WaPo Editorial For Those Who Think Obama Will Send The Party Down The Drain

[DrFunkenstein]

In his breathtakingly eloquent victory speech Thursday, Mr. Obama said Iowa would be remembered as "the moment when we tore down barriers that have divided us for too long, when we rallied people of all parties and ages to a common cause."

But what cause, precisely? There's virtually nothing in Mr. Obama's platform that diverges from the standard, left-wing Democratic fare. He promised again Thursday not to "just tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to know." But virtually nothing he says is dissonant to liberal ears; in foreign policy, trade policy, education policy, fiscal policy, there is nothing with a nod to the possibility of good ideas in the red-state playbook.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010403414.html

I have been arguing this all along. What makes Obama so refreshing for me is that he has the power to make LIBERALISM seem like common sense, rather than those who make moderate positions seem hopelessly liberal.

People deride his ability to communicate so well, but that is a cornerstone of his appeal for me. He is a moderate in talk, a liberal in walk. After 8 years of triangulation and liberal-baiting from the Clintons, followed by 8 years of a Republican majority where Democrats were wetting their pants about speaking their mind, I have to say that I am FIRED UP!!!

[brentspeak]

1. There is "virtually nothing" in that op-ed which backs up its contention that Obama is "left-wing"

Or even a liberal. No facts, no details. A waste of printed space.

[avaistheone1]

3. True. And the author calls the Cllintons liberal.

The Clintons who brought us NAFTA, deregulated the telecoms, and ushered in outsourcing are liberals according to this author! Who knew?

[BattyDem]

2. "the power to make LIBERALISM seem like common sense"

That's true ... he's very good at that.

The Repugs frame everything as Conservative vs Liberal, or as they like to call it, "good vs evil." :eyes:

Democrats (and Liberals in general) have always had trouble reframing that debate. Obama has the ability to take the "good vs evil" argument and change it to "common sense vs stupidity." :-)

[DrFunkenstein]

7. And When It Comes to Military Action

Democrats have been locked into the "weak" and "tough" frame that brought Clinton to support the war so solidly and unapologetically, not to mention sabre-rattling with Iran and keeping nuclear missiles "on the table" against a band of terrorists.

Instead of "weak" vs. "tough," Obama makes foreign policy about "smart" and "dumb" (without sounding all smarty-pants, miraculously).

Maybe that's why he set out to eliminate ALL nuclear weapons - name another viable Dem willing to do that on the national stage.

[fenriswolf]

4. every president likes to think that they tore down walls

and brought the country together usually proved in landslide victories. Heck i think bush even called himself a unitor and his '04 candidacy was a landslide, at least thats what they claimed.

in reality they are dividers. Every single one of them because it is no longer about trying to balance out the peoples needs against themselves but balancing corporations wants against the peoples needs. None of them want to fight against the corporations, they want to work in the current system, a system that was created by the elite at the time and a system that is fundamentally flawed so that if the corporations somehow loose a little bit of power their are always ways of regaining it. None of the current cadidates feel ultimatly safe with me, almost all of them somehow feel that they have selled out, either from the positions they have taken or not taken, their voting record, claims they have made or from the money they have taken. Except kucinich but the kucinich movement does not have the steam that is needed (noted by the two failed money bomb attempts, at least my contribution was even more valuable percentage wise) in short I hope i'm just pessemestic as heck and the next POTUS does a heckuva job. but i could be right.

[Bitwit1234]

5. Will send it down the drain - hell it's already started.

his run has screwed the Democrats to hell and back. IF BY SOME HOOK OR CROOK HE IS THE CANDIDATE he will loose so bad the democratic party will disband.

[DrFunkenstein]

10. Against Whom? Romney? Huckabee? Giuliani? Thompson? McCain?

Really, they have put up a bunch of chumps and even they know it. The GOP is severely demoralized and we are FIRED UP!!!!

[Cha]

12. You heard it here, folks..from

bitwit the sourpuss.

[sniffa]

16. you should make this an OP

:thumbsup:

[tammywammy]

17. Good point

You should really make this it's own thread. I'm sure many feel the same way.

And excellent use of caps. :thumbsup:

[BeyondGeography]

6. Obama asks citizens to take an interest in their government

he will mobilize opinion, in part by opening up the processes of government to expose special interest arguments to the light of day, and encourage grass roots efforts to pressure legislators to move progressive legislation forward. Our agenda on health care, energy and the war will be sold as a common-sense program for America, which it is. With leadership from the presidency, progress for the entire country (that's the unity part) is possible, but it won't happen unless people are engaged, and he's proving right now he can do it.

It's called democracy, Washington Post. That thing you stopped promoting a long time ago.

[jaysunb]

21. Obama couldn't have said it any better than you just did.

:thumbsup:

[Catchawave]

8. More from the article.....

It may be that voters sense in the candidates' instincts and histories a nonpartisanship that, in the hunt for primary voters, neither aspirant dares display. Voters might find such hints in Mr. Huckabee's support, as governor, for children's health care; or in Mr. Obama's earlier statements on trade or accountability in education, more nuanced than his campaign positions. But now that Mr. Obama is the front-runner, and Mr. Huckabee is at least a leading candidate, hints are not enough, and neither are promises to bring the nation together. Both should be asked just how they plan to do so.


I agree, hints and promises are not enough. For me, anyhow.

[DrFunkenstein]

11. Here Is More Than Enough

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3957420

A little bit of research will do your heart wonders, as it has mine.

[aquart]

9. You just gave the best argument I've heard.

Unfortunately, what WaPo considers "liberal," is nowhere close to what I consider liberal. And I don't see it from Obama, either.

[avaistheone1]

13. Unfortunately, that has been true about WaPo for a long time.

It's hard to believe they were the paper that broke The Pentagon Papers.

[terisan]

14. I think Edwards understands where we are; I think Obama has great emotional appeal

but I don't see him chasing the money changers out of the temple of democracy. I see him as a status quo president in terms of economics.

[Armstead]

15. I hate what the the Washington Post has become

Obama aside, the POst seems to well on the way to becoming a neo-con mouthpiece these days.

In its glory days, I doubt the Post would have used such phrases as "the standard, left-wing Democratic fare" to describe moderate policies..

[sniffa]

18. I actually think that speech will propel him to the nomination

I think this year, Iowa will play the same stunning (as in, woah! what happened to the front-runner) role it did in 2004. The biggest thing IMO is that not only did Clinton lose, she finished behind Edwards. Despite the Clinton camp's lowering of expectations, this was devastating; the idea that the Clinton Machine is unbeatable has been blown to smithereens. Any voter vacillating because of *insert Concern Troll's concern* will now feel better about voting for him.

That speech was incredible and it will be played often.

[ananda]

19. Obama is rightwing.

He is not even close to liberal.

He is just slightly less rightwing
than Reeps, and still corporatist.

[avaistheone1]

20. Righto, That is what makes him so appealing to the Neocons and the Republicans

The Republicans have no reason to be concerned with an Obama victory.

If Obama wins rest assured: the new boss will be the same as the old boss.