It's A Good Thing Obama Is On Our Side

[stopbush]

Could you imagine what it would be like having a person with his oratory and communication skills on the other side of the aisle? The man could sell ice to Eskimos.

We're also very fortunate that even the A-list speakers on the R side are a bunch of blithering idiots.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. My side is the one that advocates...

Ending the Iraq and Afghan wars

Ending US-sponsored torture

Stopping even any vague notion of indefinite detention

Ending the War on Drugs

Holding war criminals accountable

Providing the kind of health care that the rest of the civilized world enjoys

------

So I take issue with your subject line.

[leftstreet]

2. +1

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. +1

:thumbsup:

[stopbush]

5. So, Obama isn't on your side.

Yawn...

[FiveGoodMen]

7. So YOU are not concerned about these things:

Ending the Iraq and Afghan wars

Ending US-sponsored torture

Stopping even any vague notion of indefinite detention

Ending the War on Drugs

Holding war criminals accountable

Providing the kind of health care that the rest of the civilized world enjoys

---------

:puke:

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. I'll bet he was the past eight yrs.

:evilgrin:

[stopbush]

18. Oh, I'm concerned. I'm also a realist in the best sense of the word.

I also don't expect Obama to get everything done yesterday. All of the issues you care about are being worked on at one level or another. The issues took years to develop and they will not be resolved or thoroughly addressed overnight. Some may not be solved during Obama's tenure.

Obama needs to get a few clear victories under his belt before addressing the issues that speak to our core values (ethics and morals), things like torture and illegal wars. Otherwise, he looks like a political opportunist, and that would be counterproductive.

The health care debate has shown us how Obama works: rope-a-dope, then clean their clocks. I expect him to do the same on the other pressing issues of the day.

Patience, my friend. The improbable, Obama will accomplish rather quickly. The impossible may take a bit longer.

[FiveGoodMen]

21. Hero worship

I don't see him pulling in the right direction.

I don't think time will help.

[stopbush]

22. Nope. I don't believe in having heroes.

BTW - I wonder if you're capable of seeing him pull in the right direction. You seem to have an absolutist air about you.

[FiveGoodMen]

24. "You seem to have an absolutist air about you"

When it comes to torture, indefinite detention, denying care to the sick and so forth -- yes, I'm a complete absolutist.

And proud to be.

But it doesn't affect my sense of direction.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Obviously, you don't believe that the bullshit being sold is ice-cream.

Great post.

[bigwillq]

17. ......

:thumbsup:

[Individualist]

26. +1

[DevonRex]

4. Yes, it certainly is. Good post. K&R. nt

[Arkana]

9. They did once--his name was Saint Ronnie of McReaganopolis.

Fortunately, Obama's got 10 times the brains of Ronnie--probably why he stayed with the Democratic Party.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. If he were on the other side, the republicans would get everything they wanted.

Wait...:shrug:

[armyowalgreens]

11. I don't idol worship. And Obama is most certainly not worthy of any of our worship.

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. +1 nt

[CJCRANE]

13. The content matters as much as the delivery.

The Repubs don't have anything new to say, that's why their speeches fail.

[JDPriestly]

14. Obama's oratory and skills are due to his intelligence and humility and compassion.

There is utterly no danger that anyone on the other side of the aisle could possibly have his oratory and skills. They aren't smart enough. They aren't humble enough. And they don't really like anybody but themselves.

[FiveGoodMen]

15. What makes you say that?

What theory links one's facility with words to the quality of their character?

[CJCRANE]

16. That's like asking

did the quality of MLK's character enhance his ability to connect with others?

Of course it did.

[armyowalgreens]

19. There have been plenty of assholes in history that were capable of connecting with others...

So I'm not understanding the connection.

[FiveGoodMen]

20. Lots of people in history have communicated well and connected with others

and yet not been good people.

Godwin's Law admonishes me not to mention one outstanding example.

[CJCRANE]

23. Churchill and Roosevelt connected to more people

than Hitler. Hitler appealed to a section of German society for a time, he didn't appeal to the whole world.

A positive and inclusive agenda will always appeal to more people in the long run.

On edit: same sentences, different order

[JDPriestly]

25. Character does not insure facility with words.

And facility with words does not insure character. In fact, I would question whether Obama has the courage of a man of true character. But he does have the characteristics that I mentioned, and they cause people who listen to him to feel that they are hearing from a man who genuinely cares about them. George W. Bush did not really care about other people. In fact he made up and used nicknames for others that demeaned them. George W. Bush was always about feeling powerful. He could never forget himself or lose himself to anything beyond himself. It showed in his language.

When Flaubert said, "Madame Bovary, c'est moi." Madame Bovary, that is I, he was stating what I am saying. Our words are the manifestations of our thoughts which are in turn the product of our selves, the good, the bad, and the ugly. For all his faults, Obama is a loving, kind man. He speaks with warmth and compassion. No Republican can do that. If they were warm and compassionate, they would not be Republicans. Not all Democrats are warm and compassionate. That's for sure. As I said, Obama's character fault is lack of strength, lack of the courage to fight for what is right no matter what. George W. Bush had the strength to fight for what he thought was right. Unfortunately, his judgment was poor because his idea of "right" was what was good for George W. Bush. He couldn't help it. He just can't feel much empathy or compassion. He lacks the grace . . . .

[Individualist]

27. He is?

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