Barack Obama says he's done more than just talk

[babylonsister]

Barack Obama says he's done more than just talk

by John McCormick


OSHKOSH, Wis. – A day after Hillary Clinton suggested – again – that Barack Obama is all talk and no action, the Illinois Democrat responded here with a new riff that challenges her suggestion.

"Her argument, I think, yesterday was, 'Well, Obama's a talker and I'm a doer. He makes speeches. I offer solutions,'" Obama said. "Now, I understand that as we get further and further along in this process, some of the arguments get sillier and sillier."

Obama then launched into a list of legislative accomplishments in both the Illinois Senate and U.S. Senate, although he did fail to acknowledge any help from any of his fellow lawmakers.

"When I brought Democrats and Republicans together to have health insurance in Illinois, that wasn't talk," he said. "When I fixed our criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions in Illinois, that wasn't talk. When I worked with Republicans on nuclear proliferation issues, that wasn't talk. So, she's exactly right that speeches aren't enough. That's why I've been working for the last 20 years to provide real solutions to the American people."

Obama went on to criticize Clinton for her past support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as he has been prone to do in recent days.

Then, the always confident senator, couldn't help but offer himself some more praise: "It's true. I give a good speech. What can I do? Nothing wrong with that," he said.

And while it is perfectly clear that there will be no Wisconsin debate before the state's primary Tuesday, the debate over debates continues to linger.

more...

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/barack_obama_says_hes_done_mor.html

[Blue-Jay]

1. But...but...it's a CULT!

hur hur hur....

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Sillier and sillier...

I'll drink to that.

:beer:

[Freida5]

3. He is all talk and little results

[madrchsod]

10. really? news to me here in illinois

he was a fine state senator and i would put that record up against anything hillary has done in new york....oh wait a minute, she never was elected to state office in new york......

[babylonsister]

27. Zing! They got nuthin' except ...nuthin'! nt

[MethuenProgressive]

4. Clinton's really getting to him.

How could he ever hold up under GOP attacks if he can't handle the mild heat from the Clinton Camp?

[Pirate Smile]

6. Just like before South Carolina - when they were all "in his head"? Yeah, that really

turned out bad. :evilgrin:

[MethuenProgressive]

7. His swiftboating of Clinton on race in SC sure was more than just talk,

it was the most disgusting behavior by a candidate since the Williw Horton ads.
Shame on the Obamas.

[madrchsod]

12. willy horton ads?

well that`s creative.....

[Pirate Smile]

25. Baloney, as usual, from you.

[Yael]

11. Yeah -- they are both talking about him

Pssst -- that isn't a good thing for Camp Clinton...

[Mz Pip]

16. Seems like he's handling it

just fine. How is he not holding up?

He's hit back with specifics. I know you would prefer to have him crawl under his bed with a blanket trembling in fear of the mightly Hillary, but no such luck.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. amen, and when he talks, he is calm, not attacking

I am so sick of hearing Hillary attack attack attack.

The country would have to endure endless griping fighting and attacking,
and counter attacking if we had a Billary Presidency.

[babylonsister]

8. Clinton Campaign Attacks Obama for Being a Good Speaker

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/77207/

Clinton Campaign Attacks Obama for Being a Good Speaker

Posted by Mike Lux, Open Left at 2:05 PM on February 15, 2008.

So now that I've done a post on something other than the Presidential race, I just have to say one thing about the Presidential race- sorry.

Hillary Clinton's new attack line against Barack Obama is that he gives great speeches. Seriously, here's her quote:

Speeches don't put food on the table. Speeches don't fill up your tank, or fill up your prescription, or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night. My opponent gives speeches. I offer solutions.

So let me flow this argument out, as we used to say on the debate team: her argument seems to be that Obama gives good speeches, and I don't, so I will be a better President.

Apparently since Obama gives great speeches, so he must not be good at getting things done. It's a bullshit argument, but it can be very effective with working class folks who are cynical about politicians and the speeches they give. To push back, Obama has to keep his speeches rooted to the real issues people are facing, and tie those real issues to the hope message he is bringing. He's doing a pretty good job of that at the moment, so I am guessing that these new attacks by Clinton will fall flat.

To my old friends at the Clinton campaign: I love y'all, but you gotta come up with something better than this.

Digg!

[WolverineDG]

15. So now speaking English well is bad?

::adding that to my list::

:crazy:

:hi: sis!!!

dg

[babylonsister]

21. I imagine it's the enthusiasm and inspiration the crowds walk away

with after an Obama speech that's really getting their goat. Clinton just doesn't have the right stuff to pull that off, and it must slay her!

:hi:

[Mz Pip]

19. We've had 7 years

of crappy speeches. Would Hillary prefer he be more like Dumbya?

That is a classic example of a Rovian tactic. Take a strength and try to turn it into a weakness. :eyes:


Mz Pip
:dem:

[babylonsister]

26. That's it in a nutshell. And I've seen posters claim Obama is

using Rove's tactics. I don't think so, and I for one am jazzed about the possibilities of Obama.

[jlake]

9. Barack Obama "SAYS" he's done more than just talk

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[babylonsister]

14. Try this on for size, and there's lots more where this came from...

http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2006/10/b...

snip//

So my little data point is: while Obama has not proposed his Cosmic Plan for World Peace, he has proposed a lot of interesting legislation on important but undercovered topics. I can't remember another freshman Senator who so routinely pops up when I'm doing research on some non-sexy but important topic, and pops up because he has proposed something genuinely good. Since I think that American politics doesn't do nearly enough to reward people who take a patient, craftsmanlike attitude towards legislation, caring as much about fixing the parts that no one will notice until they go wrong as about the flashy parts, I wanted to say this. Specifics below the fold.

Nonproliferation: the poster child for issues that people ought to care about, but don't. Here Obama has teamed up with Richard Lugar (R-IN). How did this happen? Here's the Washington Monthly:

snip//

Regulating Genetic Testing: It was while I was reading about this issue that I first thought: gosh, Barack Obama seems to turn up whenever I am reading about some insanely wonky yet important issue. And this one is not just off the radar; it and the radar are in different universes. Anyways:

snip//

Those are some of the wonkier things he's done. (There are others: introducing legislation to make it illegal for tax preparers to sell personal information, for instance, and legislation on chemical plant security and lead paint.) He has done other things that are more high-profile, including:


* His "health care for hybrids" bill

* An Energy Security Bill

* Various bills on relief for Hurricane Katrina, including aid for kids and a ban on no-bid contracts by FEMA

* A public database of all federal spending and contracts

* Trying to raise CAFE standards

* Veterans' health care

* Making certain kinds of voter intimidation illegal

* A lobbying reform bill (with Tom Coburn), which would do all sorts of good things, notably including one of my perennial favorites, requiring that bills be made available to members of Congress at least 72 hours before they have to vote on them.

* And a proposal to revamp ethics oversight, replacing the present ethics Committee with a bipartisan commission of retired judges and members of Congress, and allowing any citizen to report ethics violations. This would have fixed one of the huge problems with the present system, namely: that the members have to police themselves.

more...

And then there's this...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Coexist]

17. the links aren't working for me

[babylonsister]

22. Sorry-tried to cut and paste. The first one is eye-opening:

http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2006/10/barack_obama.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4594266&mesg_id=4594266

[Coexist]

18. delete - dupe

[jlake]

20. Sorry, but that is just funny.

[babylonsister]

23. So don't be so disingenuous as to claim he's done nothing when you're

being willfully ignorant. K?

[jlake]

24. I'm not being disingnuous.

[woolldog]

13. Here's a link to that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVPIixS2HMU&feature=user

[babylonsister]

28. Thank you! I hope you posted that in the video forum. nt

[amborin]

29. you judge: is this the way to solve global warming?????

the republican way.....tradeable allowances?


110th Congress, 1st Session
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
AS INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE

CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP AND INNOVATION ACT OF 2007

S. 280

2007 S. 280; 110 S. 280

Retrieve Bill Tracking Report

SYNOPSIS:
A bill to provide for a program to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by establishing a market-driven system of greenhouse gas tradeable allowances, to support the deployment of new climate change-related technologies, and to ensure benefits to consumers from the trading in such allowances, and for other purposes

DATE OF INTRODUCTION: January 12, 2007

SPONSOR(S):
Sponsor and Cosponsors as of 01/12/2007
Lieberman, Joseph (I-CT) - Sponsor
Obama, Barack (D-IL) - Cosponsor