Friday, October 27, 2006

Barack Obama

Time magazine has a nice article on Barack Obama, who seems to be all the rage these days in politics. I hope the pundits are right, man this country really needs a fresh voice.

I'm so sick of politics, it seems impossible to really get anything done. I just hope we can get a fresh voice, a leader who cares more about America (and the rest of the world) then themselves, their agenda or their political affiliation. I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. I do want a strong leader who desires positive change. My biggest issue right now is Foreign Policy, we have to have dialog with our so called enemies and find some sort of understanding and hope. War does not get us far, As Amos Lee says, "Freedom is rarely found, by beating someone else down."

I like Obama, and I like John McCain. They seem to real and authentic. And our country really needs that now, IMHO! But I need to study these dudes. Is it just me, or does it seem hard to really find out what these cats believe?

At this point my simple take on Obama is this: He is humble, charismatic, and he seems to be a bridge builder. I think he could bring a lot of healing to our country. But, maybe he lacks the strength to make the hard decisions and lead our country. He seems a bit unclear on many of his "stances." If he "clears" up his philosophy and shows he can lead, I'll probably be punching his name of the ballot in 2008. And if Hillary is running, I will definitely be pulling for this guy.

Also, how cool would it be for America to have a black President? To me, this would bring so much healing to our country and the rest of the world. I'm a white dude, but man I get so tired of seeing so many white folks in power. Diversity is good!

But hey, I really have not taken the time to study this dude and try to understand his policy and dreams for our country. All I know is 2008 can't come soon enough. Not because I'm a Bush hater, I just think we need a change, a fresh perspective and some creative ways to move our world forward.

Anyhow, below are some interesting quotes from the article. Enjoy, as always, peace & love from Austin


Obama is doing something pretty rare in latter-day American politics: he is respecting their intelligence.


the other side is not evil


In The Audacity of Hope, I counted 28 impolitic or self-deprecating admissions. Immediately, on page 3, he admits to political "restlessness," which is another way of saying he's ambitious. He flays himself for enjoying private jets, which eliminate the cramped frustrations of commercial flying but--on the other hand!--isolate him from the problems of average folks. He admits that his 2004 Senate opponent, Alan Keyes, got under his skin. He blames himself for "tensions" in his marriage; he doubts his "capacities" as a husband and father. He admits a nonpopulist affinity for Dijon mustard; he cops to being "grumpy" in the morning. He even offers his media consultant David Axelrod's opinions about the best negative TV ads that could have been used against him in the 2004 Senate campaign. (He once--accidentally, he says--voted against a bill to "protect our children from sex offenders."


But those were politicians who had big ideas or were willing to take big risks, and so far, Barack Obama hasn't done much of either


The audience of students and activists sensed the Senator's timidity and became palpably less enthusiastic as Obama went on


Look, it's just not my style to go out of my way to offend people or be controversial just for the sake of being controversial. That's offensive and counterproductive. It makes people feel defensive and more resistant to changes.

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