Barackface: Obama: More Than A Pretty Face

It bothers me that there are people out there who suggest Obama is not offering any specifics, no policy proposals. He is too pure. He gives hope, but no agenda. That just is not true.

He has given the most specific biography and policy of any candidate. Read his two books. You really get to know him. And you get to know not only where he stands on the issues of the day, but why, and how he wades through his various policy options.

Don't you wish Bill Clinton had written his autobiography before 1992? That would have saved us from so much speculation.

Look at the two big Obama offerings.

One, a specific plan to end the war in Iraq war. You bring the troops home on a specific timetable that does not last more than a year, and you step in with hard core political work to end up with a stable, democratic Iraq. You don't make peace with friends. You make peace with enemies.

Two, universal health care before his first term is over. Now that is huge. If he manages to swing that, that will put him in the same league as FDR. Universal health and lifelong eduation are two things that have to be made possible for the information economy. Health care should not depend on your job, or if you are employed. You should have health care between jobs. In a vibrant economy, people will switch jobs, careers, many many times.

Obama has work cut out for him, sure.

He needs to raise money. He needs to expand organization. He needs to build an elaborate, vibrant, transparent brain trust. It is not enough Obama has been thinking through all the issues. He has to make America do the same. I believe he is upto the challenge.

Hillary would be a great Vice President. I can't wait.

But right now it looks to me like it will be an Obama-Rudy race.

Move up the big primaries, Illinois, New York, California. Make the brown vote matter.

Will It Be Obama Versus Rudy?
Austin, Here I Come
Two Obama Events: Manhattan, Brooklyn
A Rare Email From Bill Clinton
BarackTV: Iowa To New Hampshire
Iraq On My Mind
Something Special Is Happening
Hillary Will Get The Black Vote, Obama Will Get The White Vote
Jupiter And Obama
Obama Is Running For President Of The United States

In The News

McCain Says He Regrets Iraq Comment San Francisco Chronicle McCain, facing criticism from Democrats, on Thursday said he regretted using the word "wasted" to describe the more than 3,100 U.S. lives lost in the Iraq war. ..... "I should have used the word, sacrificed ..... He said the U.S. is seeking to correct its mistakes with Bush's new strategy. ..... Obama, for his part, gave the Republican a pass when asked about McCain's comments at a Senate news conference on an unrelated matter. ..... "As somebody who had the same phrase in a speech, I think nobody would question Senator McCain's dedication to our veterans," said Obama, the Illinois Democrat. "We have a duty to make sure that we are honoring their sacrifice by giving them missions in which they can succeed ... I'm positive that was the intent in which he meant it. It was the same intent I had when I made my statement."
McCain Says US Lives 'Wasted' in Iraq San Francisco Chronicle John McCain, a staunch backer of the Iraq war but critic of how President Bush has waged it, said U.S. lives had been "wasted" in the four-year-old conflict. ..... a DNC spokeswoman. "How is it that John McCain now believes American lives are being wasted, yet he so stubbornly supports the president's plan to escalate the war in Iraq and put more American lives in harms way?" ...... trailing Giuliani in polls. ...... the Senate's go-to guy on Iraq .... In recent months, McCain has become Bush's most outspoken supporter of sending in another 21,500 troops to Iraq
Hillary Clinton Yields to Barack Obama Kommersant
Britney And Kevin: Family Bliss, Really Playfuls.com
Clinton, Obama To Address Selma, Ala. TIME nearly simultaneous speeches behind church pulpits just half a block apart from each other in Selma, Ala ...... the candidates will join civil rights leaders, public officials and others in what has become an annual walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge ..... black leaders say buzz about Obama's candidacy is spreading, particularly among younger people and others who might not typically participate in elections ..... Hillary's never faced a candidate like Obama, and Obama's never faced a candidate like Hillary ...... earlier primaries in Southern states with heavily black populations will benefit Obama ...... Obama is scheduled to deliver the event's keynote address Sunday morning at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, while at the same time Clinton is scheduled to address the First Baptist Church just down the street.
Obama Surging Past Clinton, Among Others FOX News Hillary and her boys realize that all that Obama has to sell is his purity. He’s like Evian water. He has no particular taste, he's just the un-cola — the opposite of the vicious, destructive, partisan politics that pervades our country and turns off the voters. ....... He will need to take strong positions, issue programs, and wade into substantive controversies if he wants us to vote for him. A biography and a philosophy aren’t enough. ...... She was among the first to hire private detectives to dig up dirt on women who had been linked to Bill, on Linda Tripp, on other Clinton accusers, and on virtually anyone else who stood in the way of her ambitions for her husband.
Hillary's Nightmare: Ralph Nader
ONCE IN DEBT, BILL CLINTON EARNING MILLIONS SPEAKING San Jose Mercury News Clinton, who came to the White House with modest means and left deeply in debt, has collected nearly $40 million in speaking fees over the past six years ..... Last year, one of his most lucrative since leaving the presidency, Clinton earned $9 million to $10 million on the lecture circuit. He averaged almost a speech a day -- 352 for the year ...... On one particularly good day in Canada, Clinton made $475,000 for two speeches, more than double his annual salary as president. ...... ``I never had a nickel to my name until I got out of the White House, and now I'm a millionaire, the most favored person for the Washington Republicans,'' Clinton told a friendly audience in Kentucky last fall. ``I get a tax cut every year, no matter what our needs are.'' ..... Many of Bill Clinton's six-figure speeches have been made to companies whose employees and political action committees have been among Hillary Clinton's top backers in her Senate campaigns. The New York investment giant Goldman Sachs paid Clinton $650,000 for four speeches in recent years. Its employees and PAC have given her $270,000 since 2000 -- putting it second on the list of her most generous political patrons. ........Ronald Reagan raised eyebrows by collecting $2 million in Japan shortly after he left office in 1989.
Obama halves Clinton lead among Democrats Chicago Tribune, IL
Blacks shifting to Obama, poll finds MSNBC
Hillary losing ground to Obama PRESS TV, Iran
McCain and Hillary Down; Obama and Rudy Up RushLimbaugh.com (subscription), CA
Clinton loses ground to Obama, Giuliani widens lead: poll Pakistan Times, Pakistan
Giuliani Out Front, Obama Gaining on Hillary RealClearPolitics Blog
Obama leads Clinton among black voters The Spokesman Review, WA
2 Out of 3 Americans Don't Believe Iraq War Worth Soldiers Lives BBSNews, NC
Zogby Poll: Obama Gaining on Hillary NewsMax.com, FL
Analysis: Outsiders Obama, Giuliani surging in 2008 races CNN
Black voters help Obama gain ground on Clinton Christian Science Monitor, MA

America's new path on Iraq: talk to Iran Christian Science Monitor Talk directly to Iran about Iraq, without preconditions. ..... Rice plans to sit down in April with the foreign ministers of some 20 countries, including two that the US considers key troublemakers in the region: Iran and Syria. ...... most analysts are skeptical that either country plays a crucial role in Iraq's ongoing civil war. ...... Iran won't miss the chance to sit down with the US. It remains angry at US allegations that it's running a secret nuclear-weapons program ........ Iran has been making overtures for more bilateral diplomacy for years, but has been consistently rebuffed by the US ..... Like Iran, Syria will see the meeting as a chance to get a "foot in the door" with the US which has cold-shouldered Damascus for the past two years. Despite Washington's icy relations with Damascus, the Syria regime of President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly said it wants to resume full dialog with the US and that it's willing to revive peace talks with Israel. ...... willing to agree to a full peace with the Jewish state in exchange for the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967 ....... Russia's ... 20 million Muslims. ...... Putin has been seeking to hold Russia up as an alternative, more accommodating pole to what is now often seen as a brash and bullying America. It also has major business interests in Iran and Syria. ...... "Russia has repeatedly said it wants to see the Iraq problem solved with the involvement of Iraq's neighbors and the entire world community, through engagement and dialog and not through the use of force," says Yevgeny Bazhanov ..... Iraq, of course, wants peace and stability, as well as to be treated as an equal by its neighbors, particularly by Sunni Arab states like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt
Iran may attend meet on Iraq Hindu
Bush reverses on Mideast talks KRQE
Black voters help Obama gain ground on Clinton Christian Science Monitor Obama's dramatic rise in support among African-Americans ..... Obama of Illinois has more room for growth than she does, because of her high negatives. ..... Obama leads Clinton among black Democratic voters 36 percent to 27 percent. ..... In both December and January, the Post/ABC poll had Clinton beating Obama among African-Americans 60 to 20. .... Obama has the momentum and buzz, and is drawing phenomenal crowds. ..... Last Friday, 20,000 people came to see him speak in Austin, Texas. Between 15,000 and 17,000 people showed up in frigid temperatures for his announcement speech Feb. 10 in Springfield, Ill. ..... Clinton is losing some of her luster for other reasons: First is her refusal to apologize for her vote in 2002 that gave President Bush a green light to launch the Iraq war. Democratic activists – those most likely to show up in primaries and caucuses – are more in sync with Obama, who has opposed the war from the beginning. ....... Her third problem is that she has the misfortune of running against Jack and Bobby in one year ...... Barack in particular right now is cutting into a very solid Clinton constituency ..... Nationwide, one-fourth of primary voters are black, and in some of the early primary states, that number rises much higher. ...... New York, Illinois, and New Jersey are all talking about moving up ...... Already, Obama is tapping into the big Democratic money centers – Hollywood and New York – that Clinton may have assumed that she would rule. Obama is also beating Clinton with the youth vote ...... this Sunday, when both appear in Selma, Ala., for the annual bridge-crossing, a major civil-rights commemoration
Poll: Rudy Giuliani Loses Republican Voters Over Abortion Support LifeNews.com
Fresh general strike brings Nepal to a halt PeaceJournalism.com
Stock selloff in China hits Wall Street hard Longview Daily News
China's stocks bouncing back after heavy losses New Zealand Herald
Victoria Beckham's move to LA with soccer-star husband will be ... Canada.com
Professional Women's Soccer to Return in 2008 U.S. National Soccer Players
Study: Common Sexually-Transmitted Virus Found in 1 in 4 US Women Voice of America human papillomavirus is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. ...... The prevalence was highest among the 20 to 24-year-old women. Almost half of those women were infected with HPV ..... hundreds of kinds of HPV infections that do not cause cervical cancer ..... A new vaccine covers the two HPV types that cause most cancer and two types that cause genital warts. ...... recommended it for girls before sexual activity begins - that is, at ages 11 and 12, but says it can be given as early as nine. ..... some parents object because they believe it may lead to earlier sexual activity. ..... three ways to prevent HPV infection. ..... One, abstinence; the second, using condoms or barrier methods, which is not 100 percent effective; and the third being the papillomavirus vaccine
HPV infects 26% US women Food Consumer
More American Women Have HPV Than Previously ThoughtWashington Post making HPV by far the most common sexually transmitted disease in the country. ..... Its maker, Merck, until recently was lobbying state legislatures to mandate vaccination of middle-school girls -- a step that more than 18 states are moving toward. ..... Most of the time a woman's immune system clears the virus within weeks ... HPV also infects boys and men, in whom it can cause genital warts and anal cancer. ..... An earlier study of college students found that more than 50 percent acquired HPV within four years of first sexual intercourse. In the new survey, HPV infection was more likely in women under age 25, in unmarried women, and in women with two or more partners ...... The Merck vaccine is a three-shot course costing about $360.
Dell Backpedals on Preloading Linux NewsFactor Network
NASA space probe swings by Jupiter Seattle Post Intelligencer
Hilton cited for driving with suspended license Los Angeles Times
2 paintings by Picasso stolen from home of kin International Herald Tribune
Two Picasso paintings stolen from Paris apartment Washington Post
Sarkozy outlines foreign policy International Herald Tribune
Qaeda Rebuilding in Pakistan, Intelligence Chief Tells Panel New York Times future attacks against the United States could be planned from Pakistan’s remote western mountains. ..... the gradual rebuilding of Al Qaeda’s command and control apparatus ..... some officials have even advocated direct American airstrikes against the camps. ..... Iran could produce a nuclear weapon by the beginning of the next decade, but that the country more likely would not have such a weapon until 2015.
The Problem With Pakistan Washington Post Pakistan, a country that just happens to be both with us and against us. ...... the country with the greatest potential for a world-shattering implosion, is not Iraq or Afghanistan or even Iran: it is Pakistan. ..... the ungoverned northwest region... Upcoming elections are not expected to change Musharraf's status: He will continue to be President and commander-in-chief and head of the Army and hold all of the actual power. .... Al-Qaeda is the greatest threat to the United States, at least according to the U.S. intelligence community and conventional wisdom. The terrorist organization is headquartered and lodged in northwest Pakistan, where it has virtual impunity. It operates within a country that has nuclear weapons and is labeled "a major source of Islamic extremism."

On The Web

North-West Frontier Province - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bin Laden cornered in Pakistan's northwest bin Laden and "up to 50 fanatical henchmen" were inside an area 16 kilometres (10 miles) wide and deep "north of the town of Khanozai and the city of Quetta". ...... bin Laden moved into the area, "in the desolate Toba Kakar mountains," about one month ago from another area 240 kilometres to the south ...... The area is under surveillance from a geostationary spy satellite ...... "They studied the background in bin Laden's last video and matched it to rocks in the Toba Kakar region"

Visitors

28 February