by Frank James
Noting that politicians are the ultimate resume-padders is something of a dog-bites-man story. No surprise there, really.
That said, it's still always good to get some of the details surrounding Sen. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's "contributions" to legislation they've both taken credit for during the campaign.
The Washington Post reported today, for instance, on how Obama finagled his way into the spotlight during last the 2006 and 2007 immigration deliberations in the Senate.
After weeks of arduous negotiations, on April 6, 2006, a bipartisan group of senators burst out of the "President's Room," just off the Senate chamber, with a deal on new immigration policy.
As the half-dozen senators -- including John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) -- headed to announce their plan, they met Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who made a request common when Capitol Hill news conferences are in the offing: "Hey, guys, can I come along?" And when Obama went before the microphones, he was generous with his list of senators to congratulate -- a list that included himself.
"I want to cite Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar, myself, Dick Durbin, Joe Lieberman . . . who've actually had to wake up early to try to hammer this stuff out," he said.
To Senate staff members, who had been arriving for 7 a.m. negotiating sessions for weeks, it was a galling moment. Those morning sessions had attracted just three to four senators a side, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recalled, each deeply involved in the issue. Obama was not one of them. But in a presidential contest involving three sitting senators, embellishment of legislative records may be an inevitability, Specter said with a shrug.
Unlike governors, business leaders or vice presidents, senators -- the last to win the presidency was John F. Kennedy in 1960 -- are not executives. They cannot be held to account for the state of their states, their companies or their administrations. What they do have is the mark they leave on the nation's laws -- and in Obama's brief three-year tenure, as well as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's seven-year hitch, those marks are far from indelible.
"It's not an unusual matter for senators to take a little extra credit," Specter said
That 2006 immigration-reform effort failed but led the Senate to take another, well publicized crack at a comprehensive-immigration reform bill in Spring of 2007.
Once again, Obama appeared on the scene:
... In 2007, after the first comprehensive immigration bill had died, the senators were back at it, and again, Obama was notably absent, staffers and senators said. At one meeting, three key negotiators recalled, he entered late and raised a number of questions about the bill's employment verification system. Kennedy and Specter both rebuked him, saying that the issue had already been resolved and that he was coming late to the discussion. Kennedy dressed him down, according to witnesses, and Obama left shortly thereafter.
"Senator Obama came in late, brought up issues that had been hashed and rehashed," Specter recalled. "He didn't stay long."
As the Post story notes, Clinton also has taken a lot of credit for legislation, particularly on the state children's healthcare insurance program, or SCHIP.
Her claims to have created the program when she was first lady have been met with some scoffing by a few Senate colleagues.
During months of SCHIP negotiations in 1997, her name rarely surfaced in news accounts. Clinton never testified before Congress or held a news conference on the bill. When Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), the lead GOP negotiator of the children's health bill, heard reports that Clinton was depicting herself as SCHIP's main advocate, "I had to blink a few times," he said. Hatch said he doesn't recall a single conversation with Clinton about SCHIP, even a mention of her name. "If she was involved, I didn't know about it," he said.
"You know how she says, 'I started SCHIP'? Well, so did I," joked Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), one of the Democrats who pushed the bill across the finish line along with Kennedy. Both have endorsed Obama.
Some Clinton insiders also are uncomfortable with some of her assertions. "I don't really like the way she talks about her role in SCHIP," conceded one former Clinton administration official, who supports the first lady's candidacy, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to express his views candidly. "She doesn't say it right. What she should say is 'I was the driving force in the administration.' That's pretty big, and it's all true."
Of course, the ability to let others do the heavy lifting on legislation, then claim credit isn't limited to Democrats. The Post story doesn't mention how Sen. John McCain, who has won the Republican presidential nomination, didn't endear himself with some Senate colleagues during the immigration debate.
Last year, the Post reported about a dust-up between McCain and fellow Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, after McCain popped up in the 2007 immigration negotiations.
Since January, McCain has missed half of the Senate's scheduled votes -- 87 -- including all 45 votes held since first-quarter fundraising reports were released April 15 that showed McCain trailing all of the leading candidates in both parties. His absence from backroom negotiations over the immigration bill sparked a heated exchange last week with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), who accused him of "parachuting in" at the last minute.
"[Expletive] you," McCain replied, according to several people who witnessed the exchange.
McCain might've been a little touchy about this since, the year before, he had been up to his ears in negotiating the previous failed immigration-reform attempt.
That effort became an anchor he had to drag in his race for the nomination, one that still hurts him with the Republican base. Last year, however, was a different story. He wasn't as involved.
Returning to Obama, the details surrounding his involvement, or lack of it, in the immigration negotiations, will resonate with those who've read Todd Spivak's account about Obama's Springfield, Ill. years.
Spivak covered Obama for small newspapers before the senator became a household name. He wrote a piece based on his reporting on Obama over the years. In the article, Spivak describes how Obama's path to the U.S. Senate seat was cleared by State Senate President Emil Jones who took legislation sponsored by other lawmakers and gave them to Obama in an apparent effort to help Obama fill out his resume for the run for the U.S. Senate.
Jones appointed Obama sponsor of virtually every high-profile piece of legislation, angering many rank-and-file state legislators who had more seniority than Obama and had spent years championing the bills.
"I took all the beatings and insults and endured all the racist comments over the years from nasty Republican committee chairmen," State Senator Rickey Hendon, the original sponsor of landmark racial profiling and videotaped confession legislation yanked away by Jones and given to Obama, complained to me at the time. "Barack didn't have to endure any of it, yet, in the end, he got all the credit.
"I don't consider it bill jacking," Hendon told me. "But no one wants to carry the ball 99 yards all the way to the one-yard line, and then give it to the halfback who gets all the credit and the stats in the record book."
That holds true whether the goal line is in Springfield or Washington.
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Comments
Elisabeth Bumiller wrote a scathing article on the "inconsistencies" in Senator John McCain's voting record and his current positions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/us/politics/03mccain.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=politics&adxnnlx=1204549929-2hNGEwLHgpUz3rr1CGq56w&oref=slogin
WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain likes to present himself as the candidate of the "Straight Talk Express" who does not pander to voters or change his positions with the political breeze. But the fine print of his record in the Senate indicates that he has been a lot less consistent on some of his signature issues than he has presented himself to be so far in his presidential campaign.
Mr. McCain, who derided his onetime Republican competitor Mitt Romney for his political mutability, has himself meandered over the years from position to position on some topics, particularly as he has tried to court the conservatives who have long distrusted him. His most striking turnaround has been on the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against twice but now wants to make permanent. Mr. McCain has also expressed varying positions on immigration, torture, abortion and Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary.
The article points out that McCain has reversed course on several key issues as he has tried to gain the support of the Republican base. To summarize the article:
On tax cuts...
In 2001, McCain voted against Bush's tax cuts, saying "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief." He also voted against additional tax cuts in 2003, later saying that "I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy, and I still do."
Today, McCain wants to make those tax cuts permanent.
On immigration...
In 2005, McCain supported comprehensive immigration reform, which included a pathway to citizenship.
Now, he claims that "if his original proposal came to a vote on the Senate floor, he would not vote for it."
On abortion and Roe v. Wade...
In 1999, McCain said that he would not support overturning Roe v. Wafe "int he sort term, or even the long term," because that would "force X number of women in America" to undergo "illegal and dangerous operations."
Today, McCain has campaigned on overturning Roe v. Wade.
On his revisionist history regarding Donald Rumsfeld...
In 2004, McCain refused to call for Rumsfeld's resignation, saying that Bush "can have the team around him that he wants around him." In 2006, retired generals called for Rumseld's resignation, but McCain did not.
Now, while running for president, McCain has claimed that "I’m the only one that said that Rumsfeld had to go." The article notes that "[t]he campaign has since acknowledged that Mr. McCain was incorrect, and more recently the senator has stopped short of claiming he called for the defense secretary’s ouster."
On torture...
McCain has traditionally been against torture, citing his experience as a POW for his decision.
Now, McCain voted last month "against a bill that would require the Central Intelligence Agency to abide by the restrictions on interrogating prisoners outlined in the Army Field Manual."
In his decades in office, McCain has an average party unity score in the low 80s. Since he has campaigned for president, his party unity score has skyrocketed (link, link).
2005: 81%
2006: 76%
2007: 90%
It's refreshing to see members of the press taking a closer look at John McCain's disparate record instead of taking his "maverickness" at face value. And while it was expected that McCain would pander to the right to get the GOP nomination, the sharp turns on the "Straight Talk Express" listed above are sure to be a problem for him in the general election.
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Posted by: georgia10 | March 24, 2008 2:45 PM
It has really been bothering me - the charges that Obama is all talk and no action. Those of us who support him and have reviewed his record know there is no basis to this charge, but just to make sure, I went to the Congressional Record (www.thomas.gov) and did a search for bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Senator Obama in his three short years in the US Senate. I searched the 109th and 110th Congresses which cover the years 2005-2007.
In a nut shell I found:
Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills in the 109th and 110th Congress.
Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become LAW since he joined the Senate in 2005.
Senator Obama has also introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate.
His record is in fact quite impressive for a junior Senator from Illinois.
Below I summarize Senator Obama's legislative record in the US Senate.
First I list the bills he sponsored that have become law.
Next I summarize the bills that he has sponsored or cosponsored since he became a US Senator in 2005.
I have only included major pieces of legislation and have not summarized continuing resolutions or naming post offices, for example.
His record suggests several priorities and the bills he supports address many of our most pressing problems.
Most of his legislative effort has been in the area of Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (25 bills), health care (21 bills) and public health (20 bills), consumer protection/labor (14 bills), the needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces (13 bills), Congressional Ethics and Accountability (12 bills), Foreign Policy (10 bills) Voting and Elections (9 bills), Education (7 bills), Hurricane Katrina Relief (6), the Environment (5 bills), Homeland Security (4 bills), and discrimination (4 bills).
Of the 15 bills Senator Obama sponsored or co-sponsored in 2005-7 that became law:
Two addressed foreign policy:
Promote relief, security and democracy in the Congo (2125)
Develop democratic institutions in areas under Palestinian control (2370).
Three addressed public health:
Improve mine safety (2803)
Increased breast cancer funding (597)
Reduce preterm delivery and complications, reduce infant mortality (707).
Two addressed openness and accountability in government:
Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (2488)
Full disclosure of all entities receiving federal funds (2590)
Two addressed national security
Extend Terrorist Risk Insurance (467)
Amend the Patriot Act (2167)
One addressed the needs of the Armed Forces
Wave passport fees to visit graves, attend memorials/funerals of veterans abroad (1184).
Of the 570 bills Senator Obama introduced into the Senate during the 109th and 110th Congress (Senate Bill numbers are in parentheses), they can be summarized as follows:
25 addressed Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
Suspend royalty relief for oil and gas (115)
Reduce dependence on oil; use of alternative energy sources (133)
Increase fuel economy standards for cars (767, 768)
Auto industry incentives for fuel efficient vehicles (1151)
Reduce green house gas emissions (1324)
Establish at NSF a climate change education program (1389)
Increase renewable content of gasoline (2202)
Energy emergency relief for small businesses and farms (269)
Strategic gasoline and fuel reserves (1794)
Alternative diesel standards (3554)
Coal to liquid fuel promotion (3623)
Renewable diesel standards (1920)
Reducing global warming pollution from vehicles (2555)
Fuel security and consumer choice (1994, 2025)
Alternative energy refueling system (2614)
Climate change education (1389)
Low income energy assistance (2405)
Oil savings targets (339)
Fuel economy reform (3694)
Plug-in electric drive vehicles (1617)
Nuclear release notice (2348)
Passenger rail investment (294)
Energy relief for low income families (2405)
21 addressed Health Care
Drug re-importation (334)
Health information technology (1262, 1418)
Discount drug prices (2347)
Health care associated infections (2278)
Hospital quality report cards (692, 1824)
Medical error disclosure and compensation (1784)
Emergency medical care and response (1873)
Stem cell research (5)
Medical Malpractice insurance (1525)
Health centers renewal (901, 3771)
Children’s health insurance (401)
Home health care (2061)
Medicare independent living (2103)
Microbicides for HIV/AIDS (823)
Ovarian cancer biomarker research (2569)
Gynological cancers (1172)
Access to personalized medicine through use of human genome (976)
Paralysis research and care (1183)
20 addressed Public Health:
Violence against women (1197)
Biodefense and pandemic preparedness and response (1821, 1880)
Viral influenza control (969)
End homelessness (1518)
Reduce STDs/unintended pregnancy (1790)
Smoking prevention and tobacco control (625)
Minority health improvement and disparity elimination (4024)
Nutrition and physical education in schools (2066)
Health impact assessments (1067, 2506)
Healthy communities (1068)
Combat methamphetamines (2071)
Paid sick leave (910)
Prohibit mercury sales (833, 1818)
Prohibit sale of lead products (1306, 2132)
Lead exposure in children (1811, 2132)
14 address Consumer Protection/Labor
Stop unfair labor practices (842)
Fair minimum wage (2, 1062, 2725, 3829)
Internet freedom (2917)
Credit card safety (2411)
Media ownership (2332)
Protecting taxpayer privacy (2484)
Working family child assistance (218)
Habeus Corpus Restoration (185)
Bankruptcy protection for employees and retirees (2092)
FAA fair labor management dispute resolution (2201)
Working families flexibility (2419).
13 addressed the Needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces:
Improve Benefits (117)
Suicide prevention (479)
Needs of homeless veterans (1180)
Homes for veterans (1084)
GI Bill enhancement (43)
Military job protection
Dignity in care for wounded vets (713)
Housing assistance for low income veterans (1084)
Military children in public schools (2151)
Military eye injury research and care (1999)
Research physical/mental health needs from Iraq War (1271)
Proper administration of discharge for personality disorder (1817, 1885)
Security of personal data of veterans (3592)
12 addressed Congressional Ethics and Accountability
Lobbying and ethics reform (230)
Stop fraud (2280)
Legislative transparency and accountability (525)
Open government (2180, 2488)
Restoring fiscal discipline (10)
Transparency and integrity in earmarks (2261)
Accountability of conference committee deliberations and reports (2179)
Federal funding accountability and transparency (2590)
Accountability and oversight for private security functions under Federal
contract (674)
Accountability for contractors and personnel under federal contracts
(2147) Resctrictions awarding government contracts (2519)
10 addressed Foreign Policy:
Iraq war de-escalation (313)
US policy for Iraq (433),
Divestiture from Iran (1430)
Sudan divestment authorization (831)
Millennium Development Goals (2433)
Multilateral debt relief (1320)
Development bank reform (1129)
Nuclear nonproliferation (3131,977,2224).
9 address Voting/Elections
Prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections (453)
Voter access to polls and services in Federal elections (737)
Voter intimidation and deceptive practices (1975)
Senate campaign disclosure parity (185)
Require reporting for bundled campaign contributions (2030)
Election jamming prevention (4102)
Campaign disclosure parity (223)
Presidential funding (2412)
Integrity of electronic voting systems (1487)
11 addressed Education
Increase access of low income African Americans to higher education (1513)
Establish teaching residency programs (1574)
Increase early intervention services (2111)
Middle school curriculum improvements (2227)
Public database of scholarships, fellowships and financial aid (2428)
Summer learning programs (116)
TANF financial education promotion (924)
Higher education (1642)
Build capacity at community colleges (379)
Campus law enforcement in emergencies (1228)
Support for teachers (2060).
6 addressed Hurrican Katrina
Hurricane Katrina recovery (2319)
Emergency relief (1637)
Bankruptcy relief and community protection (1647)
Working family tax relief (2257)
Fair wages for recovery workers (1749)
Gulf coast infrastructure redevelopment (1836)
5 addressed the Environment
Drinking water security (218, 1426)
Water resources development (728)
Waste water treatment (1995)
Combat illegal logging (1930)
Spent nuclear fuel tracking and Acountability (1194)
Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (Introduced in Senate)[S.726.IS ]
4 addressed Discrimination
Claims for civil class action based on discrimination (1989)
Domestic partnership benefits (2521)
Unresolved civil rights crimes (535)
Equality or two parent families (2286)
4 addressed Homeland Security
Judicial review of FISA orders (2369)
National emergency family locator (1630)
Amend US Patriot Act (2167)
Chemical security and safety (2486)
Next time someone asks you "where's the beef" in Senator Obama's Senate record, please feel free to send the link to this post.
Posted by: Helenann | March 24, 2008 2:49 PM
You want to talk about someone who is inflating their resume?
Check this out....
In comments to reporters in Jordan, John McCain demonstrated that he does not understand even the most basic of facts about his signature issue, the Iraq War.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/18/a_mccain_gaffe_in_jordan.html
Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran.
He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda...
McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
Al Qaeda in Iraq is of course entirely dominated by Sunni extremists who view all Shiites as heretics. The rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq and everything it has done there has been shaped by it's contempt for Shiites. The course of the insurgency, down to and including the "Sunni Awakening", has reflected that fanatical hostility that Al Qaeda brought to bear inside Iraq. Iranian involvement in financing and supporting Shiite militias in Iraq came partly in reaction to the rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
This isn't just a minor slip. This betrays a profound lack of foreign policy expertise, a shallowness so extreme that if the remark had been made by Barack Obama, say, it would have called into question his viability as a presidential candidate.
So you should expect the "serious" thinkers of the traditional media to dismiss the gaffe as 'trivial'. We are not allowed even to consider the possibility that John McCain is a foreign policy lightweight...not with all those splendid foreign policy advisers he's assembled.
Video of McCain's comments:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7020979&ch=4226716&src=news
Think Progress reports that McCain made the same assertion the other night on Hugh Hewitt's program:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/18/mccain-iran-al-qaeda/
Posted by: Smintheus | March 24, 2008 3:00 PM
Illegal Aliens and Immigration is NOT the same thing. Immigrant is a legal status granted by a sovereign country. We have to many folks who do not know and are ignorant or outright deceivers, confusing illegal alien workers calling them illegal immigrants with immigrants. Criminals did NOT build America; Citizens and LEGAL immigrants built it. American’s want an end to anarchy! This is NOT a Democrat, Republican, Independent issue. It's an American Issue.
Illegal aliens are criminals, those who hire them are criminals and those who aid-and-abet them are criminals.
Illegal aliens in America have NO rights. We are required by law to arrest and prosecute, deport them. (Title 8 U.S. Code) To report illegal aliens call the DHS National Hotline 1 866 DHS 2ICE. (1-866-347-2523)
No, matter your political party affiliation, and setting aside your thoughts on issues. We all need to remember what it is to be an American Citizen. We need to make sure our elected representatives obey their Oath of Office and keep their Oath of Allegiance. See http://tinyurl.com/2znnvl Know whom you are voting for.
Posted by: Dr Coles | March 24, 2008 5:17 PM
A friend of Geraldine. Still waiting for the arrogant kid to apologize for calling her a racist. Where was her 30 minute speech moment? Instead, she had to issue tense soundbites--that is when she could get the racist Ann Curry to stop interrupting this senior congresswoman. WRITE ABC AND GET ANN CALLED ON THE CARPET FOR BEING SO BIASED AGAINST A STRONG SUPPORTER OF CIVIL RIGHTS.
When you consider that barack let his funder and 'friend' tony rezkco destroy public housing for profit (did that buy barack's mansion?) he OWES not just Geraldine--he owes all of us who bought the lie that he was a humble community activist. Yeah, right. He used the black community like a ladder to climb into a different arena from which to emerge. This after being fed and clothed and nurtured and comfroted by the granny he threw under the bus last week. This is just outrageous. I don't want to hear what bills he sponsored or cosponsored. did they pass? Did he end the war? Did he stop the spying on all of us? NO!
So he's a HYPOCRITE! And why the heck should I have to hear any more media gushing about a stupid speech a high school student could have written. I have more talent in my left toe.
Posted by: geraldine | March 24, 2008 5:24 PM
Nice cut and paste job up there! Or are you really just Obama and McCain operatives up there, making sure you think your guys are just wonderful?
Very pathetic.
Posted by: Liz | March 24, 2008 6:00 PM
Can you tell dawn turner trice to stop being so racist? Her summary of the clintons being red-baited (I mean the real mccarthy tactics belong to the obamas) is so inaccurate. so, apparently african american journalists get to be as biased and inaccurate as theywannabe now?
Posted by: geraldine | March 24, 2008 6:28 PM
Can you tell dawn turner trice to stop being so racist? Her summary of the clintons being red-baited (I mean the real mccarthy tactics belong to the obamas) is so inaccurate. so, apparently african american journalists get to be as biased and inaccurate as theywannabe now?
Posted by: geraldine | March 24, 2008 6:28 PM
Knock off the race baiting you moron.
Posted by: John E | March 24, 2008 7:03 PM
Hellenann: Thanks for posting some facts even if they may have been pasted there. I can tell that a lot of care and effort went into typing it.
Liz and Geraldine: I really do wish both of you ladys some peace before the Nov. elections. HRC is completely being red-baited, and it is so obvious to most logical people. If you can rationally explain why the republicans and Rush L are trying to "help" out HRC now that she is on her death bed near the end of the race, I would LOVE for you to write more than 2 sentences about it.
Posted by: Xcellentform | March 24, 2008 9:56 PM
We should judge a person by actions and not their words.
The fact that Obama choose Mr. Wright as his spiritual teacher for 20 years and included Mr. Wright in his election staff speaks well for Mr. Obama’s thinking and actions. Words are easy to manipulate and it is UNLIKELY that Obama's recent speech was written by Mr. Obama anyway. Mr. Obama has a powerful and power hungry staff that will do or say anything to get him elected to power. And for those who haven’t done their homework regarding the history of cruelty of Mr. Obama’s wife to the poor and working class, I suggest you do.
But clearly this man Mr. Obama is not to be trusted with the future of our great country. And regardless that he is ‘fashionably black’ and that many of you have some desire to prove to yourself or to others that you are not prejudice and that you like ‘black people’ with an attitude of ‘See, I like black people, I’m voting for a black person,’ such an attitude of voting for a person because of their race is the definition of prejudice.
Regardless whether you are black or white, voting for a skin color is a deplorable act requiring a level of intelligence of an adolescent monkey.
But it seems to me if Mr. Obama had a lighter skin tone, there is no way he would be tolerated in as much he is aligned with a violent religious group, and never says anything substantial. And not only that, consider today’s announcement that the chief of the firm involved in the State Department’s passport breach is Obama adviser. And that Obama has been caught lying about Rezko, regarding the amount of money Rezko gave him, and that Obama still hasn't come clean about his Rezko land deal.
Just look at the kind of people Mr. Obama associates with. If Obama were to become president, what would stop Mr. Obama from appointing Mr. Wright to his cabinet? And to be sure, if anyone complained about Mr. Wright’s appointment, no doubt they would be called racist.
Mr. Obama is partly running on ‘a premise of guilt’ that if you don’t vote for him, it is because you don’t like his race. This premise is manipulative and certain to have disastrous consequences for America and the world, for we should have as our country’s leader someone with wisdom and knowledge regardless of race, not someone hungry for power for the sake of power.
Out of all the 300 million people in America, is this really who you want for president?
We were warned about an Anti-Christ for a thousand years, now is the time to learn from that warning and prevent what seems to be a potential Anti-Christ from getting into power.
Posted by: olandug | March 24, 2008 11:48 PM
Apparently there are two types of horses in the Senate: The work horse and the Obama.
While the WaPo raked both dems over the coals pretty good for their lack of experience passages like the one below are only reserved for known credit mongers on capitol hill.
" After weeks of arduous negotiations, on April 6, 2006, a bipartisan group of senators burst out of the "President's Room," just off the Senate chamber, with a deal on new immigration policy.
As the half-dozen senators -- including John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) -- headed to announce their plan, they met Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who made a request common when Capitol Hill news conferences are in the offing: "Hey, guys, can I come along?" And when Obama went before the microphones, he was generous with his list of senators to congratulate -- a list that included himself.
"I want to cite Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar, myself, Dick Durbin, Joe Lieberman . . . who've actually had to wake up early to try to hammer this stuff out," he said.
To Senate staff members, who had been arriving for 7 a.m. negotiating sessions for weeks, it was a galling moment. Those morning sessions had attracted just three to four senators a side, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recalled, each deeply involved in the issue. Obama was not one of them."
Posted by: Jeff | March 24, 2008 11:53 PM
Hillary can not tell the difference between truth and lies. She did not misspeak on the recent controversy. She told the same lies about the sniper fire with eyes wide open and a bright smile, in public, on over a dozen recorded occasions. This story is one of her claims to her experience making her ready to be commander-in-chief from day one. The 3 a.m. red phone call will lead to disaster for the nation when Hillary, as President, answering it cannot tell the difference between fact and self-engrandizing fantasy. As President, Hillary will lie every day to the American people, just as Bill lied under oath with his hand on the Bible. If she cannot tell the difference between sniper fire and a welcoming poem, can we trust her with our national security? Where is her judgment?
Posted by: shirl | March 24, 2008 11:53 PM
From "Head of State"
http://headofstate.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-misspoke.html
"Monday, March 24, 2008
I Misspoke
It was a treacherous night landing. Ice had formed on both of our wings, and as I looked out the port window, I could see it cracking, flying off into the night sky with each near barrel roll of our C-50, highlighted by the flares shooting past on either side of the cabin, turning them into falling prisms of wildly careening light.
As the cabin lurched back and forth and the sounds of rocket fire percussed the urgent, faltering rhythm of our right engine, I unfastened my seat belt, and, finding my center of gravity, rose from my seat, moving past aides frozen still in their seats, arms locked like girders against their arm rests in terror, and walked up the center aisle to the pilot's cabin.
"How long to Kosovo"? I shouted over the screaming whine of the altimeter's alarm, marking our steep descent. The pilot turned, looked at me in shocked recognition--"How...how did you make it up here? No one has ever walked up here in these conditions before! How..."
"Never mind that!" I barked, with what I hoped was not too much stern forcefulness, with sufficient steel and empathy combined into a firm imperturbability. "Check the master FMC! Is it working or has it failed?"
The pilot, paused, as if in amazement at my readiness , and then himself awakening to crisis, looked to the Control Display Unit . "It's down! It's down!" he shouted. A bead of sweat began to form on his brow.
I knew what I had to do. "Get out of there!" I commanded, and pulled him from the seat, where he crumbled to a fetal position on the floor behind me. Stepping over him, I took the chair behind the console.
"Check the Central Maintenance Computers and activate the NAV RAD for alternate radio tuning capability!" I shouted to the co-pilot. He, too, had broken down in tears, his head buried in his hands. I looked to his ID on the console. Another newbie.
Well, this was another one where I would have to go it alone.
Quickly, I tore the scarf from my neck and fashioned it into a crude lasso that could be used for EFIS/EICIS control. Catching the lever with my right hand, I activated the cabin loudspeaker with my left. I knew that they had likely been gulled by the earlier soft patter of the pilot. "Brace yourself! Get ready! These aren't just words!" Then I pulled the lever back hard, sending us rocketing towards the runway.
"You'll never make it!" I knew that voice, and turned. Richardson! How did he trundle up to the cabin? "Out of here, Judas! And take that quivering beard with you!"
I could feel bolts straining against Pennsylvania steel as I pushed the '50 down, down, down to the ground below us. Suddenly, an explosion punctuated the sky--Hand held rocket fire at 3' o'clock!
I quickly performed the evasive maneuvers that I had learned for so long, and so well. My face became angry, then sad, then gentle, then intensely serious, then was finally rocked by a powerful squealing, an unnatural burst of laughter. That did it! The rocket exploded harmlessly behind us.
Now. Now it was time to take the stick and bring this shaking, careening flight, parts straining against themselves until nearly ready to burst, down to the ground. I put my arms to the twin arms of the FO-AP, set the APC, and with all of the strength remaining in me, began to push the levers down. Straining, I pushed harder. And harder. I could see the runway rising before us in the glare shield. I would have to find the remaining strength to bring it down.
Finally, as if a burst of superhuman might had been somehow delegated to me, I pushed the levers into locked position. I could hear Penn in the cabin shouting "We're landing...We're going down!" as I felt the rough shock of the landing gear snapping into place.
Sparks flew as we hit the runway, bullets ricocheting off of the cabin, one wheel touching pavement. I looked straight through the windshield--the militia, arms at the ready stood at the runway's end. The last obstacle.
I turned the craft hard, sending it hurtling sideways across the pavement. It swept the militia away in a single screaming motion that combined with the screaming that arose from the cabin, as we continued to hurtle towards the small, makeshift terminal, where the dignitaries, negotiators, and heads of state awaited for my arrival.
I did not close my eyes. I did not let go of the wheel. I watched--as we ground to a halt just before the doors of the terminal.
I looked fore, at the dignitaries protecting themselves from the sniper fire that raged around them. I looked aft, at the passengers, shaken but safe.
We had arrived. All was good.
Just a moment...
Due to the discovery of a video of the above described occasion, I would like to make few small corrections. The flight was in fact actually a regularly scheduled Continental Airlines flight that was actually flown by the pilot and co-pilot--although the pilot did have a cold, and during the flight, I did at several times give serious attention to our flight conditions (notes indicate that I found it "a bit bumpy") I would also note that the dinner, Salmon with Creamed Potatoes, was undercooked, and was served with a Riesling that was unusually dry. It is also true that we were met not by a militia but by a girl's youth soccer team. However, it was necessary for me to dodge a soccer ball as team members demonstrated their often aggressive skills. No other shots were fired.
In short: I misspoke."
Cite:
Head of State
http://headofstate.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-misspoke.html
Posted by: Robert Hewson | March 24, 2008 11:59 PM
I think your ability to search or your math is way off.
Nonetheless, what you posted totally misrepresents the facts regarding what Obama has done during his Senate term
commenced in 2005.
Do please recall that this JUNIOR senators term began in 2005.
And do recall in your civics that committee assignments are assigned to
junior senators. Most things, and their influence, are nil because they are junior senators.
They do not have seniority
or anywhere near that type of influence wielded by the likes of Pelosi or Byrd.
Bills introduced by barack obama 2005 2006
Http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/?&Db=d109&querybd=@FIELD(FLD003+@4((@1(Sen+Obama++Barack))+01763))
152 bills
Barack Obama, GovTrack
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629
..."Barack Obama missed 208 of 1171 votes (18%) since Jan 6, 2005. The graph "..
Statistics: Barack Obama has sponsored 129 bills since Jan 4, 2005, of which 120 haven't made it out of committee (Poor) and 1 were successfully enacted (Average, relative to peers). Obama has co-sponsored 559 bills during the same time period (Average, relative to peers).
Posted by: Sonya | March 27, 2008 4:39 AM
I don't know where the Post got its information. What they base their information on is flimsy. Arlen Specter who seems was managing the bill in the Senate and was not involved in its writing and the fact that Senator Kennedy dressed down Obama for being late at a meeting. If Obama was not involved in this bill, why would he be attending a meeting and why would Kennedy dress down someone who was just an observer?
Below are some articles and press releases that were published at the time of the introduction of the bill.
CQ Report Named Obama As One Of Four Senators Working On McCain-Kennedy
Immigration Bill. "The McCain-Kennedy bill has drawn bipartisan support
from a wide group of senators, including Republicans Sam Brownback of
Kansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, as well as Democrats Barack
Obama of Illinois and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. Kennedy's role
as a dealmaker and partner to McCain even earned grudging respect from
Norquist. 'Apart from Jane Fonda, nobody is wrong on everything in this
world,' Norquist said. 'Ted Kennedy is an American and shares a lot of
American values. He has respect for immigrants. He takes that to a
principled standpoint.' Only a handful of other Senate Democrats publicly
addressed the immigration issue as the floor debate approached." [CQ
Weekly, 3/27/06]
Gannett News: "Low-Ranking Obama Front-And-Center On Immigration." In an
article entitled, "Low Ranking Obama Front-And-Center On Immigration,
Gannett News Service reported, "When the president sat down with eight
senators to strategize about immigration last week, the group represented
the Senate's elite on the issue. Among them were the top Democratic and
Republican leaders, those from border states, two Hispanics and those
with a history of involvement with immigration legislation. And then,
there was Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois' junior senator, who ranks 98 out
of 100 in seniority in the Senate. He is not on the Senate's Judiciary
Committee where immigration legislation originated and the state he
represents is closer to the Canadian border than the deserts of
Mexico...Alejandro Lugo, an associate professor of anthropology at the
University of Illinois who studies border issues, says Obama's
recognition of a border control problem coupled with a practical solution
will play well if people are paying attention." [Gannett News Service,
5/1/06]
McCain: "First Of All...This Legislation Was The Product Of Over A Year
Of Negotiation...Myself And Senator Kennedy, Senator Obama, Senator
Lieberman, Senator Martinez, Senator Graham-- We Met On Many, Many
Occasions And Hammered Out This Bill." "Could I -- I'll be very brief
because my colleagues are here to make comments, and I know that you want
to ask questions. First of all, I would like to point out that this
legislation was the product of over a year of negotiation. Myself and
Senator Kennedy, Senator Obama, Senator Lieberman, Senator Martinez,
Senator Salazar, Senator Graham -- we met on many, many occasions and
hammered out this bill. It was not an easy decision -- some of it for us,
nor was it for the Democrats because some of our base is opposed to this
legislation, some of the unions are opposed to this legislation. So I'm
proud of the product that we put out. I'm grateful for the leadership of
Senator Specter and Senator Leahy, and I'm very pleased at the comments
that the president has made in the last couple of days." [Transcript,
Senate Immigration Reform Press Conference, 3/30/06]
Kennedy And McCain, Authors Of Immigration Reform Bill, Thanked Obama As
One Of Small Bipartisan Group Of Senators Who "Stood Together To Make
This Legislation Possible." McCain said, "After several weeks of
extensive debate and consideration of numerous and complicated
amendments, the Senate is about to move to final passage on S. 2611, the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act...I also commend the Senate
Leadership on both sides of the aisle for their efforts to ensure that
the Senate addressed this important issue and gave us more than adequate
time for a thorough debate. This is a proud moment for the United States
Senate, as we have conducted good work and returned to orderly traditions
of the legislative process as envisioned by our founding fathers...And of
course, I commend Senator Kennedy, who is perhaps the leading expert on
this difficult issue...I also want to thank Senators Brownback,
Lieberman, Graham, Salazar, Martinez, Obama, and Dewine for their shared
commitment to this issue, and working to ensure this bill moved
successfully intact through the legislative process." In a speech on the
Senate floor, Kennedy said, "I thank those of our bipartisan group who
stood together to make this legislation possible--Senator Graham, Senator
Salazar, Senator Martinez, Senator Hagel, Senator Durbin, Senator
Lieberman, Senator Brownback, Senator Obama, and Senator DeWine." [McCain
Press Release, 5/25/06; Congressional Record, 5/26/06]
CQ Cited Obama As One Of The "Senators Engaged In The [Immigration]
Debate [Who] Are Working To Address [The] Concerns" Of Other Senators. "A
number of senators engaged in the debate are working to address those
concerns. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat, said a guest worker program
should be limited to certain sectors that have a genuine need for migrant
workers. Other lawmakers, such as Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona, want the
number of guest workers to fluctuate with the economy — cutting off the
flow when unemployment increases to a certain point. 'What we don't want
is a situation where an international temp agency is created,' said
Obama." [CQ Weekly, 5/22/06]
Leahy Named Obama As One Of The "People Who Have Worked Together" On The
Immigration Reform Bill And Said "There Was A Lot Of Work Behind The
Scenes." "Thank you, Arlen. I want to thank you, of course, and Senator
Kennedy, who spent all those hours on the floor managing the bill so
well. But I also want to thank both our leaders, Bill Frist and Harry
Reid. This was done in the way, Arlen, it was so much in legislation when
you and I first came here, when Republicans and Democrats worked
together. Much the same way we tried to change the tone of the Judiciary
Committee, we started with a good base bill, as the majority leader has
said, from the Judiciary Committee. There's not everything in here I
want; there's not everything that any one of us want. But we've had
people who have worked together. I see are the two floor managers. I see
Senator McCain and Senator Martinez and Hagel and others -- Obama and
Durbin. There was a lot of work behind the scenes, as you can imagine,
working out agreements and working out amendments." [Transcript, Press
Conference on Senate Immigration Reform, 5/25/06]
Kennedy Praised Obama's "Willingness To Play A Visible Role In The Debate
Over Immigration." Kennedy "Praised Mr. Obama's willingness to play a
visible role in the debate over immigration (implying Mrs. Clinton did
not) and opposing the Iraq war from the beginning (ditto)." [New York
Times, 2/2/08]
Posted by: Mary Breem | April 1, 2008 11:12 AM
i think a black peopleshouldbethe president of america
Posted by: anais | June 4, 2008 10:21 PM