I'm joining my 21 year old son and virtually all his friends

[cali]

I'm supporting Obama. Obama has walked the walk, not merely talked the talk. Yes, he speaks to the politics of inclusion, but he's a fighter, and a really smart one at that. He's taken on the unstoppable Clinton machine- and he's slowed it down considerably. He's dealt with the slurs and racism thrown his way with dignity, not whining, despite what his detractors say. He brings new voters and independents into the fold. He attracts young voters like a magnet. And no, they're not all naive suckers.

Obama is a liberal/progressive and both his life before politics and his record in politics, supports that. I'm impressed by his foregoing great wealth for a life as a community organizer in one of the country's poorest neighborhoods, and as a lawyer practicing law for the good of the disenfranchised.

Obama has a rare quality: Call it leadership or charisma or just an ability to connect with people. That's invaluable for a president. It amplifies his/her message. And a good part of the job is using the bully pulpit effectively. He'll be able to work with the Congress.

He has plenty of experience. He has judgment. He has a sharp intelligence and good instincts. He has humor.

Is he perfect? Of course not. None of them are. I don't like his skipping votes, particularly K/L. Is he the crude stick figure corporatist that some people make him out to be? No. That's simply campaign garbage. He also has an extraordinary foreign policy team. And that says a lot to me. Anthony Lake and Samantha Powers will be in his administration.

And of vital importance to me, Obama spoke out clearly against war at the time of the IWR. Would he have voted for it if he'd been in the Senate? I'll never know that for sure, and neither will anyone else. But I do know that all the other Senators and the ex-Senator in the race, did vote for it. And they defended the war for an unconscionable amount of time.

For all these reasons, and some intangibles, I'm supporting the Senator for Illinois.

[Colobo]

1. Gobamaaaaaaa!!!! Welcome to the O-Train, cali!

[cali]

4. Glad to join you, katz. n/t

[Hope And Change]

2. K&R.Big thanks Cali for supporting Barack Obama!

:toast:

[babylonsister]

3. Great post and I agree!

:applause:

[cali]

5. thanks babylonsister,

I know we have our differences, but here we are supporting the same guy.

[babylonsister]

10. That makes it even more remarkable!

:evilgrin: Yes, we have had our differences, but I'm happy to see some of the brighter DUers such as yourself supporting the obvious winning candidate. This also gives me hope! :thumbsup:
That said, give me a Dem, any Dem for the win. It is that important.

[Sulawesi]

6. Huzzah!

[WillParkinson]

7. Before anyone jumps on me...

I have not chosen a candidate (in fact I'm not fond of any of them at the moment)...But this quote has me thinking:

"Obama has a rare quality: Call it leadership or charisma or just an ability to connect with people. That's invaluable for a president. It amplifies his/her message. And a good part of the job is using the bully pulpit effectively. He'll be able to work with the Congress.

He has plenty of experience. He has judgment. He has a sharp intelligence and good instincts. He has humor."


Isn't this pretty much what people said about Bush when he was running? (I know it was Republicans, but still...)

[Colobo]

9. Obama is obviously intelligent. Bush has never been such thing.

[WillParkinson]

19. Again, sorry...

But I'll just have to take your word for it. For an "intelligent" man he's made some pretty strange/bad decisions.

(And, again, so have all the other candidates so I'm not picking on Obama.)

And I don't think he has the necessary experience for the White House. If he was running for my senator or representative? Yes, I'd give it serious consideration. But I don't think he's got the "world stage" experience to be president. Yet.

[JuniperLea]

100. I have to agree...

And as to the intelligent remark, they were indeed saying that about GWBush... the smartest thing they every did was to change the meme to say he was the candidate most would like to have a beer with.

I'll probably make up my mind when I have the ballot in front of me... I'm fairly underwhelmed with them all at the moment.

[LordJFT]

132. do you think kennedy did?

[cali]

13. Hmm. Interesting that you cherry picked one little bit out of my post

Did I give other reasons? Why yes, I do believe I did. Oh, and nope, I never heard anyone say they were supporting bush for those reasons. But seeing as you're just sooo sure, you'll have no problems providing lots of evidence for that.

What a lame and limp comment.

[WillParkinson]

39. Call it what you want

But since you asked:

"There's something about a take-charge, charismatic, decisive, inspirational leader" (http://www.rachelmarsden.net/columns/bushcanada.html)

"You, in '96, I was told that you went on the air or something and basically anointed that George W. Bush was a guy to watch, that he was going to be a contender for the president. What is that story?

After 25 years, or however, doing this, at the national level you have a sense of what leadership is, what national leadership is, what heavy-duty executive abilities are. And I looked around at the landscape, and it wasn't just out of affection for this family, and him in particular...He just had it all. He has the charisma, he had the leadership abilities,"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2000/bush/matalin.html

And I didn't "cherry pick" that out. That's the part that struck me the most. I don't agree with any candidate yet. I will support whomever it is. If Obama is selected he will get my support 100%, even though I do not think he has the experience necessary to be the president.

Did I dismiss your choice? No. I merely pointed out that point was the same thing I'd read about Bush in 2000. Sorry if I rained on your parade.

[cali]

51. LOL! That's the best you could do?

Not even close to what I said- not to mention that my OP was full of other reasons that I supported him.

Pathetic but funny.

:rofl:

[WillParkinson]

55. Did I say it wasn't?

As I said, that particular point caught my eye. I did not say Obama was not any of the other stuff you listed, did I?

Sorry if you see it as "pathetic". Seems as though only one of us actually is attempting to ask a question. The other seems content with name calling.

Good luck in the election, though. I hope your candidate has more tolerance than his supporters seem to.

[H2O Man]

67. Perhaps, cali, you

could reassure all eight democrats who see George W. Bush whe they look at Senator Obama that he is unlikely to pick Dick Cheney for VP if he wins the nomination. That may be the type of logic needed to reach them.

[ellisonz]

107. They are cousins!

And family is important to Barack Obama...

:sarcasm:

[Evergreen Emerald]

14. I agree with you. People choose candidates

because of quailifications that better suit a Nanny for the kids. "Kind", "inspiring," "warm," "a good speaker," "makes me feel good," "charisma."

Obama may be all of those things. And those things do not make him Presidential.

I look at his voting record, his past statements versus his actions, his behavior of late. And he is lacking in qualities that make a good President.

[WillParkinson]

28. You mean like:

"any psychologists, sociologists and historians argue that Americans are prone to believe in the Great Person theory--the idea that if a person has the correct personality traits, his instincts will lead to the correct actions regardless of the details of a given situation. However, research shows that no character trait--not courage, charisma or self-confidence--correlates well with effective leadership as defined by historians. For example, Dean Simonton studied 100 personal attributes of all US Presidents, including their personality traits, and found that only one variable--intelligence--correlated with presidential effectiveness as measured by historians."

(From http://www.teresi.us/html/writing/bush.html)

[Evergreen Emerald]

46. Exactly. I see story after story and thread after thread

about how nice Obama is and how "cold" Clinton is. For one thing, I don't buy it--sexist stuff that. But also, BFD. We are choosing a President, not a nanny.

[JuniperLea]

103. People are so confused...

I hear you, and I agree completely. The measuring stick being used is better suited for Mary Poppins... didn't hers say: "Practically Perfect in Every Way"?




I'd much prefer a president who has spent his or her time becoming strong in qualities such as business administration, finance, sociology, world history, US history, etc.... anyone who had so much time to spend on being cutsie and charming, didn't spend enough time learning other things, imho.

Remember when Gore was called "Al Bore"? Please. Give me boring any day, keep charming for the toddlers.

[ellisonz]

109. Wow...you drank the kool-aid.

[JuniperLea]

113. Nope... I'm a non-drinker n/t

[ellisonz]

116. Dehydration?

[JuniperLea]

121. Note: insults do not help your candidate...

in fact, insults are counterproductive to anything you may hope to achieve.

[ellisonz]

123. Hillary for nanny!

[JuniperLea]

126. I'm leaning Edwards, actually... Never been a Hill fan... eom

[Name removed]

115. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JuniperLea]

120. Yet you felt compelled to insult me yet again...

I should start keeping count.

[Windy]

35. And I and many others have looked long and hard a Clinton's voting record

which is abysmal in her ongoing support for the Iraq war and promotion of a possible war with Iran...

[Evergreen Emerald]

47. And many others are just repeating false and distorted talking points

and making their decisions not based on fact, but regurgitating lies as if fact.

[Windy]

64. There is a term in psychology that applies to you and a few other clinton supporters

Its called transference. There is nothing false or distorted when discussing the facts concerning Clinton's voting record on Iraq and Iran.

[Evergreen Emerald]

138. there absolutely is Windy. You are just mimicking talking points

her IWR vote was extremely complicated. I suggest you read her speech sometime soon, before you continue to repeat those superficial talking points.

Your psychological evaluation: via the internet, wow you must be a good doctor to be able to diagnose via the internet.

[jakem]

40. Bush was elected for his "have a beer with" quality.

not that i get that at all. id rather drink with Obama, and piss in Bush's beer.

no one ever accused bush of intelligence, instinct, or judgement. or experience. or humor (does laughing AT count?)

[Evergreen Emerald]

44. Lmao!

That was funny, except I am way to visual for my own good.

[WillParkinson]

45. No decent person, no

But plenty of Republicans said it. (Yes, this is just one quote. There are others, but Mary Matalin had this nauseating bit.)

He has the charisma, he had the leadership abilities, he showed how to get elected, how to get reelected, how to unite the base with a very fractured party, then how to reach beyond the base, into non-traditional, Republican cohorts. The party was destined for perpetual minority status unless we were able to do that. So I looked at the one and only guy around the country from a state, not a little state but a big state, that had all the problems that the country has, and it just kind of presented--that presence presented itself as the future for the party.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2000/bush/matalin.html

[progressivebydesign]

95. I hear ya.. I've seen nothing but that "charisma" argument regarding Obama.

I have yet to really read or see anything about him that makes me think he has a plan. He's got that 'likability' thing.. He's getting the young vote because of his rock star status. I started to like him because a few people I knew liked him early on, but I just can't quite wrap my head around what exactly he's really offering.

[ellisonz]

111. OK.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

[mzmolly]

131. I never heard those words spoken about Bush.

Not sure what 'people' you're talking about? I thought he was a dangerous idiot.

[Crunchy Frog]

134. No, I can't recall that people did say that about Bush.

I think everybody pretty much knew he was an idiot who only got anywhere because of his daddy.

[Dawgs]

8. Great Post cali. You have always been one of my favorites.

Well, you and FrenchieCat.

[trotsky]

11. So you were able to get past the McClurkin incident? n/t

[cboy4]

16. I don't think non-gays care because it doesn't affect their

lives.

Oh well.

[Colobo]

21. Obama will fight for all of us.

[cali]

22. It affects my life. And you have a lot of nerve telling me I don't

care because I'm not gay. If you knew my history, you wouldn't say that.

[cboy4]

23. I'm not saying you in particular. I'm saying Obama

supporters in general.

[Colobo]

26. You're wrong, cboy. I don't have to go into details

but I do care, and many of us do. However, we don't think the McClurkin incident reflects what Obama will do as president.

[cboy4]

34. Katzenkavalier, why are you so confident Obama won't

screw over gay people in office if it's politically advantageous?

Isn't that why he screwed over gay people on the campaign trail concerning McClurkin?

How am I supposed to trust Obama?

I think these are fair questions.


edit: typo

[bigscott]

36. ditto

thanks cboy4

[trotsky]

41. I can't get a reasoned answer to that, either.

So good luck.

[Colobo]

42. Because his record in public office suggests otherwise.

I'll be glad to send you a link with his record on civil rights if your like.

[cboy4]

49. Katzenkavalier, one can have outstanding record

when it comes to advocating against drinking and driving.

But that outstanding record is tarnished if the person makes the decision to drink and drive despite being warned.

Apologies are good, but apologies don't reestablish trust.


edit...fix another typo. arghh

[Colobo]

50. I don't think your analogy works very well, but I respect your opinion.

[ellisonz]

112. Wouldn't that analogy also apply to a certain...

Big headed San Francisco Giant?

[jakem]

43. wow. not you, just your kind. nice.

[cboy4]

85. I know it sounds harsh, but sometimes the truth hurts.

Ya know?

[ruggerson]

69. Your words on this board speak otherwise, cali

n/t

[Dawgs]

27. Bullshit. I'm a non-gay that has many gay friends.

I know that Obama will fight just as hard as anyone else for GLBT rights. And yes, the whole McClurkin incident bothered me.

[cboy4]

32. Why do you think he'll fight as hard as anyone else?

And can you understand how gay people might be skeptical?

I mean, what's to say he won't act a certain way in office if it's politically advantageous?

[bigscott]

17. yeah

I don't get how that falls into the Big Tent, inclusion thing. But since I am gay it probably does not matter to most BHO supporters what I think anyway:yoiks:

[Dawgs]

29. Well, you are wrong.

[bigscott]

31. i am happy to be wrong on this then

thanks Dawgs

[cali]

18. yes. and yes, that kept me from supporting him for quite some time.

I do not believe that a President Obama would do anything but stand up for rights for all people.

[bigscott]

20. can you explain how you got from

Point A to Point B on that issue?

[cali]

25. yes. I thought his refusal to cancel that concert was a mistake

but I did not see it as dog whistle politics. I can certainly understand that others would do so, but when I examined his past and his record, I felt that it was not an effort to attract anti-GBLT AA voters.

[bigscott]

30. but don't you think

is shows a tolerance for intolerance?

Personally I am not a one-issue person but when people believe I could have saved myself all the pain of coming out as a gay man if I just let god make me straight, I have an issue with it. And I have a problem with people that buy into that line of BS too.

Believe me I spent a lot of time praying to be straight before i realized no higher power could change me

Just wondering - and thanks for caring - but it is hard for a straight person to really understand. I bet no matter how hard you prayed, you could not become gay.

[cali]

37. No of course I couldn't become gay

and I don't speak about the personal much on this board, but I'll let you know that I had a dearly beloved cousin who, when I was a teen, killed himself- almost certainly because he was gay. He was a brilliant, funny wildly talented pianist. And that experience has shaped my life in so many ways. If I actually believed that Obama tolerated intolerance in any kind of intrinsic way, I couldn't support him. Gay and lesbian folks have been and are a big, big part of my life. I literally wouldn't be alive if it weren't for a dear friend of mine who happens to be gay. I spent over a year here in VT working on getting marriage rights with the GBLT community. We ended up with civil unions, but we're still working on changing that.

[bigscott]

48. There but for the Grace of God

I am sorry about your cousin. I applaud your efforts for the GLBT community. But I am having a very hard time reconciling this issue. I have no dog in this fight anymore. BHO was my choice earlier but right now I am not comfortable with any of the candidates other than DK (yeah i know)

If BHO came out and said he made a mistake it would make a world of difference to me - and how sad is it that i would settle for that?

All i ask from my political leaders is if they cannot support EQUAL rights for the GLBT in all aspects of life, then at least "do no harm". And the good reverend does a LOT of harm to my community

[cboy4]

54. And you should be having a very hard time

"reconciling this issue," just like many of us are.

It's nice to hear straight people who support Obama say they care about gay people and gay issues.

And I don't doubt that they do.

But when push comes to shove, if something disappointing happens concerning gay civil liberties, it's a lot easier for straight people to get over it.

That's why it's a lot easier for straight people to support and trust Obama in light of the McClurkin incident.

[trotsky]

38. The incident, plus:

A) a total lack of any kind of apology from him or his campaign
and
B) the comment from the campaign of "we got what we wanted out of it"

exposes the event for what it was: a raw political calculation to attract bigoted voters at the expense of a traditionally strong Democratic bloc. Especially given A) above, I just cannot get past it. I hope Obama does not get the nomination.

[jefferson_dem]

12. Welcome aboard, cali!

This is a choice you won't regret. Obama will make us all proud.

[Virginia Dare]

15. If he is the nominee, I will proudly support him....n/t

[Mass]

24. Great post, Cali. Thanks for a positive post.

Another reason that I prefer Obama to Edwards and Clinton is that he is the only one proposing something new that reflects the 21 rst century.

Edwards is proposing to return to a more favorable past and Clinton is proposing to tweak the system to make it better. For a long time, I have been expecting somebody who understands that the mid 60s are passed and that we need a step that is both as audacious as what was done then, but that also sees that we need to evolve. Obama provides that, in my opinion, better than the two other main candidates.

BTW, my 18 year old son is going to vote for the first time on Feb 5th and he is supporting him as well.

[Windy]

33. Wonderful, intelligent, well reasoned post!

Congrat Cali. I know if was a difficult decision considering our field of candidates.

[hayu_lol]

56. Cali, no matter who you are stumping with...

yer gonna have a heck of a good time doing this with your son and his friends.

Now, as to Mr Obama:

Leadership means making decisions, taking stands, and Obama does not do well with firm decisions, taking stands, and the rest does he?

Votes, not for or against bills/resolutions/people, but just present. No blame sticks to the man/woman who does this.

Agaist Lobbyists, but has hired one of the best of the breed to give him advice. Not a good move. Shows indecisiveness and confusion in his own mind.

Neither of these are fatal, but they surely give people to pause for thought over it.

He was opposed to the war, but wasn't a Senator at the time so who cares. He has almost joyfully funded all the spending bills that Bush threw at him. Oh yeah, I forgot, Obama does not paint himself into a corner.

Smart? Absolutely. Well educated? Absolutely. Character? Needs some basic work. Makes decisions? Nah, votes to cover his ass.

Time to reconsider Hillary.

[Renew Deal]

52. Good for you.

I didn't see that coming. I didn't get the sense you liked him.

[BeyondGeography]

53. He's a good man

My experience is he lifts you up 50 or so times for those rare occasions when he lets you down, and this process is bringing out the best in him. He's a rare talent, a once-in-a-lifetime, if not once-in-a-century candidate. A combination of biography, seriousness of purpose and intellectual and political skills that set him apart.

And, yeah, people love him.

[flpoljunkie]

57. Very well said, cali! Thanks for your post. K&R.

[RoadRage]

58. Yup...

I'm with you too... I just hope the rest of the country hops on our wagon and heads to the polls!

Obama...08!

[mtnsnake]

59. Nice post, and you did it without making it all about Hillary.

If Obama becomes President, all Democrats will be hoping for the same things you are, that he'll become a great leader.

[cali]

61. Thank you, snakie.

And if Clinton gets the nomination, she has my support.

[mtnsnake]

73. No problem

:thumbsup:

[Jennifer C]

60. Excellent decision, Cali

Obama is 2nd on my list, just behind Biden.

I believe they would both make great presidents, and I trust them both.

Good luck to your guy :thumbsup:

[cali]

62. And good luck to Biden. Beyond Obama winning tonight, nothing

would make me happier than seeing Biden break into the top tier. He impresses me again and again.

[boston bean]

63. Good, what time do you leave, and hopefully you won't have computer access.

jj, cali.

:P

[cali]

65. Sadly for you I meant figuratively

the little bum (well, 6'3") bum is off skiing the glades. I don't do that anymore.

:hi:

[boston bean]

66. You mean you will be here all day and all night?

Shit, I was hoping for some peace and quiet!

:rofl:

[cali]

68. you luck out.

I'm going to a friend's for a while this evening. And I'm going out for a ski in a bit. Now what about you?

[boston bean]

72. Well i'm at work today and tonite I will be in front of tv and computer

So no break from me!

[Eurobabe]

70. Wow, nice turn Cali

Weren't you a HillBot before?

[cali]

74. nope. she's always been my last choice.

but i detest some of the bullshit bashing of clinton, the sexism lurking behind a lot of crap, and the "hillbot" shit. Hmm. I could call you a "Bankrupt Bidenhead" or Edwards supports could be "hedge fund eddies". Yeah, that's the ticket, let's just broad brush smear the supporters of all the candidates.

[Eurobabe]

78. Just because I don't care for HRC makes me "sexist" ??

insert rolling eyes here. :eyes:

Glad you have decided on Obama, good choice. I think he is my 2nd :hi:

[cali]

79. no. not you. but there's been plenty of sexism

revealed in threads about Clinton. Anyone who doesn't see that that's happened, just isn't paying attention.

[Eurobabe]

81. yse, i've seen it, and i've seen some very racist

comments too: ie america will never elect a black man as president.

[Adelante]

71. Welcome, welcome, welcome

This makes me very happy, because you are a DUer who puts great thought into making a judgment. I know you scoured Obama until he screamed!

[cali]

75. thanks.

I did research him and think it over carefully, but let me also confess that my son has been frackin' merciless in his advocacy for Obama.

[laureloak]

76. BS. Look who is funding Obama - Same Corps as Hillary.

Nothing will change under Obama except a few faces.

[cali]

77. you are not very well versed in fact, are you?

The vast majority of the funds raised by Obama come from SMALL donors- hundreds of thousands. And how are you at math, genius? Because your sainted candidate has a higer percentage of funds from special interests than my candidate- by far. So let me return the comment: Bullshit on your simplistic and false claim.

[laureloak]

122. Obama and Hillary share the same corporate financers.

I'm not talking about nickel and dime contributions from people. Obama is OWNED by the big corporations. He's a lying pig when he says he will cut off lobbyists. That's total BS - he's owned by them.

[dailykoff]

80. The audacity of hope

Obama is quite a yakker and I'm looking forward to hearing more from him. :thumbsup:

[Flabbergasted]

82. I'm kind of surprised. But go O.

[ElizabethDC]

83. I'm joining my 21 year-old self and virutally all of my friends

and voting for Hillary. (I do have a long list of reasons why, but no time for that now, as I'm about to leave.)

[dailykoff]

84. Kick for a postive post.

:dem:

[BringBigDogBack]

86. Nice post.

Go get em, cali. :thumbsup:

[David Zephyr]

87. Joining? Your uber-passionate assaults on John Edwards & Hillary tipped your hand long ago, cali

cali, cali, cali...

Nice try, but it's been obvious you were for Obama for a very long time to me.

And seriously, it wasn't your uber-passionate attacks on Hillary and Edwards that really gave you away long ago as much as your M.I.A. whenever most (not all) criticisms of Obama were made here. You were conspicuously silent. After all, it's not what people say, it's what they don't say.

That said, the good news is that now you've at last played your hand to all so your posts will be seen clearly thought that sunlit prism.

And your choice is an excellent one and if Obama wins Iowa and New Hampshire, he will be (as I've posted here many times) the nominee. Tonight is his night. If he wins Iowa, he will swing independents in New Hampshire and then walk away with South Carolina. Three dominoes.

And by the way, I may join you in supporting Barack. He's in my final three choices: Obama, Biden and Edwards.

Now, if I join the Obama camp, will you welcome me?

[cali]

93. But naturally I'll welcome you.

And you're right. I didn't find as much to critizise about Obama. That's why I finally ended up with him. That and my choices were limited, because I won't vote in the primary for anyone who voted for the IWR.

Good luck picking your candidate, David.

[peoli]

88. Good for you!

Lets take him to the White House!

[MadBadger]

89. This is my favorite DU endorsement so far

Welcome to the team cali!

[greiner3]

90. Sorry;

But he's too much of a fundie and homophobe for me. Is it too late for Gore?

[yodermon]

91. hope his justice department prosecutes bushco.

not holding my breath though.

[asdjrocky]

92. Good luck Cali!!!

Best of luck to you and your candidate, and I think you know I mean that from my heart.

[cali]

94. thanks, rocky.

It's going to be an exciting night, isn't it?

[asdjrocky]

97. My hands won't stop shaking, and I have to remind myself to breathe.

In all seriousness, I'd feel better about supporting Obama if that's the way it shakes out now. And that's coz of you.

[cali]

98. LOL!

Breath, friend, breath. Edwards and Obama will do fine tonight.

[redqueen]

96. Glad you found someone you can support wholeheartedly.

Obama doesn't 'connect' with me, so... I'm still ambivalent about him.

[FrenchieCat]

99. This is Sooper Dooper News!

Wonderful History in the making, and we will be alive to see it.

:thumbsup:

[cali]

101. Thanks, FC.

hope to hell it's so.

[Nedsdag]

102. I'm "fired up and ready to go" as well.

GOBAMA indeed!

[MalloyLiberal]

104. HES A LOSER AND WILL LOSE THE GENERAL ELECTIOn

EXPECT SOME MORE "CALL GIRL" ADS LIKE THEY DID WITH HAROLD FORD!

[cali]

105. seek help.

you've lost it. Completely. And stop buying into racism.

[Hieronymus]

106. I agree.

[TeamJordan23]

108. Thanks for playing to fear. Maybe you should cross over to the other side. nm

[TeamJordan23]

110. Great analysis, lets go Obama! nm

[ellisonz]

114. Fired up! Ready to go!

[jenmito]

117. Are you for Hillary? ;-)

Just kidding and pointing out that she had the nerve to use that very phrase last night. She has no shame. :hi:

[ellisonz]

124. Nope.

No shame. :thumbsup:

[jenmito]

125. I know.

:hi: :D

[loveangelc]

118. Good Decision!

[mike_c]

119. congratulations....

There is a certain relief that comes with making your mind up. Best wishes to you and your candidate.

[TheDonkey]

127. Thank you. I believe Obama can bring real change

WE need a really special PERSON in the WH not a real special POLITICIAN

[dailykoff]

128. Another kick for a good call.

:kick:

[Truth2Tell]

129. Very strong post Cali.

Well written.

I'm sorry I don't consider Anthony Lake and Samantha Powers to be assets. But then again I'm opposed to this whole Worldwide American Empire thing so naturally I wouldn't. I also don't like the political expediency habit (Mcklurkin, corporate donors, you name it), but then again maybe that's the only route to power in America today. Who knows. The rest of your points are very sound - and we could do a whole lot worse in this country than Obama. But I'm not ready.

Dennis is still the man... but Edwards may be the only hope - however dim. So it's Edwards in NH and onward for me.

Happy New Year Cali - let's all play nice. :hi:

[Beacool]

130. I don't trust nor like the guy, he's too smooth for my taste.

Though he won fair and square tonight. Luckily there are still another 49 states out there, this is far from done.

[Califooyah Operative]

133. Thanks for posting! nt

[readmoreoften]

135. You've been supporting him all along far as I can tell. /nt

[mrreowwr_kittty]

136. Awesome!

cali, I really appreciate your posts, even when I've disagreed with them. You always give a lot of thought and consideration to what you say, and try to look at all sides. I completely agree with what you say about Obama's ability to "work the bully pulpit" and get opposing camps to agree. I am a huge atheist, feminist, gay rights supporting tree hugger and despite the fact that Barack Obama is not nearly perfect on any of those issues, he is eminently electable. Whatever his flaws, there is the sense that he REALLY cares about this country, and the rest of the world. Not that the other Dem candidates don't care, but Barack has a unique ability to convince all kinds of people of his sincerity. The rest of them, I'm sorry, aren't convincing enough. I WANT someone who gets Republicans and Independents excited about him, and I can't understand why some people here think this is a bad thing. It's all about the "intangibles" and Obama has them in spades. I don't want the Perfect Candidate, I want a Democrat to win. And Obama can.

He spoke out against the war in 2002.

2002.

And still won his election for Senate.

His name is Barack Hussein Obama.

And he will win the Presidency in 2008.

[cali]

137. thanks.

"His name is Barack Hussein Obama. And he will win the Presidency in 2008."

Yes. Just Yes.