Barack Obama Puts Barney Smith Before Smith Barney
Barney Smith appeared at the DNC Convention last August. I recall his speech about being laid off from the RCA plant hit home with many viewers, especially those in the midwest.
Obama campaign released this ad today (suspect it is targeted toward voters in Indiana):
While I am still upset that our current Administration knew a terrorist attack was coming and did nothing to stop it, I do not think Ground Zero, the field in Pennsylvania, or the Pentagon should not be places of political photo-ops.
Both McCain and Obama shouldn't be going to Ground Zero; it is the President's place. It's also appropriate for the current mayor, the governor, the Senators, the Congressmen, and anyone elected (or appointed) from with York City.
9/11 was a tragedy and deserves somber reflection; it is not a political event. Why doesn't the media get it?
Desmoines Dem at My DD created a diary in which she explained the basics of the Iowa caucus process. It is far more complex than what I am accustomed to, which is one person, one vote. But rather than repeating here what she wrote, I'll provide the link to her diary at MyDD so BW readers can read it for themselves there.
Ok, you are wondering why JRE gets a tag on this post. Because I just mentioned his acronym...no, that's not why. It's because Edwards actually understands how this works..better than his opponents.
My buddy Susie from North Carolina is taking computer graphics classes, and she has come up with a great slogan for JRE: Real Men. Looks like a winner to me!
How crummy, CNN/ Blitzer put Edwards in the first block instead of full screen the entire time. That's not treating him like a Presidential candidate; it makes him look like a reporter. The reporters got better screen time.
Oh, geez, Edwards finally got full screen when talking about Marcotte and McEwan, but not when he talked about his ideas.
Well, at least Edwards got to say that the Net is a powerful place and that while candidates control what the bloggers say, it is a true grassroots for democracy.
I hope Media Matters studies this further to see if I have rose colored glasses on.
This morning I was cruising through the Des Moines Register. In a poll conducted this past week, many of them think that the US is ready for a woman or African-American president. That bodes well for Madam Clinton and Mr. Obama.
But the same poll revealed their top 5 concerns: Iraq war, Social Security, immigration, health care policy and the last one, which bears some merit: moral values.
The results of that poll are surprising for two reasons: (one) those were key issues that were brought up first at the Town Hall I attended in Des Moines at John Edwards' kick off campaign, but (second) Charles Grassley is viewed more favorably in job approval than Mr. Harkin, also according to the DMR this morning. Mr. Grassley has been on record in supporting the Mc Cain Doctrine, privatizing Social Security, and I wouldn't doubt he supports the President's new health insurance tax on everyone considering he pushed forward the bankruptcy bill, making it easier for credit card companies to jack up their rates and try to squeeze the small business man who may depend on that kind of credit, or the single mom who had a child with a major illiness and couldn't afford her house payments anymore.
Moral values. I guess Mr. Grassley doesn't see poverty as a moral issue as many evangelicals do.
Then there is this editorial in the LA Times: that was lead off for the WJ segment of C-SPAN this morning:
Anyone but a Bush or a Clinton The U.S. needs a leader in 2008 who doesn't inherit the office because of a last name.
The nation needs today, as it got in Ford then, a president respected by both Republicans and Democrats who can restore trust in politics. It needs new faces and new ideas if it is to confront advancing crises of war, debt and entitlement reform. And it needs a president who can assume office in 2009 swimming in the political capital that only a mandate can bring. The nation needs a candidate who can win 55% or more.
And that will not happen with a Bush or Clinton on the ballot.
Edwards has said many times that the world is looking to us to be the leader again. It takes intellect, backbone, and courage, and moral conviction. It takes someone to say "I was wrong", not just "I'm responsible for my vote", as Madam Clinton did yesterday in Des Moines. It takes a loving family in which there is no doubt that the husband and wife are best friends and have the kind of loving trust that is born out of the heart, not just for political reasons. That BW readers, is one of many things that separates Madam Clinton from John Edwards: moral values. Mind you, I like President Bill Clinton, but I am very suspicious of another Clinton administration that favors more corporate welfare while saying saying they worry about those whose wages are stagnant. Lest Madam Clinton forgets that it was John Edwards' speech in the hearings that swayed enough people from a "guilty" vote for lying to a grand jury about his indiscretions.
I never wonder whom John would rather be at home with at night. I don't think Iowans do either.
Photo credit: Joshua Brown, taken at TH in Iowa City, 1/20/2007
"President Bush's address tonight was heavy on rhetoric, but light on everything else. The American people said they wanted change and what they got was more of the same - small ideas that won't make a difference in the lives of working Americans.
They said they wanted straight talk and a vision for the future, what they got was a rationalization for the failed policies of the past.
The next President will have to do more than just undo this President's mistakes – the next President must offer a vision for fundamental change that will transform America and ensure our greatness in the 21st century.
America needs leaders who will do more than propose half-measures and baby steps; President Bush has left us a legacy of challenges that can only be met with courage, conviction and bold change.
And that change must begin in Iraq. President Bush's decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is terribly wrong. There is no military solution to this civil war. Instead of increasing the number of troops in Iraq, we should immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops. In order for the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving. Since the President refuses to change course, Congress must use its power of the purse and block funding for an escalation of war. Over 80,000 people from across the country have joined me in calling on Congress to stop President Bush's misguided plan to escalate the war. Congress has the power to stop this escalation - they should use it.
We also need real leadership to address the health care crisis in our country. Since President Bush took office in 2000, the number of uninsured Americans has increased by 8 million. While it is nice that he is finally talking about America's health care crisis, President Bush's proposal will do little to help working Americans, and is it unlikely to reduce the number of uninsured because it encourages companies to drop coverage, but does nothing to help people buy their own insurance. President Bush's proposal offers much more help to a family making $300,000 than one making $30,000. The time for patching up our health care system has ended. We need universal health care in this country and we need it now.
Finally, America will never break its dependence on foreign oil without bold leadership. After years of catering to the oil industry, President Bush says he is finally ready to take action and curb our dependence on foreign oil. But neither his actions nor his proposals match his rhetoric. The President has the authority now to raise fuel economy standards if he wants to, but the standard has been at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1985. Under his leadership, we are now importing 60 percent of our oil, up from 53 percent in 2000. In order to curb our dependence on foreign oil and address global warming, the United States needs a major investment in energy innovation, on a scale that this President isn't talking about. We need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war and involve everyone – government, industry, and individuals – in the solution.
Tonight, the President once again made it clear that we cannot count on him to be honest about our challenges or offer the bold solutions we need to meet them.
But we know that the great power of America lies in the hands of the people of America. If we take responsibility and take action together, we can build a nation that lives up to the greatness of America's promise."
Tonight Edwards was on 3 networks. It's a shame he got the least time out of the main contenders, but this statement, along with Senator John Webb's response, is right on.
Update: here's the interview with Joe Scarborough, who seems more empathetic about a non-Washington or outsider candidate.
Just about anyone who watches CNN has seen the announcements of Senators Obama and Clinton for exploratory committees to advise them whether or not to run for the Presidency in 2008. OK, we in the Netroots know they are going to run. Just about anyone who has submitted entries for Jeff Foxworthy's "Redneck Yard of the Week" knows they are going to run. Hillary says she is in it to win. I don't doubt for one minute that she is in it for herself and not for the good of the American people.
What I find very interesting is that both Clinton and Obama are parroting John Edwards in that they decided to announce on their websites first. Yet some moron blogorter at the HuffPo said that Obama was first to announce. Wrong. Even Elizabeth Edwards posted a comment to correct the poster:
John's YouTube and RocketBoom statement was that tomorrow in New Orleans he would announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. It was not in the least confusing, and it was also not "under the radar." It may be convenient to describe his online statement that way after your original post, but it is not accurate. Furthermore, he followed this in the next day with two town halls with live online streaming video and even took questions from the online audience. We welcome everyone to this medium, a medium where candor is important because people who care about the truth are listening. A better post script for your post would have been the words that John has used but seem so hard for people to say: "I was wrong."
Then Cindy Crowley at CNN said yesterday that Mrs. Clinton's announcement followed the lead of Barack Obama's earlier in the week (while covering Sam Brownback's announcement). Oh pulezze. What planet does that correspondent live on? Mars?
Robert Scoble has rightfully been speaking up about this issue. I'm glad he is.
CNET claims that Reuters reports (a few snippets):
" that one of the most widely read U.S. political blogs is inviting candidates for the 2008 presidential election to hold an online debate, a first that would confirm the Internet's reach and influence. "
"2008 is going to be critical, in terms of the coverage of the election," Huffington said. "We are working to put together the first primary online debate among candidates and working out the logistics of how this is going to happen."
"The Huffington Post has sent debate invitations to declared candidates for the 2008 race, including Democrats John Edwards and Sen. Chris Dodd, and has held informal talks with the campaigns of likely candidates, Huffington said."
Sen. Chris Dodd of CT is running. And he's going to hang out in Iowa on Thursday. How exciting it is to have another NE politician who thinks s/he can win because most of the Dems are concentrated there.
Convincing Iowans will be very different. Perhaps he can will add to their issues debate and see where they think Dodd really stands. If Dodd is even a little bit disingenous, as some Iowans I have talked to think about Hilary, he's got Sisyphus' battles ahead of him.
Meantime, it's been rumored at Capitol Fax Mike Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Reps, is trying to help Sen. Barak Obama along by attempting to move up the primary from the 3rd Tuesday in March to Feb 5. The Illinois State Board of Elections is where...Chicago. But he will have to convince Dems at the DNC Feb 1-3 meeting this can be done, considering it's been set in stone for some time where the first primaries and caucuses would be and when.
Well, sure it would help Obama in that the 3rd Tuesday is generally spring break and might help GOTV, especially in Chi-Town. But it might help other candidates too, such John Edwards, to get the young voter's attention. Edwards has the most techie organization for this race...and I think he can find ground booters too, especially some of us in downstate Illinois.
Meantime, you can catch JRE on Larry King Live tonight, and on Jay Leno too. It will be fun to see JRE's reaction to John McCain's doctrine on LKL.
This story came out in Time yesterday, but I just saw it a few minutes ago. Pretty good article overall.
Interesting quote:
Although in 2004 he spoke eloquently of the "Two Americas"--rich and poor--if you looked at the fine print, Edwards backed ideas that originated in the centrist group that created much of Bill Clinton's agenda, the Democratic Leadership Council. Not this time.
My own thought is that if Congress doesn't fix the AMT problem coming up in 2010 (and it looks like they won't, according to the WSJ), then President Edwards would encourage them to do so. Why do I think that? I listened to the November podcast not too long ago, and this was on the list of "to-do's" for Congress.
Despite what Jeff Pulver says that John Edwards announced his candidacy on YT, I think the real first announcement was through their podcast, which was overshadowed by the blip of the site switch.
As reported last week, Robert Scoble was invited to follow Presidential 2008 John Edwards around, film him, interview him, etc. It looks like it was done on the plane enroute to Reno, but I'm not totally certain. The first part is in film, the other is in audio as the battery power died on the film recorder.
Most of the conversation is about the social media and why Edwards feels strongly about it. Why: to have a bottom-up democracy, and to give others a voice in the course of change.
Yes, Edwards admits that he has someone help type when he blogs because Edwards is a lousy typist.
I just got this e-mail from John Edwards a few minutes ago:
Dear Benny,
For the past two years, we've worked together to build an America that lives up to its promise -- one where we all share in prosperity at home and one that shows real moral leadership around the world.
I'm proud of our successes fighting poverty, supporting working families, and standing up for what we believe.
Now, we have a big decision to make -- and I do mean we.
I'm getting ready to take this effort to the next level - to bring Americans together in all fifty states to tackle the big challenges facing our country, from poverty and lack of health care, to energy and global warming.
But this is our effort, and we can only succeed if we're all in it together. So before I make a final decision, I need to hear from you.
Are you ready?
If you're ready to take this to the next level, and launch a renewed national effort to change America, send me a note and let me know: JohnEdwards@readytochangeamerica.com
If you have friends or family who share this vision, I want to hear from them too. Please forward this on to anyone you know who might want to join this big new effort.
I believe we can run a totally new kind of endeavor -- one that puts our ideals into action, and puts the hopes and dreams of the American people above the personal ambition and play-it-safe strategy of traditional politics.
I can't promise you where this will ultimately lead. But I can promise you this: if you're on board, we'll launch a renewed commitment to change our country from the bottom up. We'll always speak from the heart. And together, we'll reach out to millions of people to let them know it's still okay to dream big dreams, and do everything we can to make them real --because that's what America is all about.
So the only question is: Are you ready?
If you want to take this effort to next level, send me an e-mail and let me know.
Stay tuned: I'll let you know what we decide early next week.
Happy holidays, and may it be a bright new year for all.
Your friend,
John
Edwards. Putting the "we" in Presidential campaigns.
This blog is for my friends and acquaintances who were formerly with the John Edwards campaign, which had the most progressive agenda. I am a progressive liberal, musing about politics and life.
