Barack Obama

[EwokUtopia]

So Barack is running for the presedential slot for the Democrats. If he beats Hillary, what would everyone think of President Obama? I know you cant expect much from within the system, but as far as the system goes, I think he is an excellent choice. He opposes the war in Iraq quite staunchly and would bring many social and economic reforms to a nation in dire need of them.

Its sad how he is currently the only Black senator in the US, and that in American history there have only been four, but I think this man would be a great change to America. History has shown us that the culture of the US is largely represented by who is in charge, the more liberal the leader, the more active the countercultre tends to be. Compare Reagans 80's with Clintons 90's for a great example, and that with Bush's 2000's.

If I were an American, I would deffinately support Obama for this precise reason.

[STI]

Peh, if he was elected, do you really think his "staunch opposition" to the war would continue? I be doubtin' 'er. By supporting him, you'd only be legitimizing the whole charade of electoral politics... thereby encouraging others to do the same!

[WUOrevolt]

I'm american and this election will be my first time voting if i choose to. I seriously doubt Obama will be much of a change. I will admit he is the best of all the candidates out there, but still hes a politican in the american political system, what a farce.

[Kia]

I dont think he has a chance. Currently he seems the best candidate for president, but america is still racist enough that many people will not vote for a black president just because he is black.

Anyways the right has already started their slander campaign against him.....
Hillary Clinton Drops Madrassa Bomb on Barack Obama (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,245582,00.html)

I say this is right wing slander campaign because a. fox news posted it first and then made a big deal about it (and they can slander hillary at the same time) and hillary clinton might as well be republican along with the rest of the democratic party.

[Janus]

Peh, if he was elected, do you really think his "staunch opposition" to the war would continue?
He opposed Bush's Iraq policy from the beginning and is seeking US withdrawl for this year. Sure, it's possible that he won't fulfill these promises should he become elected but that would be a serious political blow to him.


but america is still racist enough that many people will not vote for a black president just because he is black.
In the South perhaps, but Obama seems quite popular even more so than Hillary.

[Colombia]

Does anyone even know this guy's policies? They almost never mention his work done in the Senate.

[Cyanide Suicide]

I don't think he has much of a shot. It will most likely come down to the key swing states (Ohio, Florida, etc), and more specifically the white middleclass in them. I think there's just too much racism (even if it isn't obvious, it's enough effect the results) for him to win. But I could be proven wrong. Obama seems like a good guy and I wouldn't mind seeing him win, but for me I think the best possible canidate is Dennis Kucinich (http://kucinich.us/). I think he would be the most benefitial to the far left. You can see his views and policies here. (http://kucinich.us/issues)

[Jesus Christ!]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2007 11:37 pm
Does anyone even know this guy's policies? They almost never mention his work done in the Senate.
I think most of his voting and work is in the education and welfare issues. Two things that are generally non partisan, education especially, welfare not as much so. He hasn't really had any bills dealing with more controversial issues which is probably a good thing for his presidential race. I think he has a good chance because he is not controversial and sadly because of his race. The racists that were brought up before would probably not be voting democrat in the frist place so he doesn't have to worry about them. And he will get the sweeping majority of the minority vote and also I think a lot of people would like to tell their grand kids how they helped get the first black president elected to office.

That being said, if I vote it will probably be for Nader. Unless Obama or Clinton come out with some unheard of left wing agenda.

Fun facts: Barrack Obama's middle name is Hussein. not only that but there have already been "mistakes" on CNN with a picture of Osama Bin Laden with the caption " Where's Obama?"

[which doctor]

I actually think he has a good shot of winning, at least winning the democratic primary. He seems pretty popular. I also believed that he made some mention of healthcare for all Americans. This may not mean socialized health though, it may just mean that people who aren't covered under company plans will get gov't healthcare.

[EwokUtopia]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2007 08:36 pm
Peh, if he was elected, do you really think his "staunch opposition" to the war would continue? I be doubtin' 'er. By supporting him, you'd only be legitimizing the whole charade of electoral politics... thereby encouraging others to do the same!
Thats not the point. Ignoring the system does not make it go away, and since you arent going to overthrow it by 2012, much less 2008, Obama would be extremely benefitial. Remember that the presedency decides the face of America in the eyes of the world, and can make differences in the subcultures in America. The left got a whole lot more shit done under Clinton than it did under Bush. Do you think Al Gore would have passed the PATRIOT act? All of these are subtleties and dont alter the fact that America is a hegemonic empire, but Id rather have a bad empire then an outright blatantly evil one. He would phase out the US involvement in Iraq (no one can stop it cold turkey), which is good. He said on the Daily Show that what Bush has done in Iraq is basically like driving a bus into a ditch, and its not easy to get the bus out of the ditch, it requires effort and time, though as little time as possible is best, but first is first, you should fire the driver.

[Abbigail]

He's obviously too young to be elected in my opinion, not that much experience on the international level either.

I do, really like him though.

[Labor Shall Rule]

It would be really nice if he was on our side.

[JKP]

A more important question is, "does it matter if he wins"?

Obama, like the rest of the candidates, is a member of the ruling class, who seeks to perpetuate liberal capitalism.

We seek to abolish capitalism and the state, and that is not achieved by lending votes or support to something which has a class interest to preserve itself.

[Mikhail Frunze]

It is rather treachorous how self-proclaimed revolutionary leftists could possibly endorse a man who wants to impose catastrophic neoliberal policies on the proletariat. For example, he voted YES on the "free trade" agreement with Oman even though 30 of his Democrat colleagues voted against it (http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=190&chamber=S&congress=1092&tally=1)

In concern to his foreign policies, he is more of the same. Do not expect a different direction if Obama was to be elected. Raimondo exposes Obama as an imperialist and a war monger:



http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10181
His real loyalties are with the Democratic Party Establishment – the Democratic Leadership Council/Lieberman wing – and this came through in the party primaries, when his political action committee donated many thousands of dollars to defeat antiwar candidates. He supported Joe Lieberman over Ned Lamont, donating $4,200 to the eventual candidate of the "Connecticut for Lieberman" Party. He also gave $10,000 to defeat antiwar stalwart Christine Cegelis, who nonetheless came within a few thousand votes of winning against a decorated war hero.

Obama's position on the Iraq war was pretty much summed up by his comment, cited at Alex Cockburn's Counterpunch, as follows:

"On Iraq, on paper, there's not as much difference, I think, between the Bush administration and a Kerry administration as there would have been a year ago. There's not that much difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage. The difference, in my mind, is who's in a position to execute."

Stealing some lines from Hillary Clinton's playbook, Obama holds up Bosnia and Kosovo as a model:

"If one looks at the Balkans – our most recent attempt to rebuild war-torn nations – the international community, from the European Union to NATO to the United Nations, were all deeply involved. These organizations, driven largely by European countries in the region, provided legitimacy, helped with burden-sharing, and were an essential part of our exit strategy. Ten years later, conditions are not perfect, but the bloodshed has been stopped, and the region is no longer destabilizing the European continent

Like most congressional Democrats, he bowed before the Israeli war machine and praised the IDF's brazen aggression in Lebanon, going so far as to visit northern Israel during the war in a show of support. He opposed a cease-fire – "I don't fault Israel for wanting to rid their border with Lebanon from those Katyusha missiles that can fire in and harm Israeli citizens, so I think that any cease-fire would have to be premised on the removal of those missiles" – and absurdly averred:

"I don't think there is any nation that would not have reacted the way Israel did after two soldiers had been snatched. I support Israel's response to take some action in protecting themselves."

According to this logic, the U.S. should have invaded Iran when the Iranians took hostages at our embassy – and, come to think of it, he does endorse an attack on Tehran, as reported by the Chicago Tribune:

"U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama suggested Friday that the United States one day might have to launch surgical missile strikes into Iran and Pakistan to keep extremists from getting control of nuclear bombs."

[Jesus Christ!]

Originally posted by [email protected] 26, 2007 02:03 am
I actually think he has a good shot of winning, at least winning the democratic primary. He seems pretty popular. I also believed that he made some mention of healthcare for all Americans. This may not mean socialized health though, it may just mean that people who aren't covered under company plans will get gov't healthcare.
Bush also mentioned healthcare for all americans in the state of the union. Clearly this is a ridiculous and empty promise.

[Clarksist]

Obama has zero executive experience. He will be eaten up if McCain runs, or Giuliani.

However, no one running has a leftist platform, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. What is important is whether they will be hostile towards Venezuela, Cuba, and the uniting South American left.

If the new President is less hostile, then we could see some very intriguing developments that are positive.

[Sir Aunty Christ]

I think whoever the Democrats choose will be the next President. If the Republican candidate is considered to have been close to Bush and his band of Merry Men ;), then that candidate will get slaughtered at the polls, and if it's McCain - expect him to dig a deeper hole for himself than he already has.

[Janus]

They almost never mention his work done in the Senate.
Well, there's increasing media coverage of him now that there's a chance he may be a presidential candidate.

Obama calls for universal medical care (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/ap_on_go_co/democrats_health_care;_ylt=Ajto.wbIX.XcmdLlRul4mmy yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-)


He's obviously too young to be elected in my opinion,
But that's the reason for much of his appeal, he's "fresh".


not that much experience on the international level either.
Few presidents do and much of it is usually bad international experience (like Nixon for example).

[RedStarOverChina]

To me, it's like looking at an enemy soldier across the battlefield. Yeah, he looks like a nice guy. Heck, he might even be one.

But don't doubt for a second he'll bust your skull when he has to. Don't take it personally, it's called class struggle.

Oh, also, don't vote.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d62/RedStarOverChina/72.jpg