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barack obama
January 2009 
A Quick Political Bone to Pick
Posted on Feb 29th, 2008
by 
Allison
Allison
I was again watching Hardball with Chris Matthews and i must say tonight i was disappointed with what I was hearing.
They were showing a clip of Barack Obama giving a speech somewhere in Texas. And in this particular part of the speech he wasn't talking about policy, he wasn't talking about the federal government, he was just talking about families. The need for parents to turn off the televisions, turn off the video games and make sure their kids are doing their homework, and if their kids are struggling, sit down with them help them with their homework, and get the teachers involved, and make sure they go to bed at a decent time, and keep them off the streets etc. The crowd loved it!
So of course the "roundtable" discussion on hardball goes something like...Why would Barack at this point in the race give such a conservative, family-values, pull yourself up by your bootstraps message? Why would Barack abandon the democratic base with this sort of message? (Now i must say there was one woman being interviewed who was excellent, but i didn't catch her name.) But the rest all seem bewildered by Barack's sudden conservative pitch!
Dear god what is happening to this country? Do we really see politics as that divided, that polarized? Do we really possibly believe that republicans are the only ones that would want kids doing their homework and going to bed at a decent time. Give me a break!
Of course parents need to be involved in their childrens education and of course our government needs to provide the programs and resources to give our kids every opportunity.
I know, i know liberals tend to lean more towards more governmental involvement, structural change and attempting to level the playing field so that everyone has an "equal" advantage, and i know that conservatives tend to lean towards the ideal that people have the ability to pull themselves up by their bootstaps and achieve the american dream. Truly i get it, i grew up in a family where one parent was conservative and one was liberal. But i think today those are much more leanings rather than hard defined ulitmate positions. I think they may view the key objective of the government differently, but there must be space in their heads to see that both perspectives have some validity.
And isn't it time for a president that see the value in both approaches, who can bring about policy to giving everyone a fair shot, while inspiring people to dig deep within themselves to reach for the american dream like never before.
I think it's time...
I hope to see more of these speeches from Barack, and I truly hope that some of the political pundits will begin to see beyond the black and white approach to politics and realize the country is ready for a more integrated, holistic view.
They were showing a clip of Barack Obama giving a speech somewhere in Texas. And in this particular part of the speech he wasn't talking about policy, he wasn't talking about the federal government, he was just talking about families. The need for parents to turn off the televisions, turn off the video games and make sure their kids are doing their homework, and if their kids are struggling, sit down with them help them with their homework, and get the teachers involved, and make sure they go to bed at a decent time, and keep them off the streets etc. The crowd loved it!
So of course the "roundtable" discussion on hardball goes something like...Why would Barack at this point in the race give such a conservative, family-values, pull yourself up by your bootstraps message? Why would Barack abandon the democratic base with this sort of message? (Now i must say there was one woman being interviewed who was excellent, but i didn't catch her name.) But the rest all seem bewildered by Barack's sudden conservative pitch!
Dear god what is happening to this country? Do we really see politics as that divided, that polarized? Do we really possibly believe that republicans are the only ones that would want kids doing their homework and going to bed at a decent time. Give me a break!
Of course parents need to be involved in their childrens education and of course our government needs to provide the programs and resources to give our kids every opportunity.
I know, i know liberals tend to lean more towards more governmental involvement, structural change and attempting to level the playing field so that everyone has an "equal" advantage, and i know that conservatives tend to lean towards the ideal that people have the ability to pull themselves up by their bootstaps and achieve the american dream. Truly i get it, i grew up in a family where one parent was conservative and one was liberal. But i think today those are much more leanings rather than hard defined ulitmate positions. I think they may view the key objective of the government differently, but there must be space in their heads to see that both perspectives have some validity.
And isn't it time for a president that see the value in both approaches, who can bring about policy to giving everyone a fair shot, while inspiring people to dig deep within themselves to reach for the american dream like never before.
I think it's time...
I hope to see more of these speeches from Barack, and I truly hope that some of the political pundits will begin to see beyond the black and white approach to politics and realize the country is ready for a more integrated, holistic view.
Access: Public
Of course they want to paint a picture of “liberal” parents teaching their children instant gratification, dope-smoking, malingering, living on the dole, and how to be homosexuals. It's a stereotype. Unfortunately for conservatives, they have painted such an amusing caricature of themselves (with no help from us), they are less likely to be taken seriously these days.
I feel the same way! I'm excited about this election. I can honestly say that I never have felt that way before. Maybe some see the Obama signs “HOPE” and think it's hokey. But hope is exactly what I feel. I feel inspired. Although…there's always that possibility of McCain winning. Heaven help us!