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chinthee

^Bugs, that's an interesting perspective. And, I've heard various permutations of it framed in a number of different ways, including the comparisons to Adlai Stevenson and his two failed Presidential runs. Adlai and Obama have been compared alike in many respects. Both have (had) clearly superior intellectual abilities. Both supported liberal causes. Both had a keen wit and are affable. Both smoked.

Obama has to be careful on many fronts now. Floating concrete ideas about taxation now will polarize the voting public, and especially the higher income upper middle class 'non-landed' taxpayers. He should get more mushy about this; equivocate as politicians do. His campaign just announced that May was their lowest fund raising month to date. This is not good news, and means he needs to adjust his campaign messages.

I suspect he is a smart enough cookie to do so.

Bugs

Yes, I would call putting it in writing a commitment. Hell, I would say making a writen commitment is more valid than making a verbal commitment. And not only did Obama make his commitment in writing (in the questionaire), and followed it up by having his lawyers make a filing with the Federal Election Commission to which the FEC gave him a unanimouse ruling in favor of his filing.

What was the filing?
Obama would raise money for the general election and if he wins the nomination, he and the Republican nominee would return general election funds and decide to participate in public financing (based upon mutual agreement for both parties to accept public financing).

McCain has said he would agree to do it, and now Obama has said, ah, um, well, thanks, but no thanks. Now that I (Obama) have the power I kind of like politics as usual.

I few links in regard to the filing and public financing:
Democracy21 - appluding Obama and McCain for pledging to accept public financing if nominated and their opponent agrees to do the same.
Democracy 21 -- Just Say Yes: Take the Pledge

NY Times artical about McCain joining Obama in promising to accept a novel fund-raising truce if each man wins his party's nomination.
The New York Times > Log In


Politico artical basically slaming the other candidates for not taking Obama and McCain's lead to accept public financing should they get the nomination.
McCain Ups the Ante Over Campaign Finance - Kenneth P. Vogel - Politico.com

Edit in:

Forgot this one from the Washington Post where Obama basically says the system is broken and the only way to save it is for both nominiees elect to receive public funding.
Can This System Be Saved? - washingtonpost.com

__________________
"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion" - Steven Weinberg

Norton

Choices, choices, choices.

Obama stands in front of the mirror shaving and his mind wanders to the issue of opting for Public Campaign Financing.

"I made statements saying I would agree to Public Financing. If I do, I will be limited to $85M in spending. So far I've raised $285M in the primaries without any PAC contributions. Reckon I can raise double that in the Presidential campaign. Ole John has no chance of raising near what I can so of course he wants to limit my advantage. If I now refuse to take Public Financing my "flip flop" critics will make a big deal out of it but this too shall pass. If I reject Public Financing I'll be in position to out spend ole John by about 3 times. What to do, what to do?"

__________________
There is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right.

Woodrow Wilson

Jet Gorgon

Ya, I heard his campaign video. He suddenly doesn't think the public funding is fair -- all lobbyists' millions. FO, why not just say "I have enough from grassroots support (oh ya and from some big corporations but only thru their CEOS, hush hush).
He's been saying he is committed to public campaign funding for months (it's the fair and democratic way...). Keep up with the program, rc.

raycarey

show me a single quote where obama ever said he was committed to public campaign funding.

just one quote. for someone who tells others to keep up with the program, that should be quite easy.

good luck.

Jet Gorgon

^ Here you go, babycakes, seein as how you missed the many Obama quotes on it:

"Obama pledged in March 2007 to pursue an agreement with the Republicans to participate in the public-financing system, which is designed to limit the influence of big money."

Bloomberg.com: News

sabang

Barack Obama said in a statement Thursday he has “reached out” and offered his personal apology to the two Muslim women who said they were refused seats behind the Democratic candidate at a Detroit rally because they were wearing head scarves.

The two women were given different explanations for why they were refused seats at the Monday rally, according to an article in The Politico, but Obama volunteers said it had to do with the hijabs they were wearing.

One of the women, Hebba Aref, said a volunteer told the group she was with she could not sit behind the podium — in full view of TV cameras — because of “a sensitive political climate.”

Obama’s campaign apologized in a statement Wednesday and said the volunteers’ actions were “not the policy of the campaign.”

Obama repeated in his statement Thursday that “the actions of these volunteers were unacceptable and in no way reflect any policy of my campaign.”

He said was able to speak with Shimaa Abdelfadeel, the other woman denied a seat behind the podium, and “expressed my deepest apologies for the incident that occurred with volunteers at the event in Detroit.”

Obama Apologizes to Muslim Women Refused Seats at Rally - America’s Election HQ

Not surprising really- one would expect the Presidential nominee to be smarter than his campaign volunteers. Well, Dem's anyway.

No disrespect to dubya.

Like I said, opportunity missed. Obama knows that. Maybe he'll get back the sought after Hamas endorsement.

__________________
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

raycarey

btw, the sour grapes and hand wringing on this issue from alleged conservatives who continually rail against big government is quite amusing.

Jet Gorgon

No hand wringing here. Just common sense.

raycarey

nice try, but you've fallen short....again.

as your quote states, he pledged to pursue an agreement.....he never committed to public financing.

keep searching!

perhaps if the mccain campaign had been straightforward and kept things above board, an agreement could have been reached....alas, they just couldn't do it, so now they have to live with the consequences.

Jet Gorgon

^ I heard Obama announce it many times; I'll wait for McCain's group to dig it all up for you, rc.
Where was McCain not straightforward? How about Obama and all his contributions from corporations hidden behind the skirts of their CEOs?

raycarey

of course you did.

but let's pretend for a minute that you did....then it should be quite simple for your to find a quote. just a single quote where he commits to public financing.


i'll wait for obama's campaign to dig it all up for you.

Jet Gorgon

Thanks for doing the research, Bugs. I guess it was politically expedient for Obama to say that public financing is corrupt with lobbyist funds (how can public financing be corrupt?) instead of just saying he gets enough from grassroots support (and the big companies who are sliding him cash through executive frontmen). Oh, I'm too good for public funding?

Norton

Or a huge tax increase which neither candidate is prepared to propose.

sabang

David Brooks, in a NY Times editorial-

"All I know for sure is that this guy is no liberal goo-goo. Republicans keep calling him naïve. But naïve is the last word I’d use to describe Barack Obama. He’s the most effectively political creature we’ve seen in decades. Even Bill Clinton wasn’t smart enough to succeed in politics by pretending to renounce politics."

Op-Ed Columnist - The Two Obamas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

I agree with him.

Jet Gorgon

^ Good article, MM. As I receive the Obama e-letters, I often wondered who "another sponsor" is that would match every one of my donations. Obviously, some heavyweights. Sho nuff, it's probably one of these guys, as quoted from the NY Times article:

"He’s got an army of small donors and a phalanx of big money bundlers, including, according to The Washington Post, Kenneth Griffin of the Citadel Investment Group; Kirk Wager, a Florida trial lawyer; James Crown, a director of General Dynamics; and Neil Bluhm, a hotel, office and casino developer."

Yep, he's a fast Eddiie alright.

Milkman

I read the article by David Brooks yesterday. I found the term "fast Eddie" very silly and foolish. Just another biased op-ed article. Almost everyone has a bias. Brooks is not very insightful on anything, IMO.

sabang

He's not anti-Obama really, he's just pointing out that these 'Obama is naive' accusations are plain wrong- he's a smart politician, through and through.

Jet Gorgon

^ That's why I don't trust him.

sabang

^ Thats why I don't trust any of them. As his recent flim flam on campaign finance shows, Obama is first and foremost a Politician- expedience and self interest (ie Winning) will win over high falutin but impractical moral issues.

I just plain like his policy platforms and diplomatic persona more than Mccains, and after 8 years of the Bush crowd, boy do we need to cast the GOP into the wilderness for a while so they can sort themselves out, and the US can go about sorting itself out. They blew it.