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We’re at the Henderson Convention Center, where U2’s “Beautiful Day” is playing in the background and Sen. Barack Obama has been greeted with a standing ovation by a full house. People were lining up two hours early to get inside.
The audience remained standing as Obama began describing his early days as a community organizer for local churches in Chicago.
"Does everybody have chairs?" Obama asked, to laughter. "You better sit down. We're gonna be here a while." As the audience dutifully complied, he joked "This is an example of my leadership skills."
Obama said after a year on the campaign trail, he's been impressed by the level of interest by the American people, not just in his candidacy, "But in politics, and taking back the country."
People are excited to have a ballot without President Bush on it, he said, nor the name of "my cousin, Dick Cheney." (A book by Lynne Cheney turned up a distant familial link between the vice president and the Illinois senator.)
"That was embarrassing, by the way," Obama said as the crowd chuckled. "When they do those genealogical surveys you're hoping for somebody cool. You know, like Willie Mays. Dick Cheney -- that was a letdown."
———
Updated 10:45 a.m. — Obama, in Henderson, continues:
Presidential candidates who promise to round up and deport all undocumented immigrants "aren't telling the truth, they're trying to score poltical points...We would have to empty out of jails (to make room to hold the undocumented immigrants)...We’d have to build detention centers. Think about how that would look on television, us shipping millions of people out of the country. That’s not who we are.”
The real answer is to “fix out legal immigration system to reduce the backlog,” Obama said.
On health care: The system needs serious revision and a more common-sense approach particularly when it comes to preventative measures, Obama said.
"You can’t get reimbursed for a dietician to help you lose weight, which might cost $1,000," Obama said. “But you can get reimbursed $30000 for a foot amputation once you become diabetic and get sick."
Another Kumbaya moment reflecting the debate’s spirit: Both Clinton and Edwards have proposed good health care plans, and either of them would be "a vast improvement over the system we have now," he said.
"I respect that Sen. Clinton and President Clinton tried to get health care fixed in 1993. But they went about it the wrong way. They went behind closed doors and tried to do it themselves. Here's what I'm going to do. We're going to have a big table. We're going to have doctors, nurses, big drug companies, insurers ... I'll sit at the table. I'll have the biggest chair because I'll be the president. I'll put my plan at the center of the table. We're going to do it on C-SPAN, so everybody will be able to see just who's saying what."
———
Obama, his voice sounding as strong as he did at last night's debate, ended his hour-long appearance with a pledge:
“I’m not going to be able to fix everything right away. But I can get us on the right path. I will listen to you even when we disagree. We will find common ground. I will wake up, every morning, in the White House, thinking how to make your lives a little better."
As the crowd applauded and the front rows surged forward to shake Obama's hand, camera phones were held high and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" played on the sound system.
Damn Emily, I missed this part.
---------
“Does everybody have chairs?” Obama asked, to laughter. “You better sit down. We’re gonna be here a while.” As the audience dutifully complied, he joked “This is an example of my leadership skills.”
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So he wants to be the captain of the ship and he thinks his skills are best demonstrated by his ability to arrange the deck chairs. Why do I hear the name "Titanic" in this?
Barack Obama does nothing to inspire me. He talks a lot about hope and uniting, but does not seem to have a plan to lead the country. Hillary Clinton seems to bring about more of the same blue state/red state divisiveness and Republicans can't wait to run against her.
John Edwards is the only candidate that has comprehensive plan to bring our country back together.
http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/
If you get a chance, see John Edwards in person. He is in Reno today, Las Vegas tonight and Henderson tomorrow.
http://www.johnedwards.com/nevada/events...
Go John Edwards!
John Edwards appeals to emotions far more than the other two. I don't want to be motivated by anger or fear. Plus, Edwards has even less experience in politics than Obama.
Anyway, the other candidates seem to be underestimating the value of the president's ability to motivate people. JFK and FDR were great presidents precisely because they had those qualities.
Toldani - experience isn't the issue. Judgment is what counts. What is necessary is someone who can rally the American people, has sound judgment and who can balance that judgment along with their advisers suggestions. We are in crisis and need someone who can inspire most of us. We don't need a polarizing, dirty campaigning politician. I am hoping that Nevada dems recognizes this.
I think Obama's core issue is unity, which is a good one. However, with the economy going down the tubes, I think Edward's core issues -- economic fairness and saving the middle class -- are a lot more crucial right now. He has led on these issues all through the campaign, and I believe him when he says fighting for the average man and woman in America is personal for him. He would make a great president!
I have been favorably impressed with Senator Obama and feel he will make a great President--in 2017-- provided he gains the necessary experience as Vice President to Hillary for eight years. He has everything he needs except a few dozen hard knocks that he cannot survive without help. Who better to help than a crusty old broad that has weathered the storm with grace and dignity (at least when the good guys are looking)?
The bad things being said about Hillary are just the things she needs to correct the damnable mess George WTF Bush has made of this Country.
Edwards seems too much of a clone of Lindsay Graham, right down to his inability to speak English, which he says should be a requirement for Citizenship which, in turn, is a requirement to be President. He comes across exactly as he is--a slick laywer that found the pot of gold in somebody else's pockets.
A Democratic ticket of Clinton/Obama would be unbeatable and offers the greatest hope for our Country for the next two decades.
Thank you Michael for trying to bring humor (albiet childish humor) into this discussion. Now, go outside and play.
Sorry DonD, but I would think a ticket of a woman and an African American man is a recipe for disaster. It will not sell in the South, West or most delegate-heavy states in the iron belt.
I think Biden would be a good candidate for VP.
As state Democrats prepare to hold their Saturday caucuses, cynical Republicans might well encourage them to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton, figuring her high "negatives" -- the unusual number of Americans who tell pollsters they'd never vote for her under any circumstances -- would virtually guarantee a GOP victory in the fall.
That's why it's a good thing for Democrats that freshman Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has managed to challenge the perception of Sen. Clinton's "inevitability."
The Clinton campaign cites Sen. Clinton's "experience." In fact, she's a one-term-plus-a-year senator whose lackluster legislative record rivals Sen. Obama's. Other than that, the "experience" in question must surely refer to her presence as a witness and enabler during her husband's presidential terms.
Suffice it to say there are dozens of issues that Americans happily dismissed as "water under the bridge" as the Clinton era came to a close, but which would quickly ensnare Sen. Clinton and her party in a presidential race that would soon look like a struggle to escape the La Brea tar pits.
For starters, imagine Sen. Clinton and "co-president" Bill Clinton invited onto a "This is Your Life" talk show where they're joined by Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky……
As Nevada Democrats head to their caucuses Saturday, they might ask themselves whether they really want to spend two months later this year watching a re-run of the horror movie "It Came From Little Rock," with the sound turned up much too loud -- or if they'd rather make it a real contest this fall.
If they prefer the latter, they're better off backing Barack Obama on Saturday.
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/13832767.htm...
Hillary can't win against most of the possible GOP candidates and Obama will have an uphill battle. Edwards, on the other hand, would beat any GOP candidate easily.
If you want to see the Democratic Party take the White Hose in January 2009 John Edwards is the most logical choice.
Republican are loaded for bear for both Hillary and Obama. You should look long and hard at Obama's church, because if he wins the GOP will make it a huge issue. Here's the link to the church's mission statement: http://www.tucc.org/about.htm
The GOP will kill him with this stuff. Here is a very sympathetic view of the church from a white woman that visited: http://camelsnose.wordpress.com/2007/10/...
The GOP will not be so nice and Obama will be the biggest Democratic disaster since Mondale.
Funny FlyoverCharlie, I see it as being equal to the Dukakis campaign but I could be wrong. I think if you put Obama in a tank and put a helmet on him, you have Dukakis all over.
I'm not sure why people are so concerned about Obama in the general election here. He performs a lot better than Clinton against McCain (see the averaged polls at realclearpolitics.com... of course maybe after last night the Republicans will nominate someone less electable... we can hope.) John Edwards speaks a lot of hard truths, but he's just too angry for moderates to like him. Look at who has dominated the independent vote in the first two states. I like Obama's style; his conservative, understated approach to passing strong progressive legislation appeals to independents. And the man has excellent character and the good judgment not to try to pander by getting into a tank (Dukakis) or going hunting (Kerry). Thus far the Clintons have basically thrown the kitchen sink at him, and little of it has stuck.
The Republicans will go after everyone in the general - Edwards for his mansion, trial lawyer support, $400 haircut, and shifted positions. Obama for Rezko, his church, and of course they will trot out the Muslim smear. Clinton - well, there's enough from just 1992-2000 let alone anything the two of them have done since then. We need a candidate with the charisma to expose and brush off these attacks, and I believe that's Obama.
Barack Obama:speech on Iraq: October 2002 - the same week Hillary Clinton voted and enthusiastically supported the Iraq War Resolution --
How about a President who gets it right the first time --
"I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income, to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.
That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.
But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.
I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.
I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.
I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. "
For the entire speech here is link:
IT IS ABOUT JUDGEMENT
http://usliberals.about.com/od/extraordi...
Barack Hussein Obama is a joke. I cannot stand this empty suit. He makes me PUKE!
Obama won Illinois because NOBODY else was on the ticket. He has NO experience and is LAZY.
He is now praising Ronald Ray-gun as the best President, a neoPUKE! WTF?
Wake up! NO TO OBAMA!!!!! VIVA HILLARY!!!!!!!!
Comment removed by staff.
The United States supported Osama Bin Laden when he was part of the Mujahhadeen fighting in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.
That was in the 1980's
Go see the movie Charlie Wilson's War - if you don't want to read about it --
That same advisor you refer to- worked in the Clinton administration from 1992 - 1998 -- and is not supporting Hillary Clinton because he feels - like so many other top level Clinton administration people that Barack Obama is better equipped to deal with the world as it is today
Judgement and Vision
Girly_Girl,
Get a life! Stop your lies and politics of fear, hate and destruction. That mind set explains why we are in Iraq! That same way of thinking has cost us 4000 lives and hundreds of billions while the people in America, victims of hurricane are helpless. Meanwhile Ben Laden is still out there
I don't want a president who will have to spend his first 1-2 years learning the ins and outs of Washington. Let's face it, no one can just arrive in Washington and instantly change the way things are done there.
Hillary knows Washington well (even if she doesn't like the way it works very much) and won't take forever and a day to get moving.
By the way, I suggest WESLEY CLARK as her running mate. Gen. Clark would be a great matchup against McCain, should he be on the Republican ballot for either President or VP.
Go Hillary in '08!
I love when somebody says Obama doesn't have the experience to be president: Do you realize that Obama's 11 years in legislative experience is more than Hillary's 8 years in the Senate? And when Hillary was pushing her disastrous secretive health care plan in the '90s that repelled everybody (and set universal health care back 20 years), Obama was practicing Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago along with his community organizational activities.
So today, ask yourself who's preaching fear vs. who's preaching hope? Who is playing the race card, and who is preaching unity. Listen folks, America doesn't need this: men against women, white against black, Dem vs Republican, us against them. America needs a leader, not a divider. I don't have to tell you who I'm for; by just reading this, you'll know who I'm for. And then ask yourself, why would you still support the other side?
I agree with Obama's take on leadership qualities. A manager and a leader are two different people. A strong leader uses judgment to guide a group of competent managers. This man is not 'God' nor is he a 'Rock Star' .... he's a smart person with a strong ability to follow through on sound judgment.
He will be good for America.