The Progressive - Latest Comments in Obama No | The Progressive

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

humanperson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:55:04 -0000

I had the same sinking feeling about Gore and Kerry, and I still voted for them, as the lesser of 2 evils. The same thing this time around. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would TOTALLY OBLITERATE Iran if it attacked Israel. In her mind, the genocide of 66 million people was the correct response of a 3rd party country to one mad politician committing an act of aggression against a sovereign state. With that logic, any 3rd party country could apply the same logic and decide that the USA was worthy of obliteration for our invasion and bombardment of Iraq. 66 million is a lot more dead people than died in all of WW 2, or under Mao, Stalin, and Hitler. Would a Hillary Rodham Clinton president, capable of the world's worst genocide, be more acceptable than Barack Obama? Or John McCain?
Not many got behind Dennis Kucinich when he was still running as a candidate. Nor any of the other hopefuls that could have proved better than Obama or Clinton. We are stuck with Obama, who has betrayed us, but he is still the only remaining option. I see a future filled with other FISA vote type disappointments. But there is not any doubt that he will be less of a disaster than McCain.
We still have a senate, house, and supreme court. The damage that Obama could contain might be checked. You cannot say the same about Hillary attempting to totally obliterate the 66 million people living in Iran. You lose, but you don't lose as badly as if Hillary or McCain had won.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

humanperson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:40:39 -0000

I had the same sinking feeling about Gore and Kerry, and I still voted for them, as the lesser of 2 evils. The same thing this time around. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

Ken Burch — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:35:47 -0000

It goes without saying that Hillary would've changed nothing. That's what she had to commit to to get the votes of racist whites in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. You can't change things when you've been elected by appealing to people like that with messages like that.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

BARB — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:52:34 -0000

Professor Reed is an intelligent and honest man, as are his comments. Sometimes the truth hurts. Especially if you are an Obama supporter.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

BARB — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:48:35 -0000

Two days ago I got a notice from my supposedly "liberal" site that there had been complaints about my criticism of Obama, and it was suggested that I find another website which was not "liberal" to post my views and that perhaps I should find a Republican site. Sad, very sad. Of course I have no intentions of following this "advice". Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but I am wondering if some of the paid Obama bloggers have infiltrated the pretend "liberal" website.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

DianeGrassi2008 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:21:04 -0000

Finally some honest discourse about an "image" maker. No telling which Obama "image" will prevail come November.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

DianeGrassi2008 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:18:58 -0000

Finally some honest discourse about an "image" candidate. There's just no telling, however, which Obama image will prevail come November.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

DaveBerger2004 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:16:39 -0000

Professor Reed makes a number of good points. In recent days, Mr. Obama has stated very clearly that he favors capital punishment; giving tax payer money to religions for faith based programming; and possibly keeping our troops in Iraq a lot longer than he has suggested in the past. Mr. Obama is not a progressive. He is, very much like the Clintons in much of his platform. I think it would be fair to call him a conservative Democrat. But, as professor Reed points out, that might be giving him way too much credit. I have seen a number of politicians just like Mr. Obama. The phrases con artist and empty rhetoric come to mind. Of course, McCain is a terrible alternative. He has the same con artist feel as Obama. Unfortunately, no matter how much "change" Mr. Obama discusses and claims....he is yet another half in the long line of the "lesser of two evils." I will be voting for a third party candidate in November since neither of these two corporate major party candidates are progressive. I think it is very important to remember that "the lesser of two evils" is still evil.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

Lycurgus — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0000

Dr. Reed is indeed black.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

Jim_Stinson — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:35:37 -0000

Dr. Reed is one very indignant professor, as his rhetoric suggests:

“Vacuous opportunist.” “Repugnant stratagem.” “Makes so many lefties go weak in the knees.” “Young minions.” “Hysterically indignant reaction. “Horribly opportunistic approach.” “The babble about Obama’s transcendence...”

Prof. Reed starts off by saying “I’ve known [Obama] since the very beginning of his political career, which was his campaign for the seat in my state senate district in Chicago.”

Hmmm. Wonder what went down during that campaign and what Reed’s part in it was. It apparently scarred him for life.

Googling the Professor indicates that he gets his living – or at least his tenure and reputation – as an analyst of Black/White race relations. Advertising a clambake in which he was to participate, the Petersburg People’s News of 03/24/08 probably reproduced his own handout:

“Dr. Reed is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the editor of Race, Politics, and Culture and With Justice for All, and author of The Jesse Jackson Phenomenon, W. E. B. DuBois and American Political Thought, and Stirrings in the Jug. He is a longtime and frequent contributor to The Nation, The Village Voice, The Progressive and other publications.”

This article is too apoplectic (and too lacking in specifics) to reveal where the professor stands on race relations in general, but a couple of sentences suggest where he’s coming from:

“[Obama] actually goes beyond Clinton and rehearses the scurrilous and ridiculous sort of narrative Bill Cosby has made infamous.”

and

“[Obama’s] Philadelphia compromise speech—a string of well-crafted and coordinated platitudes and hollow images worthy of an SUV commercial.”

I’d have to guess that Prof. Reed is Black, if only because no white professor would be permitted his fulminations against prominent African Americans. In academia as in tassel-twirling, ya gotta have a gimmick; and Prof Reed seems to have developed a profitable line of professional racial truculence.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

nova — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:04:30 -0000

About 80% of the public wants a change from the NeoCon approach to governing. We have been set up by our enormous discontent for someone proclaiming change. We are so frustrated, and/or stupid, no details need to come forth about the change.

I submit, that Obama represents absolutely represents no change of substance, just a younger, slicker package. Just look at his stand on FISA, his turn-around on campaign finance and his fealty to Zionists.

If he can support the FISA bill with retroactive immunity to telecoms for violating our Constitutional rights, he is no different than what we got.

I am a liberal, and proud of it--no apologies. With that said, the only candidate that was running this year that would have made a difference was Ron Paul. As scary as he was on social issues, he is a genuine, card-carrying Constitutionalist. That is the pact the government has with We, the People. The U.S. Constitution is THE important document that has been recently labeled antiquated by politicians who do the bidding of corporations, rather than We, the People.

I agree with the author, Obama is a NeoLiberal. A vaguely different package, but still the same ole, same ole.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

citizen477 — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:47:05 -0000

Mr. McLarty, that is my point exactly. I feel as though those who oppose Barrack Obama's candidacy are doing so because he is amazingly popular, and it is always the "in-thing" to appear inconoclastic, yet I am more than certain that these nay-sayers are not brave enough to vote for Green candidates whether in the presidential or local races. Reed seems to agree that if Obama wins (Though he vehemently doubts this), it would be more of the same because he doubts that Obama will be able to bring about the changes that he promised while campaigning. Is he saying, then, that if McCain wins, the thousands of people who have become mobilized and inspired by Obama's candidacy will just shut down like an automaton unplugged? Absolutely not! We will lose many, but a large majority may actually shift more to the left and help beef-up the Green party. In other words, I am encouraged. I am HOPEFUL (the new word to hate, it seems) because even if he does not win the presidency, I sense that a huge CHANGE has already taken place. Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! There, I said it.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

SmartestBlackWriter — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:53:03 -0000

This is a great article. I, too, grew up around Obama's district-- five blocks away from Altegeld Gardens and my adopted mother was in the DCP. The DCP is just an extension of the Daley Machine throwing a bone to poor black folks.

Cudos to the Progressive for running this. There has been such a one-sided treatment of Obama in the media which is run by a bunch of spoiled, dumb rich kids who do not read. If one has not read Mike Royko's Boss and writes about Obama, they are stupid to me. That book illuminates how sinister it is that Michelle Obama's father was a Daley precinct captain.

At least, I will be able to use the Obama candidacy to make a great deal of money through lawsuits. I was a journalism major at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I left school because of money. I was not readmitted to the journalism school because my previous time at the school, I was the only Black editor at the Daily Cardinal and complained about racist treatment at the newspaper, where I was asked about the size of my penis because I was black and asked to demonstrate Black dances. I was also called a race traitor by white progressives because I refused to run articles about gangster rap because having done gang intervention on the South Side of Chicago, I found it harmful. I brought this up to Dean of Students at the University of Wisconsin and they refused to do anything.

This is how propaganda starts and institutions like the UW contributed to this uniformed ascent of Obama, which this article does a good job of illuminating as ill informed.

I have more knowledge about Obama than any other journalist and will be suing every news organization that has a former Daily Cardinal editor who blocked my hiring as his ascent and my early little read coverage and interviews with him proves that I am a much better journalist than most out there, white or black.

This will be fun. Especially watching this trope grow from this article and the Democrats realizing they made the biggest mistake in their history.

Obama is sending true progressives flocking to Nader.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

colista — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:41:42 -0000

Cynthia McKinney is an African American woman who will be on the Green ticket.
I suppose Obama doesn't like that she is running.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

L Arneson — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:41:27 -0000

That's the best analysis of Obama I've read. Thank you.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

Rick Proctor — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:36:40 -0000

I think the writer of the above article is full of beans.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

John — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:44:07 -0000

.....well, I`m almost sure all this non-sense was written by some " AIPAC lunatic" ....right?

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

Pete — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:35:40 -0000

No wonder ..how can anyone ever have voted for someone so ridiculous a Hillary and
be " surprised " that she is also "full of herself,just like this Bush-clown of president" !
President Barack Obama will do just fine for the majority of Americans...trust me.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

kevin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:20:38 -0000

I was voting for Hillary Clinton but now this is the first time in 44 years, I will vote for a republican.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

rucyrious — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:16:17 -0000

Spider : Don't take it personally. It's just a point of view. "Obama nuts" is an example of ad hominem arguments. They're fallacious and useless.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

spider — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:41:18 -0000

Interesting point about Obamas appeal to young voters and the rich because of market-based government. A rare astute comment, thankyou!

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

spider — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:37:53 -0000

"And as for U.S. foreign policy, as another Black minister and prestigious university professor once said: "No Black person in America woke up on 9-11 wondering, 'Why do they hate us [the U.S.]?"

Shows how trapped in a USA bubble you are. Newsflash...this has nothing to do with race. NO Person OUTSIDE of America (black white hispanic chinese etc..) woke up wondering why they hate the US! Im Canadian and theres a strong anti american sentiment here because of US political policies and arrogant interference and exploitation of other countries and people. (Thats why anywhere you go in the world..they hate american tourists!) That goes for all of your people trapped in the "bubble" whatever colour they may be.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

spider — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:33:00 -0000

Your whole post was full of image:" pessimistic, spirit killing and 'vacuous' statements opposing Obama seem again to be his style" and unfair assesment.
Dr. Reed puts Obama in context, he doesnt just "fancy namecall" , unlike you Obama nuts.

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

spider — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:29:32 -0000

Trishpots says: "Your argument that Barack Obama is superficial making Hillary Clinton the "lesser evil" follows the same line as the Clinton campaign which is that Obama can't win because he's too conciliatory; he's pandering to audiences. "

Your obviously offended that someone didnt call Hillary the "big evil".
Obama is superficial..meaning he lacks substance and relies on image.
Clinton's argument against Obama was that he lacks experience, and she is better able to beat McCain because she has that substance.
The truth hurts. .so please enjoy your Obama delierium now, because McCain is going to run him over with the straight talk express!

Re: Obama No | The Progressive

Jennifer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:02:13 -0000

What a brilliant piece of satire! Sometimes, people have to see such ridiculous things in print to realize how silly and unfounded their beliefs are. Kudos!