Brilliant Thomas Sowell editorial on Obama

[Miss Critter]

Punzy should be a writer. Her postings are informative, concise and meaningful.

 

[NotDeadYet]

Jeremiah Wright is in the same mold as the kinds of people Barack Obama began seeking out in college -- members of the left, anti-American counter-culture.

Well the writer lost all credibility for me right here. I suppose you could characterize Marxism as "anti-American," but punk rock and feminism??
Give me a break, puleez :roll:
This is a typical right-wing rant, wherein anyone with leftist politics is accused of being anti- American. Our founding fathers must be spinning in their graves to see dissenting views labeled this way, and for the patriotism of those who seek dialogue and discussion of ideas being questioned.
Conservatism has lost its way in this country. My two cents.

 

[wrobert]

Conservatism has lost its way in this country. My two cents.

I think this happened when the Republicans went for the so called 'values' voters. Now they want to get involved in things that are really of little concern, or at should be, to people. So far the books I seem to like the most were writting in the late 1800s. Way before we started worrying about what consenting adults were doing.

 

[GoodWitch58]

Well the writer lost all credibility for me right here. I suppose you could characterize Marxism as "anti-American," but punk rock and feminism??
Give me a break, puleez :roll:
This is a typical right-wing rant, wherein anyone with leftist politics is accused of being anti- American. Our founding fathers must be spinning in their graves to see dissenting views labeled this way, and for the patriotism of those who seek dialogue and discussion of ideas being questioned.
Conservatism has lost its way in this country. My two cents.

Could not agree more. And, I notice that Sowell is a Milton Friedman Fellow...does anyone need to know more?

It is a world view that in many ways has dominated the Bush Administration and I, for one, have had enough!

 

[Rita]

Could not agree more. And, I notice that Sowell is a Milton Friedman Fellow...does anyone need to know more?

It is a world view that in many ways has dominated the Bush Administration and I, for one, have had enough!

You are so not alone in this thinking! :angry:

.

 

[Mango]

Sowell needs Sowal.

That's all I have to say today.

 

[Miss Critter]

It is a world view that in many ways has dominated the Bush Administration and I, for one, have had enough!

And let's not forget the alienation of our allies.

 

[BeachSiO2]

As for how Obama would pay for his ideas -- he would get rid of the Medicare provision that requires the government not negotiate discounts on rx drugs, he would reinstate the +3% tax bracket for people making more than $200,000 per year (and whose Social Security taxes are capped so they are already paying a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than middle class Americans), and he would reform the healthcare system and end the war in Iraq. I'd rather hear Mr. Sowell's views on why it's okay that we rack up massive debt not paying for the status quo tax cuts, wars, payola to drug companies and special interests, and Wall Street banker bail-outs.

Thank you for addressing this. I am in favor of all these. However, I am only cautiously optimistic that we can actually "end the war" without seeing it totally go to he** and then end up back over there. Then again, I am guessing that end the war actually only means reduce troop levels as I don't think we have ever truly left anywhere we have invaded.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

Among the many desperate gambits by defenders of Senator Obama and Jeremiah Wright is to say that Wright's words have a "resonance" in the black community.

There was a time when the Ku Klux Klan's words had a resonance among whites, not only in the South but in other states. Some people joined the KKK in order to advance their political careers. Did that make it OK? Is it all just a matter of whose ox is gored?

While many whites may be annoyed by Jeremiah Wright's words, a year from now most of them will probably have forgotten about him. But many blacks who absorb his toxic message can still be paying for it, big-time, for decades to come.

Why should young blacks be expected to work to meet educational standards, or even behavioral standards, if they believe the message that all their problems are caused by whites, that the deck is stacked against them? That is ultimately a message of hopelessness, however much audacity it may have.

Copyright 2008, Creators Syndicate Inc.

The above quoted paragraphs are what interested me when I read this essay.

Thomas Sowell is a well respected economists and commentator and it is sad that his opinions and thoughts should be dismissed because he is elderly. His life story speaks volumes for his credibility on commenting on Obama's candidacy.

Sowell broke barriers for Obama. Obama's childhood was nothing like Sowell's who grew up in a very poor, very rural, very black part of North Carolina. If anyone can judge Obama's "search for a cultural identity," it is Sowell. What I can't understand about Obama is why he is so negative about the opportunities available in this country when he, and his wife, have multiple degrees from top Ivy League schools. Obama has had the opportunity to lead the African American youth in this country and to be an example of the GOOD things that can happen through hard work. Instead he is giving kids excuses for why the won't succeed. (And he is also using this same rhetoric to appeal to working-class white voters).

Sowell is rightly concerned about the affect of Obama's rhetoric within the African American community. He is a man who has succeeded in life because he worked hard and overcame obstacles. He feels passionately that success is possible for everyone.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

I am tempted to post some of his scathing articles attacking John McCain during the primaries, but think that sort of tearing down and cutting and pasting is not the point of the message board.

An honest discussion of a candidate's values and record is exactly what this message board is for. I don't know why everyone is so defensive about Obama. I am in no way "tearing down and cutting and pasting." If we can't examine our presidential candidates, then what is the point of even posting on here? Not all of us agree politically, but by discussing these issues, it helps us better define our own political views.

There are some things that I agree with Obama on and there are some things that I disagree with all 3 candidates on. I in no way set John McCain on a pedestal. For me though, McCain is the best, though not perfect, candidate.