Hillary seems to be in the middle of a huge slide. If she loses Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina....is she then toast ? Is she toast now ?? Didn't you just LOVE Obama's retort to a cackling and smug Hillary. I love Obama and he will be a future president . He is so right on most issues and he is inspirational and a role model for young people. But he needs another 8 years of seasoning and experience. My guy is McCain for president but someday Obama will occupy the oval office. I would love a McCain/Lieberman ticket.
While McCain is my second choice, and if Hillary gets the D nomination I hope he is the Republican nominee, I have to disagree with your assertion that Obama needs "8 years of seasoning". Staying in the thick of Washington, raising the money it takes to mount these campaigns, I think it just sucks the soul right out of people. I've worked with lobbyists to try to influence healthcare legislation, and I've seen how slimy it all is. The big money donors don't give without strings. The longer someone has to walk around with his hand out, the more favors he owes.
Personally, I find idealism a good thing for a leader to have. I much prefer a president with the cahones to surround himself the best advisors and a little shred of his soul intact so that he may make the best decisions for the people, rather than the Washington savvy politician making decisions based on polls and fear of lobbies and special interests. Ultimately, judgement and intelligence trump the experience of 5 or six years in Washington.
Barack Obama believes there are moments that demand new American leadership abroad, and this is one of those moments. He's running to change a conventional way of thinking about foreign policy that values time spent in Washington over timely judgments; posturing over pragmatism; and fear of looking weak over the conviction to get things right.
Today in Des Moines, Iowa, Obama is discussing his foreign policy vision with his top foreign policy advisors Tony Lake, former Clinton national security advisor; Susan Rice, former Clinton assistant secretary of state; and General Scott Gration because he believes that the next President will have to be open and candid with the American people about foreign policy.
He has served for three years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he worked across the aisle with Dick Lugar to keep the world's most dangerous weapons away from terrorists; and traveled overseas to Africa, throughout the Middle East, and across the former Soviet Union. He opposed the Iraq War from the start, and his vision is informed by knowing what it's like to live in the wider world, beyond the halls of power; and by having family in Kenya, including a grandmother who lives without electricity or plumbing.
Obama had the judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start - at a time when it wasn't popular to do so. He's showing the same qualities in his approach to Iran. Earlier this year, while he was getting attacked for calling for direct diplomacy with Iran's leaders, others were talking tough and voting for an amendment that calls for George Bush to use our troops in Iraq to counter Iran. Now, we learn in a National Intelligence Estimate that Iran actually suspended its nuclear program several years ago in response to international pressure. Obama put forward a new approach, and did so when it was politically risky. On opposing the war in Iraq, on finishing the fight in Afghanistan, and on calling for diplomacy - not war - with Iran, Obama has shown the judgment to lead.
That is too funny!
What happens if Mitt wins the GOP nomination? With my mom "leaning towards" Biden, I am wondering if she has some inside info on who is most likely to take the Dem nomination. If the Dems don't swing to Biden, Obama has a chance of winning. However, word on the street is that the black voters are not behind Obama and that many white people will never vote for a black man as President. It's sad the way race plays a role in poliTRICKS, but it does. I'm not sure that we will see McCain and Obama on the same ticket.