Originally posted by zeeblebotNo, because he was prepared for questions. He neither shunned the press to the degree that Palin did, nor stumbled when hard questions were thrown his way. He sat through far more interviews and fielded far more questions. But, he did well through them all, so none are as memorable.
were there ANY comparable interviews of Obama?
Despite his apparent inexperience (something he was asked about with frequency), he demonstrated throughout the campaign that he was well prepared for January 21, 2009 and the many days that will follow.
Originally posted by Wulebgrwhat if the republicans had to choose between george w, sarah palin and a horses ass for president...........???????????
Okay, perhaps K. Couric was a bit harsh, even hostile towards Sarah Palin. Was this because of left wing bias?
The job of reporters is to investigate and report. Palin was a piece of work--completely unprepared for the job she was seeking. Couric understood that, pressed her with well designed questions--and her signature disarming style--and revealed Pal ...[text shortened]... ped stave off eight more years of disaster, then the free press is doing its job for a change.
Originally posted by eamon oThey should disband as a party.
what if the republicans had to choose between george w, sarah palin and a horses ass for president...........???????????
Republicans had a good run of good Presidents from Lincoln to T. Roosevelt, and a good run of Confidence men from Harding to Reagan, and then a couple of buffoons.
The United States still needs an alternative to the Democratic party, which still lacks the vision that once guided it (Obama's charisma conceals this lack of Party focus). This alternative cannot come from the Monetarists and Cultural Conservatives that have been running this country into the ground. Maybe Ron Paul?
Originally posted by WulebgrThats right, they need to go away and grieve for a while, wonder what the problem is, realise that they themselves are the problem, rethink the whole party and reinvent themselves as the New (switched-on/ hip/ up-to-date modern thinking) Republicans.
They should disband as a party.
Republicans had a good run of good Presidents from Lincoln to T. Roosevelt, and a good run of Confidence men from Harding to Reagan, and then a couple of buffoons.
The United States still needs an alternative to the Democratic party, which still lacks the vision that once guided it (Obama's charisma conceals this lack of ...[text shortened]... and Cultural Conservatives that have been running this country into the ground. Maybe Ron Paul?
Originally posted by WulebgrPresident Obama graduated from Columbia University in New York and received his law degree, graduating magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
No, because he was prepared for questions. He neither shunned the press to the degree that Palin did, nor stumbled when hard questions were thrown his way. He sat through far more interviews and fielded far more questions. But, he did well through them all, so none are as memorable.
Despite his apparent inexperience (something he was asked about with freq ...[text shortened]... the campaign that he was well prepared for January 21, 2009 and the many days that will follow.
He became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. The LA Times ran a story March 19, 1990 on that fact, saying, in part:
"The post, considered the highest honor a student can attain at Harvard Law School, almost always leads to a coveted clerkship with the U.S. Supreme Court after graduation and a lucrative offer from the law firm of one's choice.
"Yet Obama, who has gone deep into debt to meet the $25,000-a-year cost of a Harvard Law School education, has left many in disbelief by asserting that he wants neither.
" `One of the luxuries of going to Harvard Law School is it means you can take risks in your life,' Obama said recently. `You can try to do things to improve society and still land on your feet. That's what a Harvard education should buy-enough confidence and security to pursue your dreams and give something back.' "
... the article continues, talking about the Harvard Law Review post:
"Unlike many peer-review professional journals, the law review is run solely by students. It is widely considered the major forum for current legal debate and consequently is watched closely by courts around the country.
"In his second year at law school, Obama decided to run for law review president after a conversation with a black friend.
"`I said I was not planning to run and he said, `Yes you are because that is a door that needs to be kicked down and you can take it down.' "
"It was a marathon selection process, an arcane throwback to the early days of the review. The students editors deliberated behind closed doors from 8:30 a.m. until early the next day. The 19 anxious candidates took turns cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for the selection committee, whose members emerged with a historic decision."
"`Before I could say a word, another black student who was running just came up and grabbed me and hugged me real hard,' Obama recalled. "It was then that I knew it was more than just about me. It was about us. And I am walking through a lot of doors that had already been opened by others.'
the article also talks about what others at the time thought of Obama, the law student:
"Describing Obama, fellow students and professors point to a self-confidence tempered by modesty as one of his greatest attributes.
"He's very unusual, in the sense that other students who might have something approximating his degree of insight are very intimidating to other students or inconsiderate and thoughtless," said Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor. "He's able to build upon what other students say and see what's valuable in their comments without belittling them."
"But what truly distinguishes Obama from other bright students at Harvard Law, Tribe said, is his ability to make sense of complex legal arguments and translate them into current social concerns. For example, Tribe said, Obama wrote an insightful research article showing how contrasting views in the abortion debate are a direct result of cultural and sociological differences.
"As law review president, Obama is the last person to edit student articles, as well as longer pieces by accomplished legal scholars. The review publishes eight times a year and receives about 600 free-lance articles each year.
"Referring to his fellow students at the review, whom he edits, he said:
"`These are the people who will be running the country in some form or other when they graduate. If I'm talking to a white conservative who wants to dismantle the welfare state, he has the respect to listen to me and I to him. That's the biggest value of the Harvard Law Review. Ideas get fleshed out and there is no party line to follow.'"
Finally, the article gives the viewpoint of a fellow student who submitted an article that Obama edited:
"`He is very, very diplomatic,' said Radhika Rao, 24, a third-year law student from Lexington, Ind. `He is very outgoing and has a lot of experience in handling people, which stands him in good stead.'
Tina Ulrich, 24, a third-year student, wrote an article for the review that went through several editors before her final draft landed on Obama's desk.
"`When he sent it back, it had lots of tiny print all over it and I was just furious,'" she said. `My heart just sank. But it was accompanied by specific examples of how parts could be made better. He wound up getting an enthusiastic response from a very tired writer.'"
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/09/barack-obama-ha.html
I was not a supporter of Obama through most of the campaign. I supported Hilary Clinton and resented the sexism the main stream media used against her. But to be fair, it looks as though Obama simply ran a much better organized campaign. I'm glad he is including Hilary Clinton in his Administration.
I've learned a lot about Obama since he gained the nomination. At first I dismissed him due to his "lack of experience" and also I felt antithetical to him because I distrust the Democratic party tendency to look for candidates with charisma rather than substance. In truth, I'd have rather voted for Bill Bradley but that wasn't going to happen.
So I'm not writiing as a long time supporter of Obama -- but it should be pretty clear that he has a major league intellect and apparently the societal skills to use it to gain substantive ends. We'll see how he does, but for now, I'm going to hope for his success and support him in my work for the Federal government with enthusiasm.
I can't tell you how it felt this morning to return to work and NOT see those portraits of G. W. Bush and Richard Cheney hung in the lobby. The security guards and I shared a twinkle in our eyes over that. The general feeling of optimism isn't one of high expectations, rather it is a feeling of pride that we are part of a historic transformation in American political life. We're all on board to fulfill our mission and make this Agency work as it should. Haven't felt like that in a long long time.
Originally posted by ScriabinMe too, but he wasn't in the race. I still have my Bill Bradley for President (from 2000) button stuck to the bulletin board above my desk. I think there's a lot of similarity between the two men, including that they write the books sold under their name, and they approach issues with a heart--they think clearly, but also feel.
In truth, I'd have rather voted for Bill Bradley but that wasn't going to happen.
Originally posted by WulebgrThe Katie Couric interviews were as hostile to Palin as a teddy bear.
Okay, perhaps K. Couric was a bit harsh, even hostile towards Sarah Palin. Was this because of left wing bias?
Most of the questions were soft-ball questions. On the things that I wouldn't blame her for knowing she still screwed up competently responding that she didn't know them.
Her interviews were far from hard hitting journalism.
Originally posted by WulebgrHis book, The New American Story, lays out in more detail the excellent analysis he offered first in an article published in 2005 called A Party Inverted. See http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0330-26.htm
Me too, but he wasn't in the race. I still have my Bill Bradley for President (from 2000) button stuck to the bulletin board above my desk. I think there's a lot of similarity between the two men, including that they write the books sold under their name, and they approach issues with a heart--they think clearly, but also feel.
In particular, and what made me very hesitant about Obama at first, was this:
"When the Goldwater Republicans lost in 1964, they didn't try to become Democrats. They tried to figure out how to make their own ideas more appealing to the voters. As part of this effort, they turned to Lewis Powell, then a corporate lawyer and soon to become a member of the United States Supreme Court. In 1971 he wrote a landmark memo for the United States Chamber of Commerce in which he advocated a sweeping, coordinated and long-term effort to spread conservative ideas on college campuses, in academic journals and in the news media.
"To further the party's ideological and political goals, Republicans in the 1970's and 1980's built a comprehensive structure based on Powell's blueprint.
Visualize that structure as a pyramid."
(see the article for the details. the conclusion is that it does not matter who the Republicans put at the top of the pyramid - anyone who looks good in a suit will do.)
But Bradley points out:
"To understand how the Democratic Party works, invert the pyramid. Imagine a pyramid balancing precariously on its point, which is the presidential candidate.
... (see the article for the details)
"Democrats choose this approach, I believe, because we are still hypnotized by Jack Kennedy, and the promise of a charismatic leader who can change America by the strength and style of his personality."
"In such a system tactics trump strategy. Candidates don't risk talking about big ideas because the ideas have never been sufficiently tested. Instead they usually wind up arguing about minor issues and express few deep convictions. In the worst case, they embrace "Republican lite" platforms - never realizing that in doing so they're allowing the Republicans to define the terms of the debate."
This time around, things were somewhat different. I was suspicious of Obama due to his charismatic appeal. But he is in no way "Republican lite."
I think that he, together with his chief of staff, Gov Kaine of Va and Chris Van Hollen, who represents my district, will work towards establishing the sort of structure that Bradley has said will stand the test of time and withstand the assault of the Republican pyramid scheme.
Indeed, I've always known that the essence of the Republican party is a political Ponzi scheme -- selling cultural wedge issues and sowing fear of external and internal enemies to divert attention from their rampant fiscal irresponsibility and greed, their massive misuse of public funds, their wars and defense programs designed to profit political pals rather than protect our national security.
Mencken was right in observing no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
But this time, the total collapse of everything on which Republicans usually stand left the Empire as well as the Emperor with no clothes.
I think Obama may be the kind of leader who has his vision set on more than just his own one or two terms. I'm certainly willing to give him the chance he deserves. So I went out today and bought my 88-yr old mother an Obama baseball cap and hoodie with the inaugural seal and Obama's logo in bright pink. This, for a woman who spent the primaries pestering me with questions about Obama that made me think she was just afraid of a black man being President. Well, I misjudged her I guess. I think she really wanted to see a woman get the nomination this time.
As soon as he got the nomination and especially after McCain picked Sarah Palin, my mom kept telling me how strong she was for Obama.
I know she'll like the souvenirs. She's from Boston, so the Kennedy thing was a bigger deal for her than it was for me.