Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zeta1961 who wrote (4907)	1/3/2008 6:48:18 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 149317

News out of Iowa - Obama cutting deals with other candidates virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com

To: zeta1961 who wrote (4907)	1/3/2008 7:05:58 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 149317

And now the news: America needs Obama theglobeandmail.com BY MARGARET WENTE From The Globe and Mail January 2, 2008 at 6:58 PM EST He's been outpolling Hillary Clinton in Iowa. And he polls better than any other Democrat against all the Republican candidates. Four years ago, hardly anyone had heard of his name, let alone tried to pronounce it. But, today, people across the political spectrum hope he might become a redemptive figure in U.S. political life. America needs Barack Obama, maybe even more than he needs to be president. Mr. Obama is the most interesting presidential candidate since 1980, the year Ronald Reagan swept into office (he carried 44 states) by promising to make America feel good about itself again. The promise of Mr. Obama is that he could do that, too. He transcends many of the most bitter divisions in modern American life – of ideology, foreign policy, culture, religion and race. He grew up after Vietnam, and so the culture wars that have been tearing America apart since then don't mean much to him. “When I think of baby boomers, I think of my mother's generation,” he recently said. His own racial identity is the best example of his ability to transcend categories. He is the son of a white mother (she's only two years older than Hillary Clinton) and a black African father, who left the family when Mr. Obama was very young. He met his father only once, and spent much of his childhood growing up with his white grandparents in Hawaii. But increasingly, he felt unsure of where he belonged. Ultimately, he chose to identify himself as a black man, dropping his childhood name, Barry, for his given name, Barack. Mr. Obama came to intimately understand the rage and self-contempt (his words) that afflict so many black men's lives. But he also chose to not let race matter much. His compelling memoir, Dreams from My Father, recounts this struggle to discover and shape his own identity. It is a rarity in politics – a candid, wonderfully written account with no hint of self-puffery. A lot of people still believe a black man can't get elected president. But, today, that's no more true than it is for a woman. No question, both face extra hurdles. Yet, on the whole, America is a tolerant and pluralistic place, and many white Americans would be thrilled to turn the page on generations of racial division. And Mr. Obama would attract a big crossover vote. He's extremely popular with independents and even Republicans, many of whom are also sick and tired of polarizing politics. Even his stand against the war in Iraq may not hurt him much with these folks. (It actually looks prescient.) Besides, Mr. Obama has made it clear that he's not opposed to wars in general – just “dumb wars.” In fact, Mr. Obama is a conservative in the temperamental sense. He knows that big fixes don't exist. He's an incrementalist by nature and by experience. His years working as a community organizer in the trenches of Chicago's South Side taught him that change is hard and happens slowly. He's no ideologue. He's a realist. And although he's religious – he came to it late in life – he's no fundamentalist, either. In the end, this presidential election won't be decided on experience or policy. It will be decided on character. It will be decided on whom Americans trust the most to make the right decisions when the next terrible thing happens. People had that kind of trust in Ronald Reagan. In most ways, the two men couldn't be more different. Mr. Obama is nuanced, intellectual and reflective; Mr. Reagan could have written his political philosophy on a paper napkin. Mr. Reagan was ideological; Mr. Obama is not. But, like Mr. Reagan, Mr. Obama knows who he is. He has a core, and that makes people inclined to trust him. Voting for Barack Obama would be a vote to turn the page. And that's why so many thoughtful people hope he has the stuff to go the distance.