Tag: 2008 (page 11)

The New York Times interviews several progressives, including bloggers about their support for Sen. Barack Obama given his recent FISA vote and the other centrist positions he's staked out in recent weeks.

Will it cost Obama in votes? I hope not. I want a Democratic president. But if it does, it's Obama's own fault. He's now at risk of "being viewed as someone who parses positions without taking a principled stand." On this, the Times quotes liberal writer and blogger David Sirota who says:

“I’m not saying we’re there yet, but that’s the danger,” said David Sirota, a liberal political analyst and author. “I don’t think there’s disillusion. I think there’s an education process that takes place, and that’s a good thing. He is a transformative politician, but he is still a politician.”

I disagree. I see no transformational quality to either Obama or his candidacy. Obama said he was a new kind of politician. He sold an entire younger generation on the theory of change, a new kind of politics in Washington and he's delivered the status quo. He's shown us that on FISA, the death penalty, guns, religion, Iraq, Afghanistan and trade policy (so far) he's all about preserving the status quo and not rocking the boat in his quest for votes. How much more "politics as usual" can you get?

Other Obama supporters interviewed for the article are angry at Obama. One says she's going to vote for the Green party candidate. [More...]

While the latest CNN poll has Sen. Barack Obama 8 points ahead of McCain, a new Newsweek poll shows Obama ahead of McCain by only 3 points.

A month after emerging victorious from the bruising Democratic nominating contest, some of Barack Obama's glow may be fading. In the latest NEWSWEEK Poll, the Illinois senator leads Republican nominee John McCain by just 3 percentage points, 44 percent to 41 percent. The statistical dead heat is a marked change from last month's NEWSWEEK Poll, where Obama led McCain by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent.

Is it a fluke? Or, if it's accurate, what's the reason for the drop and is it temporary or permanent?

Personally, I don't think it's due to buyer's remorse or dropping support among liberals. I think it's that his recent changes of position on multiple positions have made people unsure of where he really stands -- and whether his new stands reflect his true beliefs or are caluclated to get votes. It could be a trust issue. [More...]

Hillary Clinton's campaign today announced the winner of their t-shirt contest.

(larger version here.)

I like it. The graphic is so Hillary. Especially the tiny heels. Every time I got to see her in person she was wearing shoes with those tiny heels. Go on over and buy one. It will help her retire her debt.

At Barack Obama's Unity Fundraiser in New York last night, filled with Hillary supporters who were being asked to contribute to his campaign, Obama finished his speech but forgot one thing: to ask them to contribute to retiring her debt. He stopped the music and returned to the stage to do his part.

Video here.

Dahlia Lithwick and Doug Kendall at Slate ask a good question:

Obama veers to the right, but did he have to take the Constitution with him?

They note:

It's not an overstatement to say that in the past month Obama has tugged the First, Second, Fourth, and Eighth amendments to the center. Not a day goes by, it seems, without a constitutional wink to the right on guns (he thinks there is an individual right to own one), the wall of separation between church and state (he thinks it can be lowered), the Fourth Amendment prohibition on warrantless wiretapping (he's changed his position on FISA), and on the death penalty for noncapital child rape cases (he thinks it's constitutional) as well as a possible shift this week on the right to abortion (which could further limit the reach of Roe v. Wade).

The point: [More...]

Sen. Barack Obama released a statement yesterday explaining why he's going to vote for the FISA bill. I'm sure Big Tent Democrat has previously addressed the substance of it.

Since I oppose all the FISA bills believing that FISA isn't broken and therefore needs no fixing, I've pretty much stayed out of it. What I find interesting about Obama's statement is this:

Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.

I'm still not convinced he will chart a new course, but I am convinced he will chart a better course than McCain. FISA is not a deal-breaker for me. [More...]

In Georgia today, Sen. Barack Obama today denied allegations he's moving to the middle, including on guns, the death penalty and Iraq.

"The people who say this haven't apparently been listening to me"....

Obama blamed criticism from "my friends on the left" and "some of the media" in part on cynicism that ascribes political motives for every move candidates make. "You're not going to agree with me on 100 percent of what I think, but don't assume that if I don't agree with you on something that it must be because I'm doing that politically," he said. "I may just disagree with you."

Obama then went on to explain his views on faith and government. [More...]

The DNCC sent out a press release this morning confirming that the final night of the Democratic Convention, including Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech, will take place as Invesco Field instead of the Pepsi Center.

When we said we wanted to 'bring down the walls,' open up this Convention like never before and truly speak to the American people, we meant it," said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. "On August 28, we will offer grassroots Democrats, who have turned out in record numbers this year, the opportunity to witness history shoulder to shoulder with thousands of Americans standing up for the change our country desperately needs."

The stadium seats 76,000 people. With that size crowd, I think we can expect a pretty big-name rock band to open the event. I did some checking on who's available. Personally, I'd love to see Bon Jovi, but I think more likely possibilities include: Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge and Stevie Wonder. [More...]

Via Huffington Post, here are Obama's current top choices for Vice President:

Top Tier:

• Jim Webb
• Hillary Clinton
• Bill Richardson
• Joe Biden
• Brian Schwietzer

Worth Watching:

• Janet Napolitano
• Sherrod Brown
• Chuck Hagel
• Wesley Clark
• Kathleen Sebelius
• Tom Daschle

Honorable Mention:

• Michael Bloomberg

Aside from Hillary and Wes Clark, not a star among them. If Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel or career prosecutor turned Governor Janet Napolitano make the grade, I'll be rethinking my support the Democratic ticket. If it's Hillary, Clark, or Richardson, he keeps my vote.

Are any a dealbreaker for you?

Sen. Barack Obama is returning to Colorado tomorrow to give a speech on national service in Colorado Springs.

The morning event, at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus in northern Colorado Springs, is by invitation only. The audience will include active military personnel, as well as what campaign spokesman Matt Chandler described as those serving in the nation’s other essential services — the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and ROTC.

Obama's visit reportedly also will include a $1,000-a-head fundraiser and possibly a visit to one of the region’s five military bases — though any details of additional planned events have not been released to the media.

It is not expected that Obama will meet with James Dobson while here.

Go Arianna! Check out her latest at Huffpo, Memo to Obama: Moving to the Middle is for Losers.

The Obama brand has always been about inspiration, a new kind of politics, the audacity of hope, and "change we can believe in." I like that brand. More importantly, voters -- especially unlikely voters -- like that brand.

Pulling it off the shelf and replacing it with a political product geared to pleasing America's vacillating swing voters -- the ones who will be most susceptible to the fear-mongering avalanche that has already begun -- would be a fatal blunder.

Arianna references the LA Times article on Obama's move to the center. My post on the article and Obama's move to the center is here.

It's not just guns, NAFTA, FISA, expansion of the death penalty and the promise of a stepped up fight in Afghanistan. It's also his outreach to evangelicals -- the radical right. It's something to keep in mind as he makes his faith speeches tomorrow and Wednesday.

More...

From Obama's patriotism speech:

[W]hat is striking about today’s patriotism debate is the degree to which it remains rooted in the culture wars of the 1960s – in arguments that go back forty years or more. In the early years of the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War, defenders of the status quo often accused anybody who questioned the wisdom of government policies of being unpatriotic.

Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the Sixties reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases, the very idea, of America itself – by burning flags; by blaming America for all that was wrong with the world; and perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor those veterans coming home from Vietnam, something that remains a national shame to this day.

Constrast with John Kerry's 2006 speech on patriotism and dissent.