Good Luck Obama...

[grego]

thing is on the god thing, reading his book he bangs on about shared morals etc however i dont recall him at any time saying he believes in christian god - i'm convinced he is athiest (unless someone knows otherwise) & manages to use clever language to get away with it (which is fine by me btw).

policy wise he will not be massively different to bush, it is the way he goes about business that interests me. the consensus building, the acceptance of your own weakness & ignorance. if that could echo through american society it would create an attitude change & the policy changes would be over generations. maybe.

don't expect anything to happen on israel, iraq or iran that would be massively different & his fiscal hands are pretty much tied anyway.

i kind of agree really. he is too intelligent to believe in god per se, but i think he uses the whole faith thing as a useful conduit for provoking reflection, self-criticism, etc. besides, if he said what he truly felt about god or israel for that matter, he wouldn't be president.

totally disagree that he won't be any different to bush on policy. he's repeatedly talked about iraq troop withdrawals, reversing the tax cuts, gun control and dialougue with iran (remember bush basically didn't talk to iran at all).

i reckon he'll save sorting out middle east peace till his second term

 

[agentundercover]

i kind of agree really. he is too intelligent to believe in god per se, but i think he uses the whole faith thing as a useful conduit for provoking reflection, self-criticism, etc. besides, if he said what he truly felt about god or israel for that matter, he wouldn't be president.

totally disagree that he won't be any different to bush on policy. he's repeatedly talked about iraq troop withdrawals, reversing the tax cuts, gun control and dialougue with iran (remember bush basically didn't talk to iran at all).

i reckon he'll save sorting out middle east peace till his second term

ok granted on Iran, he is at least going to talk, I wonder if there is a back channel already ala IRA & the UK government having a dialogue. Could he reverse the tax cuts? What is the mood in america - I appreciate that may have been his position, but is it still as clear cut as that?

one phrase sticks with me on his god thing, that is religion as a 'vessell for his beliefs'.

 

[Ulster83]

I initially thought the same re the God issue - that he probably was an atheist, but was playing to the religious lobby, but if he is putting it on, he is a damn fine actor. Although it was great the way he mentioned non-believers when stating all the people in America.. Thats surely a first? When you think we could have had Mitt Romney as President... (Shudders)! At least the issues that define the religious debates in the US aren't likely to feature in his term.. i.e. Abortion, gay bashing and stem cell research.

Chewie, I agree completely with everything you said lol. As much as I admire Cameron, he isn't an Obama figure by a country mile. Although I don't think he should even try to be, nor should we want him to be.

Obama has such a story that surrounds him, it is going to be fascinating to see the substance.

 

[djchewie]

Chewie, I agree completely with everything you said lol. As much as I admire Cameron, he isn't an Obama figure by a country mile. Although I don't think he should even try to be, nor should we want him to be.

he should be himself, even if it does mean a small minority of the country cant see past his etonian past. cant pick and choose whose womb we squirt ourselves out of can we!

Obama has the power to make people sit up and listen and take notice - and these people come along very rarely.

 

[Morbyd]

I initially thought the same re the God issue - that he probably was an atheist, but was playing to the religious lobby, but if he is putting it on, he is a damn fine actor. Although it was great the way he mentioned non-believers when stating all the people in America.. Thats surely a first? When you think we could have had Mitt Romney as President... (Shudders)! At least the issues that define the religious debates in the US aren't likely to feature in his term.. i.e. Abortion, gay bashing and stem cell research.

I think you're right about mentioning non-believers, and what a great statement that was. I think his mom, an academic, was atheist so maybe it was a nod to her.

If I'm not mistaken, Obama belongs to the Unitarian church, which is Christian but tends to be a bit more open about the concept of God. Unitarian friends I've had were bordering on agnostic.

He's attended churches since his mid-20s, which I believe was before he went into politics, so I doubt he goes without some level of belief. Still, I think aside from the publicly necessary mentions of god in speeches, I doubt religious issues will be at the forefront of his administration.

Romney would have been a disaster. Of all the candidates from this past election, I think he's the one that frightened me the most.

 

[Morbyd]

policy wise he will not be massively different to bush, it is the way he goes about business that interests me. the consensus building, the acceptance of your own weakness & ignorance. if that could echo through american society it would create an attitude change & the policy changes would be over generations. maybe.

don't expect anything to happen on israel, iraq or iran that would be massively different & his fiscal hands are pretty much tied anyway.

I'm with Grego... disagree with you on differences in policy. He's already halted the kangaroo courts in Guantanamo. Many the policies he's announced represent a definite break from the Bush legacy.

But your comment on his style is right, and it is his most impressive trait. It's almost unprecedented that he would have met with McCain right after the election to sit down and figure out what legislative items they could cooperate on, brought Clinton into the cabinet at the highest level, etc. Candidates just don't do that, especially the winners. He takes advice and amalgamates it, and his pragmatism can often trump his ideology, which I like because considered, informed decisions are always the best ones.

 

[grego]

But your comment on his style is right, and it is his most impressive trait. It's almost unprecedented that he would have met with McCain right after the election to sit down and figure out what legislative items they could cooperate on, brought Clinton into the cabinet at the highest level, etc. Candidates just don't do that, especially the winners. He takes advice and amalgamates it, and his pragmatism can often trump his ideology, which I like because considered, informed decisions are always the best ones.

exactly, and it is this approach which is the new dawn. His campaign, based on policy and hope and truth, rather than smears and attacks is the best example.

if obama does nothing else, he will have achieved more than any other president in recent memory, because he has totally enagaged hundreds of millions of people into understanding that they can make a difference.

moreover, the fact that millions of small donations contributed to the election victory means so many feel like they have a real stake in the electoral success of the campaign, its not just big business and back handers. this victory was financed by the people.

obama has always talked about a new breed of politics. it is the type of new dawn that i hope will see people, like karl rove, away from any position of power for the rest of their lives

 

[Moha]

Couldn't agree more with Morbyd & Grego. The man already stopped the guantanamo mess.

Source:24heures.ch