Garrison Keillor: Obama 'a president who can speak with grace and power'

[blm]

Keillor Endorses Obama

3 hours ago

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Garrison Keillor, host of public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion," has endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president, Obama's campaign announced Sunday.

"I'm happy to support your candidacy, which is so full of promise for our country," the best-selling author and humorist wrote in a letter declaring his support. "Seven years of a failed presidency is a depressing thing, and the country is pressing for a change and looking for someone with clear vision who is determined to break through the rhetorical logjam and find sensible ways to move our country forward. That's you, friend."

Obama's campaign provided excerpts of the letter; Minnesota holds its caucuses on Super Tuesday.

In the letter, Keillor, whose books are set in the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, said seeing Obama and his family in front of the U.S. Capitol next January is a happy prospect that would "bring an end to a long sour chapter in our history."

"And of course it will be exciting to have a president who can speak with grace and power to the American people," Keillor wrote.
>>>>>>>>

[MH1]

1. Cool

Lessig, McKibben, Keillor... substantive endorsements keep rolling in!

(okay some might not think Keillor as substantive as Lessig or McKibben... but it's still more like "real people" than politicians.)

[neutron]

16. That was BEFORE the NYT Scandal Broke

wonder what he thinks now.

[jasmine621]

2. I am truly sad to hear this but congrats, Obama. "Speaking" alone is not

going to get done what needs to be done. Observatins like this make feel even more uneasy about Obama. He seems to be running on style over substance, and rhetoric over reality. We are being set up for a huge let down I fear.

[blm]

4. Oh yeah - Keillor is easily snowed by style. What does he know about substance

or the way government effects the average person in the heartland.

[MH1]

7. Well, Lawrence Lessig seems to think Obama has the right nuts and bolts policy ideas

Check out the post here:

http://lessig.org/blog/2007/11/4barack.html

First, and again, I know him, which means I know something of his character. "He is the real deal" has become my favorite new phrase. Everything about him, personally, is what you would dream a candidate should be. Integrity, brilliance, warmth, humor and most importantly, commitment. They all say they're all this. But for me, this part is easy, because about this one at least, I know.

Second, I believe in the policies. Clearly on the big issues -- the war and corruption. Obama has made his career fighting both. But also on the issues closest to me. As the technology document released today reveals, to anyone who reads it closely, Obama has committed himself to important and importantly balanced positions.

First the importantly balanced: You'll read he's a supporter of Net Neutrality. No surprise there. But read carefully what Net Neutrality for Obama is. There's no blanket ban on offering better service; the ban is on contracts that offer different terms to different providers for that better service. And there's no promise to police what's under the technical hood (beyond the commitment already articulated by Chairman Powell): This is a sensible and valuable Net Neutrality policy that shows a team keen to get it right -- which includes making it enforceable in an efficient way, even if not as radical as some possible friends would like.

Second, on the important: As you'll read, Obama has committed himself to a technology policy for government that could radically change how government works. The small part of that is simple efficiency -- the appointment with broad power of a CTO for the government, making the insanely backwards technology systems of government actually work.

But the big part of this is a commitment to making data about the government (as well as government data) publicly available in standard machine readable formats. The promise isn't just the naive promise that government websites will work better and reveal more. It is the really powerful promise to feed the data necessary for the Sunlights and the Maplights of the world to make government work better. Atomize (or RSS-ify) government data (votes, contributions, Members of Congress's calendars) and you enable the rest of us to make clear the economy of influence that is Washington.

Lessig knows wtf he's talking about on technology issues. If he says Obama's technology policy "gets it right", then it gets it right.

Then there's Bill McKibben's endorsement today, which is a little more about the vision thing, but McKibben is an activist who gets things done, and he seems to see that capability in Obama.

[blm]

30. This is EXACTLY why we need MORE INFORMED voters not less.

.

[Triana]

20. Obama speaks A - does B

...two-faced - like most bought-and-paid for politicians.

He happens to be good at speaking in dreamy poetic tomes.

People go googley-eyed and swallow it whole.

They MIGHT be in for some rude awakenings.

[jody]

3. That's Obama's only strength "speak with grace and power". n/t

[blm]

5. Not to me. To me his greater strength is that he believes in OPEN GOVERNMENT and

Clintons believe in closed government that protects the secrecy and privilege of the Bushes. They always have and always will.

[jody]

6. Perhaps Obama "believes in OPEN GOVERNMENT" because he has no executive experience in government. nt

[MH1]

8. So you think that government should NOT be transparent?

In that case Hillary is your girl.

[jody]

10. My point is Obama has zero experience as an executive in government. n/t

[blm]

9. Spoken like a true citizen of Fascistland as ruled by Bush-Clinton-Bush

What an ARMLIFTING experience the last twenty eight years have been for you.

Thankfully, the anti-corruption, open government wing of the Democratic party is growing while the Clinton-Lieberman wing that protects Bush agenda is growing SMALLER.

[jody]

11. Growing? Perhaps but it could be edema from far left extremists. Thanks to a strident Dem minority

pushing personal views not supported by main stream Democrats, the party lost presidential elections in 2000 and 2004.

If we keep growing like that it could be like a cancerous growth that destroys the party.

[blm]

12. 2000, 2002, 2004 lost to election fraud that the DNC ignored - some say out of incompetence

and others believe it was deliberate.

And since WHEN did open government become a far left idea of liberals?

And....

I would bet that Kerry is a crack shot with a gun and could kick the whole gungeons' collective asses on a shooting range. ;))))

[jody]

14. Bill Clinton said Gore's support for gun bans was a major factor in Gore's lost and Gore agreed.

Kerry sponsored a bill that could have banned all semi automatic firearms while he was running as Dem candidate for the president. Kerry allowed himself to be painted as a gun-grabber along with Feinstein, Kennedy, Schumer, et al. That image cost him many votes.

Your fantasy about Kerry being a crack is really funny.

I'm confident DU has a few participants who post regularly in the Guns forum that rank or have ranked at the highest levels of firearm competition with handguns, rifles, and shotguns.

That's the interesting thing about the anonymity of Internet discussions, you never know who you are debating. :rofl:

[blm]

17. Ever hear about Mrs. Alex Sanders?

And I don't GIVE A FOCK about what Bill Clinton said about Gore campaign and guns because it was meant to DISTRACT from the FACT that the ONLY reason Gore didn't get into the WH was because BILL Clinton and the DNC he headed let the party infrastructures weaken and COLLAPSE in too many states.

Some say it was just incompetence that the DNC and its chairs refused to secure the election process at every level where the votes are allowed, cast and counted.

Others believe it was deliberate to protect Hillary2008.

[jody]

19. Many political analysts agree that if Gore and Kerry had not been perceived as gun-grabbers, they

would have won the election outright obviating the need for a vote-count squabble.

[blm]

23. Sure, like the RNC wasn't set up to steal 10% of the vote as easily as 5%.

Bottom line: Democrats would have dominated the elections of 2000, 2002, and 2004 if the DNC hadn't sat on their hands and LET the RNC pull any tactic they wanted uncountered by the Dem party and IF the DNC had bothered to secure the election process instead of weakening and collapsing the party infrastructures in too many states, including crucial states like Florida and Ohio.

[jody]

24. I see we disagree and I can live with that. n/t

[ZinZen]

13. Cupcake do yourself a favor

and do some reading about Obama's history and where he stands on the issues. Because right now you sound like a dullard.

[jody]

15. Have a nice day. n/t

[Hekate]

21. Help me to understand how a person gets that experience without being Pres in the first place....

The President is THE Executive. So who exactly is qualified just now? (well, you know, aside from the once and future co-president, if that's what you are talking about)

Hekate

[1776Forever]

18. I could not agree more Garrison - Hillary will be her secretive self if she gets in....

GOBAMA!!!!!!!

I cannot wait to see Barack in front of the camera's talking to us like a civil, intelligent, and respectable person that he is!!!!!!!!!!!

:headbang: :pals: :headbang:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

22. HE WILL BE EATEN FOR BREAKFAST by the RW machine.

[blm]

26. He isn't being eaten for breakfast by TeamClinton's band of liars is he?

And to think that TeamClinton spent the last 7 years saving all that gunfire they refused to direct at Bush and Rove while Dem policies and Democratic candidates were underconstant attack.

And yet they still haven't been able to make a dent in someone whose machine has only just started and seems to GROWING as Clintons' is shrinking. You want a shrinking machine that has never stood for Democrats the last 7 years or a new machine that is growing and has strong advocates for progressive issues helping it grow?

Wow.

[Cha]

25. An Obama Presidency with

all the amazing people who support him could make our country turn around and be on the path to healing before ya know it.

[rug]

27. Good grief, after seven years of a blithering idiot oratory is all we need?

[blm]

29. After 30yrs of CLOSED GOVERNMENT, an advocate for OPEN GOVERNMENT is what we need.

.

[rug]

31. Carter and Clinton had closed government?

How does he plan to open it? Is open government anything more than rhetoric?

[blm]

32. Who do you think closed the books on all the outstanding matters that were ongoing

when Bill took office? IranContra, Iraqgate, BCCI, CIA drugrunning?


Here's just a GLIMPSE into Bill's view of two of those matters:
http://consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

[exchange77]

28. which is so full of promise for our country