Obama: Clinton Divides America

Oh please, Hillary a Republican nonsense. First of all Obama is not above the dirty tricks he just has someone else do them to keep his hands clean. First the other candidates double-teaming, then the media, and last but not least Ted Kennedy. The Obama supporters in Iowa were some of the rudest. They berated and insulted other candidates and their supporters. They reminded me of hard sell telemarketers. Many were asked to leave the homes they showed up at the night before the caucus. At the caucus they were intimidating. Many were at the wrong place but it wasn't found out until the caucus was over, they were counted. Did Obama really win? We will never know for sure.

The centrepiece of Obama's campaign has been the claim that he is the candidate of "hope" and "change" as opposed to the establishment figure, Hillary Clinton. He has crowned himself the king of post-racial and post-partisan politics. With the assistance of the corporate media, he has captured the imagination and hope of millions of voters, particularly new layers of politicised young people.

The truth behind the Obama phenomenon, however, is much less attractive than the image. If you look at his concrete policies, voting record and source of campaign funds, Obama is a trusted servant of the big business elite. He represents the US ruling class's desperate attempt to put a new face on its domestic and global domination.

Obama's list of top campaign contributors reads like a Wall Street Who's Who list, with Goldman Sachs at the top. How does he deny taking money from lobbyists and PACs [Political Action Committees, which can receive up to $5,000 a year from any one individual - Eds.] and still raise over $100 million? The answer is the magic of 'bundling' - elite individuals with a lot of influence get many senior and junior level executives to donate the maximum amounts.
As of 29 October 2007 , Obama had received 46% of his campaign money from mega-rich donors who had given $2,300 or more.

Wow, something strange is going on here. I have been reading the comments on Obama stories for weeks and suddenly all these Clinton fans are coming out of the woodwork to post comments that are either inaccurate, downright nasty or just plain silly.
The truth of the matter is what Obama is saying about Bill Clinton's presidency is true. It did lead to the Republicans gaining strength. And to me the worst part wasn't all the lawsuits and investigations of the Clintons but Bill championing NAFTA and pushing it through Congress. And then he did the same with the Chinese Trade Agreement. This cost American jobs, NAFTA alone is estimated to have taken a million jobs out of this country. The only ones who benefitted were corporations. The Clintons never had the interests of the American people at heart, as evidenced by all the years Hillary was a corporate lawyer and all the donations she has received from corporations. Contrast that with Obama's thousands of donations, 394,000 so far and you understand who he will be working for, all of us ordinary Americans. We really can't wait any longer for relief from corporate greed running our government. Obama is the one to help us regain control of our country.

It is so sad how people let their personal feelings interfere with respective issues of the primaries. The media, especially CNN has practically hailed Senator Obama as to victor. As intelligent individuals why do we let the media decide for us. As a black female, i have a lot of respect for Senator Obama. He is an intelligent man with a lot of views for the future. But on the other hand, Senator Clinton has more experience. As a black woman i am ashame to see Obama cry racism one comments are made. The Clintons have done far more than Obama has ever done for the black community. Obama has to stop attacking President Bill Clinton because he is not the one his running against. He needs to focus on Hillary. Everyone is also talking about unity. How come respected democratic leaders like Ted Kennedy are making endorsements before we have a democratic front runner if it the claim they want to party to unite.

Loise, talking about what has happened in history to the Democratic Party while the Clinton's are in office is not personal.

Obama has always said he would speak the truth, but that the scandals were off the table. The impact on the Party is fair game, and also something important to consider.

Obama's claims about Clinton being a "divisive" figure are really just a distraction from his own lack of a record on the national stage. Hillary Clinton has been in the Senate for 8 years working with colleagues on both sides on the aisle and building a record of accomplishment. Barack Obama has been in the Senate only half that time, and his prime accomplishment is running for President. His rhetoric does not add up when you compare the records.

People of the Potamac, PLEASE come out and stop the hype of Obama!!! The future of the country is in YOUR hands. This guy has never been to Iraq. Hillary has been there multiple times to educate herself about the volatile & violent situation. Past all of the rhetoric, where is the substance? McCain will eat Obama for breakfast if Obama is the nominee. Let's break it down: A veteran running against a guy who never has been to Iraq...equals a win for the Republicans.

I can not stand the negative mean spirited divisive and hate filled blogs from the Obama supporters any more.

I will tell all my friends and family that, as a Democrat, I will vote for the Democratic candidate.

But in the privacy of the voting booth, I will cast my vote for McCain, if Clinton in not on the ballot.

I would rather have a moderate republican for 4 years, than reward the mean spirited Obama supporters on all of these blogs.

Perhaps this is what the media wants and that is why they Always run positive articles for Obama and ALways run negative articles about the Clintons, but the Obma supporters merely add fuel to the fire of hate and division--enough.

In my 32 years as a Democrat, I will for the first time ever vote for a Republican--McCain.

And yes, I live in a swing state.

-Anonymous Democrat for Hillary Clinton.

Can't you just feel the love in this room? Obama states a fact that we all know: That Bill Clinton was a brilliant President who Presided over a disasterous time for the Democratic party, whose wife's ham-handed handling of healthcare was one of several issues that helped an historic swing to the Republican side of the isle; that he fought and swapped pork for NAFTA, but figured he'd fix the flawed Welfare Reform bill after he signed it, who rented out the Lincioln bedroom, etc All that. We were there. But now we want his wife, so we want that forgotten. All Obama is saying is the Republicans haven't forgotten, nor will independants.

This series of comments like all comments on other news stories contains far too many vitrolic and hateful diatribes. It would seem to me that our country would be better served by offering factual information or informed opinion. I am someone who voted for Senator Obama when he ran for the U.S. Senate. His campaign statements during that campaign led those of us in Illinois to believe we had a contract with him for six years to address the issues facing Illinois and the country. Unfortunately, there must have been a clause in that contract that allowed him to bow out that his supporters were unaware existed. His unwillingness to serve out the term of office he asked our support for is very disturbing. On top of this disappointment, I have been equally disturbed by his lack of forthrightness in addressing the concerns facing this nation. I do not find it an acceptable response to a question in a debate that people can look up his position on the web site. He should be able to give a specific response to the question so we can all judge his answer. I did not vote for Mr. Obama in the Illinois primary and supported Mrs. Clinton based on her willingness to address our country's problems with plans filled with specifics and guiding by basic democratic priniciples. In contradiction to Mr. Obama's claims that all Clinton supporters would vote for him this fall, I and many of my friends would prefer to sit out the election.

I laughed when I read that article title! Obama is the one who has divided the Democratic Party. Who had the most support at first? Hillary was soooo way ahead, then here comes Obama, playing the race card, and starts splitting the Party into sides. Bill Clinton was right-----Obama's run IS a fairy tale-----he thinks he can come in and "sweep the country off of it's feet" and "Save it" and take it back to his castle and everything will be ok. That's not reality, and it takes hard work and a plan to solve our country's problems. Hillary is that hard worker and HAS those plans, in detail. Don't let Obama fool you, people--he has copied off of Hillary's plans for the country from the minute he entered the race....she had her well-thought out plans and how to implement them before the race even started. Get real.

The assertion that Democrats when they unite rather than divide is correct--and has been for 200 years going back to Jefferson's administration. The core that TJ put together was:

immigrants, trade workers, and farmers

There are no losses for the Democratic party when they have the support of those groups on their side--if you prefer to substitute 'minorities' in for immigrants and 'blue collar' for trade workers--it remains the same.

Clinton DOES divide. Comments on political boards show that--but the comments against Obama seem to all come from Clinton supporters. Very few come from others--essentially confirming that prophecy.

I like Obama--but think he is weak in certain areas. I'd like to see him ask Richardson to be his vice-president. Richardson was the most qualified candidate with his experience. He has integrity, and he would shore up Obama's 'weakness' with the Latin community in the southwest.

Fools, the democratic party was never this divided until Obama entered the picture.

And to whomever said Europeans prefer him, why so they can watch him lead our country into 3rd world status, so they can watch the super power they dispise crumble.

Susan Haskell: Obama's and Edward's names were also on the Florida ballot. And yet Clinton was able to defeat them by a large percentage.

Geevill and Dan
The old political machine dems decided the rules; Florida and Michigan knew what they were and made a rational choice to lose their votes. HRC knew this and still went to Florida and gave what sure sounded like a victory speech when there was no victory.

Also, how can you say that voters voted intelligently for HRC when hers was the only name on the ballot? The others had the moral decency to remove theirs to abide by the rules. What is it you don’t get about her trying to confound the rules? Is this not what got her in trouble in Travelgate, Filegate, Troopergate, Whitewater, Cattle Futures, Ponzi schemer Norman Hsu, Zoë Baird.

Haven’t we had enough of her not playing by the rules and then summoning Bill to do her dirty work, whining or crying or using the media victim card when things don’t go her way? I was going to vote for her but I am just plain tired of the drama. Obama is just doing his job and doing it so much better than her.

Yes, let us all give Barry slack or is it Obama slack for he is education. As for the people treating blacks with so little respect, give me a break. This isn't about prejudice of skin color it is a FACT that we are at war (whether you agree with war, we are there) with a muslim race of people and Baracka Hussein Obama is blood linked so wake up entire world. Revolutionary war should have buried this hatchett. You all forget to easy that the first slaves were traded to America by the Spaniards and that white, indian, black, latino, all people all race died in that Revolutionary war to get past this. Fought beside eachother to preserve this freedom. What revolution is Barack aka Barry lookin toward? How dare he tell young ones this is like the Remember the Titans, this is 2008, not 1949. Do these kids need to think the world hasn't evolved? What in the world is the matter with folks? Shame on this analogy. Lord have mercy!

Angela, would you mind citing the source for your information on the cut in troop levels in Afghanistan? The Defense Department shows American troop levels between 24,000 and 26,500 during 2007. And as of Jan 25, 2008 there were 28,000 troops. They are projecting an increase to 31,200 for March-April in anticipation of increased Taliban and al Qaeda activity.

Part of the contradiction in numbers may be the fact that during 2007 about 14,000 American troops were (and still are) part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. The other 10,000-12,500 American troops operate independently.

A few questions to those who blindly follow Hillary: What are these massive accomplishments in the domestic and international arena that she speaks of? How can she be ready to deal with the mess of the W administration of day 1 when she voted to authorize the biggest mistake of this young century? How will she clean up Washington ethics when she accepts more lobbyist money than the Republicans?

The facts simply are this: Senator Clinton and President Clinton are divisive figures...people love them or hate them. Compound this with the perception that none of President Bill Clinton's undeniable charisma seems to be present in his wife. She comes across as cold, calculating, disingenuous, manipulative, and so on.

So far she has managed to bungle a campaign that started off with all stars aligned to crown her nominee. And lets not forget she chose to run the campaign of inevitability. Senator Clinton now is the "me too" candidate. If Senator Obama raises money, she does too. If Sen. Obama draws young people, she does too. She has even taken to lifting themes from his speeches, which is just sad.

Finally, and most tragic is the fact that the first serious female candidate for the highest office has only gotten this far on the coat tails of her husband. Gloria Steinem and Barbara Streisand should be ashamed.

Truth is bitter so its not surprising that some people hate it. A year ago few people knows about Obama and now that he is making progress some people will not give him credit for the job well done. Hillary agreed with the DNC not to count the Florida and Michigan delegates because she believed that she as been anointed by God to be the democrats nominee and now everything id not going well she is trying to play back door politic. Is it true or false that democrats lost heavily in the senate, house and states during Clinton regime? GOD AS FINALLY LISTEN TO THE PARYER OF HIS PEOPLE. BEHOLD A LEADER IS BORN.

There are many things that Obama and Clinton have in common, and a few where they differ (in my opinion, mostly in the categories of diplomacy, rhetorical skill, and personal appeal). However, if we must stretch so far for differences that we paint Senator Clinton as an emotional (read manipulative) campaigner, let's just have a look at her voting record and look at Senator Obama's as well:

"Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term (6yrs.), and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law, (20) twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years.

These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress (www.thomas.loc.gov), but to save you trouble, I’ll post them here for you.

1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.
2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Hon
4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.
5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.
6. Name post office after Jonn A. O’Shea.
7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.
10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.
13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.
14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.
15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty.
Only five of Clinton’s bills are more substantive:

16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.
17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11
18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.
19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.
20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

There you have it–the facts straight from the Senate Record.

Now, I would post those of Obama’s, but the list is too substantive, so I’ll mainly categorize.

During the first (8) eight years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced:

233 regarding healthcare reform,
125 on poverty and public assistance,
112 crime fighting bills,
97 economic bills,
60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,
21 ethics reform bills,
15 gun control,
6 veterans affairs and many others.

His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These inculded:

**the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 (became law),
**The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, (became law),
**The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate,
**The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, (became law),
**The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, (In committee), and many more."