What most distinguishes Obama from his competitors?

[calteacherguy]

#1 "He has the passion in his heart. He's not selling you. It's just him." -Ethel Kennedy

# 2 "He possesses the one quality that you cannot teach and you can't learn. … He is a leader. He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere. And … I've only seen that a couple of times in my life." - George Clooney

#3 He understands that we are a multicultural, multiparty nation. He tries to think of us as a united states." -Sharon Stone

#4 "I've got a conviction about him that I don't get very often. He has as much potential as anyone I've seen to have an important impact over his lifetime on the course that America takes" -Warren Buffet

#5 “I think his sense of hope and optimism for this country and what is possible for the United States is the kind of thing that I would like to get behind." -Oprah Winfrey

http://www.draftobama.org/celebrities

[draft_mario_cuomo]

1. self delete. This is a feel good thread for BO. Let it stay that way nt

[calteacherguy]

5. They were speaking of more important things than policy blueprints.

Character, integrity, values, leadership, etc. If a candidate makes their values known, and has strong leadership and integrity, that's what's most important to me. Good policy flows from good character and values, not the other way around.

The way Edwards seems to think he can gain support simply by putting out more detailed policy proposals faster than anyone else does not sway me. That's not what this contest is about. I feel like Edwards is trying to sell me, but with Obama what he says is authentic and comes from the heart.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

6. self delete nt

[venable]

17. so edwards substantial policy proposals are what is phony about him?

man, we really disagree.

peace.

[calteacherguy]

23. Yes, taken in context. nt

[IndianaGreen]

2. All of the above, and...

he is this generation's New Frontier.

[FrenchieCat]

7. And provides a chance for the United States to renew itself, get away from the stereotypes,

and the status quo.

He is also is a prime example to be viewed by young people of all races and his candidacy (and moreso if he attains the presidency) speaks to the notion that they too can become somebody by simply doing well in school, and aiming for goals other than the "earn a lot of money" that our nation currently has adopted as its mantra.

He will awaken many young ones and many of the "invisibles" as to why it is important to vote and He will give them something to vote for.

[More Than A Feeling]

3. He's gambling that "unity" will trump the desire to whip the Republican party

from Mexico to Canada, and destroy their brand for at least two generations. Personally, I'd rather see Republicans have their forty years in the wilderness, bereft and forgotten, so that the carriers of the madness that has nearly destroyed our society have fully passed out of public life.

[Fovea]

4. Other...

He seems to split the difference between HRC's gray eminence and Edwards' passion.

[bobthedrummer]

8. Perception Management via Obama's Communication Director Robert Gibbs

Bobby Gibbs, who gave the world the Osama bin Laden/Howard Dean fast-cut flashes while working for John Kerry-that wasn't in the poll but it's Obama's perception management

[Adelante]

18. I hate that Gibbs is in the Obama campaign

But there are shit heels in every campaign and they can be worth their weight in gold when a candidate is under attack, and since they are in every campaign, I guess candidates find them a necessary evil.

In Iowa what they did to Dean with that ad was inexcusable, but I thought Gibbs was working for Gephardt. Why do you charge Kerry on that?

[bobthedrummer]

21. Charles Lewis of The Center for Public Integrity authored an often cited article

about this. Robert Gibbs had left the Kerry campaign when the ads directed against Howard Dean were launched from a group called "Americans for Jobs & Healthcare". I thought Gibbs was working for Kerry, you thought Gibbs was working for Gephardt, it seems as though we were both wrong.


Charles Lewis's Center for Public Inegrity article was originally published March 6, 2004 here's a Common Dreams repost about the slime of infighting in that instance

"Political Mugging In America: Anatomy of an 'Independent' Smear"
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0306-04.htm

Today, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, Robert Gibbs works for Senator Obama.

[Adelante]

25. Gibbs quit the Kerry campaign

when Jim Jordan was fired as campaign manager. I knew Gibbs was working for Kerry and then not working for him. Once Gibbs was connected to the Osama ad, I thought Gibbs was working on behalf of Gephardt because of the labor union backing the group had. If we're both wrong, I don't see where that article (which I've read before this) resolves very much - a bunch of nomadic Democratic campaign staffers and a bunch of nomadic Democratic fundraisers, with various ties to elected Democrats, including the candidates, including with Dean himself, pull together an ugly and successful stop Dean campaign on behalf of - who?

The article points to a Democratic establishment, but it doesn't quite provide a smoking gun or who was holding the gun or who the shots were meant to benefit. Who benefited in Iowa? Kerry and Edwards both did, but it may not have been what was intended to happen. Had Gephardt won Iowa and come into NH with the momentum, he would have had a good shot for the GE, and Gephardt was as likely to win Iowa as anyone given his career, personal history and geographics. Iowa caucus voters notoriously make up and change their minds then and there, and they could easily have gone for Gephardt, if Gephardt and Dean hadn't gone so negative on each other there and turned the public off.

So who dunnit?

I still don't know. But Kerry didn't especially have labor backing and he didn't especially have Democratic establishment backing at that point. He won Iowa with the Kennedy machine, the firefighters, because Iowans realized in the end they wanted a national security candidate, and polls going in were showing they already were liking Kerry. Clark was pretty well positioned in New Hampshire to contest Dean if Dean won in Iowa, but Dean didn't for a few reasons including the dirty ops work levied against him. The same "types" as above advised Clark not to campaign in Iowa, and with predictable results. It still seems to me the designated stop Dean candidate (although everybody running wanted to stop Dean) was Gephardt or someone not yet considered for the role. I think there's more to come out on this one.

What I don't see, is how Obama is fitted into this drama. Yes, Gibbs works for him, but Gibbs would be working for somebody else if not Obama. They all work for somebody. Gibbs works for Obama; Gibbs used to work for Kerry. Axelrod works for Obama; Axelrod used to work for Edwards. And so forth.

[illinoisprogressive]

9. He is that once in a generation or so kind of politician that comes when we need him most

[Colobo]

10. I'm with Oprah. He's the hope monger.

[WCGreen]

11. He gave a great speech at the convention....

[Colobo]

12. He's not your candidate, obviously.

[WCGreen]

13. Not really but that is what I see makes him different from the others...

He has a good delivery...

[ripple]

20. And a number of great speeches since then n/t

[mikekohr]

14. Obama, our best hope

In the heady days after bursting onto the national stage after his electrifing key-note speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention,Barack Obama came to speak at the tiny village of Depue, Illinois (pop. 2800).

Barack spoke with us gathered there, not at us. He thought before answering every question put to him and ACTUALLY answered the question asked. He spoke of hope. He spoke of empowering working people. And he stayed and shook every hand, signed every autograph request and was among the last people to leave the VFW hall where the gatering was held.

I was the last in line. As he signed a copy of his speech from the convention that I had downloaded from the internet, I told Barack of the hope people saw in him and said, "Don't get the big-head Barack." Without hesitating a moment he gestured toward his wife Michele and said, "She won't let me."

Obama is not just eloquent, measured, thoughtful, and principled, he's authentic. He is our best hope, for our party, for our country, and for our future.

-Replace the abomination in the White House with an ObamaNation in 2008-


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mike kohr

[LWolf]

15. The willingness of his supporters

to base their support on personality rather than issues.

[Dawgs]

19. Serious question; Who do you support?

[LWolf]

28. Serious answer:

I support the candidate with the best positions on issues; the one who has consistently worked for those issues during the entire nightmare of the Bush administration. The one who not only has the right talk, but who has a solid record of walking that talk.

There's only one like that in the race. You know; the one who knew better than to enable the Bush adventure in Iraq from day 1, and who not only did not vote to authorize it, has not voted to fund it. The one who, on February 28th of this year, introduced HR 1234: "To end the United States occupation of Iraq immediately."

The one who not only has the best position on the health care crisis, but actually co-wrote and introduced HR 676 to address that.

The one who actually wrote and introduced a bill requiring hand counted paper ballots. HR 6200, if you need the reference.

The one with the strongest positions for labor. You know, the one who has opposed NAFTA/CAFTA/WTO participation from the beginning.

I could go on, but there is only one candidate who fits the bill.

[AtomicKitten]

16. Obama is a hope-monger. (nt)

[Clintonista2]

22. His inexperience. nt.

[Skittles]

24. I'd never heard of him before he was touted to run for president

yup

[SteppingRazor]

26. I would have gone with Ethel, but after seeing the dude speak a week ago, I gotta go with Clooney.

n/t

[Grandrose]

27. K&R

Sharon Stone nailed it! When you look and hear Obama...you are looking at the real world! :think: :kick: