New at Reason
Steve Chapman looks at the latest features of Hillary Clinton version 7.0.
Comments to "New at Reason":
Edward | January 10, 2008, 1:53am | #
At least she not a shit-bag racist Nazi.John C. Randolph | January 10, 2008, 3:16am | #
Edward, is there someone you want to call a nazi?-jcr
John C. Randolph | January 10, 2008, 3:18am | #
That woman is as phony as that clown who banged the fat chick.-jcr
Rye-guy | January 10, 2008, 3:38am | #
I beasted the predicting Hillary winning NH. Anyone who's wise enough to not trust their brain would have.I'd rather someone who think's she's entitled to be President win than someone who think's he's entitled to be the Second Coming.
John C. Randolph | January 10, 2008, 4:27am | #
" someone who think's he's entitled to be the Second Coming."Pat Robertson's not running this time.
-jcr
ed | January 10, 2008, 8:03am | #
"You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose."That's positively Churchillian. I get all goose-bumpy.
edna | January 10, 2008, 8:06am | #
jcr, he wasn't banging her. blowjobs only.insert obligatory rainbow party joke here.
Ayn_Randian | January 10, 2008, 8:21am | #
I don't get it.I'm certainly no pro-Hillary shill, but is there anything that the woman could do that would prove she has real emotions?
She fails to cry: it's for political power
She cries: It's a stage act for political power
She rages: It's fake rage
She's demure: It's fake modesty
Steve Chapman says she's hiding her "true emotion"...uhh, what would be good enough evidence that she actually HAS emotions, Steve? Because none of the usual indicators of emotion (rage, crying, laughing, calm) seem to be sufficient.
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 8:22am | #
Normally I'd say charging a campaigning politician with inauthenticity is like accusing the sun of being warm and bright, but inauthenticity is so central to who Hillary Clinton is... It really is her defining characteristic.Still, with voters turning out so big for Obama in lily white Iowa, she may be the Republicans' last, best hope for victory. After all, Hillary Clinton doesn't even have the audacity to try to project herself as a southerner anymore, does she?
Does she?!
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 8:24am | #
"I'm certainly no pro-Hillary shill, but is there anything that the woman could do that would prove she has real emotions?"Well for starters, she could stop eating people's children.
Ayn_Randian | January 10, 2008, 8:33am | #
Well for starters, she could stop eating people's children.An amendment to Timothy:
Cthillary '08?
Gilbert Martin | January 10, 2008, 8:42am | #
"Sixty years old, with all that massive experience in the work of transforming the nation,"Yeah and I'm still waiting for any of the media to ask her any tough questions as to what, exactly, is all this experience that she claims she has over the other candidates.
The only elected office she's held is Senator - exactly the same as Edwards and Obama.
Being first lady is an honorary title, not an earned one and she never accomplished anything of any more substance while first lady than other than Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush or any other first lady.
If being first lady counts as "experience" for being president, then every other first lady is just as qualified for it as she is.
I think Edward was having a Tourettes moment. Just had to say something.
Hillary really, really gets people worked up. It's amazing. If she wasn't so ugly I'd accuse many of you of having a crush on her. Too bad she's not hot; that would make this ever so much more entertaining.
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 8:55am | #
"You forget that Hill didn't stay home and make cookies."What did she do?
She put together one real estate deal, the partners of which, I understand, all went to prison. ...except for Hillary and her husband, of course.
She did work on Watergate in some capacity, which is something, I guess. She worked for a bunch of charitable foundations as First Lady of this and First Lady of that...
I have more respect for the professional accomplishments of the women who regularly comment on this site. I have more respect for the professional accomplishments of the women I know and work with every day.
To my eye, holding up Hillary Clinton's accomplishments as something to be impressed by seems like an insult to the accomplishments of all the professional women I know...
...many of whom bring home the bacon AND bake cookies!
Hillary was a big hit with people earning under $50,000, just the kind of people who are too stupid to realize they are being lied to.
Tbone | January 10, 2008, 8:56am | #
Three states down and were already solely focused on personality. I think HRC's NH moment was genuine. Including this piece, I now count 4,124,748,422 attacks on her (about half of which are surrogate extensions based on the acts/words of her husband; WTF). At some point that has to penetrate your mental armor. Jon Stewart again nailed the total overreaction.It seems like Chapman's antipathy is that this is "calculated". Like every successul politician, HRC is a shrewd, calculating, political animal. Like the guy said in Red October - "When I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops".
While I expect cable and MSM will focus on electing our next prom King (or Queen), I expect more from Reason (and Chapman). Ideas, ideals, and policy prescriptions please. . . I don't give a rat's ass about feelings and emotion. No matter your love or hate for any candidate, can we please not fall into the "beer drink buddy" trap again.
BakedPenguin | January 10, 2008, 8:59am | #
For those defending her, may I remind you that this is the woman who thought her husband didn't have enough executive power? That she has not (TMK) criticized Bush for his power grabs, only the way he has used the power?Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 9:01am | #
Listening to Hillary Clinton talk about her professional accomplishments is like listening to some music icon sing about what a pain in the ass it is to be a rock star.Tbone | January 10, 2008, 9:03am | #
Penguin,I'm no fan of HRC, but please name a candidate (with a chance to win) who you think will reduce executive authority.
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 9:08am | #
"I'm no fan of HRC, but please name a candidate (with a chance to win) who you think will reduce executive authority."Can you name a candidate (with a chance to win) who is less a fan of expanding executive authority than Hillary Clinton?
As a Senator, did she at any point ever oppose the expansion of President Bush's authority?
..that's not a rhetorical question, by the way!
Jose Ortega y Gasset | January 10, 2008, 9:08am | #
Ken, it takes a village to eat a child.BakedPenguin | January 10, 2008, 9:13am | #
Tbone - Obama has mentioned executive power as an issue, along with some proposals for open government.I thought Thompson might be enough of a federalist that he wouldn't try to expand his power in office, but a brief visit to his website didn't really give me any hope for that.
I still believe she would be worse on that issue than any of the other candidates - particularly with a Democratic Congress.
Papa | January 10, 2008, 9:17am | #
A brave photographer caught this behind-the-scenes shot of Hillary in NH: here.
Jose Ortega y Gasset | January 10, 2008, 9:18am | #
As for HRC, I just have a negative "gut" reaction. Oh, I think she's smart and capable but I agree with whatever wag coined the phrase, "Hugo Chavez in a pantsuit." Like Chavez, I think she's more of a petty despot than a true socialist. As for authenticity, I don't see many politicians who are even remotely sincere. HRC, however, has a quality like scratching fingernails on a chalkboard. No, it's not her gender or her husband. I just don't like her. It's sort of like my reaction to the Dondero character who has been floating around here of late.Tbone | January 10, 2008, 9:19am | #
Ken,No, but at this point I don't see much distinction. Do you?
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 9:20am | #
"I think HRC's NH moment was genuine. Including this piece, I now count 4,124,748,422 attacks on her (about half of which are surrogate extensions based on the acts/words of her husband; WTF). At some point that has to penetrate your mental armor."If it was genuine, I think it was probably due to her concern about losing the nomination as things were really looking bad for her at that point.
jp | January 10, 2008, 9:20am | #
If she wasn't so ugly I'd accuse many of you of having a crush on her.She may not be hot, but she's not ugly. I'd say she's above average for a woman her age.
Rattlesnake Jake | January 10, 2008, 9:23am | #
"She may not be hot, but she's not ugly. I'd say she's above average for a woman her age."Yeah, because she's had plastic surgery.
ed | January 10, 2008, 9:28am | #
Too bad she's not hotNo, not in a smokin', Nancy Pelosi sort of way.
LarryA | January 10, 2008, 9:29am | #
What did she do?She cleaned out the White House travel office, and designed the most despised health care plan ever proposed.
Episiarch | January 10, 2008, 9:34am | #
She may not be hot, but she's not ugly. I'd say she's above average for a woman her age.No, not in a smokin', Nancy Pelosi sort of way.
She needs to join Nancy in the Katherine Helmond-in-Brazil look. That'll help her!
Shane | January 10, 2008, 9:35am | #
Ayn_Randian-I'll be the first to admit, i have an irrational hatred toward the Clintons at this point. I was a teen in the 90's and frankly i'm so sick of those 2 and the Bush Dynasty that i will criticize each and everything she does and she will never satisfy, i hate everything about her. Her hair, her face, her voice, and yes her policies. Just being honest, and i'm not the only one, she might win the nom, but too many people feel the way i feel for her to win the office. Same reason i'd never give anyone named Bush or Kennedy a chance. again, irrational, but i think, understandable.
Legate Damar | January 10, 2008, 9:37am | #
My wife; My PhD-educated, liberaltarian, Richardson-as-a-first-choice-followed-closely-by-Paul wife, has decided that now that all of the candidates whom she actually respects are out of it, HRC should win because "she's a woman and being a woman is hard."I'm telling you, this nation is fucked.
Episiarch | January 10, 2008, 9:40am | #
I'm telling you, this nation is fucked.Nah, just sounds like you have a stupid wife. More like you're fucked.
HRC is the most ambitious person I've ever witnessed. Everyone in public life lusts for power, but Hillary doesn't draw breath without first calculating how it may be best utilized to advance the power and influence of Hillary Clinton. She is also very smart, and of all the egomaniacs at her level, the best at critical self analysis.
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 9:42am | #
"No, but at this point I don't see much distinction. Do you?"Dick Morris was at a commercial real estate developer's conference not too long ago, and you should hear some of the things he said.
Check out dickmorris.com ...see his comments on the Hillary video...
"She's the closest thing we have to a European Socialist", among other things. He told us we should expect the first two years of a Hillary administration to be class warfare like we've never seen. ...and that we'd hopefully see a Gingrich type reaction after that, but in the meantime...
In terms of foreign policy, she's more of what the Bush Administration was about than the Bush Administration was. He told us there was no way she was ever going to withdraw troops from Iraq. ...and let's not even talk about surveillance, the Patriot Act, etc.
If I had to identify one candidate from the two major parties that was most hostile to libertarian ideas, it would be Hillary Clinton.
I'd rather have the Baptist minister!
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 9:44am | #
"i hate everything about her. Her hair, her face, her voice, and yes her policies. Just being honest, and i'm not the only one"You and 55% of us according to a recent Rasmussen poll I saw.
stubby | January 10, 2008, 9:49am | #
That's an uncharacteristically perceptive comment by Sullivan, about HRC's generation of Dems suspecting that the majority of the US is not with them. Whether or not most Americans hold the same opinions as these Democrats is a matter of opinion (I think they do not), but I think it's a fact that Hillary's generation feel they have to deceive and obfuscate in order to advance their agenda - but this is completely acceptable, you understand, because they know what's best for the country and that's what matters. Remember in the 2004 election, Howell Raines wrote that John Kerry needed to lie about what he intended to do, and then once in office just do it? The reason being that the American voters were just too stupid to be trusted to vote for the guy who knew best. The honesty and the cynicism of that piece was kind of breathtaking. I think I'll look for it.I'd be very happy to have no more Boomer Presidents, ever, even if it means having a guy as old as Maverick in the White House.
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 9:49am | #
"she's more of what the Bush Administration was about than the Bush Administration was."One conservative woman commentator called her Bush Lite in a skirt.
joe | January 10, 2008, 9:52am | #
"You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose." But after winning Tuesday, she was all gooey sentiment: "I felt like we all spoke from our hearts, and I'm so gratified you responded."That's because she was campaigning.
And then all downhill from there. Boooooooorriiiiiinnnnnggggggg!
Anon | January 10, 2008, 9:54am | #
joe!!!!!!!!!!!!!We were wondering where you were.
Gilbert Martin | January 10, 2008, 9:54am | #
"While I expect cable and MSM will focus on electing our next prom King (or Queen), I expect more from Reason (and Chapman). Ideas, ideals, and policy prescriptions please. . ."Well let's see.
Hillary is a liberal democrat and all her ideas are based on the ideology of socialism/commumism/collectivism.
And it is, of course, an absolute physical impossibiltiy for anything based on that ideology to ever be anything other than an abject failure.
End of policy discussion - back to the Hillary is a calculating phony theme.
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 9:54am | #
The good news is I have a hard time imagining her carrying the South by herself. ...and Hillary Clinton is no longer associated with the South.As I've said elsewhere, just behind Paris Hilton, I suspect she's probably the most hated woman in the South. ...but she might be able to make up for that (maybe in Florida) with the right running mate, who should be from the South.
I understand no Democrat has won the Presidency without a Southerner on the ticket since Roosevelt?
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 9:59am | #
"I understand no Democrat has won the Presidency without a Southerner on the ticket since Roosevelt?"Watch her start emphasizing that she's from Arkansas.
Regarding carrying Florida, maybe not if Bloomberg runs.
Reinmoose | January 10, 2008, 10:00am | #
For those of you who are even remotely in a swing state (for example, not NY, so I don't have to answer this question).If it comes down to Hillary vs. McCain, who do you vote for? (assuming you vote at all)
Hillary vs. Huckabee?
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 10:02am | #
"Hillary is a liberal democrat and all her ideas are based on the ideology of socialism/commumism/collectivism.""And it is, of course, an absolute physical impossibiltiy for anything based on that ideology to ever be anything other than an abject failure."
But she will pretend to be a centrist in order to get elected.
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 10:04am | #
"If it comes down to Hillary vs. McCain, who do you vote for? (assuming you vote at all)""Hillary vs. Huckabee?"
For the Libertarian ticket.
jp | January 10, 2008, 10:04am | #
For those of you who are even remotely in a swing state (for example, not NY, so I don't have to answer this question).If it comes down to Hillary vs. McCain, who do you vote for? (assuming you vote at all)
Hillary vs. Huckabee?
For me, it will depend on which way it looks like Congress will go. (I'm one of those gridlock people.)
Gilbert Martin | January 10, 2008, 10:06am | #
"Watch her start emphasizing that she's from Arkansas."Except that she isn't from Arkansas - she's actually from Illinois.
Rattlesnake Jake | January 10, 2008, 10:07am | #
"For me, it will depend on which way it looks like Congress will go. (I'm one of those gridlock people.)"If Hillary is the nominee, the Republicans will take over Congress. They will show up in droves to keep Hillary out and vote a straight Republican ticket most likely.
Cactus Jack | January 10, 2008, 10:08am | #
"Watch her start emphasizing that she's from Arkansas.""Except that she isn't from Arkansas - she's actually from Illinois."
I knew that.
stubby | January 10, 2008, 10:10am | #
Hillary v. McCain - McCain.Hillary v. Huckabee - Hillary. Because I believe either of them would be equally disasterous and I would want the Democratic party to pay for their voluntary enslavement to the Clinton machine (and I voted for the guy twice). Plus I'm kind of a hawk and I think she'd be one crazeee mother of a CIC. Plus I would enjoy watching certain types of peoples' heads explode when they saw that her foreign policy was no more nuanced, no more sophisticated, no less aggressive and no less inclined to shootin and bombin than Bush's. Plus I would like to watch various Muslim heads of state try to deal with her. Oh God, I'm beginning to talk myself into it.
Obama v. either Romney or Huckabee - Obama.
R C Dean | January 10, 2008, 10:10am | #
I'm certainly no pro-Hillary shill, but is there anything that the woman could do that would prove she has real emotions?She fails to cry: it's for political power
She cries: It's a stage act for political power
She rages: It's fake rage
She's demure: It's fake modesty
Good point, but given her long history of skillful media manipulation and politically convenient shows of emotion, its really hard to give her the benefit of the doubt.
I would say, however, that I would tend to believe that her displays of anger come from the heart.
Plus, what Gilbert Martin said re "experience." I will grant that Hillary was probably more involved in the backroom political knifework of the Clinton administration that most first ladies, but really, is that the kind of experience that you want to build a Presidency on?
From The Keystrokes of John Q. Public | January 10, 2008, 10:27am | #
Listening to Hillary Clinton talk about her professional accomplishments is like listening to some music icon sing about what a pain in the ass it is to be a rock star.Dear Ken,
Since you stealing my thunder on this subject Im going to piggy back and play one upsmanship:
Listening to Hillary Clinton talk about her profession accomplishments is like taking advice from an unemployed motivational speaker.
On the Dick Morris thing: Say what you will about him he was dead on about Hillary in his Predictions. He predicted the Senator Run was apart of a strategy toward running for President in 2008. He also said she'd have a centrist record in the Senate. *Queue twilight zone theme*
PS
I have always been apathetic to Hillary and I like Bill's persona.
joe | January 10, 2008, 10:32am | #
People who look at the Democratic field and single out Hillary Clinton as a radical socialist are telling us a lot more about themselves than about her.But there are those who view John Edwards as being to right of this former Wal Mart Board Members, merely because he is a male, southern, and not involved in the political campaign that ended the Reagan/Bush era.
joe | January 10, 2008, 10:33am | #
Screw the South. The Democrats don't need the south anymore.The Republicans have become a regional party which owns the south and can win few states elsewhere. Let 'em have it.
I am much more fearful of John Edwards than I am of Hilary. Fortunately he has little chance of winning, and *hopefully* won't be anyone's running mate.
Gilbert Martin | January 10, 2008, 10:38am | #
"People who look at the Democratic field and single out Hillary Clinton as a radical socialist are telling us a lot more about themselves than about her."Nobody is "singling her out" as a socialist - they're all socialists. It just so happens that the subject of this thread is Hillary and not Edwards or Obama.
Shane | January 10, 2008, 10:43am | #
Listening to Hillary Clinton talk about her profession accomplishments is like taking advice from an unemployed motivational speaker.Has somebody been watching Little Miss Sunshine? :-)
Daze | January 10, 2008, 11:13am | #
The author doesn't like the way Hillary smiles, doesn't like the way she cries, doesn't like that she plays to the camera, doesn't like the way she uses empty buzzwords, doesn't like that she hasn't been consistent in using her maiden name in professional life ...Who cares? There are plenty of good reasons to hate Hillary, but this column is about as substantive as a Dick Morris soundbite.
I'm tempted to say oh leave the old bat alone and that we should care more about her policies than her public persona(s). But then, it occurs to me that part of the problem of politics from a libertarian POV is the tendency of politicians to pander to the current trends and latest whims of the squeakiest wheel of an interest group of the moment rather than to stick to time tested principles of liberty and following the Constitution. So maybe there's a valid reason to focus on Hillary's willingness to change as it's fashionable and convenient. But don't overdo it or you're gonna make people feel sorry for her!!
MayorOmalleySuxs | January 10, 2008, 11:22am | #
Screw the South. The Democrats don't need the south anymore.That is just so inclusive and understanding of you, Joe.
The Republicans have become a regional party which owns the south and can win few states elsewhere. Let 'em have it
http://www.opinionjournal.com/ecc/calculator.htm
You either have an odd definition of “The South” or “Few”.
The county by county map shows even further that the Democrats are merely a party of local special interests.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm
MayorOmalleySuxs | January 10, 2008, 11:24am | #
Hillary vs. McCain - MccainHillary vs. Huckabee - Hillary
stubby | January 10, 2008, 11:29am | #
I agree with the Mayor - seems an awfully risky election strategy and I don't expect the Democrats to use it, at least not this year.Yeah, I know - I'm a fucking illiterate twit. Plus I'm Southern for demographic purposes.
matt | January 10, 2008, 11:35am | #
She says she's been "running on 35 years of change."It would seem a presidential cycle of Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush, Clinton, Clinton is as far from change and as near to the status quo as any other option out there.
Ken Shultz | January 10, 2008, 11:36am | #
"People who look at the Democratic field and single out Hillary Clinton as a radical socialist are telling us a lot more about themselves than about her."So when Dick Morris calls her "...the closest thing we have to a European Socialist" on that video I linked to above, what is he telling us about himself?
From The Keystrokes of John Q. Public | January 10, 2008, 11:51am | #
Has somebody been watching Little Miss Sunshine? :-)Shane,
Have no idea what that is, but I'll watch it if it's reminiscent of what I just said. I was going to mention that beat up line about an one legged soccer player...
Steve Verdon | January 10, 2008, 11:58am | #
Ayn Randian,I don't think the claim is that she is emotionless, but that you can't tell what her true emotions are since she and her husband use so many gimmicks, including displays of emotion, to manipulate their image. Was her crying fake or real? Beats me, but given how political that whole family is, my initial hypothesis is fake and for the sake of political gain.
People who look at the Democratic field and single out Hillary Clinton as a radical socialist are telling us a lot more about themselves than about her.
When you want to nationalize a huge segment of the U.S. economy...what else do you call it?
Shane | January 10, 2008, 11:59am | #
Have no idea what that is, but I'll watch it if it's reminiscent of what I just said.It's actually a 1/2 way decent comedy. worth a rental. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_miss_sunshine
The reason i thought of it is that one of the characters actual is an unemployed motivational speaker.
From The Keystrokes of John Q. Public | January 10, 2008, 12:11pm | #
Shane,I just checked out the link! I saw previews for this a while back! I'll definitely check it out now! Thank you for the recommendation.
john | January 10, 2008, 12:41pm | #
There's something mighty strange, well-nigh inexplicable in fact, in how so many experienced pollsters could have been so totally incompetent in their polling techniques as to have a fifteen point spread between prediction and reality, and on election eve no less.I don't know what New Hampshire's voter ID and verification requirements are for primaries, but there were huge numbers of out-of-state cars (mainly Massachusetts) parked in the lots of Clinton rallying places the day before.
Why is nobody even whispering the dreaded F-word?
I think the biggest difference between "cosmos" and "paleos" is that the former want "the State out of the way", while the latter want "the State of their backs", the latter will never sell, never has and never will, it comes off as too selfish and shortsighted.
Gilbert Martin | January 10, 2008, 1:17pm | #
"I don't know what New Hampshire's voter ID and verification requirements are for primaries, but there were huge numbers of out-of-state cars (mainly Massachusetts) parked in the lots of Clinton rallying places the day before.Why is nobody even whispering the dreaded F-word?"
I mentioned it yesteday on another thread. As I understand it, any out of state resident can vote in the New Hampshire primary by showing up and simply stating that they intend to move to New Hampshire.
I also heard the stories about out of staters stacking Hillary's rallies. I don't doubt that some of them were stacking the primary vote as well.
I appreciate those posters who endeavor to be constructive here.
John C. Randolph | January 10, 2008, 2:45pm | #
" more of a petty despot than a true socialist"These are not mutually exclusive.
-jcr
John C. Randolph | January 10, 2008, 2:47pm | #
If it came down to Hillary vs. Huckabee, I'd write in Ron Paul.-jcr
John C. Randolph | January 10, 2008, 2:49pm | #
"If being first lady counts as "experience" for being president, then every other first lady is just as qualified for it as she is."I'd take Jackie Kennedy over Hillary. And yes, I know she's dead.
-jcr
joe | January 10, 2008, 3:22pm | #
john,There were a lot of Massachusetts cars parked at Obama's big rally on Saturday, too.
Given the size of the turnout, the difference between Hillary's projected and actual vote totals is over 20,000.
Perhaps the reason the dreaded "F" word hasn't been uttered is because it is wholly implausible.
joe | January 10, 2008, 3:23pm | #
I personally received a robo-call inviting me to Hillary's rally on Saturday, and I live in Massachusetts.Dark imaginings cam be a lot of fun, but Easy There Big Fella.
Paul | January 10, 2008, 4:21pm | #
So she's the "Madonna" of politics. Check.I personally received a robo-call inviting me to Hillary's rally on Saturday,
Joe,
That was no robo-call, it was Hillary.
Why is nobody even whispering the dreaded F-word?
John, they will when (if) they start losing.
douglas gray | January 10, 2008, 5:06pm | #
The sentiments involved in choosing a President have much in common with both the Grammy's and American Idol. There is some rationality in the process, but not an awful lot.Big Cat Kahuna | January 10, 2008, 6:38pm | #
what would be good enough evidence that she actually HAS emotionsI think I would be convinced if she abandoned politics and public life for a time not less than 5 years, only returning reluctantly for a single interview in which politics was strictly avoided.
Yes. That would do it.
Edward | January 11, 2008, 12:42am | #
Ron Paul has the racist vote locked up, but it wouldn't go for Hillary anyway. You think Dr. Paul--as the groupies like to call him--will get the nomination? For wacko of the year, I mean.SuprKufr | January 14, 2008, 3:21pm | #
The Democratic party is the party of inclusiveness, healing, coming together, looking past "us v. them", seeing nuances, and finding common ground.That is, unless you're from the South, in which case you can screw yourself.
daniel | January 16, 2008, 11:18pm | #
Time Magazine - Obama's Experience.Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008
Obama's Varied Record By AP/CHRISTOPHER WILLS (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) ?
By some measures, Barack Obama has a thin record. He's a Senate newcomer who has never worked in the White House, governed a state or run a business. Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton points to his resume as evidence that Obama is not ready for the White House. "He was a part-time state senator for a few years, and then he came to the Senate and immediately started running for president," she says dismissively.
Obama's accomplishments are more substantial and varied than Clinton suggests. And he has a longer record in elected office than she does, as a second-term New York senator.
Obama was a community organizer and led a voter-registration effort in Chicago that added tens of thousands of people to the rolls. He was a civil rights attorney and taught at one of the nation's premier universities. He helped pass complicated measures in the Illinois legislature on the death penalty, racial profiling, health care and more. In Washington, he has worked with Republicans on nuclear proliferation, government waste and global warming, amassing a record that speaks to a fast start while lacking the heft of years of service.
The Illinois Democrat likes to quote something Bill Clinton once said: "The truth is, you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Mine is rooted in the real lives of real people, and it will bring real results if we have the courage to change."
After college, Obama moved to Chicago for a low-paying job as a community organizer. He worked with poor families on the South Side to get improvements in public housing, particularly the removal of asbestos. "Nobody else running for president has jumped off the career track for three or four years to help people," said Jerry Kellman, who first hired Obama as a community organizer. Obama also fought for student summer jobs and a program to keep at-risk children from dropping out of school. More importantly, say those who worked with Obama, he showed people how to organize and confront powerful interests. "He had to train residents to stand up for their own rights," said former organizer Loretta Augustine-Herron, who was part of Obama's Developing Communities Project. Obama left that job to get a law degree. Afterward, he returned to Chicago and ran Project VOTE. The organization recruited hundreds of registrars to sign up new voters, particularly within the city's black population. Registration jumped nearly 15 points between the 1992 primary and the general election. The registration wave was credited with making Carol Moseley Braun the first black female senator and helping Bill Clinton carry Illinois in his first presidential race.
It also got insiders talking about Obama as a political candidate. Obama then spent several years focusing on the law, both as an attorney at a small firm specializing in civil rights and as a lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Chicago. As an attorney, he was on the team that successfully sued the state of Illinois for failing to implement a federal voter-registration law.
Obama also worked on case of a whistle-blower who lost her job after exposing waste and corruption in a medical research project. The whistle-blower ended up with a $5 million settlement. Obama was elected to the Illinois state Senate in 1996, when Democrats were in the minority. He proposed hundreds of new laws, including universal health care, tougher gun control and expanded welfare, but saw most of them spiked by Republican leadership. --And that's just the first half of the article. - http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1704117,00.html