Barack O " Bama

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ken123
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Barack O " Bama

Post by ken123 »

An article in today's Chicago Sun - Times traces Senator Barack Obama roots, on his mother's side, to Moneygill, Ireland. There are two kinds of people in the world, those that are Irish, and those who wist that they were. :wink:
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Post by pktrekgirl »

What is that? An attempt to make him more 'white' and thus more palatable to the good 'ole boys in the South? :roll:

Because it won't work.

Personally, I would vote for the guy....but then, I'm a transplanted Yankee. And as such, would be one of about 12 non-African-American people in the entire state of Georgia who would vote for him.

He has no chance down here. None at all.

I hate to say it, but it's true.

IMO, the ONLY African-American who would have any chance in the South would be Colin Powell. The good 'ole boys down here *may* be able to 'forgive' his ethnicity because a) he is a Republican and b) he is a General and War Hero who waged a SUCCESSFUL war.

Anyone else? Fergetabouit. :(
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ken123
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Post by ken123 »

pktrekgirl wrote:What is that? An attempt to make him more 'white' and thus more palatable to the good 'ole boys in the South? :roll:

Because it won't work.

Personally, I would vote for the guy....but then, I'm a transplanted Yankee. And as such, would be one of about 12 non-African-American people in the entire state of Georgia who would vote for him.

He has no chance down here. None at all.

I hate to say it, but it's true.

IMO, the ONLY African-American who would have any chance in the South would be Colin Powell. The good 'ole boys down here *may* be able to 'forgive' his ethnicity because a) he is a Republican and b) he is a General and War Hero who waged a SUCCESSFUL war.

Anyone else? Fergetabouit. :(

Any chance that Colin Powell had to be President is long gone. His shameful performance as " Bush's Boob ", in the lead up to this atrocity in Irag delegates him to that dustbin of history of lying self seeking servants of Mammon. :cry:
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Post by movieman1957 »

Ken:

You're talking two different parties. Democrats aren't going to vote for Powell for the reasons you note. Republicans aren't going to vote for O'Bama because he's liberal and relatively inexperienced.

I don't think either party is going to throw somebody out there that will draw a big enough portion of the other party to make a difference anyway.

The worst part is we have to listen to electioneering for a year and a half. I'm sick alrerady.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

Hi pktrekgirl:

What you say is so true. I wonder just when the southern people are going to get it in their heads that the Civil War ended over 142 years ago. Having lived in Jonesboro, Arkansas for about 4 months in the early 80's, I know just what you mean about being a 'Yankee'. My poor mother-in-law was constantly apologizing for me and I didn't even know I had done or said anything wrong!

I had a lot of Negro (the word of the times) friends and talked about them (shame on me). But that doesn't get me off the term African-American. Perhaps 2% of the black people in America have ties to Africa, co I am galled when they refuse to consider themselves just good old plain Americans, unlike all the Italian, Polish, German, Irish, English, Japanese, Korean, and French-Americans running around between Maine and California, and North Dakota and Texas.

I guess I'm just prejudiced FOR America, and don't like its' name to be distorted.

Anne
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Post by pktrekgirl »

ken123 wrote:
pktrekgirl wrote:What is that? An attempt to make him more 'white' and thus more palatable to the good 'ole boys in the South? :roll:

Because it won't work.

Personally, I would vote for the guy....but then, I'm a transplanted Yankee. And as such, would be one of about 12 non-African-American people in the entire state of Georgia who would vote for him.

He has no chance down here. None at all.

I hate to say it, but it's true.

IMO, the ONLY African-American who would have any chance in the South would be Colin Powell. The good 'ole boys down here *may* be able to 'forgive' his ethnicity because a) he is a Republican and b) he is a General and War Hero who waged a SUCCESSFUL war.

Anyone else? Fergetabouit. :(

Any chance that Colin Powell had to be President is long gone. His shameful performance as " Bush's Boob ", in the lead up to this atrocity in Irag delegates him to that dustbin of history of lying self seeking servants of Mammon. :cry:
Oh...I don't know.

He stood up to Bush about Iraq behind closed doors...and when their differences on this issue became too great, he resigned.

Not much else he could have done.

He was Secretary of State...which means Dubya still had the final say. But from what I have read, he was very much at odds with Dubya for quite some time and strongly cautioned him about going into Iraq to begin with....having seen men die in action himself and not wishing to resort to war prematurely.

But as we have seen on numerous occasions since then, Bush WANTED to go to war...and wants to REMAIN at war to this day. And pretty much nothing (or no one) has been able to deter him from this position. A situation we have seen illustrated in living color even as late as the past 48 hours.

What choice did Colin Powell have under the circumstances? Openly oppose his BOSS, the President of the United States, publicly? That is not done. But if you read between the lines, it's pretty apparent why he resigned: because he opposed what Dubya was doing in Iraq....and finally gave up any hope of trying to temper Bush's lust for blood from within the administration.

And remember, too...my comments were in reference to voters in the SOUTH.

In the South, Bush is not seen the way you see him....and in the South, being 'Bush's Boob' as you refer to him, would have been a GOOD thing.

People down here LOVE Dubya. They still do.

If an election were held TODAY, and Bush could run again, they would STILL vote for him here. He would win by a LANDSLIDE against any current candidate in the Democratic field - and ESPECIALLY against Hillary or Obama.

This is the problem with the Democratic Party, IMO. They STILL do not get the fact that the voters of New York, Massachusetts and California do NOT represent the pulse of this country. And they still have not grasped the fact that if they want to WIN they have to get pragmatic and pick someone who is ELECTABLE.

The Democrats are still stuck in this foolish idealistic mindset where they want to put up 'the best man (or woman) for the job".

But the problem is that 'best man" rarely wins an election.

There is a HUGE difference between the 'best man' and 'the most electable man'. You'd have thought we'd have learned THAT lesson with Reagan. *lol*

But incredibly, the Democrats still don't get it, IMO.

Which is why we will, INCREDIBLY, likely end up with another Republican in the White House...despite Bush's huge gaffs and McCain's idiocies.
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ken123
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Post by ken123 »

IMHO there is no way that the Democrats can lose the 2008 Presidential election, and I am not a Democrat. :wink:
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Post by pktrekgirl »

ken123 wrote:IMHO there is no way that the Democrats can lose the 2008 Presidential election, and I am not a Democrat. :wink:
I wish you were right. And lord knows, the Republicans have all but handed them the election.

But if they put up Hillary or Obama, the Demorcrats will lose. Mark my words.

Handed the election on a silver platter...and the Democratic party will STILL find a way to bung it up. It truly is mind-boggling.

It's almost like they are TRYING to lose.

All the Democrats have to do is come up with a white male with an IQ over 50 and the ability to keep his foot out of his mouth, and the election is theirs.

The Democrats can't win Texas. Let's just paint it red and forget about it. But they CAN win Florida (the other big prize in the South) if they put up someone who is electable there. But neither Hillary NOR Obama is electable in Florida.

Handed the election. And yet, incredibly...they are STILL just determined to screw it up.

But you know what? If the Democrats are stupid enough to put up Hillary and/or Obama, they DESERVE to lose.

Because they will have let idealism win out over pragmatism once AGAIN. Despite all the lessons they should have learned from the past.

Frankly, from where I sit in the heart of the Deep South, it's pretty doggone depressing.
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ken123
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Post by ken123 »

I have " written " it elsewhere, so here goes, GORE - OBAMA in 2008. :)
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Post by pktrekgirl »

ken123 wrote:I have " written " it elsewhere, so here goes, GORE - OBAMA in 2008. :)
Now see...I believe that Gore is electable in Florida. In fact, if it hadn't been for Brother Jeb's Nifty Election Shenanigans, he would have won Florida in 2000.

But Obama will drag him down with the North Florida Redneck Contingent. And personally, I don't think the Democrats should risk it.

Not in this election. It's too important. I think they should save their burning desire to make idealistic a-black-man-is-the-best-man-for-the-job racial statements for another time.

This election needs to be about WINNING. Not about trying to break the long-standing ethnic and/or sexual barriers to the Presidency (as much as I personally would like to see those barriers broken...and as worthy as both candidates are for the Office of the Presidency).

But last I heard, Gore wasn't even running. :?
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Post by Dewey1960 »

pktrekgirl wrote: "But last I heard, Gore wasn't even running."

Let us all utter a silent prayer that Gore does in fact decide to run. I honestly feel that he is the one and only truly electable Democrat in 2008. And yes, this is all about WINNING. An America under the leadership of a two-faced opportunist like Mitt Romney or a knee-jerk fascist like Rudy Giuliani is indeed a terrifying proposition. I think we've already had enough of that.
-Dewey
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ken123
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Post by ken123 »

pktrekgirl wrote:
ken123 wrote:I have " written " it elsewhere, so here goes, GORE - OBAMA in 2008. :)
Now see...I believe that Gore is electable in Florida. In fact, if it hadn't been for Brother Jeb's Nifty Election Shenanigans, he would have won Florida in 2000.

But Obama will drag him down with the North Florida Redneck Contingent. And personally, I don't think the Democrats should risk it.

Not in this election. It's too important. I think they should save their burning desire to make idealistic a-black-man-is-the-best-man-for-the-job racial statements for another time.

This election needs to be about WINNING. Not about trying to break the long-standing ethnic and/or sexual barriers to the Presidency (as much as I personally would like to see those barriers broken...and as worthy as both candidates are for the Office of the Presidency).

But last I heard, Gore wasn't even running. :?

Gore is not running, at this time, but I think that if he enters the race he will win the nomination very easily. The South is not needed for a Democratic win IMHO, all the Democrats have to do is win all that they won in 2004 and add Ohio, and they are in. Nevada, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, West Virgia, and Tennessee all of which went GOP last time, can also be switched, but no Southern State is needed for a " Donkey " victory. :wink:
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Post by SSO Admins »

pktrekgirl wrote:Not in this election. It's too important. I think they should save their burning desire to make idealistic a-black-man-is-the-best-man-for-the-job racial statements for another time.

This election needs to be about WINNING. Not about trying to break the long-standing ethnic and/or sexual barriers to the Presidency (as much as I personally would like to see those barriers broken...and as worthy as both candidates are for the Office of the Presidency).

But last I heard, Gore wasn't even running. :?
I believe that's the rationale the Democrats used the last time and see where it got us. Obama is inspiring and optimistic. I think he could win with no problem, although it probably doesn't look that way when you're living in the south.

The last thing the Dems need is the same old triangulating crap. I'd vote for Gore over anyone else, but I'd also vote for Obama if he ran. What I don't want is for the Dems to be so cowed by the need for electability that they once again convince the electorate that they have no principles. That's why we lose, not because of bold strokes.

And let's face it, the Republicans got nothing this time.
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Post by pktrekgirl »

^ Well, as you know, I hope like heck that you are correct.

No one would be happier than I if I ended up having to say "Wow...I was wrong".

But yeah...from where I'm sitting, I just don't think Obama can win.

I'd vote for him also - in a heartbeat. But being willing to vote for him myself and thinking he can win are two different things. And I don't think he can win. :(

I think if the Democrats are to win, they will have to either win all the 'little' states in the south (the ones with few electoral votes), OR win Texas, OR win Florida.

AND win the Northeast, Illinois, and the West Coast.

I think the Democrats can easily win the Northeast, Illinois and the West Coast. But that'll still leave them short.

They won't win the Rockies, they won't win Texas, and they won't win the 'little' states of the South, no matter what they do. So it all comes down to Florida, IMO.

And while parts of South Florida will go to Obama (those transplanted Yanks in Palm Beach County are my peeps, after all ;) )...North Florida will not.

Remember...this is the part of the world were, in 2000, they put up Florida State Trooper roadblocks near all the heavily African-American precincts, just to discourage black voters from going to the polls.

Really, Obama's best hope in Florida is to heavily court the Cuban vote down in Miami. They traditionally vote Republican...but he may be able to cash in on race with that gang. He has a better shot with them than with the North Florida Rednecks, in any case. North Florida is as big a lost cause as Texas, when it comes to Obama.
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Post by mrsl »

Did anyone see a guy named Kucinich on Bill Maher's show last Friday? He's a Democrat and has some really good ideas from what I could see and hear. I like Obama a lot, but still feel he is still not experienced enough, although his intelligence level is high, and his public personna is very charming, much like Clinton was.

This Kuchinich was easy on drugs like maryjane, but hard on guns. He's also into global warming, and getting out of Iraq. He said, we did the job and got a government started, now it's up to them to carry on.

I could be totally wrong on the experience issue as far as Obama is concerned. I was once promoted to a high level but argued saying I wasn't experienced enough, yet I took over and ended up going even higher because some one saw something in me, that I didn't see in myself, so I'm possibly wrong in that aspect.

My hopes are that whoever we get in 2008 will get us out of Iraq, start moving on doing something about global warming, work out a decent insurance program for every American, and get back some of the money we've blown on other countries so we can do something positive about our senior citizens. While that's being accomplished we need to clean up the problems faced by survivors of the natural phenomena which has occurred lately in New Orleans, California, and Mississippi. Our borders have to be watched and our air space protected.

If all this is worked on during the first 4 years, they won't have time to mess with the gay populace, who does and doesn't say prayers, and what physicians do with their patients and their families.

In other words, quit sweating the small stuff and start worrying about the big, important stuff.

Anne
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