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Clinton fans will feel shunned if Obama dismisses Clinton AGAIN, especially after testing the waters.
Paulson now says he’s not going to use the $700 billion dollars like he said he would. Link.
President-Elect Barack Obama has given his first post-campaign press conference, backgrounded by some of the elite minds on the pressing issues of the day.
The conference was brief and sober, with some wry curveballs thrown in there, indicating Obama’s style will be loose and serious, differing from the current president’s conferences which are known to be closed-lipped, and sometimes offensive:
(God Bush can be an asshole)
Obama livened the conference by addressing the ‘major issue’ of the day, the presidential pooch:
“With respect to the dog: This is a major issue. I think it has generated more interest on our website than just about anything. We have two criteria that have to be reconciled: One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic–there are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic–on the other hand our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So whether we’re going to be able to balance those two things I think is a pressing issue on the Obama household.”
Watch below.
As noted by TIME,
Obama, uncharacteristically late in that presidential way where aides keep giving two minute warnings of his approach, slid into the formal role as easily as sliding back into a suit after working out at the gym. The president-elect delivered his first press conference with verve, as clear and articulate as ever, standing before a plain blue background and a row of U.S. flags that evoked the White House and the backdrop for his victory speech Tuesday night.
His economic advisers and new chief of staff Rahm Emanuel flanked him (he had just come from meeting with them), many smiling and nodding encouragingly, not unlike parents proudly watching their kid deliver a valedictory speech. He called on reporters by their names from a card — a rarity for Obama, who in press conferences usually just points and says “yes” — even going so far as to use the order similar to that used by President Bush: the wires first, then the networks, the hometown Chicago reporters, and then the major papers. In another notable departure from the campaign, journalists formally stood to pose their questions.
It’s nice to have a leader that can articulate complete sentences, even with a liberal dose of the ’ums.’ I always found it curious how Republicans who press for English as the national language tend to shun those who are fluent in it.
Press conference #1: Check.
Keep it up, Obama.
Image: http://huffingtonpost.com
Enjoy Rachel’s chirpy/snarky goodness? Think Obama is ’the One’? Good, then you’ll like this:
Really? What evidence?
Speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said she didn’t know why Democratic fundraiser Wendy Damine didn’t believe in an omnipotent supernatural being, as “there is plenty of evidence that there is a God.”
Really? What evidence? Are holy books now justified evidence in the supernatural?
Now I love Donna Brazile, and appreciate her work and spokesmanship for Democrats, but hang on a minute. Does the Democratic Party endorse a religious view? Is God now part of the platform?
To put this in context, Wolf Blitzer was speaking with Brazile about an attack ad by Sen. Elizabeth Dole against her senate race opponent Kay Hagan, challenging Hagan’s goddlessness. The ad:
According to the Charlotte Observer,
Furious about a new political ad in North Carolina that suggests she’s “godless,” state Sen. Kay Hagan said she’d seek a cease-and-desist order against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s campaign if the television spot isn’t pulled in the next 24 hours.
Hagan, a Democrat from Guilford County, and Dole, the Republican incumbent, have both been engaged in a highly negative ad war over the U.S. Senate seat.Hagan held a press conference Wednesday morning with her family and her minister in Greensboro to denounce the ad at the Presbyterian church where she is an elder and has taught Sunday school.
Hagan, of course, has responded:
As a spokesperson for the Democratic party commenting on a senate race, Brazile has no business discussing her own faith and challenging the views of anyone else. Stop talking like an evangelical, and stick with the politics, Donna.
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Brazile
Obama the Provider
Leaving nothing to chance, the $5 million dollar 30-minute sales pitch for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was almost too slick.
Weaving together his own life and American dream with the stories of struggling families conveniently located in key battleground states, Obama once again tied his family to yours; from reading to his daughters, to dealing with a family illness and death, tonight Obama’s story was the story of the concerned middle class.
Beyond the connection between the Obama’s family and your own, the concern over being able to provide for your family was the key theme of the ad. Each story touched upon the tighting belt of an America with less money, fewer opportunities, and a higher cost of living. Obama’s proposals matched each one of these succinently, fostering the idea that government can’t raise and care for your children, but government can make it easier for you to be able to. And that was where the heartstrings were plucked.
Obama has positioned his campaign as a co-provider to America’s families, providing hope, opportunity, and a partnership between government and citizenry.
The production value was also impressive, but it wasn’t until the end when you truly felt the effect of it. Cutting to a live Obama-Biden rally in Flordia for the conclusion (timed to the second), the real Obama shone across the screen with all the imperfections of live television. The lighting wasn’t as soft, he didn’t look straight at the camera, and the embrace of Obama and his running mate Joe Biden was a bit off, particularly in comparision to the first 28 minutes.
And that’s how an Obama presidency will run too: Lofty ideals coupled with a thoughtful strategy, mixed into the end the live reality of governing and the pressures of current events that will replace the soaring rhetoric and slick marketing of his amazing campaign.
And really, that’s what we’re tuned in for anyways. Not another poltical performance, but institional change to the way American government prioritizes and functions. Change is required for growth, and America has been stiffled by Republican dogma for far too long.
Image: http://skepticalbrotha.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/obama-biden-2.jpg
Is there an echo in here?
Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.
Enjoy some Debate Firsts while you’re at it.
He’s a socialist! He pals with terrorists! He kills babies! He’ll.. have to do things presidents do!
Waiting for the next over-the-top GOP slur about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama certainly doesn’t take long, nor does waiting for the next Republican non-issue melodrama.
Take the most recent: Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said at a Seattle fundraiser that an international crisis will test President Obama within six months of his presidency, preparing donors to stand with our president when it happens.
How do conservatives react to this crack in the Democratic ticket’s political wordsmithing armor? With a Chicken Little freak out of course. While it might not be “the sky is falling,” the melodrama is sure to intesify.
Let’s look at a popular conservative-leaning website, the famous Drudge Report:
That’s right, “ALARM”, the world is a dangerous place! No shit, why do you think we want a president with a cool demeanor and rationale thoughts over a hot-headed old neocon who holds grudges?
This is the same type of feigned outrage Republicans doled out at President Clinton during the Lewinsky affair, such as Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was cheating on his wife during Clinton’s impeachment.
Over at the conservative website TownHall.com, Hugh Hewitt wrote about about Biden’s remarks by citing his interview with Victor Hansen, a columnist and strong supporter of President Bush, who interpreted Biden as saying a President Obama would blink when Iran threatened Israel with nuclear weapons.
Give me a break.
Down in the presidential polls due to their ideas, decisions and rhetoric, conservatives are grasping at straws, looking for anything to buoy their ‘08 aspirations. Sadly, the Grand Old Party continues their tradition of hypocrisy, feigned outrage and melodramatic rhetoric.
Images: www.drudgereport.com, http://www.lexpress.fr/medias/71/obama-biden_231.jpg
