1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

America, circa 1953. Courtesy of the Romney family

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by TigerVols, Dec 8, 2007.

  1. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    Lemme make sure I'm understanding this latest development correctly. Poindexter says post a picture of someone you deem acceptable (as a presidential candidate, I presume) and Guy posts a pic of Jeb Bush, right? Then Guy says if JEB BUSH'S name were Smith or Jones he'd be leading in the polls for president? Can someone confirm I am understanding this correctly?
     
  2. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Care to explain this comment?
     
  3. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    Confirmed.
     
  4. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    [/quote]
    Obama has a somewhat compelling personal story. It's this story which is the basis for his fame, not any policy accomplishment.
    Every year a thousand people graduate from an Ivy League Law School who have undegrad degrees from an Ivy League school. The only unique aspect of his resume is his b-racial identity. If his father' name was O'Bama and was from Minnesota or Ireland, and had left his mother early in his life, but had lived the exact same life you would never have heard from him.
     
  5. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    That's pretty much supid, 'yab.

    Your argument boils down to: If he wasn't who he is, he'd be someone else.

    But, since you present the opportunity:

    B.A. Columbia
    Community organizer in Chicago
    Harvard Law -- J.D., magna cum laude
    President Harvard Law Review
    Guest lecturer, constitutional law, University of Chicago (11 years)
    Head of massive Illinois voter registration drive
    Three-term state senator in Illinois
    Best-selling author
    United States Senator
    Keynote speaker, 2004 Democratic National Convention
    Presidential candidate

    I think the resume is just fine, thanks.
     
  6. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    ###### was born in East St. Louis to an Irish-American father, William ######, and a Lithuanian-born mother, Ann #####.[1] He graduated from Assumption High School in East St. Louis in 1962. During his high school years he worked at a meat packing plant. He earned a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1966, where he graduated two years ahead of another famous Democratic politician, future President Bill Clinton. He served as an intern in the office of Illinois Senator Paul Douglas during his senior year in college. #### earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969 and was admitted to the Illinois bar later that year.

    ##### then opened a law practice in Springfield. He served as legal counsel to Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon from 1969 to 1972, and then as legal counsel to the Illinois State Senate Judiciary Committee from 1972 to 1982. He ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1978 as the running mate of State Superintendent of Schools Michael Bakalis; they were defeated by the Republican incumbents, Jim Thompson and Dave O'Neal. He then served as an adjunct professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine for five years while maintaining his law practice.

    In 1982, #### won the Democratic nomination for the 20th Congressional District, which includes most of Springfield. He scored a huge upset, defeating 22-year incumbent Paul Findley. #### was reelected six more times, rarely facing serious opposition. He often points out that up until the campaign against Findley, he had never won an election — even losing an election to be a ward chief for the Democratic Party. But since the Findley campaign, he has never lost a race, either before the voters or within the House or Senate Democratic caucuses.

    ##### became the Democratic Party's candidate for the Senate to replace the retiring Democratic incumbent, Paul Simon, in 1996. The two had long been friends, and ##### considers Simon his mentor. He faced Republican State Representative Al Salvi in November.

    Although the election was initially expected to be competitive, ##### won by a surprising 15-point margin, undoubtedly helped by Bill Clinton's 18-point win in Illinois that year. He was handily reelected in 2002 as the Democrats nearly swept the state, taking all but one statewide office up for election. He is heavily favored for a third term in 2008.

    ##### has a reliably liberal voting record on most issues[2]. Among his legislative causes are asbestos regulation and environmental protection, particularly the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He has also been noted for his work, along with Senators Patrick Leahy and Charles Schumer, in blocking conservative judicial nominations, as well as his efforts to avert the closure of military bases in Illinois.

    ##### was one of the 23 US senators to vote against the Iraq Resolution to employ military force in 2002.[3]

    On November 5, 2004, #### announced that he had enough committed votes to become the Democratic Whip in the 109th Congress. Prior to this, he had been the Assistant Democratic Floor Leader, a position to which he was appointed by former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. He became majority whip when the Democrats gained control of the Senate after the 2006 elections.

    During his time as Democratic whip,##### has been noted for his sharp debating skills. ##### has also been noted for his effectiveness at framing and articulating the Democrats' message, and many have said that he is an effective whip both because of his strategic skills and because he has assiduously avoided any talk of higher aspirations.

    In January of 2005, ##### changed his longstanding position on sugar tariffs and price supports. After several years of voting to keep sugar quotas and price supports, ####now favors abolishing the program. "The sugar program depended on congressmen like me from states that grew corn," ####said, referring to the fact that, though they were formerly a single entity, the sugar market and the corn syrup market are now largely separate.[4]

    In April of 2006, TIME Magazine listed Senator ##### as one of the American's 10 Best Senators[5].

    In May 2006, #### campaigned to maintain a $0.54 per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. #### justified the tariff by joining Senator Barack Obama in stating that "ethanol imports are neither necessary nor a practical response to current gasoline prices," arguing instead that domestic ethanol production is sufficient and expanding.[6]

    In late 2006, when Illinois Senator Barack Obama stated that he was considering a 2008 Presidential bid, ##### became a vocal supporter of such an effort.

    According to the National Journal conservative/liberal source, ##### is currently the most liberal Senator.

    Sen. ##### became a hot media topic on June 14, 2005[7], when on the U.S. Senate floor he compared interrogation techniques used at Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay, as reported by the FBI, with those utilized by such regimes as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Khmer Rouge.

    I'd say Senator ##### clearly has the better resume.
    It's not about the resume, in politics today.
     
  7. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Well, I don't think we needed Dick Durbin's entire wikipedia page, but my reaction is, so what?

    1. Dick Durbin isn't running.

    2. Like it or not, a long Senate career doesn't improve someone's chances when running for president -- and hasn't for a long time. If you have a beef with that, fine, but that isn't Senator Obama's fault.

    3. Dick Durbin is an Obama supporter, surrogate and prospective cabinet member if Obama gets elected.

    EDIT: None of which should obscure the main point. There is truly no experience to prepare someone to be president. There is a certain baseline amount of experience, sure, but I think Obama clears that bar with ease. After that, it comes down to vision and ideas. I mean, if it was an "experience" election, we wouldn't be seeing Obama, Clinton and Edwards leading people like Richardson, Dodd and Biden, nor would we see Romney and Huckabee leading John McCain.
    It's a change election.
     
  8. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    I don't mean to say that Obama isn't qualified, nor do I mean that I will not vote for him, I probably will.

    My point was that without his bi-racial story, Obama is Barry O'Bama and doesn't get to be a Freshman Senator from Illinios let alone a presidential contender.

    A change election? What we need is a change from a Bush or a Clinton.
     
  9. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    I disagree.

    Anyone who can start at Occidental College and end up President of the Harvard Law Review without family money or connections is clearly capable of getting where he wants to go.

    Now, are the book and the story helping him right now? Absolutely. I don't think he draws the crowds he draws without it. But once he has the butts in the seats, he still has to sell it. He's had some luck, too. Getting to run against Alan Keyes was certainly that. But he still had to beat him, and he did.

    Just like he'll beat Hillary. ;)
     
  10. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    If Bill can't beat Hillary, what makes you think Obama will ;D
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page