[HokieinSC]

Originally Posted by CoW mAn

I guess the question for some people becomes "would you rather have hope with no plan or a plan with no hope?"

Fair question, CoW mAn. A Catch-22, that is!

[CoW mAn]

Originally Posted by HokieinSC

Fair question, CoW mAn. A Catch-22, that is!

Thank you. While I'm proud of the question I actually don't accept the premise that Obama doesn't have a plan - from the beginning of January when I started paying real attention he's been giving specifics but he's ALSO been giving a message of hope. I don't find the two mutually exclusive.

Yea the debate last night was mostly a wash. Hillary started off with some name-dropping that I thought would be seen as pandering but the crowd ate it up, then midway through the debate she got nasty saying that 2 lines suggested by his co-chair somehow equates to stealing entire passages and then that Xerox comment was low. Plithy, but a cheap shot devoid of substance. But then at the end her closing remarks got a standing O and I'm not really sure why. Was it because she made positive comments about Obama and thus provided a party-uniting note to end on? Or was it because, as some suggested, it was the first time she seemed to be aware that she might lose? I have no idea. And the laughter about the hard times she's faced, we're talking about Monica, right? When did adultery become funny? I have a polisci honours degree and the last few minutes of the debate confused the hell out of me.

[HokieinSC]

I have to agree. I don't think he's running on hot air (as some of the talking heads have complained) but that he's avoided getting bogged down in details during the speeches. Obama seems to be coming up with more of a concrete message lately. Assuming B.O. gets the Democratic nomination, Hillary's campaign will be right there w/Rudy's as "what not to do". They still don't seem to have found a message that resonates. It's a lot of the same points recycled, even though they haven't been effective.

I'm guessing here, but I think that the standing O for her closing remarks might have been for her showing a bit of her personal side, not the politician. More 'human' for lack of a better word. It did seem that her comments there at the end had a mend the fences w/the nominee feel to them.

[CoW mAn]

I think it also worth noting that some of her closing remarks were taken from Edwards.

Irony abounds, no?

I find it interesting their initials, for me HRC always stood for the Hard Rock Café and BO meant Body Odour...not really relevant to the subject at hand I suppose but the initials always throw me

[Miguelito]

I still think that A Obama-Hillary Dream Ticket is the best option.
They could perfectly combine their opinions on health care. Barack's plan with hillary's law proposition.
As president Obama should also include Nader and maybe mccain in its governement.
But being realist, the latter would never be accepted in an obama presidency nor by the democrates nor by the republicans (especially the conservatives).

[CoW mAn]

Originally Posted by Miguelito

I still think that A Obama-Hillary Dream Ticket is the best option.
They could perfectly combine their opinions on health care. Barack's plan with hillary's law proposition.
As president Obama should also include Nader and maybe mccain in its governement.
But being realist, the latter would never be accepted in an obama presidency nor by the democrates nor by the republicans (especially the conservatives).

I don't know, I think Hillary's gone too far for that to work. Republicans would just play her "shame on you" quote repeatedly during the race. Personally I think an Obama/Edwards ticket is far more likely and viable.

I could see Nader and McCain possibly having a role to play in an Obama presidency but the question is what role. Nader as AG and McCain as SecDef maybe but there's another side of the coin. Would Nader legitimize an Obama presidency in the eyes of his staunch (and admittedly few) supports? Would it be seen as a compromise of his ethics/policies? Or, on the other hand, would it be seen as giving him greater influence? For McCain would it completely dissolve his Republican support? And even if it did, at his age would it matter that much to him? It'd likely be another 8 years before he has a serious shot at the presidency again.

As for being a realist you must remember that conventional realism comes in large part from the current structure and unwritten rules of politics which Obama does not necessarily choose to follow. Remember the Vice President was originally intended to be the runner-up in the general election for president. There is also precedent for having opposing party members playing specific roles in a government, Bill Clinton for example had some Republicans working in his day. So I wouldn't rule it out completely but I do think that if they are given positions they would be very specific roles and would be contained to those roles. For example McCain as SecDef would not be able to advise Obama on economic policy - there just wouldn't be any point since they fundamentally disagree in that area. But even though they don't agree on Iraq I think McCain might be willing to carry out his orders to refocus on Afghanistan and hunt down terrorists.

[Miguelito]

Come on Barack. You can do it.

[Saquist]

Originally Posted by Ktrek

Well, I have decided to throw my lot in with Obama. I have been a Republican most of my adult life and have voted that way with the exception of Jimmy Carter. However, I can no longer support the Republican position as it currently stands. In Texas our primaries are May 4th, I think, and I intend to vote for Obama. Hillary is way too scary for me. I also cannot understand why anyone would think that a Bush, Clinton, Bush and Clinton again dynasty is good for this country. If you have valid reasons I'd like to know! Why should two families be allowed to run the country for a quarter of a century? It makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever. OK, I admit she was First Lady but that does not qualify her to be President. She also has no leadership qualities. I suppose the first time America is in real danger she is just going to sit in the oval office and "cry"? I could care less about her tears and how personal she thinks all this is. I care about a "vision" for America that is better than the one we have today and I think Obama has that vision and he believes in the "people" and not the politicians. Change begins with me and change begins with you, and if enough of us "get" what Obama is saying we can make a difference in this country.

Now, that said, let me say that even though I do not want to vote for McCain in November he will be getting my vote if it means defeating Hillary. I'm very encouraged by the advances Obama has made. In polls only a few weeks back the news media was telling us he had NO chance but now look where he is! Running neck and neck with Hillary. The Clintons do not play nice and their tactics are unscrupulous but I think Obama can overtake her. Just today it was announced that she was having to "lend" (of course expecting full restitution) $5 Million of her own money to her campaign. Obama does not have the deep pockets of Hillary but guess what? He has raised almost that much in 24 hours just from those who believe in him. Last month in 31 days his supporters raised $32 Million dollars. No big corporations like Hillary just common people like you and me!

If you have not listened to Obama and heard what he has to say then please go to barackobama.com and check out the Media section and listen to his speeches. He is one who can motivate and make you proud once again to be an American.

If you find yourself that you cannot support Hillary I would ask you to please consider donating even just $25.00 to his campaign. He needs money to pay for advertising in order to overcome Hillary. Every little bit helps!

I believe and think that Obama has what it takes to be a GREAT President. He genuinely cares for the people. He has not sold out to Washington politics and he has INTEGRITY.

If this Republican can find hope in a Democrat than I know others can also! A vote for Obama is a vote for hope and change. We can do this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsrgY...content/hqblog

Kevin

That's cool.
I'm not really into polotics, and I'm not a voter.