Is Obama really the right choice?

[BenDavid]

what if he turns out to be an incompetent president? what will happen to the democratic party then? what on his record shows he will be a good president? not saying he definitely be lousy, i'm just saying its a dice roll.

and what EXACTLY does he plan to do about Iraq, health care etc? whenever i hear him talk he says"we need to hope of change" and "we need to believe in ourselves to bring people together to get things done" but i dont think that's enough. whenevery he's critized for it he says " oh well they're saying we cant do it, we'll prove them wrong" but you cant just snap your fingers and hope and expect change to come. on his website, the plans are so vague. it just seems to me that he doesn't have any detailed plans for anything.

there's a lot of momentum behind him, but i see it as the democratic party going 100 miles per hour in the wrong direction.

[LadyVT]

1. Agree. If that happens...

it will be curtains for African-American politicians to follow after him for the next 20 years. He will blow all their chances.

[Cant trust em]

3. same could be said about women n/t

[LadyVT]

Yes, of course, so...

the question is, who is most likely to be incompetent to lead based on their demonstrated experience?

[Thrill]

9. The experience argument is weak.

[scheming daemons]

12. Won't know until we try...

...Someone has to go first.

Your argument basically says that it is too risky to ever try.

Your argument can just as easily be used against the NEXT African-American politician that comes along if Obama doesn't get the nomination this time.


...and yes... the same can be said for women as well.


The hatred that the right has for Hillary, and the fact that she is unlikely to have any serious coattails if she DOES win, means that a Hillary presidency is more likely to fail than an Obama presidency. But that's just my opinion.

[1corona4u]

18. OH well....maybe they'll learn that haste makes waste.

[gasoline highway]

24. On the other coin, what happens if Hillary is an incompetent president? n/t

[Cant trust em]

2. Actually there are a lot of specifics

Here is what he has on getting us out of Iraq. I really felt like his answers are the most sensible at the debates. Obviously that's just my opinion, but here are the facts.

Bringing Our Troops Home
Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

Press Iraq’s Leaders to Reconcile
The best way to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing.

Regional Diplomacy
Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors — including Iran and Syria. This compact will aim to secure Iraq’s borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction.

[demo dutch]

4. I know, it sounds like a McCain ad, on the other hand you've got Repugs and

who hate Hillary but might choose Obama, repugs that will rally behind McCain because he's the only conservative choice and than you have Indies that either go for Hillary or Obama, & Dems who won't vote for Hillary or won't vote for Obama. I mean that exactly what the polls suggest now. So what is the solution, a combined front runner ticket???

You can equate the whole thing with JFK, that was also a very close race.

[libertee]

5. Thank you..you are absolutely correct!!! But we are accused

of being racist if we but utter discontent...I too would like to hear more defined plans to his platform not hyperbole or "change" as a cliche!!! The momentum and the pretending of camelot is a gross injustice to us..Momentum..ummm..got G Bush elected twice and his moto was "tax and spend democrats..yea, right and the new budget proposal is for 3 Trillion...

[Cant trust em]

14. We are tax and spend democrats

Ending tax cuts will fund the programs we want. At least we're honest. GWB wants to have tax cuts AND increase spending. He wants to have his cake and eat it too. I'm not a federal budget analysis, but I know that if I want to go on a lot of vacations this year I have to look at my bank account and make some more money. Has George Bush ever balanced his check book?

[libertee]

28. Local TV station is investigating Rep. Randy Kuhl's trip to Brazil I believe

and he has "no idea how much it cost, how much was paid for it...who, what, where, when" His only responsibility was to go (and apparently ..enjoy)...Oh, it was on alternate energy sources..When I want a AES ..I turn on a light or take a vitamin. By the way the station has a darn hard time getting answers...they have to GO to the budget office in Wash. to find out the answers..(not there,yet)

[H2O Man]

6. weak

[YOY]

8. Very much so.

n/t

[demo dutch]

10. That may our view, not so sure about the rest of the country, the polls are pretty much

split. I just don't get that at all!

[Thrill]

7. You need to read or listen? All his plans are on his website

Have you also missed the debates?

[sfam]

11. Some of us have the audacity to hope...

And some of us believe that the country is in such a state that its too risky NOT to take a chance on Obama. We truly need someone like him right now.

[demo dutch]

19. Maybe, let's just hope we recapture the WH with whatever nominee we come up with

otherwise hope for me is pretty much a moot point

[ElsewheresDaughter]

13. wish more could hear your ligit concerns....sigh...question everything especially if it tastes sweet

[IndieLeft]

15. "Right" Being the opportune word...

I not only think he will be the right choice, but he'll be Right on day ONE!

You have a lot of "what-ifs" in your post, but none of them substantive. If you want to know what he stands for, and his policies, all you have to do is go to his website. His policies aren't any more vague than what Hillary has on heres.

Or for that matter, you can YouTube any of the debates. I thought it was crystal clear what he plans to do.

One thing he isn't going to to, which Hillary said she WILL do, is garnish people's wages to pay for health insurance.

[awaysidetraveler]

16. BenDavid, here's the details: Obama will leave Iraq, not so with Hillary...

Obama has a detailed plan to leave Iraq, leaving no permanent bases behind. HRC intends to leave bases behind
and drop the number of troops. That's a recipe for more war, or at least it has been a recipe for more war in all
parts of the Middle East as of yet.

Obama does intend to fully support Israel, in case you're concerned (I noticed the star).

Health care is a complicated topic, but the essentials of his plan amount to a focus on reducing the cost of insurance
to build a structure of support for less expensive insurance without any mandates. Also, he insists on transparency for
the doctors, the hospitals and the insurance companies. That way, we all know what all of them cost, and that's something Hillary's plan does not do.

Hillary's plan is more detailed, but her 1993 failures loom in my memory: Hillarycare it was called, and it was a 1300 page failure to do anything but dish out more government money for Medicaid and Medicare--some of the greatest institutions of government corruption there are. So before you go running down the Hillary healthcare bus, consider whether or not she can be trusted to deliver on her healthcare promises. She has failed in dramatic ways in the past, and she's collected healthcare lobbyist's money while failing.

[question everything]

17. All we can hope is for a sense of humility to have many advisors

who will tell him what to do... just like Bush.

[GDAEx2]

20. OMFG! What If ??????

this thread not even worth the energy I've just put into it.
Try reaserching the candidates positions.

Uggh.

[andyrowe]

21. Someone is sounding cynical!!!!*

Cynic Police! Kick this. Chorus of Optimists

[BlackVelvet04]

22. Actually he's the "right's choice"......

We are witnessing the Democrats embarrassing version of bushbots. Every criticism of Obama is met with excuses....not explanations but excuses. I went back and read some of bush's 2000 campaign speeches and they sure sound familiar to what we're hearing now. I grant you, Obama talks prettier and better, but it's just dressing bullshit up in a purple dress.

Chants of "we want bush" have changed to "yes, we can", but like the bush supporters it's based on the "tickling of their ears". Not one of the Obama supporters, to my knowledge, have asked why Obama lied about the energy bill he supposedly passed, or the greed and lack of judgment demonstrated by his deal with Rezko. Almost every criticism of Obama is countered by the equivalent of "mommy she did it first."

I despair for this country when the president is possibly going to be picked by the same people who think the struggles of the 60's and 70's are irrelevant and a thing of the past. Should Obama win the nomination I predict that once he is vetted by the republicans the Democratic party will be lucky to see the Whitehouse in their dreams, much less in reality. And should by some cult of personality miracle he actually make it to the whitehouse, I predict an avalanche of buyer's remorse should he actually reach across the aisle to obtain the utopian unity of which he speaks.

I see the same mentality at work that we see every year on the American Idol auditions....childish belief that if you just believe hard enough it makes it so.

[andyrowe]

23. More pessimism.*

The Chorus of Optimists will drown out the cynics!

[BlackVelvet04]

25. You remind me of the

fundamentalists who declare a person healed who is obviously at death's door and then get mad at God for not honoring their belief when the patient dies. Hope is a wonderful thing when tempered with reality.

Belief without reality is what makes people believe there is no global warming and the earth is 6,000 years old. People passionately believed the earth was flat. People passionately believe God will save them when they handle snakes and then get angry when a loved one dies from a snake bite. God, hope or whatever you want to call it doesn't save you from ignorance.

[andyrowe]

26. I sense your cynicism. It does not aid you.*

So sayeth I, Soothsayer of The Chorus of Optimists!!

[BlackVelvet04]

27. You does not use very good English, either. n/t