Judge Him by his Laws. Obama's Record of Accomplishments. (read HRC peeps..I dare you!)

[Windy]

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html

Judge Him by His Laws


By Charles Peters
Friday, January 4, 2008; Page A21

People who complain that Barack Obama lacks experience must be unaware of his legislative achievements. One reason these accomplishments are unfamiliar is that the media have not devoted enough attention to Obama's bills and the effort required to pass them, ignoring impressive, hard evidence of his character and ability.

Since most of Obama's legislation was enacted in Illinois, most of the evidence is found there -- and it has been largely ignored by the media in a kind of Washington snobbery that assumes state legislatures are not to be taken seriously. (Another factor is reporters' fascination with the horse race at the expense of substance that they assume is boring, a fascination that despite being ridiculed for years continues to dominate political journalism.)

I am a rarity among Washington journalists in that I have served in a state legislature. I know from my time in the West Virginia legislature that the challenges faced by reform-minded state representatives are no less, if indeed not more, formidable than those encountered in Congress. For me, at least, trying to deal with those challenges involved as much drama as any election. And the "heart and soul" bill, the one for which a legislator gives everything he or she has to get passed, has long told me more than anything else about a person's character and ability.

Consider a bill into which Obama clearly put his heart and soul. The problem he wanted to address was that too many confessions, rather than being voluntary, were coerced -- by beating the daylights out of the accused.

Obama proposed requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped.

[liberalnurse]

1. Is that it?

:shrug:

What happened to Prom King?

[Windy]

2. Oh that was intelligent. Can't you even concede that the man has an impressive record?

That's what kills me about the Clinton "team". I can at least admit that Hillary has a good record on social issues. My beef with her is her IWR vote and Kyl/Lieberman. That was until this weekend when I was even more turned off by her tirade and drama queen act.

[mike_c]

3. could you please hold your flame wars in GD; P where the rest of us...

...don't have to encounter the stink? Please?

While there might in fact be some redeeming value in the body of your OP, the revised headline makes it rather clear that you're trying to bait HRC supporters. I'm most definitely NOT one of those, so don't even go there. Just take the feces flinging back to GD: P where it doesn't stink up the Latest, please!

[Windy]

4. Excuse me. Pointing out Obama's accomplishments is not flamebait. It extinguishes flame bait.

the conventional wisdom among HRC supporters and what is permitted to be trumpeted here is that Obama hasn't done anything in his career to warrant a presidential bid. The allegations are patently false. Facts trump disinformation.

I'm sorry if you don't agree.

[babylonsister]

15. nt

[gerrilea]

5. I've seen this post now for 3 days in a row flamebait!

[truedelphi]

6. Having just watched the Court TV movie about a young 12 year old

being Brow beaten into confessing that he murdered his sister, I very much appreciate Barack's
legislating the videotaping of questioning and confessions.

[pacalo]

7. This should have been posted in the GD-P forum.

I've seen this happening several times lately. Many of us have been given great relief from the Obama/Hillary mudslinging by being able to put these threads on ignore on the "greatest" page. Please don't skirt around our ability to do so.

[babylonsister]

8. Bring that up with Skinner. This is also a political forum and

he's authorized its usage. I'm sure many of us would be posting in GD/P if we could.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=108x125575

[mike_c]

11. Skinner's comments about flame bait in P/C....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=108x125575#125587

"Actually, that's a good point. I hadn't thought about the flame-war angle.

Edited on Thu Feb-14-08 08:45 AM by Skinner
At this point, I don't see any flamers starting threads in here. But I suppose that could change.

ON EDIT: If necessary, we could probably add this forum to the "Hide GDP" option. We'll see what happens."

[babylonsister]

12. Who's flaming in your opinion? What don't you want to read? nt

[mike_c]

13. Clinton and Obama supporters calling one another out....

The OP changed the subject to add the direct challenge to Clinton supporters. I think that's flamebait. Just sayin'. You can respond that my opinion matters little, which is so, but it's mine and I like it.

The democratic candidate partisans have really made DU unpleasant lately, then when Skinner instituted the new GD: P rules it was like a breath of fresh air. Now it looks like some folks are not content to hoot and wave their backsides at one another behind the GD: P curtain, but instead feel the need to carry on the awfulness in public. I just think it's unseemly. Sure, I don't have to look, but how about if the candidate partisans meet the rest of us half way and restrict their wars to their own private forum and the rest of us who don't care for it won't look in there.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. I agree, 8. Here we go. The rules do not prevent this, however. I will stop posting here...

if this forum turns into GDP2. I support Obama, but live with a "Hillary peep," DeepModem Dad, who is dared in this thread to read about Obama's accomplishments. I don't enjoy this kind of calling out of supporters of another candidate. I know others do, and that's fine. But if I can't escape it here, I guess I'll post in individual candidate forums (I post news articles on a neutral basis) -- or just stop posting political, period.

[pacalo]

14. You're one of the adults who makes a good case for exclusions.

My fear is that the "greatest" page is going to be taken over again by the one-upmanship. There was nothing "great" about the "he said/she said" posts to merit being on the greatest page other than the fact that posting "Obama" or "Hillary" would ensure automatic votes by either faction of supporters.

You're one of the posters I respect, DeepModem Mom. :hi:

[Tinita]

16. i like both senators' records

However, I believe Obama's record is slightly superior.

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

10. Mail it to that ass

Chris Matthews. I just did.