"He's Transformative And Restorative": New York Observer Endorses Obama

The New York Observer has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the upcoming Feb. 5 Democratic primary, The Huffington Post has learned. The Observer writes that the fact that he has "risen too quickly for his opponents' taste" is "nothing less than a recommendation."

Below is an excerpt of the Observer's endorsement, that hit the paper's Web site this morning.

Obama for America:
We Back Barack in Democratic Primary
Yes, He's Transformative And Restorative as Well

The New York Observer urges New York Democrats to support Mr. Obama in the state's presidential primary on Feb. 5.

New Yorkers might ask why they should not pull a lever for our junior senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton. While Mrs. Clinton is an extraordinary United States senator for New York, we believe that Mr. Obama can be a great president for the United States of America.

Most of the other candidates have absorbed, assimilated or appropriated Mr. Obama's issue of change.

But a great deal of the argument for Mr. Obama's candidacy is about one great issue in American life: Restoring American democracy.

It is difficult to remember the last national candidate who has charged and jazzed the democratic system as Mr. Obama has. Partly as a result of his candidacy, college campuses have remembered why they are proud of the United States, kids are going door to door, runners are handing out leaflets on weekends, racial lines have been culturally melted and the electoral approach to presidential campaigning has been reborn.

And, as more than one commentator has said, America is being reintroduced to the world.

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Mr. Obama stands the best chance of restoring the essential relationship between power and the American people. He is not flanked and blocked by an existing, entrenched power structure; his words are not muddied by layers of handlers; he still says what he means.

Mr. Obama would also be the most formidable Democrat in the general election. He has demonstrated a capacity to energize young people and attract new voters, and is the only candidate in the Democratic Party who attracts independents, who are the fastest-growing part of the electorate. His refusal to demonize the Republican Party as a right-wing attack machine will appeal to those independents as well as moderate Republicans.

As far as experience goes, when George W. Bush was driving a bleary, shocked nation into war with bait-and-switch deceptions in 2003, where was our experienced leadership? Meanwhile, in the west, an Illinois state senator-who has since served two years in the Senate, the same Congressional period that a fellow Midwesterner, Abraham Lincoln, had served when he sought the presidency-rose to exhibit courage and public judgment on that deceptive adventure, stating, "I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars."

Now we have paid the price many times over, and there are no clear paths in Baghdad. But there may be one in Washington. Mr. Obama is the emblem of a new America.

He has risen too quickly for his opponents' taste; that fact is nothing less than a recommendation.

His relationship to truth and plain speaking and public transparency is the first step toward reviving democracy in the United States of America.

Barack Obama of Illinois is the future. New York's Democrats should embrace him.

Comments

[KYJurisDoctor]

GREAT endorsement. We CANNOT afford Hillery in the WH!

http://OsiSpeaks.com or http://OsiSpeaks.org

[brwnizofmine]

Has anyone been to Obama's website to make phone calls to South Carolina? They need all of the help they can get. Please go to www.barackobama.com and donate some time for change. He can use lots of help. Thanks and don't hate.

Obama 08

[unionave]

One would think this campaign should be about them selling themselves to the voters . When they start talking about the other campaigners it is obvious their list of selling points about themselves is very short and they are trying to divert our attention to the opponents defects . The media likes this sort of thing and foments it and as usual will wind up picking who we get to vote for , which normally turns out to be some one that is not the best person for the job we want done . The last time we didn't think . I sure hope we do this time .

[MontanaMaven]

Wow, Transformative and restorative. Sounds like he can cure baldness.

[Orikinla]

The posters saying that Senator Hillary Clinton is not electable need to see a shrink.

I have never read anything as foolish as what they have been posting online.

The thousands of voters who left their homes and workplaces to vote for her in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and Nevada are more educated and more well informed than the ignorant minority who are displaying their low IQ online.

72, 000 American citizens voted for Hillary in Iowa alone.
Barack Obama knows how and why he won by 38%.
Hillary Clinton got 30% and John Edwards got 30%.

Then, she came back to defeat Barack Obama in New Hampshire, Michigan and Nevada.

Only African Americans can help Barack Obama to win in South Carolina. But if they are really honest, sincere and wise to appreciate the truth of their great African American history, they will not vote for him.
They should vote for the only Democratic presidential candidate who has been there with them, for them and shared in the great experience of their Civil Rights Movement from 1962 to the 70s, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
She knew and met Martin Luther King, Jr, and supported the African American stuggle even before she met Bill Clinton.

Go and read your American History.

God bless Hillary Clinton for President and God bless America.

[OkieMon]

gee did this rag also endorse 666ronnie? those are the exact same words barockstar used to describe his idol.

[Buddhabman]

Look what the Republican establishment has given us. We are currently in a quagmire FUBAR called Iraq because the establishment Republican NeoCons handpicked a Chimp with name recognition, because they understood he had the Freudian Psychology dementia to impress his dad for family honor with some grand theoretical plan to get rid of a hated foe and Democratize Iraq and maybe the Mideast. Now we want to have Hillary come in with all her psychological baggage and clean up the mess. We are setting her up for failure because the Wing Nuts just hate her and will be obstructionist at every turn.

I am telling you if Hillary gets nominated you are not going to see the kind of turnout you need to take over Senate seats and congressional seats. There are a lot of Democrats and independents that don't like her. However if Obama gets the nomination that will mean he has become a transformational force who has brought new energy into the party. Obama will attract the same talent the Hillary does, minus Bill of course. The Dems will unite as this election is too important, but more energy and excitement and votes will be generated if Obama is the nominee.

We need to look forward and not back. We need a new generation of leadership. Obama represents the future.

Obama 08

[MetricSystem]

Transformative and restorative?!?

This sounds more like an ad for plastic surgery than an endorsement.

[dr4Will]

our economy is falling apart and this black man who defended a white crook in Chicago who ripped off people ,is the answer--get a life you ultra-liberal slugs--in the fall election,black is black and white is white-it will always be that way--most people are still afraid of black politicians

[Irememberwhen]

The NY Observer's (aka "The pink rag" recommendation is fairly worthless. The main feature of this paper is their reports on Manhattan real estate priced over a gizillion dollars.

[holeybuybull]

Before supporting any Democratic candidate for president, ask yourself whether or not they voiced support for Joe "Israel" Lieberman's Senate reelection bid. Both Clinton & Obama supported that traitor. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Economics]

As someone who is from Iowa, I was able to bring about 25 voters to the caucus for Obama. Of these 15 will vote for the democratic nominee regardless. Of the remaining ten, some will return to voting republican and others will return to not voting. If this is not an isolated trend, then Sen. Clinton is in real trouble in the general election.

[maidyalook]

OMG! I"m hearing on here, "It would be awesome, it would be cool"to have Obama as President. Like Whatever Dude!!!.Now let's get adult here for a moment. The Rezko case is alot more than a land deal. Obama in the last debate saying he worked for 5 hours for "that individual". What he didn't say speaks volumes. He has been friends with Rezko for 17 years. I think that the Obamacrats on here our sincere in their belief that this guy is the real deal, but if a friend, neighbor, or family member, and yes, a stranger on these boards suggests to you that he needs more vetting, then at least look at the possibility that theres more to see, and unfortunately, more to come.

[westreal]

If you are offended by Hillary and Bill's attacks on Obama or their outright lying about the issues then please email the Democractic National Committee and let them know.

http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contactissues

If Hillary wins the nomination and you'd rather vote Republican or not at all in November then email them and let them know. We can actually force the DNC to support Obama if they know we will not vote for slick Hillary in November. Let YOUR voices be heard.

[AdLib]

I haven't read a single post from a Hillary supporter yet that acknowledges the fact that Obama is bringing out record numbers of Independent, youth and GOP voters to turn out in the primaries and vote for him and that Hillary does not.

In a general election, adding these voters to the Dems would create a decisive win for the Dems and Obama AND help usher in a strong Dem majority in Congress.

In the face of having the highest negatives of any Dem candidate and a high percentage of the electorate expressing they would never vote for her, do Hillary supporters believe that all of these voters energized by a change in the status quo (20 years of Bush-Clinton-Bush), are going to flock to Hillary (24 years of Bush-Clint­on-Bush-Cl­inton) as a candidate who changes the status quo?

If Hillary gets the nomination and as it looks today, McCain runs against her, the dynamics of winning a presidential election by inches will continue, the winner will have no overwhelming mandate and since the Clintons happily embrace the politics of personal destruction, the General Election will likely keep this country divided and splintered. Not to mention how that will energize Repubs and lessen Dem pickups in Congress.

Neither side disputes that Democracy and government are broken, so the solution is to elect those who have brought us here, a continuation of the way things are? Or a return to 1992 and the Clinton years (anyone recall in those golden days any fierce partisanship back then that focused the Repub Congress for years on removing Clinton from power as opposed to, say, trying to prevent terrorists from attacking us)?

A Hillary nomination will discourage the groundswell of those believing that the establishment can be changed, they will disengage again and the moment where true change could happen will pass with substantial repercussions.