Does McCain Have a Different Take on Community Organizing?

"Tis" author Frank McCourt, noted, he gives back every April 15, 2008: He pays a lot in taxes.
Of course, he was a school teacher for many years.
He noted the snob community always noted
ya, Frank is "just a school teacher", like maybe hardly in contributing society(if that).
When Rudy G was mocking and making fun of Obama as "just a community organizer", it is the same mind--snob-- set.
But, one thing is most curious, and hopefuly Jack Tapper can help us out:
Obama notes he was a "civil rights" attorney. His book "Audacity..." notes nothing on any big case he handled as a civil rights attorney, none, nada, there is nothing on any big jury trial he had for some lowly citizen, as to Obama standing up in court for some lowly citizen.NADA on that, too.
Why is that, why is it Jack Tapper, or NBC, others at ABC, or CNN, never looked into that, is it that the Networks(MSM---Main Stream Media) hire so many people in legal affairs matters who are totally ignorant about the U S justice system, and just fake it in their reporting. SAD,
The shoddy reporting in America, on so much is the real scandal

I just noticed that my spell check over-ruled me in the post below and changed Wasilla to weasel.
While I might apply that term to Rudy Giuliani after his sneers on Wednesday I have no reason to attach it to a town that I don't know. My apologies.

Community organizers are people who see the problems, often caused or ignored by government, which face their neighbors on a daily basis and who stand up and say "We can fix this!"
I take this personally. For years I have spent almost all of my time as a community organizer, without one cent of pay.
I live in a small town, slightly larger than Weasel. Far too often in small towns the mayor or town council is the heart of the problem. Community organizers are the ones who say "Hold on Your Honor, you ain't the boss of me."
Community organizers are the ones whole stand up for the town librarian when the mayor tries to bully her into banning books. They speak up for the municipal employee fired for not backing the mayor's re-election campaign.
If the McCain campaign wants to try to paint Obama as the entrenched power and themselves as the voice of the little guy, how dare they try do it by trashing community organizers?

Certainly not qualifications for President.

"Obama is more concerned with helping poor people and the homeless, with making sure that there is NO torture even when people threaten America. Obama wants to read people their rights before arresting them."

OMG, really?? Thanks for getting that terrifying information out there. I certainly don't want someone in the highest office in the land who has compassion for the poor and homeless, or who opposes torture, or who believes in upholding the Miranda Law under the Supreme Court. Where would that lead? Why, we might even be a country that once again upholds the constitutional rights of its citizens, and has respect around the world. We must put a stop to this immediately.

I think that most of the comments about community organizing were simply defending Gov. Palin's experience as Mayor. It's been the Dems. who've been mocking her experience as Mayor of a small town, but to whom does a community organizer go when they want something done?

When you think about the very definition of what a "community organizer" is and does, then would it not be a valid argument that John McCain was a "community organizer" during his time as a POW?

A fine question. What is it? Is it one thing? Are there many types? With many agendas? The traction this line got at the RNC comes, I suspect, from the fact that very few Americans have any idea what is meant by this liberal/noble-sounding but very vague title.

WOW! I am amazed by the comments. Get off your butts and get out there and help someone ELSE today and then come back and criticize all those that help a neighbor. Amazing...

Even worse then the community organizing bashing that they all got a rollicking good laugh about was Rudy G. actually MOCKED the ideal of the American Dream and the entire audience laughed. What a bunch of sick individuals.

Do they comprehend that they cannot win with just their base? This whole week was pandering to the already converted. I don't see a single democrat being swayed, nor many, if any, independents. Their are a lot more dems registered to vote this year, this seems a losing strategy.

In John McCain's memoir, he declares that he makes decisions by gut instinct and then lives with the consequences. In these days, this is not the person I want leading the country. Living with consequences is fine when it affects only yourself and your immediate family; however, the entire country would have to live with the consequences, good or ill, of John McCain's gut decisions. Despite his rhetoric of being against war, he has openly declared his intention of promoting war on an ongoing basis. He has not provided any comprehensive policies to correct the economic, politic, and social issues facing the nation. Rather, he spouts Republican talking points and support negative attacks on his opponents. We do not need a gambler as chief executive and commander in chief of the country.

As regards Sarah Palin, I don't care how she manages her family. That is her concern and should remain private. I do care that she went after earmarks for her small town to the tune of $27m, but left the town $20m in debt. I do care that she raised taxes. I do care that she is now refusing to cooperate with the authorities investigating abuse of power allegations in her home state, and insisting that the case be reviewed by a board of her appointees. She tried to fire a librarian in her town for refusing to remove books that Palin found objectionable. She has no national military authority over the Alaska National Guard and there have been no natural disasters that would let us judge her ability to exercise effective judgment in an emergency. Sarah Palin is a unacceptable VP candidate and the reasons have nothing to do with her sex. What we know of her career does not demonstrate a substantial grasp of good management principles. Let her confront the press like any other candidate and answer the same tough questions they must face. If she is not available, she has no credibility.

For me, here is the key point about the Republicans versus the Democrats. The Republicans have embraced an anti-choice religion-based philosophy at the core of its values. It is not pro-life to mandate that the citizens do not have a choice about what they do with their bodies, minds and spirits; it is anti-choice. Sarah Palin and her ilk do not have the right or authority to sit in judgment on the choices I make in my personal life. Their determination to control my ability to make choices that affect only myself is all the reason I need to cast my vote elsewhere.

John McCain and the Republicans have tried to co opt the message of change. They have seduced the citizens of this country for years with promises of safety and the American dream. None of us are better off after 8 years of Republican control, except the corporations who are generating their wealth from your sweat or the sweat of laborers overseas. Now they want you to believe that their nominees will 'change' the policies that have lined the pockets of their primary supporters. Do not believe their hype!

Obama and McCain are addressing a national organization for community organizers on Sept 11th. I wonder if he will the CO bashing message from the RNC to their convention. Or maybe he will be man enuf to apoligize for allowing his party to diss them just to score points against Obama. I guess CO's are just collateral damage in this war of words.

Neil

Community organizing can indeed mean many things. It can mean democracy; it can mean compassion; it can mean civilization. "Whosoever does it to the least of these my brethren, does it to me."

Jesus was a community organizer;
Pontius Pilate was a governor.

Someone said on this blog that they will become a community organizer and then run for POTUS in 2012. Well, I think you meant 2032 not 2012 b/c Obama was a CO in 1984 right out of college and during his summers off from law school. Yes, how sinister and calulating for a young man to leave a NYC job, take a pay-cut and move to a new city to work for Catholic Churches to help people. If he was able to forsee this work as a precursor to POTUS, he can see the future.

Karen Travers is a partisan sycophantic hack for obama. Let Brian Ross handle the obama related propaganda.How about some investigative reporting on ACORN and its role in the sub prime mortgage mess. ACORN extorted the mortgage business. Was obama complicit in that mortgage industry extortion? Tell Karen Travers and Tapper to get with Ross if they need guidance. GOP commercials are on the way. Get ready...

Wait upon the sick, the
afflicted, the poor and
the downtrodden.

Serving people is serving
God.

Community service is exalted
work.

a community organizer can mean lots of things. it can be people who perpetrate voter registration fraud, like ACORN. it can be the mob and union thugs intimidating workers. it can be people passing out street money to buy votes on election day. it can be rabble-rousers breaking and burning. it can be career protesters who can't hold an honest job. it can be political hacks trying to brown-nose their way into the local machine. it can be a vietnam vet leading meetings where they vote on whether or not to murder a member of congress. in some cases, they actually do some good, probably more than anyone in the illinois state legislature has done in the last 20 years, but like source-checking articles written by law profs, it's hardly relevant to the job being sought.

Obviously Karen Travers is a liberal. Their has been no "bashing", just a proper context of what obama has accomplished. Racial agitator or street extortionist is a better description of his career. Was Karen Travers taught to hide her own political agenda in school?

Travers is absolutely right on this. A great Obama-Biden ad would take that comment by McCain and then follow it up with Guiliani's and Palin's attacks on community organizing, complete with the laughter from the GOP convention crowd.

The first week after she was on the job, she fired many long term gov't staff in this small town.

Sarah's work as mayor included hiring a Washington lobbist to get as much money - in pork projects - that she could. So much for the reformer.

She tried to fire the librarian, who refused to rid the shelves of books she, as a Catholic, didn't like.

She left the town, that was not in debt, with a $20M debt. She added a new sports complex building built on land that to this day, is still being battled over by lawyers.

She lied in her "Bridge to Nowhere" - "I told them no thanks" meme. She championed it, and flip-flopped only after the national outrage all but canned the project. Alaska, however, still kept the FED money, and built a road to the edge of the island of 50 people.

Wow, that is some executive experience resume.

Obama'08