The Democratic Divide

These two...Clinto and Obama are the hope of our countries future. Let's not set our sights on one another as we work through the primary. (By the way Reagan was a good communicator...and no Nixon was not...but to say tha Bill Clinton and Nixon were of a similar game is silly. Bill Clinton...all agree...even those that lothe him...was and is a great communicator.

These two...Clinto and Obama are the hope of our countries future. Let's not set our sights on one another as we work through the primary. (By the way Reagan was a good communicator...and no Nixon was not...but to say tha Bill Clinton and Nixon were of a similar game is silly. Bill Clinton...all agree...even those that lothe him...was and is a great communicator.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are trying to make a big deal of Barack Obama's observation--certainly historically correct--that Ronald Reagan's type of leadership created a sea-change (for good or for ill) in the American polity.

Obama was also pointing to the fact that Reagan was an excellent communicator who connected with the public in a way that many others--like Nixon and Bill Clinton--did not.

Obama's questioning of the relevance of Hillary Clinton's type of "experience" in confronting the new challenges the United States faces receives validation from an interesting case in American history.

It also points to why Obama's outsider status might actually be just what is needed to successfully restore the U.S. to international political creditworthiness.

Lincoln biographer David Herbert Donald showed how what might have been perceived as the Great Emancipator's serious shortcomings as a war president and commander in chief actually turned out to be some of his greatest assets.

Remember, Lincoln came to the presidency having only meager experience--much less than Sen. Obama's--in public office, let alone experience in the Executive Branch. (Lincoln's experience in the military was limited to little more than two months service during the Black Hawk War.)

According to Donald, Lincoln was also fortunately unburdened by convention, precedent, and standard operating procedures in facing war's challenge. (The parallels with Obama kind of leap from the page, no?)

However, Lincoln was also a quick study who grew into greatness through trial and error in pursuing the most significant of his goals.

Lincoln also knew democracy's ancient lessons. When Cicero finished speaking, the people said, "My, how well he spoke." But when Demosthenes finished speaking the people said, "Let us march!"

"Public sentiment is everything," Lincoln noted. "With it, nothing can fail, against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions. He makes possible the enforcement of these, else impossible."

Martin Edwin Andersen
Churchton, Maryland

P.S. Memo to Hillary: Next Monday we will be celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, not Lyndon Johnson Day.

"Everyone is talking about the Reagan Comparison and I think its absolutely Barack Brilliant . " Leaning toward Barack until he laid this gigantic egg.

Comment: nvs9940 This is the second time you posted this lie. Your email states Snopes has this is true and if you go there Snopes states it is false. So there is a simple provable lie before you get to "Who is Barack Obama?" Dude, just don't cut and paste emails that you know are not true. Meixelsberger didn't just cut and paste this email. Post something that you came up with and NOT an email someone sent you.

Snopes has that email as FALSE
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
It's a lie from the beginning.
PERIOD.

Published on FoxNews.com on January 18, 2008.
As American banks go hat in hand to foreign financial institutions and
governments, begging for capital to help them get out of the mess into which
their subprime loans have landed them, the question arises as to whether the
United States should permit nations like China, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) and the banks they control to acquire part ownership of
our leading banks.
The presidential candidates discussed this issue in their Nevada debate and
Hillary was asked about it in an interview with Neil Cavuto on the FOX
Business Network yesterday. She replied that she would not "stand in the
way" of such investments, but said that they needed to be vetted and called
for more disclosure and "transparency."
The fact is that Hillary Clinton is totally unable to be objective on this
key question of our national financial sovereignty because she and her
husband have been so compromised by their financial dealings with the very
countries at issue in the decision.
Should the Saudi monarchy be permitted to purchase an important equity
position in some of America's leading banks? How can Hillary be objective
when the very same monarchy donated $10 million to the Clinton Library and
Foundation?
Should the UAE be allowed in? How can Hillary decide fairly when Bill - and
therefore herself - have been getting a reported $10 million per year from a
fund that administers the investments of the Emir of Dubai, the largest
component state in the UAE?
The Dubai Ports deal compromised our national security by putting key points
of entry in that nation's control. But the infusion of capital and the
acquisition of equity in our key banks has the potential to make that
encroachment on our sovereignty seem piddling by comparison.
Neither Dubai nor Saudi Arabia would be permitted to contribute to Hillary's
campaign. Foreigners are not allowed to do so, precisely to avoid having
potential office holders compromised by gratitude for their financial
support. But these nations have used the porous ethics of the Clinton family
to acquire positions of massive influence by making contributions, not to
her campaign, but to her personal bank account - either through Bill or
through the Library and Foundation, which the Clintons directly control. The
extent of the influence their mi llions must buy with a family only
recently, according to Hillary, in the "middle class" must be huge.

"The two biggest unresolved social problems--gender and race--..."

The only place these days they're unresolved is in the Democratic Party.

And, BTW, I did check that out on snopes.com and, despite what I may think about BHM's policies (or, more pointedly, lack thereof), ragtopdodge is right. That's a pack of lies, and spreading such garbage does nothing to elevate political discourse where reasonable people may legitimately disagree.

"The two biggest unresolved social problems--gender and race--..."

The only place these days they're unresolved is in the Democratic Party.

Everyone is talking about the Reagan Comparison and I think its absolutely Barack Brilliant . What better a Unifying message to bring the 2 parties together as a Example of How we will do the best to accomplish the goals of our Nation. It hurts me as a Republican to hear Hillary always bashing the Republicans with the message of , " she has been fighting the Republican right wing attack machine , and knows how to take us out and fight us back , and maybe its time that these wounds were healed rather than the cuts made deeper , maybe its going to take someone that is a Healer of the Fears that live within our Society , rather than a person who wants to constantly say the things that express the anger and rage that seems to be the message of a Clinton campaign , that keeps the fire of what divides the nation , and is keeping it from coming together to get the Work of the people done ???

All the News casters are talking , and all the Divide and Conquer Dems , are saying how can Barack Obama be using the Reagan Comparison as a Forward looking advancing advantage to be a better time than Bill Clintons Economic time , and they all Barack are wondering how you are going to woo the Dems over with this one , and I think its absolutely Brilliant Barack Brilliant , to say to the dems as well as everyone else , that " Barack Believes that the common goal of Unity , is being able to understand that it took leaders like President Reagan and President Clinton to have the visions and the willingness to see each others Greatness , and build upon the Dreams of these skills of competitions by these competitors to bring about the advancements in of Society for the common goals of the American Dream of Prosperity , and I have the ability to build upon these Leaders historic contributions , to take us into the future with the dreams of MLK and LBJ , yes Hillary was right about it taking a President , but one who was able to be a Unifying president as was the case with LBJ working with MLK , but the point is that it takes a Unifying effort on the part of a President ,that has been the defining moment in American advancements , as well as all the leaders before and going forward , who were a part of the Process of advancing the American Dream , to take it to the next Level as the these people were the First in their time , so will we be the first to say yes we can do , yes we can see it , yes we can win it , The American Dream is alive in each and everyone of us and I know it you know it , and as these 2 past presidents have done , so can we together lead our plight into the future , to accomplish the Dreams of so many , because Unity is the Common goal of these 2 presidents , and as well is My goal , I want to reach across to the common wealth of America , break apart what separates us on the issues , and together we come together for the common goals of the Dream , the American Dream .

This article speaks to my central objection to both Hilary and Bill Clinton. Their actions say, louder than words, "It's all about me!" Bill's anger now, his personal conduct while in office, Hiliary's "soft" moment before the New Hampshire primary when she implied that she was so prepared to be President that it would be a tragedy if she weren't elected.
We need a candidate who says, 'It's all about our nation first, then it's all about humanity."

Geeman, I applaude your comment. You articulated it in a nutshell in your piece posted 8:37 this AM.
Great to know there are some like you, able to see through the maze of confusion and make clear and simple honest deduction. I would recommend your brilliant piece to any with an open mind.
The second posting also made lots of sense.

Hillary has a long history of sitting by silently while some surrogate makes comments that would be unacceptable coming from her, and waiting to see how they are received before deciding to either embrace them or "distance herself" from them. It is, at best, disengenuous to say that comments from her campaign chair don't "represent the thinking of her campaign" She did the same thing after sitting idly by after Suha Araffat's anti-semetic comments a few years ago while she was gaining all her experience that she now thinks qualifies her for the presidency.

If Obama is given the chance by Americans, he seems capable of uniting the Nation-Republicians, Democrats, Independents, ethnic groups , gender and ages. Remember politicians point the way forward and enact laws and policies. It is the people who in the final analysis effect CHANGE THROUGH PUTTING THE INSPIRATION GIVEN BY THE POLITICINS INTO ACTION e.g the Civil Rights Movement and the changes during the GREAT DEPRESSION.Can Hillary, Edwards, McCain,Romney, Huckabee or Guiliani inspire America? They are all Polarising politicians.AMERICA NEED TO GIVE CHANGE A CHANCE.
Cecil. New York.