Obama Politics - "The Two Obama's"

David Brook's excellent article The Two Obama's does an excellent job laying out how Senator Obama talks reform and inspiration, but plays old school politics as well as anyone out there...

"God, Republicans are saps. They think that they’re running against some academic liberal who wouldn’t wear flag pins on his lapel, whose wife isn’t proud of America and who went to some liberationist church where the pastor damned his own country. They think they’re running against some naïve university-town dreamer, the second coming of Adlai Stevenson..."

"...But as recent weeks have made clear, Barack Obama is the most split-personality politician in the country today. On the one hand, there is Dr. Barack, the high-minded, Niebuhr-quoting speechifier who spent this past winter thrilling the Scarlett Johansson set and feeling the fierce urgency of now. But then on the other side, there’s Fast Eddie Obama, the promise-breaking, tough-minded Chicago pol who’d throw you under the truck for votes..."

Brooks goes on to explain Obama's history of old school politics. That he is smart and calculating, and has laid out a path for himself that any old-school Chigago politician would be proud of...

"...Back when he was in the Illinois State Senate, Dr. Barack could have taken positions on politically uncomfortable issues. But Fast Eddie Obama voted “present” nearly 130 times. From time to time, he threw his voting power under the truck.

Dr. Barack said he could no more disown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright than disown his own grandmother. Then the political costs of Rev. Wright escalated and Fast Eddie Obama threw Wright under the truck.

Dr. Barack could have been a workhorse senator. But primary candidates don’t do tough votes, so Fast Eddie Obama threw the workhorse duties under the truck.

Dr. Barack could have changed the way presidential campaigning works. John McCain offered to have a series of extended town-hall meetings around the country. But favored candidates don’t go in for unscripted free-range conversations. Fast Eddie Obama threw the new-politics mantra under the truck.

And then on Thursday, Fast Eddie Obama had his finest hour. Barack Obama has worked on political reform more than any other issue. He aspires to be to political reform what Bono is to fighting disease in Africa. He’s spent much of his career talking about how much he believes in public financing. In January 2007, he told Larry King that the public-financing system works. In February 2007, he challenged Republicans to limit their spending and vowed to do so along with them if he were the nominee. In February 2008, he said he would aggressively pursue spending limits. He answered a Midwest Democracy Network questionnaire by reminding everyone that he has been a longtime advocate of the public-financing system.

Full David Brook's article The Two Obama's

Expanding McCain's Online Presence

While the McCain online presence has lagged behind the Democrats, there has been a recent increase in supporter run pages. A key element of connecting and promoting the average McCain blogger or site owner has been the McCain Victory 08 Blog Roll. This lists many of the active pro-McCain sites on the web. Some of these sites are strictly dedicated to supporting Senator McCain for President, while others focus on other topics yet also are signed on as McCain supporters. For example this post was originally published at Broad Side of the Barn, a site with a broad focus yet often used to host McCain related pages like the McCain Traffic page. An affiliate of that site is Purple People Vote, a site for Independents and Moderates that is focused on the presidential race. Yet recently there has been the addition of sites like McCain Google Groups, which focuses on state based volunteering and resouces. A couple new and promising social network sites have emerged, McCain Now and John McCain 2008. These site include a variety of features such as individual blogs, and topic discussions. They add a new wrinkle to McCain SocNets; though MySpace and Facebook still have active McCain groups too. A couple of the major McCain contributor based blogs include Blogs 4 McCain and Blogs for McCain Victory. There is always a need to increase the reach of the McCain online presence. For those who would like to become bloggers, or would like blogging tips there is McCain Blogger Resources. It includes a simple how to article for McCain supporters to set up there own blog. As more sites go online an join the growing McCain blogger/online volunteer community the message and reach of the McCain campaign is given a better opportunity to grow. Bloggers, site owners, network managers all welcome newcomers and hope you will consider volunteering online and off.

McCain Links

The first McCarnival for McCain ….. from McCainBlogs

Some people are saying they need a reason to vote for McCain. Well, if you are looking for a reason you can find several at Sanity102. Malia writes Give me a reason to vote for McCain, how’s this? She then cites several excellent reasons including his stance on entitlement programs, earmark and pork barrel spending and what I consider the most important reasons, our troops and the Global War on Terror.

If you need an enthusiastic reminder of why you are excited that John McCain will, in all likelihood, be our next Commander in Chief, then you might want to check out Colecurtis The McCain Monitor’s post titled: This Video Clip Never Ceases To Amaze But Inspire Me…He Is Still Here For A Reason. Vicki plays a video that most of us have seen before, but its good to see it again. She reminds us that sometimes we lose sight of the man when we get wrapped up in the politics and oration connected with a campaign. She gives us a reminder of who John McCain, the man, is. ‘Then from out of the crowd you hear a soft but confident voice …. ‘. Go read the rest.
Matt has The ad that is going to win the election. posted at McCainiac. He reminds us of the resistance that Churchill faces when he stood his ground against the Nazis. Its a good reminder of why we need to stand our ground against radical Islamic extremism.

The Marathon Pundit takes a hard look at Obama’s legislative record while he was an Illinois State Senator. In his post Obama’s state legislative record–he got a lot of help provides information on Obama’s starmaker, Emil Jones.

Fausta’s blog has a rather frightening comparison of the man Obama and the man McCain in The Great Non Sequitur. Do you really know who Obama is? What does Obama really offer us as opposed to what he says he offers us? Fausta has some thoughts and facts on that. Its pretty sobering.

The Median Sib gives a passionate and personal argument for why she hopes John McCain is the one who answers that now famous 3 a.m. phone call. In her post Clinton, McCain, Obama: Who do you want for president? she explains why she feels McCain has the integrity, experience, wisdom and courage to deal with whatever is on the other end of that phone call.

Pat at . . . With Both Hands writes a screenplay based on the tete-a-tete between John McCain and a New York Times reporter who apparently was trying to get an angry reaction from McCain. You remember the incident that was played repeatedly as McCain losing his temper. It was a non-starter. Pat plays it out as John McCain Beat the Press or A Man for All Snakes on a Plane

New York for McCain share the McCain profile on 60 Minutes…. Its really is a great profile and well worth watching and sharing with others.

You can find The First 5 of the Top 10 Reasons to be Leary of Barack Obama at the McCain Jewish Coalition of Illinois blog. This article is written from the perspective of why the Jewish community should be leary of Obama. Of course I can think of reasons for most communities to be leery of Obama. The reasons cited by Alan Weisz in this post are certainly applicable to all of us who are Jewish and Christian. Just as Neville Chamberlain believed he could talk to and work with the Nazis, Obama believes he can talk to, reason with and work with the Islamofascists. That naiveté is dangerous for us in the West in particular and for the world as a whole.

Lee Vogler offers us a very passionate and personal post in which he explains What John McCain Means to Me. Lee is a twenty-year-old who describes himself as a political guru (among other things). He uses his blog, Lee Vogler’s Political Points to give us ‘a campaign view from a college eye’. I found his post inspiring. I hope you will go read it.

Christopher Hedges wonders Could McCain Democrats Make The Difference? He relates to us that many Clinton supporters have said they will vote for McCain if Hillary isn’t the democratic nominee and compares them to Reagan democrats.

Still Stacy has a Lolobama for us to enjoy! She’s Still Stacy–Smarter Than The Average Blonde and calls her Lolobama OBAMAVELATION. If you frequent I Can Has Cheezburger? you’ll like this.

Over at 84rules, criticism of the 2005 “Gang of 14″ deal is under the microscope with The Base Is Wrong About The Gang Of 14, with the on-point reminder that if we Republicans lose the White House and don’t get back the Senate, the “nuclear” option will be used against us. (Remember the Coalition of the Chillin’? I was a charter member!)

Army wife (aka “Hooah Wife“) and real-life pal of mine Greta breaks out some video with Reason 7 gazillion to vote for John McCain, which she also posted at Louisiana Conservative. The video is funny, but it’s more realistic than I think the creators intended.

Another good friend, Shannon Nicki (she’s gonna kill me) from The Birthplace of the Process of Illogical Logic, mulls over the “Hussein” question with What’s in a name?, and decides that it’s probably better to just stick with referring to him as the more appropriate B.O. Bonus: Photoshoppy goodness!

Jefferson Poole at Blue Grass, Red State takes a thoughtful look at the Man in the Arena and is struck by its message, saying “the strength exhibited by extraordinary leaders of the past is demonstrated to be a necessity of the present for the health of the future.” He sees a bold and courageous leader as we’ve seen in years past with Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. That leader is Senator John McCain, and he is the right man for our time.

Economy and health care are two critical issues in this election, says Haydee Florez at America’s Best Choice. We Republicans may not talk about those issues as much as they do on the Left, but we should, as our candidate has the right solutions, which she outlines in her post.

Indiana University student J Will at The Wi11is says John McCain needs an internet video girl for guys like him, like Obama Girl and the others that he showcases in Annihilation Tuesday–a, shall we say, unconventional look at the online campaigns.

Over at Right Wing Nation, Rightwingprof speaks to my inner political wonk with some excellent analysis of polling data in Americans First, Americans Last, Americans Always. If he’s right (and I think he is), we’ll be in good shape in November.

MV08 blogroll-keeper Michael Schuyler of Reality Bytes deconstructs the opposition’s arguments with The Real Deal on the Tanker Deal, an issue that few really understand, while the opposition demagogues it to death. I’m glad he’s explained it, because all I’ve seen is left-wing attacks on McCain thus far. Knowledge is power!

James Carder, who writes at ELECTION 2008: Do We Need Change for the Sake of Change?, left the Republican Party in 2003 but he’s come home for John McCain, as I’m certain others will. James says Don’t Fault John McCain on Iraq - Just Be Thankful That He’s Still Around!, a piece that should appeal strongly to others who are disaffected with the Iraq war. Even though he’s opposed to the war, he understands that since we’re there, we need to finish the job the right way. James, as an independent, has the vote that all the candidates want–and he has chosen John McCain.

Right Wing Squadron’s Boomer asks about The New York Times - Why did they endorse John McCain when they had alleged “dirt” on him? I think that’s a question to which we probably know the real answer, but it’d be nice if there would ever be some honesty from the New York Times. If there were ever doubt that they’re all in for the Democrats, they’ve erased it.

The Old Grey Lady just keeps on trying to find something they can pin on McCain to ruin him. Our good friend, William Teach at The Pirate’s Cove uses a sports analogy to keep score on how the New York Times is doing in their quest to bring McCain down. First they were ‘just wondering’ if McCain had an affair. Then they got to wondering if McCain might not be eligible to run for President since he’d been born out of the country while his parents were serving in the military. Now the Grey Lady Is Just “Wondering” About McCain Getting Cancer Again. The Old Grey Lady keeps playing the same game and keeps losing.

Beth of MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is looking for a new church and is wondering if it matters what they believe and preach there. She says, I’ve found a church! and even though they preach against every thing she believes in that’s okay because she’s not responsible for what they believe. Sounds like twisted logic doesn’t it? Why, yes it does! She goes on to debunk the arguments of the many apologists of the hate-cult church that Barack Obama has chosen to attend for the past twenty years. You know … if it quacks like a duck ….. Go read her post. Its enlightening.

Beth at Blue Star Chronicles says that Obama Could Put an End to Destructive Racial Politics if He Had the Courage. She wonders why he doesn’t show the leadership and courage to speak openly and with conviction to his followers about their insistence that Obama should not be submitted to the same scrutiny as every other politician. That’s not the behavior of a leader. Its certainly not the behavior we expect to see in someone who aspires to be President of the United States.

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More useful links...
Broad Side of the Barn
Purple People Vote
NH 4 McCain
Broad Side of the Barn Blog
Broad Store
McCain States
McCain Victory
Blogs 4 McCain
Web Inquiry
McCain Blogger Resources
Blogs for Victory
McCain Online Volunteer
SC for McCain
IA for McCain
Circle the Web
Rambling Web
Linked the Web

John McCain Bio

One of the reasons many people have been won over to Senator McCain even when they don't agree with him on all issues is his incredible personal story. While most people know of his military service, I think some forget what a remarkable life he has lead. The following video illustrates some of the characteristic of Senator McCain that inspires many people to follow him.



From: http://purplepeoplevote.blogspot.com/

MA Governor Endorses McCain

Former Governet Jane Swift Endorses John McCain - http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/12/14/mccain_is_no_ordinary_hero/

McCain is No Ordinary Hero

THERE IS only one presidential candidate with the courage, character, and conviction to lead this country: John McCain.

I can't say I recall Oct. 26, 1967. I was 2 when John McCain was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. But I've seen the chilling footage. I've heard his band of brothers attest to his bravery. I've listened to him humbly describe the acts of humanity he witnessed during his years in prison. Most impressive, I've watched him build a life of service to his country, without bitterness or recrimination.

McCain is no ordinary hero, and these are no ordinary times.

America's ability to maintain a thriving economy and a strong defense hinges on electing a president willing to make the tough calls. McCain's career has been defined by independent leadership. His relentless attacks on pork-barrel spending haven't won him popularity contests in the Senate cloakroom, but he can sleep at night knowing that he made the right choices for America.

True to his conservative values, McCain understands that fiscal restraint requires setting priorities and sticking to them. We have urgent national challenges - wars on multiple fronts, skyrocketing debt, unfunded entitlements - and yet, Congress still finds the time and the dollars for pet projects that deflect resources from our true national interests. McCain is the only candidate with the experience and conviction to level with Americans and force Congress to do the right thing.

He's also the only Republican who can win. American voters evaluate candidates with two criteria: first, on their issue positions. Does she or he believe what I believe? Education policy is my top concern. As one of McCain's advisers on the issue, I've discussed the challenges of providing an excellent education to every child. He is willing to do what it takes to get us there.

At the same time, it's rare for a voter and a candidate to agree on absolutely everything. Case in point: McCain and I disagree on the issue of abortion, but we maintain a mutual respect. Millions of Americans feel the same way.

That's why the second criterion is more of a gut check. Americans are aspirational people. We seek leadership. We crave integrity. Today's voter is in search of a president who can elevate politics above self interest and petty partisanship.

McCain's approach to the troop surge in Iraq is a perfect example. Critics assailed the plan as Quixotic at best and ill conceived at worst, but McCain believed it would work. His standing in the polls plummeted. He refused to change his position. "I'd rather lose an election than a war," he said - spoken like someone who has been on the battlefield. That's leadership. That's presidential.

The defining moment of my time as governor was Sept. 11, 2001. I recall with clarity and horror the experience of that day. My understanding of what it means to lead changed forever, and I have a much deeper awareness of the challenges associated with keeping an open society safe. It takes more than excellent management skills and inspirational rhetoric. Certainly, a president needs to muster both.

It takes the ability to see the larger picture. Combating terrorism depends on a strong military and excellent intelligence. No candidate has better judgment when it comes to how and when to deploy force than John McCain. It depends on strong allies. No candidate has more experience on the international stage, and no candidate is more respected by our friends and feared by our foes. And it depends on a keen understanding of the geopolitical forces that limit our ability to operate in our best interests - from poor border security to environmental meltdown to dependence on foreign oil. No candidate knows these issues better than McCain.

This election offers the rare opportunity to choose the right man for the right moment. Let's take it and be proud we did.

Jane Swift served as acting governor of Massachusetts from 2001 to 2003.