LAist: Sarah Miller Asks Obama Exactly What I Would If I Could

Andy Sternberg

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:17:55 -0800

I'm tired of hearing the same speech from Obama for the past year but it doesn't matter -- these ARE rallies after all, not town halls. He doesn't need to bore people in every town with policy speeches until he's truly challenged to do so. Hillary is not bringing this challenge and chances are McCain won't either. In this case we could have the first president in my lifetime who dives straight into action without having verbalized 1,000 lofty "promises" over and over. I don't want to hear it. I want to see it done. And yeah, good on the commenters for pointing out all the policy. I generally just recommend that undecideds listen to Obama's reading of Audacity of Hope (which you can get for free by testing out audible.com) and skim the blueprint mentioned above. As far as voting "present" this is often a way to keep one's hands clean when legislation that otherwise makes sense if full of nasty earmarks or too much lobbyist influence would overshadow a sincere nay vote.

torrmoz

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:23:58 -0800

"I wonder about the Senate votes you didn't make because it would be hard to defend them on the campaign trail." Which senate votes that he didn't make are you wondering about? "Are there skeletons in your closet that we'll only learn about then? What do I not know that I should be worried about?" He admitted in Dreams Of My Father to doing cocaine. I don't think there's anything else in his past that would get people more riled up than that.

Greg Katz

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:55:18 -0800

Hey, there's a photo I shot! I think that licenses me to bloviate. The endless repetition of the "Obama has no substance" line – clearly a red herring, as riley rightly points out above – speaks to how amazingly powerful the Hillary spin machine is. It's only effective spin because Obama's and Clinton's platforms are so similar; they're both center-left Democrats. The minute hair-splitting over their Iraq pull-outs and their health care proposals in the Hollywood debate goes to just how similar they are. If they were hugely different in terms of policy – as different as, say, McCain and Huckabee – the line wouldn't get any traction because Obama could say, "Of course I have a platform! Just look where we differ!" Due to the similar platforms, the choice for voters is largely about leadership style. The empty "Obama has no platform" critique is just an easy attack on his style.

Callie Miller

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:53:23 -0800

riley - agreed again. deafsound - EXCELLENT link and something i'd not read before although i read dailykos frequently.

Callie Miller

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:48:50 -0800

and yes, shame on me for not including it, as venice playa says. it's an important link.

riley

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:46:45 -0800

callie--it's also fairly easy to navigate specific parts of the "bluepint for change" if someone is on the fence and concerned about specific issues but doesn't have time to read the whole thing. i didn't mean this article (or the letter within) as an example of "bitchy" too much; i was mostly referring to a lot of what gets posted elsewhere. i do think that if you really are trying to decide which candidate to vote for and feel it's a close call, you bear some responsibility for finding out what meaningful differences between them are. i mean, if you really want to know, why wouldn't you take a few mintues and a teeny bit of effort and like, find out? as i said, i think he could and should be a bit more specific when speaking in front of a camera, because that is the easiest way to reach the most people, but in this era of vast amounts of information available to the electorate at the click of a button, expecting any candidate to drone on about policy details in speeches encourages laziness in voters.

Venice Playa

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:42:58 -0800

You beat me to it Riley. Obama's website lays out issues ranging from civil rights, the economy, health care, trade.....you name it. Thanks for letting the readers know about the website.

Callie Miller

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:39:51 -0800

riley. i'm with you 100% and have read the blueprint for change. he simply never mentions much of that in his speeches...so those who are on the fence don't know. and of course, those on the fence likely won't read the 64 pages. he could certainly do more to be "specific" on the campaign trail. and i'd argue that this piece isn't bitchy at all. but that's me.

deafsound

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:38:24 -0800

here's an excellent article comparing what Clinton and Obama have done in the Senate. It lists what bills they have had success in passing and getting support for or in some cases not getting support. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633

riley

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:31:22 -0800

maybe he could go about outlining his specific plans better in speeches and debates, i agree. so if that's the advice you (and ms. miller) want to give, i'm cool with it. but if i have to hear one more internet moron post about how obama "doesn't have any concrete plans!", i'm going to throw myself off a bridge. http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf there you have it kids, all 64 pages of it. it takes about four seconds on his website to find it, although it takes considerably more time to read it than to write a bitchy op-ed piece with the cut-and-paste "all obama ever says is 'hope' and 'change'" headline.