And we talk about candidates putting themselves before the party. Thanks for the sanity.

Cenk Uyger from the Young Turks had a great 10 minute rant about this yesterday on his show. You should check it out.

It is difficult when one has to visit family for holidays and terrible arguments ensue over politics.
I won’t be intimidated into changing my ideas. Dad is an old time FDR Democrat and doesn’t think a woman should be running – thinks she is stealing his right to run for the presidency! LOL

This is off topic: Do you know where BeBe (sp) Arkansas is? Grandpa was from there!

I understand what you are saying and appreciate your comments.

We want the war over. We want universal health care. We want NAFTA to be restructured, etc. I understand that campaigns can get dirty, but let’s not fracture the party in the process. If you don’t like Clinton, don’t vote for her in the primary. If you don’t like Obama, don’t vote for her in the primary. However, the number of people who are claiming they will vote for McCain if their Democratic candidate doesn’t get elected is amazing to me. We have two great candidates. Both have positives and both have negatives. It makes NO sense to destroy one of the Democrats by promoting McCain, because it will just be used as fodder for the months leading up to the election. McCain’s poll numbers have been rising while he has been sitting on the sidelines during all of this crap, he can’t even get Iran and al Qaida straight, and NO ONE IS CALLING HIM ON IT!

Makes you wonder why he did not take this one head on.

The reason why is this: People are angry because Obama presented himself one way, as a Uniter, an Agent of Change, who inspired hope and that his campaign was different.

The Rev. Wright controversy pulled the curtain on the utter hypocrisy of Obama and his campaign. People here are nailing him on this issue because of all the things he misrepresented about himself has been proven by his relationship to Wright and his continued membership in that church.

Obama could have had this dialogue from the beginning. Since so many claim that Obama more than anyone else is the person to put race out there for discussion, why did he wait until he was backed into a corner? Why didn’t he present himself to the political landscape as a bi-racial candidate with a multi-heritage background?

I’ll tell you why. It was because he wanted the loyal and unyielding support of the AA community. He needed to alienate the Clintons from their solid AA base. And he did this while playing the race card at every opportune moment then pretending that he wasn’t. It was, as someone above pointed out, KARMA that came back to get him.

Now, no one wants to overlook all of this and make nice with him and have a discussion on race. We want him exposed for who he is: just an ordinary politician who will do anything to get elected. Let him NOW stand on the merits of his experience, qualifications and electability, not on this illusion of him being this great Messiah.

It was a gross miscalculation on his part not to run a campaign based on his unitque background just to exploit the AA community’s overwhelming support. Maybe if he had done this, he’d have the nomination sewed up. As it stands, he’s not won any big states except Illinois. Maybe this is why.

But if you’re in church and your priest gets up and starts talking about how sexual abuse is wonderful, and you’re a politician, and you don’t high tail it the hell out of there, denounce it, and find some place else to worship, then you might as well retire, because you’re an idiot. If your pastor urges the congregation to sing ‘God Damn America’ the same holds, it’s better to denounce him than offer him a position as an advisor. Politicians answer to voters, it ain’t rocket science.

Sure he denounced the statements, but only after he got caught, not after they were made. Voters won’t be impressed by that. And yes, Robertson is an idiot, so that will completely wipe away voters’ reactions to his judgment and patriotism.

“I heard my grandmother and older relatives espouse racist and/or bigoted views as well – and it in no way diminished my love or respect for them”

That’s not the issue. Obama no doubt loved his grandmother, but he still held her up to an unfair level of public scrutiny. Would you like to be embarassed in public like that? Would you like to have reporters camped on your doorstep, and everybody in America talking about you as the symbol of racism? Wright is a public figure who sells tapes, Obama’s grandmother is not. Obama could have made the same point in a vague way, saying that people he loved were not always perfect, but he loved them despite their racism. He didn’t have to name her and open her up to all of this. Most people keep their family issues within the family, instead of telling their grandmother’s neighbors about her private business, well everytime Obama’s neighbors see the woman they’ll be thinking “oh there goes America’s most famous racist.” Not fair, not nice.

But I basically told the DNC the very same thing you did…..don’t call me, no money, no support…..until you guys in Florida and Michigan are reinstated.

Lotta Democrats all over the country doing the same thing, on YOUR behalf.

Keep the faith.

Finally – an Obama supporter who admits that regardless of Obama’s serious flaws – you just like him more because of them.

It reminds me of the way they packaged GWB. He’s just like you folks – too stupid to screw you over.

It’s a marketing ploy that works with used car salesmen. Interesting that you read it into the Obama campaign.

Try School House Rock to help you start kicking the ebonics thing.