Comparing Obama to two Democratic icons, Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, Coleman called the Illinois senator “a one-of-a-kind who comes along only every few generations.”

“Every once in a while, a figure comes in history who is a galvanizing and uniting force, an inspirational person who lifts up peoples’ hopes, and I think that person is Barack Obama,” Coleman told The Dispatch

http://blog.cleveland.com/wideopen/2007/10/columbus_mayor_coleman_for_oba.html

Former Cleveland mayor Michael R. White switches from Clinton to Obama

Michael R. White was the 55th mayor of Cleveland, serving three terms from 1990 to 2002. He wrote this essay for The Plain Dealer.

http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/02/former_cleveland_mayor_michael.html

I Agree with Susan..Good report..Good writing..

Best…PH

Au contraire!

Age, Experience and Cunning will trump Youth and Enthusiasm every time.

No Country For Old Men was great, sans anti-climatic ending. That was in the book though, so you can’t fault the Coens.

Oh, Jake Tapper. Mainline the Kool-Aid if you need to!

Appealing to union voters in a dry wall manufacturing plant in this crucial primary state, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Sunday afternoon said that even though he has repeatedly said the passage of NAFTA was bad for the country, he would not try to repeal it.

“I don’t think its realistic for us to repeal NAFTA,” he said during a town hall meeting on the economy. [...]

Said Obama, “One million jobs have been lost because of NAFTA, including nearly 50,000 jobs here in Ohio. And yet, 10 years after NAFTA passed, Sen. Clinton said it was good for America. Well, I don’t think NAFTA has been good for America — and I never have.”

Saturday, Clinton took issue with an Obama mailer being distributed in the Buckeye State that included a quote implying that Clinton had described NAFTA as “a boon” to the economy.

The quote actually was from New York Newsday, which had characterized Clinton’s views as considering NAFTA a boon though Clinton herself had never made such a remark.

Clinton biographers Sally Bedell Smith and Carl Bernstein have reported that as first lady, Clinton opposed NAFTA behind the scenes. But it might prove difficult for her to argue that she opposed a trade deal her husband made a legislative priority, not to mention one she has praised in the past.

if you search our handy-dandy search engine here, you’ll find the Carl Bernstein quote on Hillary on NAFTA, and how she told Bill that it was “Republican.”

Yes, Hillary is going to sweep Ohio big time. Better call the MSM to tell them to have their excuses and posturing ready. The corpse is not dead.

I saw “Eastern Promises” a few weeks ago, and that’s a heck of a movie. Mortensen is utterly brilliant. If you haven’t seen it, RENT the DVD or PPV. It’s highly entertaining, and fascinating about the Russians living in London, crime, the sex slave trade, and much more — but not drab or in any way a preachy movie! — it’s all drama.

The Change Maker

On Saturday Feb.23 I attended the Hillary rally at Wayne High School in Dayton Ohio with my mother who is 80. I arrived at the school at 10 a.m and the line was all ready several hundred people long (my mother had gotten their even earlier and had saved a spot, she is completely devoted to Hillary).

Hillary packed the house and once in side we heard that people kept coming and the line kept growing.I heard later that many thought close to 4000 showed up to get into an auditorium that held only 700 people.

The crowd was made up of no nonsense working class women, men and young Americans. These folks are the backbone of our nation, the salt of the earth crowd. The folks who try to work hard, pay their bills and taxes, serve in the military and have lost tens of thousands of jobs to U.S. companies going overseas. As I talked with many of the Hillary supporters they expressed enthusiasm for what many believe to be a historic moment for women and a critical moment for our country. I talked with GM workers, Teamsters, teachers, lots and lots of older women and men who felt that Hillary had worked hard for this opportunity and had the wisdom and experience to take on this important job. At one point Hillary said to the crowd to think about this election not so much as a “vote but that they had to hire the most qualified and tested person” for this job. At that point the crowd exploded into another chorus of “Hillary Hillary Hillary” I heard many folks say that they “trusted” and admired Hillary. I heard repeatedly that they “trusted” that she could clean up the health care mess that many find themselves in and that she understood deeply how to work in a bi-partisan way to get the job done. I heard many people use the word “trust” in regard to Hillary. Many also said that they liked the idea that our nation would get two highly qualified leaders for the price one.

Hillary spoke about Health care, equity in education, taking care of our Vets, getting out of Iraq, smart trade, creating jobs, freezing mortgage rates etc etc. She had strong words for the “shameless” tactics being used by the Obama campaign in spreading “misleading and discredited” information on her stance on health care and Nafta. She referred to herself as the “change maker” The crowd’s calls for “Hillary Hillary, Hillary” were thunderous and rocked the gym.

The enthusiasm was infectious especially coming from women older than me ( 55) who really wanted to witness a highly qualified and experienced public servant become President of the U.S. Many older women began to cry when she was speaking, this was very moving.

Even after all of this I continue to be on the fence about Hillary. Especially when Hillary referred to the “war in Afghanistan” and how “no one gets away with attacking the U.S.” Come on Hillary most people know that 15 of the individuals who rammed U.S. planes into the world trade centers were from Saudi Arabia. We certainly did not invade Saudi Arabia. This statement had me reflecting on my many conversations with my friend from Afghanistan who has shared that many Afghani’s feel that their country is being occupied by the U.S. and that we have failed miserably there. (increase in poppy production and the power of the Taliban on the rise) It made me feel once again that Hillary underestimates the intellect of the working class. I really think that Obama’s message of diplomacy and using new strategies internationally resonate with all sorts of folks who are tired of this aggressive “we’re number one” strategy.

Anyway …I do think Hillary is going to sweep Ohio up. I continue to hear many of my 50 something friends say that they are committed to Hillary.

Another observation…I was sitting in a front row and watched the national press corp. From what I witnessed I did not see them interview or interact with one local Dayton citizens. Tired of hearing what they think…INTERVIEW THE LOCALS!

A Tip…Hillary should walk over to the older folks first after her speeches. Those who are so anxious to meet her and may not be around for the next election. They were sitting right in front of Hillary along with many handicapped people.

I have been thinking about the “be here now” generation. Hillary has “been there and is still there” She has come along way baby…

Open thread

The issue that dare not speak it’s name at the Presidential debates
The I/P conflict.

Laura Rozen
http://www.motherjones.com/washingto
n_dispatch/2008/02/israel-mossad-out-of-the-shadows.html