I'm tired

[hixx]

I'm starting to get so frustrated, so tired, so beat down by all this crap I can't believe it.

Bill Ayers? Really people? That's what we're talking about now?

Let me get this straight, he's on a board with Obama, they've had dinner with other board members, and talked to each other, and Ayers had some kind of dinner for Obes when he was first starting out? Is this all right?

But it was Bill Clinton who PARDONED AYERS?

Poor Obama, I thought he looked ass tired in the debates.

I want this to be over.

There's a part of me that wishes he would bring his full wrath down on her, a part that wishes he would just slam her with the bajillion "suspicious friends" she has, but then I'm impressed that he is actually doing what he said he would do, and not attack her on that level, because boy, if he ever decided to do it he could unravel her in minutes.

Right?

Does anyone wish Obes would fight back? Can he?

I just want someone to pat me on the head and tell me its all going to be okay. Dolan?

Hixx

[Schoolyj]

Yeah - when I heard this latest thing about Bill Ayers I started yelling at the TV.

I met him once, he's a (nice) boring wonk who teaches at UIC and works on radical, dangerous ideas like school policy reform. He actually worked for the Mayor in the 90s when the school district was put under control of the city.

The positive change he's made far outweighs the crime he committed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Village_townhouse_explosion


Ridiculous

Hixx - I read a quote from OB saying he's trying to be restrained in his response to Clinton's attacks in a way he does not intend to be during the general election.

[hixx]

Thanks for the addition there. I mean, we know the guy can get angry and vicious when he needs to right?

I just wonder if he shouldn't show people a little bit of that now...but then if he did, people would jump on him I suppose.

It's fascinating.

I hope Penn goes smoothly enough for him. But until Tues, I'm going to be on the pins and the needles waiting for her to bring out something horrible.

Hixx

[stevescholz]

Ms. Hixx,

Be ye not weary, my friend. Step back and take another look at this.

Barack Obama runs on a mantle of change. One of the cool things he's doing is changing the way political campaigns are run.** And that's from the ground up (he's doing the 50-state strategy) and from the top down (he's treating everyone like adults when he speaks).

He's also changing the way political games, as we know them, are played. He's not on the attack, though he could be. He said in North Carolina today that Senator Clinton runs that way because that's what she knows from being attacked, so he realizes some of that will come his way from her. Same with the questioning from ABC. But, as he said, you gotta brush that off and face what's really important.

So he's not doing what some expect him to, which is to engage in mudslinging or nasty fights. He's stepping back from that and saying "that's the old way to play, and people are tired of that." He's framing the "game" in another way; he's declaring "silly season" on things that aren't important. He's responding to charges of him being out of touch by calling out what's ridiculous about the charges. He's talking strongly and clearly about what matters to him on all sorts of issues (witness his speech on race and religion a few weeks ago). He's a smart guy doing some classy stuff.

One common criticism of Obama is that he's not fighting back enough. But he is; he's just choosing to do so in a healthy way. He's disagreeing instead of lashing out. He's citing differences instead of pulling stunts. He's running a positive campaign despite the negativity around him. That scares some of us who are used to the mudslinging and fighting. But it freaks the shit out of people who count on it happening, and who then see Obama winning races and raising money without mudslinging or fighting.

Politics can be different. And Barack Obama is proving that every single day he runs for President.

Hugs to you,
Steve

** Last year, Obama was quoted as saying to a bunch of investors who were skeptical of how he could lead without any executive experience, "watch how I run my campaign for President. That will demonstrate how I will run the country." Compared with Sen. Clinton's campaign, I'd say Obama has already won.