Why Are YOU an Obama Groupie?

In an American Thinker article, writer Ian Rock challenges Obama fans to put their "feelings aside" and explain why they love Obama so damn much--aside from his seductive charm, of course. As a dedicated supporter, I wasn't going to pass on the chance to explain myself, and so I've written an open letter to him, because I don't think he's giving us enough credit. And I think we should all reply in one way or another. Anyone care to join me?

You can find my response and his original letter here.

Yes We Can!

Comments

[DemandTruth]

Please! All this hashing and rehashing of "My politician is less corrupt than yours" is getting so old! There is corruption, frankly, to be found in both candidates. EVEN MORE SO in the Republican candidates. There have been unsavory compromises and backroom deals. This might as well be the DEFINITION of "politician" for goodness sake! Considering the actual duties of the President (NOT counting Bush- he hasn't done ANYTHING a President is supposed to do, and has done EVERYTHING a President isn't supposed to do) there won't be any difference between Obama and Clinton. They don't write the laws, they sign them (or not). They don't make policy, they guide policy. They are the face of the country, and delegate the actual governing to cabinet members. So. It is up to the PEOPLE to make sure OUR representatives (employees) are doing OUR bidding! WE have the power, as stated in the Constitution (of, by, for, and all that). We need a President who inspires the people to get involved and STAY involved in the process. In that regard, I believe Obama is the best choice. Other than that, there's not too much difference - except the War of course. What's the difference between McCain and Hillary regarding the war? What's the difference between McCain and Obama? These things need to be considered. But do I think the law/policy would be any different with Obama vs. Clinton? Not so much. What we need to do is start supporting progressive LEGISLATORS in their bid to widen the majority in Congress. THEN maybe we'll see some real progress in this country.

ps. A president didn't write the Consitution of the United States. The PEOPLE did.

[COwoman]

I have no idea why Huffpost has seemed to have lost this post. It is important and missing in action.
Please read:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/senator-barack-obama-resp_b_85428.html

[afgail]

Correction: Obama ran virtually unopposed in the general election for US senate. His Republican opponent was indicted and withdrew from the race. The Republicans put up Alan Keyes, a Maryland resident, to run for the senate in Illinois. Obama ran virtually unopposed. So he is really a blank page - an empty suit.

[NoMoreDrama]

Mark Penn, CEO of the global PR firm Burson-Marsteller (B-M) and president of the polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates (PSB),
Hillary Clinton had hired him as a "key strategic adviser," even though B-M has a specialist unit that advises clients on defeating union campaigns.
A little digging reveals that, for well over two decades, both Penn and his opinion polling company have advised the tobacco industry on how to counter the campaigns of the tobacco control movement.
Another longstanding client of PSB, as PSA became known after Michael Berland joined the firm, is the world's largest private tobacco company, Philip Morris (PM). Like RJR, PM had tried to mobilize "grassroots" opposition to tobacco control measures. It was a strategy that relied on using a front group — in PM's case the National Smokers Alliance — to shore up political opposition to reforms while it attempted to rebuild its political defenses via traditional lobbying and PR campaigns.
In addition to the tobacco industry, PSB has worked for clients on other controversial projects. In one 1994 document, the firm listed its work in advising the American Nuclear Energy Council on developing "a proactive strategy to limit opposition to further study of the [Yucca Mountain nuclear waste] storage facility, and for immediate acceptance."
Another campaign was for the oil company, Texaco, on "key regulatory issues affecting the oil industry including gasoline taxes, alternative fuels and reformulated mandates, and global warming."

That's why I will never ever Vote for a Clinton again. Not even Chelsea.

[afgail]

I wish I was wrong, but Obama in not the Mr. goody two shoes he proports to be. When he first ran for the state senate he sent a bunch of lawyers to the election office to disqulaify his opponents. He succeeded in getting all four of his Democratic opponents removed from the ballot. In Chicago the Democratic primary is the election ergo he ran unopposed. He also ran virtually unopposed for the US Senate in the primary.

Just wait until the Republican hate machine gets ahold of his legal work for Chicago slumlord, Rezko. Then there is his shady real estate deal with Rezko. And finally his middle name and early childhood education is grist for the Swiftboat mill. Obama supporters need to be careful what they wish for. Obama has had a pass from the press, but the Republicans will not be so sanguine.

[slg]

The not2swift boating republicans need the press to spread their message. We'll see if the Press goes along with the slimeballs this time.

[charlot]

I can only speak for myself, of course, but I am not a "groupie" of any candidate, nor have I ever been. However, I DO see something in Obama that I haven't seen in any candidate in AGES, and that is what appears to me to be a good combination of sincerity, intelligence, knowledge of the world (including history and geography), and a willingness to listen to others. Our current "leader" certainly has none of these qualities, and I don't believe that any of the rest of the current crop of candidates has them all, either. Yes, there is intelligence, but I just don't see anything but more of the same of what we have now (pandering to the religious right and corporate interests, neglecting our infrastructure and education so we can throw more money at this god-awful, endless war, etc.) if any of the others gets in there.
Another thing I like about Obama is that he doeesn't appear to pander, and he doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve like so many others do, which REALLY gets on my nerves, not to mention gives me the creeps.
I look at Obama as a breath of fresh air after eight years of a nightmare, much the same way I did Bill Clinton after 12 years of Reagan/Bush I. Of course, Clinton disappointed me, but still, I miss having a smart person in the White House. I would love to see one in there again.

[BitJam]

Read in the Washington Post about how he put his heart and soul behind a law to stop police beatings of suspects in custody. The first law of its kind in our nation that got passed because Obama could reach across party lines:

Judge Him by His Laws

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html

Or read in the New Yorker about how his skills as a listener have enabled him to get diverse groups of people to give him their trust even if they don't always agree with him:

Where is Barack Obama coming from?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/07/070507fa_fact_macfarquhar?printable=true

Or read about his early years doing community organizing in one of the toughest areas of our nation:

Where Obama got his charisma

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080111.wobama-cover12/BNStory/Front/?pageRequested=all

[editrix66]

This is why I support him, not because he gives a good speech, although his words do inspire me. He was a good legislator for our state, he has a brilliant mind, and he has always been able to get people together to get things done. We are tired of gridlock, and we also need a leader who expects our country's citizens to do something more than demonize the other side. An empty suit, who is just rhetoric? I think the opposite. His incredible command of rhetoric will mobilize people, but the important points are his ideas, leadership, and pragmatism honed while working as a community organizer, teacher, and legislator. I am not a groupie. I was demoralized after the failure of the 1992 healthcare push, and I am worried about the horrible problems this country faces. Obama does not represent some pie in the sky candidate for me, but he does offer change, not because he is black or younger. I could care less about that, but because of his approach to policy enaction. I think he is a great leader. He is not the Messiah, and I am sick of people minimizing his supporters as gaga fans. People are excited because he offers a different approach to our problems, a less cynical approach.

[LoRiseAntlers]

I supprot him because Edwards dropped out of the race,and I prefer him over Clinton.As for the 'cult-like' behavior that Jake Tapper,Joe Klein and their ilk are going on about,I have to say I haven't seen any other Obama supporters I know,and that's well over fifty people,exhibit anything of the sort.I see very enthuastic people,who believe they've finally found an honest politician who will be a transformational president.The MSM have no other way to describe what has become a movement,so they'll just attack and denigrate it.

[Jazz42]

I'm a Senator Obama supporter as well. I agree with you 100%

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

This is the latest campaign strategy (or at least a new emphasis on an old strategy) to try to derail Obama. Expect more Clinton surrogates to talk about how cultish Obama supporters are and how their hyper-enthusiasm is based on the same emotions which used to make fans scream and faint at 'N Sync concerts.

But here's some change we can believe in that won't fit on a button or bumper sticker:

President Obama will . . .

shut down Guantanamo,

withdraw the troops next year,

restore habeas corpus,

provide affordable health care to every American who wants it,

cap greenhouse gas emissions,

end illegal wiretapping,

end all torture,

raise teachers' pay,

provide better benefits for veterans,

and OK, so he'll also give great speeches that inspire along the lines of "ask not what your country can do for you." Is that so bad?

[Jazz42]

I agree with your comments.

[patb]

I say him and what army? A Congress with a backbone would help.

[Pieface]

How's he going to raise teachers' pay? Pay is determined by school districts (property taxes).
Does he intend to make teachers government employees?

[BitJam]

It is the Republican filibusters that have made Congress appear weak. In order to break them we need to be able to get a handful of moderate Republican senators to work with us. Read some of the links I posted above to learn why Obama's innate skills and experience make him the best qualified candidate for this task.

Hillary Clinton couldn't even get her health care plan passed by a Democratic Congress. Since that time, there has been a lot of bad blood between the Clintons and the Republicans. Do you really think she is the best person we've got to appeal to Republican senators? How did she do in the red states on Super Tuesday?

[ryanmark23]

It's super you can list what he WILL do but it'd be even more impressive if you could list what he has done. Once complete, we'll compare that list to any of the other Democrats who are and were running for President. Get to work SamanthaJane.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

Well, I don't know why the race isn't down to Obama and Joe Biden. That's *experience*! Maybe because Senators who say they've done a lot usually have just talked a lot-- talked about amendments, quorums (whatever those are), bills going to committee, earmarks, other boring C-SPAN stuff. Most of the time the Senate chamber is nearly empty, and a Senator doesn't even have to *speak* for her or his speeches to be part of the official record-- just submit the text.

The point? We don't elect Presidents entirely on their record. And that's not necessarily such a bad thing because you can spend 35 years resume-building instead of actually doing something.

But, if you insist, Obama brought about sweeping ethics reform, proposed a bill for withdrawal of troops from Iraq (so he has already tried to get us out), passed health care legislation in Illinois, groundbreaking anti-deathy penalty and anti-racial profiling laws, and also as a part of the U.S. Senate has passed bipartisan legislation to reduce nuclear weapons. He has taught constitutional law, was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, and as a community organizer in the tough streets on the south side of Chicago, helped out-of-work steelworkers and was also a civil rights attorney.

Hillary is admirable too, but up until 2001, her contributions were as First Lady of Arkansas and First Lady of the United States, roles she redefined but nevertheless filled rather than pursuing a riskier career in elected office which would have affected more change and allowed her to better realize her considerable talents.