My Accumulated Concerns About Obama...

[GR]

First let me say that I will support Obama if he is the dem nominee. But although I started out as an Obama supporter, time has heightened my concerns about him...

1. He has an unsettling record of not "showing up" for tough votes. Apparently this goes back to his time in the Illinois Senate when he voted "present" a lot, sometimes on very clear-cut issues.

2. His voluntary health care plan won't work. Insurance is based on the "law of large numbers" and the "spread of risk". The only way you can spread the risk to keep costs down is to have everyone in the program, healthy and sick, young and old. Obama claims that young healthy people want health insurance, but I know they will choose Nintendo Wii over insurance, if they aren't sick at the time. It's just human nature. This is a major shortcoming in my view.

3. He pads his resume, claiming to be a University of Chicago law "professor" when in reality he was just a "lecturer" That's a big difference and again, minor in itself but unsettling as part of a larger whole.

4. He gratuitiously attacks Paul Krugman, Al Gore,Social Security and trial lawyers. Just like a republican would. He is willing to look at merit pay for teachers, also a horrible idea, unless it's confined to extra pay for teaching in difficult districts.

5. He is riding a wave of approbation, really somewhat undeserved, by the media pundits which is the other side of a concerted media "take down" effort of Hillary Clinton by Chris Matthews, Tim Russert and Brian Williams like the pack of wealthy elite jackals they are. I look for those jackals to turn on him big time, once he's the nominee, if he makes it.

6. The race issue has been politely ignored by the media and his opponents. It won't be, once he's up against a republican. It will be Willie Horton lite or heavy, but they will use race in the general election.

7. The idea that you can strike a bipartisan compromise with republican movement conservatives is just unrealistic. There is no middle ground between supporting Social Security and destroying it through privatization, for example. This is part of the constant mantra of the know-nothing "independents" who have no idea how people get things done politically.

These are a few of my concerns, that I wanted to get off of my chest...

[Dawgs]

1. No problem with that list (although I think some of your comments are inaccurate).

Can you post something positive now?

[GR]

6. Could You Be Specific As To What's Inaccurate?

On the positive side, he is a fine speaker, albeit in generalities. He may have the capacity to finally get young people involved in politics and voting. His speech at the dem convention was one of the best I've heard.

He's very smart.

He may have the capacity to actually decisively beat a republican, probably John McCain, now.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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

[GR]

10. Yes, I Do Know That His Health Care Plan Won't Work

I explained why. What don't you understand about my explanation?

Is being a "law lecturer" the same as being a "law professor?" NO

I'm a died in the wool life long democrat BTW. I support Edwards right now, but I'm afraid he's not going to get the job done. Obama may be the next best choice, but I am worried the the American people elected a fool like Bush with no experience and have no knowledge of what they are doing and why. I don't want another "unknown" quantity, triangulator in the white house.

[bpeale]

24. "Is being a "law lecturer" the same as being a "law professor?" NO"

i work at a university & being a lecturer is NOT the same as being a professor. one is a guest & one is permanent faculty. big difference there.

[surfermaw]

23. What about him downgrading democrats like Kennedy,Gore , Kerry and the list goes on

Are we electing a democrat or republican, I think and hope the republicans for the last eight year is enough o republicans for many years to come. I want a true democrat or no democrat at all.

[babylonsister]

3. Thank you for your concern. nt

[readmoreoften]

5. Not all people with concern are "concern trolls."

[iconoclastic cat]

19. Not all ducks are mallards, either. nt

[Lurking Dem]

4. Ah. The Taylor Marsh list.

[info being]

7. I'm having a hard time figuring out what we're supposed to hope *for*

In his speech last night, I got lots of feel-good stuff. The only thing tangible I heard, though, was that somehow he'd bring down the cost of health care.

That's just not fucking good enough. I want health care as a human right. I want government help with day care. I want more help with college education. And I want to pay for it by getting out of Iraq.

Obama will do none of this.

[MethuenProgressive]

12. Hope for more chants? Hope for more cheerleading? Hope for more Oprah?

All he seems to have is "I'm not Hillary" - how is *that* going to beat the GOP in the general?

[readmoreoften]

8. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 are my issues.

3 strikes me as silly. A lecturer is basically a professor, depending on the situation. If someone comes into class and lectures, that's a different story. But if someone is called a 'lecturer' because they are in a department/school that only hires non-tenured faculty with renewable contracts, then you're a professor.

6 is a positive in my opinion. I believe race will factor well for Obama so long as he never actually addresses race. If he keeps talking about how young black men need to 'pull up their pants', suburban whites will love him to pieces. There is nothing a racist society loves more than a minority member who makes them feel comfortable.

[Girlieman]

14. Big difference between professor and lecturer

I don't know where you went to law school, but there's a huge difference between professors and lecturers. University of Chicago certainly has tenured law professors, and Obama was not one.

Having said that, I have no idea whether Obama actually misrepresented himself as a professor.

[electron_blue]

17. Yes, I agree. Professors do more than teach. Lecturers generally only teach.

I'd also like to see this supposed misrepresentation.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

25. There is a big difference between professor and lecturer.

I know. I have a law degree from a respected private law school.
There are full-time professors who stay on for years, and there are part-time professors, and then there are people who practice law, but lecture as well. They are called adjunct faculty.

[MethuenProgressive]

9. The Iraq War - he's voted with Clinton on every vote - and won't pledge to end the war before 2013.

2013 Is Too Late.
www.2013istoolate.com

[Didereaux]

11. I would add his instinctive urge to pander rather than take a stance.

[GR]

15. Good Point...

This could actually work out if he gets elected. Like the George Bush lie "compassionate conservative" did for him. Then once he gets in he might actually do some good, the reverse of Bush.

But I don't like it. As someone pointed out, he may be attempting to win over the media with this bi-partisan schtick rather than actually lay out a platform for the future.

The empty spaces in his rhetoric are somewhat scarey if he "moves toward the center" in the general election.

I can see school vouchers, privatizing social security, more inadequate health care, a long stay in Iraq, more tax cuts for the rich etc. looming.

[Cosmocat]

13. Look ...

I get where you are coming from, seriously ... But, let me add in some thoughts ...

1) ALL of the candidates duck hot issues if they can ... Edwards is breathing fire now, but he ain't in the Senate any more ... The most seminal vote of the last couple of decades was Iraq, and when he was IN the senate, he wasn't strong enough to make the right vote there ... Not knocking him, just saying when you are on the line for EVERY issue, you end up ducking what ones you can ...

2) Ditto, ALL pols "pad their resumes" ...

3) I don't like his health care plan, either ... My HOPE is that if he gets elected he WILL be working with D majorities in both sides of congress, and that maybe a better plan can get worked out ...

4 and 7) Look ... Obama, in his way, has been playing for the middle from day one ... That is what all this is about, and why the margin of his win yesterday came on the shoulders of Indies and Rs ... I hate, with every cell of my body, the ruthless partisan crape the Rs have spewed over the last 15 years ... HATE it, HATE it, HATE it ... I hate that I have been called unamerican and all of it ... But, like it or not, his delivery and message is meant to deflect the BS from the right ... They are childish, impulsive and irresponsible, and I agree totally that they won't play nice ... But, to the people in the middle, they want to hear a more positive message ...

5) The MSM is going to turn on whoever the D is, regardless ...

[GR]

16. You're Right, They Will Turn...

But do they want to destroy Hillary because she's the most formidable? I distrust Chris Matthews on these issues. Before the results were announced yesterday I sensed a constant drumbeat of support for Obama in the media. Russert even shaded the weather report to encourage people to get out and vote, a plus for Obama.

They kept quoting from the DesMoines Register Poll, even though other polls showed it much closer. Turns out the poll was right, but was it a self fulfilling prophecy?

[iconoclastic cat]

18. It's nice to see "Concerns..." right in the subject line. Saves me time! nt

[GR]

20. You're Response Seems A Bit Head In The Sand To Me...

I wasn't aware that concern was a dirty word around here...

[cascadiance]

21. Another to add to this list is his support of liquified coal to help the coal industry lobbyists

I think that this needs to be looked at more carefully as well. Investing in liquified coal at this time is not what this planet needs in its need to have the human race moved to renewable sources of energy. It will just do more damage to our already too carbon-rich atmosphere, and also keep our energy sources centralized, instead of decentralized, which is good for the rest of us who wouldn't be as prone to the Enron-style energy manipulation at the beginning of Bush's regime that arose from them having too much control. The more people moved to things like solar, wind, biofuels, fuel cells, etc. the more we can keep one or two entities from controlling our energy supply and getting excessive profits in so doing.

[AmBlue]

22. You forgot the 2,500 lb gorilla....

He's taking big money from big corporate interests. He's playing their game not ours.

But he sure gave a pretty speech last night.

[demon67]

26. Tell me more . . .

What "big corporate interests" are funding Obama? Who exactly are they? How do they compare with Hillary's contributers? It was my understanding that Obama has more contributers giving smaller amounts than Hillary -- suggesting more grassroots support. Please inform me.

[killbotfactory]

28. Obama has over half a million individual donors

and has raised nearly 100 million dollars from them. Most of them are small donations. When they say that he's taking corporate money, they mean that people who work for various large corporations are donating to him. By and large, these are wealthy people, but even then their donations, accumulated by company, amount to a tiny fraction of his 100 million dollars.

Yep, he's the corporate candidate, alright!

[AmBlue]

30. Barack's health industry payola: SEE FOR YOURSELF

Health industry contributions bolded below for your convenience. All of this is easily searchable, btw, but I thought I'd help you out here. The amounts shown for Barack are certainly NOT just a few nurses pitching in their spare change after payday. This is what Michael Moore was mentioning about Barack having the second largest treasure chest of health industry "payola." See for yourself.

Secondly, this highlights just how much muscle Edwards was able to muster in Iowa on significantly LESS campaign contributions. That's what makes his second place finish so remarkable. That and wanting to make sure corporate money isn't any longer polluting our government.

P R E S I D E N T I A L C A N D I D A T E
Barack Obama (D)
Senator from Illinois

Individual contributions $79,218,370
PAC contributions $6,775
Candidate self-financing $0
Federal Funds $0
Other $1,031,282

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00009638&cycle=2008

BARACK OBAMA (D)
Contributions by Sector
Agribusiness $315,628
Communications/Electronics $4,417,360
Construction $863,210
Defense $59,500
Energy & Natural Resources $489,909
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $9,725,720
Health $2,139,510
Lawyers & Lobbyists $8,017,283
Transportation $270,565
Misc Business $6,159,079
Labor $18,750
Ideological/Single-Issue $272,186
Other $8,775,424

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/sector.asp?id=N00009638&cycle=2008

BARACK OBAMA (D)
Top Industries
Lawyers/Law Firms $7,940,424
Retired $4,955,387
Securities & Investment $4,505,199
Misc Business $2,510,077
Real Estate $2,292,188
TV/Movies/Music $2,203,317
Education $2,112,520
Business Services $2,073,202
Health Professionals $1,330,743
Misc Finance $1,291,272
Printing & Publishing $956,853
Computers/Internet $940,459
Commercial Banks $865,856
Civil Servants/Public Officials $729,442
Non-Profit Institutions $481,761
Retail Sales $402,368
Insurance $390,513
Other $388,964
General Contractors $314,022
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $307,816

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/indus.asp?id=N00009638&cycle=2008


P R E S I D E N T I A L C A N D I D A T E
John Edwards (D)
Former NC Senator; 2004 Presidential Candidate

Individual contributions $30,121,494
PAC contributions $20
Candidate self-financing $0
Federal Funds $0
Other $207,638

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00002283&cycle=2008

JOHN EDWARDS (D)
Contributions by Sector

Agribusiness $100,260
Communications/Electronics $897,270
Construction $151,670
Defense $16,000
Energy & Natural Resources $62,306
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $2,048,905
Health $536,176
Lawyers & Lobbyists $8,180,050
Transportation $52,900
Misc Business $1,146,929
Labor $24,100
Ideological/Single-Issue $2,026,011
Other $1,903,237

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/sector.asp?id=N00002283&cycle=2008


JOHN EDWARDS (D)
Top Industries

Lawyers/Law Firms $8,161,150
Democratic/Liberal $2,001,674
Retired $1,168,681
Securities & Investment $773,600
Real Estate $638,755
TV/Movies/Music $458,990
Business Services $434,793
Health Professionals $419,326
Misc Business $358,325
Education $351,261
Misc Finance $278,000
Printing & Publishing $193,734
Computers/Internet $182,585
Civil Servants/Public Officials $178,995
Commercial Banks $153,650
Insurance $129,600
Retail Sales $102,756
Non-Profit Institutions $92,750
Other $91,950
Accountants $66,950

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/indus.asp?id=N00002283&cycle=2008


P R E S I D E N T I A L C A N D I D A T E
Hillary Clinton (D)
Senator from New York

Individual contributions $79,644,559
PAC contributions $748,052
Candidate self-financing $0
Federal Funds $0
Other $10,543,177

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00000019&cycle=2008

HILLARY CLINTON (D)
Contributions by Sector

Agribusiness $526,725
Communications/Electronics $4,358,597
Construction $1,294,220
Defense $125,583
Energy & Natural Resources $574,658
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $12,275,878
Health $2,642,547
Lawyers & Lobbyists $10,164,698
Transportation $399,232
Misc Business $7,865,353
Labor $84,100
Ideological/Single-Issue $644,373
Other $7,583,119

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/sector.asp?id=N00000019&cycle=2008

HILLARY CLINTON (D)
Top Industries

Lawyers/Law Firms $9,596,748
Securities & Investment $4,735,730
Retired $4,139,270
Real Estate $3,939,008
Business Services $2,539,364
Misc Business $2,301,186
TV/Movies/Music $2,142,921
Health Professionals $1,695,830
Education $1,640,224
Misc Finance $1,545,181
Commercial Banks $935,658
Computers/Internet $883,125
Printing & Publishing $800,191
Civil Servants/Public Officials $777,775
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $657,450
Retail Sales $627,226
Non-Profit Institutions $583,178
Lobbyists $567,950
Insurance $525,938
Food & Beverage $516,670

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/indus.asp?id=N00000019&cycle=2008

[mnhtnbb]

27. And words are cheap.

[Nailzberg]

29. Law Professor? Link please.

I have heard the media refer to his position at U of C as a "professor", but I've never heard this claim from Obama.