Obama sez: "This race is about the Past versus the Future." PAST.....VERSUS.....FUTURE.

[Bicoastal]

I don't wanna go back to the 1990's. Granted, they were better than 2000-2008, but so were many recent decades. Why keep our standards so low?

I want a new plot and a cast of characters. I want something other than reruns. And enemies. And betrayals. And soap opera politics.

I'm 25 years old, and I grew up with Bill and Hillary Clinton. But I am not afraid to ask for the unthinkable. I want to complete my ascent into adulthood under a new set of rules.

I want something new.

And from my POV, Obama just gave the speech of his life.

[stray cat]

1. That phrase resonates with exactly what I'm feeling...

I've got mixed feelings but the more I see of the campaign the more I'm ready for a hopeful future than a competent but divisional past...

[silverweb]

2. Exactly!

And take it from this past-middle-ager... it's not just the young who want to face the future instead of dwelling in the past.

I can't wait for his Inaugural Address!

[Bluerthanblue]

11. word-

I'm ready for the future too.

peace~

[arewenotdemo]

24. agreed

[MethuenProgressive]

3. "Don't ask me about Rezko! Don't ask me about my Present votes! That's in the past!"

He Hopes.

[Bicoastal]

7. Cough cough *IWR* Cough Cough. nt

[JAbuchan08]

41. cough cough *kyle-leiberman* cough, cough

[Connie_Corleone]

8. The Ignore function is gone. Damn.

[Adelante]

13. That's what's going on!

The uglies are loose!

[parasim]

4. Yup. I loved it!

I am so tired of the status quo. And since my man, Dennis Kucinich is never taken seriously by anyone, I like this. A lot.

[panader0]

5. Hell, I'm 57 and I want something new too!!

He's got my vote. He had it at the Dem convention speech. I told my kids that night that he would someday be president.

[Historic NY]

9. Me too, we don't have many chances left................

[BlueStater]

6. Obama is not the future I want

Just because I'm desperate for change doesn't mean I'll take any old thing that comes along.

[stray cat]

10. Your choices are limited. Hillary, Edwards, McCain, Romney

which future are you going to vote for....

[mnhtnbb]

37. The future I want is represented by Edwards.

[H2O Man]

12. It was a powerful speech.

It ranks with the best political/social speeches in the past century.

[Beausoir]

23. In the past century?

C'mon.

[H2O Man]

51. Okay.

In the past 10,000 years. (grin)

[Beausoir]

58. You are terrific.

I really respect you. I read everything you post. And I will never forget all the hard work you did during the Scooter Libby trial. Thank you for that.


I just don't "get" Obama. When I listen to him speak I do not get inspired.

I think I am cynical beyond repair.

Is there hope for me?

[VotesForWomen]

14. hope springs eternal, doesn't it? why do you think older people support obama a lot less

than younger people? because we've heard the empty rhetoric of 'change,' 'hope,' 'new vision,' 'unity,' etc. etc., many times before and we know that it doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the real world.

[jkshaw]

15. Hey VotesForWomen

I'm 77 and I consider myself a deep-seated cynic, but I support Obama because for once I see something sincere, something real. Please don't lump all "older people" together.

[VotesForWomen]

26. actually, if i thought it was real and sincere, i'd support him too; but at the same

time there is the reality of the world we live in, and a wide-eyed idealist wouldn't last 5 minutes with the washington crowd. i truly believe that hillary will be able to accomplish every bit as much 'change' as obama could. the hard truth is that if we want real change in america and its political system, it is going to have to come from the bottom up. in the present system it is simply impossible for some pure-as-the-driven-snow non-politician to magically make it to the presidency and then clean house.

[Egnever]

27. which is exactly what Obama says

Over and over. He cant do it alone it has to come from the bottom up. It will take old coots like you letting go of their cynicism and helping as well.

Sounds like you don't want to be part of that bottom though.

[VotesForWomen]

31. you're talking to a nader voter, here, and i may still vote for kucinich, who is

my actual favorite candidate, but between hillary and obama, as i said, hillary will be able to accomplish every bit as much positive change as obama, and she is more ready for the presidency, she's more of a known quantity, and having lived through the economy of the 90s, i sure wouldn't mind going back to that 'past.'

[avaistheone1]

20. You, got that right. Hope with nothing to back it up is just a bunch of happy talk.

I don't buy it at all. The republicans are going to eat Obama alive. He doesn't have a prayer if he makes it to the White House.

The sad thing if Obama should be successful with the Republicans, than we are screwed because the Republicans don't give a crap about the young, the families, the elderly or the middle class of this country.

Either way we are screwed with Obama the hope, candidate.

[mnhtnbb]

38. Amen to that.

[femrap]

16. I sure hope you know that this country

is very close to fascism...And I wonder, is this the first time you have voted for Prez? What issues are important to you?

It's a fucking SPEECH...this is our fucking country. Are you that easily swayed? Are you that gullible?

I can see now what the Repugnants have done to the public school system....taught no critical thinking skills...no analysis.

Obama is turning this into a parent vs. teenager contest. Go ahead...voting for Obama is sticking it to your parents. Just wait till McCain DRAFTS YOUR ASS!!!!

[Proud2BAmurkin]

17. Parent vs teenager, nails it. The under 30s don't understand what's going on here.

[femrap]

18. My grandmother used to say that 'it'

skips generations...I don't know. But Obama is pitting youth vs. old(er). The young will learn the very hard way when McCain drafts them.

How does one go about getting citizenship in Italy?

[JAbuchan08]

42. The over 30's don't get it I guess

how often is change driven by the older generations? By nature the establishment doesn't like shake-ups, that's why the driving force of change is youth - by neccessity.
Age doesn't correlate to wisdom. Look at all the old dumbfucks in the Bush administration. If one could become wise just by getting old Ronald Reagan would have been a fucking genius.

[knight_of_the_star]

46. Yeah sure

If the under 30s don't get it then WHY THE HELL DID YOU OVER 30s DO JACK SHIT ABOUT BUSHCO???

[Bicoastal]

21. You sound like a very, very, VERY old person to direct this at me.

And I don't mean physically old--I mean old in spirit. Not to mention broken, defeated, and cringing.

"First time you have voted for Prez"--no, second. And this is the FIFTH national election I will be voting in.

"I can see now what the Repugnants have done to the public school system." You're right. I went to Santa Monica High, one of the finest public schools in the country. Then a BA at Occidental (Obama's Alma Mater) and then a MA at NYU. What are YOUR credentials to judge my education?

"Voting for Obama is sticking it to your parents." They're either your age or older, and they're voting for him too.

"Just wait till McCain DRAFTS YOUR ASS!!!" You're obviously scared shitless of the GOP, and you want be to me just as scared as I am with your paranoid bull. I WOULD be gullible if I believed if everything you told me. Scare tactics don't work on me when the GOP does it, so why should yours be any different?

You know, people like you encourage my generation to take an interest in politics, but now you seem to be blaming me for my independent choices. For all of its faults, my generation is NOT the one that got us into war--that was by and large the fault of the Baby Boomers in the House, Senate, and White House. In fact, MY generation is the one dying on the battlefield because of lies they were told by people their parents age. Sound familiar?

I will close by asking you to take a nice, long look at the bile you just typed. I think you'll come to see that you've become the embodiment of everything you used to hate...

[Egnever]

28. Sweet!

well said my friend well said!

[krabigirl]

43. So if one doesn't support Obama, one is old (in spirit)?

[femrap]

44. I wish you wouldn't email me....

I prefer that others can see your comments.

Given that you are one of the lucky ones in this US of A and got to attend a lovely high school in Santa Monica, CA, I wonder how much you have seen of this country's OTHER educational systems. If they didn't teach you in Santa Monica or Occidental that the Educational System has not been high on the list of priorities as to where the bush regime puts its funds. And I hear now that California is starting to have financial difficulties as well.

Were you lucky enough to have well-off parents? Not everyone gets that leg up in life. Occidental...private school? Did you ever get out to the Bronx and see how some people live?

And if you haven't heard...50 year-olds are fighting in Iraq...they are in the National Guard and got called up.

The one thing I do notice about males is that everything said is somehow always about them...as if they are the sun and we just orbit around. I am amazed at how everything is taken so personally. Are you incapable of stepping back and taking a look at your peers...and not just the ones at those fancy schools you were lucky to attend. That makes you no better than the person who goes to Community College. I bet you grew up in a very nice Repugnant house.

And if you were smart, you'd be scared of the repugnants as well. If they decide to hit Iran this spring, your nice little life style will be OVER. But I imagined daddy can get you out of the service, right? This regime has legitimized using preemptive nukes...are you aware of that?

As far as standing against the war, I rarely see people under the age of 30 at any of our meetings, demonstrations, events and protests. Today, I went to hear Scott Ritter speak about the upcoming war with Iran and I'd say 90% of the attendees were over 45 years old. Your generation is very conservative compared to the Boomers when they were young.

I find your bragging of your education kind of funny...a little rooster jumping up onto the fence and crowing of his great education that papa paid for.

This is the last of my time wasted on you. buh bye

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

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

[sandnsea]

32. Wow. Talk about no thinking skills, no analysis

Have you looked at anything the man has done?? Why don't you bring some analysis of the issues to the discussion instead of showing what a juvenile baby you are by attacking the poster.

[GalleryGod]

34. Thanks. It's like leaving college and having to teach Poli Sci 101 in a pre school

My Hillary colleagues seem to hate Mika, too..so here's three of the Mika-licious

[Tulkas]

19. ...The speech of his life ..... So Far

It was a great one but I HOPE to see even better ones in the FUTURE.

[GalleryGod]

36. My Take: Iowa Speech + an Edge...

that was honed in the combat of the last month.

" C'mon,Bill...come out from that hay stack !"

[Beausoir]

22. So, you were 9 years old when Bill Clinton took office?

And..you want something new?

[lastliberalintexas]

59. I was only 9 when Reagan took over

I cried the day after the election, and I still remember the picture of Carter that my local paper had on its front page, his beautiful face with tears streaming. I just happen to come from a very political family, and the adults discussed issues with us kids and taught us how to keep an open mind, so long as we didn't vote repub. :)

I'm not an Obama supporter in any way, but I wouldn't hold his age against him.

[Radical Activist]

25. Its the vision thing.

Obama has it. Clinton doesn't. I'm ready for something new too.

[sandnsea]

29. A future where promises ARE KEPT

Yes, I want to live in the world Obama sees too. I'm 50 and if we don't get it now, I'll never get it in my lifetime, that's for sure.

[StevieM]

30. Hillary, Barak, McCain and Romney will all give a new future. I like Hillary the best (eom)

x

[robbedvoter]

49. That boils it down!

:hi:

[bertvanz]

33. Past vs. future

He stole my favorite Obama narrative. Yay!

[jackson_dem]

35. More empty sloganeering from Obama

Can he run on substance just once? Just because he was irrelevant in the 90's does not make him more qualified than Hillary. It is an argument for cosmetic "change", not real change.

[Skidmore]

39. My son is your age.

And I want a great future for him, and my daughter. I have four little grandbabies who need a promising future too. Sometimes we need to step beyond what is known and dare to reach beyond the horizon. This is why our family supports Obama. We see his life experiences as a mirror of our own family and what we have learned to be true in this world. We also have seen how he has incorporated those lessons into his life and is trying to make change. We proudly support Obama bacause it is about us all, not just narrow ideologies, skin color, or gender. It is about what lies ahead and how we shape it. Parochial interests will not get us there. The "Cold Civil War" must end.

[goodhue]

40. Go Future!

I'm sick of the Past.

[Carrieyazel]

45. Speeches and lofty generalizations will not win the general election

Obama will be hit and hit hard, and the Clinton's nonsense isn't even close to what he'll be facing.

[KoKo]

47. When I was your age JFK was our hope to get rid of the Past WWII and Fear!

I can understand where you are coming from.

Just remember that Bush/Cheney wanted to rid American's memories of the FAILURE IN VIETNAM...and they sold us that Amercan's Could WIN and not be LOSERS as we were in VIETNAM. They were "old guys" who never went to war...who wanted to wipe out how Vietnam cost us in American Tax Payers money and caused us young late 20's and 30 Somethings who were just getting into our jobs to be forced to deal with "Wage Freezes" and huge inflation...when you couldn't think about buying a house and only "one car to a family" was affordable. Before Credit Cards were used for everything and to get a mortgage you needed at least 10% down and the banks would deny you the loan for any reason. Those were hard times because we were paying for the Vietnam War...and we had friends from poor families who won scholarships to college DRAFTED who died...and you were always wondering when "your number would come up" and you would be shipped off to "serve" in what Bruce Springsteen calls the war to "fight the yellow man" and for WHAT?

I just went shopping for a birthday gift and many of the items I looked at said: "Made in Vietnam." And, we lost that war and the "Communists" won. When I grew up the Communists were what are the "terrorists" today.

I'd like to wipe out our past, too, and start over. But, if one doesn't "remember history one is forced to repeat it." (a quote I messed up from some famous person...but one that I've seen ring true with folks who think they don't need to look back and learn from mistakes.

Ronald Reagan promised "A New Day in America." If you look back in history...what was that "New Day in America?" A bunch of Neo-Con's and Bushies from the past locked in with the "Powers that Be" that run our banking system and Wall St. Obama can't wipe that out...he will have to deal with everything that every New Democrat has had to deal with. He needs to talk about this.... He can't be the "new bright, shiny object we focus on...hoping to forget what has gone before.

just saying....

[robbedvoter]

48. Those who don't remember their history....that explains the Reagan confusion too

[Rosa Luxemburg]

50. Tired of stale politics in Washington, definitely need a change

[AGirl]

52. blah blah blah, every politicans run on the change theme.

[smalll]

54. Young legs good, old legs bad -

For people pushing 40 and beyond, the content-free rhetoric of Obama and his snot-nosed, slack-jawed minions is chilling: Kind of makes you understand why being out of work beyond your thirties is this kiss of death these days. Ageism run rampant.

[Bicoastal]

55. Where do people keep getting the idea that this thread is about old versus young?

When I say "past," I'm referring to the Clinton adminstration we've already had, not to a candidate only a decade or so older than Obama--I would never turn down a candidate simply because they were older, and I certainly wouldn't have held it against Gore or Kerry. Obama is the "future" in my eyes, simply because his presidency would not feel like the continuation of another, older one, as the Bush II dynasty was and the Hillary Clinton era feels like it would be.

I alluded to my own age just to tell you where I was coming from on the Clintons.

[AGirl]

56. I am 24 and this election is about substance versus style

Hillary is intelligent and full of substance. She should be the nominee.

[Tom Rinaldo]

57. New is not always better

Hope is open ended but inspiration comes from the past and present. Change for the sake of change is like mutations for the sake of mutating. History is not an unbroken progression of improvements. The environment is not healthier today than it was yesterday. Corporations did not foster better human values than small family businesses. The average American today is not more decent than the average Native American three centuries ago.

The past isn't necessarily better than the future either of course.

But the reality is no Democrat is promising you the past. No one is trying to turn back the clock. They all look toward the future while building on the past. Tomorrow Barack Obama will embrace Ted Kennedy. When he does Ted won't be pulling him back back in time. It won't be Ted Kennedy Versus Barack Obama.

Individuals differ and styles change. Some differences are stylistic only and some are of real substance. Some changes are improvements and some lead toward dead ends.

PAST...VERSUS...FUTURE is a slogan. Nothing more, nothing less.

The choice between Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards though is real.