How much did Barack Obama think about foreign policy before he decided to run...?

• don't mean to make any - bluestraveler
  • How much did Barack Obama think about foreign policy before he decided to run...? - sam
    • check your - weepaws
      • Weepaws,are you stalking me...? lol - sam
  • Get the facts - not fear - and for pete's sake stop being so nauseating - dee
  • Sounds like that's exactly what you're trying to do - Old part-timer
    • It's not having an answer that's making you nervouse. - That scenario is right on. nm
    • Sorry, but Obama has a lifetime of experience - tm
      • Excuse me...a LIFETIME of experience??? - sam
        • Executive experience is a big zero - Your policies are a load of moose maneur.
          • Your hero Hillary's husband had ONLY... - sam
      • That's how I felt about her until I read about her history - me
        • I enjoyed that - Chele
      • Please do complete a list - Chele
        • More media mantra does not a valid point make. - we'll be laughing all the way to the polls and
          • Once again...proof that no one - Chele
            • Anyone can look up info on Obama as I did yesterday on Palin. - ss
              • Experience issue will not go away soon. - Time for research beyond wiki and chat room forums
            • So many posts to refute, such little time. - Keep your shirt on. nm
            • Don't worry. That list will take a while - To compile. Stay tuned. nm

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On the issues

Sarah Palin on Foreign Policy.

            No stance

Obama on Foreign Policy

• Meet with Cuban leaders only with agenda of US interests. (Feb 2008)


• Cuba: Loosen restrictions now; normalization later. (Feb 2008)


• Important to undo the damage of the last seven years. (Feb 2008)


• Never negotiate out of fear, and never fear to negotiate. (Jan 2008)


• Ok to postpone Pakistani elections, but not indefinitely. (Dec 2007)


• Pakistan crisis: secure nukes; continue with elections. (Dec 2007)


• President must abide by international human rights treaties. (Dec 2007)


• Obama Doctrine: ideology has overridden facts and reality. (Dec 2007)


• China is a competitor but not an enemy. (Dec 2007)


• Willing to meet with Fidel Castro, Kim Jung IL & Hugo Chavez. (Nov 2007)


• Wrote 2006 law stabilizing Congo with $52M. (Oct 2007)


• No Obama Doctrine; just democracy, security, liberty. (Oct 2007)


• Invest in our relationship with Mexico. (Sep 2007)


• Strengthen NATO to face 21st-century threats. (Aug 2007)


• $50B annually to strengthen weak states at risk of collapse. (Aug 2007)


• No "strategic ambiguity" on foreign policy issues. (Aug 2007)


• At college, protested for divestment from South Africa. (Aug 2007)


• Increased aid to Republic of Congo. (Aug 2007)


• Visited largest slum in Africa, to publicize its plight. (Aug 2007)


• My critics engineered our biggest foreign policy disaster. (Aug 2007)


• China is a competitor, but not an enemy. (Aug 2007)


• Meet with enemy leaders; it's a disgrace that we have not. (Jul 2007)


• No-fly zone in Darfur; but pay attention more in Africa. (Jun 2007)


• Europe & Japan are allies, but China is a competitor. (Apr 2007)


• Palestinian people suffer-but from not recognizing Israel. (Apr 2007)


• FactCheck: Palestinian suffering from stalled peace effort. (Apr 2007)


• U.S. needs to ameliorate trade relations with China. (Mar 2007)


• U.S. funds for humanitarian aid to Darfur. (Mar 2007)


• We cannot afford isolationism. (Mar 2007)


• Protested South African apartheid while at college. (Feb 2007)


• Focus on corruption to improve African development. (Oct 2006)


• Supports Israel's self-defense; but distrusted by Israelis. (Oct 2006)


• Visited Africa in 2006; encouraged HIV testing & research. (Oct 2006)


• Never has US had so much power & so little influence to lead. (Jul 2004)


• US policy should promote democracy and human rights. (Jul 2004)


• Sponsored aid bill to avert humanitarian crisis in Congo. (Dec 2005)


• Urge Venezuela to re-open dissident radio & TV stations. (May 2007)


• Let Ukraine & Georgia enter NATO. (Jan 2008)


• Condemn violence by Chinese government in Tibet. (Apr 2008)


• Sanction Mugabe until Zimbabwe transitions to democracy. (Apr 2008)

Sarah Palin on Homeland Security

• Strong military and sound energy. (Aug 2008)


• Armed forces, including my son, give us security and freedom. (Jan 2008)


• Ask all candidates "Are you doing all you can for security?". (Oct 2007)


• Visits Kuwait; encourages Alaska big game hunting to troops. (Sep 2007)


• Promote from within, in Alaska's National Guard. (Nov 2006)


• Let military personnel know how much we support them. (Nov 2006)

Obama on Homeland Security

• No torture; no renditions; no operating out of fear. (Apr 2008)


• Unacceptable to have veterans drive 250 miles to a hospital. (Feb 2008)


• Pursue goal of a world without nuclear weapons. (Feb 2008)


• Al Qaida is stronger now than in 2001 as Iraq distracted us. (Jan 2008)


• Colleges must allow military recruiters for ROTC on campus. (Jan 2008)


• Rebuild a nuclear nonproliferation strategy. (Jan 2008)


• FactCheck: Promised to repeal Patriot Act, then voted for it. (Jan 2008)


• No presidential power for secret surveillance. (Dec 2007)


• No holding US citizens as unlawful enemy combatants. (Dec 2007)


• Congress decides what constitutes torture, not president. (Dec 2007)


• No torture; defiance of FISA; no military commissions. (Dec 2007)


• Restore habeas corpus to reach Muslims abroad. (Dec 2007)


• Human rights and national security are complementary. (Nov 2007)


• Don't allow our politics to be driven by fear of terrorism. (Nov 2007)


• 2006: Obama-Lugar bill restricted conventional weapons. (Oct 2007)


• Judgment is as important as experience. (Oct 2007)


• If attacked, first help victims then prevent further attacks. (Oct 2007)


• America cannot sanction torture; no loopholes or exceptions. (Sep 2007)


• Repeal Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell. (Aug 2007)


• 2005: Passed bill to reduce conventional weapon stockpiles. (Aug 2007)


• We are no safer now than we were after 9/11. (Aug 2007)


• Close Guantanamo and restore the right of habeas corpus. (Jun 2007)


• Homeland security must protect citizens, not intrude on them. (Mar 2007)


• America must practice the patriotism it preaches. (Mar 2007)


• Protecting nuclear power plants is of utmost importance. (Mar 2007)


• Personal privacy must be protected even in terrorism age. (Mar 2007)


• Get first responders the healthcare and equipment they need. (Mar 2007)


• Need to be both strong and smart on national defense. (Oct 2006)


• Grow size of military to maintain rotation schedules. (Oct 2006)


• Battling terrorism must go beyond belligerence vs. isolation. (Oct 2006)


• Going after AL Qaeda in Pakistan is not Bush-style invasion. (Jan 2006)


• Rebuild the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (Jan 2006)


• We are currently inspecting 3% of all incoming cargo. (Oct 2004)


• Increase funding to decommission Russian nukes. (Jul 2004)


• Give our soldiers the best equipment and training available. (Jul 2004)


• Balance domestic intelligence reform with civil liberty risk. (Jul 2004)

Sarah Palin on War and Peace

• We don't know what the plan is to ever end the war. (Aug 2008)


• Wants exit plan; also assurances to keep our troops safe. (Mar 2007)

Obama on War and Peace

            Iraq War

• President sets Iraq mission; Generals then implement tactics. (Apr 2008)


• President sets Iraq mission; give generals a new mission. (Apr 2008)


• $2.7 billion each week of Iraq spending is unsustainable. (Feb 2008)


• Humanitarian aid now for displaced Iraqis. (Feb 2008)


• FactCheck: Overstated displaced Iraqis; actually 4.2 million. (Feb 2008)


• The Iraq war has undermined our security. (Jan 2008)


• Iraq is distracting us from a host of global threats. (Jan 2008)


• End the war, and end the mindset that got us into war. (Jan 2008)


• The Iraq war was conceptually flawed from the start. (Jan 2008)


• Title of Iraq war authorization bill stated its intent. (Jan 2008)


• Get our troops out by the end of 2009. (Jan 2008)


• No permanent bases in Iraq. (Jan 2008)


• FactCheck: No, violence in Iraq is LOWER than 2 years ago. (Jan 2008)


• Congress decides deployment level & duration, not president. (Dec 2007)


• Surge strategy has made a difference in Iraq but failed. (Nov 2007)


• Leave troops for protection of Americans & counterterrorism. (Sep 2007)


• Hopes to remove all troops from Iraq by 2013, but no pledge. (Sep 2007)


• Tell people the truth: quickest is 1-2 brigades per month. (Sep 2007)


• No good options in Iraq--just bad options & worse options. (Aug 2007)


• Be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. (Jul 2007)


• We live in a more dangerous world because of Bush's actions. (Jun 2007)


• Case for war was weak, but people voted their best judgment. (Jun 2007)


• War in Iraq is "dumb" but troops still need equipment. (Apr 2007)


• Open-ended Iraq occupation must end: no military solution. (Apr 2007)


• Saddam is a tyrant but not a national security threat. (Mar 2007)


• Iraq 2002: ill-conceived venture; 2007: waste of resources. (Feb 2007)


• Saddam did not own and was not providing WMD to terrorists. (Oct 2004)


• Iraq War has made US less safe from terrorism. (Oct 2004)


• Invading Iraq was a bad strategic blunder. (Oct 2004)


• Democratizing Iraq will be more difficult than Afghanistan. (Oct 2004)


• Never fudge numbers or shade the truth about war. (Jul 2004)


• Set a new tone to internationalize the Iraqi reconstruction. (Jul 2004)


• Iraq war was sincere but misguided, ideologically driven. (Jul 2004)


• Not opposed to all wars, but opposed to the war in Iraq. (Jul 2004)


• International voice in Iraq in exchange for debt forgiveness. (Jul 2004)

Trouble Spots

• Iran is biggest strategic beneficiary of invasion of Iraq. (May 2008)


• Military surge in Afghanistan to eliminate the Taliban. (May 2008)


• Take no options off the table if Iran attacks Israel. (Apr 2008)


• Two-state solution: Israel & Palestine side-by-side in peace. (Feb 2008)


• Al Qaida is based in northwest Pakistan; strike if needed. (Jan 2008)


• No action against Iran without Congressional authorization. (Dec 2007)


• Iran: Bush does not let facts get in the way of ideology. (Dec 2007)


• Meet directly for diplomacy with the leadership in Iran. (Nov 2007)


• Committed to Iran not having nuclear weapons. (Oct 2007)


• Iran military resolution sends the region a wrong signal. (Oct 2007)


• Deal with al Qaeda on Pakistan border, but not with nukes. (Aug 2007)


• Military action in Pakistan if we have actionable intel. (Aug 2007)


• FactCheck: Yes, Obama said invade Pakistan to get al Qaeda. (Aug 2007)


• Focus on battle in Afghanistan and root out al Qaeda. (Jun 2007)


• Bush cracked down on some terrorists' financial networks. (Jun 2007)


• Iraq has distracted us from Taliban in Afghanistan. (Apr 2007)


• Iran with nuclear weapons is a profound security threat. (Apr 2007)


• We did the right thing in Afghanistan. (Mar 2007)


• We are playing to Osama's plan for winning a war from a cave. (Oct 2006)


• Al Qaida is stronger than before thanks to the Bush doctrine. (Jan 2006)


• Terrorists are in Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran. (Oct 2004)


• Problems with current Israeli policy. (Jul 2004)


• Engage North Korea in 6-party talks. (Jul 2004)


• Use moral authority to work towards Middle East peace. (Jul 2004)

Voting Record

• Voted to fund war until 2006; now wants no blank check. (Nov 2007)


• Late to vote against war is not late to oppose war. (Jun 2007)


• Spending on the Cold War relics should be for the veterans. (Jun 2007)


• Would have voted no to authorize the President to go to war. (Jul 2004)


• Voted YES on redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. (Mar 2007)


• Voted NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007. (Jun 2006)


• Voted YES on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Nov 2005)

Obama started off saying he was confident in his FOREIGN POLICY experience ("Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain"). He then proceeded to talk about his visit to Pakistan.

SO WHAT? I visited and lived in several foreign countries, too. Does that mean I understand foreign policy better than someone who may have spent less time but has had actual interaction and policy discussions with those countries' leaders? And with the leaders of 80 countries?

If 3 weeks in Pakistan is the extent of Obama's foreign policy credentials, then I am way more qualified on the "foreign policy" front.

My point is that Obama's claim is ridiculous. Better that he stick to his "better judgement" mantra, since the "3 weeks abroad = foreign policy experience" is just pathetically weak.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/obamas-college.html

Dr. Paul Kengor - Guest Columnist - 10/28/2008 7:45:00 AM

Let me begin with what I hope is a credibility enhancer: For daring to write a book on the faith of Hillary Clinton, I was questioned by fellow conservatives, especially for calling Mrs. Clinton a "lifelong, committed Christian." In the final chapter of that book, I included a brief section on the faith of Barack Obama, where, taking him at his word—based on a major June 2006 speech on his faith—I felt confident in reporting, "Obama is a Christian."

I'm not disputing that here. Since then, however, I've taken a careful look at Obama's faith, and there are quite a few things that stand out as historically extremely unusual, and in some cases unprecedented for a potential president. They are worth knowing, especially given the secular media's adoration of the man.

Indeed, journalists are so worshipful of Obama that they are unfazed by his two decades of membership in the church of a ranting, blasphemous preacher who mocked everything from Bill Clinton to America itself—and who married Obama, baptized his children, and whom Obama considers a mentor and the inspiration for the title of his best-selling book. That double standard has struck even the likes of atheist Christopher Hitchens. After eight years of wailing and gnashing of teeth over a Christian Republican president, secular liberals have undergone a Saul-like conversion.

On rare occasions, however, the press has offered constructive analysis of Obama's faith. The most revealing look remains a glowing profile in Newsweek a couple of months ago. The Newsweek offering was remarkably one-sided, even venturing into evangelical phraseology, the shared-language-of-believers style characteristic of Religious Right publications. I counted ten examples of phrases like, "He found Christ," "accept Christ," "Obama went to Jesus."

Nonetheless, even in this unusually un-critical article, much can be mined about Obama's faith. Most salient is this inescapable conclusion: More than any presidential nominee this close to the White House, Barack Obama's faith is a patchwork of divergent beliefs, philosophies, and influences, from what Newsweek called a "Christian-turned-secular mother"—her own views a product of "two lapsed Christian" parents and a Bill Moyers book—to a "Muslim-turned-atheist African father" to a stepfather with a "unique brand of Islam."

As for Obama's personal path, Newsweek noted how Obama, in his younger years, enjoyed, on one hand, Augustine, and then Nietzsche and Graham Greene. Obama hopped and groped his way through Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, asceticism, and eventually settled at the political church of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Most interesting is what Newsweek revealed about Obama and his current family: His wife, Michelle, "also didn't go to church regularly as a child." Neither really began regular attendance until they were married. And only then, their choice was Reverend Wright. On that, Newsweek reported approvingly: "The cross under which Obama went to Jesus was at the controversial Trinity United Church of Christ. It was a good fit."

The couple, writes Newsweek, attended "fairly often—two or three times a month." That changed, becoming less frequent, with the birth of their first child. Normally, the arrival of children is the blessed event that drags young couples to church—the Bushes, the Clintons. For the Obamas, however, the hassle of getting the baby out of the house for a packed service was an obstacle. "So," explained Barack, "that would cut back our involvement."

The Obama girls have never attended Sunday school—a definite contrast with most White House children. Even wayward president's kids like Ron Reagan, a proud atheist, was taken to church every Sunday. Obama explains of his daughters' religious education: "I'm a big believer in a faith that is not imposed but taps into what's already there, their curiosity of spirit."

Once Obama ran for the U.S. Senate, he skipped church for months at a time. Now that he publicly parted ways with Reverend Wright, reports Newsweek with a gentle wink, "Obama is a little spiritually rootless again." Newsweek neglected to mention that Obama often appeared in churches in 2007 for strictly political purposes—i.e., to campaign in houses of worship, a practice that launches liberals into fits of screaming rage when done by Republicans.

On the plus side, there are some discernible spiritual practices in Obama's life: family grace at mealtime, daily prayer, Obama "sometimes" reading the Bible in evenings, and inspirational emails zapped to the senator by his "religious outreach team." Yet, even with that nod to something of a religious routine, one senses that Obama is still trying to reconcile, as Newsweek described his early life, "his rational side with his yearning for transcendence."

After demonstrating at length that Obama's belief system is an amalgam, unorthodox, and undisciplined, Newsweek wrapped up with a shot at his detractors: "Some on the right say his particular brand of Christianity is a modern amalgam—unorthodox, undisciplined...."

No, Newsweek, that's what you say.

One can see here another reason the secular left embraces Obama: His entire religious life, including the spiritual development of his family, is relativistic—an ever-probing quest, a realization of no single truth. The left likes this Democrat more than, say, a lifelong Baptist like Bill Clinton, a lifelong Roman Catholic like John Kerry, a lifelong Methodist like Hillary Clinton, a "born-again" southerner like Jimmy Carter. Here's a believer secular liberals can accept: a relativist in the most expansive form.

A President Obama would bring to the office the most unconventional religious portfolio of any president in a long time, arguably the history of the American presidency.

But to get there, the freshman senator hopes to win just enough of those moral-religious "values voters" who twice made the difference for George W. Bush. Can Barack Obama do that?

Can Obama win the 'values voter'?
In 2000 and 2004, it was the churchgoing moral-religious "values voters" that made the difference for George W. Bush. Barack Obama hopes to peel off just enough of those voters. What are his chances? From my vantage, Obama faces five primary obstacles:

First, Reverend Jeremiah Wright remains an albatross, even given the media's best efforts to avoid him. The ranting, raving, blaspheming political sermons by an uncorked, unhinged Wright—with the congregation loving every minute—remains a cruise missile at Obama's bid for moderate to conservative churchgoers. Obama was way too close to Wright to politically extricate himself.

Second—brace yourselves, liberals—a sizable number of Americans suspect Obama is lying about Islamic roots. A Newsweek poll in June found that 12 percent of voters are convinced Obama is a Muslim, and one-in-four believe he was raised a Muslim. Such thinking has intensified with Jerome Corsi's bestselling book and with research by Islam observers like Daniel Pipes—who, though he accepts that Obama is today a Christian, says Obama is "lying" when he denies he was never a Muslim. Additional oddities continue to surface, such as a YouTube video in which Moammar Kaddafi is said to describe Obama as a fellow Muslim.

When I recently shared this factor with some liberals, their faces visibly contorted and they began yelling at me. Nonetheless, perceptions matter. This issue might become statistically important in a close election.

Third, conservative Christians are offended by how the secular left has greeted Obama as a messianic figure. The hosannas during Obama's Europe trip were so over-the-top that London Times columnist Gerard Baker ridiculed the senator's visit as akin to Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. The BBC interviewed a worshipful German who described Obama as his "redeemer." Fox found another who exalted his "new messiah." To the question, "Who do you say that I am?" some Europeans made their choice as Obama swept into their presence.

Given the agnostic left's search for salvation in politics, this is not a surprise, especially in post-modern, de-Christianized Europe.

This has only gotten worse. No less than a U.S. congressman, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), said on the House floor on September 10 that, "Barack Obama was a 'community organizer' like Jesus." (He then added, in reference to Governor Sarah Palin, that "Pontius Pilate was a governor.") And now there's YouTube video of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan calling Obama "the Messiah."

This is backfiring on Obama among the values voters he is seeking. To them, this reverence by the secular left is intolerably hypocritical. Liberals went bonkers when a presidential candidate named George W. Bush merely cited Christ as his favorite philosopher. And now they can compare Obama to Christ?

Fourth, "values voters" are skeptical of this appeal to faith by the Democratic nominee. There has been a well-orchestrated, openly admitted campaign, begun just days after the 2004 vote, especially by Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid, to get Democrats talking faith as much as possible. Actual Democratic Party working groups and colloquia have been established, employing the Christian left's language of "social justice."

Obama himself picked this up early on. In a June 2006 address to the Call to Renewal convention, Obama appealed to religious voters. He recalled how in his 2004 Senate race, his support of abortion rankled his opponent. Obama protested, arguing there were policy issues that proved his Christianity—issues like supporting daycare subsidies and the estate tax.

Obama can protest all he wants, but values voters consider legislation mandating medical care for abortion survivors more important than legislation mandating estate taxes for the wealthy.

Speaking of which, and fifth, abortion is beyond doubt the overwhelming obstacle for Obama. He is the most extremist pro-choicer ever to get this close to the presidency. His stand-alone votes against bills protecting newborn babies who survive abortions were horrible. He calls abortion a "safety net" and vowed to Planned Parenthood in July 2007 that the "first thing" he would do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would nationalize abortion policy and overturn all the perfectly reasonable state-level restrictions on abortion by bipartisan legislatures throughout America. Then there are Obama's revealing statements on the stump—such as how he would hate to see his daughters get pregnant out-of-wedlock and "punished with a baby."

Secular liberals cannot begin to imagine the opposition to Obama strictly on abortion. I've received an email several times, titled, "10 Reasons Christians Shouldn't Vote for Obama." Among the ten, seven are on abortion.

The unprecedented outcry from the religious community is further evidence. The reaction of the Catholic bishops is extraordinary. I've never witnessed them so exercised and committed to leading the flock, and doing so carefully and eloquently, especially among traditional Catholics who still think their party is run by Harry Truman and Jack Kennedy, and literally don't even know Obama is pro-choice.

A poll last week by Investor's Business Daily showed a swing of 20 points for John McCain among Catholics, from an 11-point deficit to a 9-point lead. If McCain wins Catholics, he wins the election.

It all adds up to the reality that Barack Obama will have difficulty picking up values voters. His hope that they are not energized by McCain has dissipated with the Sarah Palin pick and the steady emergence of information on his abortion fanaticism.

A summer Pew poll showed McCain leading Obama among evangelicals by 61 to 25 percent, comparable to the margin enjoyed by Bush over AL Gore in 2000. More recently, the respected scholar Dr. John Green released a study finding that evangelicals favor McCain 57.2 percent to 19.9 percent, very similar to Bush's 60.4 percent to 19.6 percent over John Kerry at the same point in 2004.

It remains to be seen where, exactly, this will finish next Tuesday. As in 2000 and 2004, however, the values voters could make the difference.

I agree that this is a huge issue.  We have the technology to be virtually independent energy wise, but too many crooked politicians have too much money invested in the oil companies and have no interest in seeing alternative energy sources take away any of their profit.  That, in my opinion, is a huge source of our problem.  Below I will post a portion of what Obama plans to do about the energy crisis (from his website - barackobama.com).  He has a much more detailed plan listed on his website.  I'm posting a link if anyone would like to read more.

"Barack Obama believes we have a moral, environmental, economic, and security imperative to address our dependence on foreign oil and tackle climate change in a serious, sustainable manner.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

President-elect Obama's acceptance speech.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/barack-obama.html

Obama lists his favorite music as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johann Sebastian Bach (cello suites), and The Fugees.

Personally, I love the song SuperFreak!

Q: How many Obamunists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None.  It's enough to hope that it gets changed.

  I'm waiting to be called a racist.  I'm sure somewhere in that those jokes, some Obamunist will find racism.

post on their precious board any more, even though they won't like it.  They thrive on hatred and attacks.  They've been baiting people all week with their constant, unrelentless, vicious attacks on liberals.  When someone gives them a taste of their own medicine, they run to the monitor.

You know, the whole concept of "their" thinking the three of us is only one person is very interesting.  A very intelligent person told me a long time ago that if someone accuses you of doing something, it's probably something they are themselves doing.  Maybe all three of these "people" is really only just one person with a severe personality disorder.  The more outlandish things I read that "they" write, the more I'm inclined to think that might be true.  One thing for certain, there are some very sick people out there, and they probably deserve pity more than disdain.  "They" certainly do have some startling, somewhat scary traits, and I kind of wish now that GT hadn't put her email address out there for some of these nuts to have access to.  I hope they don't begin to stalk her, but hatred is a very strong emotion, and some of these "people" clearly don't seem to be very stable.

Like I said, I'm staying away from their board.  It's much easier to breathe on this board, and the intellect is certainly better.

I have been an ardent supporter of Senator Obama since February of this year.  I have donated $25 a month to his campaign since then.  First time in my life that I have felt that level of committment to a candidate for any office.  If I were still undecided at this point, the thing that would sway me to vote for Obama would be the tone of his campaign.  As in the primary, Senator Obama makes it very clear what his policies are.  He is able to uplift his ideas without constantly talking in a negative manner about his oponent.  He does not get personal in his attacking of his opponents' ideas and stances.  His way of waging his campaign makes it possible for him and his opponent to come together and work for the benefit of our nation when all the politicking is over....as he and Senator Clinton are now doing.  Senator McCain is so harsh and personal in his attacks on Obama.  Senator McCain has said things that he knows are not true of Senator Obama; he has allowed Governor Palin to utter comments that would made it very difficult for them to work with a Congress and Senate that is composed of both Democrats and Republicans.  I know that his back is to the wall, but he should be mindful (as it appears to me Senator Obama is mindful) that the end goal here is successfully governing our nation.  Senator McCain's torched earth policy on the campaign trail would make it impossible for him to govern in cooperation with others.  So, if I were still undecided at this point Senator Obama would have my vote because he is playing the election game with dignity, respect and the realization that whoever wins, we all still must be able to work together.

on the birth certificate.  I believe any reasonable person can examine the birth certificate at this website and conclude that Obama's b/c is authentic.  http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html

Maybe you could stop trashing him until you see what he actually does and please....quit reading all those blogs that have not a shred of useful information in them.  Learn to reason for yourself.....please!

to run for president anyhow? There were candidate s much more qualified than O that could have run away with the votes if they were "chosen" by the party...but they chose someone who was only a senator for what, less than 2 years? Why? I would love to know how the party choses their candidates to run for president. Something doesn't smell right here.

...to attack on 9/11.  Likewise, it will be the TERRORISTS who will decide when and how to attack again.

I don't believe this has anything to do with WHO the President is, so while Bush shouldn't take the blame, he also shouldn't claim the credit for what the TERRORISTS HAVEN'T done.  It's the timetable of the TERRORISTS that controls what does or doesn't happen.

The Republicans felt that another terror attack would be helpful to McCain's campaign (they came out and said so).  I don't recall any Democrat uttering anything so UGLY in regards to Obama.