on the Oprah show yesterday. i have been an Obama fan for about 5 yrs now.
Representative Lane Evams had a picnic in his back yard to introduce the skinny kid with the big ears and the funny-sounding name who came to town as an Illinois state congressman. after spending an evening with hiim, i came back to Peoria and announced to my good friends:Gina Morss (weekday anchor for the local NBC evening news) and Terry Bibo (columnist fpr the Peoria Journal Star newspaper) that I had just met the nation's first Afrirican-American president. i was completely blown away by him. Thanks in large part to Lane's endorsment, Obama was elected as the junior senator from Illinois.His speech to the Democratic National Convention electrified the entire nation. i was lucky enough to get to know the man and his lovely wife Michelle and to hear many of his speechs. and when i had my Shake, Rattle and Roll fundraiser in 2004, Barack was unable to attend so his sent his wonderful wife. She was as charming and gracious as they come, and afterwards, in the quiet of a pub, i told her what i had told my two media girlfriends.Michelle gave me hope that maybe i wasn't too far off base. She said, "from your lips to God's ear!" the next day i gave her a gift bag with an octopus beanie baby in it. she looked at it and then at me, questions in her eyes. i told her that if she was going to be First Lady, she wouold need to
all those arms to keep her balance as she took on the role. She laughed and we went to a discussion panel of school board officials. if you have not yet aquainted yourself w/ the Obama's-make sure you give yourself the opportunity.to do so. now, my prediction is on the minds of everyone-Obama for President in 08!!
The follolwing is an article that was printed in the Peoria Journal Star by my friend Terry Bibo on October 4th, 2006:

So excited' about Obama
Terry Bibo
NEWS COLUMNIST

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

A lot of Peorians may find this offer irresistible today.

"Would you like to meet Barack Obama?" Chillicothe's Joan Snyder asks me.

No and yes. Journalists meet all kinds of politicians. The thrill is pretty much gone. It's just work.

On the other hand, Illinois' freshman senator has approached rock star status. Theoretically, he's so hot that he's got to run for president in 2008. No one can stay at this level until 2012. Just last week, a Chicago Tribune columnist fretted that Obama might be over-hyped. Even last spring, "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart asked if he feared being over-exposed.

"Well, Jon," the relaxed-looking senator said thoughtfully, "the only person more over-exposed than me . . . is you."

Ba-da-bing. Whether it's comedy or politics, timing is everything.

Four of five years ago, after Snyder met then-state Rep. Obama at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Lane Evans, she predicted Illinois would produce America's first black president. Thirty years ago, Snyder would have spent weekends scheming to get backstage with some scruffy rock band. Now polo-shirt-clad political roadies hold front-row seats.

Like Evans, Snyder has Parkinson's disease. That bond led her to campaign for him, and now for Evans' longtime aide Phil Hare, who is running in Evans' stead. The 17th District race between Hare and Republican Andrea Zinga has been declared one of the most important in the nation, so Obama was called upon to lend a charisma transfusion last weekend. As Snyder cannily suspected, I am intrigued. So we stuff her collapsible wheelchair in the tiny trunk of the red convertible and take off for Moline.

"I am so excited," she says.

As it turns out, she's not alone. We get there at noon. Hare and Obama don't come to the podium until 1:30. With a crowd of 100 or more, nobody's complaining, even when a CD that has to be titled something like "Politics Rocks NOW-27!" enters its third or fourth round. Our front-row seats were reserved, but the dapper older gentleman sitting alone next to us apparently flagged his when the doors opened at 11:30 a.m.

"Are you an Obama fan?" Snyder asks the man, who identified himself only as Stanley.

"I don't know," he says. "That's what I came to find out."

Me, too. I had purposely worn my most journalistic outfit - a safari shirt and photographer's vest - to keep from being accidentally blinded by the rising of a new political star.

As it turned out, that is not a worry. The surprise is that Hare appears note-free and charmingly self-deprecating while introducing the guy he knew everyone came to see. But Obama himself looks exactly like he does on television - slender, bookish, razor-sharp - blessed with the best camera-ready teeth since Farrah Fawcett joined "Charlie's Angels" 30 years ago.

Other politicians can riff on a crying baby in the back of the room. Obama deftly turns that into a plank in Hare's Democratic platform: education for the future. The 17th includes Western Illinois University, and college aid for stuff like student loans has been cut.

"The politics in Washington doesn't match up with our needs," Obama says. "It doesn't match up with our values. It doesn't match up with our ideals."

The crowd surges forward, brandishing picture-taking cell phones like lighters. I don't actually meet Obama. He's smooching Snyder. Such irresistible good instincts may bring the spotlight to Illinois

I agree, Joan! I DID see the interview yesterday, and I hope he gets real comfortable in Washington. I think we need him! I love the fact that he doesn't take private jets, only allowing himself and his family to fly coach like the rest of the world because as he puts it, "I don't want to represent Washington to my constituents, but I want to continue to represent my constituents to Washington."

and what a cutie too...he seems perfect. i want to meet him and I'm from Florida...lol

Seriously, define him, starting with age and the issues. Does he have any hmm how to word this ....Muslim family/ which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but show us the respect of tellikng us so we don't have to ask.

i think he looks good from a distance but need an objective description.


Thanks!
Paula

here goes...i'm almost certain that all of my facts are correct. i will send him a copy of this thread in a few days and i'll have him give me an official opinion.
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 4, 1961. He was the son of a white mother from Kansas and his father was from Kenya. He obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia and Hawaii He went to Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif., and Columbia University, New York City; studied law at Harvard University, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, and received J.D. in 1992; lecturer on constitutional law, University of Chicago; member.

Barack Obama has always had strong family ties. He says that on holidays, his family looks like the UN-he says that some of his relatives look like Bernie Mack while others look like Margaret Thatcher-there is even some Asian in his family. I am not sure about the Muslim but I do know that he has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois state Senate.

He moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

During his seven years in the Illinois state Senate, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. Obama also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama enlisted the support of law enforcement officials to draft legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Senator Obama is focused on promoting economic growth and bringing good paying jobs to Illinois. Obama serves on the important Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees legislation and funding for the environment and public works projects throughout the country, including the national transportation bill. He also serves on the Veterans ’ Affairs Committee where he is focused on investigating the disability pay discrepancies that have left thousands of Illinois veterans without the benefits they earned. Senator Obama also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.
a hell of a great guy!!

I didn't catch him on Oprah, but saw part of another interview with him earlier in the day. We need more like him in Washington D.C.

GregD

suitably impressed with Barrack Obama a couple of years ago with his genuine honest people's approach to politics which was more pragmatic than ideologically driven.

The senator appeared on Fox and Friends breakfast show this morning and it was refreshing to hear he is still his own man. The inevitable question was asked, and before he or anybody else can focus on 2008, the need to keep an eye on the ball, and not look any further than the 06 elections in a week or so was the message the senator provided and he was not prepared to score a length of the field touchdown before he had caught the ball.

The American voter is focussed on stability, the economy, the war in Iraq, the war on terror, security, and the advance in science and business. Barrack Obama will need to get that balance right over the next two years before he can even think about becoming Commander in Chief

Economically, the tax cuts are working with steady growth, and if I'm hearing right way down here in the South Pacific there is a sweeping motion moving through the country (and congress) for the abolition of the current discriminatory tax system to be replaced by a more pragmatic tax system. And that is, a tax on consumption as explained on www.fairtax.org That will pump the U.S. economy along which is the no 1 concern of productive America.

Americans are tired of the pseudo non sequitur politics that has ridden roughshod over Washington for too long. And could be an underlying reason why 60 million eligible voters don’t vote.The irony is the same amount of votes elects either of the two main parties to power. Maybe the new Barrack Obama generation with their honesty and pragmatism will get those non voting individuals back to the table.

Barrack Obama’s approach to domestic and foreign policy is refreshingly intertwined. The two cannot be separated, as the rest of us looks for leadership from the world’s economic power that will bring jobs and security to everyone on the planet from Somalia to Baghdad, Beijing to Stoke on Trent, Auckland to Kabul, Nairobi to Limerick, New York to Moscow, Sydney to Timbuktu, and New England to Tehran. The American voter is not too different from the rest of us around the planet. (although for the life of me I cannot fathom why you guys need to drive around in those gas guzzling 36 cylinder SUV’s, when a more rip snorting Toyota Celica will get the job done.) We want a world of diplomacy and peace rather than belligerence and war. And that simple request can be summed up in one word, which made America great. “Commerce.”

The two great powers of the world China and America both realize that both sides have more to gain from good relations than hatred and war. The message needs to get across to Nth Korea, Iran, Syria, Somalia, and other despotic regimes. The way forward is through the example set by market driven China—a country ruled by Communism- tyranny-- and market driven America—a country which relishes individual freedom and liberty. Will Barrack Obama be the man? Watch this space. Good luck mate.

GO HARD SCIENCE aka Rationalist

You don't offend me truly - but it doesn't tell me enough. What is it that we do? Iraq is so frightening and I don't know the answer, but could you explain what else? It can't be religion, because we are erasing ours while these leaders that hate us so much in the middle east are fanatics. We accommodate people from all over the world, and we don't threaten to erase countries from the map. We are a military presence, but would you rather we lose? Would you rather America become something entirely different?

Or is it all about business? Stock market breaking records...........Negotiating sounds good, but it's politically tainted so you don't know who is telling the truth.

I think we are allowed to do this here but we may be supposed to have it in one forum only.[social chat?] I haven't read the rules here yet I confess but think we are allowed to have civilized debate here.
if one of the mods is reading maybe they would answer since i'm too lazy to read the rules.

sleepy,
Paula

i'm reading paula.

yep..keep it civil. if need be i can edit the title and add *political*. so far it looks like it's a topic that the pd forum is fine with. that is what we care about.

but...if anyone does get offended...just pm me. we want members to edit their own posts if the need arises.

oh...btw...i'm a mod on pd now. most of you know my dad has pd.

anyways....back to the regularly scheduled program.....

"IMHO, the whole Bush era has represented a style of government which is largely alien to most EU countries and I hope that this gap can be bridged in the future for the sake of medicine, politics and science."

For Aftermathman and others in EU countries.
Bush's style of goverment is uniquely his own. His policies are not necessarily the policies of the american people. Think of it this way, just because Bush was elected to a second term as Prisedent of the U.S. doesn't mean we like what he is doing. For most voters, Bush was the lesser of two evils. Imagine what a mess there would be if the other guys got elected.

GregD

Thank you curious.....how refreshing.

paula