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Learning about Obama
In a recent post, a reader, a Clinton supporter asked the Obama community to help convince him why Obama should be President.
I’ll take that offer.
I have two simple recommendations. Obama has all the makings of a great statesman. So take some time, listen to him, and read what he’s written, and what he has posted on his web site.
Listen to him first. I think the best place to start is his town hall meeting in Parma, Ohio on March 2nd. It was broadcast on C-Span, and you have to go to C-Span to see it. Here’s a link to the Flash video.
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=204253-1
I think Obama was in great form at this town hall meeting, speaking for almost 90 minutes, and I recommend starting here because he focuses much more on policy detail than he has in his acceptance speeches where he has been more inspirational.
Next I recommend Obama’s response to the latest State of the Union, where he aggressively goes after the failed policies of the Bush administration. (5 minutes) It shows how effective he will be in the campaign against McCain and Bush.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmNCALGHOC4
And in May of last year, I think he did a good job dealing with a fairly tough grilling by George Stephanopoulos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCGvv91wEf8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kuDjbYO1Yg&feature=related
Once you begin to better appreciate what his policy prescriptions are, and the zeal with which he will take on McCain and Bush this fall, it’s a good time to listen to his more inspirational speeches.
The Jefferson Jackson speech in Iowa was terrific.(20 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tydfsfSQiYc
So was the MLK day speech at King’s church in Atlanta (34 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0x_TpDris
His Potomac primary victory speech was inspiring (26 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxd8x7UGOuo
As was his victory speech in South Carolina (17 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iVAPH_EcmQ
As was his spellbinding concession speech in New Hampshire, the speech that inspired the “Yes We Can” video (14 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3imf9Mvvdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qo5ZAyaZk8
And of course you can’t miss the 2004 Democratic Convention speech (20 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awQkJNVsgKM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aekautDZlRU
There’s plenty more, but that is a great start.
Now on to the reading.
You really should find the time to read the “Audacity of Hope”. (It's in just about every library.) In that book, Obama lays out so much of what his campaign is all about. His issues aren’t new. He has been concerned with the issues he speaks about for years. And his book should be required reading for all who want to understand his quest for the presidency. Once you are finished with that and want to better understand Barack’s early years, especially those as a community organizer, read his first book, “Dreams from My Father”.
Next go to his web site to read his policy plans and positions.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
And to understand his legislative record in Congress. Try the following DailyKos diary.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/21/164117/783
That’s a great start for anyone, and I recommend this to all Hillary supporters who want to learn more about Obama. He is looking more and more like the eventual Democratic candidate. Tonight in Mississippi he picked up 100,000 votes and likely 6 or more delegates. It’s a good time to get to know Obama better.
Comments (8)
NO THANK YOU! I KNOW ALL I NEED TO KNOW...REV. WRIGHT, LOUIS FARRAHKHAN, WILLIAM AYERS, REZKO... I HAVE BEEN CONVINCED, THANK YOU!
March 12, 2008 1:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maggi, you have been listening to far too much Clinton camp gossip and media spin. These things have been debunked. Also if you want to get into candidates knowing bad people I am sure someone could provide you with a list of all Clintons nasty connections... funny how Obama won't stoop to that level.
March 12, 2008 1:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow! Very nice, Patrick!
I really appreciate how you put thought and effort into prioritizing the order of each information item. And adding the links with playing times was a very helpful, thoughtful touch.
Thanks!
p.s. Not that you're lacking on sources of information (!), and you may already know about this one, but you might enjoy the very thorough research and well-reasoned analysis of Obama's record and policy proposals by Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings:
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/02/all-the-rest.html
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/02/but-wait-theres.html
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/02/solutions-adden.html
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/02/obama-actually.html
March 12, 2008 1:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Patrick,
Wow, this is great. I'm impressed with the way you prioritized the order of information items. And the links you provide with playing times are very useful and thoughtful.
Thanks for doing this. :-)
Are you aware of the considerable amount of high-quality research and analysis done by Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings? If not, I highly recommend a review. It'll be worth the time.
March 12, 2008 2:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good, Laura - while you're reading, please assess this:
http://www.analyzethis.net/blog/2005/07/09/barack-obama-embellishes-his-resume/
What do you think when you find out his father was a clerk in Nairobi, not a "goat herder" (though like Al Gore, he likely worked the farm as a kid):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=506338&in_page_id=1770
What do you think when you hear stuff about him "learning Indonesian in 6 months" or his hardship cases to find out his mother taught English at the US Embassy and his father was a Shell oil manager more interested in golf than religion? And I continually wonder why he doesn't bring this up, since it completely destroys the "Obama's a Muslim" argument, but it takes away his rags-to-riches story as well. Prep school starting at 10 years old. What's with his drug use: "trying to put who I am out of my mind" or some crap. Come on, he was hanging out with yuppie kids in Hawaii smoking Maui Wowie because it was fun, not for philosophical reasons. That was the 70's, with Mick hanging out with Margaret Trudeau, when coke was everywhere and Miami Vice was cool.
He managed to write a book his first session of Congress, while cutting out early each week to fly back to Chicago. After saying before his run he didn't have the experience to be President yet.
Sorry, I don't trust what he writes. He said he should be President because his grandma lives on Lake Victoria and he spent 4 years as a kid in Indonesia, and he had Jesse Jackson Jr. out for months comparing him to Jesse Sr. and Oprah comparing him to "The One" (the black savior) from the Miss Jane Pitman story, and then he blasted Bill Clinton for bringing "race" into the campaign. Some uniter.
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/jesse_jackson_jr_cuts_ad_for_b.html
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/terry-trippany/2008/01/10/congressman-jesse-jackson-jr-says-media-needs-tell-bill-clinton-bud-
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/oprahobama1210
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1693043,00.html
I have no problem with black pride and addressing black issues, but then don't blame someone else for trying to make him "the black candidate". If he's "The One", why doesn't he wear it instead of shying from it?
March 12, 2008 4:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jsmith0316: None of that has been debunked! Obama won't answer all the questions about his association with Rezko. I know this for a fact. And there are more to come...before this process is over. He just puts the focus on something else when he doesn't want to talk about himself. It will catch up with him.
March 12, 2008 6:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's funny how every time you ask an Obama supporter to tell you why he/she thinks you should vote for Obama, they invariably just point you back to the candidate's web site. They never tell you in their own words just what it is they think should convince you to support Obama. They just point you back to Obama's words.
Sorry, if you're going to make me listen to his speeches to convince me, you've lost me already. I have tried listening to him; I cannot do it. I try, I really do; and two minutes after he starts speaking, I suddenly realize that I have completely tuned him out. At first I thought it was because the call-and-response cadance that he engages in turns me off--reminds me too much of a fire-and-brimstone Southern Baptist preacher getting the "Amen!"s from the congregation. That may indeed be part of it, but in the last week it finally dawned on me that biggest reason I find him difficult to listen to is that he has these huge long pauses between words, pauses long enough that my mind goes off in its own direction, and by the time it comes back to Obama again, he's onto something else, and I have lost interest in trying to follow what he is saying.
I know almost everybody swoons over what they call his eloquence; I simply cannot see it. I am, apparently, completely immune to it. The only thing he inspires me to do is to change the channel. Maybe it's like being tone deaf or unable to taste PTC, I don't know, all I know is that the speeches don't cut it for me. They're too abstract. I want to hear something more concrete. I want to feel like the issues that are important to me are also important to him. And I want to know that he is going to fight like hell for them. So far, I'm not getting that, not even close.
It's not that I cannot be moved by a speech; John Edwards always blew me away. Obama just doesn't.
So please, instead of giving me a couple of hours worth of video to watch and a couple of weeks worth of reading to do, can't one of you supporters simply say, in a couple of pithy paragraphs, just what it is that you see Obama doing for this country in the next 4-8 years?
March 12, 2008 7:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the response is: crickets. (sigh)
March 14, 2008 1:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
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