I really hope he is what he pretends to be...
Too many times, politicians says X to be elected and then do Y once elected.
And the fact that he is a cousin of Cheney is a tricky fact!
It seems they are all from the same "club"; a bit like Kerry and Bush are both in the "secret" Skull and Bones society. Seemed like you were given a choice in the elections but, in the end, they might be both the same...
Democracy nowdays: You have a "choice" between X, X and X.

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Of course he would be a great replacement for the current fellow in the office, but much will not change. It is a great thing to see Whiteyville, USA choose an African American- something I was not expecting. That in itself is a reason for some optimism that the masses that have become Clueless America may start to question much more. It would be a great thing to have a president of color, but this isn't one with the right game plan. Kucinich was on the mark but Big Media spoke long ago to take him out of the game. So now it's back to settling for one of the candidates Big Media already ok'ed (It's like the music industry deciding they will turn Britney Spears into a star musician and you can only buy her CD, Vanilla Ice's, or ...Milli Vanilli's)
Dejavu

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I'm not too sure Obama's Iowa win means as much as the author seems to indicate. After all, those same "down home, folksy, farm-fed, Midwestern, and 92 percent white" Iowans also voted overwhelmingly for Mike Huckabee.

Keep an eye on the other same of the equation, folks. Don't let this thing turn into a battle of the corporate-owned (Obama or Clinton) versus the theocrats in November. Either way, or worse both, will signal a sure end to our dwindling constitutional protections. Both are just two of the signs indicative of the slippage into a fascist state.

Don't let this happen.

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Sorry to rain on the parade but this weird homage to Obama and fantasyland America from A. Huffington sounds about as real as a Federal Reserve Note.

Obama is owned by the same corporate parasites that run the Clintons, Edwards, BushCo, etc, etc... Fascism at home and abroad with more death billions earmarked for bogus Big Oil "war on terror" by way of repressive police “security” state measures are what Obama and rest signed on for via their voting records.

Arriana merely yodels off the mainstream media song sheet.

The truth is American sheep can’t face that their shepherd is a wolf. One with 9/11 blood on his face and fiat war cash in pocket made on the misery and death of others.

Whoever is anointed by monopoly media as “electable” to ultimate victory will play the stooge wrapped in the flag for the usual gang of multinational Fascist suspects.

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As I post this, I see that LookOut’s has a rating of 1. Yet, he is on topic and giving a clear explanation as to why there is disagreement with the essay. This is why I find the rating systems useless for critical thinking; it’s all a matter of preference voting.

I, too, keep reminding people that the earliest supporters of Obama in this campaign were Warren Buffett and David Geffen, two very wealthy white men with tremendous corporate interest in the outcome of the presidential election. Other people keep reminding me that Obama’s votes on issues of Iraq after he entered the U.S. Senate were not as anti-war as people want to think. Obama was not in office to vote on the original act on military authorization so he can proclaim his opposition all he wants; it does not have the same power as when Rep. Dennis Kucinich says he was against military action from the beginning.

The day after the 2004 election, I heard many people claim they should have paid attention to the issues. Yet, throughout the past year of listening to Obama and talking with his supporters, I can tell you issues are nowhere in sight. His call center script for the days before the caucus stressed how he would bring change, i.e., by getting rid of corporate lobbyists. Even if he managed to do that, it does not mean corporate interests would cease influencing the White House, nor does it say anything about all the non-profit groups that have the same inside track on helping write and push legislation.

For real change, Obama should be talking about reducing the influence of corporate personhood. He should say that a green (as in environmentally-friendly) city should have a public transit system that really serves the population, not just established downtown companies.

I heard the message of hope and excitement when the media tripped over themselves for Bill Clinton in 1992, then wiped egg off their faces for the next four years. I heard the message of hope and excitement when Democrats thought anybody could beat George W. Bush, then spent the last four years dwelling in their past misery. Iowa is far more diverse than people realize; there is much more difference in voting based on economics and other values than on skin color than people realize or the media lets through filters. But can we get more issues discussed and have a wider desire for our future than that somebody wants to give us hope?

One more thing, Obama ran television ad after ad that claims he passed legislation - not wrote, not supported, not endorsed - he passed it, apparently all by himself. In addition, he had an ad using his talk to car makers about CAFÉ standards, not a new idea, and claims he will tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Yet, all he did throughout the entire campaign in Iowa was tell people what they wanted to hear - hope and change; he did not say anything about giving up SUVs, saving money, renting instead of buying housing, investing in their neighbors’ new businesses instead of buying Microsoft or KBR stock through mutual funds.

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Huckleberry wins White House; US replaces fake Christian Luciferian Bush with REAL Christianist as Democrats chase "Can't-win" Obama down the rabbit hole and over the cliff.

Just watch as racist Christianist and Neo-Nazi Red State Amerika pour out in droves to absolutely insure a black man named Barack Hussein Obama who swears his oath on the Koran instead of the Bible NEVER GETS WITHIN AN INCH OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

Congratulations, Iowa: you fell into Rove's trap; you picked his Tool.

Congratulations to the Democrat Party for INVENTING THEIR OWN NADER.

Rove, Bush, and Cheney are cackling tonight.

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" America, its vision distorted by the mushroom clouds conjured by Bush and Cheney, made a collective sprint to the bomb shelters in our minds, our lizard brains responding to fear rather than hope."

It Makes me so mad! Being lumped into a collective "we" or "our," that is. Not evey American bought into the fear tactic spewed forth by Bush & Co. I and many others have maintained right along that Bush & Co. are the true terrorists this country must face. No bomb-laden man or woman of Middle Eastern persuasion could ever dream of causing the death, destruction, havoc, corruption, and world-wide trauma that these home-grown elite madmen have unleashed. Lizard brains indeed! I'd say that the true lizards are in the White House, but that would be an insult to lizards, who are ultimately innocent.

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Bill Clinton speculated about the cause of a possible loss of the election for Hillary, and the author disagreed, and offered his own half-baked notions. I believe that, if Hillary loses, it'll have been media that struck the final blow. Media, especially the media gas bags, the whores, Chris Matthews, Tim Russert, Wolf Blitzer, etc., are the true causes. It was Russert, in CNN's pretense of a debate, that was the first successful effort to draw blood. Hillary was hounded by Russert to an astonishing degree. He placed her in the most embarrassing possible circumstances, by asking her a question, about driver's licences for immigrants, that could not have been answered in a half hour, let alone the 1 or 2 minutes alloted to candidates. He then proceeded to attack her over and over again, to such a degree that he seemed to lose touch with the debate entirely, or that other candidates existed, so feverish and maniacal was his attack on her. CNN has been running a non-stop attack on Hillary. Last night, during the Iowa caucuses, Wolf Blitzer, kept Hillary off his program entirely, refusing to show a promotional clip from her campaign, even though he showed clips from all the other campaigns. During the caucus evening, he would not mention her name, he would not show a picture of her, he blacked her out completely. The only time she got attention, was when it was to demean and insult her. Whatever people were on Wolf's coverage of the caucuses, were also Hillary haters, that directed their venom on her nonstop. How on earth can a candidate run a campaign on a level playing field with powerful media networks working constantly to insult and demean her? This, on top of the attacks from the other candidates, and from the right-wing nut jobs, that are constantly feeding us their twisted lunacy about her. This was done, so that she would have as little influence on this campaign as a media network could produce against her; a campaign which was merely a caucus that involved .1% at best, of Iowa voters.

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I'm very glad to see that virtually no one posting about this article is falling for Ariana's crap.

Things are really bad out there, folks, with all sorts of widespread, devastating calamities -- most of them financial -- on the way.

The job of the 'left-gatekeepers' like Huffington and AlterNet is to pretend to fight the 'establishment', while in actuality they're supporting the same "everything is fine" fantasy as the PTB.

Obama fits very well into this mold by giving some of the disaffected the illusion that America is becoming a more "progressive" place because a half-black man is a major political figure. Don't believe the hype. Not only is he just as "bought" as the rest of them, but he'll never be 'elected' anyway.

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I wish Obama was it, but he seems more interested in being "bipartisan" and "compromising" with the rabid right.

I'll vote for the man, I will, but I don't expect him to be a progressive champion. His actions (policies, voting record, rhetoric, lobbyist ties) all indicate that he'll be in the Harry Reid-mold of "Democrats," in effect.

We'll find what he's made of if he decides to grant a pardon to Bush and Cheney or not. I want those bastards brought to justice for what they've done to our country--and the world.

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Obama-Richardson in 08?

The Dems stand up for minorities, the urban masses and those in the near suburbs suffering from the disinvestment in America's public goods?

Huckabee wins the GOP nomination and runs for the white laboring middle class struggling to pay their taxes, mortgage and kid's college tutition while Mitt Romney plots to send their jobs overseas?

08 might yet turn out alright.

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the Democrats' race being nothing more than a choice between a woman and a person of color, each with serious imperfections.

If Obama wins the nomination, the gloves will come off. Yes, there is less racism but it certainly still exists.

On the positive side, Hillary's not the winner.

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We have a female speaker, a female and a black as front runners in a presidential race... this country has come along way.. Obama may not win and this may be the worst congress in years but the fundemental changes in the past year are historic.

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Paul Street says it better than I can.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=11936

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Full Disclosure:
I am a John Edwards supporter and I really hope that he wins this thing. Having said that, let me say this: Barack Obama's victory in Iowa last night fills me with hope. I'd be more than happy with him at the top of the ticket. What tickles me more thna anything imaginable is the fact that the Democratic voters of Iowa rejected the shallow, meaningless candidacy of Hillary Clinton. That very fact alone fills me with joy!!! I'm giddy. Forgive me.

If Barack ends up winning this thing - and there is every reason to believe that he just might - we're all going to have to work overtime to ensure that he is the next president of the United States. Don't forget that this coumtry of ours is just chock full of nuts, racists and fools.

QUESTION:
Is this country ready for a Black president?

ANSWER:
This country has been ready for a black president since the day Shirley Chisolm announced her candidacy in 1972.

This country has been ready for a Black president since the day Martin Luther King declared, "I have a dream".

This country has been ready for a Black president since 1947 when Harry S. Truman desegragated the armed forces.

This country has been ready for a Black president since that day in 1937 when soprano Marion Anderson stood on the steps of the Licoln Memorial and sang, "My Country 'Tis Of Thee".

This country has been ready for a Black President since that night in 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt invited George Washington Carver to dinner at the White House.

This country has been ready for a Black President since January 1, 1863 when Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation becane the law of the land.

This country has been ready for a Black President since that day in 1776 when Crispus Attucks - a Black man - became the first man to fall in the Revolutionary War - the first human being to die for this country

Yeah. America has been ready for a Black president for a very, very long time. Hats off to Barack Obama for waking us up to the fact.

Cheers!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
"The Rant" by TOm Degan

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I would venture to say that the vast majority of posters here are over 35 and buy into the bipartisan vitriol that has dominated our political discourse over the past 30 years or so. I used to so I recognize it.

Obama represents a generational shift. The belief that positive change can occur when the two sides stop demonizing each other has legs with people under 35. They are sick of the level of discourse us oldsters have been perpetuating.

I am not forgetting the last seven years or the tremendous damage done. I am looking to the future, though and believe that Obama is the person to move us all, as a country, beyond that damage.

As for being in the pocket of the corporatists, I dispute that too. The fact that Warren Buffet and David Geffen have supported him does not mean he is in their pocket.

Barack Obama will not be perfect. But if you research his voting record, you'll find much to like. Obama has the best environmental record of all the candidates. Period. He sponsored and passed ethics legislation in Illinois, the first in 25 years. We all know what his war stance was in 2002. He actually marched in support of the immigrants' in 2006. His biography speaks volumes and his books are an eloquent testament to a political philosophy that has actually stood up to present-day politics as usual. Please just open your minds to this possibility. You may be surprised.

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Let's not forget that Edwards polled slightly higher than Clinton, and a lot of Iowa Democrats were buying neither Obama or Clinton. I'm not sure why Huffington is dismissive of Edwards, but he represents a huge block of progressives and disenfranchised whites.If he gets pushed out, those voters must go somewhere.

Among the twenty-odd New Yorkers I watched with last night, the vote was split almost evenly between Obama and Edwards with three votes for Richardson (the Biden guy dropped on the first round of straw votes.) Not a single vote for Hillary in a group that was half female, which should tell you something.

With Dodd and Biden dropping out, the conversation is going to get a whole lot more focused on the remaining candidates. I'm waiting to see who's going to get out of Iraq first, restore habeas corpus, and stand up to the oil interests so we can save this planet.

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I'm not a big fan of Obama. It seems so many democratic voters are only concerned with gender or race (yes, I would love to see a minority or a woman elected president, but not every minority or woman is a good choice).

Increasingly it seems Barak is owned by the same corporate sponsors as Hillary and most Republicans.

And more importantly it seems Obama is not ready for the fight this country needs to have.

Sure America is finally growing tired of the right-wing vitriol spewed on Fox News and the rest of the MSM, but that's largely because they've seen through the B.S. that's behind it.

Righteous anger, and girding oneself for a noble battle is not the same thing.

I'm encouraged by Edwards' 2nd place finish and even with all my concerns about Obama, I'm encouraged that both of these candidates beat out the only Democratic candidate I absolutely CAN NOT vote for in a general election should she become the nominee. Not because she's a woman, but because she's a war-mongering corporatist.

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Wonder what cabin the very corporate-owned Obama will be assigned to at the Boho Grove? I don't think this is the dream Dr. King had in mind.....

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I would like to know how many posters here actually LIVE in IOWA? What was the message YOU heard? What did the candidates say to YOU? The rest of us are living vicariously and thinking and opinionating about what WE want instead of what our interactions have BEEN.

Personally, I'm happy for the Obama win - it means that people in IOWA want something different. Perhaps people in New Hampshire will NOT want something different. To me, this means that not everybody has bought into the Bush doctrine at home - that we all still have some choices left and some of us are making a choice or sending a message. The year is young yet.

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A campaign between Huckabee and Obama might be the sanest campaign we have ever seen. Both seem to be more genuine than any of their opponents. I think that the country could do worse.

Smashing all opponents with dire, fear-mongering accusations is not the same thing as exhibiting (or having) discernment. Another one of those campaigns will destroy the morale of the country. We can't afford it. These two men show signs of being able to have a coherent discussion.

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Melissa and Ken,

Something wonderful happened last night in Iowa. Your generation came out in large numbers-many for the first time- to provide a decisive political win to a black man in the predominantly white state of Iowa.

THIS WAS TRULY AN HISTORIC MOMENT IN US HISTORY.

We are fortunate to live in a nation where this could happen- and happen peacefully. When many of us were about to give up on this nation something like this happens making me personally very happy and very hopeful.

Not to lay a trip on you but it seems it is your generation’s turn to lead. The proverbial torch is being passed.

I know you will do what is right for our great nation. The best of my generation and my parent’s generation stand with you.

Love Always,

Dad

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What was that? Obama a cousin of Cheney! Where in the hell did that come from? We should clear our minds from this moment to election day. There is a lot of smart-shits out there trying to control those who might grab on anything negative. We will never bring America back if we so easily permit the mind grabers to control our decisions. And believe me, there will be thousands of them thrown into the web sites... from now to election day! The State of Iowa has given the
American voters a new path to follow... and it is now up to each of us to place one foot ahead of the other.... and continue to reach, and be a moving part, in a new World to live in.

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Just saying "hope" doesn't really mean anything.

Sure we could "wish upon a star" and hope for a return trip to Kansas after clicking our heels but this ain't the movies. There's reality to deal with and just stretching out our "hearts filled with hope" has no meaning whatsoever. So let's take a look at what we can expect if Obama were to be elected. Who would he turn to for policy and advise cause he sure ain't going to be the one writing policy:

ALLAN NAIRN: Well, Obama’s top adviser is Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski gave an interview to the French press a number of years ago where he boasted about the fact that it was he who created the whole Afghan jihadi movement, the movement that produced Osama bin Laden. And he was asked by the interviewer, “Well, don’t you think this might have had some bad consequences?” And Brzezinski replied, “Absolutely not. It was definitely worth it, because we were going after the Soviets. We were getting the Soviets.” Another top Obama person—

AMY GOODMAN: I think his comment actually was, “What’s a few riled-up Muslims?” And this, that whole idea of blowback, the idea of arming, financing, training the Mujahideen in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, including Osama bin Laden, and then when they’re done with the Soviets, they set their sights, well, on the United States.

ALLAN NAIRN: Right. And later, during Bill Clinton’s administration, during the Bosnia killing, the US actually flew some of the Afghan Mujahideen, the early al-Qaeda people—the US actually arranged for them to be flown from there to Bosnia to fight on the Muslim/NATO side.

Another key Obama adviser, Anthony Lake, he was the main force behind the US invasion of Haiti in the mid-Clinton years during which they brought back Aristide essentially in political chains, pledged to support a World Bank/IMF overhaul of the economy, which resulted in an increase in malnutrition deaths among Haitians and set the stage for the current ongoing political disaster in Haiti.

Another Obama adviser, General Merrill McPeak, an Air Force man, who not long after the Dili massacre in East Timor in ’91 that you and I survived, he was—I happened to see on Indonesian TV shortly after that—there was General McPeak overseeing the delivery to Indonesia of US fighter planes.

Another key Obama adviser, Dennis Ross. Ross, for many years under both Clinton and Bush 2, a key—he has advised Clinton and both Bushes. He oversaw US policy toward Israel/Palestine. He pushed the principle that the legal rights of the Palestinians, the rights recognized under international law, must be subordinated to the needs of the Israeli government—in other words, their desires, their desires to expand to do whatever they want in the Occupied Territories. And Ross was one of the people who, interestingly, led the political assault on former Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Carter, no peacenik—I mean, Carter is the one who bears ultimate responsibility for that Timor terror that Holbrooke was involved in. But Ross led an assault on him, because, regarding Palestine, Carter was so bold as to agree with Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa that what Israel was doing in the Occupied Territories was tantamount to apartheid. And so, Ross was one of those who fiercely attacked him.

Another Obama adviser, Sarah Sewall, who heads a human rights center at Harvard and is a former Defense official, she wrote the introduction to General Petraeus’s Marine Corps/Army counterinsurgency handbook, the handbook that is now being used worldwide by US troops in various killing operations. That’s the Obama team.

More here:
LINK

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The way you guys are ripping the candidates to peices is really savage. I would prefer america to have obama but the way some of you guys go on it seems that alot of you would prefer a hobo with no financial backing be dragged into the white house to spew abuse at the rich and business world. Some form of social justice could be restored but the way candidates are dismissed as being in the pockets of big business is crazy. Its almost as though this selection process just gives the reps the ammo they need to pump into the successful demo candidate at the actual election. Instead of unity your system seems to encourage major division.

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