UPDATE:
Barack Obama appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Thursday night for a two part interview with the MSNBC host.
Here is the first part of the interview.
Here is the second part of the interview:
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As a gay man, I can not imagine having the opportunity to speak to Obama and NOT bringing up his hypocrisy on separate, but equal civil unions.
Maddow, you a friggin' sell-out.
Nonsense. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Yes on Obama, Yes on Prop 8, Yes on civil unions.
Democrats became republicans and no one seems to have noticed, or cared.
I care.
Says who?
Marriage is a legal relationship. Gay people are entitled to equal protection of the laws. Prop 8 is wrong. Vote NO.
Civil unions are separate and definitely not equal, speaking as someone who has a civil union. No one treats you the same. You should try to have some empathy.
Personally I think that is a bunch of crap. I think it is ludicrous for anyone to say someone else can't get married. The hypocrisy, from both Democrats and Republicans, both touting their belief in "separation of church and state" and set both ignoring it at the same time is sad.
Who are we to say that homosexual's aren't allow to marry. Not to long ago we said women and African American's couldn't vote either and I think we can all agree that that was a load of crap.
What has happened to equality in this country of ours? Come to think of it, we have never had equality, but the persistent hope for a better nation.
I say no to Prop. 8 and I 100% support gay marriage. Ask yourself why it bothers you so much?
Obama '08
Seriously!!! Our economy is in the toilet...w
That line of questioning would have looked, and would have been, petty.....
BTW - I am gay as well and Rachel did us proud!!!!
I agree with you here, she asked questions that are equally important to every single person. Not every person is gay, and not every person, gay or straight, wants to get married.
Fingers crossed, she'll be able to debate him about this in about four days.
Well, as another gay man, I can't imagine why we'd want to emulate heterosexual institutions. It's a non-issue to me.
I think it is natural for people to couple up. I don't think there would be such an AIDS problem if there were gay marriage. I think there would be less mental illness among gays as well.
Your line of thinking suggests that they should only be talking about gays and African-Americans - open up here
Obama's "separate but equal" civil unions ? Many agree that is a decent compromise.
As long as gays have the same rights with their partner ..what's the problem ?
Same problem with the water fountain. Marriage is a celebration. A civil union is not. Children growing up need to know that they and their feelings are as important as anybody else's. Discrimination causes problems that, as a person who has experienced discrimination at many levels, one may not easily foresee and as well can be devastating for all involved.
I believe!
I love President Obama! How refreshing to have a president who is intelligent, articulate and who can answer questions thoughtfully without resorting to soundbites! A new day in America is on its way!
I heard Rachel say on her show that Obama did not answer her question regarding his refusal to criticize the failed conservatism of the republican party. I thought this was one of his more masterful and indepth answers. He said he needed to run a campaign that would forge out a majority governing coalition and to do that, he had to recognize that there were republicans who were fed up with their party's direction. To come out positioned on the left or right would simply cause people to vote their colors red or blue. he wanted to give them a chance to vote their country. (Note this is not a quote). But then he went on to say how conservatism had kidnapped the republican party and their recklessness has been playing out in the failed systems of finance, domestic and foreign affairs. (What else is there?) So Rachel, great interview but he did answer that question with great diplomacy and instructiveness. Those of us on the left have to be thrilled that he will not pander to us either for if he did, he would pander to others and that begets gridlock. I HAVE BEEN CHANGED BY THIS MAN EVEN IF THE OPPOSITION MANAGES TO STEAL THIS ELECTION FOR I KNOW THAT IN ORDER TO GET IT, THEY WILL HAVE TO STEAL IT OUT RIGHT!
I think hes doing fine telling us about Bush ruining this country and what it would look like if Mccain wins. Obamas gonna need every vote and we all know theres gonna be some who votes for him.
The surrogates should be the ones ripping their policy positions and keep letting Obama talk about the economy!
Obama/Biden 08!
I agree..He answered Rachel's questions completely. If he gets elected, and I hope he does,
he has to govern all the people..Re
Even she is still caught up with polemic thinking. Polemic thinking does not help solve problems.
I think RM wants someone (BO) to declare that the whole conservative ideology of trckle down supply side economy of the past 20 or so years, in fact the whole Reagan legacy, was and is untimately a failed policy, kind of like the ideology of communism was proven to have been a failed experiment. and we indeed need to set an entirely NEW course, we need to re-think what globalism means not just for americans but for the rest of the world (so intractably interconnected now). She wants an indictment of the republican party for getting the US into the mess it is in now. Or at least, I DO.
gee a president who's articulate, intelligent, can actually speak sentences longer than 3 words,,,,,,,,,,,who would have thought?
rachel maddow for press sec.
>> rachel maddow for press sec.
"rachel maddow for press sec."
That's a great idea. She's probably be doubly targeted for abuse by post-election, far-right haters, though.
It would compromise her voice. It would make her less effective to take on the right wing controlled media.
It has been a long time since I have seen such an inspiring politician! I challenge anyone to watch this interview and not be impressed with Obama's depth of understanding and clarity of vision. Or his humour and good nature.
What an amazing and insightful man. Americans - you've just won the lottery. Fate could not have brought you a better leader for what you need right now.
We in the rest of the world applaud.
Rachel did a fine job delivering an intelligent, thought-provoking and informative interview. This is the standard we look for in an election campaign in any democracy worth its salt.
I've voted Republican in every presidential election since 1984, but there is just no doubt about who has the ability to bring this country together and restore our standing in the world. The damage down by W and his cronies has been enormous, and I'm ashamed to say that I voted for him twice!! All you have to do is watch Obama speak in an interview setting such as this to realize that he's an extraordinarily intelligent and capable human being. It's pretty amazing that McCain has the low 40% range of support that he has given the terrible campaign that he's run and the careless selection of Palin as running mate. I do believe that there is a "6% race factor", which means that if he were a white male, the polls would be high-50%s vs. mid-30%s for McCain. Fortunately, Obama will win, he will bring people from both sides of the aisle together, and I will have one of my proudest days as an American watching Barack, Michelle and those adorable little girls take their place in the White House on Inauguration Day. It'll be a great day for our country and a powerful message to the world.
I agree with this and I honestly believe McCain didn't feel he had to bring his A game to the campaign due precisely to the race factor. He knows the radical right is filled with fearful, hate-mongering, racist-wra
This entire election, McCain has done little more than phone it in --mand now as he reaps, so shall he sows. Unfortunately, the only caveat to a McCain loss is that he has to return here to AZ, and I hope the good people of this state have the good sense to remember this awful campaign and retire this man permanently.
It's great that his pragmatic and inclusive approach means Republicans like you can be involved in the rebuilding of your country. Obama will be such a positive force on the international scene as well.
I just hope that the Americans who are now supporting McCain will get behind Obama if he is elected. The last thing you all need is for the ugly divisiveness that has emerged in the last few weeks to continue after the election. As Lincoln said, "A house divided cannot stand".
I love Rachel and Keith and Obama.
ME TOO
so, who voted for the bailout again?
I scroll down the page and look at the comments, most are favorable and have some real meat on them. People are talking about specific policies, his demeanor ect. And then this little snarky little 7 word post.
The least you could do and I do mean Least is write 20 or 30 words that illustrate your dissatisfaction with him voting for the bailout. I think it was a bit of a compromise myself but I really want to see a president that will make the best possible decision he can, and have a better reason for that decision that ‘God Told Me’, ‘Gut Feeling’ or ‘I looked in his eyes’.
Good post!
I want Tuesday be the day when US was known for electing a President who can turn this country around so we can see wonderfull days ahead!
Middle class tax cuts, not the rich and NEW foreign policy implemented! And these is just the beginning!
MCCAIN lol!!!!!!!
Yall ever notice how these Republicans attack Dems on something their guilty of or caused it????????
Who voted for the bailout ? Dems as well as Repub's. But keep in mind Bush & his Sec of Treasury pick, Paulson, ( former CEO of Goldman Sachs ) at first asked for the 700 B..with no questions asked, and no safe guards ! What a naked power grab !.Then it was revised and passed..to
So we get the shaft...as usual.. We need to get rid of all lobbyists & PAC's (Political action commitees ) They have become way too powerful ) Too much power corrupts..
The thing about Ms. Maddow is that she is a genuine intellectual, a person
of great intelligence, ease and charm, so she is a natural to interview Senator
Obama. They were at ease speaking with each other, and I could tell by his
facial expression that he was enjoying her smarts as she questioned him, especially
her remark about how our electric power grids are not only susceptible to terrorist
attacks, but now they are susceptible even to snow storm attacks (this was a funny
jab at our crumbling infrastructure. Did anyone notice that in this a.m.'s NYT, David
Brooks wrote about the need to invest in infrastructure, even if it doesn't immediately
boost the economy? Brooks, riding on Obama's coattails. I like it.
How refreshing for him to have an intelligent interviewer, which made him rise to the occasion.
I just wish America had more dynamic anchors like Olbermann and Maddowl.
Having been introduced to keith and rachelin the last 2 months,I now find CNN particularly weak and shallow, except Cafferty, Brazile,Martin and Gergen and ..I stopped with Fox News altogether.
Investing in infrastructure does immediately boost the economy by giving people jobs to do real work.
Great interview. It's wonderful to see intelligence behind the interviewer. I've seen numerous interviews Obama gave that were in depth and thoughtful as this, but they were often not national interviews. I wish all rmainstream media eporters would take cue from Rachel Maddow's professionalism.
I love them both, and it's great to see them together.
I thought Rachel did a great job and asked Obama more questions about Afghanistan and Pakistan than I've ever heard him answer. I liked the fact that he refused to bash republicans in general unlike the republican mantra of scorched earth policies. I'm waiting to hear the McCain camp use some of Obama's answers against him - a drowning man grasps at straws.
Obama is great, but even he can't answer questions he has never been asked. Don't blame him for not putting answers out there that the weak, inept, partisan, money making media won't ask him. Thank you, Rachel.
hurray for rachel....
huffington has so make us curious about the political scene, its driving me crazy not to check what is going on daily...hu
hire all those good reporters from cnn,msnbc and abc...hehe
MEDIA TEAM.....T
Good idea. A Huffingtonpost news channel.
I think Rachel did a perfect job and Barack answered the questions perfectly!
How refreshingly unique to find a Huffpo blogger who thinks Rachel Maddow and Barack Obama are perfect.
Its refreshing to see someone who voted for BUSH TWICE on this site gathering info instead of being on a site like PALIN08!
But seriously its refreshing to see a blogger who disagrees with someone and not refer to bashing this and that. Ill congrats you for not bashing and hope you reconsider voting for Obama and not Mccain. I was gonna put Palin for laughs though. Im not gonna go on and on why you should vote for Obama because I know you know the deffs between them!
We welcome you, too, John.
What a hard-hitting piece of American journalism. I have a hunch that had it been Sarah Palin, the interview might just have been a bit more in-depth. However, I do like Rachel quite a bit and the interview, while very short on substance, was not bad.
How could Rachel have been more in-depth with Palin? Palin is shallow and ignorant.
When you say short on substance what exactly are you speaking of?
The man is running for President. He has laid out fairly detailed plans. They are not step by step 500 page manuals but they do show someone that has truly thought about how to get major projects and programs underway.
If he went into any more detail you would say he gave so much detail you would think he was already President. So it appears to me you will not be happy with Obama whatever he does.
As if Gov. Yup-Yup would ever stoop so low as to talk to the likes of Rachel. LOL! Come on, you know better.
I would like to see that. She couldn't even handle the soft balls from Katie Couric. It would be hysterical.
A thoughtful, calm, clear speaking man as President.
What a concept.
Thanks Rachel.
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First Posted: 10-30-08 10:00 PM | Updated: 11-30-08 05:12 AM