Obama for President
Wow.
The pen is indeed mightier than the sword and I've been hoisted on mine. It's buried deep between my shoulder blades.
Unbelievable!
I didn't see the airing of it, but apparently a certain news network dug up old footage of me and pasted it together with words I'd posted on the Huffington Post to make it look like I was excoriating Obama.
Hello! Me? Excoriate Obama? He's our last best hope, guys. I've been waiting forty years for him.
I'm a Canadian, I pay a bunch of taxes to your government but I can't vote. All I can do, all the rest of the non-voting world can do, is hope.
Hope that he's your next president.
Hope that you will elect him. Because it's my firm belief that as your president, Obama'll bring the nation together and with us, all of us, all the people of this country stride by stride with him, he will lead us towards a world and a future we will all be able to pursue happiness in.
Bill Moyers said that democracy is a "revolutionary idea that it isn't just about the means of governance but the means of dignifying people so they become fully free to claim their moral and political agency."
With Barack Obama as your president, it's my belief that the realization of that revolutionary idea is possible.
Without him, it's my firm belief that we're toast.
Norman Solomon wrote today that "under a McCain presidency, we'd be back to square one, where we've found ourselves since January 2001. Putting Obama in the White House would not by any means ensure progressive change, but under his presidency, the grassroots would have an opportunity to create it."
You're the grassroots. Put Obama in the White House and make the country ours.
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Mr. Sutherland....I can wait another 40 years...NO to "The Obama's for President"!!!!!
Wow. One can't argue with that; you've convinced me.
Agree with you insight and perception. Looking forward to your next post. Before we make it in November we need to make it past the convention, and it seems that there are H supporters already plotting to make trouble. Why are there still uncommitted superdelegates? What's their problem?
I'd love to kinow what you think of the fact that H voted uncharacteristically against FISA? What's up with that? I'd be interested in knowing who you think would make a good VP choice?
Agree with your insight and perception. Hope to see you post again. I'm sure you are aware that we still have to get through the convention and there are plotters and schemers on the loose intent on turning this convention into a war zone, so we need all the help we can get to fight this absurdity and speak truth to power.
I would be interested in knowing who you think would make a great VP?
Duly noted.
Donald,
I found your "I've been waiting forty years for him." to be very interesting. I had never heard of Barack Obama until I watched his victory speech following the Iowa caucuses. That was all it took. His speech set my soul on fire. I suppose that, like a lot of progressives, I've been driven into hiding for most of my adult life by the in-your-face conservative fear and hate mongering machine. Suddenly, this Barack Obama fellow was a breath of fresh air. Soon I discovered that Obama was going to appear at a rally here in my South Texas hometown. I decided to attend and arrive early so I could be assured of a seat. My son and me arrived two hours before the scheduled event only to find we were in line behind about twenty-thousand other folks. As we waited in line we began to talk with the retired couple in front of us. It turned out they were from Michigan and they were huge Obama fans. They lamented the fact that the Michigan primary had been sidetracked because they felt he would have carried Michigan easily. My last words to this couple were, "I've been waiting for this man to step forward for my entire adult life." At this point that is, same as you, almost exactly forty years. I wonder how many there are of us?
Sure doesn't take much to "set your soul on fire" does it?
Ah, another eloquent argument. How does one find the time to construct such scathing critiques?
Dear Mr S,
After reading your linked article, I have to say that you certainly seemed to be excoriating *somebody*. To be sure, careful reading suggests that the precise target of your ire was “those-who-think-like-McAuliffe”, rather than the candidate himself. But when you end a post with “His supporters are being sent to hell in a handbasket and it has to be stopped!”, it shouldn’t surprise you to be portrayed as critical.
Of course, it is entirely reasonable to be critical of aspects of campaign strategy – or even of actual policies – and still feel that he is an outstanding candidate, and by far our better choice. I happen to agree with that, BTW, and I’m happy that your access to HuffPo has allowed you to re-state your support for him with unambiguously. But you stabbed yourself with your own metaphorical pen.
I might also mention that, if one presumes that you were NOT criticizing Senator Obama, you were instead portraying him as helpless in the grip of demons within his campaign staff. Frankly, I find that a scarier prospect than simply recognizing that he is, policy-wise, a mainstream Democrat – albeit more overtly religious than most. I hope that those on the left, who projected their own views onto him as the “anti-Clinton”, will realize that – in the present state of US politics – a return to common sense is as big a transformation as we can hope for.
Cheers.
"Putting Obama in the White House would not by any means ensure progressive change, but under his presidency, the grassroots would have an opportunity to create it."
Ah, this is the key.
While many here [myself included] have been set back on our heels a bit by Obama's recent tacts to the center, he is indeed the best hope we have, as there exists no chance for significant change during a McCain presidency.
It's "tacks" to center--sailing term--however inappropriate that remains for original meaning. But Obama hasn't exactly changed any of his views, statements, or policy. Looking into the details of his positions reveals no change at all, just a lot of wish projection disproven and a lot of misassumptions and acceptance of McCain/MSM (they're equivalent right now) spin.
Mr. Sutherland:
First of all, as for your being a Canadian citizen, I'm reminded of the words of Sen. Edward Kennedy in a speech on US-Canadian relations, in which he reminded his fellow citizens that "we're not the only Americans north of the Rio Grande."
I don't think you have to worry too much that Sen. Obama won't be our next President.
Not only does the McCain campaign not even seem to be TRYING to win (recently claiming through one of its top surrogates that we're a bunch of whiners and there is no recession), but the signs that the economy and housing market are going to worsen considerably before they get better are starting to line up ominously.
To my mind, the only things that can stop Obama are unforseen and unforseeable external events over which he has no control and the thousand pound elephant in the room, racism.
Donald,
I was walking across the plaza in Century Century in L.A. in 1993 and some reporters stopped me and filmed my responses to questions about the quality of life in Los Angeles and my thoughts on this.
The next day, a friend called from Boston and said she had seen and heard me disparaging Bill Clinton as "superficial" and "lacking soul" on Pat (Rat) Robertson's 700 Club!!! His roaming vermin had interviewed me under false pretenses and edited my comments about surviving L.A. into an attack on Bill Clinton's first term!
Wish I could find the footage: I would own Pat Robertson's house and his diabolical 'faux-Chistian' TV empire.
Sue for slander.
Much too late. The statute of limitations expired in the 90's.
Thank you Donald for you hopeful support ... we've been through hell ... no, really ... lately one of the superRich called us or the "Nation" (which I must conclude includes moi) whiners! Have you ever!!?
Anyway O needs your financial support too, seems last month was not a good one on the fundraising end ... it's no wonder when he must split with Missy!;)
Always loved your work!!
It is becoming clear to most of us that the system is not working. Our president acts like a petulant self-indulgent child, and there is no adult (Congress? The Media? The Supreme Court?) to reign him in. Who can say that Obama as president might slow down the collapse more than McCain, maybe not.
Most citizens are too busy making a living, and not paying attention. Hopefully they are waking up to realize that there is no one “leader” that can ever fix this mess. In fact, it is the illusion of leadership that is the problem.
Mr. Sutherland, wasn’t the basic message of M*A*S*H, the 1970 film in which you brilliantly portrayed Hawkeye, to say, “Screw the leaders, it’s up to us.” ??
We all must take responsibility individually; waiting for the right leader is no better excuse than that of the “good” German’s response of “I was just following orders.”
And let the whining about Obama begin. To all of the "I'm so disappointed in Obama now b/c of (fill in blank), please file in line behind the "bitter" Clinton supporters & the angry anti-black Americans, the liberals who are pissed with him, and the Republicans as well.
Take a number!
Obama 08
That you should have been held up as someone who is anti-Obama (pro-McCain by implication) is just another reflection of how much power resides in those able to define/contrive context. Anything you say can and will be used in a half-sentence soundbite. With all the free speech we're permitted, it's more like being in an environment where talking above a whisper can cause an avalanche. Those who sense this find they must continually confine themselves to remarks that won't trigger anything. As someone who will be voting for Obama, all I want to say in any political discussion on the election is.... go Obama!
Cool.
Donald...(Don?, )
I adore you and have for...oh, I don't know- 40 years?
When did Lute come out. That is the first conscious memory I have of you.
whatever... I digress which is not at all unusual.
"With Barack Obama as your president, it's my belief that the realization of that revolutionary idea is possible."
I know many people believe this to be true... and while I and many would like to believe it, we don't.
My belief is in the Constitution which Obama just flagrantly used his "power" to disregard and work against. Whatever his reasoning this was wrong. He is being called the head of the Democratic party and as such should have used his leadership skills to defeat this bill. I trust the Constitution. I do not trust a man to tell me he will make sure everything will be OK because he'll oversee this Unconstitutional program for my good.
As someone who is aspiring to be a guardian of the Constitution-and isn't that what the Presidency is about, defending and protecting the Constitution- he has already shown himself either inadequate for the job, lacking in leadership skills in this area--or tragically, actually thinking it is A-OK to take some civil liberties away from the citizens of this country.
His reasoning was - who knows what his reasoning was since his statement didn't actually say. What his statement did say was filled with double speak to justify his vote.
pt1
pt. 2
links to great commentary/analysis on FISA
http://tinyurl.com/58ncs6
http://tinyurl.com/6jpocs
The last best hope?
I think not Donald.
The best hope for our country, our citizens is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, not a man. In fact it is the best hope for the world in that if we actually lived it we would not be so harmful to so many outside the United States and could be spending our time and treasure creating model global citizens through education and perhaps go about doing more good.
The last best hope is electing as many Progressive Patriots to the Congress who believe in its inviolability, who will be loyal to their oath of office by protecting and defending the Constitution, who will provide the checks and balances by overseeing the executive branch and who will put the rights, the needs of citizens of the country over big corporate interests.
Any extra money I get... and believe me it is very little, will be going to the Progressive Patriots fund, people like Darcy Burner, the ACLU who just filed suit against this travesty.
All that being said, yes we must defeat McCain. It is just swuch a shame that we are forced to elect a man who thinks our civil liberties can be tweaked for "the safety of Americans" or for some back room trade off.
FISA itself is not the problem. The problem we had with Bush was that he felt that the wiretapping authority should be exclusively with the executive branch. The original FISA bill was outdated and had to be updated to reality of our current technology. This new bill addressed that.
I have a problem with the retroactive immunity given to the telecoms. But I had to think about , what if a received a request from the President of the United States which offered me immunity from prosecution, would I comply ? Ans: Probably.
With this new FISA bill in place at least by going thru the FISA court they can avoid the possiblity of wrongdoing in the future.
The permission has to be given by the FISA court for all wiretapping request.
Do you or don't you want this man to win? If he had voted against FISA, it would have passed anyway and he would have been attacked left, right and centre on national security. The real reason Kerry lost was because of the national security issue. This issue always ends up trumping everything else: the economy, the environment and healthcare.
So if he had voted against it he would have been lambasted in the media. The great thing is that the issue was quickly put to rest in the media. So he did the right thing. He will make the necessary adjustments when he's President. What more do you want?
Really sad, but this is true.
yeah.
agreed.
Oh, Get over it!!!! He is a Senator with one vote. He voted against retroactive immunity, as he said he would. Unfortunately, not enough senators stood with him and others to pass that. Voting "no" on the whole bill would not have meant it would be defeated. It would have passed.. And then , God forbid, we had a terrorist attack, he would be blamed. In the debates, he would be shown as not carrying enough about our safety to vote for the surveillance program. Most Americans do not follow all the nuances of every surveillance bill. They just see, "He wants to protect us" or "He doesn't." He had no choice. Blame the house of reps and Pelosi who came up with this abomination in the first place. Write your reps and senators (I have) and raise holy hell. Support the ACLU lawsuit. I am. But I am not going to blame Barack Obama for this bill. He is not the President, only the nominee and he has to win first. Think about getting us out of this war, think about getting us straight on energy, think about getting us universal health care, think about using diplomacy to restore our standing in the world. Think about a middle class tax cut and a 4,000 tuitiion credit for every student every year. Think about old folks making less that 50,000 not having to pay federal taxes. Think about broadband lines all across this country. Vote Obama 08
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