Category: Barack Obama

Joe Biden is One of Us

Posted on by TL

From Senator Joe Biden:

A few hours ago, Barack Obama was officially nominated as the Democratic candidate for president of the United States.

And just a few moments ago, I accepted our party’s nomination for vice president.

I made my case to everyone watching — Barack Obama will secure America at home and restore our reputation abroad. And John McCain will only extend the failed policies of George Bush.

But this isn’t my moment. It’s all of ours.

And the fight ahead will be like nothing you’ve ever seen.

The stakes couldn’t be higher, and Barack and I need your help right now.

Please make another donation of $25 or more now and support this campaign to bring the change we need:

https://donate.barackobama.com/tonight

Thank you for making this possible,

Joe

Donate

We stand on the shoulders of giants.  We are poised to make history.

I have never been so excited about an election.

Joe Biden grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  He’s one of us.  Barack Obama is one of us.  Both of these men know how many kitchen sinks they have.

When Jay Leno offered McCain $1 million if he could answer the question of how many homes he has, what was the first thing out of his mouth? “I was a POW, so for 5 years I didn’t have a home, I didn’t have a kitchen table…” blah, blah, blah. Does he seriously have any other answer besides, “I was a POW?” Does John McCain even know how many homes he owns?

John McCain suffered once.  John McCain deserves praise for his service to our country.  But Vietnam was a long time ago.  We’re a long way from the famous “McCain-Feingold” efforts at election reform.  He has strayed far from his roots.  John McCain is not one of us.  John McCain is not “the maverick.”  John McCain is a man pampered, spoiled and aloof.  Yes, John McCain is an elitist.  John McCain is George W. Bush redux, George W. Bush redivivus, George W. Bush all over again.

I can’t take George W. Bush all over again.

Joe Biden, you helped us remember our roots in America.

I’m not doing as well as I would like, Joe.  Things are not going well financially these days.  The Bush years have been horrible for me.  Sometimes, I’ll admit, I’ve felt like giving up.  Sometimes, I’ve been truly frightened.

But I have not given up, and I will not.

I need Change desperately, not just the change I find under the couch cushions.

Joe, your talk tonight was incredible tonight.  I look forward to hearing Barack Obama tomorrow night.

I want to see Barack Obama in the White House.  I want to see you at his side.  Thank you for helping me to believe that our best days are, indeed, before us.

Thanks, Joe.  I’m starting to believe again.  I need to believe again.

Hillary Rocks the House, ‘No way! No how! No McCain!’

Posted on by TL

Hillary was electric, and delivered the line of the convention:

“No way! No how! No McCain!”

Hillary Clinton delivered tonight.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t very inspired by John Kerry.  Kerry had great ideas, but got too caught up in being, well, John Kerry.

This year, I’m inspired. Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have everything to do with that.

Hillary sounded dynamic.  Hillary sounded strong.  Hillary sounded presidential.

Mentioning Barack Obama at least ten times, Hillary left no doubt in my mind that she believes Barack Obama is not only ready to be President of the United States, Barack Obama must be President of the United States.

Turning Left Election Watch: Who is Giving the Big Bucks?

Posted on by TL

Ever wonder who in Park Forest is contributing to the presidential campaigns? Wondering if a celebrity is playing both sides of the fence? Whether that new guy or gal you’ve just met is actually a Republican or a Democrat? Wondering if your boss maxed out at that fundraiser or got comped? Does your neighbor’s involvement in politics stop at the sign in the yard, or is that just the tip of the iceberg?

FundRace makes it easy to search by name or address to see which presidential candidates your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors are contributing to. Or you can see if your favorite celebrity is putting their money where their mouth is.

FundRace gives you the technology to do what politicians and journalists have been doing for years: find out where the money’s coming from, see who it’s going to, and solve the mystery of why that crazy ex-roommate of yours is now the Ambassador to Turks and Caicos.

This information is a matter of public record.

Find out who’s giving the big bucks in your area:

Brought to you by The Huffington Post.

White Man Accuses Black Man of Playing Race Card

Posted on by TL

Here we go. Johnny M. is playing it — or accusing Barack O. of playing it.

The race card. The dreaded race card.

When all chips are down, when a black man or woman is in danger of succeeding, there you have it. The race card again. It must be the race card.

Here’s what the Associated Press says happened:

John McCain accused Barack Obama of playing politics with race on Thursday, raising the explosive issue after the first black candidate with a serious chance of winning the White House claimed Republicans will try to scare voters by saying he “doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”

Until now, the subject of race has been almost taboo in the campaign, at least in public, with both sides fearing its destructive force.

“I’m disappointed that Senator Obama would say the things he’s saying,” McCain told reporters in Racine, Wis. The Arizona senator said he agreed with campaign manager Rick Davis’ statement earlier that “Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It’s divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.” The aide was suggesting McCain had been wrongfully accused.

Let’s see. The Maverick McCain, they guy who helped bring us the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform, Johnny M. is uncomfortable that the Black Man is talking about color.

Actually, Barack said more than the AP reports:

“Nobody thinks that Bush and McCain have a real answer to the challenges we face. So what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me,” Obama said. “You know, ‘He’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,’ you know, ‘He doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.'”

A few years back, in the summer heat of 2003, the PGA Western Open was played in Olympia Fields, IL. Tiger Woods did not fare well. Jim Furyk took top honors with a 272, winning $1.08 million. Tiger shot a mere 283, taking home only $64,170. Very sad. I had the opportunity to see Tiger and Jim play the last round at at Olympia Fields Country Club, an exclusive club nearby which only admitted it’s first African American member in 1990.

After Furyk had won, I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts in Olympia Fields near the intersection of Western Ave. and the Lincoln Highway. My son and I entered and waited in line. There was a “Good-ol’-boy” white man ahead of us in line. There was also an African American woman in line, and other people of color behind the counter.

As the white man was leaving, he saw my hat which I had bought at the Open. The hat clearly read, “U.S. Open – Olympia Fields, IL.” On his way out of the store, he shouted, “Yeah! The white man won! The white man won!”

The clerk looked nervous. The African American woman in line put her head down and looked disgusted. I mumbled, “Bigot,” out loud. Then he was gone.

Right here in our racially diverse south suburbs of Chicago, the voice of hatred cried out. That was just a few years ago.

Barack Obama is right. Is race supposed to be an unspoken secret throughout the campaign? The weird right is already talking, and quite nervous. Some people are genuinely frightened that a black man may be president.

Face it — if the most earth-shattering swift-boating news McCain’s campaign can rustle up is a bizarre comparison of Barack Obama with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton — well, accusing Obama of playing the race card was inevitable.

Except, in this case, the white man played the race card.

Awe nuts, the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s off the deep end again

Posted on by TL

Let me begin by saying that I have tremendous respect for Jesse Jackson, Sr. if it is still 1988.

His speech at the Democratic Convention is electrifying and incredibly inspirational. I’m sitting in the living room of my parents’ house watching the convention, and I’m hoping against hope that Jesse Sr. could have won the Democratic nomination for president.

It’s 1988, and there’s a lot I don’t know about Jesse Jackson, Sr., except for that speech.

Two decades later, I know a lot more. And I don’t like what I see any more.

From the Chicago Tribune’s Swamp:

Not realizing a camera and microphone were live, Jackson whispered in a television studio on Sunday that Obama had been “talking down to black people” in his calls for more parental responsibility among blacks and an expansion of faith-based charities.

“I want to cut his nuts out,” Jackson added, gesturing as if grabbing part of the male anatomy and then pulling.

I get it that Jesse likes to make himself the story. Sometimes I can even accept that. This time, however, Jesse was off the charts. Consider this: Jesse was in a Fox News studio. How can any reasonable person conclude that the microphone might not be in a Fox News studio, or any studio?

Jesse rushed to apologize, but this time he looks downright silly:

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

“I offer apologies because I don’t want harm to come to this campaign,” Jackson said.

“I said something I regret was crude. It was very private. And very much a sound bite,” he said. “I find no comfort in it, no joy in it.”

Not, “I apologize because I was wrong.” This is, “I apologize because I got caught. That was meant to be private. But I meant what I said.”

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. was not pleased with dad:

Jackson’s son U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has distanced himself from his father before, offered an especially pointed reaction: “I’m deeply outraged and disappointed in Rev. Jackson’s reckless statements about Sen. Barack Obama,” the junior Jackson said. “Reverend Jackson is my dad, and I’ll always love him . . . [but] I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.

I’ve heard Congressman Jackson take some playful, tongue-in-cheek jabs at his father in the past.  During some friendly gatherings, the congressman would say he didn’t want to be the kind of guy who showed up just for the cameras.  Then he’d pause thoughtfully, wait for the chuckles.

We all got it.

This time, however, the congressman was on fire, and spot on.

I enjoyed NBC’s Matt Lauer’s clumsily interview with Dr. Michael Eric Dyson on the Today Show this morning. How will the Black Community respond? As if all African Americans think in concert, like all whites, all men, all women, all gays, all lesbians, etc. Dyson carefully observed that “some” blacks will say this, “some” will say that. In other words, people might actually see things differently.

Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell calls the senior Jackson’s explanation absurd:

Jackson’s faux pas turned up the volume on a whispered conversation.

But there’s no need to worry.

Black Democrats have supported a long line of presidential contenders who had to walk the same fine line.

They are not about to abandon Obama because he finds more opportunities to talk about black pathology than he does white racism.

Besides, the reverend’s comments were so beneath the dignity of the cloth he wears on the road he has traveled, the Obama campaign won’t have to deal with them — period.

But if Jackson keeps making loud noises, he’ll find out how quickly even a civil rights icon like him can get left behind.

The weird right is enjoying this spectacle, but this will pass.  It won’t be long until another far-right icon is forced out of the closet.

The media will want to stay with the distraction for a while longer, I’m sure.  This is much more fun than actually doing critical thinking and writing about real issues.  And I’m sure this will not be the last time the Rev. Jackson pulls a “Michael Richards.”

Senator Obama graciously accepted Jackson’s apology, and he’s moving on.  This is just another distraction.

Bill Foster Goes to Bat for Veterans

Posted on by TL

U.S. Congressman Bill Foster from the 14th Congressional District in Illinois is quickly making a name for himself standing up for our military veterans. The 14th District is the seat vacated by former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert. According to the Daily Chronicle:

Beginning next year, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces will have easier access to higher education.

But, effective immediately, the U.S. military will have a tremendous new recruiting tool.

Monday, U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Batavia, delivered this news to a small gathering of war veterans at the St. Charles Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, lauding the recent passage of the so-called 21st Century GI Bill.

“Right after we have celebrated our independence for the 232nd time, we have a chance to honor and give back to the men and women who make sure we keep on having Independence Days,” Foster said.

Promoted by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, and signed into law by President Bush late last month, the GI Bill enhances college tuition benefits to active-duty service personnel who have served since Sept. 11, 2001. For veterans who have served at least three years, the bill guarantees that the federal government will fund 100 percent of tuition costs at public, in-state colleges and universities and 50 percent of private school tuition.

Veterans who served less than three years can also receive lesser benefits on a graduated scale, beginning at 40 percent of tuition and fees for at least 90 days of consecutive active duty service.

The bill also grants money for all fees, a new monthly housing stipend and $1,000 a year for books and supplies.

There was some opposition to this bill in both parties, but Jim Webb has a solid reputation among veterans, and the bill was supported by many of America’s leading veterans organizations, including the VFW, American Legion, AmVets and others. It had the support of Senator Barack Obama, but, amazingly, became the ill-advised punching bag of one veteran, Senator John McCain. Republicans did not stand with McCain on this one:

In a surprising rebuke to John McCain, 25 of his fellow Republican senators today approved a veterans’ benefits proposal that their presidential nominee has made a controversial decision to oppose.

The veterans’ plan passed today would strengthen education benefits for US soldiers that have not been updated since 1984. McCain, a Vietnam war veteran, echoes the Bush administration’s concerns that the plan could entice too many troops to leave the military for college.

But more than half of Republican senators disagreed, voting for the education proposal offered by Democratic senator James Webb — and against McCain’s stated position.

Bill Foster is turning into a unique blend. He’s spot on for the 14th District. While it might be expected of those of us on the left to continuously bash Republicans, the fact is Denny Hastert represented his constituents well for a very long time. Bill Foster is following that lead: he’s legislating, not politicking. And it’s very refreshing to see that coming from Congress these days.

Is your middle name “Hussein” too?

Posted on by TL

Some Barack Obama supporters are informally adopting the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate’s middle name as their own.  According to the New York Times:

Emily Nordling has never met a Muslim, at least not to her knowledge. But this spring, Ms. Nordling, a 19-year-old student from Fort Thomas, Ky., gave herself a new middle name on Facebook.com, mimicking her boyfriend and shocking her father.

“Emily Hussein Nordling,” her entry now reads.

With her decision, she joined a growing band of supporters of Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who are expressing solidarity with him by informally adopting his middle name.

Very cool.  Reminds me of the end of Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, where children declare one at a time, “I am Malcolm X!”

Barack Obama is an intriguing personality.  By all rights, he has the absolute worst name for politics in the United States.  But here we stand, in classic Americana, embracing the other.

I’ll change my Facebook profile also, proudly adopting the Senator from Illinois’ middle name as my own.

You should consider doing the same.

Dr. James Dobson cries out from the gutter

Posted on by TL

Dr. James Dobson
Dr. James Dobson decided to climb out of the depths and take a shot at Barack Obama this week.

We last took note of Dr. J in November, 2006, when he refused to serve on the panel of Christian experts who were working to restore disgraced preacher Ted Haggard.

Now Dobson is an expert again, and he had to reach all the way back to 2006 to fabricate something nasty about Barack Obama.  Why go back to 2006?  Was he on a “Haggard Hiatus”?  Just now opening his email?

From the Chicago Tribune:

The conservative Christian group provided The Associated Press with an advance copy of the pre-taped radio segment, which runs 18 minutes and highlights excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal. Obama mentions Dobson in the speech.

“Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?” Obama said. “Would we go with James Dobson’s or Al Sharpton’s?” referring to the civil rights leader.

Dobson took aim at examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy — chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, “a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application.”

Dobson did not react well to Obama’s speech:

Dobson and Minnery accused Obama of wrongly equating Old Testament texts and dietary codes that no longer apply to Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament.

“I think he’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology,” Dobson said.

“… He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.”

Dr. J must feel aweful lonely these days.  No doubt he hardly recognizes the Christian right these days.  They’re not obsessed with abortion and homosexuality any more.  They’re concerned about global warming.  They’re concerned about global poverty, health care, and AIDS.  They don’t like the war in Iraq.

Many of them may just vote for Barack Obama.

It’s worth it to read the full text of Obama’s ‘Call to Renewal’ Keynote Address.  The senator reflects on a bizarre statement from his 2004 carpetbagging opponent for the U.S. Senate, Alan Keyes:

I want to give you an example that I think illustrates this fact. As some of you know, during the 2004 U.S. Senate General Election I ran against a gentleman named Alan Keyes. Mr. Keyes is well-versed in the Jerry Falwell-Pat Robertson style of rhetoric that often labels progressives as both immoral and godless.

Indeed, Mr. Keyes announced towards the end of the campaign that, “Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama. Christ would not vote for Barack Obama because Barack Obama has behaved in a way that it is inconceivable for Christ to have behaved.”

Obama used the occasion to share his own path to church:

It wasn’t until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma.

I was working with churches, and the Christians who I worked with recognized themselves in me. They saw that I knew their Book and that I shared their values and sang their songs. But they sensed that a part of me that remained removed, detached, that I was an observer in their midst.

And in time, I came to realize that something was missing as well — that without a vessel for my beliefs, without a commitment to a particular community of faith, at some level I would always remain apart, and alone.

He stressed the importance of participating in a faith community:

Faith doesn’t mean that you don’t have doubts.

You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it. You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away – because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey.

How will Dobson argue now that Obama is a Muslim?

It’s a long road to walk alone.  Dobson doesn’t care for John McCain, but he hates Obama more.

I’ll pray for Dr. J, and campaign for Barack Obama.

Obama campaign raises $21.9 million in May

Posted on by TL

The NYTimes shares the good news:

Barack Obama raised $21.9 million in May, his campaign reported on Friday, a day after the Democratic candidate said he would reject public financing for his presidential bid.

The Illinois senator’s campaign said it had $43.1 million in the bank at the end of the month, with debts of about $304,000.

Astounding.  All of this is money freely given to the campaign by real Americans.  Ninety percent of his donors have given $100 or less.  The numbers are staggering.

But we’ve won nothing yet.  McCain could still win.

“The fierce urgency of now” dictates that we take nothing for granted.  This is the time to work.

Only hard work between now and November will result in victory.

David Brooks is an idiot

Posted on by TL

For some reason, I used to enjoy reading David Brooks in the New York Times. I don’t know why. He’s a smart guy. Perhaps it’s my liberal leanings that cause me to thirst for news from all perspectives, not permitting myself to be limited to one point of view.

Brooks’ mere presence in the NYTimes is proof they don’t pander to liberals.

But this one really takes the cake. I’ve watched Brooks give commentary on television. Whether it’s This Week with George Stephanolopous or the pages of the NYTimes, commentators want to tell you what to think as much as they tell you what they think.

Well, Mr. Brooks slipped this time. Regarding Barack Obama, Brooks said:

“Obama‘s problem is he doesn‘t seem like a guy who can go into an Applebee‘s salad bar and people think he fits in naturally there. He has to change to be more like that Applebee‘s guy and as he‘s done that he‘s become much more transactional. Much more, I‘m going to deliver this and this and this to you on policy.”

David, Applebee’s doesn’t have a salad bar. I know you know this by now. Face it, you looked downright silly on this one.

As someone who’s had the pleasure of meeting the Senator from Illinois on more than one occasion, I can say with confidence Barack’s a good guy.

You know, Barack Obama does look like someone who could go into an Applebee’s and have lunch or a good dinner.

You don’t.