Why I'm Endorsing Barack Obama
I was privileged to be presidential candidate John Edwards' Senior Economic Policy Advisor, but today I am just as honored to endorse Senator Barack Obama. And I do so for precisely the same reasons I long and enthusiastically supported and helped John Edwards.
At Senator's Obama's very core, and at the core of his Campaign and its economic policies, are his abiding commitments to working men and women and to economic fairness. And the critically important policy issues associated with his core values, and how he proposes to specifically address them, are what are now defining the national election.
Like John Edwards, Barack Obama seeks effective public policy aimed at sustained growth, full employment, an end to poverty, and progress toward solving the major social and environmental problems associated with health care, education, trade, taxation and climate change.
Barack Obama believes in change, but not change for change's sake or change, as some are proposing, in the guise of tried but failed policies. His belief in change is all about the American Dream being once again every American's dream.
Barack Obama believes in vigorously enforcing our existing domestic labor laws and standards. He believes in all workers having an easy and unrestricted ability to join a union, including part-time and contract workers. And he believes in affording low-wage workers the "mobility" they need in order to earn something more than low wages.
Barack Obama believes in fairer and more progressive individual income taxation, taxation which will see every American once again paying his or her fair share. How can anyone but the wealthiest of Americans be satisfied with an economy which has seen forty percent of all economic growth over the past 20 years go to only the top one percent of American families? Where half of the nation's individual income now goes to just 2% of the taxpayers?
Barack Obama believes in incentivizing American companies to create and retain high-quality jobs here in America, instead of unnecessarily and often unfairly shipping millions of them overseas.
And Barack Obama believes that U.S. trade agreements must provide clear and measurable benefits for American workers. He believes that in order for free trade to also be fair trade, trade agreements must incorporate reasonable labor and environmental standards and prohibit illegal subsidies and currency manipulation. He believes that in negotiating trade agreements, "one size does not fit all" - it never has - and that trade agreements which are not vigorously enforced are not agreements at all, they are just so much paper.
It was inspiring for me to be John Edwards' Senior Economic Policy Advisor. But the issues and the solutions that were important to us in the Edwards Campaign, and which have been embraced by millions of working Americans and taxpayers, are also Senator Obama's. And so I invite every worker, labor and business leader, voter and economist who wanted John Edwards to be president to now help Barack Obama in his Campaign.
Barack Obama will be a president of the ages and for all ages.
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If Edwards or Hillary hooks up with "Barry," except in the most rudimentary way to support
"the Democrat," I will lose respect for them.
Star123, it's a shame you're opting out on the greatest polical sea change in a generation! Your loss.
Star123 if not opting out of a great "political sea change," he just isn't falling for Obama's baloney.
Wow Mr. Hindery, according to you Obama sure does believe in a lot of things. It's a shame he doesn't have any way to make it all happen right before our eyes.
I don't want a president who just believes in a lot of things.
I want solutions.
Or, maybe it's a shame that he's such a BARGAINER and refuses to say what he actually believes.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01112008/watch2.html
Does it really matter, considering the fact that Clinton nor Obama will win in November, and never had a chance of winning? Wait until the media turns on Obama once THEY get him nominated.
The news media is already working on Obama. Especially Sean Adolf Hannity. Just listen to Sean Adolf's shows.The right is wanting everyone to vote for Hillery because they know that she can't win against McCain.The best bet to get the right upset is to vote for OBAMA,and don't to conservitive talk shows. I'am pulling for Obama. Love tight presidencial races.
Once Hillary is gone, they must have a new darling. Guess who THAT will be? You don't REALLY expect ANYONE to cry for the repub's demise in the coming elections, do you? Or - do you...?
What in the hell are you talking about?
The media piled on Edwards and focused ONLY ON CLINTON AND OBAMA during the primaries to suck the life out of any chance that Edwards had by diverting ALL ATTENTION away from him unless it was towards his HAIR.
After Edwards dropped out, the media turned it's hatred of Democrats to Clinton.
When she's gone that venom will be turned on Barack Hussein Obama and all you will hear about is Rezko, William Ayers and the Weather Underground, Obama's unscreened campaign contributions from middle eastern countries like Iran, and the fact that Barack Obama is just now beginning his 3rd year in the U.S. Senate and they will begin pushing the meme that he CAN WAIT and McCain is the "SAFER CHOICE."
The public will buy it all, and they will never elect President a black man with "HUSSEIN" in his name. It's not going to happen.
If you want a black candidate to run for President, you better give Colin Powell a call, because middle America ain't going for no other one.
Thank you. I have always felt that Obama is a populist at heart, even if his rhetoric is less divisive than some (Paul Krugman, for example) would prefer. Your endorsement gives strong support to this view. In fact, maybe you should ring Krugman up and try to get him to chill out.
I also hope your old boss joins you soon.
If John Edwards joins this man he will lose any credibility that he had as a fighter for the underdog. Obama is rhetoric on the subject, and no action just as his campaign advisor told the Canadian government.
Excerpt from a NPR report on the Obama's involvements with Tony Rezko:
'Woodlawn was partners with Rezko in four low-income housing projects with hundreds of units. In at least one instance, in 1994, Obama represented Woodlawn on a troubled project it later shared with Rezko. The city of Chicago sued, alleging Woodlawn failed to provide tenants with heat in the winter, and Obama represented the landlord in court.
Obama, meanwhile, was entering politics, announcing his run for the Illinois Senate in 1995. Rezko was there to help, donating the first $2,000 to Obama in July 1995.'
Yawn - AGAIN? Try something new, noodles. Hillary was in the Walmart-board. So what? Where's the beef?
I know, it's a shame, but Jesus Christ himself wasn't free, actually, to respond to the electorate's call for change this year. But I am absolutely shure that the second best will also do a fine job.
Obama '08..
These charges have already been investigated and doesn't look like there is anything to it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012203513_pf.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0704230648apr24,1,671186.story
And of course McCain and Clinton are both squeaky clean.
This excerpt is inaccurate. He represented the church groups that entered into the program with Rezko. He billed 5 hours. He admitted to being a casual friend of Tony Rezko. He has answered question after question, but I don't get you Clintonistas.
Most Obama supporters would never sit for the many hours necessary to talk about Norman Hsu, The Rose Law Firm, Whitewater, the MacDoogals, cattle futures, uranium in Kazakhistan, blue dresses, etc, etc.
I'll never vote for the nasty b*tch. She has less class than a Thai pimp.
Forgot the Rich's or the pardons for her brothers little friends.
I was with you, nodding yes yes....and wha tabout her current TWO LAWSUITS that NO ONE has mentioned? ....right up to that last misogynist paragraph.
He was much more than a casual friend, as you will find out during the Rezko trial.
Are you sure? Obama is starting to look more and more like a two faced politician. Have his economic adviser tell Canada in secret Just forget what you hear the campaign say in Ohio. Deny the meeting took place only to have to admit it did. Now, his economic adviser says his statements misinterpreted. Like nobody in Canada speaks English as a first language. It will be business as usual. Just another two faced politician.
Obviously, you are watching media the rest of us doesn't have access to. I don't see the tiniest bit of info, that could support your point of view in the daily media. Would you please be so kind to reveal your sources to us, please? Just for the records, you know...
Your analysis is correct, Trace8089. When first confronted with the accusation of the meeting, both Obama and the Canadian embassy said that the meeting had never taken place. Then, when the memo of the meeting was released, along with the name of the writer of the memo who was present at the meeting, Obama had to backtrack and admit the meeting took place. Now, his new story is that although the meeting took place, the memo is not accurate. He is also saying that his chief economic advisor who was at the meeting was not there to speak for the Obama campaign, but just happened to be there to tour the embassy. This kind of doublespeak is an insult to the American public.
And Obama is trying to make everyone think that the 137 votes he voted "present" for in Illinois instead of taking a stand and voting For or Against on really weren't that important. I suppose as unimportant as his missing the vote to declare the Iranian Guard a terrorist group. More and more, Obama comes across as a sly politician, ducking from taking a stand on serious issues. Whether you agree with Hillary or not on someof her votes, at least she stood up and was counted. There's plenty of so-called progressives who say that if Hillary gets the nomination, they'll vote for McCain because McCain says what he believes, overlooking the fact that what he believes is a continuation of the Iraq war, denying a woman a right to an abortion and denying Gays equal rights. I'd rather vote for a woman who's made some bad choices, her husband being the worst, than some so-called Straight Talk Express old man who's values go against everything I believe in.
Jumping on the frontrunners bandwagon doesn't make you much of an advisor.
If Hillary wins the nomination, you'll have jumped ship from one losing campaign to another.
All candidates make promises.
LBJ's the only one so far that has delivered it all.
The rest of them are all bullshitting.
I'm sure as LBJ ran, there were more than a few who thought he would fail. Don't you think? Can something like that not happen again? Or just not in this time? How do we know?
Thank you Mr. Hindery! Supporters of Sen. Obama are looking forward to seeing the two collaborate in the coming years for the benefit of the American people.
You people are delusional if you think this country is ever going to elect President a black man with "HUSSEIN" in his name or a woman who's married to "BILL CLINTON."
The media suckered you morons right into the trap of "HUSSEIN" and "CLINTON," two things that on the very SURFACE will turn off many voters.
God, you people fall for it every year, and I'm frankly sick of you SCREWING UP each freaking election!
You don't believe in the ability to actually change this country, so I don't expect you to understand the movement.
Worse than that, you insult those who support either of these candidates by insinuating that not only can America NOT rise above racism and misogyny to chose what's truly best for the country, but that these supporters are not intelligent enough to know better.
Dean was the better candidate in '04, but the media told us he was angry and not good enough for the office, so we did the "smart" thing and went with John Kerry. Didn't get GWB out of office and didn't change a damn thing for this country.
We don't need to repeat that same mistake. Obama represents a clean break from the political rules of old at long last. If we keep coming out in record numbers, and join our voice with his to say: WE WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, we can get something different.
You can change a political climate by playing the old rules.
Here's hoping Texans and Ohioans do all they can to put this one out of the reach of the old school Washington establishment and go Obama today....
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