Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

I am surprised that you didn't mention the consiquences for the Dems if the aristocrates rob Obama and give the nomination to Queen Hillary. Denver beware, I remember '68, "burn-baby-burn".

VEEP Nominees could be decisive factor in election which may be very close.

this is depressing - Obama MUST get his spine out there so people can compare him to the 'testicular' scorched earth Hillary seems to adore .
ns

The Rezko trial is likely to be followed by a series of Federal indictments of major Illinois politicians, starting most probably with the sitting Democratic governor, the highly unpopular Rod Blogojevic. The Democrats can pray that Karl Rove gets brought before a grand jury too ( Rezko reached out to Rove, it is alleged, to remove U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald who was prosecuting the Chicago Mob, the Daley Machine, the former GOP Governor George Ryan, Rezko and investigating the Bush administration over Valerie Plame. A busy guy)

Political fixer Antonin "Tony" Rezko, who has shady ties that stretch from Chicago's most notorious machine wards to the Mideast, was an early Obama patron and fundraiser who helped Obama with housing and employment.

I think the Rezko thing is pretty limited in its reach. Look at how many times Obama's name has come up in the investigation - you can count on one hand.

This is wishful thinking by Gingrich - the man who thought Tommy Thompson would do well in Iowa. Elections are about contrast, and Obama provides a more favorable, and stark contrast with McCain.

Key sentence: " He could be a unifying national leader. He could collapse as well."

So 'she' should not collapse as candidate, but would not be a unifying national leader.

Hmnn, something to think about.

"Long contest ahead and many things can happen"

I think it is fascinating to observe unfold. The number of dynamics that are still in play make Denver the super bowl of politics, and with the playoffs still ahead there is plenty to be excited about. For all the loyalty we read about, loyalty in politics has always been fickle and subject to change.

Well, I'm not a huge Hillary fan, but I could live with her as president. Obama, on the other hand, strikes me as just a morally repugnant individual. I think he'd be extremely divisive for the country. For all his talk of being a unifier he has a tin ear on certain issues. The obvious is how his first instinct, when he got caught attending a racist church for 20 years, was to lecture the rest of us about racism. Hello? We weren't the ones going to a racist church.

"...the serious dirt is yet to be revealed and is being saved by the GOP for the general election..."

Seriously? The GOP's oppo is so much better than the Clinton machine's that something significantly damaging to the Obama campaign has not yet been discovered and revealed? Somehow I doubt this.

John "100 Years in Iraq" McCain vs a fired up Sen Obama is something I would love to see -- I don't see how after 8 years of Bush the GOP wins, but then again, I didn't think the Americans would vote for Bush a second time after the obvious failure of Iraq. Mr Obama talks about resiliency, infrastructure, regional security, and energy issues (see his Nov 2007 speech at the Woodrow Wilson Cntr) as part of the national security debate. Mr McCain still seems to believe that airstrikes will win these wars. And Jim: Thanks for bringing in the insightful commentary, I hadn't heard anything about Barack Obama's church yet.

As an Obama supporter, I am obviously disappointed by Dr. Barnett's decision, although it does not qualify as much of an endorsement. A few thoughts:
1. Voting based on "electability" is tricky, although I do not reject the idea in principle. However, I suggest that the Clinton who might emerge as the nominee in Denver would be far less electable than the one who is campaigning now. The delegate arithmetic makes it inevitable that the only way that Clinton could get the nomination would be through a process that would leave a lot of bad feelings and a lot of polarization. In addition, Obama really has not run a negative campaign against Clinton - "negative" means bringing up stuff like Monica, Hillary's commodities trades, the dubious pardons, Bill's extraordinary new-found wealth, etc. In the midst of the Wright miasma, some Democrats may have forgotten the field day that the Republicans will have with a Clinton candidacy.
2. By contrast, Obama would likely come out of Denver with a great deal of positive media. He will be a "giant killer" and the theme of racial harmony will resonate very nicely. I predict that we will hear the phrase "Look how far we've come" so many times that it will make me want to vomit.
3. As for untapped dirt, I tend to think it is unlikely. While I certainly agree that anyone involved in Chicago politics is likely to have some skeletons, so far, the Rezko mattter seems to be tapped out as far as the Obama connections are concerned. I find it hard to believe that the Republicans would be able to find dirt that the Clintons have been unable to find (unless the Clintons have been holding back because of possible blow-back either on themselves or on potential allies in Illinois).
On the merits, I still have a feeling that if Obama can navigate his way through the interest-group swamp that is Democratic Party politics, he really does hold out the possibility of moving things in some new and positive directions, which I don't see from the other two candidates.

The Rezko thing is not "tapped out" as Antonin Rezko is not being faced with the prospect, yet, of a sentencing hearing and a request to testify against anyone else. This particular tree has yet to be shaken by Fitzgerald.

It is not that Obama is likely to face an indictment or a serious accusation so much as that a great deal of insider stories regarding Illinois politics and unsavory figures having connections to Obama will become national news during a general election. Rezko is not the bottom of our political barrel by any means. I live here. Illinois is one of the most politically corrupt states in the union, both parties, not just the Daley machine.

These will not be good stories to have dripping out on a daily basis.

I don't want flame wars to spoil what is for me a wonderful blog. But I think Jim's comments are way out of line. As a Catholic, my shame at the way the Church as handled its abuse issues is profound. But, I'll be dammed if I would permit anyone demand I leave my church or accuse me of pedophilia if I didn't. Calling Obama racist over this matter is tantamount to that and has no place in the discussion at hand. My education in the Catholic concept of Original Sin forces me to acknowledge the legitimacy of black anger as Slavery is America's Original Sin. It stains all of our souls and must be redeemed. If some of that anger can be processed through expression within the confines of a black church rather than through confrontation in the streets, so be it. Why is that too much for you to bear, Jim? What makes you so fragile? Of course, I could be wrong but I would find it hard to believe you know many black people. I can't imagine you would use the word racist so freely if you did.

A future worth creating is going to require more nerve.

Thomas Friedman has an article in new york times called "who will
tell the people".He says ;"we don't need a president who is tough enough to withstand the lies of the opponents.we need a president
who is tough enough to tell the truth to the American people". the
truth is America needs nation building here at home,and not start wars for wealth and power in other countries.

Foreigners love Obama. They dislike Hillary and McCain The USA has several hundred military bases in foreign lands, and has displayed poor diplomacy (to put it diplomatically) during the past 7 years. If the American people are to continue in their quest for global political domination, Obama is your only hope. Politics as usual is doomed to failure. And the failure will be felt worldwide.

Foreigners love Obama. They dislike Hillary and McCain.

You cannot be serious. If either Clinton went to any European country they would be cheered. Even in Israel, Hillary is popular. Indeed, more popular than Obama.

I will vote for either. I want them to team up in fact.