Dec 15 2006
Barack Obama: Where Does He Stand?
So far, I’ve carefully avoided politics on this blog for many reasons. However, with the state of our country and the importance of the upcoming presidential election season, it may be time to roll-out a new category.
This presidential election promises to be something special:
In new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, eight in 10 Americans would be comfortable or enthusiastic about an African-American or woman running for president. That apparent openness reflected across race, region and age groups is encouraging news for leading 2008 Democrats Clinton and Obama.
Could we see the first African-American or female president? How about both? It seems to me that this country is ready for change, but just how much change remains to be seen.
Barack Obama seems to be the first horse out of the gate and even though he has not “officially” started campaigning, he is getting incredible coverage. It seems everyone has a story or comment about Obama, but little information on just where he stands.
I decided to use the Internet for its intended purpose and see what I could find regarding his voting record. I started with Project Vote Smart and found something interesting under Issue Positions (NPAT):
SENATOR BARACK H. OBAMA REPEATEDLY REFUSED TO PROVIDE ANY RESPONSES TO CITIZENS ON ISSUES THROUGH THE 2004 NATIONAL POLITICAL AWARENESS TEST
SENATOR BARACK H. OBAMA REFUSED TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION WHEN ASKED TO DO SO BY:
Major News Organizations and key national leaders of both parties including,
John McCain, Republican Senator
Geraldine Ferraro, Former Democratic Congresswoman
Michael Dukakis, Former Democratic Governor
Bill Frenzel, Former Republican Congressman
Richard Kimball, Project Vote Smart President
That doesn’t sound good. On the other hand, he’s only been a Senator for less that 2 years and has clearly been groomed for a run at the Oval Office. Let’s face it, saying nothing can sometimes be better than saying the wrong thing. To get elected today, it seems all you have to do is listen to what the public wants to hear, then say what makes them happy. It would be refreshing to know where candidates stand before voting and perhaps see candidates that don’t stand so close together…
When it comes to Obama, the present theme on in the blogsphere is, “Where does he stand?”
Blogs Of War: A quick scan of Project Vote Smart’s Barack Obama data reveals a short (he doesn’t have much experience) but incredibly liberal voting record. His foreign policy record is particularly frightening with a history of strong support for organizations on the leftist fringe.
Legal Fiction: I’ve decided that I want Obama to be the nominee. I thought about writing a long piece outlining the pros and cons, but it’s unnecessary. That’s because there’s a very simple reason to support him — everyone else sucks.
Below the Beltway: Unless Bush makes an amazing turnaround in the next year and a half, which is unlikely, whoever the GOP nominee is will have a huge albatross around his or her neck. The public already made clear in November’s desire for change, and that is only going to become more pronounced as 2008 approaches.
Suitably Flip: In my opinion, his viability in 2008 hinges more immediately on his ability to avoid catastrophic overexposure. As much of a media darling as he may be, so too was Howard Dean (and much farther along in the election cycle) before his own implosion.
