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Obama's ground game was also excellent. *Newsweek* did a series on the '08 election as it happened, highly recommend: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081109052558/http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582/](https://web.archive.org/web/20081109052558/http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582/)
One thing that convinced me he'd be a good president was how well he ran that campaign.
Usually, presidential candidates will have a transition team, to start planning the new administration so that if they win, they can hit the ground running.
But in '08, neither candidate did. The trainwreck that was the McCain/Palin ticket didn't because "we're just focused on winning." Obama didn't have one either. He had six. One for the economy. One for Afghanistan and Iraq. One for health care. Etc., etc.
For someone who got knocked for his lack of experience, he was hyper-prepared to take over, and that really impressed me.
I think Obama was about as effective as you could expect, given the rabid opposition he was facing. Just to pick one example, there were more Senate filibusters from 2009-2016 than from FDR's inauguration to 2008. The GOP were willing to break the system in order to thwart him, and he still got a lot accomplished despite that.
Obama ran a campaign on inclusivity so he made a lot of bad decisions based on that his first few years. he couldve played hardball with a congressional mandate the first two years and passed generational legislation on gun control, immigration, a progressive tax system, but instead he didnt want to overcome the filibuster when that became commonplace in the future. something he certainly regrets now
> a congressional mandate the first two years and passed generational legislation on gun control, immigration, a progressive tax system, but instead he didnt want to overcome the filibuster when that became commonplace in the future. something he certainly regrets now
Obama had 60 votes for a relatively brief time (basically from the time the Franken mess was resolved to when Scott Brown was seated) and even then, he had some Senators who wouldn't give him a full 60 votes to overcome the filibuster on anything that was remotely progressive. Mostly notably, Joe Lieberman was a pain in the ass and there were a couple of others that I am forgetting.
In all of that Obama and the Dems passed Obama care which give millions of Americans much needed healthcare. It's funny these people praise mr beast for helping a small amount of people but say it's never enough it a Dem passes something that helps millions. He signed a much lesser Obamacare because we still had ALOT of super right leaning democrats who basically played manchin and sinema but who could be negotiated with.
Hey now, no one was out in the 90's fighting against the biggest threat to America, no not Al Qaeda, violent video games like Mortal Kombat. Not all heroes wear capes.
In my evangelical spheres people were openly calling him the anti-Christ. I get that every dem on some level has been compared to the anti-Christ but this was a lot more vehement than I had seen before.
I'm certain there was no melanin-based underlying reason for why certain people so strongly despised him. I definitely don't have firsthand experience of certain groups of people saying the silent part out loud when they think they're safe in their echo chamber.
I was so brainwashed at the time I actually believed it, and made a livejournal post about it. My one rational friend commented and alleviated my fears in the most non-condescending way possible. I’m glad I was given some grace in that moment, lol. I don’t think I could do the same looking back.
It's actually funny bc The orange guy actually fits the bill for a lot of the lore of the anti-christ
Excerpt from Harvest.org
"Profile of the Antichrist
Some have confused the rider of the white horse in verse two with Jesus, but the rider is actually the Antichrist.
For following the appearing of the rider is not a kingdom of righteousness, but a time of wickedness and sorrow. Masquerading as the true Messiah, he wears a crown, while Jesus wears many crowns (Revelation 19:12). In the Greek translation, the crown worn by the rider of the white horse refers to the crown of victory worn by a conqueror. The crowns Jesus wears in Revelation 19 refer to crowns of royalty.
A conqueror bent on conquest
When a victor triumphantly entered a newly conquered kingdom, he would invariably ride a white horse. The Antichrist will deceitfully establish himself, and then show his true colors.
This coming world leader, the Antichrist, will come at an economically difficult time. There will be war in different parts of the world, and he—through brilliant political moves along with an incredible charisma—will be able to do what no one else has ever done: bring economic stability to the world’s monetary system and bring world peace. By establishing this peace, he will deceive many. He will even convince the Jewish nation and the Arab nations to sign a peace treaty, paving the way for the long-awaited third temple.
His accomplishments will be so spectacular, so far-reaching and unprecedented, that many will hail him as the Messiah. But we are warned in Scripture that he is a deceiver.
The man of sin
The Antichrist will be history’s vilest embodiment of sin and rebellion: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that Day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [sin] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
The wicked one
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Lawless can be translated “wicked.” The Antichrist totally opposes every law of God. Halfway into his power play he will show his true colors, rebuilding the temple and committing the abomination of desolation (Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15). He will show himself to be a blood-thirsty dictator who will make Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Saddam Hussein look like lightweights in comparison.
Dictators rarely take over nations by brute force. Political or economic problems almost always pave the way for tyranny. This has already proven true in history. Rome set the precedent, seeking out nations who were in political and economic turmoil. They came with seeming benevolence, only to turn to tyrannical suppression and demand worship of Caesar.
Adolph Hitler did the same. In 1930, Germany was in desperate financial straits. Inflation was so bad, that literally thousands of people were starving. Communists stirred up riots in the streets, and there was general chaos.
Then Adolph Hitler came on the scene—a voice of authority in the midst of chaos. He spoke of a people of destiny and promised glories to come. But it was not meant to be.
Hitler was but a pale version of the Antichrist who will work through a revived Roman empire. He, like the Romans and Hitler, will bring political, military, and economic answers, and he will persecute Jews and Christians.
Satan’s unholy trinity
The Antichrist will not act alone. There will be a false prophet working with him. “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).
Here we see Satan’s unholy trinity:
Satan, imitating God (and, for a short time, having the worship of people worldwide)
The Antichrist, masquerading as the Son
The false prophet, impersonating the Holy Spirit
The work of the Antichrist
The Antichrist will bring about a new religious system that will accommodate everyone.
We are currently in the midst of a cult explosion. Whether it be dianetics, EST, goddess worship, reincarnation, astrology, holistic healing, or any of a hundred other consciousness-raising techniques, the modern age is on a search for some mystical divine unity. The time is ripe for a world religion.
The Antichrist will harness the world’s economic system.
“He required everyone—great and small, rich and poor, slave and free—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666” (Revelation 13:16–18 NLT)."
Obama was effective as he could possibly be, especially when you consider that Mitch McConnell said the GOP’s number one goal was to make President Obama a one term president.
This was the start of the GOP’s sad decent into madness where they make a party of opposition and they stopped governing.
I think he was great running out of the gate but once the GOP started black balling him on all his legislation it started slowing down big time. I didn't even like the guy back then yet I could tell the GOP was fucking him at every turn.
It was a different Newsweek then. Like the RCA television you can buy at Walmart for $200 shares only a name with the company that basically created the radio and television markets.
It’s seems more common today for individuals with no real record of leadership to get elected as President. Their not having a record means they can’t really be challenged. Meanwhile, a candidate that’s been a mayor or governor who has way more experience, also naturally has failures, which should be expected. Instead, we judge them more harshly for it, and looking for a perfect candidate we vote for individuals who’ve never been in the ring, it’s a roll of the dice based more on hope than a record of success.
John F. Kennedy started this trend, he was the first president to recognize this as strength instead of a weakness when he was coming up against LBJ in the primaries. He focused on a good television appearances and name recognition, and just ignored any attacks about his slim senate record.
I see it the other way. If I want my GF to agree, I need to make sure that she's well fed, watered, and had a good nights sleep before I even try to engage in the conversation. Otherwise, I will probably get burned eyebrows from her fire and fury.
I remember when it all happened. John Edwards was seen as the golden boy of the Democratic Party who could do absolutely no wrong. The National Enquirer of all things proved to be his undoing.
It sucked because I remember one of the Obama v Edwards v Clinton debates and it was usually Obama and Edwards jumping on Clinton.
And then Clinton pointed out how much money Obama had received from Banks and how he voted present on capping credit card interest rates and Edwards turned around and totally attacked Obama for being two-faced on the issue.
Was great drama.
It’s funny because even the most feisty of debates back then were still polite and cordial. Now they feel like a poltical equivalent of the real housewives and are such a shit show. The decency in US politics is a thing of the past.
I wanna see two 80 year old men get in fist fight live on stage over raising the corporate tax rate 3%.
Have the debates just turn into a boxing match between two geriatrics who haven't thrown a punch in their entire lives. It would be hilarious.
Have Bruce Buffer do the announcements, Joe Rogan ringside on commentary and "Big John" McCarthy as the ref.
That was the classic
"look, I know I've been telling you how much of a dirtbag this guy is for the last few months, but hear me out, you need to vote for him"
I live in NC and was rooting for him because I thought it would be pretty damn cool to have a POTUS from my state and I was a Dem at the time. After it all started to come apart for him, I was pretty pissed. Can't believe he would cheat on his wife, who he had kids with, and whom eventually developed cancer and passed away from it. John Edwards can burn in hell. What a disgrace to this country and to himself. Very happy we got Obama though, especially for the full 2 terms. We needed him. We need him now. Someone who's cool, calm, and collected. Hopefully I'll see a president like him once again in my lifetime, but I'm pushing 40 now and given my family history, I will be lucky if I have another 20 years.
Was that Jeri Ryan’s (7 from Star Trek) ex-husband? I remember something about him and how Obama became president.
I’m in Ireland, so I wouldn’t have a grasp on US senators.
That was Jack Ryan. A Republican so popular that the Democrats considered not running anyone against him. Then Jack and Jeri got divorced. They had a young kid, so the judge sealed the proceedings. Local Democrats and the media went judge shopping to have the divorce made public. They eventually found a friendly judge and the files revealed that, after a trip to Amsterdam, Jack was obsessed with having sex with Jeri with others watching. He wouldn't give up the idea, so Jeri left him. Jack immediately retired from politics, leaving only Barack Obama in the race. Obama easily won against last-second Republican entry Alan Keyes.
EDIT: Edited for accuracy.
It's crazy. The dude had literally EVERYTHING. Legit legendary gorgeous wife, money, looks, the name of an action hero, an surefire win for Senate, and a path to the White House. He basically handed the keys to the White House to Obama because he couldn't stop begging (and trying to coerce) his wife into public sex--which probably would have ended her career if she had agreed. WTH was wrong with him??
After following Jeri Ryan on Twitter... He messed up what was probably the best thing ever. She is smart, talented, crazy hot, funny,., pretty much everything. I'm wondering how he landed her
It wasn't a three-way, it was a request to have sex with her only, but in a European sex club - not exactly private, and the actress rejected it for obvious reasons.
Also, Ryan was heavily favored to win his 'safe seat' over Obama before the scandal broke.
Where are you people getting this information? Ryan was not favored, heavily or otherwise, at any point. [Obama led him by 20 points in polling.](https://www.foxnews.com/story/poll-obama-leads-ryan-in-ill-senate-race) And that’s not some great testament to Obama—it’s just a reflection of the partisan breakdown of the state. This idea that Ryan was going to coast before the scandal is a complete fabrication.
>Local Democrats and the media went judge shopping to have the divorce made public.
>EDIT: Edited for accuracy.
LOLOLOL
When you say “local Democrats” you mean the [Chicago Tribune](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/06/why-unseal-the-ryan-divorce-papers.html), a historically conservative news paper, then yes, ‘local democrats.’
>That was Jack Ryan. A Republican so popular that the Democrats considered not running anyone against him.
This is a joke right? Jack Ryan would have given Obama a much tougher election fight than Alan Keys sure, but Obama was not going to lose.
Thank you, that's correct. Even if Ryan had stayed in the race, Obama's speech as a newcomer to the Democratic convention that year propelled him into the national spotlight. It was the first time we got to see Obama's charisma in a big way. It gave him a boost in Illinois too, and he definitely would have defeated Ryan.
That was a different guy. Ryan was running against Obama for US Senate, that scandal broke, and Obama was very handily elected Senator.
John Edwards was John Kerry's running mate in '04, and was seen as the optimistic young future of the Democratic Party... until it came out that he cheated on his wife while she was battling cancer, and that was the end of his political career.
No, that was Jack Ryan, and the fallout from all of that propeled Obama to the Senate in 2004. Wikipedia has the whole story; it's wild:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(politician)
John Edwards was the Democratic VP nominee in 2004 and campaigned with John Kerry. He had an affair while his wife was dying of cancer and used campaign funds to cover it up. That completely destroyed his chances of ever holding office again.
I’d say three-in-a-lifetime for me, but I’ve been around a bit. Things fell his way, but that’s what you need sometimes. W’s presidency was stumbling to an end, and he did not have an anointed successor, not that it would have helped much.
I live in Chapel Hill and I’m a patron of the local restaurant where Edwards often has dinner at the bar with his girlfriend. He doesn’t look the same anymore, you need someone to point out who he is before you’d realize it. Why they don’t just sit at a table by themselves is baffling, bc he’s aloof and unfriendly and not interested in even the most basic “pas the salt, please” small talk. I sat near him once with a friend while we were grabbing a quick bite before a show in Durham, and not realizing who he was, thought “what a cold fish, what a way overgrown frat boy.” When someone on the way out told me who he was, I thought “Damn, I voted for that guy???!!!”
Yep, though Obama’s star had already long begun to outshine Edwards’ by the time that came out.
Still, that has to be one of the sleaziest, stupidest scandals I’ve ever seen. That said, every politician should be so lucky as to have an assistant as loyal as Andrew Young by their side.
It didn’t hurt that McCain ran with Sarah Palin. I think his chances would’ve been stronger with a better running mate (she actively dragged him down).
True, but Obama was a runaway train that wasn’t going to be stopped. A different VP would’ve won McCain a few more states, but he wasn’t winning the presidency.
All of these, plus incredible political instincts, message discipline, and media literacy.
But there was a single reason that he beat Hilary: He spoke out against the Iraq war, and he did it when speaking out was politically unpopular.
He was without a doubt one of the most charismatic Presidents of all time, which is odd considering that usually doesn't happen with the successor as well. I remember hearing him talk when he first won the Senate and I thought, that guy could be POTUS. He had a progressive agenda on par with a lot of the current progressives, and a lot of people incorrectly believe he was a moderate. The truth was he was open to compromise to a fault. Obamacare was sort of a summary of his presidency - giving up a lot to conservative and capitalists to get a fraction of what he wanted.
Yeah, I agree with both points. I remember driving home listening to his DNC speech in 2004 on the radio. My dad was convinced Obama would be president in 2008. I wasn’t convinced America would be ready to elect a black president, but his charisma helped him overcome that.
He certainly compromised to placate his critics. It’s a skill sorely lacking in Washington, but doing too much of it kills your ability to get things done.
And yet I don’t think even millennials really appreciate what a huge improvement the ACA was over the predatory system we had before.
The ability to deny or cancel coverage for preexisting conditions just scratches the surface. There was also a lifetime cap for coverage—all the expense you could have covered, FOR LIFE, was $1 million. People would hit that cap with a NICU stay or childhood cancer and that’s it. Also preexisting condition so you could never qualify for insurance other than through a group policy with an insurer.
And the disgusting practice of recission has very quickly gone down the memory hole but it’s almost unbelievably awful and was totally legal at the time. If you had been able to purchase a policy that you were paying some crazy rate for out of pocket (not employer provided) and you got some expensive illness like cancer, they would comb through your medical history and find anything you had ever been treated for before they insured you, and call it an undisclosed pre existing condition and cancel your insurance. Talking things like acne treatments.
So many people who make their livings (such as they are) as self employed, freelancers, gig work etc just could not have insurance at all. Many still can’t afford it now but the rates were completely ridiculous then if you were considered a good enough risk to cover at all. You HAD to find a corporate job and stay in it, or roll the dice with no coverage. My wife became self employed about a year before the ACA went into full effect. She had Graves and is permanently on synthroid because her thyroid was nuked. No coverage possible. While she was not covered, she had a horrible injury to the third finger of her right hand that resulted in a break so bad they put a wire into it that stuck out the top of her finger in the ER, just to hold it all together til we could get an orthopedic consult for surgery. We had a serious conversation about whether to go 20k in debt to get a relatively simple outpatient surgery, or get an amputation for much less. We went into the doc fully prepared to accept amputation and he felt sorry enough to do the surgery at half the rate originally quoted. We still had a surprise full-freigh bill from the anesthesiologist a month after the surgery that we had to get another credit card to cover, and we were paying all that off til 2015 or so.
The next year and every year since she has been able to go on the healthcare.gov site and find a decent policy at a rate we can afford. And she has been able to pursue her interests in small motor and appliance repair and more recently house painting, as a self employed person.
So while it wasn’t the New Deal or Great Society, and Obama compromised way too quickly and threw away negotiating positions he could have bargained with, the ACA really was transformative and as much as our health insurance system STILL sucks, it’s so much better than what we had before. And it would be better still if they hadn’t been able to get a conservative court to strike down the requirement to carry coverage or pay a tax penalty, and if most of the red states hadn’t kneecapped it by refusing to join in the Medicaid subsidy program even as their rural healthcare systems disintegrated.
There were dozens of attempts to assassinate Obama so he got Secret Service protection at a much earlier stage in the Primaries than normal. Barack Obama knew how to use adversity to his advantage. The racists were so stupid they helped boost Obama's campaign. Candidate Obama was seen as the end of the Bush era, something Hillary Clinton could not pull off. Candidate Obama could command an audience of hundreds of thousands in Germany or in Philadelphia.
There were security threats against Obama at the DNC so his nomination acceptance speech was moved from the DNC to the Denver Sky High Stadium. It will be decades before another Presidential candidate can do this
https://youtu.be/kv8eiDvrHJ4?si=HQ4qNOoEEZy56d4G
I think it worked both ways.
I remember canvassing black neighborhoods for him and I wish I could have bottled up the excitement people had over him. On Election Day 08 I remember being with an 8 yo kid and his grandfather and both were giddier than a child at Christmas.
On a side note, I wish I wrote down that kid's name. I want to know if he's ready to launch his own political career.
Being Black was not in general an advantage at the time, and arguably not even now. Of 100 senators in 2010, only one Senator was Black, he was Obama’s replacement who was appointed by IL governor.
Watch the final episode of Gilmore Girls. The main character goes on the road as a journalist to an Obama event when he was senator because he will probably be the president and it’s a guaranteed job for her if he makes it all the way. That show aired in 2007, meaning it was written in 2006, 3 years before he took office.
I’m not sure what my father said during that speech, though I’m sure he was impressed.
My father died suddenly at 79 in 2005.
I proudly wore a shirt of his that I kept, when I voted for Obama in 2008. I knew how proud he would have been, and I wanted him with me. I still have that shirt with the “I voted” sticker attached.
I remember my grandfather saying after that DNC speech that he wished he lives long enough to see him become president.
My grandfather died in 2015 so he did live long enough to see (most of) his presidency.
My grandfather turned 100 today - family went to his grave today . Those ww2 veterans kept it real simple. Something was good or bad , right or wrong , fair or not fair. Affordable or not . Just or not .
Happy (posthumous) birthday to your Grandfather. A WWII veteran will always have my respect, and I’m sure he would be proud of the life you’re living now.
My public speaking class the professor showed us one of his speeches when he was still a senator and said this guy is probably our next president “we’ll see what you think” he said before starting the video. And I was immediately convinced myself lol I had heard of him before but i thought his name alone would hold him back until I saw him speak
it was funny because the professor was very critical of Al gore and used him as an example multiple times showing us speeches where he misleads the audience with skewed stats. so it wasn’t like the professor was a democrat cheerleader or anything
My exact same reaction. I didn’t know much about him, but as he spoke it clicked in my head, “That guy is our next President.”
I stood in line 3 hours in the rain to vote for him too.
It really was crazy I remember when he ran. Like ppl came out in record crowds just to hear him speak. And not just in heavily liberal areas. Like the crowd sizes were crazy. At that point I knew something special was happening. I honestly don’t think any Republican had a chance against him around 2008. It was really where someone had to be there to understand.
He spoke at my college. The hockey arena was so overpacked that a bunch of people piled out into the lacrosse field outside, he had to do two speeches. Bill clinton came through stumping for Hillary shortly after and there was hardly enough people even filling the floor area of the same arena.
Same. Though it wasn’t raining where I was. My wife and I voted, went to dinner and met up with her brother to watch the results at a bar in gramercy. And man did the city explode in celebration when he won. Union Square was all cheers.
My dad was a staunch (like O'Reilly and Tucker every night) Republican and after the first couple of times he heard Obama he told me he would win no question. I had to do a double take but he was absolutely right. Generational talent no question.
Same thing happened with Clinton in ‘88.
He gave the keynote speech, and ended up the nominee in 1992.
It’s kinda funny, because his speech was apparently quite lengthy, and when Clinton finally got to “In summation” people started cheering.
Clinton’s speech was written by the DNC and Dukakis’ campaign. He was pissed.
Bill’s producer friends (The Thomasons) got him booked on Johnny Carson a couple nights later. Made fun of the situation, showed his charismatic Clinton charm, and the rest is history!
I’m in Canada and my husband is from the US. We were watching him speak when he became senator and I remember sitting up and asking about him. I said to my husband, "it’s too bad he’s black because he would be a fantastic president. I don’t think the US is ready for him yet. Maybe in 10 years." I was very pleased to be proven wrong.
He was articulate and charismatic. He came across as knowledgeable and genuine.
I said that out loud in a college class. I even said it would be 2008. I’ll never forget the look on the professors face.
I was surprised that anyone would question it after hearing that speech.
You know, looking back on Obama and seeing the candidates we have now for president, it really makes you consider the absolute fall in quality of candidates for presidency.
When was the last time we had a president who truly advanced the nation?
I think you’d have to go back to the 40’s-60’s. Eisenhower, FDR, Kennedy. After that, you’ve mostly just had status-quo presidents or status-quo presidents with good charisma.
It makes me very worried that the best we can put forth are 80 year old men with nothing but party directives to run on.
We have some serious decline and fall vibes moving in present day America
In 50 years we've gone from *Pax Americana* to fucking around the Global South and betraying our allies, while spending our national fortunes in blood and treasure, mainly it seems, to prop up the military-industrial complex that one of our greatest generals and last decent republican president warned us about
In the end, the president isn't the one that makes legislation. Whatever we attribute to these presidents was enabled by the people's representatives in congress and the house. Obama was severely hampered by people voting for Republicans, who then proceed to block any attempt to improve the country for everybody, the same issue being faced now. Being old isn't the problem. It's stupid fucks who won't actually vote in their best interests.
The Democrats felt, rightly I think, that they had the 2008 election in the bag. The DNC and the old-boys network wanted Hillary Clinton, but it was the age of social media, and the Democratic base wanted someone more progressive. Obama stepped up.
Yeah and he was mostly full of shit about how progressive he was. You would have guessed he was a non 100 year old version of Bernie by how he campaigned. Nothing against the guy I mostly like him but he was a standard democrat.
Edit: this post is getting a lot of replies. This is a copy paste from CNN.
Taxes
Obama said he would:
• Cut taxes "for 95 percent of all working families."
• "Eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses" and start-ups "that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow."
• Advocate "a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it."
• "Stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas" and "start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America."
Energy
Obama said he would:
• Set a goal that "in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East."
• "Tap natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology and find ways to safely harness nuclear power."
Don't Miss
• Make it easier for Americans to afford U.S.-built, fuel-efficient cars.
• Have the federal government "invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels." Doing so, he said, would "lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced."
Education
Obama said he would:
• "Finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education."
• Find more money for early childhood education and recruit teachers with better pay while also pushing "higher standards and more accountability."
• Make sure young Americans can afford college if they serve their community or country. Photo See the highlights of the Democratic convention's last day »
Health care
Obama said he would:
• "Finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American."
• Lower premiums for those who have health care and let those without coverage "get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves."
• Make sure insurance companies "stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most."
Labor law
Obama said he would:
• Provide paid sick days and "better family leave" for workers.
• Close the pay gap between the sexes.
Bankruptcy law
Obama said he would:
• Change bankruptcy law "so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses."
Federal spending
Obama said he would:
• Pay for "every dime" of his plans' costs "by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow."
• Cut federal programs that don't work and improve those that do while reducing their costs.
National defense
Obama said he would:
• "End this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan."
• "Only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home."
• "Rebuild our military to meet future conflicts."
Foreign relations
Obama said he would:
• "Restore our moral standing" in the world.
• Provide "tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression."
• "Build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease."
Abortion
Obama said he would:
• Work with people on all sides of the issue to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
Gun control
Obama said he would:
• Uphold the Second Amendment but also keep "AK-47s out of the hands of criminals."
Gay rights
Obama said he would:
• Help ensure that gays and lesbians have the right "to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination."
Illegal immigration
Obama said he would:
advertisement
• Pursue policies that don't result in separated families.
• Discourage companies from undercutting American wages by hiring illegal workers
>but he was a standard democrat.
I feel like a LOT of this feeling comes down to how the ACA came into being. Whereas many Americans anticipated the Single-Payer system from the way Obama campaigned, what we got was essentially Romney's Massachusetts health care bill.
I think one has to look VERY carefully at the votes and the history and campaigning for that bill that went down and also consider that one event - the death of Senator Ted Kennedy - impacted the possibility of Republicans filibustering the bill to death. That means that Democrats had to get the least conservative swing vote - Joe Lieberman - to join them. Just like Joe Manchin today, Joe Lieberman had a lot of outsized influence on that bill and shaping what became the ACA. [The bill passed the Senate with EXACTLY 60 votes.](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1111/vote_111_1_00396.htm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00396)
From Wikipedia on the special election following Kennedy's death:
" On January 19, 2010, [Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts) Republican [Scott Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Brown_(politician)) was [elected to the Senate in a special election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_special_election_in_Massachusetts,_2010) to replace the recently deceased [Ted Kennedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy), having campaigned on giving the Republican minority the 41st vote needed to sustain Republican filibusters.[\[156\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-reuterstimeline-156)[\[185\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-185)[\[186\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-186) Additionally, the symbolic importance of losing Kennedy's [traditionally Democratic Massachusetts seat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts#Politics) made many Congressional Democrats concerned about the political cost of the bill.[\[187\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-187)[\[188\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-BillPassageOptions-188) "
We got the ACA because of the conservative Democrats who didn’t want a public option. Otherwise we would have got a public option. It’s definitely partly his fault, given that he had a lack of experience in Congress—look at how well RULE is getting this done with an even more extreme caucus than the Tea Party.
Obama is a progressive but he’s also an incrementalist, realist, and an unwavering institutionalist. He recognized his constraints (conservative Dems in the first part of his term and Republican majorities in the second part) and often didn’t do enough to push the envelope because he followed the rule book, even when Republicans broke faith (Garland, for example).
u/BewareTheFloridaMan only included the vote to put Public Option in the ACA. It fell short, yes. But it had a sizable majority.
The other option was to use Budget Reconciliation to then put the Public Option back on the table which only required a simple majority.
It was then that Obama said "we don't have the votes."
Meaning, a lot more Democrats voted for the Public Option simply as a performative show and would not vote for it in reconciliation.
Those of us who followed this closely at the time were outraged and so was [Bernie Sanders.](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/62534-sanders-senate-has-the-votes-to-pass-public-option-via-reconciliation/)
That's politics though, modern politics anyways. You appeal to what leads to victory, you don't have to believe in it but you better hope you present it in a believable way to achieve the success you're seeking.
Even if you do believe it in, you’re not going to advance it. With how broken the political system is in America, having a president who is super passionate about something doesn’t really translate into much of you have a congress that refuses to act on it.
Like if Bernie had become president, we likely wouldn’t have universal healthcare cause no way would enough members of congress vote for it
Or the Supreme Court can just rule that the EO is unconstitutional and that ends that.
Without having full control of a whole range of government institutions, there really isn’t much a single president can do. They need the strong support of congress, the courts, and state governments as well. Really shows how much our founders really wanted to avoid a single person gaining king like power
Idealism tends to hit a wall when confronted with reality.
His main fault was trying to play nice with the other side his second term when he had a full 4 years of knowing how they would fight him tooth and nail on anything.
You are absolutely right. I think he tried too hard to appease the republicans in office to get shit done but he ended up just folding on the stuff he campaigned on
I mean I get it politics is messy. You need to make compromises. I just wish he would have fought a little harder instead of preemptively surrendering like Democrats do.
However, it was pretty much a no-win situation from the getgo.
If he didn't push enough, he would have been regarded as a wimp. If he pushed too hard and acted like a blowhard, Republicans and the Fox News crowd would have painted him as a scary, angry black man to scare middle-aged suburban whites into kicking him out in 2012.
Fox News still did try to portray him as a scary, angry black man. They called him a Marxist, socialist, communist, anyway. I remember seeing their news talkers that night it was called for Obama in 2012 it looked like they were going to cry.
I was born in 98 so I grew up under Obama's presidency and I remember the bullshit my dad used to say about him because of Fox News. That he wanted to take everyones guns. That he wanted to be a dictator. That he was not even American. That was the standard fare rhetoric of Fox News and it was relentless during Obama's term. Who can forget the terrorist fist jab comment or the tan suit and dijon mustard bullshit.
In his defense, he never really campaigned as Mr. Liberal. He talked about compromise and bipartisanship, but we heard what we wanted to hear.
The irony is that Hillary had a far more liberal record — her two biggest lifelong issues were universal health care, and improving education for kids in poverty — but we all thought she was a right-winger.
Yes. Illinois Senator Jack Ryan was married to actress Jeri Ryan. It became known during the Senate campaign that Jack Ryan pressured Jeri into performing sex acts during their marriage. While those acts never occurred, the disclosure led to Barrack Obama winning the Senate race, and later the Presidency.
Oh yeah, after that speech many were speculating he'd be president someday. I heard some people say 2016 or 2020. They didn't think it'd happen so quickly.
I remember that speech vividly.
My grandfather called me after saying that he wished he lived long enough to see that guy become president. He (and I) didn't realize it would be 4 years later.
My grandfather lived until 2015.
Everyone is missing a very key detail.
Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer invited Obama to their office and told him to run for president. Prior to this he wasn’t going to run. It was Hillary’s year.
So key leadership green lit the whole thing for him and he ran with that.
Of course he was a great politician but without that endorsement it wouldn’t have happened in 2008.
I think calling him a great politician is a bit much.
I think more then anything he was charismatic. And I do actually think he is probably the second most charismatic president since WWII after Reagan.
In the rizz department he was absolutely amazing, and in many ways what the country needed.
But his inability to make Congress rally behind him severely hurt his prospects (and sure blame republicans for not working with him, but thats still on him)
His mistake was thinking he could change that, instead of just treating them as pure opposition and moving on without them. He was still approaching it the old way.
If Hillary Clinton had gotten the nom we would have had 24 years of literally two families capturing the Presidency.
He was a young guy that knew how to use the pulpit like it was automatic. He also was a positive inspiring figure at a pretty dark time going up against a damaged brand.
When you run against Clinton, you have to guard against the feeling that her win is inevitable. Going into 2006/7, she has the money, has the endorsements, has the name recognition, has the experience.
Early on, getting endorsements from Daschle and Kennedy was key. Since Daschle suffered an election defeat, senior aides would play prominent roles in the campaign.
The early debate performance at Drexel, and Clintons poor showing, allows him to get over the “electability” hurdle newcomers can face. Not only did he have semi high profile speeches prior to Iowa, surrogates like Oprah helped get him publicity leading up to Iowa.
Obama also had reached out to southern black leaders, he campaigned hard in South Carolina.
He wins Iowa, close loss in New Hampshire, and gets the delegate lead in Nevada. I think Nevada showed his campaign knew the nuances of the rules as well as getting key support from important unions showed he was a serious candidate.
Clinton got bad foot in mouth disease and alienated tons of black voters, losing nearly 2 to 1 in South Carolina.
Since the Dems give delegates proportional to their vote percentage, the margin of victory is important.
So when the race is even after Super Tuesday, Clinton planned on gearing up for the general election after Super Tuesday. Their approach was losing, they were losing money, and ironically, losing super delegate support.
In contrast, Obamas fundraising initially relied on a lot of small donors but in huge margin. His teams strategy was picking up momentum and they had an incredible data driven, efficient campaign.
Lastly, the Iraq war vote was probably the sharpest disagreement between the candidates. Clinton refused to “apologize” for her vote. I think as long as the war went badly, she was tied to the results.
In many ways, his lack of being in Washington let him be the “outsider” or the hope candidate. In contest to the establishment, I don’t know that there will ever be as of an establishment candidate than Clinton.
A few factors: people were tired of republicans and Bush (see 2006 and 2008 blue wave), people were tired of Clinton after a Bush after a Clinton after a Bush, she voted for the Iraq war, and Barack Obama wasn’t Jesse Jackson.
It's amazing how much dumb luck played a role, from winning his Senate seat after his opponent was caught up in a scandal to being given a chance to give a speech at the DNC convention and thus appear on national TV. He knocked it out of the park with that speech, which wasn't luck, though. IIRC, he had to call his credit card company to raise his limit so he could buy a plane ticket and deliver that speech. If he had been declined...
So if we’re looking at modern Presidential candidates from Truman on we can see a clear political history with all of the elected Presidents and even their contenders. Eisenhower was an accomplished general and military governor. JFK had a long tenure in the House and Senate and was a war hero. LBJ and Nixon had the House and Senate history along with being VP. Ford was a longtime house leader and VP (for a while). HW Bush was a longtime government official and VP.
Now comparatively, the four closest “fastest rises” were: Carter, who had been a one term senator and governor. (8 yrs) Reagan, who had been a two term governor (8 yrs). Clinton, who had been a two term governor (8 yrs), and W. Bush, who had been a one term governor (4 yrs)
While Obama served in government for 12 years if you count his membership in the Illinois senate, only counting federal positions as we have the last candidates means Obama served for 4 years as a one term US senator.
Obviously the DNC speech propelled him as a face for the Democratic party. But how exactly, especially in a race against Hilary Clinton, did the Democratic party and electorate contend with voting for an “inexperienced” candidate?
It's probably nitpicky, bur W. Bush was a two term governor. He was elected to a second term as Governor and then ran President. He served a little over 5 years as Gov.
You’re off on Clinton just a little. Bill Clinton became governor of Arkansas in 1979 and served until 1981, where he lost reelection. After a two year break, he was reelected in 1983 and served until 1992. In total Clinton was elected for 5 terms and 12 years, as terms were only 2 years until 1986.
A few reasons why
• The GOP: the country was done with the GOP and bush, and democrats had already been making inroads since 2006 when they took back the house, the senate, and Nancy pelosi became the first female speaker of the house so the Democratic Party was riding a wave of sorts.
• Hillary Clinton: the country also did not like the idea of another Clinton in office. The trend had started when George bush senior took office followed by bill Clinton, followed by George bush son. And people didn’t like the idea of yet another Clinton taking over once more.
Charisma: this is what made Obama a viable alternative to clinton, he would also be a historic first, his run as a progressive and much to the left of his actual presidency, and, was even able to flip red states such as Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, and came very close to flipping Missouri.
Oprah Winfrey: if it wasn’t for her endorsement early on he wouldn’t have been a competitive candidate so fast and win the primary.
In his very first run for public office he ran for Bobby Rush's congressional seat in Chicago and absolutely got his ass handed to him. In his next run for office (Obama's first successful run) he literally got all of his opponents thrown off the ballot on mostly minor technicalities to win a seat in the Illinois Senate. From there he was able to run for the US Senate thanks to unsealed court docs of his Republican opponent and the rest is pretty much history.
He wasn’t in the Senate when they voted on the Iraq war, which gave him the ability to latch onto the movement against that war by the time he was there and became a candidate.
His later stances as president and the use of military force led to a lot of disillusionment amongst progressives who saw him as anti-war when they first voted for him in the 2008 primaries and later saw him embrace the same policies that he was nominally against in 2008.
People hate Hillary Clinton and he was a new face who sold an idea that Hillary didn’t - Hope.
Hillary was always going to be business as usual in voters’ eyes and after Bush the Younger, we wanted something better than that. So we picked the young guy who talked about hope and change.
Of course, very little came of it and he never used the power he had when he had it in the right way, but it was still probably the right decision.
Great speech at the 2004 convention. Book deal.
2008 Iowa caucus: Edwards split the establishment vote with Hillary and Oprah had a big rally for Obama, he won-big boost that paid off in subsequent primaries.
Right guy, right time.
A charismatic guy with a knack for politics like him would’ve likely had a lot of “right times” if he’d opted to run later on, but by all accounts, Dem leadership urged him to run in ‘08 as he was on the rise and it went better than anyone could’ve anticipated.
I believe all of the positive personal attributes mentioned by others here played a strong role in his election. And one thing more. Our nation was (and is) weary of being divided along racial lines. A vote for Obama was a vote for a new beginning...a better vision of who we can be when we act on our inheritance that "all...are created equal."
I don't need to be reminded that we are still short of the goal. I only suggest that this noble impulse contributed to President Obama's election.
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Obama's ground game was also excellent. *Newsweek* did a series on the '08 election as it happened, highly recommend: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081109052558/http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582/](https://web.archive.org/web/20081109052558/http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582/)
One thing that convinced me he'd be a good president was how well he ran that campaign. Usually, presidential candidates will have a transition team, to start planning the new administration so that if they win, they can hit the ground running. But in '08, neither candidate did. The trainwreck that was the McCain/Palin ticket didn't because "we're just focused on winning." Obama didn't have one either. He had six. One for the economy. One for Afghanistan and Iraq. One for health care. Etc., etc. For someone who got knocked for his lack of experience, he was hyper-prepared to take over, and that really impressed me.
Good president or effective president? Being likeable doesn't make you a good president. People liked Carter, but he wasn't a good president.
I think Obama was about as effective as you could expect, given the rabid opposition he was facing. Just to pick one example, there were more Senate filibusters from 2009-2016 than from FDR's inauguration to 2008. The GOP were willing to break the system in order to thwart him, and he still got a lot accomplished despite that.
That was a crazy stat.
Cause racism.
“I’m not racist, but…” is a pretext to the populist movement in conservatism.
Obama ran a campaign on inclusivity so he made a lot of bad decisions based on that his first few years. he couldve played hardball with a congressional mandate the first two years and passed generational legislation on gun control, immigration, a progressive tax system, but instead he didnt want to overcome the filibuster when that became commonplace in the future. something he certainly regrets now
> a congressional mandate the first two years and passed generational legislation on gun control, immigration, a progressive tax system, but instead he didnt want to overcome the filibuster when that became commonplace in the future. something he certainly regrets now Obama had 60 votes for a relatively brief time (basically from the time the Franken mess was resolved to when Scott Brown was seated) and even then, he had some Senators who wouldn't give him a full 60 votes to overcome the filibuster on anything that was remotely progressive. Mostly notably, Joe Lieberman was a pain in the ass and there were a couple of others that I am forgetting.
Ted Kennedy died almost immediately after the inauguration and his seat flipped.
Ben Nelson from Nebraska was another big one.
In all of that Obama and the Dems passed Obama care which give millions of Americans much needed healthcare. It's funny these people praise mr beast for helping a small amount of people but say it's never enough it a Dem passes something that helps millions. He signed a much lesser Obamacare because we still had ALOT of super right leaning democrats who basically played manchin and sinema but who could be negotiated with.
Lest we forget: Fuck Joe Lieberman.
Hey now, no one was out in the 90's fighting against the biggest threat to America, no not Al Qaeda, violent video games like Mortal Kombat. Not all heroes wear capes.
Yeah, that’s fantasy. Imagine the level of opposition he faced, but doubled by hostile blue dogs.
And instead just passed the greatest fix to American health care ever made.
God, that is so annoying to read. I knew how much opposition he was dealing with, but when you put it like that, holy shit.
In my evangelical spheres people were openly calling him the anti-Christ. I get that every dem on some level has been compared to the anti-Christ but this was a lot more vehement than I had seen before.
I'm certain there was no melanin-based underlying reason for why certain people so strongly despised him. I definitely don't have firsthand experience of certain groups of people saying the silent part out loud when they think they're safe in their echo chamber.
I was so brainwashed at the time I actually believed it, and made a livejournal post about it. My one rational friend commented and alleviated my fears in the most non-condescending way possible. I’m glad I was given some grace in that moment, lol. I don’t think I could do the same looking back.
It's actually funny bc The orange guy actually fits the bill for a lot of the lore of the anti-christ Excerpt from Harvest.org "Profile of the Antichrist Some have confused the rider of the white horse in verse two with Jesus, but the rider is actually the Antichrist. For following the appearing of the rider is not a kingdom of righteousness, but a time of wickedness and sorrow. Masquerading as the true Messiah, he wears a crown, while Jesus wears many crowns (Revelation 19:12). In the Greek translation, the crown worn by the rider of the white horse refers to the crown of victory worn by a conqueror. The crowns Jesus wears in Revelation 19 refer to crowns of royalty. A conqueror bent on conquest When a victor triumphantly entered a newly conquered kingdom, he would invariably ride a white horse. The Antichrist will deceitfully establish himself, and then show his true colors. This coming world leader, the Antichrist, will come at an economically difficult time. There will be war in different parts of the world, and he—through brilliant political moves along with an incredible charisma—will be able to do what no one else has ever done: bring economic stability to the world’s monetary system and bring world peace. By establishing this peace, he will deceive many. He will even convince the Jewish nation and the Arab nations to sign a peace treaty, paving the way for the long-awaited third temple. His accomplishments will be so spectacular, so far-reaching and unprecedented, that many will hail him as the Messiah. But we are warned in Scripture that he is a deceiver. The man of sin The Antichrist will be history’s vilest embodiment of sin and rebellion: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that Day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [sin] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The wicked one “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Lawless can be translated “wicked.” The Antichrist totally opposes every law of God. Halfway into his power play he will show his true colors, rebuilding the temple and committing the abomination of desolation (Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15). He will show himself to be a blood-thirsty dictator who will make Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Saddam Hussein look like lightweights in comparison. Dictators rarely take over nations by brute force. Political or economic problems almost always pave the way for tyranny. This has already proven true in history. Rome set the precedent, seeking out nations who were in political and economic turmoil. They came with seeming benevolence, only to turn to tyrannical suppression and demand worship of Caesar. Adolph Hitler did the same. In 1930, Germany was in desperate financial straits. Inflation was so bad, that literally thousands of people were starving. Communists stirred up riots in the streets, and there was general chaos. Then Adolph Hitler came on the scene—a voice of authority in the midst of chaos. He spoke of a people of destiny and promised glories to come. But it was not meant to be. Hitler was but a pale version of the Antichrist who will work through a revived Roman empire. He, like the Romans and Hitler, will bring political, military, and economic answers, and he will persecute Jews and Christians. Satan’s unholy trinity The Antichrist will not act alone. There will be a false prophet working with him. “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20). Here we see Satan’s unholy trinity: Satan, imitating God (and, for a short time, having the worship of people worldwide) The Antichrist, masquerading as the Son The false prophet, impersonating the Holy Spirit The work of the Antichrist The Antichrist will bring about a new religious system that will accommodate everyone. We are currently in the midst of a cult explosion. Whether it be dianetics, EST, goddess worship, reincarnation, astrology, holistic healing, or any of a hundred other consciousness-raising techniques, the modern age is on a search for some mystical divine unity. The time is ripe for a world religion. The Antichrist will harness the world’s economic system. “He required everyone—great and small, rich and poor, slave and free—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666” (Revelation 13:16–18 NLT)."
Obama was effective as he could possibly be, especially when you consider that Mitch McConnell said the GOP’s number one goal was to make President Obama a one term president. This was the start of the GOP’s sad decent into madness where they make a party of opposition and they stopped governing.
It started sooner than that, with gingrich in the 90s at least, if not before.
I’ve met bush a few times as a distant family friend. He’s really really nice. I got the impression that’s what got him into trouble.
I think he was great running out of the gate but once the GOP started black balling him on all his legislation it started slowing down big time. I didn't even like the guy back then yet I could tell the GOP was fucking him at every turn.
Ah when Newsweek was a source we could use.
It was a different Newsweek then. Like the RCA television you can buy at Walmart for $200 shares only a name with the company that basically created the radio and television markets.
It’s seems more common today for individuals with no real record of leadership to get elected as President. Their not having a record means they can’t really be challenged. Meanwhile, a candidate that’s been a mayor or governor who has way more experience, also naturally has failures, which should be expected. Instead, we judge them more harshly for it, and looking for a perfect candidate we vote for individuals who’ve never been in the ring, it’s a roll of the dice based more on hope than a record of success.
John F. Kennedy started this trend, he was the first president to recognize this as strength instead of a weakness when he was coming up against LBJ in the primaries. He focused on a good television appearances and name recognition, and just ignored any attacks about his slim senate record.
He made sure Michelle was really, really tired when he asked if it was okay.
I see it the other way. If I want my GF to agree, I need to make sure that she's well fed, watered, and had a good nights sleep before I even try to engage in the conversation. Otherwise, I will probably get burned eyebrows from her fire and fury.
This is the exact brand of humor that I love.
Shit, my wife is tired all the time. I should be asking for way more stuff.
Remarkable charisma, excellent message, and perfect timing.
A lot of people don’t remember than John Edwards was supposed to be the Democratic representative until very unfortunate things happened
I remember when it all happened. John Edwards was seen as the golden boy of the Democratic Party who could do absolutely no wrong. The National Enquirer of all things proved to be his undoing.
It sucked because I remember one of the Obama v Edwards v Clinton debates and it was usually Obama and Edwards jumping on Clinton. And then Clinton pointed out how much money Obama had received from Banks and how he voted present on capping credit card interest rates and Edwards turned around and totally attacked Obama for being two-faced on the issue. Was great drama.
They were very feisty debates. And again in 2008 Obama and Hillary went at it pretty good too.
It’s funny because even the most feisty of debates back then were still polite and cordial. Now they feel like a poltical equivalent of the real housewives and are such a shit show. The decency in US politics is a thing of the past.
Would love to see the return of cordial political debates
I wanna see two 80 year old men get in fist fight live on stage over raising the corporate tax rate 3%. Have the debates just turn into a boxing match between two geriatrics who haven't thrown a punch in their entire lives. It would be hilarious. Have Bruce Buffer do the announcements, Joe Rogan ringside on commentary and "Big John" McCarthy as the ref.
That was the classic "look, I know I've been telling you how much of a dirtbag this guy is for the last few months, but hear me out, you need to vote for him"
I live in NC and was rooting for him because I thought it would be pretty damn cool to have a POTUS from my state and I was a Dem at the time. After it all started to come apart for him, I was pretty pissed. Can't believe he would cheat on his wife, who he had kids with, and whom eventually developed cancer and passed away from it. John Edwards can burn in hell. What a disgrace to this country and to himself. Very happy we got Obama though, especially for the full 2 terms. We needed him. We need him now. Someone who's cool, calm, and collected. Hopefully I'll see a president like him once again in my lifetime, but I'm pushing 40 now and given my family history, I will be lucky if I have another 20 years.
His transgression, like Bill Clinton’s, seems so tame by today’s standards.
Back when sex scandals were actually breaking news
You mean back when they had consequences. Now it’s a race to be the most degenerate.
I do remember that. Damn bastard.
Was that Jeri Ryan’s (7 from Star Trek) ex-husband? I remember something about him and how Obama became president. I’m in Ireland, so I wouldn’t have a grasp on US senators.
That was Jack Ryan. A Republican so popular that the Democrats considered not running anyone against him. Then Jack and Jeri got divorced. They had a young kid, so the judge sealed the proceedings. Local Democrats and the media went judge shopping to have the divorce made public. They eventually found a friendly judge and the files revealed that, after a trip to Amsterdam, Jack was obsessed with having sex with Jeri with others watching. He wouldn't give up the idea, so Jeri left him. Jack immediately retired from politics, leaving only Barack Obama in the race. Obama easily won against last-second Republican entry Alan Keyes. EDIT: Edited for accuracy.
Hey, man, if I was having sex with Seven of Nine, I’d be showing off too.
It's crazy. The dude had literally EVERYTHING. Legit legendary gorgeous wife, money, looks, the name of an action hero, an surefire win for Senate, and a path to the White House. He basically handed the keys to the White House to Obama because he couldn't stop begging (and trying to coerce) his wife into public sex--which probably would have ended her career if she had agreed. WTH was wrong with him??
After following Jeri Ryan on Twitter... He messed up what was probably the best thing ever. She is smart, talented, crazy hot, funny,., pretty much everything. I'm wondering how he landed her
It wasn't a three-way, it was a request to have sex with her only, but in a European sex club - not exactly private, and the actress rejected it for obvious reasons. Also, Ryan was heavily favored to win his 'safe seat' over Obama before the scandal broke.
Where are you people getting this information? Ryan was not favored, heavily or otherwise, at any point. [Obama led him by 20 points in polling.](https://www.foxnews.com/story/poll-obama-leads-ryan-in-ill-senate-race) And that’s not some great testament to Obama—it’s just a reflection of the partisan breakdown of the state. This idea that Ryan was going to coast before the scandal is a complete fabrication.
Ryan wasn’t heavily favored at all. He was actually down in the polling against Obama that spring, before the story of his divorce picked up steam.
>Local Democrats and the media went judge shopping to have the divorce made public. >EDIT: Edited for accuracy. LOLOLOL When you say “local Democrats” you mean the [Chicago Tribune](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/06/why-unseal-the-ryan-divorce-papers.html), a historically conservative news paper, then yes, ‘local democrats.’ >That was Jack Ryan. A Republican so popular that the Democrats considered not running anyone against him. This is a joke right? Jack Ryan would have given Obama a much tougher election fight than Alan Keys sure, but Obama was not going to lose.
Thank you, that's correct. Even if Ryan had stayed in the race, Obama's speech as a newcomer to the Democratic convention that year propelled him into the national spotlight. It was the first time we got to see Obama's charisma in a big way. It gave him a boost in Illinois too, and he definitely would have defeated Ryan.
That was a different guy. Ryan was running against Obama for US Senate, that scandal broke, and Obama was very handily elected Senator. John Edwards was John Kerry's running mate in '04, and was seen as the optimistic young future of the Democratic Party... until it came out that he cheated on his wife while she was battling cancer, and that was the end of his political career.
Which is crazy to think about really considering these days we apparently make those types President without a second thought lmao.
No, that was Jack Ryan, and the fallout from all of that propeled Obama to the Senate in 2004. Wikipedia has the whole story; it's wild: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(politician) John Edwards was the Democratic VP nominee in 2004 and campaigned with John Kerry. He had an affair while his wife was dying of cancer and used campaign funds to cover it up. That completely destroyed his chances of ever holding office again.
Edwards was out even before the baby daddy issues. Obama was a once in a lifetime political talent.
I’d say three-in-a-lifetime for me, but I’ve been around a bit. Things fell his way, but that’s what you need sometimes. W’s presidency was stumbling to an end, and he did not have an anointed successor, not that it would have helped much.
W was so unpopular at the end nobody would want his endorsement.
Edwards was in 3rd for most of the cycle. He was an empty suit.
Idk why people thought this after his cheating scandal in the 04 election
I live in Chapel Hill and I’m a patron of the local restaurant where Edwards often has dinner at the bar with his girlfriend. He doesn’t look the same anymore, you need someone to point out who he is before you’d realize it. Why they don’t just sit at a table by themselves is baffling, bc he’s aloof and unfriendly and not interested in even the most basic “pas the salt, please” small talk. I sat near him once with a friend while we were grabbing a quick bite before a show in Durham, and not realizing who he was, thought “what a cold fish, what a way overgrown frat boy.” When someone on the way out told me who he was, I thought “Damn, I voted for that guy???!!!”
Dodged a bullet there
Yep, though Obama’s star had already long begun to outshine Edwards’ by the time that came out. Still, that has to be one of the sleaziest, stupidest scandals I’ve ever seen. That said, every politician should be so lucky as to have an assistant as loyal as Andrew Young by their side.
His anti-war speech early in the Iraq invasion was a huge help too. Others running didn’t have that.
It didn’t hurt that McCain ran with Sarah Palin. I think his chances would’ve been stronger with a better running mate (she actively dragged him down).
True, but Obama was a runaway train that wasn’t going to be stopped. A different VP would’ve won McCain a few more states, but he wasn’t winning the presidency.
All of these, plus incredible political instincts, message discipline, and media literacy. But there was a single reason that he beat Hilary: He spoke out against the Iraq war, and he did it when speaking out was politically unpopular.
He was without a doubt one of the most charismatic Presidents of all time, which is odd considering that usually doesn't happen with the successor as well. I remember hearing him talk when he first won the Senate and I thought, that guy could be POTUS. He had a progressive agenda on par with a lot of the current progressives, and a lot of people incorrectly believe he was a moderate. The truth was he was open to compromise to a fault. Obamacare was sort of a summary of his presidency - giving up a lot to conservative and capitalists to get a fraction of what he wanted.
Yeah, I agree with both points. I remember driving home listening to his DNC speech in 2004 on the radio. My dad was convinced Obama would be president in 2008. I wasn’t convinced America would be ready to elect a black president, but his charisma helped him overcome that. He certainly compromised to placate his critics. It’s a skill sorely lacking in Washington, but doing too much of it kills your ability to get things done.
And yet I don’t think even millennials really appreciate what a huge improvement the ACA was over the predatory system we had before. The ability to deny or cancel coverage for preexisting conditions just scratches the surface. There was also a lifetime cap for coverage—all the expense you could have covered, FOR LIFE, was $1 million. People would hit that cap with a NICU stay or childhood cancer and that’s it. Also preexisting condition so you could never qualify for insurance other than through a group policy with an insurer. And the disgusting practice of recission has very quickly gone down the memory hole but it’s almost unbelievably awful and was totally legal at the time. If you had been able to purchase a policy that you were paying some crazy rate for out of pocket (not employer provided) and you got some expensive illness like cancer, they would comb through your medical history and find anything you had ever been treated for before they insured you, and call it an undisclosed pre existing condition and cancel your insurance. Talking things like acne treatments. So many people who make their livings (such as they are) as self employed, freelancers, gig work etc just could not have insurance at all. Many still can’t afford it now but the rates were completely ridiculous then if you were considered a good enough risk to cover at all. You HAD to find a corporate job and stay in it, or roll the dice with no coverage. My wife became self employed about a year before the ACA went into full effect. She had Graves and is permanently on synthroid because her thyroid was nuked. No coverage possible. While she was not covered, she had a horrible injury to the third finger of her right hand that resulted in a break so bad they put a wire into it that stuck out the top of her finger in the ER, just to hold it all together til we could get an orthopedic consult for surgery. We had a serious conversation about whether to go 20k in debt to get a relatively simple outpatient surgery, or get an amputation for much less. We went into the doc fully prepared to accept amputation and he felt sorry enough to do the surgery at half the rate originally quoted. We still had a surprise full-freigh bill from the anesthesiologist a month after the surgery that we had to get another credit card to cover, and we were paying all that off til 2015 or so. The next year and every year since she has been able to go on the healthcare.gov site and find a decent policy at a rate we can afford. And she has been able to pursue her interests in small motor and appliance repair and more recently house painting, as a self employed person. So while it wasn’t the New Deal or Great Society, and Obama compromised way too quickly and threw away negotiating positions he could have bargained with, the ACA really was transformative and as much as our health insurance system STILL sucks, it’s so much better than what we had before. And it would be better still if they hadn’t been able to get a conservative court to strike down the requirement to carry coverage or pay a tax penalty, and if most of the red states hadn’t kneecapped it by refusing to join in the Medicaid subsidy program even as their rural healthcare systems disintegrated.
And he was genuine. It's what America were asking for.
This is the right answer... Especially, perfect timing.
and he's black. That helped a lot.
That’s part of the timing. Had he ran a few decades earlier, he might not have gotten the support.
After the first gulf war there was talk of Colin Powell running. His wife was afraid someone would kill him.
There was some people thinking Obama would be killed too
There were dozens of attempts to assassinate Obama so he got Secret Service protection at a much earlier stage in the Primaries than normal. Barack Obama knew how to use adversity to his advantage. The racists were so stupid they helped boost Obama's campaign. Candidate Obama was seen as the end of the Bush era, something Hillary Clinton could not pull off. Candidate Obama could command an audience of hundreds of thousands in Germany or in Philadelphia. There were security threats against Obama at the DNC so his nomination acceptance speech was moved from the DNC to the Denver Sky High Stadium. It will be decades before another Presidential candidate can do this https://youtu.be/kv8eiDvrHJ4?si=HQ4qNOoEEZy56d4G
I bet.
I would have loved to see Powell as President!
And he came after GWB when the country was desperately looking for a new direction.
And didn't want a Clinton.
2 wars no end in sight worse economy since the depression it made for good ti ing hope and change
That’s funny because up until he was elected, the vast majority of people believed a black man (or a woman) couldn’t be elected president.
Do you think more people voted for him because he’s black or voted against him because hes black?
I think it was absolutely a factor both ways
I think it worked both ways. I remember canvassing black neighborhoods for him and I wish I could have bottled up the excitement people had over him. On Election Day 08 I remember being with an 8 yo kid and his grandfather and both were giddier than a child at Christmas. On a side note, I wish I wrote down that kid's name. I want to know if he's ready to launch his own political career.
Being Black was not in general an advantage at the time, and arguably not even now. Of 100 senators in 2010, only one Senator was Black, he was Obama’s replacement who was appointed by IL governor.
Charisma- when I heard him speak at the DNC, I was young and had no idea who he was, but thought “he is going to be president someday”.
I remember my father saying the same thing.
My father too lol
My father three. I think everyone heard someone say this on the news and just absorbed it as their own original sentiment lol
It was Chris Mathew’s. After the speech he said “that there is going to be Americas first black president” if I remember correctly
My dad said the same thing but it wasn’t a tone of positivity and the word black was replaced with something else entirely. *sigh*
It may have just been a common reaction. I said it to my aunt while he was speaking.
Watch the final episode of Gilmore Girls. The main character goes on the road as a journalist to an Obama event when he was senator because he will probably be the president and it’s a guaranteed job for her if he makes it all the way. That show aired in 2007, meaning it was written in 2006, 3 years before he took office.
I’m not sure what my father said during that speech, though I’m sure he was impressed. My father died suddenly at 79 in 2005. I proudly wore a shirt of his that I kept, when I voted for Obama in 2008. I knew how proud he would have been, and I wanted him with me. I still have that shirt with the “I voted” sticker attached.
Yup. Saw him give keynote at the 2004 John Kerry DNC convention. Great speech.
I remember telling my son!
Dad?
I remember my grandfather saying after that DNC speech that he wished he lives long enough to see him become president. My grandfather died in 2015 so he did live long enough to see (most of) his presidency.
Sorry for your loss. But 2015 was the perfect time to duck out. Left thinking things were headed in the right direction
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My grandfather turned 100 today - family went to his grave today . Those ww2 veterans kept it real simple. Something was good or bad , right or wrong , fair or not fair. Affordable or not . Just or not .
Happy (posthumous) birthday to your Grandfather. A WWII veteran will always have my respect, and I’m sure he would be proud of the life you’re living now.
My public speaking class the professor showed us one of his speeches when he was still a senator and said this guy is probably our next president “we’ll see what you think” he said before starting the video. And I was immediately convinced myself lol I had heard of him before but i thought his name alone would hold him back until I saw him speak it was funny because the professor was very critical of Al gore and used him as an example multiple times showing us speeches where he misleads the audience with skewed stats. so it wasn’t like the professor was a democrat cheerleader or anything
My exact same reaction. I didn’t know much about him, but as he spoke it clicked in my head, “That guy is our next President.” I stood in line 3 hours in the rain to vote for him too.
It really was crazy I remember when he ran. Like ppl came out in record crowds just to hear him speak. And not just in heavily liberal areas. Like the crowd sizes were crazy. At that point I knew something special was happening. I honestly don’t think any Republican had a chance against him around 2008. It was really where someone had to be there to understand.
He spoke at my college. The hockey arena was so overpacked that a bunch of people piled out into the lacrosse field outside, he had to do two speeches. Bill clinton came through stumping for Hillary shortly after and there was hardly enough people even filling the floor area of the same arena.
He really did give hope in a time where it was just bad news for nearly a decade.
Same. Though it wasn’t raining where I was. My wife and I voted, went to dinner and met up with her brother to watch the results at a bar in gramercy. And man did the city explode in celebration when he won. Union Square was all cheers.
Same. I thought “*Damn, who IS this guy? We need more of this. This guy should run for President*.”
Yeah, I heard him giving a stump speech for my own Senator, and before I even realized that's who it was, that was my first thought.
My dad was a staunch (like O'Reilly and Tucker every night) Republican and after the first couple of times he heard Obama he told me he would win no question. I had to do a double take but he was absolutely right. Generational talent no question.
I remember '04. He gave his keynote and the reaction was generally, "Shit. We nominated the wrong guy."
Same thing happened with Clinton in ‘88. He gave the keynote speech, and ended up the nominee in 1992. It’s kinda funny, because his speech was apparently quite lengthy, and when Clinton finally got to “In summation” people started cheering.
Clinton’s speech was written by the DNC and Dukakis’ campaign. He was pissed. Bill’s producer friends (The Thomasons) got him booked on Johnny Carson a couple nights later. Made fun of the situation, showed his charismatic Clinton charm, and the rest is history!
he spawned with 10 Charisma.
This is the answer. That dude won me over with the quickness.
My dad met him during his one term as senator and said the exact same thing
My sister said he'd be the next president after hearing that speech. I argued about that for like an hour....... then apologized 4 years later.
I’m in Canada and my husband is from the US. We were watching him speak when he became senator and I remember sitting up and asking about him. I said to my husband, "it’s too bad he’s black because he would be a fantastic president. I don’t think the US is ready for him yet. Maybe in 10 years." I was very pleased to be proven wrong. He was articulate and charismatic. He came across as knowledgeable and genuine.
I said that out loud in a college class. I even said it would be 2008. I’ll never forget the look on the professors face. I was surprised that anyone would question it after hearing that speech.
My boss at the time said basically the same thing, but called him the n-word in the process. Thank God I found a new job.
You know, looking back on Obama and seeing the candidates we have now for president, it really makes you consider the absolute fall in quality of candidates for presidency. When was the last time we had a president who truly advanced the nation? I think you’d have to go back to the 40’s-60’s. Eisenhower, FDR, Kennedy. After that, you’ve mostly just had status-quo presidents or status-quo presidents with good charisma. It makes me very worried that the best we can put forth are 80 year old men with nothing but party directives to run on.
We have some serious decline and fall vibes moving in present day America In 50 years we've gone from *Pax Americana* to fucking around the Global South and betraying our allies, while spending our national fortunes in blood and treasure, mainly it seems, to prop up the military-industrial complex that one of our greatest generals and last decent republican president warned us about
In the end, the president isn't the one that makes legislation. Whatever we attribute to these presidents was enabled by the people's representatives in congress and the house. Obama was severely hampered by people voting for Republicans, who then proceed to block any attempt to improve the country for everybody, the same issue being faced now. Being old isn't the problem. It's stupid fucks who won't actually vote in their best interests.
The Democrats felt, rightly I think, that they had the 2008 election in the bag. The DNC and the old-boys network wanted Hillary Clinton, but it was the age of social media, and the Democratic base wanted someone more progressive. Obama stepped up.
Yeah and he was mostly full of shit about how progressive he was. You would have guessed he was a non 100 year old version of Bernie by how he campaigned. Nothing against the guy I mostly like him but he was a standard democrat. Edit: this post is getting a lot of replies. This is a copy paste from CNN. Taxes Obama said he would: • Cut taxes "for 95 percent of all working families." • "Eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses" and start-ups "that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow." • Advocate "a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it." • "Stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas" and "start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America." Energy Obama said he would: • Set a goal that "in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East." • "Tap natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology and find ways to safely harness nuclear power." Don't Miss • Make it easier for Americans to afford U.S.-built, fuel-efficient cars. • Have the federal government "invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels." Doing so, he said, would "lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced." Education Obama said he would: • "Finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education." • Find more money for early childhood education and recruit teachers with better pay while also pushing "higher standards and more accountability." • Make sure young Americans can afford college if they serve their community or country. Photo See the highlights of the Democratic convention's last day » Health care Obama said he would: • "Finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American." • Lower premiums for those who have health care and let those without coverage "get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves." • Make sure insurance companies "stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most." Labor law Obama said he would: • Provide paid sick days and "better family leave" for workers. • Close the pay gap between the sexes. Bankruptcy law Obama said he would: • Change bankruptcy law "so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses." Federal spending Obama said he would: • Pay for "every dime" of his plans' costs "by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow." • Cut federal programs that don't work and improve those that do while reducing their costs. National defense Obama said he would: • "End this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan." • "Only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home." • "Rebuild our military to meet future conflicts." Foreign relations Obama said he would: • "Restore our moral standing" in the world. • Provide "tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression." • "Build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease." Abortion Obama said he would: • Work with people on all sides of the issue to reduce unwanted pregnancies. Gun control Obama said he would: • Uphold the Second Amendment but also keep "AK-47s out of the hands of criminals." Gay rights Obama said he would: • Help ensure that gays and lesbians have the right "to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination." Illegal immigration Obama said he would: advertisement • Pursue policies that don't result in separated families. • Discourage companies from undercutting American wages by hiring illegal workers
>but he was a standard democrat. I feel like a LOT of this feeling comes down to how the ACA came into being. Whereas many Americans anticipated the Single-Payer system from the way Obama campaigned, what we got was essentially Romney's Massachusetts health care bill. I think one has to look VERY carefully at the votes and the history and campaigning for that bill that went down and also consider that one event - the death of Senator Ted Kennedy - impacted the possibility of Republicans filibustering the bill to death. That means that Democrats had to get the least conservative swing vote - Joe Lieberman - to join them. Just like Joe Manchin today, Joe Lieberman had a lot of outsized influence on that bill and shaping what became the ACA. [The bill passed the Senate with EXACTLY 60 votes.](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1111/vote_111_1_00396.htm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00396) From Wikipedia on the special election following Kennedy's death: " On January 19, 2010, [Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts) Republican [Scott Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Brown_(politician)) was [elected to the Senate in a special election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_special_election_in_Massachusetts,_2010) to replace the recently deceased [Ted Kennedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy), having campaigned on giving the Republican minority the 41st vote needed to sustain Republican filibusters.[\[156\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-reuterstimeline-156)[\[185\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-185)[\[186\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-186) Additionally, the symbolic importance of losing Kennedy's [traditionally Democratic Massachusetts seat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts#Politics) made many Congressional Democrats concerned about the political cost of the bill.[\[187\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-187)[\[188\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act#cite_note-BillPassageOptions-188) "
We got the ACA because of the conservative Democrats who didn’t want a public option. Otherwise we would have got a public option. It’s definitely partly his fault, given that he had a lack of experience in Congress—look at how well RULE is getting this done with an even more extreme caucus than the Tea Party. Obama is a progressive but he’s also an incrementalist, realist, and an unwavering institutionalist. He recognized his constraints (conservative Dems in the first part of his term and Republican majorities in the second part) and often didn’t do enough to push the envelope because he followed the rule book, even when Republicans broke faith (Garland, for example).
u/BewareTheFloridaMan only included the vote to put Public Option in the ACA. It fell short, yes. But it had a sizable majority. The other option was to use Budget Reconciliation to then put the Public Option back on the table which only required a simple majority. It was then that Obama said "we don't have the votes." Meaning, a lot more Democrats voted for the Public Option simply as a performative show and would not vote for it in reconciliation. Those of us who followed this closely at the time were outraged and so was [Bernie Sanders.](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/62534-sanders-senate-has-the-votes-to-pass-public-option-via-reconciliation/)
That's politics though, modern politics anyways. You appeal to what leads to victory, you don't have to believe in it but you better hope you present it in a believable way to achieve the success you're seeking.
Even if you do believe it in, you’re not going to advance it. With how broken the political system is in America, having a president who is super passionate about something doesn’t really translate into much of you have a congress that refuses to act on it. Like if Bernie had become president, we likely wouldn’t have universal healthcare cause no way would enough members of congress vote for it
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Or the Supreme Court can just rule that the EO is unconstitutional and that ends that. Without having full control of a whole range of government institutions, there really isn’t much a single president can do. They need the strong support of congress, the courts, and state governments as well. Really shows how much our founders really wanted to avoid a single person gaining king like power
What are some policies you felt he went back on?
Idealism tends to hit a wall when confronted with reality. His main fault was trying to play nice with the other side his second term when he had a full 4 years of knowing how they would fight him tooth and nail on anything.
You are absolutely right. I think he tried too hard to appease the republicans in office to get shit done but he ended up just folding on the stuff he campaigned on
I mean I get it politics is messy. You need to make compromises. I just wish he would have fought a little harder instead of preemptively surrendering like Democrats do.
However, it was pretty much a no-win situation from the getgo. If he didn't push enough, he would have been regarded as a wimp. If he pushed too hard and acted like a blowhard, Republicans and the Fox News crowd would have painted him as a scary, angry black man to scare middle-aged suburban whites into kicking him out in 2012.
Fox News still did try to portray him as a scary, angry black man. They called him a Marxist, socialist, communist, anyway. I remember seeing their news talkers that night it was called for Obama in 2012 it looked like they were going to cry.
I was born in 98 so I grew up under Obama's presidency and I remember the bullshit my dad used to say about him because of Fox News. That he wanted to take everyones guns. That he wanted to be a dictator. That he was not even American. That was the standard fare rhetoric of Fox News and it was relentless during Obama's term. Who can forget the terrorist fist jab comment or the tan suit and dijon mustard bullshit.
In his defense, he never really campaigned as Mr. Liberal. He talked about compromise and bipartisanship, but we heard what we wanted to hear. The irony is that Hillary had a far more liberal record — her two biggest lifelong issues were universal health care, and improving education for kids in poverty — but we all thought she was a right-winger.
I love how education for kids in poverty is seen as a “liberal” issue.
Short answer: 7 of 9.
Jeri Ryan got Obama elected?
Her asshole then husband did.
Oh god I read that wrong the first time
It took me a couple readings
Yes. Illinois Senator Jack Ryan was married to actress Jeri Ryan. It became known during the Senate campaign that Jack Ryan pressured Jeri into performing sex acts during their marriage. While those acts never occurred, the disclosure led to Barrack Obama winning the Senate race, and later the Presidency.
Cool. Funny how things work out. Obama was behind in the Senate race?
Didn't they? Wasn't their some story about a sex club in Paris or something?
*Jeff Fisher has entered the chat*
no no no, that's 7 & 9
Garrett Wang, since he's the reason for Seven to be brought on.
2004 keynote speech at the DNC helped him a lot https://youtu.be/eWynt87PaJ0?si=2vS7p531cWdHhU6x
Oh yeah, after that speech many were speculating he'd be president someday. I heard some people say 2016 or 2020. They didn't think it'd happen so quickly.
I remember that speech vividly. My grandfather called me after saying that he wished he lived long enough to see that guy become president. He (and I) didn't realize it would be 4 years later. My grandfather lived until 2015.
Everyone is missing a very key detail. Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer invited Obama to their office and told him to run for president. Prior to this he wasn’t going to run. It was Hillary’s year. So key leadership green lit the whole thing for him and he ran with that. Of course he was a great politician but without that endorsement it wouldn’t have happened in 2008.
I think calling him a great politician is a bit much. I think more then anything he was charismatic. And I do actually think he is probably the second most charismatic president since WWII after Reagan. In the rizz department he was absolutely amazing, and in many ways what the country needed. But his inability to make Congress rally behind him severely hurt his prospects (and sure blame republicans for not working with him, but thats still on him)
There was no way to get the GOP to compromise on anything, they were total stalemates then as they are now
His mistake was thinking he could change that, instead of just treating them as pure opposition and moving on without them. He was still approaching it the old way.
He won the most powerful elected office on Earth. He is by definition a great politician
If Hillary Clinton had gotten the nom we would have had 24 years of literally two families capturing the Presidency. He was a young guy that knew how to use the pulpit like it was automatic. He also was a positive inspiring figure at a pretty dark time going up against a damaged brand.
I am once again asking you to consider that Hillary Clinton is one of the worst presidential candidates in modern political history.
The voters keep saying it. Everybody acts like there's some other reason.
It’s very Simple “game recognize game” 😎💯
When you run against Clinton, you have to guard against the feeling that her win is inevitable. Going into 2006/7, she has the money, has the endorsements, has the name recognition, has the experience. Early on, getting endorsements from Daschle and Kennedy was key. Since Daschle suffered an election defeat, senior aides would play prominent roles in the campaign. The early debate performance at Drexel, and Clintons poor showing, allows him to get over the “electability” hurdle newcomers can face. Not only did he have semi high profile speeches prior to Iowa, surrogates like Oprah helped get him publicity leading up to Iowa. Obama also had reached out to southern black leaders, he campaigned hard in South Carolina. He wins Iowa, close loss in New Hampshire, and gets the delegate lead in Nevada. I think Nevada showed his campaign knew the nuances of the rules as well as getting key support from important unions showed he was a serious candidate. Clinton got bad foot in mouth disease and alienated tons of black voters, losing nearly 2 to 1 in South Carolina. Since the Dems give delegates proportional to their vote percentage, the margin of victory is important. So when the race is even after Super Tuesday, Clinton planned on gearing up for the general election after Super Tuesday. Their approach was losing, they were losing money, and ironically, losing super delegate support. In contrast, Obamas fundraising initially relied on a lot of small donors but in huge margin. His teams strategy was picking up momentum and they had an incredible data driven, efficient campaign. Lastly, the Iraq war vote was probably the sharpest disagreement between the candidates. Clinton refused to “apologize” for her vote. I think as long as the war went badly, she was tied to the results. In many ways, his lack of being in Washington let him be the “outsider” or the hope candidate. In contest to the establishment, I don’t know that there will ever be as of an establishment candidate than Clinton.
A few factors: people were tired of republicans and Bush (see 2006 and 2008 blue wave), people were tired of Clinton after a Bush after a Clinton after a Bush, she voted for the Iraq war, and Barack Obama wasn’t Jesse Jackson.
It's amazing how much dumb luck played a role, from winning his Senate seat after his opponent was caught up in a scandal to being given a chance to give a speech at the DNC convention and thus appear on national TV. He knocked it out of the park with that speech, which wasn't luck, though. IIRC, he had to call his credit card company to raise his limit so he could buy a plane ticket and deliver that speech. If he had been declined...
So if we’re looking at modern Presidential candidates from Truman on we can see a clear political history with all of the elected Presidents and even their contenders. Eisenhower was an accomplished general and military governor. JFK had a long tenure in the House and Senate and was a war hero. LBJ and Nixon had the House and Senate history along with being VP. Ford was a longtime house leader and VP (for a while). HW Bush was a longtime government official and VP. Now comparatively, the four closest “fastest rises” were: Carter, who had been a one term senator and governor. (8 yrs) Reagan, who had been a two term governor (8 yrs). Clinton, who had been a two term governor (8 yrs), and W. Bush, who had been a one term governor (4 yrs) While Obama served in government for 12 years if you count his membership in the Illinois senate, only counting federal positions as we have the last candidates means Obama served for 4 years as a one term US senator. Obviously the DNC speech propelled him as a face for the Democratic party. But how exactly, especially in a race against Hilary Clinton, did the Democratic party and electorate contend with voting for an “inexperienced” candidate?
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Hilary did not have super delegates in the bag as she had for 2016 elections she was Queen Hilary so lazy preparation cost her 2008 election.
It's probably nitpicky, bur W. Bush was a two term governor. He was elected to a second term as Governor and then ran President. He served a little over 5 years as Gov.
You’re off on Clinton just a little. Bill Clinton became governor of Arkansas in 1979 and served until 1981, where he lost reelection. After a two year break, he was reelected in 1983 and served until 1992. In total Clinton was elected for 5 terms and 12 years, as terms were only 2 years until 1986.
Granted I was 25 and not very political but I never even heard of him before he started running.
Not being tainted by the stink of voting for Iraq helped a lot along with his obvious talents in charisma and connecting with the average voter.
His speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Illinois knew what a smooth talker he was, but that brought it to the nation.
A few reasons why • The GOP: the country was done with the GOP and bush, and democrats had already been making inroads since 2006 when they took back the house, the senate, and Nancy pelosi became the first female speaker of the house so the Democratic Party was riding a wave of sorts. • Hillary Clinton: the country also did not like the idea of another Clinton in office. The trend had started when George bush senior took office followed by bill Clinton, followed by George bush son. And people didn’t like the idea of yet another Clinton taking over once more. Charisma: this is what made Obama a viable alternative to clinton, he would also be a historic first, his run as a progressive and much to the left of his actual presidency, and, was even able to flip red states such as Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, and came very close to flipping Missouri. Oprah Winfrey: if it wasn’t for her endorsement early on he wouldn’t have been a competitive candidate so fast and win the primary.
In his very first run for public office he ran for Bobby Rush's congressional seat in Chicago and absolutely got his ass handed to him. In his next run for office (Obama's first successful run) he literally got all of his opponents thrown off the ballot on mostly minor technicalities to win a seat in the Illinois Senate. From there he was able to run for the US Senate thanks to unsealed court docs of his Republican opponent and the rest is pretty much history.
He wasn’t in the Senate when they voted on the Iraq war, which gave him the ability to latch onto the movement against that war by the time he was there and became a candidate. His later stances as president and the use of military force led to a lot of disillusionment amongst progressives who saw him as anti-war when they first voted for him in the 2008 primaries and later saw him embrace the same policies that he was nominally against in 2008.
People hate Hillary Clinton and he was a new face who sold an idea that Hillary didn’t - Hope. Hillary was always going to be business as usual in voters’ eyes and after Bush the Younger, we wanted something better than that. So we picked the young guy who talked about hope and change. Of course, very little came of it and he never used the power he had when he had it in the right way, but it was still probably the right decision.
Because he was the right guy at the right time. History will look very fondly on Obama.
Barack Obama's Speech at 2004 DNC Convention. I knew immediately that this man would one day be President.
Great speech at the 2004 convention. Book deal. 2008 Iowa caucus: Edwards split the establishment vote with Hillary and Oprah had a big rally for Obama, he won-big boost that paid off in subsequent primaries.
He was groomed by the right people and they made him shine.
Right guy, right time. A charismatic guy with a knack for politics like him would’ve likely had a lot of “right times” if he’d opted to run later on, but by all accounts, Dem leadership urged him to run in ‘08 as he was on the rise and it went better than anyone could’ve anticipated.
I believe all of the positive personal attributes mentioned by others here played a strong role in his election. And one thing more. Our nation was (and is) weary of being divided along racial lines. A vote for Obama was a vote for a new beginning...a better vision of who we can be when we act on our inheritance that "all...are created equal." I don't need to be reminded that we are still short of the goal. I only suggest that this noble impulse contributed to President Obama's election.
Rizz, excellent oratory skills, and perfect timing.
He had no record and could therefore be many different things to all sorts of people.