The First Woman President?

Louis Farrakhan endorses Obama:


CHICAGO, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) ??? Militant US Islamic leader Louis Farrakhan has given his warm backing to Democratic White House contender Barack Obama -- but it is not an endorsement that the Illinois senator covets.

"This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better," Farrakhan, 74, told a Nation of Islam convention here Sunday, according to extracts of his speech broadcast on local television.

"We are witnessing the phenomenal rise of a man of color in a country that has persecuted us because of our color," said the long-time leader of the African-American Muslim organization.

But Farrakhan, who has been accused of anti-Semitism and homophobia, did not formally call on Nation of Islam followers to vote for Obama.

Obama's spokesman Bill Burton said: "Senator Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan's past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister's support."

Obama, who is battling Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has had to fend off false claims perpetuated by email that he is a secret Muslim.

Obama's Kenyan father was a non-observant Muslim, but the candidate himself is a Christian. His church in Chicago -- the Trinity United Church of Christ -- describes itself as "unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian."

5interiors5 is very angry ... I don't undestand such hostility. It reminds me of the brothers-in-law who fought and one stabbed the other over a political argument. Sad, really ...

It shouldn't be necessary to point out the obvious to a journalist who works for Newsweek, but unfortunately it is: Bill Clinton is not black, and Barack Obama is not a woman. Any suggestion to the contrary is just silly. Time to get back to work, Martin!

Martin, that was a beautiful and a very insightful article.

i just do not get this argument that Obama has been getting a free ride in the media.....can he help if he has run a good campaign? Hillary has been scrutinized more because she has made more mistakes. is it Obama's fault that she didnt plan past Super Tuesday? is it his fault that she basically gave him those 11 states that he took? is it his fault that she has not had ONE CONSISTENT MESSAGE in her campaign? is it his fault that her campaign advisors are split on how she should run her campaign.

Hillary was the favorite when this campaign started. She had the experience and she was better able to articulate the problems of the country and her solutions for them and she WAS IN THE LEAD. But she blew off the last two primaries in favor of concentrating on OH and TX and it was the STUPIDEST thing that she could ever do. The race has always been close, so every state and every vote should have counted. Obama knew this. The media knew this. All of the political analysts knew this. Why didnt Hillary?

Please do not insult me. Obama has no qualities of a woman, don't ask a man to define my qualities. He is a self-serving, smirking male. Although we find that some women do not in the slightest realize what they owe to their sisters, if it were not for other women, this generation would not be able to vote, have jobs, own homes and cars, etc. Those women will always exist, just as the phrase self-made man. We are where we are because of the intestinal fortitude of women like Hillary Clinton. She has been run across coals by the media, men, and women who are not appreciative of her efforts on behalf of them and their families and is still standing. A benign picture of Obama generated thousands of comments on his behalf and his campaigners went ballistic. O poor Obama. Lets see what happens to him when everyone begins to see what he truly is. Hillary is running for president so she has to be careful not to offend people. But I say, too bad that Obama supporters cannot stand the truth. Where is their spunk? Followers all. They cannot see the true facts and come to their own conclusions. A rose by anyother name. He has not had an idea of his own but follows on Hillary's coat tails with a little twist. This crap that she was for the war and he was against it is BS. Her vote was important and she had to make a choice. He was monday morning quarterbacking. Nothing was riding on his decision. If your opinion doesnt really matter, you can run all over the place. I was for a time dejected, but I now realize that if Hillary is not the nominee, I can still vote my conscience. I will write in my candidate--Hillary Clinton. Wouldn't that be great. Obama and MCain can cancel each other out and a write in candidate could possibly win. I urge all thinking voters to consider that possiblity. We may not have equal rights but we are strong and continue to try to make a difference. Stay in the race until the convention Hillary as we are solidly behind you. And to borrow a phrase from MLK, I have a dream, and Obama you are no JFK or MLK. You are a disaster for this country.

yup...no principles here...

such a shame there needs to be such poor judgment.

I am a staunch and life long conservative republican. I knew I liked Obama but I couln't figure out why. Your article made me understand why Obama is so appealing. If Obama is nominated, I may have to vote for a democrat.

A marvelous and timely piece. As we settle into our candidate and begin to realize the potential of not just matching the loyal opposition in search of another 51-49 majority or minority, we will come to meditate on the "vital center" and what it meant to two generations of Democrats. We will understand that change has most often happened via the assembly of a broad coalition of voters - the type of coalition capable of delivering a governing majority in Congress. Strange, but that idea has been over the heads of many voters, many of whom have become so used to partisan screaming and slender majority/minority governance that they are unaware of what can happen when a candidate like Senator Obama fulfills Nancy Pelosi's prediction of the fifty to seventy-five seat addition to the Democratic house majority that will likely arise from his candidacy. It will only be after such voters witness the capabilities of a true majority - in terms of setting and passing our agenda - that they will experience the "big aha" that many supporters of Obama envision. Indeed, such a political philosophy must be viewed by passionate politicos across the partisan (and nonpartisan) spectrum as a beneficent event, for it will invite all of us to Dewey's "table of consensus" in the context of an actual political discourse not witnessed since the middle of the 20th century.

Right on Mr. academia. Hillary is the Sappho without the rhyme, and Barak is wimpish without the whip. The only candidate that can possibly---and is---passing the testicle test, is McCain. O for a president in the coming years willing to take whatever from left (and right) leaning idiots and remain fixed on his convictions! My safety and my family's safety is far more important than my SUV, (which is a 1996 Geo).

I think this article is a stretch to begin. Second, I am a woman. I've been liberated thanks to the women in my country fighting for my right to be so. In all humility, I am not voting for Senator Clinton because I do not th ink she is the best "person" for the job. I also am sick and tired of the Clinton and Bush Dynasty. For pete sakes, just get an average jo in there to do the job typical politicians are afraid to do. While Kudos to McCain for being rigorously honest, and while I am skeptical of the "hope" hype of Obama, I absolutely feel confident that even while we share in the same sex, Clinton is STILL not the best candidate. Hmmm, looks like women's lib worked afterall. Sexism taken out of the polls? I do believe that this has nothing to do with her being a woman.

I think this article is a stretch to begin. Second, I am a woman. I've been liberated thanks to the women in my country fighting for my right to be so. In all humility, I am not voting for Senator Clinton because I do not th ink she is the best "person" for the job. I also am sick and tired of the Clinton and Bush Dynasty. For pete sakes, just get an average jo in there to do the job typical politicians are afraid to do. While Kudos to McCain for being rigorously honest, and while I am skeptical of the "hope" hype of Obama, I absolutely feel confident that even while we share in the same sex, Clinton is STILL not the best candidate. Hmmm, looks like women's lib worked afterall. Sexism taken out of the polls? I do believe that this has nothing to do with her being a woman.

Obama vs. Clinton vs. McCain...

You can't get any worst than Bush!

If Obama wins... First Black President

If Clinton wins... First Female President

If McCain wins... POW, he can handle it.

It is not going to serve well for the Democrats in the general election if Mr. Martin continues to write such reports as he has presented to the American people. It will serve well for the Rebublicans and to John McCain. Let's avoid this type of posting on the Newsweek.