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Stay Classy

BlackDots

Shared on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 00:24
The big story in the news now is how the race between Clinton and Obama is heating up, and turning negative.  For the past few days, reports have hit the press of different speeches Hillary and Bill have made dropping certain phrases that could be construed as racial slams against Obama.  Well, true to form, Obama had this to say about the whole thing:

You have seen a tone on the Democrat[ic] side of the campaign that has been unfortunate. I want to stipulate a couple of things. I may disagree with Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards on how to get there, but we share the same goals. We all believe in civil rights. We all believe in equal rights. They are good people. They are patriots....

I don't want the campaign at this stage to degenerate to so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, that we lose sight of why we are doing this.

Obama said he wants to send "a strong signal to my own supporters that let’s try to focus on the work that needs to get done. If I hear my own supporters engaging in talk that I think is ungenerous or misleading or unfair, I will speak out forcefully against it....

Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically been on the right side of civil rights issues. They care about the African American community.… That is something I am convinced of. I want Americans to know that is my assessment.

Obama's handling of this situation illustrates why he will have my vote in the California primary on February 5th.   Even in the midst of an intense political fight, he refuses to take the easy way out and sling mud back at his assailants.  Instead, he acts like an adult and steps away from a petty fight.  This is how a leader acts.  This is how a president should act.

Hopefully, things will go his way in Nevada on Saturday.

Comments

BlackDots's picture
Submitted by BlackDots on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 09:02
Raider: Thanks for the gut check. I know politicians deal mostly in double speak and deception; unfortunately that's the nature of the beast. I also know from working in a large organization that it's difficult to keep everyone from doing something stupid. From all the news I've been reading on the campaign since early November, the few gaffes from that Obama camp have not seemed to me to be evidence of something systematic. Based on what I've seen, heard and read, I feel comfortable giving them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, there won't be any surprises ahead that would cause me to reconsider...but nothing is certain.
Deman267's picture
Submitted by Deman267 on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 12:08
Interesting blog and great comments on both sides.Refreshing to see it isn't degenerating.Have you read any of Obama's books?His first(written before running for office)will surely come to the forefront soon.The second kind of downplays the first and seems to be written as a'balancer'.After reading numerous excerpts,I don't know if I can support him any more.Interesting to see how it all plays out.
BigBlue's picture
Submitted by BigBlue on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 05:01
Please respond via PM... Does it touble folks in the Obama camp that he used to espose the tennents of a religion that the members of the same religion today are those who would like nothing more than to see us wiped off the face of the planet? Curiosity, nothing more. Take into account that his childhood, with all that entails, was steeped in a doctrine which leads at least some people who subscribe to it to hate everything we stand for in the U.S..
BigBlue's picture
Submitted by BigBlue on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 05:03
By the way I think on the surface the man does seem to be a very, as you say, classy guy who has great leadership skills, but there is that Islam thing.
Raider30's picture
Submitted by Raider30 on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 05:49
Don't kid yourself man. Obama may not have been down in the mud slinging it but his people were. At least he's smart enough to let them handle it so he can claim he's staying above the sludge. Plus frankly the 2 items that are constantly mentioned on the news , one being that Hillary made the comment about MLK needing LBJ to sign the civil right bill before his dream was complete and Bill making the comment about it being a fairy tale for Obama.. The first is factually correct and frankly I don't know why the hell Hillary is apologizing/correcting herself. MLK *did* need the help of the sitting white president to advance his cause, thats a plain and simple fact and its absurd that people would get offended by someone saying it. I know why they are saying it, and its too long to get into right now, but their reasons are still baloney. Second, Bill is entitled to his opinion and he has clarified several times that he was referring to Obama's comments/record on his war voting. People need to give it a rest. Also let the record show that I am neither fan of Hillary or Bill Clinton. I am a registered independant.
BlackDots's picture
Submitted by BlackDots on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 06:51
Raider30: Primarily, i think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion by, and most likely propelled by, the media. Honestly, I don't think the comment about LBJ was meant by Clinton to show that blacks need whites to get things done. I think she was trying to illustrate that a "dreamer" like MLK needed an experienced politician like LBJ to have his dreamed realized. That might be true. However, by equating MLK to LBJ (abbreviations rule!), that introduced a whole other set of interpretations and baggage, racial and political. So although I understand her point, it was made very clumsily. The important thing here is that despite the origins of this particular controversy, Obama's reaction was prudent, timely and appropriate. I hope his subordinates are able to maintain the tone set by the head of the campaign going forward.
BlackDots's picture
Submitted by BlackDots on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 07:03
BigBlue: PM sent. Bottom line: I'm not losing sleep. Thanks!
Raider30's picture
Submitted by Raider30 on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 07:45
Agreed on the first paragraph. It was blown out of proportion, by the media, which is why I don't think she should have to apologize or 'explain'. I don't think for a second she was saying that LBJ was some sort of giant in the civil rights movement, but the fact remains that the civil rights movement would not have come to fruition as soon as it did without the support - emotional, physical and yes political - of whites. The problem is is that in our society people think that if you say "hey we helped too" it somehow denegrates the contributions of the other group which is just ridiculous and total oversensitivity and unfortunate. One more quick point - if you think Obama isn't aware of what his campaign people were saying you are deluding yourself. I've read your blogs and you appear to be a thoughtful and intelligent individual so it pains me to see you imply that he wasn't aware and didn't take part in this. I know you are rooting for him but the fact is, he's a politician and he wants one thing, to be president. So take what he says and what he does with a big grain of salt or you'll just end up being another kool-aid drinker.

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