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Offlinephi1618
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Registered: 02/14/04
Posts: 4,102
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election
    #9159888 - 10/30/08 04:15 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

The presidential election
It's time
Oct 30th 2008
From The Economist print edition

America should take a chance and make Barack Obama the next leader of the free world

AP

IT IS impossible to forecast how important any presidency will be. Back in 2000 America stood tall as the undisputed superpower, at peace with a generally admiring world. The main argument was over what to do with the federal government’s huge budget surplus. Nobody foresaw the seismic events of the next eight years. When Americans go to the polls next week the mood will be very different. The United States is unhappy, divided and foundering both at home and abroad. Its self-belief and values are under attack.

For all the shortcomings of the campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama offer hope of national redemption. Now America has to choose between them. The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly: the Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence. But we acknowledge it is a gamble. Given Mr Obama’s inexperience, the lack of clarity about some of his beliefs and the prospect of a stridently Democratic Congress, voting for him is a risk. Yet it is one America should take, given the steep road ahead.

Thinking about 2009 and 2017
The immediate focus, which has dominated the campaign, looks daunting enough: repairing America’s economy and its international reputation. The financial crisis is far from finished. The United States is at the start of a painful recession. Some form of further fiscal stimulus is needed, though estimates of the budget deficit next year already spiral above $1 trillion. Some 50m Americans have negligible health-care cover. Abroad, even though troops are dying in two countries, the cack-handed way in which George Bush has prosecuted his war on terror has left America less feared by its enemies and less admired by its friends than it once was.


Yet there are also longer-term challenges, worth stressing if only because they have been so ignored on the campaign. Jump forward to 2017, when the next president will hope to relinquish office. A combination of demography and the rising costs of America’s huge entitlement programmes—Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—will be starting to bankrupt the country. Abroad a greater task is already evident: welding the new emerging powers to the West. That is not just a matter of handling the rise of India and China, drawing them into global efforts, such as curbs on climate change; it means reselling economic and political freedom to a world that too quickly associates American capitalism with Lehman Brothers and American justice with Guantánamo Bay. This will take patience, fortitude, salesmanship and strategy.

At the beginning of this election year, there were strong arguments against putting another Republican in the White House. A spell in opposition seemed apt punishment for the incompetence, cronyism and extremism of the Bush presidency. Conservative America also needs to recover its vim. Somehow Ronald Reagan’s party of western individualism and limited government has ended up not just increasing the size of the state but turning it into a tool of southern-fried moralism.

The selection of Mr McCain as the Republicans’ candidate was a powerful reason to reconsider. Mr McCain has his faults: he is an instinctive politician, quick to judge and with a sharp temper. And his age has long been a concern (how many global companies in distress would bring in a new 72-year-old boss?). Yet he has bravely taken unpopular positions—for free trade, immigration reform, the surge in Iraq, tackling climate change and campaign-finance reform. A western Republican in the Reagan mould, he has a long record of working with both Democrats and America’s allies.

If only the real John McCain had been running
That, however, was Senator McCain; the Candidate McCain of the past six months has too often seemed the victim of political sorcery, his good features magically inverted, his bad ones exaggerated. The fiscal conservative who once tackled Mr Bush over his unaffordable tax cuts now proposes not just to keep the cuts, but to deepen them. The man who denounced the religious right as “agents of intolerance” now embraces theocratic culture warriors. The campaigner against ethanol subsidies (who had a better record on global warming than most Democrats) came out in favour of a petrol-tax holiday. It has not all disappeared: his support for free trade has never wavered. Yet rather than heading towards the centre after he won the nomination, Mr McCain moved to the right.

Meanwhile his temperament, always perhaps his weak spot, has been found wanting. Sometimes the seat-of-the-pants method still works: his gut reaction over Georgia—to warn Russia off immediately—was the right one. Yet on the great issue of the campaign, the financial crisis, he has seemed all at sea, emitting panic and indecision. Mr McCain has never been particularly interested in economics, but, unlike Mr Obama, he has made little effort to catch up or to bring in good advisers (Doug Holtz-Eakin being the impressive exception).

The choice of Sarah Palin epitomised the sloppiness. It is not just that she is an unconvincing stand-in, nor even that she seems to have been chosen partly for her views on divisive social issues, notably abortion. Mr McCain made his most important appointment having met her just twice.

Ironically, given that he first won over so many independents by speaking his mind, the case for Mr McCain comes down to a piece of artifice: vote for him on the assumption that he does not believe a word of what he has been saying. Once he reaches the White House, runs this argument, he will put Mrs Palin back in her box, throw away his unrealistic tax plan and begin negotiations with the Democratic Congress. That is plausible; but it is a long way from the convincing case that Mr McCain could have made. Had he become president in 2000 instead of Mr Bush, the world might have had fewer problems. But this time it is beset by problems, and Mr McCain has not proved that he knows how to deal with them.

Is Mr Obama any better? Most of the hoopla about him has been about what he is, rather than what he would do. His identity is not as irrelevant as it sounds. Merely by becoming president, he would dispel many of the myths built up about America: it would be far harder for the spreaders of hate in the Islamic world to denounce the Great Satan if it were led by a black man whose middle name is Hussein; and far harder for autocrats around the world to claim that American democracy is a sham. America’s allies would rally to him: the global electoral college on our website shows a landslide in his favour. At home he would salve, if not close, the ugly racial wound left by America’s history and lessen the tendency of American blacks to blame all their problems on racism.

So Mr Obama’s star quality will be useful to him as president. But that alone is not enough to earn him the job. Charisma will not fix Medicare nor deal with Iran. Can he govern well? Two doubts present themselves: his lack of executive experience; and the suspicion that he is too far to the left.

There is no getting around the fact that Mr Obama’s résumé is thin for the world’s biggest job. But the exceptionally assured way in which he has run his campaign is a considerable comfort. It is not just that he has more than held his own against Mr McCain in the debates. A man who started with no money and few supporters has out-thought, out-organised and outfought the two mightiest machines in American politics—the Clintons and the conservative right.

Political fire, far from rattling Mr Obama, seems to bring out the best in him: the furore about his (admittedly ghastly) preacher prompted one of the most thoughtful speeches of the campaign. On the financial crisis his performance has been as assured as Mr McCain’s has been febrile. He seems a quick learner and has built up an impressive team of advisers, drawing in seasoned hands like Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin and Larry Summers. Of course, Mr Obama will make mistakes; but this is a man who listens, learns and manages well.

It is hard too nowadays to depict him as soft when it comes to dealing with America’s enemies. Part of Mr Obama’s original appeal to the Democratic left was his keenness to get American troops out of Iraq; but since the primaries he has moved to the centre, pragmatically saying the troops will leave only when the conditions are right. His determination to focus American power on Afghanistan, Pakistan and proliferation was prescient. He is keener to talk to Iran than Mr McCain is— but that makes sense, providing certain conditions are met.

Our main doubts about Mr Obama have to do with the damage a muddle-headed Democratic Congress might try to do to the economy. Despite the protectionist rhetoric that still sometimes seeps into his speeches, Mr Obama would not sponsor a China-bashing bill. But what happens if one appears out of Congress? Worryingly, he has a poor record of defying his party’s baronies, especially the unions. His advisers insist that Mr Obama is too clever to usher in a new age of over-regulation, that he will stop such nonsense getting out of Congress, that he is a political chameleon who would move to the centre in Washington. But the risk remains that on economic matters the centre that Mr Obama moves to would be that of his party, not that of the country as a whole.

He has earned it
So Mr Obama in that respect is a gamble. But the same goes for Mr McCain on at least as many counts, not least the possibility of President Palin. And this cannot be another election where the choice is based merely on fear. In terms of painting a brighter future for America and the world, Mr Obama has produced the more compelling and detailed portrait. He has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency.




http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12516666&source=features_box1

The Economist is a strongly free-trade magazine. It endorsed Bush in 2000 and Kerry in 2004.

Overall, pretty standard stuff, but this paragraph really struck me:
Quote:

Most of the hoopla about him has been about what he is, rather than what he would do. His identity is not as irrelevant as it sounds. Merely by becoming president, he would dispel many of the myths built up about America: it would be far harder for the spreaders of hate in the Islamic world to denounce the Great Satan if it were led by a black man whose middle name is Hussein; and far harder for autocrats around the world to claim that American democracy is a sham. America’s allies would rally to him: the global electoral college on our website shows a landslide in his favour. At home he would salve, if not close, the ugly racial wound left by America’s history and lessen the tendency of American blacks to blame all their problems on racism.




I've been an Obama supporter for a long time. He's smart; he can write well and speak well. He's also black, and has a Muslim name.

These points are significant and important, and the argument made here by the Economist is one that's been on my mind for a while, but I didn't really know how to put it.

Race is a real issue in the US, because of our history and because of how people feel about it - both blacks and whites. I live in a mixed neighborhood in a mixed city, and there's plenty of racism - more blatant and less censured on the part of blacks against whites, but both directions.

There's also prejudice without racism - if you hear somebody behind you on the street at night and turn around to see a mature white male, you'd be an idiot not to be relieved. Not that most young black men are dangerous, but most violent and stupid men where I live are black.

I'm not sure what to think about the "race card" issue when played by those in the McCain camp - I know there are plenty of reasons a non-racist will vote McCain, and there are plenty of black racists voting for Obama. I haven't noticed the Obama campaign accusing all of McCain's supporters of being racist; only the overtly racist ones.

However, I'm a white man and Obama's race and name played a factor in my becoming an Obama partisan very early in the race, before he was an obvious contender for the Democratic nomination.

The reasons are those cited by the article.
1) It looks good to the world.
2) It looks good to the blacks in the US.

As far as 1, the perception of our nation abroad has suffered from our conduct of the Iraq war and particularly from well-substantiated allegations of torture and extraordinary rendition. We are continually engaged in a public relations battle with our enemies. Of course, there are extreme partisans that we can't influence, but there are also people who will choose to idolize the US based on our Constitution, values, and great wealth, or who will choose to hate the US because of our policies in the world.

Having a charismatic leader with a strong presence and the ability to think on his feet is valuable in this war. Having a black leader with a Muslim name will go a long way to dispelling the rhetoric of our enemies - it would be a great blow in the war on terror.

As far as 2, like I said, I'm around unsuccessful black people a lot of the time. Many of them are angry, feel like the white world won't let them get anyplace, feel like we owe them something. This isn't universal - I know successful black people that don't share these character traits at all - but it's common where I live. The black community has problems. Not our problems directly, as whites, I'll grant - but they affect us because we live together.

Having a black president will demonstrate clearly that there is no ceiling, that a black man, properly equipped and motivated, can ascend to even the most powerful position in our society. Hopefully, this will provide a role model and give black people in the US the hope they need to better their own situations.


This isn't the only reason I like Obama, by far, but I think it's something that is important to me and that I haven't properly expressed in the past.

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Offlinezouden
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: phi1618]
    #9160018 - 10/30/08 04:42 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Excellent article and a great post. Thanks for sharing this. I wholeheartedly agree with The Economist's point regarding McCain the senator vs McCain the candidate. Before the campaign started I thought that America would do well to have him as the Republican nominee - I considered him the best of the lot by far. He has fallen a long way from that point. The Economist is right. Obama is clearly the better choice in this election.


--------------------
I know... that just the smallest
                                                part of the world belongs to me
You know... I'm not a blind man
                                                    but truth is the hardest thing to see

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Offlinezappaisgod
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: phi1618]
    #9160446 - 10/30/08 06:27 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

phi1618 said:
Quote:

The presidential election

The Economist is a strongly free-trade magazine. It endorsed Bush in 2000 and Kerry in 2004.

Overall, pretty standard stuff, but this paragraph really struck me:
Quote:

Most of the hoopla about him has been about what he is, rather than what he would do. His identity is not as irrelevant as it sounds. Merely by becoming president, he would dispel many of the myths built up about America: it would be far harder for the spreaders of hate in the Islamic world to denounce the Great Satan if it were led by a black man whose middle name is Hussein; and far harder for autocrats around the world to claim that American democracy is a sham. America’s allies would rally to him: the global electoral college on our website shows a landslide in his favour. At home he would salve, if not close, the ugly racial wound left by America’s history and lessen the tendency of American blacks to blame all their problems on racism.




I've been an Obama supporter for a long time. He's smart; he can write well and speak well. He's also black, and has a Muslim name.

These points are significant and important, and the argument made here by the Economist is one that's been on my mind for a while, but I didn't really know how to put it.




Holy fucking shit you are voting for him because he is black and has a Muslim middle name.
Quote:



Race is a real issue in the US, because of our history and because of how people feel about it - both blacks and whites. I live in a mixed neighborhood in a mixed city, and there's plenty of racism - more blatant and less censured on the part of blacks against whites, but both directions.




So what?  As long as there is no legal discrimination
Quote:



There's also prejudice without racism - if you hear somebody behind you on the street at night and turn around to see a mature white male, you'd be an idiot not to be relieved. Not that most young black men are dangerous, but most violent and stupid men where I live are black.




Black people do not scare me
Quote:



I'm not sure what to think about the "race card" issue when played by those in the McCain camp - I know there are plenty of reasons a non-racist will vote McCain, and there are plenty of black racists voting for Obama. I haven't noticed the Obama campaign accusing all of McCain's supporters of being racist; only the overtly racist ones.


  When has the McCain "camp" played the race card?  I'd be very interested to hear.
Quote:



However, I'm a white man and Obama's race and name played a factor in my becoming an Obama partisan very early in the race, before he was an obvious contender for the Democratic nomination.

The reasons are those cited by the article.
1) It looks good to the world.
2) It looks good to the blacks in the US.




I see, all you are about is appearances.  I am not surprised.  You, like Barry, lack substance.  I understand the affinity.
Quote:



As far as 1, the perception of our nation abroad has suffered from our conduct of the Iraq war and particularly from well-substantiated allegations of torture and extraordinary rendition. We are continually engaged in a public relations battle with our enemies. Of course, there are extreme partisans that we can't influence, but there are also people who will choose to idolize the US based on our Constitution, values, and great wealth, or who will choose to hate the US because of our policies in the world.




Who gives a fuck what murderous lunatics think about us, Neville?
Quote:



Having a charismatic leader with a strong presence and the ability to think on his feet is valuable in this war. Having a black leader with a Muslim name will go a long way to dispelling the rhetoric of our enemies - it would be a great blow in the war on terror.



Barry has never demonstrated an ability to think on his feet.  In fact, when confronted with non-scripted opportunities he is FAIL.
Quote:



As far as 2, like I said, I'm around unsuccessful black people a lot of the time. Many of them are angry, feel like the white world won't let them get anyplace, feel like we owe them something. This isn't universal - I know successful black people that don't share these character traits at all - but it's common where I live. The black community has problems. Not our problems directly, as whites, I'll grant - but they affect us because we live together.




Losers making excuses is not a racial characteristic.
Quote:



Having a black president will demonstrate clearly that there is no ceiling, that a black man, properly equipped and motivated, can ascend to even the most powerful position in our society. Hopefully, this will provide a role model and give black people in the US the hope they need to better their own situations.




We have had several black men on the Supreme Court, two black Secretaries of State, many many other high ranking black appointees and elected officials.  Half of the population is female.  THEY are way more overdue, aren't they?
Quote:




This isn't the only reason I like Obama, by far, but I think it's something that is important to me and that I haven't properly expressed in the past.




Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up.  You and the Economist think that we need to make reparations by electing an eminently unqualified black Marxist president because of past American racism.  Word to you and the colonialist guilt Limeys at the Economist, in the words of another Limey:

I don't need to be forgiven.

This is just sickeningly vile.  Hannity had a man on the street today with some guy and when asked what accomplishments Obama had all he could come up with was that he wasn't Republican.  Retard.


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Offlinephi1618
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Registered: 02/14/04
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: zappaisgod]
    #9160595 - 10/30/08 07:10 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Most of what you said is either irrelevant or a total mischaracterization of what I said; anyone who wants to know what I said should just read my post - I won't repeat myself needlessly.

There's one point that I should clarify, though; when I said "McCain camp" here, I was just talking about "people who support McCain." I guess I should have been more clear, particularly since I turn around and talk about the Obama campaign in exactly the opposite sense.

Quote:

Barry has never demonstrated an ability to think on his feet.  In fact, when confronted with non-scripted opportunities he is FAIL.



Really, when?
He's done well in interviews I've seen; he responded appropriately to "Joe the plumber's" hostile questioning in the initial instance.
When is he FAIL?

Quote:

This is just sickeningly vile.



What's that?

Please, bear in mind that this is not the central issue in the campaign. It's not at the top of the Economist's editorial, and it wouldn't be on top of my arguments, either. It's just something I haven't said in the past - I consider being a black candidate in this election a benefit because it will accomplish some specific goals.

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Offlinezappaisgod
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: phi1618]
    #9160731 - 10/30/08 07:36 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

phi1618 said:
Most of what you said is either irrelevant or a total mischaracterization of what I said; anyone who wants to know what I said should just read my post - I won't repeat myself needlessly.




This is the beauty of the "quote" feature.  I didn't cut anything you wrote and quoted you verbatim, every racist word of it.  I obviously read it because every word of yours was in my reply.  How the fuck you can say I mischaracterized you when I provided the entire post is beyond any rational knowledge.  And anybody who wants to know what you said can read my post, because it's all there.
Quote:



There's one point that I should clarify, though; when I said "McCain camp" here, I was just talking about "people who support McCain." I guess I should have been more clear, particularly since I turn around and talk about the Obama campaign in exactly the opposite sense.




Yes, you should.  Why is there a cavalcade of douches who think that anything any moron says somehow accrues to the candidate said moron supports?
Quote:



Quote:

Barry has never demonstrated an ability to think on his feet.  In fact, when confronted with non-scripted opportunities he is FAIL.



Really, when?
He's done well in interviews I've seen; he responded appropriately to "Joe the plumber's" hostile questioning in the initial instance.
When is he FAIL?




You aint paying much attention.  Phred has posted a whole series of videos with this dick stammering into the dust.  Joe the Plumbers hostile questioning?  He is just some regular schmuck whose backyard was invaded by the cocksmoker express looking for some sweet reach around.  If the asshole wasn't such a pussy I could show him some hostile questioning.  Something the MSM won't do.  Meanwhile, the LA Times refuses to release of a video of him at a party sucking the dick of a terrorist supporting asshole name of Khalidi.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/31688_LA_Times_Hiding_Incriminating_Video_of_Obama_with_Radical_Palestinian_Update-_Ayers_and_Dohrn_Attended_Khalidi_Party_with_Obama
If that's incorrect I'll suck your dick.
Quote:




Quote:

This is just sickeningly vile.



What's that?

Please, bear in mind that this is not the central issue in the campaign. It's not at the top of the Economist's editorial, and it wouldn't be on top of my arguments, either. It's just something I haven't said in the past - I consider being a black candidate in this election a benefit because it will accomplish some specific goals.




Affirmative Action doesn't help black people and electing a President with ZERO accomplishments because you think this will somehow heal any racial divide is stunningly ignorant.  What if he is a fucking disaster?  How far back will that set blacks?  As it is now many companies are leery of black applicants because they suspect they might have gotten their degree based on lesser achievement.  If this glib, facile jerkoff gets elected on the basis of appearances and produces zero substance, as he has his entire career (he even sucked at community organizing), what will that say about black candidates in the future?  He is eminently unqualified.  He has never done anything except polish an atrociously thin resume.

You are a racist.  Own it.


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Offlinelonestar2004
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: phi1618]
    #9160921 - 10/30/08 08:08 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

phi1618 said:


I've been an Obama supporter for a long time. He's smart; he can write well and speak well.

He's also black, and has a Muslim name.

These points are significant and important












jesus.....


--------------------
America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure"

We have "reckless fiscal policies"

America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.

Americans deserve better

Barack Obama

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Offlinezappaisgod
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: lonestar2004]
    #9160987 - 10/30/08 08:18 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

It is rather stunning, isn't it?


--------------------

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Offlinelonestar2004
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: zappaisgod]
    #9161107 - 10/30/08 08:36 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

yes


--------------------
America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure"

We have "reckless fiscal policies"

America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.

Americans deserve better

Barack Obama

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Offlinezouden
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: zappaisgod]
    #9161126 - 10/30/08 08:39 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

Hannity had a man on the street today with some guy and when asked what accomplishments Obama had all he could come up with was that he wasn't Republican.



When you look at the complete disaster that was the Bush administration, this is a good enough reason to vote for Obama. If the Republicans hadn't fucked up this decade they might have had a chance. They did, so they don't.


--------------------
I know... that just the smallest
                                                part of the world belongs to me
You know... I'm not a blind man
                                                    but truth is the hardest thing to see

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InvisiblePrisoner#1
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: lonestar2004]
    #9161133 - 10/30/08 08:40 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

gentlemen, we have now seen the face of the enemy


it's OK to laugh

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Offlinelonestar2004
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: Prisoner#1]
    #9161156 - 10/30/08 08:44 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

:lol:


--------------------
America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure"

We have "reckless fiscal policies"

America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.

Americans deserve better

Barack Obama

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Offlinephi1618
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: zappaisgod]
    #9161190 - 10/30/08 08:49 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

What accomplishments are you looking for?
He came from a working class background, and graduated with a Harvard law degree.
He wrote his own books - I've read them, and IMO they're good.
He's an accomplished orator, and writes more of his own speeches than any other politician around.
He has a successful political career.

Race aside, he's a good candidate. It's not like I'm suggesting that we elect an unqualified candidate on the basis of race alone; Obama is an eminently qualified candidate.

I'm pointing out that his race and name affect how many people, in the US and abroad, perceive him, and that electing a black man named Barack Obama will affect the perception of the US around the world - not least in the Middle East.

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OfflinePhred
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: phi1618]
    #9161238 - 10/30/08 08:55 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

He wrote his own books -




Perhaps he didn't. I've read credible arguments he had a ghost writer.

Quote:

He's an accomplished orator...




*insert any of dozens of videos of Obama's stammering, stuttering "uh" concerts here*

Quote:

He has a successful political career.




If you define success as never actually accomplishing anything other than running for the next position.

Quote:

It's not like I'm suggesting that we elect an unqualified candidate on the basis of race alone; Obama is an eminently qualified candidate.




How do you figure that? What has he ever actually done? What has he accomplished?




Phred


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Offlinephi1618
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: zappaisgod]
    #9161245 - 10/30/08 08:56 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

re Khalidi
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-video_thuoct30,0,744362.story
Quote:

During the 1990s, while McCain served as chairman of the International Republican Institute, the group distributed several grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, including a $448,873 grant in 1998 to his Center for Palestine Research and Studies for work in the West Bank.




the story also contains various mentions of the incident you site.

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Offlinezappaisgod
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Re: The Economist for Obama; my view on race in this election [Re: Phred]
    #9161261 - 10/30/08 08:59 PM (15 years, 4 months ago)

That's exactly the question from a Hannity man on the street interview today.  The only thing he could think of was that Barry wasn't Republican.  He also admitted to being drunk at 4:30 in the afternoon.


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