Friday, January 04, 2008

"Sometimes There Are Nights Like This"



Electrifying. Nobody else on either side has his ability to inspire.

11 comments:

Lubab No More said...

I still think Hillary is the smartest and most competent candidate in the race but there is no denying that Obama was gold last night.

Anonymous said...

I can't stand his superficial, empty and fake rhetoric, which smells of utopian socialist communist gobbldygook. Unity of America, brotherhood of mankind, and prolitariat are all from the same crock of shit called lala land.

Anonymous said...

This is a guy who, if elected, will spend his time in the office trying to fit a square peg into a round hole while spewing utopian drivel of unity and bright future with a charismatic showing of his teeth.

Lawyer-Wearing-Yarmulka said...

I still haven't seen anything that's going to change my opinion of Obama. He's charismatic, inspirational, handsome and personable.

He's also completely inexperienced, naive, and has accomplished pretty much nothing in his life. There's also something wrong with someone who has written 2 autobiographies before he turns 45.

Obama keeps talking about "change" and rising above partisanship, but hasn't exactly explained how he's going to do it, or what exactly does it mean. How exactly do you rise above partisanship? In the end , there are two distinct political philosophies, one involving more government, one involving less. How do you rise above that?

Jewish Atheist said...

LNM:

I agree that Hillary is extremely smart and competent. I believe that Barack is just as smart and competent, but with more skills as a politician.


Coppersmith:

I can't stand his superficial, empty and fake rhetoric, which smells of utopian socialist communist gobbldygook.

It sounds like you're bringing so many preconceived notions to the table that you wouldn't notice if Obama was the second coming of your favorite president... as long as he has a (D) next to his name.


LWY:

He's also completely inexperienced, naive, and has accomplished pretty much nothing in his life.

"Completely inexperienced" is a huge exaggeration. It's true that he has less experience than many other candidates, though. But, as I mentioned in a recent post, there's no evidence that experience matters much. No job prepares one adequately to be president. He also demonstrated great judgment about the most important issue of the past decade, in a time when all of the "experienced" candidates screwed up. What's worse, a long history of error, or a short history of being right?

Also, the man is 46 years old, has been a Senator, a lawyer, a community organizer, lecturer at the U of Chicago Law School, president of the Harvard Law Review, a father and husband, and has written two bestselling books. If that's "accomplishing pretty much nothing in his life," I'd hate to grow up having to live up to your expectations. What, are you disappointed that he hasn't cured cancer yet?

There's also something wrong with someone who has written 2 autobiographies before he turns 45.

By all accounts, he's a good writer and an introspective thinker. I can't see how penning two autobiographies/memoirs is a bad thing.

Obama keeps talking about "change" and rising above partisanship, but hasn't exactly explained how he's going to do it, or what exactly does it mean.

I think he's shown how he's going to do it. He disagrees without being disagreeable. He inspires Democrats, Independents, and many Republicans.

How exactly do you rise above partisanship? In the end , there are two distinct political philosophies, one involving more government, one involving less. How do you rise above that?

By "partisanship," I believe he means the petty bickering and mutual hatred that has lately defined the political landscape of our country. It doesn't mean that he's going to abolish differences of political opinion.

Lawyer-Wearing-Yarmulka said...

"Completely inexperienced" is a huge exaggeration.

He has the thinest resume in recent memory for a serious Presidential candidate. Whether experience matters or not is of course debatable. I think matters.

If that's "accomplishing pretty much nothing in his life," I'd hate to grow up having to live up to your expectations. What, are you disappointed that he hasn't cured cancer yet?

I regretted writing that as soon as I clicked "publish". I meant to say that he has accomplished nothing that's really relevant to his candidacy, which I guess is another way of me saying he's inexperienced.

By all accounts, he's a good writer and an introspective thinker. I can't see how penning two autobiographies/memoirs is a bad thing.

He's a great writer. But usually people pen their memoirs after they've reached the pinnacle of their lives. At this point in his life, there really isn't anything special about him. To have written two memoirs at such a young age reeks of extreme narcissism.

Comrade Kevin said...

He brings charisma, but critics are right to accuse his rhetoric of being high on style, low on substance. I, for one, would love to see some specifics.

The opinion of the Obama win I have seen across the left-wing blogosphere has been either a) jubilant celebration or b) serious concern as to his credentials and his authenticity

CyberKitten said...

Obama is a *very* good public speaker. I'm impressed. If I was American I'd certainly think about voting for him!

Scott said...

He is a good speaker, but then so is Huckabee. So......

CyberKitten said...

Not sure if I've heard Huck speak.... But if I *was* an American I'd be a Democrat anyway... even if they're a bit too Right wing for my liking.... [grin].

JDHURF said...

Good god almighty Obama is a magnificent speaker.

I feel ambiguous about Obama’s win. While Obama no doubt speaks very eloquently in stirring speeches about “hope,” “change,” and “choosing unity over division” his vague and empty speeches obscure “the reality of a class-divided society. There can be no genuine unity of interests between the class of multimillionaires and billionaires, who increasingly monopolize the national wealth and income, and the vast majority who work for a living and struggle to make ends meet” and Obamas platform would be nothing like a “change” from the corporate influenced status quo. His positions on such crucial issues as universal healthcare, U.S. military intervention, abortion, gay rights and so forth are all very poor but, he is far better than any one of the Republicans and is not quite as far to the right as is Hillary, I could live with him.
First we defeat the Republicans, then we deal with the Democratic President elect.