Difference between revisions of "Barack Obama"

Revision as of 17:25, 30 August 2008

Overview

Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2008.

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Sub-pages

/writings: pieces written (or spoken from prepared notes) by Obama
The /Muslim smear is false.
There are apparently some fears Obama might be assassinated if elected.

Related Pages

McCain vs. Obama: comparison of the two major 2008 candidates

Objections

The only serious objections to Obama as president apply far more intensely to his major opponent, John McCain; see McCain vs. Obama for details.

However, there are a number of objections which are far less substantial and yet seem to keep coming up in casual conversation, where they are less likely to be scrutinized.

The Race Card

Claim: Obama "played the race card" in a speech where he described himself as "different" because of the color of his skin.

The speech in question was a thoughtful response to repeated covert attacks by his opponents, and was not a plea for special treatment or sympathy due to oppression.

The Race Counter-Card

Claim: The democrats only picked Obama because nobody could say "no" to a black man. (This was alleged by Rush Limbaugh.)

This is nonsense; Obama got a thorough reaming in the liberal blogosphere for supporting FISA, and has also received liberal criticism for his pandering to religion.

Arrogance

Claim: Obama is "arrogant".

This claim came, in one case, from a disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporter. I don't see how it can possibly be justified, especially for someone who agreed with Hillary's platform; both Hillary and McCain are far more arrogant and presumptuous than Obama. The only explanation I can think of is a subtle, probably unconscious, racism: Obama speaks firmly and authoritatively, while the claimant prefers a submissive, soft-spoken, "safe" black man (like Colin Powell) and feels threatened by Obama's failure to conform to that role. However, the claim came via a third party, so I have no idea if racism is a reasonable accusation. --Woozle 13:25, 30 August 2008 (EDT)

Empty

Claim: Obama is an empty suit, an insubstantial figure with no clear agenda. (This claim has been popular in the right blogosphere; see Jon Ham's Right Angles blog early in 2008 for some examples.)

This claim is also absurd; compare his official web site with McCain's: which one has the most in-depth and up-to-date discussion of the issues?

Links

Reference

Official

Filed Links

redirect template:links/smw

News & Views

2007-11-14 4Barack by Lawrence Lessig
2007-08-10 How the Democrats Blew It in Only Eight Months by Alexander Cockburn, The Nation: 'Then Obama drew even fiercer fire by saying he would take nukes off the table in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance," Obama told the AP on August 2, adding, after a pause, "involving civilians." Then he quickly said, "Let me scratch that. There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table."' Well, at least he's flip-flopping in the right direction.
2007-05-07 Racism lurks in the shadows for Obama by Leonard Pitts, Jr.: more about racism in the US than about Obama; cross-posted.
2007-04-22 Obama: Blacks as guilty as Imus (cross-posted to racism in the US)

Quotes By

2007-06-03
- Wolf Blitzer: "I want you to raise your hand if you believe English should be the official language of the United States."
- Barack Obama: "This is the kind of question that is designed precisely to divide us. You know, you're right. Everybody is going to learn to speak English if they live in this country. The issue is not whether or not future generations of immigrants are going to learn English. The question is: How can we come up with both a legal, sensible immigration policy? And when we get distracted by those kinds of questions, I think we do a disservice to the American people." [1]
2007-02-11 In response to 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft’s question: "Would you advocate the use of military force to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons?": "I think we should keep all options on the table..." (sources; related: potential US invasion of Iran)

Humor

2008-03-19 Black Guy Asks Nation For Change: Obama framed as a panhandler

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Overview==
-[[category:people]]{{seed}}
+[[category:people]]Senator [[Barack Obama]] is the [[US Democratic Party|Democratic]] nominee for [[President of the United States]] in [[2008 US presidential race|2008]].{{seedling}}
 ===Sub-pages===
 * [[/writings]]: pieces written (or spoken from prepared notes) by Obama
 * The [[/Muslim smear]] is false.
 * There are apparently some fears Obama might be [[/assassination|assassinated]] if elected.
 ===Related Pages===
 * [[McCain vs. Obama]]: comparison of the two major [[2008 US presidential race|2008]] candidates
+==Objections==
+The only serious objections to Obama as president apply far more intensely to his major opponent, [[John McCain]]; see [[McCain vs. Obama]] for details.
+However, there are a number of objections which are far less substantial and yet seem to keep coming up in casual conversation, where they are less likely to be scrutinized.
+===The Race Card===
+'''Claim''': Obama "played the [[race card]]" in a speech where he described himself as "different" because of the color of his skin.
+The speech in question was a thoughtful response to repeated covert attacks by his opponents, and was not a plea for special treatment or sympathy due to oppression.
+===The Race Counter-Card===
+'''Claim''': The [[US Democratic Party|democrats]] only picked Obama because nobody could say "no" to a black man. (This was alleged by [[Rush Limbaugh]].)
+This is nonsense; Obama got a thorough reaming in the [[liberal blogosphere]] for supporting [[FISA]], and has also received liberal criticism for his pandering to religion.
+===Arrogance===
+'''Claim''': Obama is "arrogant".
+''This claim came, in one case, from a disgruntled [[Hillary Clinton]] supporter. I don't see how it can possibly be justified, especially for someone who agreed with Hillary's platform; both Hillary and McCain are far more arrogant and presumptuous than Obama. The only explanation I can think of is a subtle, probably unconscious, [[racism]]: Obama speaks firmly and authoritatively, while the claimant prefers a submissive, soft-spoken, "safe" black man (like [[Colin Powell]]) and feels threatened by Obama's failure to conform to that role. However, the claim came via a third party, so I have no idea if racism is a reasonable accusation. --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 13:25, 30 August 2008 (EDT)''
+===Empty===
+'''Claim''': Obama is an empty suit, an insubstantial figure with no clear agenda. (This claim has been popular in the [[right blogosphere]]; see [[Jon Ham]]'s ''Right Angles'' blog early in 2008 for some examples.)
+This claim is also absurd; compare [http://barackobama.com his official web site] with [http://johnmccain.com McCain's]: which one has the most in-depth and up-to-date discussion of the issues?
 ==Links==