Why I want to see Barack Obama become president...

MattSullivan · Post by **MattSullivan** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:38 am

This may become a controversial topic. Bear with me...

I want to see Obama president for two reasons. First, we NEED change. For that matter, i would vote for a woman presidentas well ( I just dont like Hillary's policies ) I'm sick of the same old white men in the oval office.

Second, and this is the controversial part, because I think it would be great for young African-Americans to see that it IS possible for you to go anywhere you want to in life in this country. i work securty at night, and it seems that among the young black men I encounter, there is a sense of malaise. A sense of no hope..or a general disinterest in politics or what the future holds. Several have even gone so far as to tell me they have no future, and dont really care what happens. it's depressing to see so many REALLY ANGRY, DEFENSIVE young people with a general distaste for life.

granted, I'm not black, so i don't know what it's like to be a black person in the world today, but there is always hope no matter what color you are. Still, i think if anyone can motivate the young black population, it's Obama. Not Al Sharpton, and not jesse Jackson.

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:16 am

The thing about Obama is that he's so charismatic that he was considered a front runner before he'd even committed to running. While he might lack experience in some fields, he could easily recruit some of the brightest minds, Republican and Democrat alike, into his cabinet.

In short, he'd be like what Bush was to the Republicans, apart from the fact that Obama is eloquent and educated as opposed to easily manipulated.

Hillary already has eight years of experience in the White House, but because of her connection to Bill, she would be very easy to antagonize. The ideal situation for me would be where Obama wins and appoints Clinton as Secretary of Treasury. I think she'd be ideal for that because her husband had to fix a Bush-brand deficit at the beginning of his term too, so the absolute mess George W. has made of the economy should be familiar territory for the Clintons.

MattSullivan · Post by **MattSullivan** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:21 am

yes, George W completely destroyed the eight years of economic progrees that Bill Clinton oversaw. Thanks George!

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:27 pm

granted, I'm not black, so i don't know what it's like to be a black person in the world today, but there is always hope no matter what color you are. Still, i think if anyone can motivate the young black population, it's Obama. Not Al Sharpton, and not jesse Jackson.

On the matter of racial minorites/prejudice. Obama probably does do a better job as an inspiration to blacks than leading minority rights leaders today because he doesn't b**** about oppression or descrimination.

Granted, he's half black, and I vaguely remember hearing from a poll (I'm not 100% certain.) that the black community actually cared less about Barack being black or not.

But, I live in a nice part of town, and a place where I probably only see a black person twice a year, so you might be better to vouch for how Obama would better affect the black community.

Otherwise. I fully support the guy. I personally like Hillary Clinton, but I figure it's hopeless to want her as president -- It could just be where I live, but everyone seems too reluctant/afraid of a woman in power (PMS and Nukes jokes aside. I think people really do dislike the idea of a powerful woman, whether they'd admit to it or not. It's just not in our society for women to be assertive.) I've recently become unhappy with Hillary lately, anyway. She's too vague about her stances on issues in her speeches. (Okay, fine, they all are.)

Now, what I really love about Hillary, was her Husband's famed glory of ending the decifit, and we may really need that talent.

So, I see more hope in Obama, and besides, he's AGAINST THE WAR! I mean, against against. Which makes me very, very happy. And more people seem willing to agree with him, anyway. Everyone will tell you he's an eloquent man. I've noticed the majority of people around me are the kind of people who agree with the guy that's currently making the speech -- and his speeches last beyond after you've heard them. If there's one reason I'd support him, it might just be because people will support him.

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Wed May 30, 2007 10:22 pm

I think I can understand why people would be afraid of a woman president. I went to school with a lot of "femme fascists" that were more interested in turning the social system upside down than abolishing it, so even though I try not to be discriminant, there is always that at the back of my mind.

I don't get that impression from Hillary Clinton though. One thing I will say in her and Obama's defense is that neither of them have intentionally drawn attention to their race/gender status. It's an interesting race because the two front runners, if elected, will be a first for the country, but neither one of them has made an issue out of it.

The real reason I'd have a hard time having faith in Hillary is because the Republicans unearthed all the skeletons in her closet while looking for her husband's. Because of what Bush has done to the party, they have very little to offer (Gulliani is too hard to take seriously, McCain is a "rogue" Republican, and Romney is a living embodiment of political corruption), so I have no doubt in my mind that the Republican mudslinging campaign in 2008 will be the most vicious ever. If Hillary wins the nomination, Whitewater will be all over the news by weekend.

If they wanted dirt on Obama, however, they'd have to start from scratch, and since he's stayed clean and under the radar up until now, they'd have to do a lot more nitpicking. Some of the things FOX took a few jabs at him for early on just made them look petty and sad. Clinton would be very easy to antagonize, but I think a mudslinging campaign against Obama would be hilarious.

Dreamer · Post by **Dreamer** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:23 pm

I'vechecked out his positions on the issues and I checked out Hillary's, and I agree with Barak's views more.

Aki · Post by **Aki** » Thu May 31, 2007 7:38 pm

I much prefer Barrack's policies and that's why I prefer him. If his election has the side affect of inspiring the black community's youth or whatever, well, that's great.

As to Hilary, I dislike her because of some of her policies, not because she's a chick. I'd vote for a female prez if she had policies I agreed with. It'd be nice not to see the same old grey-haired white guy for president each time.

cumulusprotagonist · Post by **cumulusprotagonist** » Thu May 31, 2007 7:45 pm

People need to lead people...
Color should not matter...
We need a leader that uses this as inspiration and stop focusing on a single physical attribute...

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Thu May 31, 2007 9:38 pm

Matt....it sounds like your just voteing for him because of his skin color and not his politics.....

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:49 am

If they wanted dirt on Obama, however, they'd have to start from scratch, and since he's stayed clean and under the radar up until now, they'd have to do a lot more nitpicking. Some of the things FOX took a few jabs at him for early on just made them look petty and sad. Clinton would be very easy to antagonize, but I think a mudslinging campaign against Obama would be hilarious.

Very good point there.

Fox's take on Obama was sad, sad, sad.

(CNN > FOX.)

Basically, if anyone's wondering: Fox News made a report accusing Obama of being a muslim, and wouldn't stop rubbing in the fact that his middle name is Hussien. Regardless if this is true or not, some of us don't care because it's really irrelevant and really sad that there's people out there that are actually going to be influenced by this claim.

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:05 pm

outwarddoodles wrote:Very good point there.

Fox's take on Obama was sad, sad, sad.

You can tell in the first clip that even the reporters themselves think it's a big load of crap.

In Matt's defense though, I'm pretty sure he was referring to an social/economic demographic instead of an ethnic one. It would be more accurate to say that Bush, his cabinet and almost all of the Republican candidates for 2008 are members of the "old money" demographic. The closest thing to a "different" candidate the Republican party currently is offering is McCain. The Democratic candidates, on the other hand, come from various backgrounds, ethnic and social/economic alike.

MattSullivan · Post by **MattSullivan** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:11 pm

That's more or less part of this topic, yes. I see so many disillusioned, angry black young people, that I think they have a negative image of their chances in this world.

But no, that is not the only reason I would vote for him. It all boils down to issues. For example, if he's for amnesty for illegal immigrants I won't vote for him. If he wants to outlaw guns like most democrats, that's another reason i won't vote ( and I dont even own any guns, but I believe in our right to have them, and to use them to protect ourselves )

I was more or less commenting on my "hopes". I don't like to see people of any race without hope.

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:39 pm

I'm okay with Obama being in line for the Oval Office. I heard him say that he'd fix health coverage by 2012. Obviously health care is a litmus test for me, so I'm gratified that practically everyone on the Democrat side are talking it up.

Obama is encouraging because he's good at getting everyone at the table TALKING, as opposed to fighting (like they're doing now). He has a knack for finding common ground and O Gods! do we need that right now. Falwell's dead, America has a chance, Obama can take that seed and see it through to lemonade.

That said...I'm okay with Obama, but right now — at the risk of a thread drift — my front-runner is Bill Richardson. If he wasn't in the race I'd be behind Obama.

The reason I like Richardson is because he's the most qualified for the job. He was a senator, a secretary of energy, UN ambassador under Clinton, and a governor. Furthermore, he has a solid plan to get us out of Iraq and would broker a peace deal between the Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds based on the Dayton Accords that ended the Kosovo War.

To clarify...I'm not saying Obama is bad. He isn't, he's good. I'm saying I'm following Richardson because he's better. If it turned out that the two of them wound up on the same ticket together, I'd be ecstatic.

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:48 pm

MattSullivan wrote:That's more or less part of this topic, yes. I see so many disillusioned, angry black young people, that I think they have a negative image of their chances in this world.

But no, that is not the only reason I would vote for him. It all boils down to issues. For example, if he's for amnesty for illegal immigrants I won't vote for him. If he wants to outlaw guns like most democrats, that's another reason i won't vote ( and I dont even own any guns, but I believe in our right to have them, and to use them to protect ourselves )

I was more or less commenting on my "hopes". I don't like to see people of any race without hope.

see that makes more sence.... to tell you the truth I would have voted for Condi Rice for the same reasons

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:56 pm

Terastas wrote:Hillary already has eight years of experience in the White House, but because of her connection to Bill, she would be very easy to antagonize.

I don't like her. And don't go leveling accusations of being disloyal to my gender. One would hope that the qualifications for President of the United States should rise above whether there are Y's in your chromosomes or not.

Here's why I'm not backing her, in addition to the reason you already gave:

1) She's overbearing. MoveOn.org had a town hall meeting where all the Democratic candidates gave "why you should support me" speeches over a VoIP line. Hillary kept saying, "When I'm President...When I'm President..." Hold on a second there, Girlscout. The office of Presidency isn't (or it shouldn't be) a slam dunk.

2) First there was Bush Sr. Then there was two Bill Clinton terms, back to back. Then there were two Bush Jr. terms back to back (Gods help us), and there's a possibility that there'll be at least one Hillary Clinton administration.
Think about that, from a political standpoint.

If you're going

, here's the gist:
The White House will have been in the control of TWO FAMILIES for a whole generation. This is NOT democracy. It is an oligarchy. To me, that point alone puts Hillary in the Out Box.

Yes, it would be exciting to have a Madam President. If Madeleine Albright could run, I'd love it to death. But it's also exciting that an African-American and a Hispano-American are in the race, too.

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:58 pm

MattSullivan wrote:It all boils down to issues. For example, if he's for amnesty for illegal immigrants I won't vote for him. If he wants to outlaw guns like most democrats, that's another reason i won't vote ( and I dont even own any guns, but I believe in our right to have them, and to use them to protect ourselves )

I don't want to bust bubbles here. You can look for yourselfto a get a good idea on what Obama's positions are.

Personally, I absolutely love all of his positions.

And I'm against gun control, and in for amnesty.

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:59 pm

vrikasatma wrote:The reason I like Richardson is because he's the most qualified for the job. He was a senator, a secretary of energy, UN ambassador under Clinton, and a governor. Furthermore, he has a solid plan to get us out of Iraq and would broker a peace deal between the Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds based on the Dayton Accords that ended the Kosovo War.

*nods* He's certainly the most qualified, but he's kind of like Hillary Clinton for me in that, while I could easily see him doing well in different cabinet positions, he's not charismatic enough that I could see him winning.

My ideal cabinet would be something like this:

President: Barack Obama
Vice President: John Edwards
Secretary of State: Bill Richardson
Secretary of Treasury: Hillary Clinton
Secretary of Defense: Wesley Clark
Attorney General: Joe Biden
Secretary of Interior: Al Gore

Weird how they all fit in like that, huh?

Obama's greatest strength is his ability to bring people together, so if he could form a rough draft of his intended cabinet early on and get as many of his intended appointees (especially his opponents for the nomination) to commit to it in advance, he could easily win the election. It would not only combine all of their political strengths into one campaign for the presidency, it would also put the Republican nominee on the spot to assemble his intended cabinet.

Imagine if back in 2000, George W. Bush had announced his intent to nominated as Attorney General a man that lost an election to a dead man. Gore would have won in a landslide.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:03 pm

You can count on Obama's blackness and Hillary Clinton's femaleness to come up. I agree it should be about the issues, and I'll support these two candidates for that reason. But, the media has this fixation on race and sex, so it's bound to come up.

As for the Republicans, Gulianni is their last best hope for any chance of keeping the White House. He has September 11th namesake reputation. The others are just old, rich white guys running for office in the same party as George W. Bush, so they're screwed.

It's all about marketing. It shouldn't be, but it is. Thankfully, this time around, it works. It's a dumb way to elect a President based on race, sex, and image, but at least the good-looking candidates are on my side, and by fortunate coincidence, stupidity and reason both vote for the same party.

Personally, I'm in favor of Brownrigg / Silver in 2008, with their No Fay Left Behind initiative...

Lukas · Post by **Lukas** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:06 pm

i don't know, ive talked to some people and they believe mitt Romney could be the next Reagon
but honestly why does talking about who can be pres. now matter?, election is still far away people!

Terastas · Post by **Terastas** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:41 pm

Scott Gardener wrote:You can count on Obama's blackness and Hillary Clinton's femaleness to come up. I agree it should be about the issues, and I'll support these two candidates for that reason. But, the media has this fixation on race and sex, so it's bound to come up.

It will come up, but I don't think either of them will be the ones to bring it up. It's been mentioned by the media that the Democratic primary is so unique because there are so many candidates that would be "the first of their kind" if elected president, but so far they've made sure this wasn't an issue.

The Republicans probably won't use it to fault whoever wins either because that would essentially be shooting themselves in the foot. Most people are inherently discriminant, but few people are discriminant enough that they would admit it.

Lukas wrote:i don't know, ive talked to some people and they believe mitt Romney could be the next Reagon
but honestly why does talking about who can be pres. now matter?, election is still far away people!

Romney's who I believe the Bush Elitists are hoping will win. He has nothing to bring to the table except a Hollywood smile and a lot of money.

He's practically a living embodiment of crooked politics as usual. He pretty much put the screws financially to Massachusetts during his term, and now he's running on a campaign seemingly directed at people that hate Massachusetts. If there's anyone that could do a worse job as president than Bush, it's Romney.

Gulliani does have 9/11 as experience, but Bush has already sapped all the meaning out of the event just trying to keep his approval rating alive. I honestly think the Republican party's best bet would be with McCain, but McCain is a true republican (as opposed to an elitist republican like Bush and Cheney), so though he's their best chance, he's also the last one Bush, Cheney etc. would want to turn power over to.

Dreamer · Post by **Dreamer** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:25 am

But McCain is kind of a phony maverick, what with him sucking up to Bush and all.

Anyway, I'm only supporting Barak because I agree with him. The fact that he'd be the first black president would just be a bonus.

Off topic, I just posted some new profiles on my "Need help creating a universe..." thread in "Creative Writing (Other)", so you might want to look at them.