Obama Abroad

obama is on his way to the presidency

Well, we certainly know they will take him seriously. They know who the next President is going to be, and most of them like him anyway.

Glad to see this happening. Senator Obama seems to be well respected already by our soldiers, and I feel that this trip will only help reassure them.

Obama is a fine decent human being. What a nice change it will be when Obama is PRESIDENT!!!
And adios to that Republican President we have had to endure for the past 7 1/2 years! Yuck!

Obama is the light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. He gives us hope and inspiration that this country can regain our rightful place among the respected countries of this world. The last 7 l/2 years have been a nightmare for this country. I hope that we as Americans have learned from this horrible experience and will never elect anyone ever again who has Bush tendencies.

Obama is more like Bush than you know.

This will be Obama’s first trip to Europe.

I am sure that when he cancels his trip due to his cowering he will state that this is not the Iraq he once knew and that he is far to busy debating John McCain “anytime and anyplace” or filibustering FISA, or no more dis owning Jeremiah Wright that he could his own white grandmother, or he could no more leave Trinity Lutheran than he could the black community, or some other Obama BS, oh wait he cowered from all those things.

It is finally the beginning of a new day for America, and the world is waiting to see if we will follow through and put Barack Obama in the WH. There is NO MORE TIME for fools and thieves of the Bush/Cheney ilk, of which McCain is part and parcel. We MUST denounce their lies, greed and pillaging of the Constitution, and do the right thing.

I must have missed the “pillaging” of the Constitution by Bush.

Now that he has secured the nomination Sen Obama needs some photo-ops with our victorious troops and welcoming Iraqiis to boost the old pro-military image. I’m sure we will see a proud Obama surrounded by an equal number of troops and American flags.
But let’s not forget in 2006 when 24 mil Iraqiis were getting slaughtered and our troops were getting hammered by insurgents, Sen Obama, to win the nomination and burnish his anti-war credentials, cast his flag pin aside and threw them all under the bus. He called for the United States to abandon the Iraqiis to the slaughter and to cut-off the funds to our troops on the battlefield.
He threw the troops and the Iraqiis under the bus, just as he threw the Trinity Church under the bus. Just as he is throwing his supporters of his policies on gun control, campaign finance, fair trade under the bus now.
Sen Obama has had no problem looking millions of Americans in the eye during the debates and lying about his positions. Let’s us see though if he will have the nerve to look our troops in Iraq in the face and tell them that their fight in Iraq is “unecessary, unjust and lost.”

Wow I’m glad to ear he’s going overseas to show the world who the next president will be and give the a closer look at him. Watch how the world recieves him with open arms. It will be a very historic event and one I can’r wait to see.

everyone in my unit supports obama. yes we can! hoo rah!

isabella789 – give it a rest, sister. obama is the man and everybody knows it. old man mccain is past his prime. we need new blood and fresh leadership and it isn’t coming from the gop.

Very good. But how about Israel? Security reasons? Don’t trust Canada to keep discussion official and to play party politics ? Mexico… and immigration hot potato?

Obama has gotten more than 12 times the donations that McCain has from our Troops. I wonder why ?

The Obama-haters do not have their facts straight. No matter what beautiful, sincere, courageous thing Obama does, there’s usually some cynic out there looking for a way to downplay it. Case in point: Obama picked up a shovel and filled some sandbags to show solidarity with flood victims in Illinois. To me that shows patriotism, compassion, and active leadership. Cynics said “phony” and “photo op” and “probably the first time in his life he has done any manual labor.” But they are wrong! Obama did volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity before he announced he was running for President!
Are these trhe same haters who say to Oprah “charity begins at home”? They fail to realize that Oprah has been very charitable here in the US before she built those schools in other lands.
If you are so opposed to the way Oprah spends her money, and you think she’s so dumb, why don’t you show her how it’s done? Earn a few billions of your own, and show Oprah where to spend them! What, don’t you know how? Well, then….

Robert: What does your story have to do with Obama going to visit a “Combat-Zone ? This may surprise you, but a lot of people volunteer, and not just during a crisis . That doesn’t make Obama qualified to be “Commander-in-Chief”/President of the United States (EX: Jimmy Carter).The topic is Obama going to: Iraq, Afghanistan, the UK, France and Germany. I’m assume he will be meeting with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker (I would hope). I eagerly await his statement upon his return. – Voting For McCain – 2008

dr1321: This may surprise you, but you don’t have the power to make me go away (However, Jake does :) . So relax, grab some kool-aid and get ready for some real change … “WE CAN ALL BELIEVE IN”.Funny, when I tried to post some negatives about Obama, my post were deleted ? – Voting For McCain 2008 -

When he had to be shamed into going. It does not make him look good.
Kudo’s to John McCain

Finally Mr. Tapper cut his usual Obama shredding down to facts. Looks like his clientele improved in the blogs also. People actually with a brain are blogging on here. Makes me ALMOST proud to call myself a republican. I especially liked Melanie getting called out by one of our own and somebody pointing out that Barack has a passport rather than a BC to travel. Small minded people should get out more. Unfortunately, this Christian conservative is voting for Obama. If my party can’t save the unborn at least the democrats will feed and keep healthy the babies who are here.

Obama is extremely popular abroad. He is far more popular there than McCain is.
The world wants Obama to be president.

I am less than thrilled with these 2 “presumptive nominees.” One big scandal could even knock Obama out of the nomination by August. However, many of you need to stop knocking Cindy McCain. Read the Newsweek stories about her and how she has had kids with cleft palates operated on and adopted and all the time and money she spends on charities and traveling to help the poor and the sick. I had no idea of what a great lady she actually is until I read 2 articles in Newsweek. She has a son in Iraq and she is a nervous wreck over it but she is proud of him and her Country !!! She has had numerous heartbreaks and numerous miscarriages. Yes, she has faced pain killer addictions like many others and no one should be throwing insults at her. We praise lying baseball players like Clemens who claim they never took steroids when we all know it is true.. Cindy McCain had a problem and she took care of it. Mrs Obama, on the other hand, works for companies that discriminate against the poor and minorities and both she and her husband did nothing to help the workers of Chicago when Maytag and other businesses pulled out of there. The Obamas did nothing to help the poor in the slums of Rezko’s Chicago which Obama supported. Personally I would take Hillary Clinton any day over both Obama and McCain and if Obama doesn’t pick her as VP he is a bigger fool than we think he is !! But if McCain does pull it off and win, Cindy McCain will make an excellent First Lady- she is first class and she is a great role model.

I’m on an army base in Germany. I’ve been waiting since Bush took office for the “help” he promised to be on the way. What soldiers got instead was extended tours to Iraq or Afghanistan, barely 12 months of turn-around time, worse living conditions, abysmal medical care with limited providers, cuts to education and day care…
You call that “help?”
I’d appreciate it if Senator Obama would do what the staff of the Bush administration has been too frightened to do in the last 8 years: meet with non-cherry-picked military families in a closed forum to ask them what they need and what their concerns are.
Then, I’d like Senator Obama to meet, open forum, with both civilian and military DoD employees, again, non-cherry-picked, for their questions/concerns.
I challenge McCain to do the same thing, so he can be provided an opportunity to describe how he envisions soldiers’ next 100 years, or 4 years, for that matter, in Iraq.

sorry for the spelling errors its going on about 29 hours now not to mention I am in kuwait at the moment so the time difference is also an issue that you for your understanding and agian I apologize

Not sure i get the music reference there

o,
well obama without the clinton supporters will just be another
campaign slogan.
obama and his camp, the pundits and everyone else KNOWS obama cannot win without the clinton supporters
(have you listened to the independents on cspan these last few days?)
and don’t count on the Rep for obama to sway the election in obama’ favor-not enough of them.
so if obama wins it will be because he was able to get the clinton supporters on board.
obama and co. know this, they should have sent you the memo with the correct talking points.
instead of the rogue slogan writing, that will be of help to no one.
especially obama.

dont let the doorknob hit you in the butt

The big problem for McCain, or anyone for that matter, is how to define “success” in Iraq. Honestly, ask yourself how you would define it. Let’s go over some possibilities:
1. Democratically-elected government: This is a ‘success’ as long as we like the government, apparently. What if Iranian-backed groups take over? Obviously, that’s no success we want.
2. Reduction in violence against American troops: This is one of the silliest arguments for staying; the best reduction of violence against our troops would be for them not to be there in harms way.
3. Reduction in overall violence: This makes sense, but what level of violence will we be willing to justify as the ‘minimum’?
4. Free-flowing oil: To achieve this, we either need to redeploy soldiers and prepare for a very long stay or completely remove all soldiers.
To me, it’s the “basics” that we should focus on: food, water, sanitation, shelter, electricity, and jobs. The other things will follow. If you lived there, that’s probably how you would judge success – just by trying to turn on the light switch, water, or flushing the toilet.

Senator Obama is already the most corrupted candidate to ever reach for high office so I am hoping he will buy a one way ticket for his foreign country expedition. There is at least a hundred good men/women who could take his place here at home.

See my post below: McCain’s fundamental argument is experience and he plans to stay in Iraq. So, if you support him, you should be able to at least define “success” there and what it will take to do it. Maybe you can’t, because he sure hasn’t.

McCain consistently votes
against increased benefits
for veterans. He says that
they are already getting
too much.
He can’t be a friend of
the military.
And he’s no friend of
women’s issues either.

@anon: more than you are willing to believe.

My son is also on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He is a tank commander in the Marines. His battle cry, “GO OBAMA!”

As a voter, I would like to see about four more debates between Obama and Mcain. There has been flip-flops on both sides in the last few months. Maybe the voters would know their current position on the issues. As I understand it, Obama is willing to debate on July 4 when everyone is out watching fireworks. That is not going to do it. We need some serious discussions on issues. No prepared script and no teleprompter. Just the facts, man, just the facts.

Good idea for Obama to go to Iraq. I think he has been once compared to McCain’s 8 times?
McCain is in Mexico today. I hope he can win over some of the Hispanic voters.

I’m an active duty, 18 years and 2 days, 3 time COMBAT veteran of Iraq, United States Marine. I will be votineg for Barack Obama for President of the United States. Senator Obama represents forward thinking, and fresh ideas. John McCain represents what may have or could have worked YESTERDAY. Senator Obama VOTED for a bill that gives every military veteran that served more than 3 years active after September 11, 2001 a FULL college scholarship. Senator McCain, not only was against it, HE DIDN’T EVEN SHOW UP TO VOTE AGAINST IT!!!

BruhMan – :) I do not go on any blog without being armed with the facts. The great thing I love about the Internet and blogs is one can get the facts out there that MSM will not touch.

Well Steve, you must have missed when the oil prices actually went up and stock market went down—-you know it wasn’t in the last 8 years persay but the last 2 years. You know the last 2 years after the demmies got controll of Congress. Hmmmmm…what a coincidence!!

There is still fresh hate around the commented land, quite serious. Never the less, it is true. McCain is not the great soldier they want to portrait him into. Also he doesn’t have the brain to organize, manage, and lead. Same as when he was a Pilot. They never mentioned the number of plane he crashed carelessly. My point is, the republican wants to sell another great hero, which happen to have been only a war prisoner like so many other great American soldier. He will continue the republican policy, the one that have drained our resources, strangled our economy, killed unnecessarily Americans soldier, made us disliked and laughed at around the world.
No wonder why China, Russia, And few others wants us to remain republican. They have grown stronger, and us literally weaker LOL. They are watching us doing the war-thing of the lost Empire. I’m out ’cause getting all pumped out. What’s happening to my Country????????

Mary what do you mean “four more debates”? Obama hasn’t debated anyone as far as I know—–You wanta know why? Go listen to him speak without the telepromter telling him what to say—-he is a babbling idiot. Obama is to chicken to even debate.

Steve..it is the facts…the oil didn’t start going up till the dems took over Congress. (There is alot congress could do to stop the oil rising nonsnese—-you know open up the oil off the coast.MMThe economy and market didn’t start tanking either till the dems took over. These are simple facts-not this 8 year nonsense but 2 years of dem controll. And don’t get me started on how the markets actually work, specifically about SHORTING THE MARKETS and demmie best friend George Soros.

annoying,
Oil started going up the day we started our build-up in Kuwait to invade Iraq. Please tell me you don’t believe oil just started going up in 2006?

It’s about time Obama went to Iraq — even though this is just for show — Noboby in the military should care much for him — he has publicly stated that he will cut back on our military during a war on terror!

andrew in nc,
finally, a fresh thought,
How can obama go to iraq and look into the eyes of our troops?
I hope he can go there and tell them how much we appreciate the job they have done. and tell us and them, EXACTLY how he will begin to bring them home.
I hope he will meet with the iraq people also,
Bill would have been able to do it.
I hope obama will be able to also.

MBDIndiana,
I am an active duty, 18 years/2 days, 3 time COMBAT veteran, United States Marine, and I’ll be voting for Barack Hussein Obama for President of the United States of America…Unashamedly, unapologetically!!!

McCain wants to give himself a $400,000 a year tax cut
…under McCain’s tax plan, he and his wife, Cindy, would save $373,429. That’s nearly $400,000 — per year, not over the course of their lifetimes. (Under Barack Obama’s plan, the McCains would save less than $6,000. The Obamas would save nearly $50,000 under McCain’s plan, and slightly more than $6,000 under Obama’s plan own plan.)
In spite of Cindy’s immense wealth, the McCains have a problem paying off their bills on time.
McCains report more than $100,000 in credit card debt
So, John McCain wants to pay off his American Express bill at by cutting basic services for the American people?
How do we get this message out? How do we frame this for the American people? Considering the economic hardship being faced by the American people, how can a politician justify giving himself $400,000 while Americans can’t even afford the gas they need to drive to work? And how can a politician justify giving himself $400,000 while denying our troops financing for their education? And how can a politician justify giving himself $400,000 when people are denying themselves needed visits to the doctor because they can’t afford insurance — or if they have insurance, they can’t afford the copay?
How can we trust John McCain with stewardship of our Economy when the only people who will benefit from his proposals are millionaires like himself?

ANYBODY-BUT-OBAMA – I believe Senator Obama fills his suit just fine! :) He really looked sharp yesterday as he always does!

Obama is EXTREMELY popular in Europe. They will probably roll out the red carpet for Obama there.

Sandy — Your Dreaming — Obama might have a teflon shell — but if he keeps making unrealistic promises all the time — the American public will realize how phoney he is! And yes I DO have a very long list — ON THE ISSUES — of why I could NEVER vote for Obama.

You know I don’t care about the McCains 400,000, I care about the working peoples thousands that Obama is going to steal in jacking up everyone’s tax rate. The McCains have enough money to hire really good accountants to hide 400,000 somewhere else from the Irs. Obama the socialist will tax and has already proposed taxing the working man to death. He and his evil wife want the working man to give up his piece of the pie for those that don’t want to work. Obama is a socialist.

I hope someone knows how to point out where they are located .. been there once? LOL! Yet – he’s the expert on the situation .. laughable!

James,
You’re welcome, and it has been my honor. I know Senator McCain offered another bill. His would have given benefits based on years of service. more years, more benefits. But, that bill didn;t gain any traction. The Senate was in favor of the bill that passed. And, when Senator McCain didn’t get his way…he didn’t even show up to vote on the bill that over 3/4 of the Senate approved!!!

We do have a choice, there is a true man of the people running for President. There is a man who has devoted his life to serving the common man and woman and he knows more about politics, economics, Washington and Corporate Culture than the rest combined. There is a man with a proven track record and you can finally vote for him to help yourself and send a clear message to the Corporate criminals that are destroying this country. VOTE NADER/GONZALEZ!!! Obama has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt the he is a Clinton Corporatist and NOTHING will change by voting Obama or McCain into office. It’s time to stand up and be counted, vote Nader/Gonzalez!

Wartime rescuer of John McCain dies a forgotten hero
Hanoi – Of all the tales of wartime courage peppering John McCain’s presidential campaign trail, there is one example of selfless heroism that stands out. Only in this story, the hero is not McCain but a humble Vietnamese peasant. On October 26, 1967, Mai Van On ran from the safety of a bomb shelter in Hanoi at the height of an air raid and swam out into the lake where Lieutenant Commander McCain was drowning, tangled in his parachute cord after ejecting when his Skyhawk bomber was hit by a missile.
In an extraordinary act of compassion at a time when Vietnamese citizens were being killed by US aerial bombardments, he pulled a barely conscious McCain to the lake surface and, with the help of a neighbour, dragged him towards the shore.
Then, when a furious mob at the water’s edge began to beat and stab the captured pilot, On drove them back.
Nearly three decades later, the Vietnamese government confirmed he was indeed the rescuer and, in a 1996 meeting in Hanoi, McCain embraced and thanked On and presented him with a Senate memento.
From that brief encounter to his death at the age of 88 two years ago, On never heard from the senator again, and three years after their meeting, McCain published an autobiography that makes no mention of his apparent debt to On.
It is a snub On took to his death. His widow, Bui Thi Lien, 71, said: “In his last years, my husband was very sad sometimes. He would say, ‘Mr McCain has forgotten me.’ Mr McCain would be dead if it weren’t for my husband. He would never have returned to his family and he wouldn’t be in the presidential race today.”

Woopee……this little visit to Iraq and Afghanistan should really make Obama and expert in the war on terror…What an idiot he is…He thinks the American people are so stupid and he is the only smart one…Just tell us any ole thing Duh…

War on terror??? What a farce. Will the war on terror suddenly be over when Operation Iraqi Freedon is over? What about Operation Enduring Freedom? Do we even know there is an OperationEnduring Freedom? I guess next I’ll have to participate in Operation Irani Freedom. 5 years/3 tours later and Iraq is no different than it was in 2003 the first time I went. Don’t believe the neo-con mess. i supported this war in the beginning. Even fought scream for scream with my wife, but I have to tell you folks, it’s been a lie from day one!!!

LOL Swiftboat….so the Iraq war is no longer the fault of Bush but McCain. Are you insane? Have you actually read your sight. I realize it is Soro’s dem desperate attempt to harm republican site, but really this one is especially desperate. Don’t get me wrong, I am no Mccain fan and there are plenty of legitimate complaints about McCain but the Iraq/McCain/Chalib is very very Pathetic. Comeon, can’t you guys do something better or atleast reasonably half way sorta logical and truthful?

—Sandy, there are 48,700,000 OBAMA LIES posted on the net. With all you knowing research, can you please tell the world in the next five minutes which lie is true and which lie is false. I am waiting.
PS. I read his books too and then checked facts from other sources, he did not always tell the truth.

“5) LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR AMERICAN BUSINESSES
Obama will also crack down on the offshore tax havens ” Get ready to pay more for your stuff from Wal-Mart. Offshoring manufacturing lowers the cost of goods for you at wal-mart. I don’t care if we offshore or not, but let’s not ignore what will happen to consumer prices if we restrict offshoring manufacturing jobs.

Sandy…its all lip service———–all of Obama’s purpose ideas were placed onto a one bill just a couple of months back and put up for a vote—-guess what everyone voted against it. Everyone including the idiot Obama. Obama is lying and what he is actually trying to do is lie his way into the whitehouse, then grow the government so his crookied buddies such as Rezko can scam the government programs and then pay Obama under the table just like Obama and Rezko were doing in Illinois. Obama’s growing of the government will jack up the tax rate for all including the seniors making less $50,000.

JJeff – off shore drilling! Maybe 5, 10, 20 years down the line? What happens to the prices I am paying at Wal-Mart now?
What happens to the price of gas as it goes up and peole cannot afford the gas to look for a job? People need help now – not 20 years from now!

McCain with that “my friend” and “fellow American” crap is getting annoying also. You know he’s about to tell a lie when he starts off with that BS. Listen here LosDangerous “my friend” you can serve until you crippled like me, I will never believe you deserve a free college education. I got mine free because of my father, now you father will have to get you one, because your Uncle sure won’t!!!

Jason in Mephis – nice try, dillweed. but you forgot to factor in Nixon’s infamous Southern Strategy, where the GOP would shear off racist Southern Whites who were uncomfortable with the Democratic establishment’s commintment to civil rights. Nixon and the GOP worked hard – and succeeded – in winning over the “George Wallace Democrats” to the GOP side, which is why the South is so strongly Republican today. Bascially yesterday’s racist democrats are today’s racist republicans. Nobody is hiding this or trying to rewrite history – hell, Ken Mehlman even made a public apology for this while he was chairman of the RNC. You need to tell the whole story and not try and cherrypick history to suit your political agenda. lol

annoyingrabit – I find it much more disturbing that John McCain doesn’t know how to work a computer than the fact that obama once expirimented with cocaine when he was younger. most people i know – and this includes teachers, doctors, accountants, engineers, editors and all manner of high-functioning professionals experimented with drugs at some point in their lives. Meanwhile, McCain can’t even work the most important piece of new technology the world has seen in generations. Talk about out of touch…

4,000 + dead Americans in Iraq………
“They gave their lives so that oil can be free. No, I mean so that Iraqi’s can be free. Oil is $140 per barrel, exactly as planned”
Resident George W. Bush

LOl Sandy…stock trading 101 again. News moves the market QUICKLY AND IMMEDIATELY and stocks/commodities trade for WHAT is Perceived to happen in the future–not what is happening specifically this day at Walmart. Any news whatsoever of them opening up the offshore for drilling will immediatedly shoot down the oil barrel prices.

annoyingrabbit – I have to agree with RayJay – although not as insultingly. Based on your unfounded smear attacks on Obama, you seem more like a Republican than a true independent. I think you’re not being honest here.

Well…the news is moving John McCain’s stock down IMMEDIATELY!!!

I’m sick of hearing that “the world wants Obama to be president”. Who cares? The world won’t be paying for his Marxist policies and inexperienced blunders. Besides, it’s a hard fact that part of the world wants him because he’s going to take money from our GNP to give to them – and is surely going to knock us down a few pegs with his policies. Many think the U.S. is too big for its britches – and unfortunately it seems Obama is one of those. This is Obama’s campaign pledge: “You won’t be able to drive your SUVs, or keep your homes at 72 degrees, or eat as much as you want.”

annoyingrabbit-
Excuse me, Mr. “I only state facts.” But calling Obama a drug addict and his wife evil are not “stating facts.” Get over yourself.

obama making ONE trip to the Middle East will NOT make him a foreign policy expert – that is what he told Hillary!!!
Obama is a FRAUD – this is yet another political “trick” – all for show!!! We would like to see the REAL obama – NOT FRAUD guy – obama is NOT qualfied to lead our country.

–Sandy–If California does not want any drilling off their coast, perhaps, no gas for cars and home heating should be permitted in California either.

I don’t think Hilliary is gone…I think she forced lying Obama to let her in and probably will be his VP. If he has then he better come up with better faked birth certificate papers than what he has already doctored up and hire a food taster since so many that have gotten in Hilliarys way before have mysteriously died.

annoyingrabbit:
Is bitter butter better?

Well, Glory be…..this should really make him an expert on foreign affairs and the War.. What an idiot Obama is ..and what’s worse is that he thinks the whole world is full of idiots that he can lie to and flip flop with and they will just sit by with their finger in their ear…Well look out Buddy….some of us are not that naive.

wilder5121-
The year was 1958 — exactly 1/2 century ago.

earthisnotflat,
I agreed wholeheartedly, He is on his way in worldwide respectable manner.

It’s a darn good thing that Hillary was with Obama yesterday to give him the answers to his Iraq position. He was probably getting nervous that he was going to have to come up with something on his own.

–Thron–I never approved the IRAQ War when it started or now. My husband was in Viet Nam recusing down pilots over Communist territory. He came home sick and injured and also knowing that Washington not telling the truth to the American people. WAR IS HELL. When any VIP goes over there they are shown and told the best side, not necessarily the honest side.
Don’t think Obama’s or McCain’s policies will be sufficient to end the war very soon. Iraq has had fighting among the peoples and religions for a hundred years.

Obama to visit troops in Iraq and Afghan? As if ANY of the troops over there like him… Has he ever heard of fragging?

Well All HAIL OBAMA—our country is broken, we can’t trust our officials, our military, our CIA, our FBI, No One working for our government—none of them know anything—-a few hours in Iraq and OBAMA will be able to tell us everything—he is all knowing. We cannot continue to live our life style, “the rest of the world will not allow us to do so” according to OBAMA. We must have higher taxes, MORE GOVERNMENT control, more of OBAMA’S good judgment and decisions in order to be a really great country….I don’t know about you but we already have a great country, comprised of really great people with dreams, hopes and visions. We are an extremely generous nation even in times of adversity. Please do not let OBAMA and his Chicago corruption take over America.

Iraqis will have no good life
until McCain’s armymen leave
there.

Mess…just very aware of the history. The economy tanked and the gas prices jumped up just the last couple of years—-you know since we got the dem Congress. I am also very well aware that the dem Congress has the power to push oil prices down simply by opening up the coast lines for drilling. Just the mere mention of it coming up for vote, would whack the oil prices but nope the dem congress don’t want to. And don’t even try the environmental nut concerns—our technology allows the drilling and for the environment to be protected.

Fed up in Washington state:
I too am becoming weary of the name calling. I happen to be a Democrat, and I am proud of it. And, I respect your viewpoint as an Independent.
I just thought you might like to know that not all Americans stoop to name calling and ridicule.

Mess Host Messenger “People like Sandy are the voter base republicans know will support them regardless of the issue. That’s why republicans have been able to rob the treasury, screw over the country and subvert the constitution while people like Sandy see nothing wrong with it.”
****************************************
I hope this post was not a reference to me – I am as far removed from being a Republican that anyone can get.

Mess Host Messenger “People like Sandy are the voter base republicans know will support them regardless of the issue. That’s why republicans have been able to rob the treasury, screw over the country and subvert the constitution while people like Sandy see nothing wrong with it.”
****************************************
I hope this post was not a reference to me – I am as far removed from being a Republican that anyone can get.
Posted by: sandy | Jun 28, 2008 5:02:55 PM
***************************************
The post is about Sandra J. not you Sandy. Sorry about that.

anon
McCain’s medical history runs
1200 pages.
Why would the length of a medical history make you doubt someone’s
judgement?
This is not a psychological study…
though it you did one of those on Obama, you would probably discover that he is soffering from a serious case of megalomania!
Posted by: questioner | Jun 28, 2008 5:25:10 PM
****************************************
Questioner, I’m sure yours would reveal you suffer from Baracknophobia. The irrational fear of an intellegent, forward thinking black man with a unusual name becoming POTUS. Better learn how to deal with it because it’s gonna happen.

For the safety of Israel, the strength of Jewish American and all of the citizens of this great country…..wake up….it’s not your grandfather’s democratic party anymore and their is only one candidate that refuses to negotiate the lives of the Israelis with an enemy that publicly wishes to destroy all of us!
Posted by: onlyoneme70 | Jun 28, 2008 6:13:26 PM
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President Lincoln a republican emacipation proclamation freed the slaves. The republican party of today is nothing like that of Lincoln. So is your point things change? If so, we know that.

Obama simply isn’t ready to be POTUS. From his own mouth, here’s his experience in a nutshell.
“I’ve been very blessed,” Mr. Obama told the Gridiron Club in 2006. “Keynote speaker at the Democratic convention. The cover of Newsweek. My book made the best-seller list. I just won a Grammy for reading it on tape. Really, what else is there to do?” he said, his smile now broad. “Well, I guess I could pass a law or something.”
And no, he wasn’t alone at the event. His chief strategist, David Axelrod, and his communications director, Robert Gibbs were with him.

Obama, “I WILL LEAD TO BRIGHT COMMUNISM!”
that is what I think about Obama, after living in Soviet Union for decades he speaks, looks, and thinks like a communist.

Mark:
1. The Democrats have held huge majorities on city councils and school boards in most of the large urban cities for over 6 decades. Yet education is still an election issue in these large urban school districts! Sen. Obama was in a position to make changes to the Illinois school system. Yet education is still an election issue in Illinois. The Democrats place their OWN interests and the interests of the unions above the interests of our children. The Democrats prefer to have education as an election issue rather than solving the problems once and for all.
2. The invasion of Iraq was the result of Saddam Hussein’s 12 years of refusing to comply with ANY of the conditions of the 1991 cease fire. One of the conditions was if Iraq no longer had WMDs, Saddam Hussein was REQUIRED to prove that he no longer had WMDs. Instead, Saddam Hussein chose to have his neighbors continue to believe that he had WMDs.
Saddam Hussein ALLOWED al Qaeda to set up a training camp in northern Iraq at least 6 months before the invasion. AND he gave over $10 million to the families of the Palestinian suicide bombers (as much as $25,000 per family). So Saddam Hussein both harbored and supported terrorists.
Regardless of why we became involved in the Battle of Iraq, very early on al Qaeda declared Iraq as its primary battlefield in its jihad against Western Civilization. We ARE fighting al Qaeda in Iraq. With the help of the Iraqi military, police and the Iraqi people, al Qaeda in Iraq is on the run. Pulling our troops out prematurely will be seen as an American surrender to al Qaeda. Handing al Qaeda a military victory will only embolden them even more to plan and execute more attacks here at home. We must fight the terrorists wherever they are. And it is certainly better to fight them on foreign soil rather than here on our own streets.

There is a lot of nasty stuff on this site about Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. I am pretty sure that most of this junk is posted by conservative operatives who are trying to sow seeds of discontent. You know, they say something really nasty or negative, supposedly on behalf of Senator Obama or Senator Clinton in order to upset the other side. However, if you are a Clinton or Obama supporter, please don’t fall for this disinformation campaign and respond negatively.
Let’s keep our eye on the ball folks.
John McCain was one of the principal advocates for the war in the first place, even though he has been critical of President Bush’s conduct of the Iraq War in recent years.
As a leading Republican Senator, John McCain could have impeded the Iraq war. Instead, John McCain and George Bush started a war that did not need to be fought – that Iraq war caused the deaths of more than 4,000 American soldiers and wasted more than $1 Trillion that imperils the American economy.
This unnecessary war has strained the military (especially the reserves) way too much. McCain’s crew has spent too much. And too many people have died for McCain’s mistake in Iraq. Now John McCain wants you to hire him to fix the Iraq quagmire that he caused. No…I don’t think so.
Senator McCain is also opposed to a woman’s right to choose, and he would be appointing Supreme Court Justices during the next four years. Vote for John McCain, and say goodbye to Roe v. Wade.
Now, some of you say you will vote for John McCain out of spite. Well, that’s one way to go. Generally, Hillary supports Obama because she believes in the same fundamental causes.
I trust that you will support your candidate based primarily on their respective positions on the issues that are important to you.
Based on the issues, Obama is a much better choice than McCain.

As a staunch fiscal and social conservative Republican, I will vote for Sen. McCain. Was he my first choice? No! In fact he wasn’t even in my top 10. However, he is more ideologically aligned to my CORE BELIEFS. One of those core beliefs is the survival of the free market and capitalism. THAT is the true government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” THAT is how the American people control our economy.
Sen. Obama and the Democrats want the government, whether it be local, county, state or federal, to be the answer to everything. They want the federal government to regulate Corporate America and small businesses — and steal their profits to pay for the new, and even larger, Democratic entitlement programs. This interferring with Corporate America and small businesses is designed to decimate the free market and capitalism. And it will open the door for the Liberals to finally accomplish their dream of turning the “Land of the Free” into just another Socialist country.

Bush’s foreign policy and
do-nothing economic
mismanagement have brought
the country down a few
notches.
McCain will take it much
further down.

I disagree with James Danley, as our current subprime, banking,energy, and wallstreet mess, lack of buildout of infrastructure is because of corporate america’s stanglehold on our government to prevent fairness or regulation. When you look at the huge hundred million dollar retirement bonuses and tens of millions of dollars of corporate ceo’s and even now a billion dollars going to private equity manager/owners its anything but a fair playing field. Leverage, the little dollars for it coming from us, and the Greenspan fed put untold wealth in the hands of a few. Corporations in the meantime went on a feeding frenzy eliminating retirements for workers, health care for many, overtime, lunch breaks, part of vaction, and privacy over their own bodies(urine tests). Corporate America has stalled any infrastructure improvement while advocating our continuing overseas wars while our own country is flooded by illegal immigrants that create a cheaper workforce stifling wage gains for our own people. This is not a liberal argument. Its simply factual. While centrists dont’ want big government interfering with their lives they realize that only government can be a countervailing force to push back on corporate excesses. Corporations are run by our most aggressive people and they do at times need to be checked just like a speeder on the highway as its dangerous to our democracy and bad for our well being as a nation. Now they have created doubt in our very banking system just like they destroyed the accounting profession with Enron. Without some trust on a basic level playing field we are totally vulnerable to big money media campaigns that could turn our country into a fascist state very quickly. This is about freedom and a return of some basic foundations for our society to function better.

I still think Hilliary has forced Obama to make her his VP choice—-even after all the ugly things they said about each other.

For the 100th time, the ISSUE of 2008 is the economy. Obama is bad for the economy because all he wants to do is grow the government so his buddies like Rezko can scam the system at the cost of taxpayers and pay Obama under the table. Atleast McCain has a plan to get energy prices down which will help the economy again instead of taking what little money we have left after paying to fill our cars up and buying groceries to give up our tiny piece of the pie for ghetto druggies as Michele says she wants. Common sense people—it is this simple. If you want to pay alot more for taxes and energy, vote Obama. If you don’t, vote McCain.

The thing to watch on these trips is who meets with whom. The American public has been sold out a hundred times to foreign interests. My hope is that Obama will keep all these things as transparent as possible. We will be watching.

Obama and transparency—-He lies about everything from his birth to his crooked buds. “Watching him”? Watching him jack up taxes so he can grow the government and allow his buds to steal from taxpayers so they can pay him under the table is more like it.

dean,
I’m enlisted in the Marine Corps, and I can tell you, your son is giving you bad advice.

My wife and I are both career military.
I have 25 years in and she has 29 years in. She’s a Master Chief and I am a Senior Chief. We, like most the military, votes republican. I voted Bush twice.(Sorry) I can say will all confidence that my wife and I will be voting Dem this year and most my peers say the same thing. Sorry McCain. Your a great war hero but that in itself isnt enough to get my vote. Our great Pres. Bush started a war on his own agenda and based on lies. We should have all our resources going after the SOB that attacked NYC and Obama has the same frame of mind. The economy, war, immigration, energy is why I will vote for Obama.

The very same shenanigans and dishonesty crept into most of the big banks and brokerages frankly. It even occured in the rating agencies. The Bush administration did nothing to regulate the mess and only now after the damage is well done are they starting to look at a few aspects of it after sending back a little of the lower earners income taxes in a so called “stimulus” package. That’s their response. The greed became epidemic and rampant, once again. Eliot spitzer was virtually the only one enforcing the law, though now Blumenthal has stepped a little into that void. They got rid of Spitzer for good. Corporate America, and I am not talking about little entreprenueral companies now, is run by the most aggressive among us frankly, and they take advantage. The middle classes wealth has suddenly all been shifted upstairs and their government stood by and did nothing but further enable the big boys to take more. Where or why does the former chairman of the NYSE get an approx 180 million dollar retirement package, or the former head of Exxon get a similar 400 million? Where do you think all this money comes from? They didn’t invent those institutions, hold the patents, or anything of the sort, they were simply “managers” who walked off with amazing amounts of money. That money, in part, is why the middle class has seen no real increase in per capita income since the 1960′s. It went to the managers of these beheamoths when you really look where the money went. I am not saying government is automatically better, but that the modern economies of scale and the control of these entities in just a few hands completely chokes off the middle class and also most of the stockholders. Nowhere do companies block stockholders from having a say in excecutive compensation than in the United States. A lot of your precepts are totally misconcieved. Doubt me, but look from whom the money originated from and who ended up getting a disporportiante amount. A lot has been written about the collusion, legal or not, between boards of directors, often appointed by the ceo’s, and the cross board sitting of so many of them. If you go into many of the companies run by these people you will see a gutting continuing to go on in wages and level of service and I maintain those savings are only going to those in power.

what part about a rating agency giving a repackaged passel of subprime and alt mortgages a AAA rating just as if it were a US Treasury bond not sound fraudulent to you?
You pay a premium of AAA and you trust the AAA rating to hold up in adverse economic circumstances. Accountants, actuarys, corporate officers and all sorts that make up the command and control structure signed off on these being AAA. So you trusted them and now your out of money. A crime has been committed. Is there a statue for it? Maybe yes if the federal government regulates with the laws on the books, maybe no if its such a new hustle that they have never seen it before. Either way they broke their fiduciary duty to you and now people have lost huge money, are losing homes, or can’t get credit. This is a crime.
By the way corporations were only given all the rights of an individual in the past century and they have used that aggressively to manuever all around us often to our detriment. Obviously corporations can do good things if they still manufactured anything, but now they are in the service industries and some of their services are growing increasingly fraudulant whether it be skimming real money from their funny money or not honoring an insurance policy or lacking truth in advertising or any number of musical chair stock, bond, and exotic instrument games. You are talking last century union issues and I am talking this century globalization issues and what its doing to our own domestic people. Big difference. Your reading right out of the (gasp) republican playbook and I am just observing reality here. This isn’t a football game, these are our own people hurting and its not a sport the more aggressive conveinently sheilded by hyped-up and well protected business entities need to keep winning over ordinary working people as it hurts the nation.

Brian, if laws are being broken YES there should be prosecutions. If people are being swindled and defrauded but the actions are not technically breaking any existing laws, lawsuits can be filed. For flagrant problems that are not covered by laws, the American people can boycott the goods and/or services provided by these ripoff corporations. The government is NOT the answer to every problem.
Now as for the subprime mortgage crisis, I don’t have a problem with the federal government helping out those individuals who were actually living in the homes being foreclosed IF these homeowners were swindled or defrauded. If these homeowners were not swindled or defrauded then it was just a gamble in which they loose. Speculators who bought multiple homes should take the loss and not be reimbursed. Why should other homeowners who DID NOT FALL for these cheaper variable mortgage rates have to now pay for the mortgages of those who speculated or gambled on the cheaper mortgage rates? The mortgage companies and/or their employees who swindled or defrauded individuals should be prosecuted.

Everyone should read the expose on Obama in today’s Boston Globe – how he got tons of money for his developer buddies for public housing, how they failed to maintain the buildings that were rat-infested, lacked heat in the winter, etc. And of course all these developers contributed mightily to Obama’s various campaigns.
When asked about the deplorable conditions in the slums in his district, Obama said he didn’t know about it, no one had told him. Deny and lie, that’s what he does best. And the sad thing is, the majority of the tenants in these public housing slums are African-American, you know, the folks who vote 90% for Obama. When is America going to wake up? When is the MSM going to take up the cause of vetting this guy before it’s too late? Criminals, all of them.

Who cares what the “world” wants as our president—especially if it is obama who is has promised to donate over $700 billion $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ U.S tax dollars to the world on top of what we already give them.
I find it difficult to believe that most Americans will like Obama once they really get to know him. I’ve listen to him speak without the telepromter, read excerpts from his books, and review his history. He is a compulsive lying crook…and on top of it..he’s a dumb one. He also does not like America as evidence by his wife, reverend, choice of terrorist friends the Ayers and the Nation of Islam…not to mention his refusal to even wear an American pin for about year but now since the **** hit the fan is wearing one. The media bias and the Obama lies only can fool some of the people for so long.

Annoyingrabbit, too many Americans don’t even realize that Iran has been supporting the Shia militias both in training and in supplying weapons that are killing Americans in Iraq.

More Obama is a Muslim nonsense. As Hitler’s chief propagandist Goebels said, “if you repeat a lie often enough, it sounds believable.”
Not this time.

Mary, I for one do not hate Sen. Obama. I actually admire his ability to win the hearts, minds and souls of so many people in such a short time. He is an extremely charismatic person. He has a wonderful presence, or aura. I can certainly see how people have become enamored with him. But having said that, his ideology is completely opposite of mine. Sen. Obama believes in wealth redistribution (stealing from the rich in order to give free entitlements to the middle class); he believes government is the solution (as opposed to personal responsibility); and he is just one in a long line of “tax and spend” Democrats.
Sen. Obama says that he will raise the taxes of the wealthy and give the working class a tax cut. Yet just over one year ago, on June 28, 2007, he said said of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts: “There is no doubt that the tax system has been skewed, and the Bush tax cuts, people didn’t need them and they weren’t even asking for them. And that’s why they need to be lapsed…” Yet the bottom two federal income tax brackets WERE LOWERED: The 15% bracket was lowered to 10%; and the 28% bracket was lowered to 15%. These bottom two brackets represent the low end of the scale and middle class. In 2007 Sen. Obama didn’t believe the poor and middle class needed these tax cuts. Now he says they do. Yet he is going to allow the 2001 tax cuts to expire which will raise the bottom two tax brackets back up to 15% and 28%. THAT IS A TAX HIKE for the poor and middle class. So does he really care about the people?

annoyingrabbit – In my opinion Israel will wait until November to see who wins.
If McCain wins they will hold off on any action against Iran, but if Obama wins they probably do something because of the fear of Obama appeasing Iran, and they know Pres. Bush is a strong supporter!!
Isreal can not afford the appeasement mentality of Obama!!