Obama in Mississippi addresses Don't Ask, Don't Tell

[thevoiceofreason]

He did a great job showing how it's a stupid idea. Has Hillary come out yet and admitted that that was another one of Bill's stupid ideas?

Note, changed OP because of so many threads on the VP slam.

[havocmom]

1. Have to admit, am impressed and relieved

Still wish Edwards was in the race, but Obama's RESOUNDING refusal to HRC Campaign to be their water carrier was music to my ears.

The Clinton Campaign double speak is not working and the top of the campaign seems too arrogant to notice people are smarter than they believe.

[thevoiceofreason]

2. Amen. Slaps down the greedy and the brazen.

[havocmom]

5. along with the arrogant and just plain dumb

;)

[blm]

13. They've been schooled in listening for Bushboy's doublespeak the last 8 yrs.

Now when it comes from a Dem, of COURSE they recognize it easily. That's reassuring to those of us who have been so sick of that type of politics and gaming of the issues.

Is it too much to ask even Dems to just stop the spin and the games and start RESPECTING us as CITIZENS to be informed and not see us as voters to be manipulated?

[Voice for Peace]

15. He framed the VP question so well.

ie if he isn't ready to be president, how can he be ready to be
in the position of VP.. she simply isn't making any sense.

[hedgehog]

3. He called her offer typical of the double talk of the old politics.

Not an exact quote, but 'you can't say I'm not ready to be President one day and ask me to be your Vice President the next'

[snappyturtle]

4. K&Ring every thread on this subject!

Go Obama! :woohoo:

[BOSSHOG]

6. But He did not say

he wouldn't run as V-P. Hell I'll vote for the guy, he's promised me the Moon and a fresh Keg of Beer in my Garage, and 10,000 virgins. Damn there is hope.

[thevoiceofreason]

7. Kick for amended OP

[redqueen]

8. I like your amended OP.

I like that he's addressing the issue. We're so far behind other countries... *sigh*

[EmilyAnne]

9. I didn't see it. Can you tell me more about what he said about DADT? LGBT rights? Did he mention

gay marriage or civil unions? Thanks for keeping DU posted on this!

[thevoiceofreason]

10. He stuck to the military side of it

But he said why in the hell does it matter when there are perfectly capable, patriotic folks willing to commit to serve their country, so why should we import some stupid standard like that that doesn't matter. He noted that we have lost numerous Arabic translators because of this lunacy.

[EmilyAnne]

11. I was just thinking about those gay men who spoke Farsii who were kicked out of Afghanistan,

do you remember that? I don't even think they were actually IN the military, but they were employed by the military or something like that. Not sure, I should look it up. Regardless, it was just one of those mind boggling idiocies that the Bush era will be always be known for.

[femmedem]

12. The question was specifically about DADT.

He said very clearly that he would reverse it. Said if gays were as patriotic as everyone else and if they're willing to serve in our military and make sacrifices for our country why wouldn't we want them? Talked about the dismissals of the gay Arab linguists. No other LGBT questions.

[LostinVA]

14. Hillary came out quite awhile ago against DADT

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-27-clinton-iowa_x.htm

She was never for it, actually.

[UALRBSofL]

20. LostinVa I knew she did that

But Obama is in favor of DOMA but at one time he was against it, but just before his run for senate he favored DOMA and after he was elected he was against it but then when he decided to run for president, in a debate he favored DOMA again where Edwards was against DOMA. That said, Hillary has favored DOMA and has never changed her stance.

[krkaufman]

16. (nevermind) n/t

[QC]

17. "another one of Bill's stupid ideas"

Were you around at the time? I was, and my remembrance of the events surrounding DADT is quite different.

[Spider Jerusalem]

18. It was Sam Nunn's idea, actually

Bill lacked the guts to issue an executive order, though, so he ultimately owns the blame.

[QC]

21. What was Congress planning to do if he issued an E.O.?

I was stunned at what a shitstorm the whole thing was--senators touring subs and marveling for the cameras at how close together everyone sleeps, Colin Powell recycling the same myths that kept people like him working in the kitchen only a few years before, etc.

There's a lot of 1990s revisionism going around here lately, and the business about how Bill imposed DADT on America on a whim, just to be an asshole, is a big part of that.

[Spider Jerusalem]

24. Congress could have passed legislation nullifying an executive order...

but they'd have needed a 2/3 vote to overturn the presidential veto of said legislation that would have followed (which wouldn't have happened in the Democratic Congress Clinton had in his first 2 years in office).

[QC]

27. Possibly. It's not certain, though. We are talking about 1993 here, not 2008.

I can't believe how much attitudes have changed since then, and I witnessed it.

In retrospect, Clinton didn't do everything we wanted or he promised, but he was the first president even to acknowledge us, and that was worth a lot at the time. It's easy to look back and say he should have done more, but attitudes were very different then.

And, of course, I don't think that Obama's hand are entirely clean about this. Despite all the claims that it's all "faux outrage," it really was L'Affaire McClurkin that made me deeply suspicious of Obama.

[democrattotheend]

19. Impressive

Props for making that statement in Mississippi of all places.

[Scurrilous]

22. Kick

:kick:

[MagsDem]

23. Are you a gay person?

Because if you are you should know that until Bill's stupid idea you could be harassed out of the military. And yes, she is for abolishing it totally as well, and was on record on that before he even entered the senate.

Man, ignorant Obama supporters get really old.

[woolldog]

25. What did he say?

What exactly did he say about DADT? How did he show it's a stupid idea?

[trickyguy]

26. Such great news. He is not afraid to support LGBT issues

and this is another example of that. It IS a stupid idea and this country loses two service people everyday because of this
kind of senseless discrimination. And what difference does a person's sexual identity make when they are defending out country?

Obama also has addressed the LGBT community - and everyone else - on his website.

And he's the only candidate that I've heard recently use the G (gay) word in a speech.:grouphug:

[Medusa]

28. The spin from the Clintonistas is that he isn't gay-friendly

it's bs of course but I'm so sick of hearing it.

[UALRBSofL]

29. Mystery2Me It isn't the fact he isn't gay friendly

It's the fact he changes his mind on DOMA several times. Also, McClurkin, and then the mayor of SF he refused to have his photo with where Hillary didn't mind.

[trickyguy]

30. Give Obama a chance. He's got an LGBT link

on his site and some very thoughtful words about the gay/lesbian community.

I can't find anything on the other candidates web sites that comes close. In fact there's nothing.

And the fact that he spoke out against DADT is really crucial to our country right now.

He knows that. He's smart. Give the guy a chance.