Run Obama in 2008 or the Democratic Party can go to hell.

[bling bling]

I mean it. I've had it with rich white guys being our only real options on both sides since the birth of the country.

Like I said on another thread, if you do what you've always done, you're gonna get what you always got.

If the Democrats offer us another rich white guy in 2008 I give up on them.

[Toucano]

1. Welcome to hell.

I love him, but you're delusional if you think he could pick up a single red state.

Ohio Hayseed voter:
"Whats a Barak? Osama? We don't like him!"

[bling bling]

2. It CAN be done. IF, we get organized. We can do it.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

3. You don't think African Americans would vote

for an African American candidate? There's lots of them in the south. They'd probably love it. It would really get the minorities involved in these elections.

[Toucano]

10. "What do you call a party that relies on new voters?

Losers."

That's Carville's, not mine.

[The Chronicler]

5. LMAO so true

[Renew Deal]

7. Fuck the red states.

[Toucano]

8. Oh, I see.

You want to LOSE again. Gotcha! ;)

[Renew Deal]

15. lol

Actually no I don't. I just wanted to say that. :silly:

[Toucano]

18. I should have guessed.

We ALL want to say that! :)

[Doomsayer13]

11. Actually, Obama did very well in rural areas of IL

granted he was running against Alan Keyes in a Democratic state, but Obama carried almost every county in Illinois, except the ultra-freeperish among them.

Keyes ran on gods, gays, and guns and wasn't able to gain any traction in these normally conservative counties - why? It's becuase rural voters saw Obama as a man of conviction who could speak to them about the issues they cared about. He wasn't pretentious and he was the real deal.

I think Obama may be the future of the Democratic party.

[Tweed]

27. He ran against a black man from Maryland

[grace0418]

28. Have you forgotten how many blacks live in red states?

And here, in Illinois, we've got our share of downstate bigots. I know our state is blue but there are still plenty of right-wing folks in certain areas. And, guess what, EVEN THEY voted for Barack Obama.

So don't count him out. He would be an AMAZING president. I would campaign for him 24/7

[Roland99]

4. Senators don't have a lot of luck running for President

And what experience will he have had by then?

[StupidFOX]

6. No no, the problem is this:

Their record is too damn long and complicated. It's easily smeared. Only governors can become presidents. Democrats need to realize this.

[iamjoy]

9. Exactly

I mean, the bills they vote on in the Senate have all these clauses and amendments, a politician could criticize an opponent for voting for something really freaky while he promotes his own vote for the same bill (just talks about a different aspect of it) Don't say I'm crazy, Bill Frist did it to Paul Wellstone.

Plus, after only four years in the Senate, Obama won't have enough experience. No, Kerry needed to win this so we could have Edwards/Obama 2012

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Placebo]

12. You're Living In a FANTASYLAND.

Come back down to reality for a second.

I am an Illinois resident, who voted for Obama this year.

I don't want him to run for president, or be president in 2008.

It is not his time, his time will come.

He will be a first term senator with only 2 years of experience before it would come time to begin the run for President come 2006.

2 years in the senate as your only national political experience does not translate well into a presidential victory in a post-9/11 world.

[bling bling]

21. If Bush can win it, anybody can win it. I'm sick of being cautious.

I want to vote for a candidate that I want to represent my country.

The red states can be overcome if we put our heads together and come up with a real plan. Off the top of my head, I think we ought to try character assassination on the opponent and lying to the voters in red states. It's tried, tested, and works. Just ask Bush and the republican controlled congress. Bush certainly didn't get where he is thanks to his political experience either. He's a clueless retard, and he got elected.

If we don't beat them at their own lying/cheating/stealing game they are never going to stop it and we're never going to win.

[Placebo]

23. Well being reckless and absurd isn't the answer.

Bush won because he is steady, careful, and extremely scripted.

[bling bling]

26. What?? Bush is a bumbling idiot. His people have to race

to the networks to "clarify" what he says after he says it.

We can't let the racist fuckheads have so much say-so anymore without without even trying to fight it for fear that we'll lose votes. We have to topple them. I'm tired of waiting for them to die out. I want change NOW.

I think it would be a lot more energizing for us to act the way we want to for a change and stop being so paralyzed by caution. We lost to a dum-dum right-wing-wacko-freak. Twice in a row.

The cautious strategy seems the more reckless avenue to me, quite frankly. It's not working.

[zulchzulu]

13. He needs a lot more experience first

It's not going to happen in 2008.

[ComerPerro]

31. I agree

I want his as my Senator for six or ten years first.

[Harlan James]

14. Wes Clark

The guy busted his ass working for our guys in this election. He's laid the groundwork for a campaign that will take us back from this less than shining moment.

This is my guy for 2008. I can't wait to sign on.

[americanwomanone]

20. I Don't Think He wants to do it. n/t

[autorank]

16. Screw 'em. The red states demographics will make this work.

If Obama pans out and is the person he seems to be and if he's a royal ass kicker, then lets do it. I think the Kerry campaign was phlegmatic. I love the guy and Edwards for trying but you need real ENERGY non stop. By 2008, there will be a whole new landscape. Put together every single black and hispanic voter in the south east plus the whites who have a stake in the economy and the delusional xtian right is toast.

Lets consider everything. Obama looks good now. Let's hope he'll pick up the flag and keep fighting.

[hope42mro]

17. Obama will probably be the first black president, but...

Running him in 2008 destines him for the same fate as John Edwards, the "Junior senator". It's hard enough for senators to balance campaigning and serving as it is, let alone having to also fight off accusations of inexperience. I say he needs at LEAST 2 full terms before running for president. Let's get a Democrat in office for 2 full terms before we take on the racial hurdle.

[gratefull4u]

22. He is the only politician who ever

Made me stand up walk toward the TV, get chills and say YES!!!!
He really moved something in me and I'm a 40sh white woman. I went on line to see if I could download his speech, found it and put it on Cd's and gave them out to everyone. I think he is our future, I hope it is soon.

[choicevoice]

32. Obama has the charisma factor

I was mesmerized by his speech at the convention.

[LTRS]

24. Oh yeah, like the bigots in this country will elect

... a black guy. What are you smoking? Might as well run an athetist or a gay person. Hell, I doubt a woman could win either.

[bling bling]

25. I'm ready to STOP being afraid of the bigots and the racists

and the mysogonists for fear that we won't win.

I'm ready to move forward instead of side-stepping. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to vote for a candidate that the bigots hate. We can overcome the bigots by bullying THEIR candidate and turning the character assissinations on the people who actually deserve them for a change.

[grace0418]

29. There are more black people than there are bigots

Barack Obama would actually get them to the polls. Not to mention every liberal, every moderate and even a few conservatives.

[UdoKier]

30. Obama's great, but a green freshman senator would be a hard sell.

Maybe as a VP candidate...

[bling bling]

34. Our conventional wisdom just blew up in our face yesterday.

The democrats we have left in congress might as well be put on the endangered species list unless we change our tactics.

And I *don't* want to see the democrats adopting more and more watered down Republican platforms in a pathetic attempt to woo the racist, anti-gay, hateful dolts to our side.

Let's attack them hard from the offense and the defense and run a candidate who energizes us for a change.

I *want* to be energized and Obama would do it. The less time in the Senate the better. Let them try their attacks. I'm sick of lying dormant or taking the high road. I'm willing to take off the gloves and really, truly, give them the fight of their lives if it's for the right candidate.

[UdoKier]

35. Why not an experienced congressperson like McKinney?

Shee would sure energize me.

[bling bling]

36. Obama has more potential to spark the interest across the party.

He could be the beacon of light and hope to millions that gave grown disollutioned. The fact that he's a fresh face could actually be a good thing. Our old guidelines about what works to bring out the vote just simply aren't working. We can't depend on them anymore.

[underseasurveyor]

33. This party is in Hell and will remain there.....

Until we kill all those DAMN VOTING MACHINES. Otherwise all the hard work in the world won't make any difference. Rebuttlickin's will continue to steal it away every time!
Those machines must die and that's where we need to concentrate our eforts and get rid of them if we ever hope to have fair elections in this country again. The media is another major problem but the machines are number one on the 'to do list'.
Paper ballots mean a future.