Obama lacks the political courage to go help Jim Martin personally

[Seen the light]

I don't know about other people, but the reason that I started to become very irritated with Obama is that he has been a complete wimp when it comes to helping out Jim Martin against Saxby Chambliss in Georgia. Yes, I know you're going to say that he sent his team down there and he cut a radio ad for him, but that's just using Predator drones when you have the Obama nuke to play and you don't use it.

A big rally with Obama and Jim Martin together would help turnout immensely and every single one of you know that and are afraid to admit it.

This single act of abandoning a fellow Democrat in their time of need when that Democrat is going against one of the most repugnant members of the Senate is something that Jim Martin won't forget and I won't forget. This is what's led me to question whether or not everything Obama does is for the sake of politics like refusing to appear with Martin is. This is what has led me to question Obama's Cabinet picks when I might otherwise give him the benefit of the doubt.

Sorry, I just needed to get that off my chest. And I apologize in advance for the post and run but lunch break's over with. :D

[GarbagemanLB]

1. Jim has no shot in GA. The AA vote simply won't be at the same levels without Obama on the ballot.

[Seen the light]

12. It definitely won't be the same if Obama doesn't show up to help nt

[ecstatic]

34. Obama coming wouldn't help. It's two different issues

Obama coming down would energize even more republicans to show up at the polls. Even with record black turnout for the election, Chambliss still won (and McCain won GA too). The lines are already very long with freepers showing up at the polls to vote Chambliss.

[Seen the light]

88. Obama only lost the state by 5 points and that's without making an appearance there

Last time he had a rally in Georgia was way back in the primary season. If he had poured the time and resources into Georgia that he put into North Carolina, he could have won. I'm not saying he would have, I'm saying he COULD have. Let's not pretend like McCain blew Obama out in Georgia.

And Martin gained a greater percentage of the vote than Obama did. An Obama appearance would help, that's all I'm saying. And when you have an actual progressive Democrat in the South running against Sen. Shameless, help is what Georgia deserves.

[Alexander]

104. Martin lost by 3. Please explain how Obama is supposed to help Martin...

When Martin outperformed Obama.

[Uzybone]

2. Abandoning? This is a dumb post.

Doesn't Obama have enough to do right now than go campaign in Georgia? Does Obama have to do everything for everyone?

[JohnnyBoots]

5. Obama did do a radio ad for him. it was on WJ this morning.

[Seen the light]

13. It would take a few hours out of his day

The runoff race has been going on for a few weeks now. Obama could have found a few hours for a quick campaign stop if he wanted to.

[Thrill]

20. Its not that easy. He also has to have top flight security. Even more so now than the campaign

So its not as easy as taking a few hours.

[lame54]

105. He found time to hand out food to the poor...

and yes , that was a great sight , especially when we learned it's a yearly thing - but it still takes time - the main argument against Obama coming down here

[Bicoastal]

22. A few hours?! You seem to have no idea how busy he is right now...

...nor do you have any understanding why the LAST thing he wants to do right now is go back on the campaign trail after the last 20 months of non-stop stumping.

He and his staff would have to make travel arrangements, put together a security detail, draft a speech, change his current schedule, and that's all BEFORE he leaves for Georgia. Ridiculous.

[lame54]

106. Your right...

another senate seat for Obama - ridiculous - it's not worth the bother

[gcomeau]

3. Yeah, it's not like he has anything more important to do...

...like preparing to take over the governance of the entire fucking country in the middle of two wars and a major economic crisis after the outgoing administration has trashed the effectiveness of most of the branches of government. He should be using all his free time to stay on the campaign trail and communicate to the nation what his real priorities are!

Don't be a complete moron. Yes getting the extra Senate seat would be a bonus but it is NOT the most important thing Obama needs to be personally doing right now.

[fed_up_mother]

70. what he said. :)

[Thrill]

4. Oh give me a damn break. Martin was trying to run away from Obama

in the primary. Claiming he was going to write in John Edwards name. He was running from Obama when it was cool in the south to run away from the Big Bad Liberal

[LaydeeBug]

7. so?

If Obama gave forgive Joe Lieberman, he oughta get his ass down to GA.

[Thrill]

14. So don't give me this BS. about Obama being selfish

Martin had no problem being selfish. Obama has more pressing things to do

[northernlights]

52. it's not a question of forgiveness...

it's a question of priorities and time.

We're facing potentially the biggest global economic catastrophe since Hoover.

* is playing mr. cooperative with his right hand and planting landmines as fast as he can with his left.

Obama has a few weeks to assemble the best effing team the world has scene, bring everybody up to speed, and hit the ground running hard on January 20.

It's not that a single senate seat is too low on his list of priorities. It's that it's not even on the effing priority list.

I would have loved to have Obama help Maine lose the dim bulb of the senate, Collins. Just not a priority right now. If Georgia choose so, then Chambliss continue on and be ignored as part of the miserable minority.

[Seen the light]

15. And he just named Hillary Clinton as his SoS...what's your point? nt

[Thrill]

19. Whats your point? You're calling him selfish

Martin was the one who was selfish. At least Obama has sent his volunteers and recorded ads for him. Thats not selfish. You're full of shit.

[beachmom]

43. Martin has ads up that feature Obama. So I don't think that is true anymore. nt

[WeDidIt]

6. If you hadn't noticed, Barack Obama is a might bit busy these days

He has less than two months to take over from the worst disaster of a presidency in American history. He needs as much time as possible to transition.

so take your garbage post to teh dump where it belongs. The country comes before politics.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. Joe Scarbourgh said the same thing this morning

Chris Todd said he was full of crap

[ellacott]

23. Who was full of crap

Joe or Obama?

[Uzybone]

28. Scarborough of course

geez.

[ellacott]

37. I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch it myself, geez

Chuck Todd has also said some negative things about Obama. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he said something else negative about Obama.

geeezzz

[Ichingcarpenter]

44. Todd said that Obama has done robo ads and TV endorsements also

has the force of his team down there, but they don't think its a win down there.
He sent Clinton and Gore who have more southern appeal. Don't know if I totally
agree with that, he then added that if this had been Max Cleland vs Martin it might have
changed things. Martin, according to Todd, is not the kind of vote that a Cleland would have been
in the Senate.

Anyway, Todd said that Joe was totally wrong on his assessment. Joe called Obama a chicken too.

[ellacott]

47. Thank you

[Ichingcarpenter]

55. Barr voters would never be Obama voters and that's who made the Run-off

happen. The numbers aren't there and you can be sure that Obama's chief strategists
and organizers know that. They are given it a shot and besides Obama's job today
was damn important.

[ellacott]

58. Barr was definately a big factor

They also reported that manyof the voters only voted for President. They left the field for Senator blank. If they couldn't get them to vote for Martin on 11/4 it's going to be more difficult to get them to come back for a special election.

[SeaLyons]

9. Oh please......

Martin has had tremendous democratic support. He's not going to win anyway.

[Seen the light]

18. Would Obama have won without Kennedy appearing with him?

It's interesting to think about. If Obama had never gotten Senator Kennedy to appear with him early in the primary, would he have still beaten Clinton? Maybe, maybe not. It's interesting to think about.

Appearances with people with the clout Obama has now can go a long way.

[thewiseguy]

32. Yes he would have.

May I remind you that he lost Massachusetts?

[Every Man A King]

38. In Georgia??

Martin is running for Senator of Georgia. Obama was running as for Pres of the US. If you don't see the difference you will never understand how Obama going down there won't help Martin and will probably hurt him.

[Shakespeare]

10. stupid post n/t

[grantcart]

11. Now let me see if I have this right

He had the courage to turn away from Wall Street and huge salaries


He had the courage to turn away from a clerkship at the Supreme Court.


He had the courage to take a job working as a community organizer working with poor people in a rough neighborhood in a strange city.


He had the courage to challenge an incumbent for the State Legislature.


He had the courage to challenge much more famous candidates in the primary for the IL Senate seat.


He had the courage to stand up against the war when few politicians did.


He had the courage to run for President with only 2 years in the senate, running with the name Barack Hussein Obama.


He had the courage to take on the most powerful family in Democratic Party history.


He had the courage to take on the General Election with a campaign that never went negative.


He had the courage to run for President knowing that there would be death threats.



And now in this anonymous chat room where no one risks anything you are calling him out for not having enough political courage.


How courageous of you.

[Seen the light]

21. And yet none of that addresses my point

He has had the time to appear with Martin. Since that's the only non-political reason put forth so far as to why Obama won't appear with Martin, can you think of one?

[onenote]

29. why does there have to be a "non-political" reason

The political reasons for not appearing personally are compelling. And its not a sign of a lack of courage to make smart strategic decisions.

[grantcart]

48. I can think of 50 but here is the most likely

While everyone outside of GA sees this as a critical seat to either make or break the Democrats 60 seat margin, the best path to a win is to keep it on 'local' issues that are pertinent to Georgia.

I heard Martin on NPR the other day and he specifically said that while the Obama campaign kept open their offices and are continuing to help he wanted the campaign to be decided by Georgians about issues that are important to Georgia.


Since the Republicans are loading up with outsiders it seems clear that Martin feels his best chance for winning is to concentrate on local issues and not as a pawn of the national debate, where he will almost certainly lose. Obama's presence would undermine that effort.

BTW if you didn't get the point the first time, given all of the President-elect's courageous actions in his life, questioning his courage in the comfort of the anonymous DU is pure chickenshit cowardice.

[Thrill]

16. How did it workout for newly elected Bill Clinton injecting himself into a GA runoff?

[Seen the light]

24. It did not affect his ability to govern in any way, shape, or form nt

[Thrill]

33. No but it made him look like a damn fool. And he had actually won the state

So I see no reason whatsoever for Obama to do anything more than he has already

[AllentownJake]

17. Maybe he is actually a little busy

Preparing to become the most powerful person in the world and putting together a plan to help the American people?

[TexasObserver]

25. Sir, I demand satisfaction!

Don't be maligning Obama like that.

[MaineDem]

26. Sad

:shrug:

[me b zola]

36. My vote was for drunk

...but poster states that s/he is at work. Although those two things are not mutually exclusive.

[anonymous171]

27. GA is not really a state where Obama would have any pull.

[happychatter]

30. your motives are questionable and this post, while creative, is incendiary bullshit bait

hate to run

[Seen the light]

54. I admit the title was a little incendiary and I wish I could edit it

However, you want to know what my motive is in this post? To vent. To make Obama look bad. Yes, I'll admit that. He pissed me off and if Martin loses by a point or two when turnout could have been a lot higher on his side if Obama had "found the time", I'm going to find it very difficult to not blame Obama for not helping him out more.

These kinds of posts CAN make a difference. After all, there's a reason why we're not going to have an insane Cheney-esque head of the CIA under Obama.

[happychatter]

56. I like criticism, unlike some of the brethren... this doesn't qualify - sorry

democracynow

commondreams

realnews

I think Scahill, as an example, is brilliant

we need those voices

but this one?

not so much...

we have two wars... south asia is almost in flames... nuclear holocaust potential... we're teetering on the precipice of a global depression... the middle class here has been two loan denials away from public transportation and homelessness since the effects of NAFTA started being felt in earnest

we are in DEEP SHIT... and this is all you got?

[ellacott]

31. What's hilarious is that you just assume he's not there because he lacks courage

Having no clue what other factors went into this decision.

[Seen the light]

46. The only ones that make any sense are political ones though right?

I mean...this thing about him not having enough time...you don't believe that do you?

What other non-political factors could there have been since Martin asked and he refused?

[ellacott]

50. I don't know why he's not there, that's my point

You immediately assume it's because he lacks courage. I don't know so I won't presume to have all the answers.

[CitizenPatriot]

35. you know what???

To the poster who told Obama to "get his ass down to Georgia" -- If your rude and inappropriate address of our PE is any indication of your judgment, I'm glad he doesn't take orders from you.

Obama has played this well, since the main thing Shameless has going for him (since even the pukes know he is an ass) is that he will stop "Obama's liberal agenda". If Obama showed up here, the Pukes would turn out in droves to vote against him/Martin.

As it is, they've brought Palin here to whip up the base because Shameless has nothing else. In our own RW paper, RW write in begging people to vote for Shameless even though he's a jerk. that's the real deal.

Obama is doing this right. And while I know we won't get the turnout from EVERYONE we had in the GE, I'm not sure it's just AA who are showing up less. What did 23% mean in early voting versus 30% in the GE? How many of those people voted down the ticket? I can tell you from working on the campaign that MANY early voters failed to vote for anyone but POTUS. I can also tell you that many AA are very motivated to GOTV on this one.

We'll see what happens. It's a tough state with the SOS violating court orders and the Diebold uncertified machines being used-- which got Shameless elected in the first place. No, GA does NOT love Shameless. Even the pukes know better for the most part. They're just desperate because what else have they got at this point?

[Every Man A King]

39. You do realize that Obama lost Georgia right? n/t

[Bicoastal]

40. I can assure you that Obama WOULD be down there right now campagining his heart out...

...if he had lost the election.

Look at McCain and Palin--they don't have anything better to do right now. Obama does.

It's not courage Obama lacks--it's free time.

[beachmom]

41. Obama didn't even win GA. Look I am going out to vote tomorrow

but with a heavy heart. GA is still unfortunately a red state, and after the major Democratic victory in Nov., Republicans will be in no mood to cross party lines and vote for a Democrat.

I do think it would have been classy for Obama to come down here, but he has always been cautious. He is not going to risk it, when it appears Chambliss is going to win.

[Freddie Stubbs]

42. Perhaps Martin didn't want Obama campaigning for him

In case you didn't notice, Obama lost GA by over 5%. If Martin is going to win, he will likely need to get the support of some McCain voters.

[beachmom]

45. Martin asked Obama to come down here and campaign. nt

[Alexander]

57. Bill Clinton campaigning in GA didn't help, and Clinton WON Georgia.

1992: Clinton won Georgia and the election. Democratic Senator Wyche Fowler faces Paul Coverdell in a runoff. Clinton campaigns for Fowler, who loses.

2008: Obama wins the election but loses Georgia. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss faces Jim Martin in a runoff.

Please explain to me how Obama showing up will help Jim Martin, particularly since Clinton showed up in 1992 after he won Georgia and the Democratic incumbent still lost.

[beachmom]

75. Don't argue with me. I was just correcting a previous poster who said Martin did not want Obama in

GA. That is not true. Martin specifically asked Obama to come down here. You can argue that it is a bad idea for him to come, but it is a lie to say it is because Obama was asked not to come; quite the contrary.

[Alexander]

93. I will argue with whomever I wish, thank you very much.

I was keen to let this go.

But you keep saying that Obama could help in Georgia and you wish he'd go down there.

When Bill Clinton won Georgia in 1992, his campaigning in Georgia did not help get Wyche Fowler re-elected. And Fowler was an incumbent.

Besides, Clinton didn't have two wars, a global financial crisis and worldwide turmoil to deal with.

If Clinton couldn't help in Georgia, Obama certainly won't be able to.

And there's far too much on his plate for him to be campaigning right now.

[Seen the light]

94. You don't think things have changed at all in Georgia since 1992?

You don't think there's a bit of difference between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama? A bit of difference in the Senate candidates involved?

[Alexander]

97. Yes, things have changed. Republicans are more entrenched.

And DIEBOLD is there to help.

[beachmom]

112. I don't "keep saying" he would help. He MAY have helped with

delivering his supporters from Election Day to the runoff election. But let's deal with facts here. Martin asked Obama to come. Obama isn't. He may have good reasons, but that is what happened.

[Freddie Stubbs]

61. That may have just been a public courtesy rather than an sincere request request

[beachmom]

76. Nope. It was sincere. Martin wants him down here.

Martin was going to have trouble getting voters who don't like Obama anyway, so the President Elect would not hurt him if he came down here. Where he could have won this thing is if all the Obama voters showed up. He is not going to get that.

Now maybe Obama doesn't want to come down here, because he will look bad if Martin loses. That's fine, but let's not pin this on Martin.

[Freddie Stubbs]

86. Perhaps Martin is concerned that an Obama appearance will drive up the voter turn-out of

people who do not like Obama.

[beachmom]

113. Except Martin is not concerned about that. Otherwise he would not have

specifically asked Obama to come. Not only that, there were local news reports that Obama was going to come. I think that erroneous info may have come from Martin leaks, who were hoping against hope that he would come.

Palin came today. That is a pretty big splash in the media. You think if Obama hides from Georgia, people will forget he is going to be POTUS?

[Captain Hilts]

49. Obama has a track record of not walking out on limbs. nt

[atimetocome]

51. It might have helped given that the race seems so close.

[stillcool]

53. Obama lost Georgia..

I don't see how he could help seeing as people didn't vote for him in the first place.

[Alexander]

59. Exactly. Clinton won Georgia in 1992 and even he couldn't help in the Senate race.

Some people here just need to be pissed at Obama over something, even if it's something they made up in their head.

[Freddie Stubbs]

62. A majority of GA voters voted against Clinton in 1992

He carried the state by a plurality of 43%.

[Alexander]

63. Yet Clinton won the state, and still couldn't help the Democratic incumbent.

What part of this is not clear to you?

Let me also remind you that Obama lost Georgia by a majority, and DIEBOLD machines weren't all over the state in 1992.

[CBGLuthier]

60. I wuuld be upset if he DID what you wanted.

He is the president elect. Not a fucking cheerleader. He has many things to do and politicing is something he should not engage in at this time.

I expect better from him than to be a political hack like the current occupant.

[beachmom]

77. Yeah, who the hell would want a President who got MORE Democrats elected to Congress.

That's only for chumps. Bill Clinton wasn't stupid enough to do that. He showed everyone how NOT a hack he was by losing Congress to the Republicans in 1994.

Wow, this thread, as absurdly written as it was, is sure inviting equally absurd responses.

[CBGLuthier]

85. bullshit

You honestly believe, considering the state of this country, that the president elect should be playing fucking politics. You are the one who is being absurd.

As for midterm elections, that will be another matter but right now is absolutely NOT the time for him to be campaigning for other democrats. Period.

Personally I believe a president should be above this party bullshit. We have had 8 years of a partisan idiot and you think we need to continue that trend?

[Alexander]

89. How do you figure Obama could help in a state he lost?

For someone who doesn't want me to argue with them, you sure aren't helping your cause.

:shrug:

[Seen the light]

91. Jim Martin, the actual Democratic candidate down there, believes that he could help

Isn't that all you need to know really? Runoffs are different beasts from the general election with much lower turnout across the board. If Obama helped to mobilize Democrats stronger than Republicans, you don't think that could help Martin?

[Alexander]

95. If Clinton couldn't help after winning GA, Obama can't help after losing it.

As another DUer said, Jim Martin will need McCain and Barr supporters to win this.

Besides, Obama's presence will surely inspire the racists to get out and vote one more time.

[Seen the light]

96. He should honor the wishes of the candidate himself though

Obama shouldn't tell Jim Martin that he knows more about Georgia politics than he does. Martin thinks Obama would help. That should be enough for Obama.

[Alexander]

98. What about Martin honoring the wishes of the next President?

This goes both ways.

It's not like Obama did nothing for Martin. He did cut an ad for him.

But Obama already has his hands full trying to restore confidence and undo all of Bush's damage. I suspect Obama has more important things to do, and I doubt an appearance would change the outcome much anyway.

[elizm]

99. Did Martin endorse Obama during the primaries? Or did he...

...run away from him like so many of the Dem. candidates here in SC did? In their stupidity they thought Obama would hurt their chances when all along I felt identifying themselves with Obama would have helped them. If Martin is late to the game, too bad for him....and maybe makes his judgment questionable.

[Alexander]

103. Nope. Yet the OP doesn't say one word about Martin's courage.

:eyes:

[KSDiva]

64. I just think he's busy. I don't see Chimpy campaigning for the other guy...

they both have too much work to do in a time of crisis...even though Bush seems to be phoning most of it in...

[PM7nj]

65. There have been a lot of stupid, childish, whiny posts lately.

But this one blows my socks off. Congratulations, you win!

[mwei924]

66. Jim Martin can't win. It'd be a waste of time for Obama.

Even with Obama on the ballot, driving millions more voters to the polls than normal, he still lost Georgia. Sometimes you have to cut your losses and pick the fights that you can actually win. Otherwise, he's just losing precious political capital on a hopeless cause.

[Radical Activist]

67. Big rallies sometimes do more harm than good.

Obama was pretty good about making sure that his rallies didn't interfere with his on-the-ground campaign operations. But I've been in several campaigns where a big rally with a Presidential candidate was more of a distraction that took resources away from important get out the vote work. You end up devoting too much staff and volunteer time to planning the event instead of doing GOTV.

Plus, a big Obama rally will make some people in Georgia vote against Martin. Its very possible that Martin doesn't want an Obama visit, even if Obama didn't have a few other important things to deal with.

[Undercurrent]

68. Crap.

The OP said:
"Obama lacks the political courage"
"Obama is that he has been a complete wimp"

Sheesh!

Think.

Is this the time for Obama to use his political capital in a futile effort with an economic meltdown the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression, two wars, and terrorist attacks happening while the ship of state is essentially rudderless with a lame dead duck peice of shit still (technically) in office?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

69. I agree with you. I am originally from Atlanta and just returned from Thanksgiving with my family

The Saxby Shameless ads were disgusting. I am black and my family were talking about how they've been very politically active, but that many blacks outside of Atlanta and Decatur will not vote for whatever reason. They still feel dejected from the political system. I don't understand it and never will. Shameless' ads nearly made all of us physically ill, and the sad thing is that they will probably be effective.

I support Obama and will continue to do so, but I do think that he's being a coward for not supporting Jim Martin's efforts in person. While I understand all of the arguments against him visiting Georgia, I also feel that it says to me that he'll be more inclined to do what's politically expedient when it serves him directly.

[ecstatic]

72. How on earth can Obama be considered a coward?

He ran as a black man in this country, with the name BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!!! NOBODY thought a black man could win just 2 years ago, much less one with a muslim sounding name. He's out and about amongst crowds despite numerous death threats. Call him anything, but don't call him a coward.

[ellacott]

73. It's amazing isn't it?

There are many things he's been called on this board but coward is one of the most bizarre.

[beachmom]

82. Sigh. There may be better words, but let's just say Obama seems risk averse here.

And this isn't the first time. He blew off Lamont in the fall of '06 after promising he would campaign for him. By then, the polls didn't look good. Edwards didn't show up either. Only Clark and Kerry came.

[ellacott]

84. I measure risk by a different standard

I look at his life in general and know that it took courage to get where he is now.

It takes courage to govern as a democrat. They will turn on you faster than any other group. This is totally amazing. I would take my talents elsewhere because it wouldn't be appreciated by the left.

I wish some of you all can just take a step back

[Seen the light]

92. Barack Obama is a courageous man

I don't question that. I do question his POLITICAL courage at times, this being one of those times.

[camera obscura]

71. That doesn't even make sense. How would it take guts to go down to GA?

The simplest explanation is the best: he just doesn't have time.

[gblady]

74. have you checked his activities on Politico44?

Looks like most days he's in his transition team office...
often til very late at night...
think the man has plenty on his plate right now.

[Bucky]

78. Obama's pretty busy, you know, getting ready to govern the whole country

It'd be nice to get rid of Chambliss (and Obama's organization is helping in this long shot campaign) but it's just not the highest priority. It's not like the Dems will have an actual 60 votes with Lieberman counting as one of our caucus.

[me b zola]

79. Well I'm shocked

...that this mentally stunted thread hasn't been locked yet.

[beachmom]

81. Why should it be locked? Obama has disappointed some GA Democrats.

I take it in stride, but others don't. This is a legitimate argument to be made, even if the end is a bit over the top.

We were told a couple of weeks ago that he might come. Well, he didn't.

[me b zola]

87. The entire OP is over the top

...beginning with "Obama lacks political courage".

After the winning strategy of the primaries and the general elections where everyone and their brother second guessed PE Obama's strategy, courage, tenacity, and ability to fight were all showed to be wrong, I have no reservations about calling out a thread like this.

PE Obama is in the midst of arguably the most difficult transitions in American history and I'm supposed to have patience for this type of silliness? The Dow was down almost 700 points today because it has been reported that we have been in a recession for a year. The events in India over the week-end were not just simple horrific acts, they have the ability to completely ignite two nuclear powers and the region into conflict. Yet the author of this thread has said in the responses that "Obama can make the time, it'd just take a few hours" (loose quote of inane thought patterns), and another who agrees with the OP stated that "Obama needs to get his ass down here".

I'm supposed to take this crap seriously?

What? Do you guys think that Obama has his feet propped up on the ottoman saying, "fuck 'ol Martin, I'm busy picking out the curtains"? Seriously.

[Seen the light]

90. I admitted the title was inflammatory and I wish I could edit it

But here's the thing with "not having enough time". Couldn't Obama fly down to Atlanta with all of his top advisers in tow, have meetings on the plane trip down there, rock the cell and the Crackberry, and be able to make a quick speech for Martin WHILE continuing the transition process?

When he's overseas as President, isn't he still going to be able to conduct business back home then? After all, Obama himself said that presidents are supposed to be able to do more than one thing at a time.

[me b zola]

100. So you believe that he is not currently doing about a dozen things at once right now?

PE Obama is still finalizing and vetting choices for his administration. He is in constant contact with the current screwed up administration being familiarized with his new position and current world and domestic events. All of this in the midst of an outgoing administration that is doing everything in it's power to throw monkey wrenches into the works to make it all but impossible for President Obama to untangle the evil web that has been spun.

PE Obama knows that he needs as many allies as possible in Congress, but leadership is about priorities and delegation. PE Obama has stated repeatedly that he intends to hit the ground running on 1/20/09 and that will be accomplished by no mere mortal.

Sweet Jesus, what do you want from the guy? And I will pose to you the question that I asked the person that I was responding to: Do you think that PE Obama is relaxing with his feet on the ottoman just blowing off Martin? Seriously. What is it that you think is going through PE Obama's mind, what the hell is it that you think that he is doing?

[Alexander]

102. Why would Obama do that if it's not going to help?

He LOST Georgia. A state that his campaign had talked up as a surprise win.

What's more, Obama lost by a larger margin than Jim Martin did.

The runoff is happening only because of the Libertarian candidate. Martin will need Libertarians and Republicans to vote for him if he's going to win.

If Clinton couldn't swing a more Democratic Georgia for Fowler in '92, Obama definitely can't, now that DIEBOLD and the Republicans own the state.

[mtnsnake]

80. I don't agree with your premise, but I can't believe how many posters dont think Obama

could help out in Georgia, if only he had the time to do so. I always find it interesting how easily people on DU give up without even trying. It's the same thing for impeachment with how so many people say it's impossible to impeach so we shouldn't even try.

Hey, I don't agree with you that Obama doesn't have political courage because the man is loaded with it from his toes to his eyeballs, but I have to give you credit for a gutsy post. Few of the people talking trash to you in this thread would have the same balls you did in going out on a limb like that, so you get a rec from me just for that ;)

[leeann1317]

83. I'd much rather Obama spend his time getting his cabinet and our economy together...

than fight a lost cause.

[donco6]

101. Dumb.

Sorry, but Obama's past the campaigning and into the governing phase. There's no more time for "big rallies" and stump speeches.

[Top Cat]

107. Obama has more pressing concerns then coming to Georgia at this time.

I live in Georgia and I feel he has made the right decision.

[carpe diem]

108. Obama didn't go from the Illinois State House to...

...the White House in just five years by lacking political or physical courage or, more importantly, sound political judgment. If he thought that his physical presence in GA would be the difference between winning and losing, I think he would be there. Why would he not want another Dem vote in the senate? And, if his assessment is that he can't do more good than harm, then why come in a losing effort? Too often we fail to consider the big picture. There's more at stake than Jim Martin's political future. In a perfect world we could ignore political consequences, but, this one isn't perfect and Obama will need every ounce of political capital he can hang onto when he has to actually push through his agenda.

I think this will come down to GOTV, regardless of the polling. There is something to be said for not motivating your opponents, and, if the results of the early voting are any indication, the GOP voters are quite motivated already.

[RollWithIt]

111. Sound Judgement is a trait unheralded....

Too often we praise the irrational based on ideology.

You are correct in your assessment.

[onetwo]

109. Dude, he's the president-elect.

He's got far more important things to do.

Besides, the security necessary to allow him to speak to a significantly-sized crowd is likely insane in its scope and complexity. Don't be surprised if the inauguration ends up being Obama's last address in a public setting for four years.

Of far more material importance to Martin's chances is the Obama GOTV campaign machine, which appears to largely still be in place.

[Colobo]

110. I want Obama to do what he thinks is best for the country. He's probably doing that right now.

[davidpdx]

114. I tend to agree with most people in this thread, Obama is wise

not to go down there. I think there are other ways to put the full force of Obama's campaign behind Martin without actually making an appearance. Obama is doing that by cutting commercials and sending advisors to help.

I also highly doubt Martin will draw enough Libertarians or Republicans to top Chambliss.

It is totally possible we may even end up losing the seat in Minnesota race as well. As much as I'd like to see a toetag on Coleman's stay in the US Senate, he may very well eek out a win.

Nate Silver over at 538 wrote a good column about what is going on in Georgia:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/obamas-organizers-in-georgia-but-not.html

[sohndrsmith]

115. Obama is pretty damn busy right about now... even Martin appreciates that. n/t

[HughMoran]

116. Oooops I took a crap

...on DU's face.