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Archive for 'Barack Obama'

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Things I Like About Barack Obama, Part One

It’s not all bad for conservatives and Republicans if Barack Obama wins…there are some very positive things about the man. For example, he’s not Jesse Jackson:
Whatever the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said in a live microphone on Fox News, it was really, really bad, and none other than his own son seems to know it.
“I’m […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, 2008 News by Mark

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Oh, Dear God, No…

Yesterday, I blogged about my relief that James Webb was out of the Obama veepstakes…but my relief is short-lived. If there is one person in the entire world that would perhaps overtake even Webb in my least-desired category, it’s phony-baloney Mr. “Two Americas” himself, John Edwards. Yet the possibility is raising its very ugly (ghastly, […]

17 Comments » - Posted in John Edwards, Barack Obama, 2008 News by Mark

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Well, THAT’s A Relief…

I will sleep a little easier tonight knowing that, in the extremely likely event of a Barack Obama presidency, at least I won’t have to live with James Webb as the VP:
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., long rumored to be a leading candidate for Sen. Barack Obama’s choice as his vice-presidential running mate, announced Monday that […]

43 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 News by Mark

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

I (Don’t Really) Hate To Say I Told You So

Here was my reaction to the inexplicably stupid line of attack Wesley Clark, in his role as Obama campaign surrogate, undertook when he suggested that McCain’s military service was not the right stuff (at least for a potential commander-in-chief):
Attacking McCain’s military record? Very, very stupid…and ought to be enough to kill any chance of Wesley […]

43 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

Um, I’d Lose That…

Attacking McCain’s military record? Very, very stupid…and ought to be enough to kill any chance of Wesley Clark as VP, particularly after Obama (tepidly) condemned the comments…but look how he (oh so gingerly) condemned them!
“Inartful” was the word Obama used Tuesday to characterize remarks Gen. Wes Clark made over the weekend and subsequently about McCain’s military […]

26 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Friday, June 27th, 2008

The Blankety-Blank Economy, Or, Bring Back Paul Volcker!

I must tell you in all sincerity that I have deep, deep concerns about the American economy that I haven’t had in a long time. It’s not that we are in a slump/possible recession - it’s not the subprime meltdown/credit crisis that has me worried…it’s the pitiable, pathetic state of the once mighty U.S. dollar.
See, […]

14 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Did Pinocchio’s Nose Grow Because He Was ‘Inartful’?

Oh, dear, me…we appear to have a pattern here.
“I support the FISA bill except for that terrible bit about retroactive telecom immunity that unfortunately is in the bill I support - only I don’t support that part of the bill, and I promise to filibuster this bill while campaigning for the Democratic nomination, and not […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, SCOTUS, Election 2008 by Mark

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

No, We’re Not Going To Let This One Go…

…at least, as long as Barack Obama keeps shamelessly trying to win APPLAUSE for completely selling out on his pet issue of campaign finance reform. Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post puts it deliciously:
When in the course of political events it becomes advantageous for a presidential candidate to dissolve a campaign promise, a decent respect […]

18 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Election 2008 by Mark

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Unclear On The Concept

Someone needs to explain to Barack Obama what a ‘gimmick’ is:
Offshore drilling continues to be a major sticking point between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the two candidates are still jabbing at each other’s position for the second week. Obama, who has argued that drilling will not immediately lower gas prices, is expected today […]

19 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, John McCain by Mark

Friday, June 20th, 2008

More On Obama’s Campaign Finance Sellout

David Brooks in the New York Times:
Barack Obama has worked on political reform more than any other issue. He aspires to be to political reform what Bono is to fighting disease in Africa. He’s spent much of his career talking about how much he believes in public financing. In January 2007, he told Larry King […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 News by Mark

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Another Day, Another Broken Promise

Don’t get me wrong - I like Obama, and I don’t intend to turn this blog into a “slam of the day”. But one day after he backed off his NAFTA rhetoric, he most definitely broke a promise by forgoing public funding of his general election campaign. John McCain immediately accused him (rightly) […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, 2008 News by Mark

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Obama Backs Off On NAFTA

Should I be relieved that Obama didn’t mean what he said about NAFTA during the Democratic primaries, or disappointed that our probable next president has revealed himself as another shameless opportunist?
The general campaign is on, independent voters are up for grabs, and Barack Obama is toning down his populist rhetoric - at least when it […]

15 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Offshore Drilling: Yay or Nay?

Okay, I know it’s not politically correct to be “against the environment” at a time when global warming is increasingly accepted by most people on both sides of the aisle. However, though I know they are taking a ton of flack for it, politically, I think John McCain and President Bush are right - it’s […]

45 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, POTUS, John McCain by Mark

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

Scholars For Obama

Do presidential historians know anymore about elections in progress than the average Joe? It’s an iffy proposition - but if they do, then John McCain is in trouble, according to this article:
One week into the general election, the polls show a dead heat. But many presidential scholars doubt that John McCainstands much of a […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

A Peek At The Early Polling

You would expect Obama to be the frontrunner in this campaign, and you would expect he would get a bump from winning the Democratic nomination after so much hoopla…and you’d be right. Still, the early polling would seem to support my contention that this election is not going to the cakewalk some Obama supporters think […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 Polls by Mark

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Campaigns Discover Dangers Of Social Networking

Web 2.0 has come to the 2008 presidential election, and the outlook is decidedly mixed. While I suppose there are some people who enjoy having blogs ‘hosted’ on official campaign sites, it’s hard to see how this can be allowed to continue without at least some oversight. There WAS a post on Barack Obama’s site […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Saturday, June 7th, 2008

She’ll Run Again…

…but the bloom is off the rose. Hillary Clinton did her best today to put a brave face on her defeat, but in retrospect, her candidacy has to be rated as a giant disappointment. Though her strategy was not as disastrous as Giuliani’s, Rudy left the race with his dignity and reputation intact…his […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

Gee, Now What?

Feels kind of anticlimactic now, doesn’t it, with the Democratic primary over? Now it’s on to the general election, so we’ll have to switch gears soon and start talking more about the issues when viewed through the lens of each candidate’s positions.
On a general note, Obama has to be considered the frontrunner, because of […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Republican Candidates, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Clinton To Drop Out Friday?

So reports ABC News:
Sen. Hillary Clinton held a conference call today with members of Congress and superdelegates in which there were discussions about her plans for getting out of the race, ABC News has learned.
All indications are Clinton will get out of the race by Friday.
A senior Clinton advisor now confirms […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

Obama “Effectively” Clears Delegate Hurdle…

…and Clinton will apparently acknowledge it, ending, for all intents and purposes, the drawn-out final stages of the Democratic race and closing the books on the Clinton era, perhaps, as well. Clinton is still maneuvering for VP. The AP’s tally is the one that ‘effectively’ put Obama over the top, though Obama’s own […]