May 05, 2008
Obama: I'm More Trustworthy Than "The Other Candidate"
DURHAM, NC – With less than 24 hours to go before the citizens of North Carolina and Indiana hit the polls, Barack Obama summed up the case for his candidacy to an undecided voter at at town hall in the Research Triangle this afternoon.
He said that voters find him more trustworthy than his opponent, and he argued that his biggest potential problems -- his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for example -- were exposed.
The voter told Obama that her biggest concern this cycle is choosing the most electable candidate. Obama attempted to win her over with a long pitch for why she should choose him, focusing on the success his campaign has had attracting voters who want to change the old Washington politics and about his belief that the economy and the state of the country as a whole provides an opportunity to attract voters across party lines.
"When 80 percent of the country says the country is on the wrong track, that means you can attract Independents and some Republicans into a coalition to really not just win an election but govern, and that's been the idea behind this campaign, and we've been very successful," he said.
As he has done in recent days at a press conference and in television interviews, the senator acknowledged he had had a rough few weeks but said he was still going strong, in spite of the critical press.
"Once you're a frontrunner, then it is, I think, the obligation of the candidates who are behind to try to whack you over the head, and the press is happy to oblige," he said.
"And so there was a kitchen-sink strategy employed that was throwing a whole bunch of stuff at me, and we made some mistakes, some self-inflicted, and, you know, most recently obviously there's been this furor over remarks of my former pastor, which there's no doubt we took a hit on. But, if you think about it, as tough a press month as we've had, and as many attempts to knock us off stride as there have been, the fact that we're still standing here and still moving forward towards the nomination, I think, indicates the degree to which the core message of this campaign is the right one."
He added: "That its not enough just to replace the party in White House, but we've got to change how politics is done."
He went on to say it was important for the American people to see their president as someone who can be trusted.
"I think the majority of people do find me trustworthy, more than they do the other candidate and we can't solve problems if people don't think that their leaders are telling them the truth," he said. "If they think their leader is just saying whatever it is that helps them get to the next election, you can never ask them for sacrifice because they're thinking, 'Well I don't want to be played for a sap', 'a patsy'. So there's something about our campaign that's right, that's true, and I think can tap into the American people's spirit for change."
The Illinois senator sought to knock down Hillary Clinton campaign's argument that he can't win big states like Pennsylvania and California in the general, saying polls show just the opposite. He also argued that he is the best candidate to go up against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on a long list of issues, from the economy to Iraq to health care to college affordability.
In talking about his strength in the polls -- (Note: At least one national poll shows him now trailing Clinton) -- Obama also suggested, in what seemed like a dare to his critics, that the problems his opponent could bring up had been exhausted.
"Despite the problems we've had in the last month, which basically exhaust my problems -- I mean you know that folks are reaching when the big attack on me is I'm not wearing a flag pin or that I served on a board with a guy who was a member of the Weathermen back in the 1960's," he said. "They're reaching, you know. This is the best they could do."
And he tried to shoot down Clinton's contention that she had been vetted, saying the arguments against her would be recycled.
"Don't buy into this electability argument," he said in closing. "Go with who you think best represents your vision of where America needs to go. And if you do that, I am absolutely confident that that person will win. I think this is opportunity to make a clear break from the past."
Much of the questions during the gathering of some 150 people – a crowd that was about 80 percent white and 20 percent minority – focused on clean energy, but Obama also touched on the gas tax holiday issue again.
He stood at a podium with a banner that read "Reclaiming the American Dream."
Cree LED Lighting Solutions is a company that produces "eco-friendly" lighting solutions and the senator couched his comments on the gas tax issue using the example of efficient versus non-efficient light bulbs.
"This issue about the gas tax holiday has me riled up, because the strategy that they're talking about, the tax holiday, is exactly the opposite of what Cree stands for," he said.
"It basically says, we're not going to do anything to innovate," he said. "We're not going to do anything to solve the problem long-term. What we're going to do is we're going to give you a subsidy to keep on buying this light bulb," he said, referring to the old-school incandescent bulb. "Although what'll happen is whoever's selling this light bulb is actually gonna jack up the price, so you're really not gonna save any money, and in the meantime you'll keep on using more and more energy and you'll keep on wasting it and you'll keep on driving up the prices. That's essentially what this argument's about."
After the town hall, the senator stopped at a nearby cafe, filled almost exclusively with black clientele, where he posed for pictures, signed autographs, chatted with supporters and sampled a giant slab of poundcake. One woman emerged from the cafe saying, "I shook the hand of the next president!"
Dozens of people began flocking to the joint, on a corner in downtown Durham, and by the time Obama came outside a crowd of about a hundred was there to greet him, snapping photos and reaching for his hand. He urged everyone to come out and vote tomorrow so that he could carry Durham.
(NBC/NJ's ATHENA JONES)
Posted at 04:12 PM
Comments
ODE TO OBAMA
by Publius II
There once was a man named Obama
His life began with drama
An African Muslim father
An eccentric white mama
Obama’s white grandparents
They gave him a charmed life
Raised on the beaches of Hawaii
Far from ghetto strife
He went to private schools
Fourteen thousand dollars a year
Working-class white folks
They were nowhere near
He attended Columbia
Then Harvard Law
A very soft and liberal upbringing
Something Americans eventually saw
He then went to Chicago
Nation of Islam, Farrakhan, Black Panthers and Jackson
The only friends he made
All from the extreme left-wing faction
He joined a radical church
His Pastor downright insane
Blacks and whites, he said
Think with different parts of their brain
His church praised a man named Cone
With hateful opinions he was filled
He said white people were “the devil”
And Gods who love whites must be killed
Obama first ran for State Senate
With permission from Chicago’s Marxist King
A domestic terrorist named Ayers
Obama kissed his ring
He wrote a book called “Dreams From My Father”
From start to finish a racist rant
After people finally read it
They said: “Obama, no we can’t”
He wrote how he rejected his mother’s race
And that Malcolm X was a hero
People had a clear warning
Obama was a dangerous zero
He was then elected to the U.S. Senate
Obama’s ego grew very bold
He barely served a year
I will run for President was the story he told
He spent millions to stage rallies
The crowds would yell and cheer
But then it all fizzled out
Typical white folks, he said, cling to religion, guns and beer
His wife said America was mean
She was never really proud
Her Black Separatist thesis at Princeton
Became a campaign cloud
People said he was a Muslim
His supporters scoffed and jeered
Then his Black Liberation Church was exposed
And Obama’s ugly head was reared
He tried to recover in a speech on race
The left-wing media offered raves
But he said white folks had an “untrained ear”
And abolitionists in Pennsylvania rolled over in their graves
He claimed to be a uniter
He would bring people together all at once
But after his speech in Philadelphia
He proved to be a demographic dunce
He tried once more to persuade whites
But his bowling was a mess
He rolled a 37
Like a 5-year-old girl in a dress
He then played basketball
He drove the ball to the rack
But when all was said and done
He nearly had a heart attack
He said damn those white voters
Their Mutual Funds I will tax
I’ll double the capital gains rate
Like an old-school Liberal hack
He opposed a gas tax holiday
He said it wasn’t a winner
$40 wasn’t much he said
Just the weekly budget for the average family’s dinner
He wouldn’t cover his heart
As the National Anthem played
It’s a meaningless gesture he said
But Americans felt betrayed
He wouldn’t wear a flag pin
It was against his One World view
It doesn’t matter he said
And the American people stewed
He first called terrorist Ayers his friend
Then said this man he didn’t really know
More deceit and cover-ups
Obama’s lies began to grow
Farrakhan, Jackson and Sharpton
Three of Obama’s greatest fans
He tried hiding them in the closet
So not to further offend the white man
Then came his anti-American Pastor
Obama’s mentor for 20 years
He preened, shucked and jived
White people rose up and sneered
NBC and the New York Times
They tried each day to save Obama’s campaign
But real Americans said “FU”
And Obama spiraled down the drain
His name was Barrack Hussein Obama
Running for a second Jimmy Carter term
Weak on National Security
A little, pacifist worm
The radical left-wing Democrats
A Presidential race lost once again
Is it really a surprise
They’ve lost 7 of the last 10?
Publius II | 05.05.08 04:56 PM
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The mentality of people like Publius II is the reason why America is far from perfect, and why we need people like Barack Obama to help fix it.
Proud Republican for Obama.
Brian | 05.05.08 05:15 PM
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NAFTA
Wright
NCLB
IRAQ
More trustworthy?
I think not.
Lip Service
More like it!
hhkeller | 05.05.08 05:33 PM
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I completely agree, Brian.
What will they all be saying as we swear in Obama on Inauguration Day?
Henry in NY | 05.05.08 05:34 PM
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MY FELLOW "BITTER", STUPID, WORKING CLASS PEOPLE :-)
If you think like Barack Obama, that WORKING CLASS PEOPLE are just a bunch of "BITTER"!, STUPID, PEASANTS, Cash COWS!, and CANNON FODDER. :-(
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think Barack Obama with little or no experience would be better than Hillary Clinton with 35 years experience.
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that Obama with no experience can fix an economy on the verge of collapse better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) led the greatest economic expansion, and prosperity in American history.
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that Obama with no experience fighting for universal health care can get it for you better than Hillary Clinton. Who anticipated this current health care crisis back in 1993, and fought a pitched battle against overwhelming odds to get universal health care for all the American people.
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that Obama with no experience can manage, and get us out of two wars better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) went to war only when he was convinced that he absolutely had to. Then completed the mission in record time against a nuclear power. AND DID NOT LOSE THE LIFE OF A SINGLE AMERICAN SOLDIER. NOT ONE!
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that Obama with no experience saving the environment is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) left office with the greatest amount of environmental cleanup, and protections in American history.
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that Obama with little or no education experience is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) made higher education affordable for every American. And created higher job demand and starting salary’s than they had ever been before or since.
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that Obama with no experience will be better than Hillary Clinton who spent 8 years at the right hand of President Bill Clinton. Who is already on record as one of the greatest Presidents in American history.
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think that you can change the way Washington works with pretty speeches from Obama, rather than with the experience, and political expertise of two master politicians ON YOUR SIDE like Hillary and Bill Clinton..
You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you think all those Republicans voting for Obama in the Democratic primaries, and caucuses are doing so because they think he is a stronger Democratic candidate than Hillary Clinton. :-)
Best regards
jacksmith... Working Class :-)
p.s. You Might Be An Idiot! :-)
If you don't know that the huge amounts of money funding the Obama campaign to try and defeat Hillary Clinton is coming in from the insurance, and medical industry, that has been ripping you off, and killing you and your children. And denying you, and your loved ones the life saving medical care you needed. All just so they can make more huge immoral profits for them-selves off of your suffering...
You see, back in 1993 Hillary Clinton had the audacity, and nerve to try and get quality, affordable universal health care for everyone to prevent the suffering and needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of you each year. :-)
Approx. 100,000 of you die each year from medical accidents from a rush to profit by the insurance, and medical industry. Another 120,000 of you die each year from treatable illness that people in other developed countries don’t die from. And I could go on, and on...
OBAMA AIDE: "WORKING-CLASS VOTERS NOT KEY FOR DEMOCRATS" :o
jacksmith | 05.05.08 05:39 PM
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LOL! All the HRC and knuckledragging wingnuts' lies about Obama, with cowardly racism and bigotry added, captured in juvenile rhyme!
What could be verse?
CHANGE | 05.05.08 05:41 PM
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Hey, jack***, you ARE an idiot.
:-)
CHANGE | 05.05.08 05:47 PM
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Apparently pube-less is into the crayon box again. This one's no better than the limerick he scrawled on the wall with his excrement yesterday, but it doesn't smell nearly as bad.
chaunceyatrest | 05.05.08 05:47 PM
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HILLARY CLINTON CAN BEST WIN IN NOVEMBER:
It's time for everyone to face the truth. Barack Obama has no real chance of winning the national election in November at this time. His crushing defeat in Pennsylvania makes that fact crystal clear. His best, and only real chance of winning in November is on a ticket with Hillary Clinton as her VP.
Hillary Clinton seemed almost somber at her Pennsylvania victory speech. As if part of her was hoping Obama could have proved he had some chance of winning against the republican attack machine, and their unlimited money, and resources.
But it is absolutely essential that the democrats take back the Whitehouse in November. America, and the American people are in a very desperate condition now. And the whole World has been doing all that they can to help keep us propped up.
Hillary Clinton say's that the heat, and decisions in the Whitehouse are much tougher than the ones on the campaign trail. But I think Mr. Obama faces a test of whether he has what it takes to be a commander and chief by facing the difficult facts, and the truth before him. And by doing what is best for the American people by dropping out of the race, and offering his whole hearted assistance to Hillary Clinton to help her take back the Whitehouse for the American people, and the World.
Mr. Obama is a great speaker. And I am confident he can explain to the American people the need, and wisdom of such a personal sacrifice for them. It should be clear to everyone by now that Hillary Clinton is fighting her heart out for the American people. She has known for a long time that Mr. Obama can not win this November. You have to remember that the Clinton's have won the Whitehouse twice before. They know what it takes.
If Mr. Obama fails his test of commander and chief we can only hope that Hillary Clinton can continue her heroic fight for the American people. And that she prevails. She will need all the continual support and help we can give her. She may fight like a superhuman. But she is only human.
Sen. Hillary Clinton: "You know, more people have now voted for me than have voted for my opponent. In fact, I now have more votes than anybody has ever had in a primary contest for a nomination. And it's also clear that we've got nine more important contests to go."
Sincerely
Jacksmith... Working Class :-)
jacksmith | 05.05.08 05:49 PM
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If you think that being the President's spouse qualifies you to be President...
do I have to finish?
*Sigh* | 05.05.08 05:50 PM
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Apparently pube-less is into the crayon box again. This one's no better than the limerick he scrawled on the wall with his excrement yesterday, but it doesn't smell nearly as bad.
chaunceyatrest | 05.05.08 05:51 PM
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Hillary's problems : Bosniagate.
And also Time magazine is reporting that Bill Clinton recently hit on Rush Limbaugh's date:
http://thepage.time.com/limbaugh-talks-to-fox-about-clinton-crush/
Sally | 05.05.08 06:11 PM
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Don't worry Publius II, he'll be your president too.
Anthony | 05.05.08 06:47 PM
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Nice poem, Publius II: Electric Boogaloo. I think it's great that the mental health facility where you stay has a creative writing program.
TR | 05.05.08 06:55 PM
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Jacksmith, you're becoming as annoying as the Paulites who inundate every news story about their sainted candidate with paranoid screeds about him. Seriously, knock it off.
LN | 05.05.08 07:14 PM
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Jack Smith please find yourself a mental health clinic there is no doubt a facility near you if you are not an escapee ,financial assistance is available , there is no cure for stupidity in which case you may well be out of luck but obviously you do have a mental / psychological problem as you have been posting your same exact "might be an idiot" all over the net for weeks now , maybe you consider it a master piece but most are not impressed . Oh and by the way , look in the mirror , there is no might be , YOU ARE an idiot . Hillary is finished , her chances now are slim and none unless the super delegates want to commit political suicide and make a mockery of this entire election process , your sniper bullet dodging macho woman has lost , it should just about be official after tomorrow night . OBAMA 08 !!!
Roy | 05.05.08 11:43 PM
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Jack Smith please find yourself a mental health clinic there is no doubt a facility near you if you are not an escapee ,financial assistance is available , there is no cure for stupidity in which case you may well be out of luck but obviously you do have a mental / psychological problem as you have been posting your same exact "might be an idiot" all over the net for weeks now , maybe you consider it a master piece but most are not impressed . Oh and by the way , look in the mirror , there is no might be , YOU ARE an idiot . Hillary is finished , her chances now are slim and none unless the super delegates want to commit political suicide and make a mockery of this entire election process , your sniper bullet dodging macho woman has lost , it should just about be official after tomorrow night . OBAMA 08 !!!
Roy | 05.05.08 11:44 PM
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whoops ,sorry ! didn't mean to post 2 x .
Roy | 05.05.08 11:47 PM
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whoops ,sorry ! didn't mean to post 2 x .
Roy | 05.05.08 11:47 PM
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I'm reading Dreams From My Father right now and it's not one bit racist. He never rejected his mom's race - I just read this TODAY of all weird things - it was Malcolm X who rejected his white blood, and Obama said he never could, though he admired Malcom X. Too scary for you?
Phoebe | 05.06.08 04:43 AM
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Phoebe,
Stop letting those facts get in the way of your argument. This is not a rational board as you can tell.
just me | 05.06.08 07:12 AM
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Phoebe,
Stop letting those facts get in the way of your argument. This is not a rational board as you can tell.
just me | 05.06.08 07:12 AM
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It's true that Obama was defeated in Pennsylvania. It wasn't a crushing defeat and to characterise it shows ignorance or propaganda. The population of pennsylvania is some of the oldest in the US - a demographic that have heavily favoured HRC. It was expected that she would carry the state easily and Obama was trailing 22% in the polls 4 weeks before the primary. For him to come to within 9% of defeating HRC (even with the Wright controversy) is more of a concern to her - not him. From initially admiring HRC I now find her increasingly shrill and detached from reality. Sadly her populist mob rhetoric will actually help her. This is what the US is all about - ignorance, controlled news, censored entertainment (often packaged as news), rewritten history, rigged elections and the perceived threat of constant war. An exact re-run of Orwell’s classic
Polaris | 05.06.08 07:34 AM
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Barack Obama running against Hillary Clinton
Bill Cllinton
Chelsey Clinton
Rush Limbaugh
Joe Scarborough
Pat Buchanan
John McCain
Fox News
Republican-Media
So we should be Joyous that despite all the Opponents that Barack has to battle... lies, distortions, guilt by associaiton, etc...
Barack Obama still won the most states despite the above!
Barack Obama still ahead in popular vote despite the above!
Barack Obama still raised the most money in history despite the above!
(And yet, although Barack Obama cut ties with Rev. Wright a week ago, you will still get writers, reporters and media who will be unable to move on, although that would be the ethical thing to do, they continue to associate Barack with Rev. Wright, continue to harass the public with writings and questions of Rev. Wright when an obliteration of Iran or the trillions of dollars going to Iraq, which has increased our gas prices should be a more pressing problem to write about. It just goes to the heart of character, morals and ethics of those who will continue to bring up Rev. Wright for distortion and if you divide them, it is easy to conquer them supposition.)
Angellight | 05.06.08 07:43 AM
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I was born white, but what white Europeans have done, historically, to non-white Europeans make me ashamed to be their descendent. When Columbus arrived there was a tribe called the Caribe. They numbered in the millions. Today they no longer exist. Same with the Aztecs. The Incas. We killed the Buffalos and slaughtered women and children at Wounded Knee. We stole the southwest from Mexico, and Panama from Columbia. We bought and sold black folks on the auction block. We fought a bloody civil war. We systematically terrorized the black south for a century to suppress any hope of political power.
You may say--I have never done any of these things to anyone--I don't deserve to be held accountable--true. But the descendents of white Europeans wrote the history books, and there are many things about our mind set that we do not recognize. We are paradigm bound. We are like blind people. Terrorists killed 3500 defenseless people in the Twin Towers. But how many defenseless Iraqi's have we killed? One man's meat is another man's poison. We need to be led forward by someone with vision.
Seymour Glass | 05.06.08 09:02 AM
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Seymour is a manifestation of people who seem to want to transfer historical guilt to lviing human beings. Even though my family was more often a victim of history, it is stupid, got that Seymour, stupid to visit the sins of the father to the son. You cannot change what your ancestors did and you are not responsible for their actions. You answer only for your own deeds. You are no more responsible for the crimes of Columbus than the current Hungarians who threatened my Lutheran great-grandfather with death unless he converted to catholcism and abandoned his own language and stated speaking Hungarian. No one you elect can erase the past. They can, however, write the future. Go in peace.
flyover | 05.06.08 09:30 AM
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