You know what I like about Obama?

[senseandsensibility]

He never seems to lose his cool. He is always calm and collected with his wits about him. You can not "practice" to achieve this quality, or learn it through years of experience. Yet IMHO it is one of the qualities that our next President will need in abundance. The problems (and the stress) that the next President faces will be so formidable that someone with a hot temper or a petty disposition will not be able to handle them.

Has anyone ever seen him rattled? If this were not his true personality, he could not have maintained this demeanor throughout this extremely trying and exhausting campaign. It's not an act.

[galactical]

1. Agreed.

Although, he did say he was 'rattled' about what happened with wright. He's tougher than he looks.

[DevonRex]

2. Real cool.

It's truly amazing.

[TwilightGardener]

3. He looks exhausted to me. I wish he would get some rest.

[virtualobserver]

7. he's heading to the beach.....

in the Virgin Islands.

[TwilightGardener]

11. Good to know!

[anonymous171]

4. In before sexist.

I hear he's actually REALLY competitive. Good to know he can keep his emotions in check.

[IsItJustMe]

5. And they call him "Cool hand luke". Obama is a very centered person.

[polichick]

6. His staff told Tim Russert that, following the NH loss, Senator Obama was...

...serene.

He has an inner strength that will serve him ~ and us ~ well.

[senseandsensibility]

8. He also seems to be a genuinely "nice" person

as insipid as that sounds. I loved Richardson's anecdote about how Barack whispered "Katrina" to him when Bill didn't know the question during a debate.

[cooolandrew]

9. Yep, no-one can say that the kitchen sink strategy hasn't vetted and improved him.

[Bensthename]

10. Yup, he is one cool cat. That's what we need for the "3 AM call"

[Binka]

35. Welcome Ben, My Oldest Son Is A Ben And You Joined DU On My B-Day

I like you already!

[anamandujano]

12. He has a wide view of things and so takes ALL positions on them?

[senseandsensibility]

15. Where are you coming up with this?

The thread doesn't say anything like that.

[anamandujano]

16. I'm on topic. Look at the title of the thread.

[senseandsensibility]

17. Well, I'm the OP

and I answered my own question, but thanks for playing.

[anamandujano]

24. Just like your leader, he asks and answers his own questions.

Sorry to interrupt your circle jerk but this forum still has a few elements of democracy left.

[senseandsensibility]

25. clever

:toast: You must be so proud.

[rndmprsn]

13. General McPeak - “Steady, reliable, ‘No shock, Barack. No drama Obama.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5044652

=]

[ekwhite]

20. Exactly.

If Bill Clinton is Elvis, then Hillary is Whitney Houston, and Barack Obama is John Coltrane.

Oh yes, and John McCain is Frankie Yankovic.

[Binka]

40. McLame Is Lawrence Welk

Shares his lack of talent and irrelevance!

[WillyT]

14. Excellent Points !!! - K & R !!!

Si se puede!!!

:hi:

[Robeson]

18. The opposite of him is John McCain...

...who scares the hell out of me.

[MH1]

21. Good point - and one that should be made in the GE.

Repeatedly.

[quantass]

19. He's very good under pressure

[TexasLady]

22. I remember he himself saying this in an interview

when asked about any temper issues. He said he was even tempered, and that even Michelle would agree with this, and that she was the one that lost her cool of the two of them.

I think it is why even lots of repubs genuinely like the guy, on a nonpolitical, personal level.

[99th_Monkey]

23. Barak's "more perfect union" speech was a shining example of this quality IMO

When I consider the pressure he must have been feeling, under the hot glare of 24/7 media attacks on his ex-pastor and friend,
with his whole campaign hanging in the balance; yet he acted with courage, clarity, and graciousness that is indeed a rare
commodity these daze in political circles.

This is also one of my main reasons for supporting Obama. Thanks for posting this.

[ms liberty]

26. I agree... n/t

[Liberal Gramma]

27. The only downside is perhaps for Michelle

Can you imagine having an arguement with a husband with that ability to reframe the issue? You'd never win!

[senseandsensibility]

28. Oh, I don't know

Something tells me she is probably able to hold her own. :P

[Unbowed]

29. You're right. He thinks it out rather than reacting out of anger.

When he acts it is a level-headed decision. He listens to criticism, learns and responds appropriately. That is exactly what we need in a President.

[senseandsensibility]

30. Absolutely

What a refreshing change from the last eight years!

[Cheap_Trick]

31. to be fair, let's list what we like about hillary. I'll start...

[rug]

32. I'll give him this. He'll never walk through the wrong door in China.

[kid a]

33. Nice post! And I agree =)

[sueragingroz]

34. he lost his cool with the press over NAFTA /nt

[grantcart]

36. and the reason is that while everyone sees him as African American or Multli Ethnic he really is

going to be our first Hawaiian President - He has that Aloha cool on the inside.

[Strelnikov_]

37. Agree

Iceman. True leadership quality.

[FrenchieCat]

38. Calm, cool and collected....the 3 "Cs".........to answer that phone that

Hillary never answered.

[Strelnikov_]

39. "I think a president must move as swiftly as is prudent to retaliate."

Gonna repost this again since I think it highlights the difference between the candidates in handling a crises.

Personally, I'm tired of the bomb first, ask questions later approach.


South Carolina Democratic debate
April 26, 2007

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18352397/

Williams: Senator Obama, if, God forbid a thousand times, while we were gathered here tonight, we learned that two American cities have been hit simultaneously by terrorists and we further learned, beyond the shadow of a doubt it had been the work of Al Qaida, how would you change the U.S. military stance overseas as a result?

Obama: Well, the first thing we'd have to do is make sure that we've got an effective emergency response, something that this administration failed to do when we had a hurricane in New Orleans.

And I think that we have to review how we operate in the event of not only a natural disaster, but also a terrorist attack.

The second thing is to make sure that we've got good intelligence, a., to find out that we don't have other threats and attacks potentially out there, and b., to find out, do we have any intelligence on who might have carried it out so that we can take potentially some action to dismantle that network.

But what we can't do is then alienate the world community based on faulty intelligence, based on bluster and bombast. Instead, the next thing we would have to do, in addition to talking to the American people, is making sure that we are talking to the international community.

Because as already been stated, we're not going to defeat terrorists on our own. We've got to strengthen our intelligence relationships with them, and they've got to feel a stake in our security by recognizing that we have mutual security interests at stake.

Williams: We are out of time, thank you.

. . .

Senator Clinton, same question.

Clinton: Well, again, having been a senator during 9/11, I understand very well the extraordinary horror of that kind of an attack and the impact that it has, far beyond those that are directly affected.

I think a president must move as swiftly as is prudent to retaliate.

If we are attacked, and we can determine who is behind that attack, and if there are nations that supported or gave material aid to those who attacked us, I believe we should quickly respond.

Now, that doesn't mean we go looking for other fights. You know, I supported President Bush when he went after Al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

And then when he decided to divert attention to Iraq, it was not a decision that I would have made, had I been president, because we still haven't found bin Laden. So let's focus on those who have attacked us and do everything we can to destroy them.

Williams: Out of time, Senator. Thank you.


Post-Democratic Candidates' Debate Coverage

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18351722/

Fineman: Authentic victory for Hillary.

Barack Obama, in some respects, was off his game. He was off his rhythm. He is good in one on one. His thought pauses...

Matthews: Was he frustrated by the fact there were eight people sharing 90 minutes?

Fineman: Yes, exactly. He’s not used to that.

And he also blew the question initially on, what would you do if two American cities were bombed and we knew it was al Qaeda? What happened was, he got that question first. It was from out of the blue. He got it. He didn’t answer it forcefully enough, in terms of retaliation and military force. Neither did John Edwards.

The people in the Clinton spin room couldn’t they were hoping and praying that Hillary would also get that question. And she did. And she used the word retaliate. And Edwards excuse me and Obama spent the rest of the debate making up for what he knew was an inadequate inadequate answer on the question of military force.