Was It Smart for Obama to Forgo Public Financing?

"If you want change, then vote for Obama/Biden."

That's IDIOTIC!
The DEMOCRATS control Congress.
They are the status quo right now, and they have been incompetent. If Obama was a real leader he would get his agenda passed by Congress NOW and dare Bush to veto it.

He won't because his campaign promises dont all add up and America cant afford them.

Obama is a zero, as in zero leadership.

"Obama is preparing Americans for what lies ahead. He has said (unlike McCain) that the road ahead is long and difficult. "

IF Obama is President - YES, the road will be long and difficult.

Obama will be the worst President in my lifetime. (And I lived through LBJ and Carter!)

It was worse than a mistake, it was a broken promise that exposed the Obama campaign as a fraudulent lie. His campaign is not the gauzy idealistic campaign of last winter. It's a long, hard slog to get across the finish line by hook or by crook while bamboozling as many people as possible.

Are you still fooled?

Obama Lied,
Hero-Worship Died.

This article raises a good question that needs to be asked: Why on Earth did Obama forgoe public financing??

If he had taken the money he still could have raised plenty of dough that could be funneled through the DNC by his appearances at fundraisers.

I think when we look back, we'll see Obama's undoing came with McCain's appointment of Palin and 2 bad decisions on Barack's part:

1. Overlooking Hillary for VP
2. Not taking the public MONEY

I am willing to bet, he will post a ridiculous fund raising number. Remember he gave a great speech at the end of the convention, had fundraisers, registered voters, etc.

It maybe short of their goal of $100Million, but it will be north of $50Million.

Obama hasn't released his #s for August yet, so it will be interesting to see how he is doing. September totals will be telling. I think a lot of Bush supporters will be surprised by the Palin bump Obama has received.

Bad judgements are starting to pile on for Obama and the DNC.

First, he decides to pass on public financing (the Omighty one is smug about his fund raising capabilities)

Second, he totally brushes Hillary and Bill aside and "keeps" them in line at the Convention (the anointed one only needs himself to get elected)

Now, he is behind on both! Lack of foresight & arrogance prevented him from seeing Palin coming at him.

ABC, please follow up on an article I read in the LA TIMES a month or so ago that stated that Obama has sent his volunteers to register African American criminals that have not yet been sentenced, as well as felons who have already served their sentences, so they can vote for him in November. The article said they wanted to keep this quiet because it could cause a backlash for his campaign.

The Obama campaign made a mistake by not taking the public financing. They believed Hillary supporters would contribute to Obama's campaign. They have not. In fact, many have switched support to other candidates (Green Party or McCain/Palin).

The other issue is Obama's campaign burn rate. They spend much more than they take in and that's part of their problem. They've handled their finances poorly. How will they handle a national budget? We will never know as it's likely Obama will lose in Nov. Without Hillary supporters onboard, he can't win.

Samantha, probably too late for you to see this response, but my point about Bush and cocaine usage was frankly meant to put a perspective on your insistence on bringing up Obama's avowed drug use as a young adult. Dabbling/experimenting with drugs in one's youth is far different than an abuse problem (as W clearly had with alcohol and cocaine). Obama wrote eloquently, in my opinion, in his book about feeling himself descending into a pretty negative place - one riven with self-pity and the need for numbing. He managed to pick himself up out of that as many people have. Whether you will concede it or not, it is commendable, not a character flaw or reason to claim he is unelectable.

Further, the quote that I claim you made up had to do with your suggestion that Obama is so full of himself that somehow he was somehow condescending in the manner he viewed running for the Presidency.

Look, you've got your reasons for going over to McCain, but mostly, from what I can tell, they revolved around hatred for Obama because he deprived your candidate from being the nominee. I assume if you are a Democrat or independent worried about social issues that you are fine with what that entails. There were two unprecedented highly telegenic and qualified candidates for the Democratic nomination, and obviously one was going to have to lose. I feel bad that you've personalized it to the point that you would sell out your own interests, but that's your choice.

We are experiencing the Palin "bubble" and nothing more. Obama got a big, positive bubble effect when he emerged. Let's not forget that Palin's only been on the national scene for a week and a half.

Once she has to take interviews and questions from reporters, things will settle down.

We are experiencing the Palin "bubble" and nothing more. Obama got a big, positive bubble effect when he emerged. Let's not forget that Palin's only been on the national scene for a week and a half.

Once she has to take interviews and questions from reporters, things will settle down.

I know people dont seriously believe there is a fundraising issue with Obama....do they?? OK...keep thinking that, and around Sept 20th, no less than $100 million for the month of August. Please...haven't the media made a fool of you long enough? Are you still buying these false narratives?

I am tired of Axelrod bringing up 527 money. Last I checked there are more liberal 527s out there with much more money.

Face it, obama sold his principles and to make matters worse, he made the wrong call.

Obama shows his poor judgment once again.

He will make for a poor leader, it is clear as day.

For those who think that the swing towards Palin is just a women thing, well here is another surprise for Obama the rock star :

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey out Tuesday indicates that 62 percent of men questioned have a favorable opinion of the Alaska governor, nine points higher than women.

I am sure Michelle is wants some of that attention !!!

"the need to abandon oil entirely as the source of our transportation fuel, and create an entirely new transportation fuel industry based on large-scale open-ocean aquaculture for the production of bio-diesel and hydrogen."
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Oh, baloney. Half of all US oil goes to the military, anyway.

Spending time blabla'ing about "alternative" fuels for the prevailing system -- the explanation Obama gives for voting for the CHENEY energy bill -- is just plain silly.

There are too many cars, too much asphalt, too much pointless long-distance travel.

And too many politicians running around in AIRplanes. Mass aviation and daily commuting are the worms in THIS pudding.

The tide is definitely turning, it is no wonder that Obamabots are struggling to raise $, the latest Gallup poll is showing that :

A majority of Americans (52%) now consider John McCain a strong and decisive leader, while 41% say the same about Barack Obama.

That is a 11% lead !!!

Our constitution says ”We the People” he was spot-on! Not we the rich or we Big Business.

I'm a Republican, supporting Obama. I think he's going to lose. And much as I tend to dislike Hillary Clinton personally, I think she probably would have won. The guy is 47 years old, and probably needed to lose. Were it not for the dire circumstances facing this country, I would say that was a good thing. Perhaps the dynamics of the final two months will force McCain to further adjust his position to recognize the fundamental "real" changes we need to make, in particular the need to abandon oil entirely as the source of our transportation fuel, and create an entirely new transportation fuel industry based on large-scale open-ocean aquaculture for the production of bio-diesel and hydrogen.

It's easy to talk about supporting R&D into alternative energy sources, it's another thing entirely to recognize the strategic necessity for this country to seize the opportunity to develop and dominate the single most critical resource for human civilization going forward: an inexhaustible, environmentally benign source of fuel for transportation. If we continue to pour capital resources into ever more expensive oil-drilling technologies, we simply prolong the fossil-fuel endgame which we will eventually lose, and which will destroy our economy in the process.

Consider the EU response to Russia's invasion of Georgia. They are progressively more dependent upon Russia's vast oil and gas reserves, hence the US/European alliance is becoming more and more inconvenient, particularly in view of the unstable and weakening US economy. Our only chance of remaining a dominant world power is to disconnect from imported oil, and aggressively seek to take the lead on developing the technology which must, of necessity be developed, given the finite and nearly exhausted fossil energy resources.

That is the change we need, and all other variations on the theme won't matter if we don't get going on it as soon as possible.

People sure get hostile when they write in these blogs. I just want to say that I honestly do not understand how anyone can think Palen is really competent to be the next president if something should happen to McCain. She cares nothing about the environment. She has not been truthful regarding many issues already. Just because she is a fresh face and female people think she's great. Amazing. Oh, and she is a pit bull with lipstick.

"Mavericks you call these two? Really?"
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McCain stood up to the Bush regime -- and went against the military -- to stand against torture. He stayed IN the Republican Party when John Kerry was trying to get him to run for VP on the Democratic ticket in 2004.

Now, McCain says he's going to "drain the swamp", and has chosen a reform-minded woman, with a working-class background, as his number two.

It's easier to believe McCain means it about "change" than to think that mob-friendly Obama and Biden would.

I've NEVER voted for a Republican, but if McCain/Palin keep it up, there are going to be a LOT of new Republican voters.