February 09, 2008
Why I'm Supporting Barack Obama
Katha Pollitt in The Nation:
Hillary Clinton is smart, energetic, immensely knowledgeable, and, as she likes to say, hard-working. I've been appalled by the misogynous vitriol (and mean-girl snark) aimed against her. If she is the nominee I will work my heart out for her.
But right now, I'm supporting Barack Obama. On domestic politics, their differences are small-- I'm with her on health care mandates, and with him on driver's licences for undocumented immigrants; both would probably be equally good on women's rights, abortion rights and judicial appointments. But on foreign policy Obama seems more enlightened, as in less bellicose. Maybe Hillary Clinton's refusal to say her Iraq vote was wrong shows that she has neo-con sympathies; maybe she simply believes that any admission of error would tar her as weak. But we already have a warlike president who refuses to admit making mistakes, and look how that's turned out. The election of Barack Obama would send a signal to the world that the United States is taking a different tack.
More here.
Posted by Abbas Raza at 05:01 AM | Permalink
Comments
It would be nice to see this dream realized:
The USA at the top, with Hillary, and at the bottom of our map Michele and Cristina --- what a trio of women to ridicule the clown of Caracas!
On the realistic side --- psychologically --- Hillary will bring with her a piece of baggage that I prefer not to set allowed in the Oval Office again!
So, my vote is for Obama --- a new beginning and a fresh breath of clean air...
Posted by: Felix E. F. Larocca MD | Feb 9, 2008 6:14:36 AM
Subject:Fwd: Be careful, be very careful.
Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (black muslim) of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham of Wichita, Kansas. (white atheist ).
When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya. His mother married Lolo Soetoro -- a Muslim -- moving to Jakarta with Obama when he was six years old. Within six months he had learned to speak the Indonesian language. Obama spent "two years in a Muslim school, then two more in a Catholic school" in Jakarta. Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim while admitting that he was once a Muslim, mitigating that damning information by saying that, for two years, he also attended a Catholic school.
Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was a radical Muslim who migrated from Kenya to Jakarta, Indonesia. He met Obama's mother, Ann Dunham-a white atheist from Wichita, Kansas-at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Obama, Sr. and Dunham divorced when Barack, Jr. was two.
Obama's spinmeisters are now attempting to make it appear that Obama's introduction to Islam came from his father and that influence was temporary at best.
In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya immediately following the divorce and never again had any direct influence over his son's education.
Dunham married another Muslim, Lolo Soetoro who educated his stepson as a good Muslim by enrolling him in one of Jakarta's Wahabbi schools. Wahabbism is the radical teaching that created the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad on the industrialized world.
Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when you are seeking political office in the United States, Obama joined the United Church of Christ to help purge any notion that he is still a Muslim.
Handsome . . . Charming . . . Winsome . . . Dangerous . . . Deceptive . . . Determined
Posted by: Mark | Feb 9, 2008 8:21:59 AM
I see a new new version of the Manchurian Candidate with the screenplay written by Tim Lahaye.
Posted by: Robin | Feb 9, 2008 9:13:15 AM
Mark's furthering of slander should be purged from this site. It's bad enough when the Republican Party engages in dispersing lies. This site shouldn't be a part of this dispicable campaign.
Posted by: Chris | Feb 9, 2008 10:59:25 AM
Dear Chris,
While I feel the same sentiment as you, this would open up a whole censorship can of worms which I am loathe to do. I do not wish to be in the position of making judgments about which comments are factual and which are not (I don't have the time for it). So our policy remains that as long as comments do not contain hate speech or foul language, they stay up. A few examples of completely racist rubbish such as the above will slip through, but that's okay, not many who read this site are going to be influenced by such sleazy junk. In fact, it may help to remind us of just how racist and hate-filled some of our opponents are, and how much we need to do to make sure we elect good leaders, like Barack Obama!
Posted by: Abbas Raza | Feb 9, 2008 11:18:02 AM
Well, the Nazis are marching in Skokie, and I guess we are too enlightened to ask them to have a care not to trample our flowerbed. No, this is not hate speech exactly, except that it suggests a Muslim background is a really foul thing.
I agree there's mindless hatred in the world and fake comment posts like "Mark" has given us bear witness to that. Lest we forget... But before being personally cool with his garbage, I would want to know which trash-compacter chucked it our way. A right wing nose-picker, scared of an Obama victory over McCain? An anti-Muslim hate group, intent on making sure there are as few uppity Muslim-rooted Christians as possible in high office? An anti-Black group hiding behind the faintly less hideous scrim of being anti-Muslim? Or, could it be the work of a vast Hillary-wing conspiracy -- and we're giving it away when we should be selling it in the ads column?
Along with being liberal-minded comes knowing just why an uninvited guest is offensive, what his deeper reasons are. I don't think it's enough to receive him merely because he is offensive.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Feb 9, 2008 11:47:36 AM
yes, agreed -- hatred is permanently at the door. some forms are prone to reason, some arent. you dont know what their intentions are till they have the upper hand, in which case, it's too late to repel them. example #1: a meth-head in a suit lying about a car breakdown and a funeral, asking me for money. i gaze back at him till awkwardness sets in, his facade cracks, his hands tremble, he walks away. i havent raised a hand or my voice -- were it always so easy. example #2: for all the bumperstickers that say 'speak english' i'm designing one to be pasted over theirs: 'immigrants are braver than you'. finally, in 'civil society', one is reduced fighting the haters with paroxysms of logic.
Posted by: ed rackley | Feb 9, 2008 2:15:04 PM
That's pretty creepy stuff that Mark has brought to our attention, but I definitely agree with Abbas that it should stay up. The Obama campaign got another few bucks out of me tonight, thanks to Mark.
As a 'white atheist', let me also add that I'm shocked to see my people demonized like this.
Posted by: Justin | Feb 9, 2008 4:14:02 PM
From what I have thus far seen of Sen Obama, he seems hardly the sort of person who would conceal his Muslim faith were he a Muslim, which in fact he is not.Are the sins of the father--sins?--to be borne by a guy who is a member of a Christian church? By all means, keep up the comment as a reminder of what is out there that needs to be rebuked.
Ps: and I don;t give a hoot what that article declares. A post via the Nation tells me in advance what the position will be, and, though he has no experience in foreign affairs who he uses as advisers will be what counts, should he win the presidency.
Posted by: fred lapides | Feb 9, 2008 6:08:06 PM
I've followed a bit on the trail of "Mark" in the offensive post above. Looks to me like he's a right wing direct marketing consultant based near DC, with a radio show and a roster of government clients.
So -- hi, Mark. And welcome. Glad you're drinking some of our Kool-aid!
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Feb 9, 2008 6:40:18 PM
What do you want to make of this nonsense? Are you telling us that this woman is a fool?
Posted by: bee | Feb 9, 2008 8:02:21 PM
All belief in the Psychopathic Space Daddy is a form of mass psychosis-- why pick on Islam?
This is a equal opportunity suicide pact of ignorance, and everyone is welcome.
At least they should be, in this great democracy.
Posted by: Dave Ranning | Feb 10, 2008 12:33:54 PM
At the risk of sounding repetitious (see my comment on the Ezra Klein post of February 06), I really wish people like Katha Pollitt would scratch the surface of this "mandate" that Hillary is talking about and see it for what it is: a tax on the poor.
Elatia, to correct your data in your reply to that comment, 300% federal poverty level for a family of 4 is roughly $62,000. Still, the cheapest plan available at $8000 is hardly "affordable", no matter how you slice it, which is why fully 20% of MA residents will be able to petition for an exemption from the upcoming tax penalty for not purchasing insurance. Again, multiply that out across the nation and you've got Hillary leaving 10 million Americans uninsured under this so-called "universal" plan.
I would urge those of you who support Barack Obama to educate yourselves and others about Hillary's mythical "mandate", because I see this as a crucial area of contention where Hillary seems to have laid claim to the soundbite.
Posted by: Mary | Feb 10, 2008 7:33:58 PM
Mary, send Obama your resume! That was beautifully put. Thanks for correcting one of my more cross-eyed extrapolations. I am struggling to be able to talk to Clintonistas about which healthcare initiative is the more workable, and this is a great way to frame why Hillary's is not just less than it sounds like, but would backfire on the people it's supposed to help.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Feb 10, 2008 8:24:00 PM
Elatia--
My step daughter is working on the Obama campaign, and her best friend is one of Obama's major advisors. There is a passion among the young (which I do not share) for this campaign.
As far as health care, the US is the only industrial democracy without universal health care, and we have a life span and infant mortality rate that is embarrassing compared to the rest of the industrial world.
Clinton's solutions fall short, and are a step backward. Health care is not like auto insurance, and our fellow citizens should be treated with the dignity and respect afforded citizens of the rest of the developed world.
Posted by: Dave Ranning | Feb 11, 2008 12:11:52 AM
Aw gee, thanks Elatia! Coming from someone whose writing makes my eyes pop, that's a very nice compliment. I'm really only repeating what I heard at a local town hall meeting with one of Obama's health policy advisors, the lovely Rahul Rajkumar, MD (and self-described policy wonk). During that session we discussed the apparent problem of Obama's nuance/pragmatism falling short of the Clinton soundbite. The statistic I quoted above is one that I latched onto like a lamprey, since it makes perfect sense to people like me and your average voter who are relatively clueless when it comes to the ins and outs of policy. I am now doing my best to spread that thinking around, so thanks for joining in the good fight!
Now remember, Obama does aim to get everyone covered by the end of his first year in office, but he will do this by reducing the hidden costs and redundancies in our frankly byzantine health care system. See a wonk for details!
Posted by: Mary | Feb 11, 2008 10:18:14 AM
Post a comment