I keep hearing how JFK-like Obama is, hence some of the endorsements from Ted Kennedy and JFK's daughter of late. JFK was before my time (I was born in '64) so you oldsters out there who remember...how true is this? Does Obama really remind you of JFK? Besides his youth, energy and blabbering about "change", is there anything else about him that reminds you of Camelot?
The less Kennedy taint Obama gets on him the better. I rather like Obama despite the endorsements today, not because of them.
I don't know, does he has secret mistresses? He is from Chicago, so he's got the voting dead that JFK had. Other than that, I got nuttin.
I really wasn't thinking about JFK's zipper problem. So far, nothing about that about Obama, at least not that I've heard.
Granted I was only 10 when JFK took office, but it was also the first time I heard the word "charisma," and he had it. I'm still not entirely able to define it, but certain people - and I'm sure you've met them - give off a kind of extra energy. It doesn't necessarily translate to either substance or morality. But it's just an extra something. And, obviously, from my avatar, I think Obama's got it, too. And if Teddy who, poor bastard, was only conceived to take his old man's mind off Gloria Swanson, and who lived in the shadow of his three older brothers all his life, and Caroline, who can only really remember some idealized version of her father, say he's got it, I guess they'd know.
I only agree with about half of his positions, but that's gonna be true for me of any candidate Democrat or Republican. But he's the only one who can really claim to be the candidate of change and mean it.
When I heard on the radio today that he's been endorsed by Caroline and Ted Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, my first thoughts were, "Obama should stay away from grassy knolls and hotel kitchens."
Hell, the old fart used to take 'em down to NYC on their 16th birthday and buy 'em a hooker as a gift. You can put the rum-runner behind lace curtains, but he's still a rum-runner.
Yep. Rose apparently didn't have enough kids, and she knew Joe Sr. was keeping Gloria Swanson on his yacht. What her getting fat and bitchy for the ninth time was supposed to accomplish, God and the Catholic Church only know...
So besides the Mouse, the Castle, and the crowds is there anything else that reminds you of Disneyland?
Well, to clarify the question - it's not whether Obama is as Kennedy was perceived in 1960.....it's that Obama is perceived as an incarnation of the idealized Kennedy that has become more legend than reality in the past 45 years. Kennedy now is greater than Kennedy then, even in the eyes of those who knew him. It is the Idealized Kennedy that people long for, more than the one who actually lived. And yes, I believe that many Americans are longing for a man they can cast in that role and the Obama, if he plays his cards right, might very well get the role. If he does, even though his a flamining leftest (even beyond Hillary or the clintons) at least he's transparent and, apparently, reasonably honorable and if I have to live with a president who doesn't share my views (as none of the remaining possibilities do) then I would prefer the "clean" guy. Who knows, he might actually make a small dent in changing "politics as usual" Oh, and as for Barak = JFK? Dude DOES have a pretty hot wife - that's gotta count for something.
It's interesting to note that we've seen the first black SoS, the first female SotH, and now quite possibly either the first female or the first black president, all in the span of a decade. As I said in another thread though, I don't think the Clintons expected a viable black candidate to rival the novelty of her being the first female candidate for president. I think they expected the black vote to be a given for them. It isn't. My wife always found Toni Morrison's declaration that Bill Clinton was the first black president to be . I just shrugged my shoulders at the notion. I see now that even she has endorsed Obama. If the Clinton's opportunitsm and sense of entitlement to the (co-)presidency alienate the black community and make them self-destruct, all to the benefit of Barack Obama, I can't say I'll lose any sleep over it
Michelle Obama is beautiful, but also very charming, and incredibly engaging. SHe seems every bit Obama's equal. Maybe she'll follow her husband into the presidency Argentina-style She parked her children with her mother and went on the campaign trail to defend against the Clintonbile. I hope we see more of that in the coming days.
Not to mention keeping us from having Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton dynasties. New blood please apply.
Shirley Chisholm was on record as stating that she encountered far more prejudice as a woman than as an African American. Or, as Chris Rock put it, "America is ready for a woman President...but does it have to be this one?"
And a stunning resemblance to Condi Rice. Just goes to show that the six families that rule America have added a seventh.
Obama is JFK like: on the young side for the job and monstrously overrated because he can give a good speech.
Obama gave the best political speech I've heard in years today. Too bad he's a raving socialist and I'll blow my own head off before I ever vote for him.
Wise, the Shep is. I didn't realize you were that old. But Pardot sums it up best. And if Obama is elected, I think we can expect a Kennedy-like presidency: not very popular, not very good, and idealized later far beyond the reality. (Hopefully not because of an assassination, though.) But on a human level, Obama seems much nicer and more honest than Kennedy ever was. I still can't understand the people who think that being able to make good speeches is the primary quality in a president. As I said elsewhere, that means that America today would elect a Joseph Stalin who talks nice over a Cyrus the Great who wasn't a good speech-maker. And then we wonder why the country is going down the tubes.
I'd heard the Obama = socialist argument before but now we have Obama = Stalin. I can't wait for tomorrow
That kind of statement frightens me. Perhaps a bit more than usually right now because I keep hearing the same about Obama from my fiance, and she is usually an intelligent and level-headed person as well. You point out that charisma has nothing to do with substance or morality. Right. And then you say you support the man for it. The hell?!
I forsee a plane crash or some sort of park high-jinks in Obama's future if he wins any more contests at Hillary's expense.
Not to speak for G, but there are a few potential rationales on that front that make sense to me. 1. Obama happens to have plenty of morality and substance, and the abundance of charisma he also has is the icing on the cake. 2. We have entered into a post-substance/morality stage of politics where the actual platforms of the candidates are not substantially different from one another. That is to say, there's not much in the way of concrete differences between Obama, Romney, McCain and Clinton, where by "concrete differences" I mean things that would actually change substantially from a Romney administration to one of the other guys. In that regard, you may as well use charisma and personal appeal as a criteria rather than the various positions on which they either essentially agree, or on which they might have philosophical disagreements that will not translate into much of a difference in the real world any time soon (i.e., abortion). 3. A substance-free but charismatic Obama would still be a better choice for the Democrats than an uncharismatic Hillary or a better choice for the country than a charismatic but problematic John McCain or Mitt Romney. 4. At a time when our standing in the eyes of so much of the world has eroded, having an extremely charismatic leader is one way we might potentially restore it.
