Obama: "if they come at me hard, I will come back at them harder."

[calteacherguy]

Later, during our interview, I raised the toughness issue myself. In 2004, an aide had told me that several top advisers were encouraging Obama, who supported the death penalty in certain cases, to exploit the issue against his anti-death-penalty Republican opponent. Obama had adamantly rejected the advice. I asked why. "My own views on the death penalty are very complicated," he said. "I've said that in theory I don't object to the death penalty for heinous crimes--terrorism, mass murder, child-killers. But that, in its application, it's been racially biased, highly unreliable, inconsistent. So for me to try to pretend that I was a cheerleader for the death penalty simply to score a political point, that wasn't reflective of my views." He smiled. "And I figured I was going to beat him by twenty points anyway."

Back in 2004, the aide had offered the story as a testament to Obama's character, and Obama was clearly proud of how he'd behaved. But, in the context of the current race, it also seemed to reinforce a widely perceived flaw--his refusal to sully himself by playing hardball. I asked if Obama worried about this second interpretation.

"This argument never makes sense to me," he shot back. "If I lose, then I think it's fine for people then to speculate that I don't have the bloodlust. I think I'm going to win doing exactly what I'm doing." Then he added: "The one thing I won't tolerate is people trying to play that stuff on me. The one thing I hope people have become very clear about-and, if not, I will remind them-is I won't be a punching bag for anybody. . . . If they come at me hard, I will come back at them harder."

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=b4160e00-e6f2-4eda-b776-4427c03c3858

[DS1]

1. That's what's working so well for Israel

[Bicoastal]

2. Yeah, nice out-of-nowhere analogy. n/t

[bunnies]

I second this response. nt

[cuke]

13. And I fourth it

Yes, it was that confusing

[Skip Intro]

15. I agree. Wow.

[bunnies]

3. Im sure my view will not be popular here...

But I agree with Obama re: his views on the dealth penalty. And I admire his unwillingness to cave on the issue.

[Adelante]

5. So do I nt

[calteacherguy]

7. I'm againat the death penalty.

The reason is I believe there is no way humanly possible to ensure an innocent person will never be executed. And I believe it is morally unjustified.

I appreciate Obama's candor and honesty on the issue.

[bunnies]

9. But...

What about cases that involve DNA evidence only? Thats pretty much my threshold.

[ripple]

22. Same here.

I believe that every inmate on death row should receive DNA testing at the government's expense. If we're going to kill them, we should sure as hell make sure that they committed the crime. For future inmates, there is no death penalty sentence without DNA evidence.

I used to oppose the death penalty and I still do in principle, but heinous crimes deserve special attention. Practicality trumps principle sometimes, I suppose. If we can pay to house them for life, we can certainly pay to decisively determine their guilt or innocence before we kill them.

[K Gardner]

18. I thought it nice to hear a candidate actually expound on the issue, instead of

turning an extremely complex,emotional and important issue into a poll-driven sound bite. Good for him!

[sampsonblk]

31. Same here. Identical view.-nt

[Adelante]

4. Obama is good with the comeback, the counter punch

I see it as his great strength.

[illinoisprogressive]

6. that was a great article. i think obama is running the way he did in 04.

tough primary and easy general. but, he laid low until the end when he came out of nowhere and really took it by storm.

[hedda_foil]

17. Exactly. DUers who think he had an easy race in '04 don't know our state.

Sure Keyes was W-A-A-Y too insane for Illinois, which made the general an easy ride but the primary was brutal with the Dem power brokers backing other candidates who had more money, bigger credentials, better contacts, and family history. Absolutely no one expected Obama to win except Barack (and the Evanston and Oak Park Dems who were with him from the start). And the general could have been brutal with Ryan, the glamor candidate the Repubs had originally recruited. 6'4" tall, handsome, young, fit, rich, smart, great bio -- hugely successful lawyer who quit his career to teach at-risk black kids in the inner city. And to top it all off, he was married to the gorgeous Jeri Ryan of Star Treck fame. Interestingly, he was brought down by a public scandal where he was accused of forcing his movie star wife to participate with him in group sex at "clubs." Interesting because one of his chief Dem rivals was also brought down by a scandal involving domestic violence.

[Teaser]

8. Sounds like a Ron Jeremy line

.

[bunnies]

10. coming from "Teaser".

:rofl:

[geek tragedy]

11. And I thought the Israel reply was nonsensical. n/t

[durrrty libby]

12. So called religious people condoning the death penalty

are short-sighted and hypocrites.

Go work in a state prison for awhile. People who live out their lives there

have a damn depressing existence

[Xipe Totec]

14. The Harder They Come

"The Harder They Come" - Jimmy Cliff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGE4dnrPPZQ

[Skip Intro]

16. He sounds like Fonzie. Where's the leather jacket, Obama?

oooooh - he can spew all the venom he likes, for whatever reason (like Novak) but nobody better mess with him - or he'll get ya.

:eyes:

[ClarkUSA]

19. Obama has shown he's tough enough for prime time.

And Iowans like it.

[Evergreen Emerald]

20. he sounds like a four-year-old trying to sound like a big-guy

doesn't do it for me

[youthere]

21. Sorry but...

this thread title sounds a little messy.;)

[jefferson_dem]

24. Not sure what you mean. Please elaborate.

Tsk tsk... ;)

[frankenforpres]

23. THATS THE CHICAGO WAY

"You wanna get Capone? Here's how you get him--he pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue--THAT'S THE CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you get Capone."

[hedgehog]

30. Is that really the Chicago way or just a quote from a movie? nt

[AtomicKitten]

25. Obama has a really sophisticated POV on many issues.

Sometimes I start out not agreeing with him, but always end up seeing his POV clearly and it always makes sense even if I'm not completely swayed.

The man is a thinker, and I'd also like to have a beer with him.

[silverweb]

34. Agreed.

Refreshing, isn't it, compared to the warped numbskulls we've been enduring for the past several years?


GObama!

[AtomicKitten]

35. It is refreshing.

Which in a way is a little sad because we should have been choosing the smart candidate all along.

[silverweb]

36. Too true.

But I think (and hope!) that our people have been coming out of their fear-stoked stupor and are ready for a leader like Obama.

As jefferson_dem said in _another thread_, "It's his time."

[Catherine Vincent]

26. He can come at me hard.

:hide:

[AtomicKitten]

27. *

:spank:

[Catherine Vincent]

29. That looks like a hard spank.

:)

[Andromeda]

28. .

:evilgrin:

[sampsonblk]

32. Good. That should have been our litmus test in 2004

In the current political environment, its the first rule to live by. Forget "Commitment to Excellence." How about "Fight dammit!"

[Life Long Dem]

33. Sounds like an angry temper to me if he doesn't watch out.