]

6. He's the current Dean, and if he sells "experienced enough" his base expands from activists to

a majority of the party and he wins the nomination.

He has 6 months to make the sale. But if he can not sell non-activists in the Democratic Party, he will have a hard time in November. Feb 5 and California will make or break his campaign.

[nevergiveup]

7. You list is very good

and I think on the money as to why he has been so successful. I am just an old man and I haven't seen anyone in a long time with his potential. His most difficult problem will be to convert established Democrats who vote religiously in primaries. Instead of voting politically smart they often times go with established politicians who have "earned their vote". Kerry and Mondale come to mind. Clinton is an exception but he didn't have to run against a Clinton and he had been laying the groundwork for his campaign for years. All in all I think Obama is in a very impressive position at this stage of the race.

[ncabot22]

9. I like Obama

I think the democrats have an interesting group of candidates this year. Obama seems to inspire people, which is always good. Most of my friends in the States seem to support either Obama or Kucinich so my fingers are crossed that one of those two get the nod.

[illinoisprogressive]

10. He has 28 field offices. He just built his 'machine' from the scratch in 6 months

The fact that he has outraised the fabled Clinton machine twice, has over 258,000 donors from a very small mostly chicago group of donors to start, and has opened 28 very well organized field offices speaks to someone who is doing something very right.
Instead of trying to shout for notice he has gone into periods of quiet activity. From this we can see what he's been doing.

[jefferson_dem]

11. Fine assessment. And you're spot on!

:hi:

[Laurab]

12. Nice post - I agree with you

Obama is my favorite out of the "top three" - I've read both of his books, and I know there is a lot more to him than a lot of people think. There is substance there. He pisses me and a lot of other dems off at times because he DOES insist on trying to get along with the opposition party. Truth is, I think we are going to need someone like that to fix this mess, as much as I may not like it.

I saw by checking Newsmeat.com that some of my favorite, politically active musicians, have contributed the maximum to his campaign - people I respect immensely, so I'm not alone in my thinking, anyway. He's not going to burn out, as many people thought because he seems to be taking it slowly. He does need to get his name better known, though.

One interesting thing I found is that I was talking to my only hard-core repuke friend. We never talk politics, but somehow we ended up talking about them a few weeks ago. She hated all the repuke candidates, hated Hillary and Edwards, but was really interested in the things I told her about Obama. I was really surprised. I don't have any other close repuke friends, but if her reaction is any indication, he's got some crossover appeal as well.

[Pirate Smile]

13. While watching MTP today, I was thinking that Webb would be a good VP pick for Obama

if he wins the nomination.

[Imagevision]

14. I agree, Obama is running a great campaign, all of his speeches are impressive

how the hell anyone can figure Obama isn't qualified after an idiot like Bush ruins the integrity of this country with his in competence, why didn't Cheney keep him on a shorter leash?

[UrbScotty]

17. He's not afraid to tell people what they don't want to hear.

That's what a leader should do.

[ripple]

18. Well said! K & R n/t