Sen. Barack Hussein Obama, the young, photogenic rising star of the Democratic party, admitted marijuana and cocaine use in his youth. In his decade-old autobiography, Dreams from My Father, Obama described his flirtations with Mary Jane and coke ("or blow," as he referenced it) as efforts to escape his internal conflict in dealing with his mixed heritage (Dad-black Muslim and Mom-white Christian). His admission has come to the fore in the national press with the Washington Post's article yesterday questioning the effect of his candor.
Nevertheless, in the country's most conservative state, Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune praised Obama for his honesty in contradistinction to our current President's inartful evasion of drug-use queries and Clinton's much-mocked claim to have not inhaled. The "flyover" country consists not of moralizing Babbitts as the patronizing intelligensia and partison pols may presuppose: rather, it is made up of people who work hard, trust in God, and believe in redemption. Obama is a breath of fresh air: he may not have the ideas, depth, and conviction of a Reagan but he has the charisma, optimism, and good looks of a JFK.
Hillary and John Edwards better watch out for Oprah's favorite candidate during the primaries. If he gains the Democratic nomination, Rudy, John McCain, and Mitt Romney should be wary, too: none of them has a rock solid base among Republicans nor would they likely have a lock on the independents.
Cf. http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_4848123 and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010201359_pf.html.
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James, see Barbershop 2 for a Chicagoan's view of Obama. He's hard to miss in the movie since the look-alike is a slick 'progressive' on the take. The guys who made the original Barbershop are from Chicago and their message from the second flick should not be forgotten: Black conservatives from Chicago know an idiot when they see one.
Jon, I'm have not posited an approbation of his policies not her person. However, I do believe that he is taking the right tack as his past. Further, I'm not keen on any of the aforementioned candidates nor any that appear likely to run. I would like to check out the flic: the first one was hilarious.
According to the transcripts of the press conference, Obama said the following in reply to the question of his drug use in his youth:
"If you're asking whether I ever used drugs, I would say that I did use a little bit of illegal drugs. By illegal drugs, I mean marijuana and cocaine.......You know, Horse, Crack, Mary Jane, Blow, Ghost, Reefer, Snort, Crank, Blast, Smash, Panama Red, Acupulco Gold, Snow, Pryor's Powder, Cheechburgers in Paradise, Grass, Hop, Braindust......that sort of thing."
The crowd, of course, stomped and whistled in appreciation of the hipness they had just witnessed.
Delightfully facetious take on it, Geo.
*Jon, I have not posited an approbation of his policies nor his person. However, I do believe that he is taking the right tack as to his past. Further, I'm not keen on any of the aforementioned candidates nor any that appear likely to run. I would like to check out the flic: the first one was hilarious.
*#2 post should have read this way. (Sorry: I was on my way out the door when I quickly penned it without an adequate edit.)
Geo, nice job on the euphemisms for Obama!
James, I agree he's taking the right tack. Sophistry works:
appear honest; remain deceitful,
appear pro-life; remain pro-death,
appear moderate; remain kook-liberal,
appear pro-gun; remain tyrannical Marxist,
appear Christian; remain easy-going Nihilist.
Dad would say that he's a comer. Unfortunately, we'll be goners if everyone likes and believes him.
Jon, do you think that he differs from Hill or Edwards in his party? Or that much from the main GOP contenders? Hypocrisy is too oft a staple of the political process in both of the major parties. The positive in hypocrisy is that even though the subjective spirit is wrong, it tends to point to the proper objective spirit. Ergo, the beauty of hypocrisy is its homage to truth.
Ouch! My brain hurts.
That was Charley horse between the ears, on that one, ole boy.
Kinda sounded like Paul Tillich(hate is love, love is hate, etc.).
I don't have all the answers but I know he's a fraud as much as the others of his party and I'm not even attempting to figure out who our front-runner is going to be.
If you want a race demographically, Bush(Jeb)/Rice versus Richardson/Obama would be incredible. The issue of race would no longer be relevant, and a real battle of ideas could ensue. Even though the issues that divide the nation would remain, I believe that either team would be more acceptable to their opponents than in most recent prior presidential contests. Perhaps, non-partisan triangulation could then truly thrive.
P.S. Jon, Sen. Brownback (R-KS) is scheduled to announce his candidacy on the 20th of this month (2 years from the day of the next presidential inaguration). He will be the favorite son of conservatives because of his long-standing, strong social and economic conservatism. However, I'm not sure that he has the charisma and presence to pull off a win: he may be a real contender for Vice President as a complement to candidates perceived as "progressive," e.g., Rudy, McCain, or Romney. Cf. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070105/ap_on_el_pr/brownback2008.
I don't know if I agree with your fondness for Obama. To me, he's engaged in a worse kind of deception, a trojan horse candidacy. On the outside, he is all good-looks, charm, charisma, and "honesty". Internally, he still reeks of the evils of liberalism in his advocacy of abortion, marxist thievery, and so on.
Hope all is well, J. I'm going to give you a call this week to get a report on goings on with you.
Love,
JHMississippi
Obama's record does seem to indicate that he is an uber liberal. However, I don't believe that necessarily distinguishes him from his Dem opponents. Also, the top tier of Republicans seems to consist mainly of moderates.
Hope the transition is going well. Look forward to talking with you, J.
My point is that we recognize him for what he is: ultra liberal ideas packaged up in the dressings of a thoughtful, articulate, charismatic, attractive,...ad nauseum... politician for the purpose of appealing to moderates and dissatisfied conservative voters.
Michelle Malkin:
Obama's briefs, Romney's bucks, and Brownback's buzzkill: An '08 review
By Mary Katharine Ham · January 08, 2007 06:11 PM
Rock star. Obama's bathing suit shots just made a People Magazine spread.
Ana Marie must positively have the vapors.
As Dick Morris said last night on Hannity & Colmes, there is a "Vacancy" sign or "Help Wanted" advertisement for a "right-wing, conservative Republican to run for President." Until one fills the bill and thus offers a substantive choice, moderates and conservatives will be susceptible to a fresh face that is articulate, charming, etc. albeit left wing. The only one in view, if one has field glasses, may be the lone viable presidential candidate still in the bush--Jeb.
I think we need our Obama: J.C. Watts!
I really like J.C. Watts but he's dropped off the radar since he left Congress. How about a Sowell/Buckley ticket if we are talking a dream team? However, if you want a truly hard to beat team that would throw the race into chaos, how about a Rice/Richardson ticket or vice versa?
Now, james, that's just plain crazy talk! :)
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