More and More I'm thinking that Obama is the guy I want as my next President

[LynneSin]

I usually stay away from Senators because their voting records can be interpreted nastily in so many ways but with Obama, his voting record is pretty clean and a bit limited. And although he's still 'young' in the national political scene, I think with the right VP we could have an extremely strong ticket that can help restore this nation back to a top-notch nation that is there not only for its own citizens but for the rest of the world.

And I like the appeal that Obama has. His faith has appealed to several Christians that I know who see him as someone who has the perfect balance between faith & political service.

I think this guy can win and I'm eying up the steps to the Obama Bandwagon thinking that might be the best bet for the 2008 ride.

[Kablooie]

1. But ... but ... what about Clinton?

--
Oh yeah. He can't run for a third term.

[SteppingRazor]

2. Yeah, I've been tentatively on the Obama bandwagon for a while now...

At first, I liked Kucinich, but eventually I came back down to planet Earth. I think Obama's the best blend of policy and politics (or righteousness and electibility, depending on one's perspective).

For a while now, I've been mulling over what I call the "To Heck With Whitey" ticket — Obama/Richardson. I think it might be a winner, racist proclivities of white America aside.

[hippiechick]

3. I personally don't want another president who cites scripture.

... there's no place in the State of the Union - or any other governmental speech or policy for that matter - for religion.

What you practice in the privacy of your home or at chapel on the weekends is up to you, but don't be using it to run the country.


Just my .02

[Drops_not_Dope]

7. hippiechick

I'm with you on that. I am looking at Obama very seriously though. In fact, I believe his vision for a new world and a different version of America than we're accustomed to is what will lead us out of this age of Darkness. The policies of this country are outdated, and to continue thinking the world must bend to our liking will bring Hell upon us.

[Learn2Swim]

16. I agree

well said.

Gobama!

[LynneSin]

8. I can appreciate that

But to me he doesn't seem like someone who is going to allow his faith to run our country. I have no problem with a person of faith running this country - everyone has something they believe in even if they believe that there is nothing out there. What I see in Obama is someone who can reach across back to Christian voters who have left the party because of the Republican warping of their faith. We need those voters if we want to win.

Faith in Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Thetans, Flying Spagetti Monsters is not the problem. People who use that faith to control and manipulate others is the problem I have.

[Ninja Jordan]

9. Obama almost HAS to do it in order to kill the perception that he's muslim.

My 2 cents.

[Alhena]

4. Welcome aboard

[Demit]

5. So you think we have to resign ourselves to presidents needing to loudly proclaim their faith?

That's actually an honest question (though I'm asking it with a big sigh). Also, do we have to resign ourselves (again) to choosing a nominee who (we are guessing) is electable? What if we (again) guess wrong?

If I have to live in a nascent theocracy, so be it, there's not much I can do to go against the momentum. But—aside from it being way too early to decide on the next president, it is taking attention away from what is going on NOW—what it feels like to me is a pro forma, pandering, declaration of faith from all the candidates. What I'd really like to see is a candidate who has the courage to say, "How I would govern is separate from what my religious convictions are. My religious convictions are between me and my God."

[LynneSin]

10. Not necessarily

But one of the things that has been hurting us these past elections is the erosion of the Christian votes. Obama, to me, has a belief system similiar to what I believe - which is actions speak louder than words. If anyone was a true follower of the teaching of Jesus - trust me, they would not be as offensive as Bush. Jesus was a liberal hippie, a pacisifist, someone who reached out and helped those in the greatest of need. This, to me, is the good qualities that we should have in our leaders and anyone can be like this regardless of their faith or even if they are agnostic/atheist. Hell one of Gandhi's influences was Jesus - both were followers of 'civil disobediance'

Faith is not the enemy - those who misuse the faith for power - that is the enemy

[JackintheGreen]

6. Sure, maybe, but

He smokes. *cringe*
He isn't really that black. The horror!
His great great great (great?) grandparents owned slaves, so isn't he *really* the slave owner?
His father was an immigrant. Where do his loyalties really lie? In the U.S.of A., or in Kenya?
His middle name is Hussein. I mean, really, do we want that kind of questionable character treating with those terrorists who want to kill us?

Never forget, these people want to KILL us. Jeez!

:sarcasm:

[wyldwolf]

11. I want a 10 years older Obama

Sorry. I think his inexperience is his only weakness, and will be his undoing.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. I used to think the same thing about his experience, then I recalled

that the experiece he comes from is Illinois state politics - and that is like a political crash-course compared to most other places. If he can handle Illinois politics, he can handle anything. As for foreign policy, he'd do what just about anyone else (non-republican) would do - find the best people out there to work with him. Very few people enter the White House strong on foreign policy - those who succeed get good foreign policy advisors, those who don't get Condi.

I haven't decided for myself yet, but I'm liking him more and more.

[TwilightGardener]

13. A few less years

of becoming beholden to special interests is a good thing. I thought about the lack of experience angle myself, and I still have come to the conclusion that Obama will be our most effective nominee. Richardson and Hillary are good, too, I wouldn't have a problem supporting either of them. But what sells in this day and age is star power, image and charisma. I am not saying that that is all there is to Obama--just that he happens to have those attributes IN ADDITION to brains and eloquence. Face it, people vote for whom they personally like, no matter what policies or agendas a candidate espouses. GWB vs. "stiff" Gore. GWB vs. Kerry. Do you see where I'm going? The GOP is trying to throw up a "rock star" in Giuliani to keep the WH--we need to counter that with our own, or we may very well lose. Lest we forget, Bill Clinton was not just a policy wonk. He was a rock star of his time, too, and his relative youth, energy, and personality at that time was refreshing. We ignore this truth at our peril.

[DemBones DemBones]

14. The media sold the lie that Gore was stiff, that Gore was

a liar, that Gore didn't know who he was, etc., and that * was the guy you'd like to have a beer with. Then they sold the lie that American democracy had triumphed on Dec. 12, 2000. In 2004 they sold the lies about Kerry. The media sell lies. It's their job and they've done well at it.

The media are still owned by the same corporate interests, who still want a president who will act in their interests. That means that they'll only support a Democratic candidate if they believe he or she will act in the best interests of large corporations.

[TwilightGardener]

15. I agree with you that the media creates and sells the image.

I am not sure that all of media is working for corporate interests--maybe I'm too naive to believe that. Although one could certainly make the case for MSNBC (GE) constantly shilling for Giuliani--more war = more profits! But if we have a candidate for whom media spin is WORKING, why not take that and run? Media is working AGAINST Clinton, that's clear. And Richardson, while an excellent "resume" candidate, is failing to catch fire so far (I know, it's early yet). My suspicion is that Edwards will not get very far. John McCain was a maverick media darling, and for this reason he ALMOST toppled the neocon-chosen candidate--they had to work very hard to smack him down. My point is that image is almost everything, because that's about as deep as most brain-dead American voters are going to dig--hence the GOP's acceptance and promotion of Giuliani. If we go with a "resume" candidate that doesn't excite ordinary Americans, we are going to lose.