Obama event coordinator "Get me more white people, we need more white people"

[Peikko 1,575]

Out of reach? Who knows if it is or it isn't? I don't see anyone even trying to make that kind of change. Why isn't some sort of reform of the presidential system right up there on the list of things Barack would like to see changed? That would surely be a grass root change producing a new, inclusive democracy and yet there's not even a whiff of a suggestion that he wants to do something like that. Maybe because it would remove an easy way to make all these supporters feel politically included without actually challenging anything? Ok, that last sentence was harsh but you know what? I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was rather close to reality than even I imagine.

Edited April 9, 2008 by Purple_Hibiscus

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Out of reach? Who knows if it is or it isn't? I don't see anyone even trying to make that kind of change. Why isn't some sort of reform of the presidential system right up there on the list of things Barack would like to see changed? That would surely be a grass root change producing a new, inclusive democracy and yet there's not even a whiff of a suggestion that he wants to do something like that. Maybe because it would remove an easy way to make all these supporters feel politically included without actually challenging anything? Ok, that last sentence was harsh but you know what? I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was rather close to reality than even I imagine.

He needs the party to have a shot. It's a very simple calculation. That said, there are only so many toes he can step on at this point.

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, in the current system he does need to be in one of the parties but my question was why isn't something like this part of his call for change? This is the kind of thing I am looking for from someone with his type of 'idealism' platform.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yes, in the current system he does need to be in one of the parties but my question was why isn't something like this part of his call for change? This is the kind of thing I am looking for from someone with his type of 'idealism' platform.

Then perhaps you should be looking to Nader. He's got all the idealism you'd want and then some. And, as a result, he has no real, actual shot of succeeding in is bid for the White House.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The whole story is a bit frivoulous, it doesn't really tell us very much that is interesting or new. The more interesting question to me is what exactly Barack wants to do with the political structure of the US, now that would be worth a good debate.

Of course, to do so we'd actually have to know what's being proposed apart from a new 'attitude' from politicians which comes about simply by 'interacting' with Barack.

Thats the big problem I have with Obama. So far he has gotten away with a general "change" platform. Not a lot of specifics as of yet. Empty rhetoric makes me nervous. It leaves a lot of room for a lot of things.

Probably as much detail as you're going to see in a manifesto, but there are some specifics here.

BARACK OBAMA’s Plan

Shine Light on Washington Lobbying

Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama will create a centralized Internet

database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and

downloadable format.

Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama will use the power

of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional

ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints will be investigated.

Support Campaign Finance Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined with free

television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. Obama introduced

public financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and is the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored

Senator Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) tough bill to reform the presidential public financing system.

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: As president, Obama will create a “contracts

and influence” database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what

contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.

Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama will ensure that any tax breaks

for corporate recipients – or tax earmarks – are also publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable

format.

End Abuse of No-Bid Contracts: Barack Obama will end abuse of no-bid contracts by requiring that

nearly all contract orders over $25,000 be competitively awarded.

Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the

public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill

without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for

five days.

Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama’s Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks

Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along

with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.

Bring Americans Back into their Government

Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by

requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before

their agencies.

Make White House Communications Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that

communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all White House

staff are disclosed to the public.

Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead the

executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in

public, so that any citizen can watch these debates in person or on the Internet.

Release Presidential Records: Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of

presidential records more difficult.

Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in an Obama

administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to

their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch

after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics: Obama will issue an executive order asking all

new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on

the basis of political affiliation or contribution.

Reform the Political Appointee Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head

the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast. But in an Obama administration,

every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency’s mission.

OBAMA’S RECORD

Federal Ethics Reform

Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was

described as the “gold standard” for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized

corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists’ bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new

restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law. The

Washington Post wrote in an editorial, “The final package is the strongest ethics legislation to emerge from

Congress yet.”

Google for Government

Americans have the right to know how their tax dollars are spent, but that information has been hidden

from public view for too long. That’s why Barack Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to

create a Google-like search engine to allow regular people to track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and

loans online. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “It would enable the public to see where federal money goes

and how it is spent. It’s a brilliant idea.”

Illinois Reform

In 1998, Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance

law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and

banned most gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among

50 states for its campaign finance regulations.

A High Standard

Unlike other candidates Obama’s campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and

political action committees.

[GaryC 7]

The whole story is a bit frivoulous, it doesn't really tell us very much that is interesting or new. The more interesting question to me is what exactly Barack wants to do with the political structure of the US, now that would be worth a good debate.

Of course, to do so we'd actually have to know what's being proposed apart from a new 'attitude' from politicians which comes about simply by 'interacting' with Barack.

Thats the big problem I have with Obama. So far he has gotten away with a general "change" platform. Not a lot of specifics as of yet. Empty rhetoric makes me nervous. It leaves a lot of room for a lot of things.

Probably as much detail as you're going to see in a manifesto, but there are some specifics here.

BARACK OBAMA’s Plan

Shine Light on Washington Lobbying

Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama will create a centralized Internet

database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and

downloadable format.

Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama will use the power

of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional

ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints will be investigated.

Support Campaign Finance Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined with free

television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. Obama introduced

public financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and is the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored

Senator Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) tough bill to reform the presidential public financing system.

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: As president, Obama will create a “contracts

and influence” database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what

contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.

Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama will ensure that any tax breaks

for corporate recipients – or tax earmarks – are also publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable

format.

End Abuse of No-Bid Contracts: Barack Obama will end abuse of no-bid contracts by requiring that

nearly all contract orders over $25,000 be competitively awarded.

Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the

public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill

without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for

five days.

Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama’s Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks

Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along

with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.

Bring Americans Back into their Government

Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by

requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before

their agencies.

Make White House Communications Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that

communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all White House

staff are disclosed to the public.

Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead the

executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in

public, so that any citizen can watch these debates in person or on the Internet.

Release Presidential Records: Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of

presidential records more difficult.

Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in an Obama

administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to

their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch

after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics: Obama will issue an executive order asking all

new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on

the basis of political affiliation or contribution.

Reform the Political Appointee Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head

the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast. But in an Obama administration,

every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency’s mission.

OBAMA’S RECORD

Federal Ethics Reform

Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was

described as the “gold standard” for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized

corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists’ bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new

restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law. The

Washington Post wrote in an editorial, “The final package is the strongest ethics legislation to emerge from

Congress yet.”

Google for Government

Americans have the right to know how their tax dollars are spent, but that information has been hidden

from public view for too long. That’s why Barack Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to

create a Google-like search engine to allow regular people to track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and

loans online. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “It would enable the public to see where federal money goes

and how it is spent. It’s a brilliant idea.”

Illinois Reform

In 1998, Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance

law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and

banned most gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among

50 states for its campaign finance regulations.

A High Standard

Unlike other candidates Obama’s campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and

political action committees.

Seems like I see this agenda every election year. And yet nothing changes. It's just a spruced up version of the same old #######.

[joelunchbox 0]

And this is somehow worse than the Bushies not even allowing some people to attend their campaigns??? Let me see, basically they wanted a pretty picture. Wow, what a story.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

And this is somehow worse than the Bushies not even allowing some people to attend their campaigns??? Let me see, basically they wanted a pretty picture. Wow, what a story.

Exactly!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The whole story is a bit frivoulous, it doesn't really tell us very much that is interesting or new. The more interesting question to me is what exactly Barack wants to do with the political structure of the US, now that would be worth a good debate.

Of course, to do so we'd actually have to know what's being proposed apart from a new 'attitude' from politicians which comes about simply by 'interacting' with Barack.

Thats the big problem I have with Obama. So far he has gotten away with a general "change" platform. Not a lot of specifics as of yet. Empty rhetoric makes me nervous. It leaves a lot of room for a lot of things.

Probably as much detail as you're going to see in a manifesto, but there are some specifics here.

BARACK OBAMA’s Plan

Shine Light on Washington Lobbying

Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama will create a centralized Internet

database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and

downloadable format.

Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama will use the power

of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional

ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints will be investigated.

Support Campaign Finance Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined with free

television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. Obama introduced

public financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and is the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored

Senator Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) tough bill to reform the presidential public financing system.

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: As president, Obama will create a “contracts

and influence” database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what

contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.

Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama will ensure that any tax breaks

for corporate recipients – or tax earmarks – are also publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable

format.

End Abuse of No-Bid Contracts: Barack Obama will end abuse of no-bid contracts by requiring that

nearly all contract orders over $25,000 be competitively awarded.

Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the

public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill

without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for

five days.

Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama’s Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks

Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along

with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.

Bring Americans Back into their Government

Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by

requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before

their agencies.

Make White House Communications Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that

communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all White House

staff are disclosed to the public.

Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead the

executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in

public, so that any citizen can watch these debates in person or on the Internet.

Release Presidential Records: Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of

presidential records more difficult.

Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in an Obama

administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to

their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch

after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics: Obama will issue an executive order asking all

new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on

the basis of political affiliation or contribution.

Reform the Political Appointee Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head

the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast. But in an Obama administration,

every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency’s mission.

OBAMA’S RECORD

Federal Ethics Reform

Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was

described as the “gold standard” for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized

corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists’ bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new

restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law. The

Washington Post wrote in an editorial, “The final package is the strongest ethics legislation to emerge from

Congress yet.”

Google for Government

Americans have the right to know how their tax dollars are spent, but that information has been hidden

from public view for too long. That’s why Barack Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to

create a Google-like search engine to allow regular people to track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and

loans online. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “It would enable the public to see where federal money goes

and how it is spent. It’s a brilliant idea.”

Illinois Reform

In 1998, Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance

law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and

banned most gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among

50 states for its campaign finance regulations.

A High Standard

Unlike other candidates Obama’s campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and

political action committees.

Seems like I see this agenda every election year. And yet nothing changes. It's just a spruced up version of the same old #######.

Right - but there are some specifics backing up this idea of change that he's promoting. Again whether that amounts to anything substantive in fundamentally altering the political landscape of the country is rather more questionable. Perhaps some of his supporters are taking the change rhetoric at face value and have higher expectations of him to deliver fundamental change than he can actually deliver, or indeed that he is actually promising if you look at his stated goals.

After all, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor in California (after the mess that David Dreier left) on the premise that he'd take back Sacramento from corrupt bureaucrats. A lofty promise, but he (like Obama) wasn't running a grass roots campaign for accountability and reform - nor did he have an established track record on that issue. Naturally, Schwarzenegger fell short, becoming a bureaucrat like the rest. Without a substantive plan to reform the political system all this stuff is simply rhetoric. I think the question here is whether Obama is exaggerating election promises to gain the support of people who take them at face value and don't look at what he actually stands for. Still I don't think its accurate to suggest that the man doesn't have solutions or a plan - he does, but people have to decide whether those plans will achieve the high standard that he seems to be promising.

In that respect I'd suggest that some of Obama's support derives from the idea of a "fresh face" rather than say, Geraldine Ferraro's comments about race. He is a career politician after all. They all are, indeed to run for President you have to be. If people are going en-masse for the idea of "change", I don't think that says anything really positive about the other challengers.

[HAL 9000 96]

Same old same old is not an excuse anymore.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Same old same old is not an excuse anymore.

Not really - but we keep getting those candidates.

Politics of mediocrity.

[HAL 9000 96]

Same old same old is not an excuse anymore.

Not really - but we keep getting those candidates.

Politics of mediocrity.

Probably a better way of looking at it is... we getting what we vote for.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We get the politicians we deserve. Ultimately.

Edited April 9, 2008 by Number 6