Barack Obama/"new politics"

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Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-Ill.)
"I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics. ... But challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. ..."—Barack Obama, January 16, 2007.[1]
"Now, promoting himself as a fresh face on the national political stage, proclaiming his distance from lobbyists and the Washington culture of special interests, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has to contend with his own history. ... From Chicago to Springfield, his past is filled with decidedly old-school political tactics -- a history of befriending powerful local elders, assisting benefactors and special interests, and neutralizing rivals."—Dan Morain, Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2007.[2]
In 1996, his first campaign for the Illinois Senate, "Obama quickly mastered the bare-knuckle arts of Chicago electoral politics. His overwhelming legal onslaught signaled his impatience to gain office, even if that meant elbowing aside an elder stateswoman like [Sen. Alice] Palmer. ... A close examination of Obama’s first campaign clouds the image he has cultivated throughout his political career: The man now running for president on a message of giving a voice to the voiceless first entered public office not by leveling the playing field, but by clearing it."—David Jackson and Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, January 3, 2007.[3]
This article is part of the
SourceWatch and Congresspedia coverage
of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and
the 2008 presidential election
Main article:
Sub-articles:
Democratic ticket "top tier"

Contents

Obama: "Don't be hoodwinked. Don't be bamboozled"

An "acceptable candidate"

"About a year ago I was watching C-SPAN one day and saw an interview with a Chicago Tribune reporter who has covered Obama's rise through Illinois politics. The interviewer asked the reporter, 'Isn't Obama too radical to be elected president?' The reporter responded, 'No, you don't understand. Obama has a very good relationship with the Chicago banking community'," Bruce K. Gagnon wrote December 13, 2007, in OpEdNews.[4]

"Now that is a very telling statement. To be one of the acceptable candidates of the banking community means that you have passed the smell test. That essentially means you will not challenge the power structure in any real way. It means you will do nothing as a president to interrupt the corporate empires ability to make money from endless war for oil and other diminishing resources.

"If you watch Obama closely he does not say much of substance in his speeches. He talks alot about bringing the nation together, the red states and the blue states, and says that things need to change in Washington. All feel good talk for sure.

"But he makes little noise about changing the dynamic in America where the rich are getting richer and everyone else is getting poorer. He says little in terms of ending the occupation of Iraq or preventing a new war with Iran. He says nothing about ending the power of the military industrial complex. His health care plan is all about helping the insurance companies have greater access to our wallets.

"Obama is a good politician who knows how to play the game. The power structure knows the voters are angry about Iraq, about the declining economy, about the lack of health care. They know they need to put candidates into place that can control the steam valve of American public opinion by appearing to be responding to the people. But these candidates, most importantly, need to remember who their daddy is. In the case of Obama he actually protects the purse of the bankers and big boys that run the show. Thus he is an acceptable candidate," Gagnon wrote.[4]

HILLARYATTACKS website

Obama launched the new website HILLARYATTACKS on December 3, 2007, with links to articles alleging attacks by Hillary Clinton and "The Hillary Attacks Timeline."

In an email from Obama HQ, David Plouffe asked supporters for help:[5]

"We're asking all of you to be vigilant and notify us immediately of any attacks from Senator Clinton or her supporters as soon as you see them so that we can respond with the truth swiftly and forcefully.
"These attacks could be phone calls, literature drops, blog posts, mail pieces as well as radio and TV ads. Some could even be anonymous or designed to be. Please email us at hillaryattacks AT barackobama.com the moment you see something that concerns you.
"Senator Clinton has said her idea of fun is to attack Barack each day from here on out, and that's why we need you to help us stop those attacks and make sure that Barack can continue to talk with voters and caucus-goers about the struggles they face and their hope for America."

Related external articles

The "Illinois Caucus"

Michigan primary ballot boycott

"A spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Office [said October 9, 2007, that] Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson filed paperwork to boycott the ballot. Democratic candidates already agreed not to campaign in Michigan because it broke national committee rules by moving its primary ahead of February 5."[6]

"Five individuals connected to five different campaigns have confirmed -- but only under condition of anonymity -- that the situation that developed in connection with the Michigan ballot is not at all as it appears on the surface," Lynda Waddington reported October 11, 2007, in the Iowa Independent.[7] "The campaign for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, arguably fearing a poor showing in Michigan, reached out to the others with a desire of leaving New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the only candidate on the ballot. The hope was that such a move would provide one more political obstacle for the Clinton campaign to overcome in Iowa."

Related external articles

External articles

2004

2007

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February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2008

References

  1. ↑ "A Message From Barack Obama," NBC5.com, January 16, 2007.
  2. ↑ Dan Morain, "Obama: a fresh face or an old-school tactician?" Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Obama knows his way around a ballot. Some say his ability to play political hardball goes back to his first campaign," Chicago Tribune, January 3, 2007.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bruce K. Gagnon, "A Word of Caution," OpEdNews, December 13, 2007.
  5. ↑ David Plouffe, "Hillary Attacks," My.BarackObama.com, December 3, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Vote 2008 - Republican presidential candidates in Michigan," ABC News (WTVG), October 9, 2007.
  7. ↑ Lynda Waddington, "Michigan, Iowa and the Games the Politicos Play," Iowa Independent, October 11, 2007.
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