What's your opinion of the guy? Like him? Hate him? Why?

He was on the Daily Show last night and had an outstanding interview with John. I tend to like the guy, as he seriously feels like a breath of fresh air from the Democratic party.

Opinions?

11/8/2005 9:00:46 AM

I like his public speaking skills...but I don't know much about his platform (other then that he's a democrat)

11/8/2005 9:03:31 AM

You can say that about almost any senator.

I like the guy, and believe he is the future of the party.

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 9:07 AM. Reason : To the future.]

11/8/2005 9:07:05 AM

his dad was a sheep herder.

hardcore XXX

11/8/2005 9:07:08 AM

Very charismatic, has some good ideas as well. Really has a knack for laying out a positive vision rather than things he is against. He dominated the field in Illinois in the primary and general election. While the Republican Party did kind of implode, the fact that they couldn't find anyone decent to run speaks alot to Obama's strength as a candidate.

11/8/2005 9:23:32 AM

he will probably be the first black president

11/8/2005 9:40:14 AM

Quote :

"I like his public speaking skills...but I don't know much about his platform (other then that he's a democrat)"

11/8/2005 9:42:53 AM

HE SPEAKS SO WELL

11/8/2005 9:58:05 AM

HE'S TOTALLY NON-THREATENING

11/8/2005 9:59:02 AM

^^

"the government is lying about 9/11!"

white people love barack obama because he makes briant gumble look like malcom x

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 10:00 AM. Reason : .]

11/8/2005 10:00:05 AM

OH SHIT, IT'S WAYNE BRADY

11/8/2005 10:02:23 AM

he can play basketball well

11/8/2005 10:06:39 AM

Don't know shit about the guy, but he's one hell of a speaker. Seems sincere enough, but I don't know shit about the policies he's promoting.

Again, one hell of a speaker. Damn!

11/8/2005 10:08:55 AM

Quote :

"Don't know shit about the guy, but he's one hell of a speaker."

i seem to recall the exact same things being said about hitler...

and yes, I believe a hitler reference is in order, not to say that obama is in any way comparable to hitler, but rather to say "hey, know what the fuck you are voting for"

11/8/2005 10:13:50 AM

yeah, and that's warranted because johnny swank said he doesn't know his platform but he's still going to vote for him.

11/8/2005 10:16:45 AM

true. but I was mainly commenting on people saying "damn, he's a great speaker!" so was hitler, but that don't mean shit

11/8/2005 10:25:01 AM

I love how folks think it's okay to just throw around Hitler references like that...regardless of what context you mean it in.

Jerry Kilgore: the next victim of the Hitler backlash

11/8/2005 10:29:51 AM

jesus, that hitler reference is so illogical.

"he's white"

YEAH, BUT SO WAS HITLER!

11/8/2005 10:33:22 AM

^^^ i dont think anyone has said that they would vote for him without knowing his stance. We were asked about our opinion of him, and many people feel he is a good speaker, but really dont know enough to comment furthur.

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 10:34 AM. Reason : to burrito]

11/8/2005 10:34:28 AM

I DON'T KNOW WHO HE IS, BUT I LIKE HIM ALREADY

PLUS HE'S BLACK

11/8/2005 10:40:07 AM

DG, few people have really been all that concerned with Hitler's "whiteness." There has, however, been lots of discussion on his effectiveness as an orator. The parallel, then, to calling up Hitler's race is irrelevent.

The general consensus I am hearing is "Obama is a great speaker!" What I think people are implying, then, is that being a great speaker is somehow a good quality and that that somehow relates to a person's goodness or badness(IE, whats your opinion...). We must, however, see that since Hitler was a "good speaker," that simply being a "good speaker" is not indicative of a person's goodness or badness, since most people would also agree that Jesus was a good speaker. Certainly, few people would say that Jesus's goodness was on par with Hitler's, no?

Quote :

"I love how folks think it's okay to just throw around Hitler references like that...regardless of what context you mean it in. "

you mean like the libbies do all the time concerning dubya, right?

11/8/2005 10:41:01 AM

Quote :

"being a great speaker is somehow a good quality"

it is a good quality (especially for a public leadership position)....i dont think anyone is saying that it is the only quality necessary, but its certainly a good thing

Quote :

"We must, however, see that since Hitler was a "good speaker," that simply being a "good speaker" is not indicative of a person's goodness or badness"

you're just stating the obvious. no one has said "hes a good speaker so he MUST be a good person", so i dont see why you are even bringing it up.

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 10:45 AM. Reason : df]

11/8/2005 10:44:41 AM

don't forget the pro-life conservatives.

but then again who am i asking to be unbiased here?

11/8/2005 10:45:52 AM

Quote :

"you're just stating the obvious. no one has said "hes a good speaker so he MUST be a good person""

eh, but its almost implied, especially when the question asked was "love him, hate him?"

11/8/2005 10:55:52 AM

eh, shoulda refreshed

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 10:56 AM. Reason : nm]

11/8/2005 10:56:04 AM

Quote :

"eh, but its almost implied"

not really. dont assume.

I think its pretty clear when someone says, "I like his public speaking skills...but I don't know much about his platform" that they are refering only to his public speaking skills, and nothing more

11/8/2005 10:59:52 AM

Quote :

"not really."

really. one of the questions given was "love him, hate him." thus, when reading the thread, one is reading it with the suggestion already implanted in their mind of "people are making a good/bad judgement." I don't think many people are going to say "hey, this guy does this thing really well! therefor he sux!"

11/8/2005 11:01:36 AM

i think you missed the first part of the question: "What's your opinion of the guy?"

my OPINION is that he is a good speaker. I don't know enough about him to say if i "like him" or "hate him"...and i made that very clear.

Quote :

"thus, when reading the thread, one is reading it with the suggestion already implanted in their mind of "people are making a good/bad judgement." "

thats called bias.

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 11:04 AM. Reason : d]

11/8/2005 11:03:25 AM

Quote :

"aaronburro: you mean like the libbies do all the time concerning dubya, right? "

I don't think the reference should ever be used...by anyone, of any party...and, as is the case with Kilgore in VA (and "the libbies" to which you refer), references to Hitler usually backfire and result in a negative backlash. It's really inappropriate.

11/8/2005 11:23:45 AM

Quote :

"you mean like the libbies do all the time concerning dubya, right?"

yes, exactly. it's fucking stupid.

11/8/2005 11:26:21 AM

Quote :

"he will probably be the first black president[ial candidate to make it through the primaries]"

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 1:53 PM. Reason : more certain of this one]

11/8/2005 1:52:39 PM

he has a cool sounding name. that alone would make me vote for him. looking at teh average voter, this probably wouldnt be a bad reason either...

11/8/2005 2:05:07 PM

ethnic names hurt candidates at the polls

11/8/2005 2:49:57 PM

First black president will be Republican... accept it.

11/8/2005 2:58:42 PM

why do you say that?

11/8/2005 3:04:39 PM

i dont trust him

but i dont trust any politician

11/8/2005 3:16:19 PM

Quote :

"First black president will be Republican... accept it."

Because it's been said repeatedly?

Or is there, perhaps, some more logical reason behind it...?

11/8/2005 3:19:15 PM

Quote :

"Or is there, perhaps, some more logical reason behind it...?"

I mean, that's kinda what I was hoping for... please msb2ncsu.. enlighten us.

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 3:25 PM. Reason : .]

11/8/2005 3:25:18 PM

I like him, and it scares me that I like him, because I, like many people here, do a decent job of keeping up with national affairs and still have astonishingly little idea what he stands for. He's excellent at distracting people from issues with his speaking/background/appearance, whether he intends to do so or not. And that's scary.

11/8/2005 3:33:10 PM

yes...the man has "it"

he will probably be the first black president.

but he, just like every other democrat, still dodged jon's question. jon asked plainly, what would he do if he was president, what would the democrats do. we got bupkis.

11/8/2005 3:51:24 PM

^^ It scares me that you like him, too.

Not to worry, though. That's what the campaigns are for. By the time we're 6 months into any presidential contest involving him, you'll find out so much pinko-commie bullshit about his platform that you'll have no problem towing line again.

His greatest strength is definitely what you mentioned, though. His Clintonesque ability to render substance irrelevant with his indelible charm and charisma.

Still, it's not like the substance isn't out there. His views aren't exactly a closely held secret of the DNP; he's a Senator with a record (short though it is) and a campaign Web site. Check them out:

Campaign Positions
http://www.obamaforillinois.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={40AFD188-F486-464C-8501-ED2EEEA1804B}

1998 NPAT (Didn't have one for 2004)
http://www.vote-smart.org/npat.php?old=true&can_id=BS030017&npatform_id=69

Voting Record
http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=BS030017

^ We got humor, at least.

[To Stewart] "The only person more hyped than me is you."

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 3:55 PM. Reason : ...]

11/8/2005 3:54:51 PM

^ i agree ... he was funny

but jon is getting pisseed that nobody will answer his question

11/8/2005 4:13:08 PM

Aaron, you are a fucking dumb cunt

Quote :

"i seem to recall the exact same things being said about hitler... and yes, I believe a hitler reference is in order, not to say that obama is in any way comparable to hitler, but rather to say "hey, know what the fuck you are voting for" "

Find any thread where I said I'd vote for this guy. Again, I do my research on anything I vote on, don't give a shit about which party the dude(or dudette) is on, but can appreciate that someone can express themselves in a coherent manner.

God damn you are a dumb, obtuse bitch.

11/8/2005 4:35:00 PM

Quote :

"Because it's been said repeatedly? Or is there, perhaps, some more logical reason behind it...?"

A minority candidate for the left has no "extra" appeal to voters on the right. Conservatives are well-known for being behind the times in gender and racial equality in the way they think and act. A female or minority candidate would probably only push most conservatives away. On the flip side, democrats hold the black vote, pretty much exclusively, and a black republican would definitely pull votes from minority democrats (and the "feel-goods"). Same goes for a female. A republican candidate would simply have more pull on the middle and left leaners than a minority democrat would have on conservatives. I have polling numbers I can make up if you need me to.

Seriously, does it not seem likely? Think of how much exposure minority and female GOP'ers get (Dole, Rice, Powell, etc). People really go for token figures.

As for Obama, what I have seen of him so far has been pretty good. Being a captivating speaker is a definite plus. I do worry that he gets a tad too glammed though. The way I've seen him portrayed sometimes almost comes across like a GOP token black being overly pushed. Hope he doesn't burn out.

11/8/2005 4:52:33 PM

Quote :

"Again, I do my research on anything I vote on, don't give a shit about which party the dude(or dudette) is on, but can appreciate that someone can express themselves in a coherent manner."

and again, hitler expressed himself in a rather coherent manner. whats your fucking point?

Quote :

"thats called bias."

yep. sucks, don't it?

11/8/2005 4:56:38 PM

The point is you're a dipshit. Show me again where I said I'd consider voting for this dude.

Goddamn you are an ignorant bitch.

11/8/2005 7:41:43 PM

Quote :

"Seriously, does it not seem likely?"

Uh...to put it mildly, [No].

How the hell would a black republican presidential candidate make it through the primaries? Through South fucking Carolina?

11/8/2005 7:49:57 PM

Quote :

"His views aren't exactly a closely held secret of the DNP"

I didn't say they were, but there are some Senators (Clinton, Kennedy, Helms and Thurmond a few years back, etc) who have an automatically clear stance on pretty much everything.

11/9/2005 1:22:26 AM

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"How the hell would a black republican presidential candidate make it through the primaries? Through South fucking Carolina?"

true story.

mccain lost south carolina becuase he has a black baby.

which was adopted.

from asia.

(that wasnt black)

[Edited on November 9, 2005 at 1:28 AM. Reason : true story. look it up.]

11/9/2005 1:27:37 AM

[quote]Dadmag: During your campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination Bridget became something of an issue in South Carolina didn't she?

McCain: Yeah. There were some pretty vile and hurtful things said during the South Carolina primary. It's a really nasty side of politics. We tried to ignore it and I think we shielded her from it. It's just unfortunate that that sort of thing still exists As you know she's Bengali, and very dark skinned. A lot of phone calls were made by people who said we should be very ashamed about her, about the color of her skin. Thousands and thousands of calls from people to voters saying "You know the McCains have a black baby" I believe that there is a special place in hell for people like those.

Another reason to like McCain

11/9/2005 2:26:12 AM