Tax Holiday? Obama Wins This Debate

The issue of a summer Gas Tax holiday is proof positive that Obama is the only candidate who places America's best interests above his own political goals. Do we really need to feed the machine of consumerism with tax cuts on Gasoline? It is nothing more than another subsidy for the oil industry. I'm not sure Mickey Mouse really needs a hand out either. Borrowing more money from China so that families will have an extra $5 in their pockets when they get to his theme park is not a good investment. Is Obama the only candidate who thinks the government should keep its hands out of our business?



Gasoline is still cheaper than beer. Maybe we should cut the alchohol tax?

Brueggemann on Jeremiah Wright

I immediately thought of Walter Brueggemann when I heard the recent criticisms of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's prophetic rhetoric. I felt certain that somewhere Dr. Brueggemann was shaking his head and wondering aloud if once again Christians skipped over one of the most important parts of our Bible. Two months ago I spent the weekend listening to Dr. Brueggemann speak at length about the prophet Jeremiah and his key role in our faith tradition. Here is what Dr. Brueggemann wrote in a recent comment printed in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution:

The current spasm of "righteous indignation" concerning Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's pastor, smacks of embarrassing ignorance. Such a critique of Wright is ignorant of black preaching rhetoric and the practice of liberation interpretation. It is also disturbingly ignorant of the prophetic traditions of the Bible that regularly expose the failures of society in savage rhetoric. I am grateful for the ministry of Wright, a colleague of mine in the United Church of Christ, who for a very long time has been a faithful pastor and a daring prophetic figure. It is odd when right-wingers misconstrue this belated Jeremiah as they do the original Jeremiah, who knew about God's passion for truth-telling in risky places.

Walter Brueggemann - professor emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary

From Lament to Hope – Words Matter

Barack Obama made a speech yesterday that proved words do matter. Having a president with command of language, a cool temperament and a level head is crucial to our success as a nation. It would be a dramatic change to the present administration and the old methods of Washington politics.

The words of Rev. Jeremiah Wright echoed the Old Testament prophets. Obama correctly addressed the meaning of those words and placed them in the category of painful mourning. Those words remind us of the heartfelt cry of the book of Lamentations. The book of Lamentations is critical to the Old Testament message of eschatological hope. We need Lamentations. We must morn our loss of justice, our painful racism, and the exile from freedom just as the Israelites did. This is noteworthy during Holy Week. We cannot find our resurrection until we grieve our loss. There must be a Saturday, before their can be an Easter Sunday. Obama helped us feel that yesterday.

Obama's speech yesterday said all of those things to me. Essentially, he said the problem with Wright’s sermon was that he (or maybe the media's coverage of him) only got as far as Lamentations. Obama called us to move on and to recognize our progress. We live in a post-Easter world and to lament without hope would be to deny Jesus his vindication. Obama said clearly that we've already made great strides in this world and the kingdom of God is not only a possibility, but it is also a growing reality. The justice filled kingdom of God is at hand. Obama is proof. We need more of it.

God, damn the ways of empire! God, bring your kingdom in full!

Obama Says Cheese

Obama is winning the Wisconsin primary in a big way. This week proves that negative campaigning doesn't work. I hope the Clintons have learned their lesson. The crap dribbling out of their campaign this week makes me sick. It smacks of deperation and feeds the image of a divisive win at all cost mentality.

Thanks to all the cheeseheads for coming through big today!

Andrew Sullivan on Obama

The Liberal Values Blog recently published this post about Obama. It includes Republican columnist Andrew Sullivan’s insightful view of Barack Obama. I think it captures some of the reason’s I’m drawn toward Obama over his competitors. This type of perspective from a conservative columnist is more proof that Obama will perform better in the general election.

Barack Obama has transcended the traditional support for a liberal candidate. He has both conservatives and libertarians seriously considering voting for him. Andrew Sullivan sums up what is different about Obama:

He is not a traditional top-down government liberal. He’s a pragmatist who believes in finding ways to empower people to run their own lives. No, he’s no libertarian. But his view of government’s role has absorbed some of the right-wing critiques of the 1970s and 1980s. Hence the lack of mandates in his healthcare proposal and his refusal to engage in racial victimology. This nuance is worth exploring. Unlike Hillary, he doesn’t believe he is going to save anyone. He thinks he has a chance to help some people save themselves.

Obama is a liberal for those of us who are not worshipers of big government and who understand why the Democrats became a minority party. Obama can receive support from conservatives and libertarians, and will undoubtedly remain the target of an ongoing stream of attacks from big government liberals like Paul Krugman. Krugman, along with Clinton and Edwards, represent an old fashioned strain of liberalism which has failed and has been rejected. Obama is not a conservative or libertarian as he will use government where needed, without attempting the micromanagement of each individual’s life like Hillary Clinton or resorting to class warfare like John Edwards. Obama represents the liberalism of the future, which understands the classical foundations of liberalism as a philosophy of liberty.

White Men CAN Jump

As Barack Obama had another huge win today, Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, delivered one of the better lines of this primary election season when she said "white men can jump... to a black candidate". I guess that for once in my life I'm trendy. I'm a successful, upper middle class, well educated, professional white man that supports Barack Obama. Obama kicked ass again today and his support is growing among my demographic. I know that many of my readers are also in this demographic, so I'm looking for reasons why this is happening. Is it guilt? Is it education? Is it information? Any thoughts?

I do know this, Barack Obama's message will play well in a general election. As a matter of fact, he has already begun pulling out his general election positions. He is playing to a message of unity, middle class tax cuts, fiscal responsibility, a focus on education, and a fundamental belief in the American dream. The American dream sells. I'm excited to hear him move to this message sooner rather than later. From the first time I read his book "The Audacity of Hope", I suspected that he had this message to offer. I'm so excited to finally hear it spoken by one of the greatest speakers I've ever witnessed on the largest stage possible.

I also listened to McCain's speech tonight and I heard 3 clear points. First, be afraid our enemies. Second, greed is good. Third, fight at all cost (and the cost will cripple us). Mr. McCain, I don't see how this will play. The contrast of these candidates is dramatic. I'm sorry Hillary, but Obama spoke right past you tonight and America has seen its future in Barack Obama.

Damn! I Think We Actually Can

More Kennedy Love For Obama

I normally hate 30 second political advertisements, but Caroline Kennedy has helped create one of the best I've ever seen.



Just because we have corrupted leaders like George Bush and Dick Cheney in the White House, it doesn't mean we have to give up on OUR ability to be a great nation again. It is easy to let a few demons cause us to demonize our ability to self-govern. Obama is offering the hope that "we the people" can be great again. We need leaders that can distance us from our past corruption and restore our hope in the future.

Obama: Ready Day One!

This week, Ted Kennedy turned the Clinton's spin back on them. He made the case that Barack Obama can be an effective president from "day one". Divisive tactics are not working and the Kennedy's have helped to turn the tables.

"With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion." Ted Kennedy

SC Says "Yes We Can"

Libertarian Support for Obama

A recent post on the Liberal Values blog makes a good case that Obama has gained support from many Libertarians who have peeked under the hood of Ron Paul's platform and found something other than a champion for liberty. I'm probably a good example of this trend. The recent information regarding Ron Paul's racist views may be the last straw for many libertarians and may send them running to the Democrats for safe haven from the Republicans who have largely abandoned liberty, free market economics, and fiscal responsibility.

As a person with many libertarian values, I've seen Obama as a type of "left-leaning libertarian" since I first read his book "The Audacity of Hope". His deep understanding and devotion to constitutional law and his choice to use free market economics as a tool for restoring justice as opposed to massive government programs has always appealed to me. He has stood in opposition to the types of government hand-outs that constitute nothing more than corporate welfare for the defense and energy industries. This side of Obama may not be getting the publicity it deserves during the more emotional and stump-speech oriented primary. It' a big reason he plays well to more educated voters who dare to dig beneath the rhetoric.

If you are an anti-war liberty minded voter who is concerned about fiscal responsibility but may be wary of considering a Democrat, then I urge you to reconsider Obama. Despite his book's title and his tendency to come across as a motivational speaker, Obama is first a foremost an advocate for the constitution. His hope is not based in idealistic charity and goodwill. His hope seems to be based on belief in this nations founding principles of liberty and justice for all.

Democratic Debate...

The democratic presidential debates tonight were the best of any so far. Tavis Smily moderated the debate at Howard University and he did a much better job than any of the previous moderators. The debate moved along much faster and the questions seemed to generate more passionate answers. Part of the reason may be that all the candidates are in mid season form by now and they were much better at communicating their views clearly without getting stuck in the muck.

Hillary did another good job and continues to surprise me with her preparation, but again there were no clear winners. I think that Dennis Kucinich surprised many people by making some very clear and bold arguments for ending "for profit" health care without creating a huge windfall for insurance companies. I was amazed to see how well his arguments went over in the setting of a black university. Obama was better than before but still doesn't have the passion in debates that he does in speeches. I still think the whole thing could be over with one passionate speech by Obama which focused on hope and change. Maybe he is holding that as his last trump card. I guess it is still early.

I continue to be impressed with the entire group and hope that people from all political viewpoints will listen. The issues are clear and these candidates have very solid and popular viewpoints if middle America will listen.

Barack Obama

The Obama Campaign has put together a great site. You can create a profile, blog, build groups, send messagees, and it even some fundraising tools (that wasn't a surprise)...

The official Danutz for Obama'08 blog... http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/danutz


Watch his announcement speech. I highly recommend it...
http://capitolconnection.sitestream.com/obamaforamerica/livewebcast.htm

The Audacity of Hope...

Given the political atmosphere after the recent elections it made sense that I should read this book. The book is not at all what I was expecting. It is 2 parts the beginning of a promising political campaign, 1 part inspiration and affirmation of faith, and 3 parts political education for the masses. I think the educational material is the most helpful aspect of the book. In addition to a glimpse at life as a senator, it also contains important information about constitutional law and a good synopsis of political history and foreign policy in America over the last 100 years. I suspect that for many this may be "new" information and it should help educate many people about those topics. but it did become verbose at times. Since most of the political information in modern America is delivered by people like Rush Limbaugh and John Stewart whose aim is to con people into a state of despair and fury, it is a much needed breath of fresh air for someone to write such an informative book. It should help counter the culture of sound bytes, catch phrases, and partisan brain-washing.

My favorite story from the book is when Obama describes a conversation with Warren Buffet, the 2nd richest man in America. In the conversation Buffet comments that he can't understand why the Bush administration and republican led congress decided they would cut HIS taxes. He said that he didn't need a tax cut and that thanks to the Bush tax cuts now his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. That should be an eye opener to everyone. Even the richest people on the planet realize they are reaping such great benefits of our government run economic system that they should chip in more than (or atleast as much as) the people that are not afforded access to the most lucrative areas of prosperity.

In review, the book could have been much shorter and still been just as effective, but it is an important book worth reading. I'm not sure about the political future of Barack Obama. I tend to agree with him on a vast majority of issues but I still don't get the feeling that I know him much better after reading this book. I wonder if he is someone that will have trouble letting the public understand him his complex personality and cultural history. I think this book was his attempt to flex his intellectual muscles in a public setting and prove his vast knowledge of America politics, the law, foreign policy, and his passion for the constitution. If that was his objective then he succeeded. If he wanted to sell himself as a viable candidate for president despite his lack of experience, then he stills has some work to do. Of course he still has 2 years to get that job done. Personally, I hope he can do it but he will need to prove that he can beat whoever the Republicans run against him before he will get my vote.

In our current state of divided and over-hyped partisanship, the most important thing that we all can do is READ BOOKS BY PEOPLE YOU DON'T AGREE WITH! If we all just sit around talking and listenting to people that have the same background and views then we will never progress and reach greater hieghts as a democracy. We need to reach out to other cultures and political philosophies so that we can learn and grow. You may be surprised to learn that Rush Limbaugh doesn't have a good grasp on the goals and motivations of liberals so he isn't the best person to explain their values. You may also learn that John Stewart and Bill Maher completely underestimate and trivialize what drives the heartland toward conservatism. Everyone needs to ask themselves if they really understand the motivations and objectives of political interests across the board. If we all just assume everyone that is not exactly like us has it all wrong then we will create deeply divided pockets of religious and political fundamentalism that will result in hate, bigotry, and chaos. You might say we are already there.