Obama is in trouble with his camp. He is "refining" his position

I look forward to the attack ads.

http://arabist.net/archives/20...flops/

Ali Abunimah, the Palestinian-American whose work I greatly admire (and whose daily press round-up on Palestine, Iraq and the Middle East is a must-read), has written a great editorial on the implications for the Middle East that Bush’s victory has. While I encourage you to read the whole thing, one of the most interesting parts of the article is about Barack Obama, the new superstar of Democrat politics, and how he has (like so many others before him) abandoned a nuanced stance on the peace process to endorse the Israeli position:

Against this background, Bush has shifted the goal posts of the Palestine-Israel debate such that Likudist thinking is now viewed as centrist. This was demonstrated by Kerry’s campaign which warmly endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s policies. But the bankruptcy of the discourse was brought home in a most personally disappointing way.

Illinois swept Barack Obama, a rising star in the Democratic party, into the United States Senate with a stunning 70 percent of the vote - a rare Democratic gain. Obama, whom I’ve met many times, has served as my local state senator in the Illinois legislature. I found him to be an inspiring politician, not least because he appeared to understand Middle East issues and take progressive views supporting Palestinian rights and opposing militarism. He participated in many events in the Chicago-area Arab community including a 1998 fundraiser with Edward Said as the keynote speaker. I even made contributions to his campaigns.

But following Obama’s nationally-televised address at the Democratic National Convention everything seemed to change. In the campaign’s final weeks, Obama proclaimed his support for tough sanctions and military strikes against Iran if it refused U.S. demands to give up its nuclear programs. According to the Chicago Tribune, Obama now says that the onus of peace in the Middle East “is on the Palestinian leadership, which … must cease violence against Israelis and work ‘to end the incitement against Israel in the Arab world.” The unique fact about Obama’s campaign is that he did not need to parrot the pro-Israel lobby’s standard line to get elected. He ran effectively unopposed. Such a capable and ambitious man must have calculated that any hope of higher office requires that he not offend when it comes to Israel and its interests. This begs the question: If a man like Obama will not speak frankly when it comes to Israel, what hope is there for a change in U.S. policy coming from within the establishment?

As they say in right-wing blogs, indeed.

*********************************

Wow, so Obama used to do a lot to support Palestinian causes. What happened? Edward Said did a lot in his life to help the Palestinian cause.

Moving toward the Likud's position is something that any serious presidential candidate is going to have to do, unless he wants to be painted in a very unsavory light.

At least, that's what I am hoping for.

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." - Sinclair Lewis

RonPaul2008!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7474558.stm

We need to overhaul lobbying altogether.

This unwavering support for Israel is a bit worrisome.

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” -Albert Einstein

Why? They are our only true ally in the whole region. The only one we can really count on.

Count on for what exactly?

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” -Albert Einstein

"what in the hell kind of sound is that? you're gonna need to describe your sounds better, man. relate the sound to something i've actually heard before. i've heard a lot of things, but numerous monkeys playing cymbols isn't one of them."

EM1 Crew

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." - Sinclair Lewis

RonPaul2008!!!

"Everything in the world may be endured except continued prosperity."
--- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I see Obama moving to the center where McCain already is. Soon there wont be a difference between the two.

I look forward to Obama refining some more of his remarks

That 29% of Hillary supporters that said they wouldn't support Obama if he got the nod wern't bullshitting pollsters. I count them as the racist democrats who wont tolerate a black candidate come hell or high water. I bet anything McCain wins Pennsylvania, Kentucky, WV. McCain will win all of those states that Hillary won. Remember, you saw it here first!

Captured by
-Canon S2

///http://www.goyk.com/text.asp?id=135///

Xbox gametag- b00ked2themax

Quote, originally posted by hu »

I look forward to Obama refining some more of his remarks

I look forward to McCain opening his mouth about ANYTHING, especially while trying to read a teleprompter. The more people get to know the real John McSame, the better Obama will do.

Quote, originally posted by hu »

That 29% of Hillary supporters that said they wouldn't support Obama if he got the nod wern't bullshitting pollsters. I count them as the racist democrats who wont tolerate a black candidate come hell or high water.

a) you might want to check some of the more recent polling on that. b) yes, those racist Democrats should vote with the party they really belong to, the Republicans.

Quote, originally posted by hu »

I bet anything McCain wins Pennsylvania, Kentucky, WV. McCain will win all of those states that Hillary won. Remember, you saw it here first!

Oh, he'll definitely win KY and WV, but do you honestly think he'll win NY, CA, MA, and NJ!? You would have to be completely insane to believe that, and I don't think you that crazy, so that means you are a ... <insert pejorative term here>?

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." - Sinclair Lewis

RonPaul2008!!!

McCain will probably win Ohio as well- not sure on this one though. McCain will win most of the West and mid-west. When he picks Bloomberg he will be in a good position to win NY . McCain doesn't need to pander to the right wing. What? You think they [conservative right wing] are gonna vote for Obama or something? hahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha.

And no- those racist people are registered democrats who find themselves in a quandry because they've never voted for a republican in their lives before.

*****

Hey- lets place a bet on the election. Think of something good and IM me. Within reason, I will make a bet that McCain will win the election. He has too much going in his favor.

No, but most of them are so underwhelmed by McCain that they may just stay home on voting day. Democrats, on the other hand, are very excited about Obama, and should turn out in droves. Even more so if Hilary is VP. Democratic primaries had massive turnouts all over the nation.

"Everything in the world may be endured except continued prosperity."
--- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hillary wont be the VP. She did too much damage to him.

No conservative will sit this one out. Trust me. Right wing people feel forced this time around regardless if they like it or not. I have several friends that I have disassociated myself with as they are to the right of me if you can believe such a thing. None of them liked McCain. Take it to the bank when I tell you that they will all be the first ones in line on voting day to cast their votes for McCain. The right wing in this country will get behind McCain like the Apostles behind Jesus. Out of of fear of the alternative.

You make a good point about the excitement behind Obama. But- these are the same ones who always get excited . It could be Dukakis and it would be the same reaction.

Quote, originally posted by hu »

... The right wing in this country will get behind McCain like the Apostles behind Jesus. Out of of fear of the alternative. ...

I think the Rapture Right will abandon McCain, but I'm not sure it will matter, given the states they predominantely hail from. As for the swing states, the polls to date have been mixed and I don't think I've seen more than a handful of results that have beat the margin of error.

Quote, originally posted by Mark sans »

Um, I don't know how much you thought about your metaphor, but hu, okay I think the Rapture Right will abandon McCain, but I'm not sure it will matter, given the states they predominantely hail from. As for the swing states, the polls to date have been mixed and I don't think I've seen more than a handful of results that have beat the margin of error.

Hmmm. That is a pretty good explanation that I can't argue with at the moment. Except for the abandonment of McCain.

"what in the hell kind of sound is that? you're gonna need to describe your sounds better, man. relate the sound to something i've actually heard before. i've heard a lot of things, but numerous monkeys playing cymbols isn't one of them."

EM1 Crew

Actually elect one?

I'm still trying to figure out what McCain's strategy is to be honest. I think xiaogou might actually be right that McCain is laying low and hoping for a screw up.

myspace.com/nicknelson

Well, McCain's operation is in big trouble. There's been a staff shake-up (big red flag, Obama hasn't had any of these), money isn't pouring in the way it's supposed to, and even little things like scheduling speeches so they will make the news cycle are being bungled.

The McCain operation has been too out-of-touch and slow to react to things like his comments about the economy, his lobbyist connections, etc...they wait until the public outcry reaches its zenith, then they do something like firing all the lobbyists.

If he's lying low and hoping for anything, it's a terrorist attack or an Israeli strike on Iran.

Which would benefit him over Obama. I found out that McCain has hired the same person who set up Kerry for that "I was against the war before I was before I was against it" ordeal. A professor at OSU explained how that was a well orchestrated town-hall to get some sort of screwed up soundbite from Kerry which worked. Apparently, this same guy is working on behalf of the McCain camp.

Notice how when McCain was down in S. America, Obama went on a speaking binge? It was no accident. The McCain camp is hoping for a screw up, but attorneys usually choose their words- so it will be tough with Obama.

Hey Ross- are you clinging to your gun and your religion? J/k