Thread: US Presidential Campaign 2008

BG, you're one step behind. Obama already came out today and categorically denounced those statements by his pastor. He didn't mince words about it. This guy is a liability to Obama and he knows it and is distancing himself from him. He's known the guy 20 years.

I just read the quotes from the pastor. What he's saying is not very controversial or new....but oops....it's an election year. Obama has "categorically" denounced, rejected these comments, yadda, yadda.

Who cares? The media.

But it's one more little arrow in the arsenal against Obama.

He's still on the high ground. I hope he can weather these jabs.

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

What about McCain and Pastor Hagee, whose open and repeated demands for a first-strike on Iran (in order to launch Armageddon, of course) now look rather unwise in light of the CIA report finding no evidence of weapons-grade enrichment.

Here's link to the works, quoted statements, and writings of Pastor John Hagee.

A nutter, IMO: John Hagee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Milkman

Who cares?

foxnews and rabid bloggers.

by the way, what's the deal with mccain's supporter (some sort of religious nut job) who is constantly denigrating catholics?

Originally Posted by blackgang

E mail from an avid Repub friend. but so true

i got an email from a nigerian banker the other day.....is that true too?

and by the old timer, while you may have gotten it in an email, it's simply a cut and paste from some dopey blogger.

Originally Posted by raycarey

Originally Posted by Milkman

Who cares?

foxnews and rabid bloggers.

by the way, what's the deal with mccain's supporter (some sort of religious nut job) who is constantly denigrating catholics?

This is pastor John Hagee.

See my Wiki link above. He has a lot of views, that I consider odd.

A conservative Catholic group got quite upset at Hagee's endorsement. Saw a video of him pointing to representation of the Catholic church on a bizarre end-times mural represented as a sort of half woman/dog whore of babylon thing, no wonder they're upset

https://teakdoor.com/us-domestic-issu...tml#post423518

It appears the Pastor debacle may be hurting Obama. Fox TV just reported that in several recent national polls, Obama's lead over Clinton has been cut to only 4 points.

We'll have to see how this develops, but the Clinton camp must be whooping it up over this gift from heaven right now. Fox also says the muckraker journalists are now trying to dig up proof that Obama was present at those inflammatory sermons.

His platform is based on change. Pastor Wright has sown the seeds that there might not be much change at all. And seeing as how only 16% of America is Black, this could be devastating to his campaign.

^Watching more analysts discuss this on Fox. It was a very large church evidently, and with Obama denying he ever heard some comments, they are scrutinizing the Pastor's record to see if this was an ongoing thing. It does seem incredulous that these comments were just one time events over 20 years. Obama previously called him his special Uncle, and said he was a close mentor.

This can only get worse for Obama probably. It's a shame IMO, as I favor him over Clinton.

Originally Posted by chinthee

It appears the Pastor debacle may be hurting Obama. Fox TV just reported.....

Originally Posted by chinthee

Watching more analysts discuss this on Fox.

keep watching fauxnews and believing old timer. has it even crossed your mind that they'd prefer a general election with clinton as the dem candidate?

of course they're going to try and make hay out of this, but it really isn't an issue that is going to change the outcome of the race for the nomination or the general election. it might very well sway some voters in PA, but obama never really had a chance to win there....but this 'scandal' won't significantly change the delegate outcome in that state. and if anything, when the pendulum of pubic opinion inevitably swings back the other way, obama will do even better in NC....and will quite possibly end up with more delegates than if the 'scandal' had not taken place.

but like i said, keep watching and believing what they tell you on faux news....it's fair and balanced...just ask 'em.

^Ray, you must have some wires crossed in that refried brain of yours. I rarely watch Fox News. I do when at my home in Bangkok because it's the only US news station I get. I don't like Fox news to be honest. And, in case you haven't noticed, I kinda like Obama, maybe even favor him. Haven't decided yet.

Try to get your member grudges straight. Maybe you should construct a matrix or something.

why is it that the same posters who breathlessly cite the propoganda they see on foxnews always claim they rarely watch it?

Originally Posted by chinthee

And, in case you haven't noticed, I kinda like Obama, maybe even favor him. Haven't decided yet.

actually, it's not a case of noticing or not...more that i simply don't care. get over yourself.

The Church Fights back!!! This will play out further amongst black voters and moderate whites as exactly what it is, dirty politics and media sensationalism.
IMO, Hillary will gain nothing from this and likely be hurt by it. The good news for Obama it will be one less thing the Republicans will slam him with.

"(CNN) -- The Rev. Jeremiah Wright's former church criticized the news media Sunday for coverage of his sermons, saying in a statement that Wright's "character is being assassinated in the public sphere."

Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, defended Wright, saying he "has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe."

The statement came two days after Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, a longtime friend of Wright and attendee of the church, denounced sermons that have become the subject of recent controversy. Obama called them "inflammatory and appalling."

"It is an indictment on Dr. Wright's ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a 15- or 30-second sound bite," the Rev. Otis Moss III, the current pastor of the church, said in the statement.

"The African-American Church was born out of the crucible of slavery, and the legacy of prophetic African-American preachers since slavery has been and continues to heal broken, marginalized victims of social and economic injustices," Moss added.

"This is an attack on the legacy of the African-American Church, which led and continues to lead the fight for human rights in America and around the world."
In the same statement, the Rev. John H. Thomas, the general minister and president of the United Church of Christ -- the denomination to which Wright's church belongs -- said the news media were creating a "caricature" of his congregation.

"It's time for us to say 'No' to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends," Thomas said.

The sermons in question became the subject of scrutiny last week after being highlighted in an ABC News report.

At one December service, Wright argued Clinton's road to the White House is easier than Obama's because of her skin color.
"Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single-parent home; Barack was," Wright says in a video of the sermon posted on YouTube. "Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary! Hillary ain't never been called a 'nigger!' Hillary has never had her people defined as a non-person."

Wright, who retired this year from his post, also says in the video, "Who cares about what a poor black man has to face every day in a country and in a culture controlled by rich white people?"

In denouncing those sermons Friday, Obama defended his 20-year relationship with Wright, saying that the pastor has served him in a spiritual role -- not a political one."

Church: Obama ex-pastor is under unfair attack - CNN.com

Originally Posted by Norton

This will play out further amongst black voters and moderate whites as exactly what it is, dirty politics and media sensationalism. IMO, Hillary will gain nothing from this and likely be hurt by it. The good news for Obama it will be one less thing the Republicans will slam him with.

exactly.

Originally Posted by chinthee

^Watching more analysts discuss this on Fox. It was a very large church evidently, and with Obama denying he ever heard some comments, they are scrutinizing the Pastor's record to see if this was an ongoing thing. It does seem incredulous that these comments were just one time events over 20 years. Obama previously called him his special Uncle, and said he was a close mentor.

This can only get worse for Obama probably. It's a shame IMO, as I favor him over Clinton.

Well, he's toast anyhow you cut it.
So long as we continue to mop up those al Qadeas in Iraq and the economy does not go further south, McCain is a shoe-in.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

So long as we continue to mop up those al Qadeas in Iraq and the economy does not go further south, McCain is a shoe-in.

well i guess that settles that. barack obama will be 44th president of the US.

Why would the POTUS, either Obama or McCain, be beholden to some obscure minister? All of this will be forgotten by the next primary; it's not important.

Originally Posted by CNN

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright's former church criticized the news media Sunday for coverage of his sermons, saying in a statement that Wright's "character is being assassinated in the public sphere."

Too late. Obama already told him to get lost.

The statement came two days after Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, a longtime friend of Wright and attendee of the church, denounced sermons that have become the subject of recent controversy. Obama called them "inflammatory and appalling."

The church can say what they like, but the damage has been done. Obama has cut the strings. The only thing the church can do is try to salvage their image and they can expect no help from their former big-shot member.

Just watched Dick Morris analyze this entire situation, and he says, with strong conviction, that Obama will be the Democratic nominee, notwithstanding this scandal, and detailed all the reasons why.

But, he says that the Republicans will then really gear up the rhetoric on this Pastor issue in the general election. He says the republicans don't have much to gain by harping on it at this early stage.

By RON FOURNIER,
Associated Press
Mar 17

WASHINGTON - Arrogance is a common vice in presidential politics. A person must be more than a little self-important to wake up one day and say, "I belong in the Oval Office."

But there's a line smart politicians don't cross — somewhere between "I'm qualified to be president" and "I'm born to be president." Wherever it lies, Barack Obama better watch his step.

He's bordering on arrogance.

The dictionary defines the word as an "offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride." Obama may not be offensive or overbearing, but he can be a bit too cocky for his own good.

The freshman senator told reporters in July that he would overcome Hillary Rodham Clinton's lead in the polls because "to know me is to love me."
A few months later, he said, "Every place is Barack Obama country once Barack Obama's been there."

True, there's a certain amount of tongue-in-cheekiness to such remarks — almost as if Obama doesn't want to take his adoring crowds and political ascent too seriously. He was surely kidding when he told supporters in January that by the time he was done speaking "a light will shine down from somewhere."

"It will light upon you," he continued. "You will experience an epiphany. And you will say to yourself, I have to vote for Barack. I have to do it."

But both Obama and his wife, Michelle, ooze a sense of entitlement.

"Barack is one of the smartest people you will ever encounter who will deign to enter this messy thing called politics," his wife said a few weeks ago, adding that Americans will get only one chance to elect him.

Obama's cool self-confidence got him into trouble in New Hampshire when he said Clinton was "likable enough," faint praise that grated on female votes who didn't appreciate him condescending to the former first lady.

Privately, aides and associates of Obama tell stories about a boss who can be aloof and ungracious. He holds firmly to views and doesn't like to be challenged, traits that President Bush packaged and sold under the "resolute" brand in the 2004 election. For Bush, those qualities proved to be dangerous in a time of war and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

If arrogance is a display of self-importance and superiority, Obama earns the pejorative every time he calls his pre-invasion opposition to the war in Iraq an act of courage.

While he deserves credit for forecasting the complications of war in 2002, Obama's opposition carried scant political risk because he was a little-known state lawmaker courting liberal voters in Illinois. In 2004, when denouncing the war and war-enabling Democrats would have jeopardized his prized speaking role at the Democratic National Convention, Obama ducked the issue.

It may be that he has just the right mix of confidence and humility to lead the nation (Obama likes to say, "I'm reminded every day that I'm not a perfect man"). But if the young senator wins the nomination, even the smallest trace of arrogance will be an issue with voters who still consider him a blank slate.

That may seem unfair to a candidate who's running against Clinton, the former first lady who is the model of overbearing pride. This is a woman, after all, who claims experience from her eight years as first lady but won't release her White House records; who trails Obama in delegates but deigned to suggest he'd be her running mate; and who has more baggage than Samsonite yet says Obama lacks "vetting."

But voters expect arrogance from Clinton and her husband, Bill. It's part of the package. It's a 90s-thing. The Clintons' utter self-absorption comes with a record of achievement and brass-knuckle passion that Obama cannot match — and that Democratic voters know could come in handy against GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain.

Voters won't cut Obama as much slack on the humility test because he's sold himself as something different. While rejecting the "me"-centric status quo and promising a new era of post-partisan reform, Obama has said the movement he has created is not about him; it's about what Americans can do together if their faith in government is restored.

The power of his message lies in its humility. As he told 7,000 supporters at a rally last month, "I am an imperfect vessel for your hopes and dreams." Nobody expects Obama to be perfect. But he better never forget that he isn't.

ON DEADLINE: Obama walks arrogance line - Yahoo! News

***

I thought our non-American TD brethern depised US arrogance.
Yet, they seem to love this guy... what gives?

I tend to like his arrogance. Reminds me of me.

^Most high achieving, successful people have a higher degree of arrogance. Yes, I've always been accused of being arrogant too.

Originally Posted by Texpat

The power of his message lies in its humility. As he told 7,000 supporters at a rally last month, "I am an imperfect vessel for your hopes and dreams." Nobody expects Obama to be perfect. But he better never forget that he isn't.

I must agree. I have noticed a profound change in his words and body language as he moves closer and closer to the nomination. Arrogance at this point will not sit well with the voters as Hillary found out in the early stages of the run. It will even be worse in a contest with McCain. IMO, even with his strong stance on many issues, McCain projects a much less arrogant persona.