The Obama Delusion

Bravo to you Mr. Samuelson. Come on America - wake up. This is not a rock concert or a football game. This is our daily lives you are risking for a person who is no more than a motivational speaker. Be careful what you wish for - you just migt get it.

And now, kids, it';s time for me to put on my "pompous blowhard" hat ...

Saltydog (2/20/2008 12:28:31 PM) said of Newsweek's reporting that "promotes Obama as shamelessly as Fox News promoted Rudy G... [t]he media didn't used to be like this." This is actually only partially correct.

In the past, major media outlets did make attempts to keep their reporting balanced and objective ... on the front page. once you got into things, however, party and/or ideological affiliations would begin to appear in subtle ways, and the editorial pages made no bones about supporting a candidate, cause or ideology.

In recent years, the media at large has not really become more or less biased. It's just that the bias has been spread more evenly throughout coverage of events. It's kinda like dumping a quart of maple syrup on your kitchen floor. Eventually it's gonna spread out to cover the whole floor.

Granted there are some media outlets that are overtly biased, both on the left ("Coundown with Keith Olbermann") and the right (Fox News). The big difference I can see between these two is that Olbermann doesn't pretend to be "fair and balanced" ...

Anyway, that's my professorial rant for the time being. Now, to ditch the "pompous blowhard" hat and put my ballcap back on (and yes, it's a Red Sox cap) ...

Speaking for myself, I would love to get an objective, side-by-side comparison of each of the candidate's views published somewhere on the web so that everyone can take a look and make up their minds based on hard data, as well as grand speechifying. You can't have too much information in a situation like this ...

Get real. NO candidate is going to be able to come up with real, workable plans UNTIL in office! They have ideas of what can be done, but the hard work of implementing the ideas, based on reality, comes later. So, I am voting for Obama because he is smart, he will surround himself with smart people, and he provides hope, which is what this country needs. He will work hard, and with integrity. I trust him to be HONEST and speak bluntly to American citizens after he is in office, because much of what needs to be done is going to require sacrifice and will not be easy. Right now, he has to be careful about every word he utters, as do ALL the candidates, because every word is scrutinized and spun by the media. He needs to be ELECTED so he can go about making the changes this country needs and have the power of office to do so.

No individual can be ready to be president of the USA on day one , two or three.. The US precidency requires more than the ability to solve problems and bring solutions. That is the job of the team they bring into the White House. A President is a great diplomat, excellent manager, impaccable leader to his/her people and the world population. Thus, talking about rhetoric vs action is futile and unproductive. Hillary Clinton is only as prepared as Obama; not better prepared than him. Nobody is better prepared for the simple fact that they have never been the president of this country. Being older, having been in the senate longer do not consititute the entire resume of a president. The world has changed. Cuba is bringing another Castro to lead its nation.America should not bounce between the Bushes and the Clintons. Then, we risk looking just like Cuba to the rest of the world. It is a different time.Change is needed NOW.

Well said.

Horton is just an old white guy who doesn't get it.

I eagerly anticipate the tonage of mud and crap which is going to be levelled at Senator Obama in coming days. Let's see, what will it be? Offshore accounts with illegal proceeds from his "slumlord" friend, infidelity, illegitmate offspring, campaign fraud, etc... etc... I'm sure the NY Times is planning a big "October Surprise". I can't wait..... I think I hear the Fed Prosecutors calling now.....

When the author used the word "shallow" to attack Obama I wondered if he were not talking about himself. His unrelenting, snide, scree is an insult to all who voted for,k and will vote for, Obama. Sir, we really don't need you to educate us on the past, I lived there and I have hope, yes, hope, that this young man is not at all your sort of politician. Your dislike of h im is ever more reason to support him.

Horton is just an old white guy who doesn't get it.

This author does not really understand what it means to be a leader. Barack Obama is an acoomplished man, no one can deny that. Few (including current serving supreme court justices) have been elected to head the Harvard Law Review, he has been a constituional Professor and has had 8 solid years of legislative experience in the Illionois senate (that happens to be more than number of years Hillary Clinton has been in the senate). Hillary claims to have had 35yrs of experience. That means his experience started when Barack was 11yrs old and yet what experience does she refer to, since she has only had 7 years of legislative experience. What the author fails to recognize is that the big problems of our time remain unsolved not for lack of experience, but for lack of leadership that cuts across the divisions that always makes our government not able to govern.
Never forget, Barack is older than both JFK and Bill Clinton when they became president and yet he has shown more moral leadership than Bill Clinton specifically. To prod your mind.....think of the powerful parallels with all the young, innovative business leaders who have been engine of growth for our economy, beating the old experienced companies. Open your eyes!!!!!

I think I'll take the one who at least aims high, however slim the chances of actually rocking the boat, over the one who represents the same old thing. Where the minute differences in actual policy are not the deciding factor, that falls to the candidate's abilities in leadership. You know, the whole "Leader of the Free World" thing? Does character count for nothing these days? How can anybody feel that Hillary is "a better decision-maker" and a person of "action" when neither of these candidates has been in the Big Chair before? Anybody who feels that inspiration is a useless attribute should be comfortable electing a computer to office, since they are entirely predictable, cannot lie, and crunch numbers better than a human being.

I think it is nice that you want more of the same out of Washington. What Obama represents is change and we need change not. We are caught in a quagmire in Iraq, the economy is a shambles, and The current administration is running this country very similar to the way the Czar ran Russia in 1917.
Maybe someone needs to look into McCain's dealing with Keating and The Lincoln Savings Scandal or Hilary's dealings with "Whitewater".
Lets stand back a minute and give Barack a chance. Fresh air is exactly what we need, not more of the same.

Obama is as much a known quantity as McCain or Clinton. Albeit they cite experience as the qualifier, experience does not guarantee appropriate action. We hear criticism of speeches vs solutions or substance. speeches that inspire bring solutions and actions from the masses. and it is the masses who bring about the changes that are needed, not the elected officials. As for Michelle Obama's comment about being proud of America, I think she is encouraged by the excitement that the Obama campaign has been able to generate. Tey all need to stop bickering like pre-schoolers. Bill of Denver

I think it is nice that you want more of the same out of Washington. What Obama represents is change and we need change not. We are caught in a quagmire in Iraq, the economy is a shambles, and The current administration is running this country very similar to the way the Czar ran Russia in 1917.
Maybe someone needs to look into McCain's dealing with Keating and The Lincoln Savings Scandal or Hilary's dealings with "Whitewater".
Lets stand back a minute and give Barack a chance. Fresh air is exactly what we need, not more of the same.

For me, I continue to believe that Mr. Obama would represent our country well in communication with the many countries we currently experience difficulties and differences. He is articulate, capable, personable, and optimistic. He offers me great hope for the future. I am a grandmother from Florida who I feel, has not been represented in the last 8 years by my government. I did not choose war with Iraq. I feel there should have been diplomacy and negotiations before bombings and sending our troops. Our economy is in very poor shape. Oil prices continue to soar. Senator Obama offers me hope and that makes me feel better than I have felt in 2 prior administrations.
jbesho764@peoplepc.com

To the individuals who think they want what is old or they say experienced - look at what it has gotten us in the past. The problem with out country today is people keep looking back instead of forward and out instead of wihin themselves. To the person who wrote this one-sided article everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion yet a reporter even if an editorial needs to have some fact based. Every candidate running has a plan with various points otherwise we would say they do not even know how to - so how is that you can only question one candidate when the others (with more experience I might add) have "plans" as well. Obama should not be judged more highly than any other candidate and if anyone should maybe you should revisit the one person who has already been and lived in the White House.