Anybody check out the BET interview with Barack Obama

[jlewis]

I'm going to be honest.   I was a little worried about ol' boy.     He preached a good message,    but I still haven't heard any concrete plans.

But He talked about how he has raised campaign funds,  his voting record, and his view on the educational system ( or lack thereof).

But I really started feeling him when Jeff Majors  asked him why ( since he was a product or a bi-racial marriage), did he feel driven to marry a black woman.

His response was "Well Jeff, you've seen my wife......  she's FINE."


I'm not against interracial  relationships in any form ( I was in one for a number of years),   but the way he broke that down sealed the deal for me.   

Next week they are doing the same segment with Hillary Clinton.

Jlewis

[LaylaMonroe]

I saw it, JLew.

I'm not so naive to believe that this race is going to be a cinch for Barack, although it could be.  Barack has a long road ahead of him, and all the communication I get from his campaign indicates that he's well aware of that.

I will say this, as I've said before... if all the people who do believe in Barack and think he's the best candidate actually VOTE for him, he will win by leaps and bounds.  Most pundits, black politicians, black civil rights leaders, and black professionals were of the impression that a vote for him would be a wasted vote since he would never get the "white" vote.  As you know by now, he won the "white" vote in Iowa easily - and it wasn't even a close one.  He gained a significant amount of support in another white state, NH, just a few days later.

He's already proven that he can win the white vote... it's his own people that he has to worry about now.  If I were advising him, I would tell him to focus his attention on the ones who ALREADY believe in him, but have yielded to the foolish rhetoric about wasting a vote.

And btw, I thought Jeff did an amazing job.  I was pleasantly surprised.

[LaylaMonroe]

Oh, and I almost skipped this part... if you have any questions about his concrete plans, please feel free to ask me.  I'll do my best to either answer your questions or try to find out the answers.

[J31]

I saw this too and Man this guy Obama really has my vote I mena Bill had me sold back in the day but not like Obama. Mr. President is more than capable and his real challenge will be to simply stay the course and not play and race/gender cards. let the media do that and stay the course.














Hillary is up against the wal she is just short of saying " America you can't vote for a black man"

[LaylaMonroe]

I saw this too and Man this guy Obama really has my vote I mena Bill had me sold back in the day but not like Obama. Mr. President is more than capable and his real challenge will be to simply stay the course and not play and race/gender cards. let the media do that and stay the course.

Hillary is up against the wal she is just short of saying " America you can't vote for a black man"

LOL @ your small print. 

[rochelle33]

Oh, and I almost skipped this part... if you have any questions about his concrete plans, please feel free to ask me.  I'll do my best to either answer your questions or try to find out the answers.

Just out of curiosity, what is Barack's religious background? 

[LaylaMonroe]

Just out of curiosity, what is Barack's religious background? 

He's a Christian and a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, under the leadership of the renowned Dr. Jeremiah Wright.

[rochelle33]

He's a Christian and a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, under the leadership of the renowned Dr. Jeremiah Wright.

What's with all the allegations that he's Muslim?

[sjonathan02]

What's with all the allegations that he's Muslim?

Uninformed individuals who know nothing more than his name.

[rochelle33]

Uninformed individuals who know nothing more than his name.

Please keep in mind, though, that I'm not alleging.  I'm asking.  There are so many conflicting stories - as usual with politics.     There is a website snopes.com that is currently trying to straighten out some allegations. 

[sjonathan02]

Please keep in mind, though, that I'm not alleging.  I'm asking.  There are so many conflicting stories - as usual with politics.     There is a website snopes.com that is currently trying to straighten out some allegations. 

Oh, I knew you were just asking. My apologies if I gave you the impression otherwise.

[LaylaMonroe]

What's with all the allegations that he's Muslim?

Uninformed individuals who know nothing more than his name.

Yep.  That's about it.

[jlewis]

What is Barack's foriegn policy stance.

Specifically,   does he have a plan for troop withdrawal.  If so, how does he plan to deal with the power vacuum in the region when and if we pull out.


What about The rising nuclear threat  in North Korea.  I really believe that if  North Korea thought they could tak a shot at us, they would.

Has he made any statements on his plan fro healthcare reform.   What about the rising trend of outsourcing  american jobs ( any plans for bringing some of those back).


I'm real cynical these days.   I really believe that the only safe jobs are in the health industry.  Education as well, but its not like they  are well paid anyway (sorry Sjon, nothing personal). I believe by the time my kids are grown, there really won't be a middle class america anymore.

Jlewis

[sjonathan02]

What is Barack's foriegn policy stance.

Specifically,   does he have a plan for troop withdrawal.  If so, how does he plan to deal with the power vacuum in the region when and if we pull out.


What about The rising nuclear threat  in North Korea.  I really believe that if  North Korea thought they could tak a shot at us, they would.

Has he made any statements on his plan fro healthcare reform.   What about the rising trend of outsourcing  american jobs ( any plans for bringing some of those back).


I'm real cynical these days.   I really believe that the only safe jobs are in the health industry.  Education as well, but its not like they  are well paid anyway (sorry Sjon, nothing personal). I believe by the time my kids are grown, there really won't be a middle class america anymore.

Jlewis

Bruh, not only am I NOT offended, but, I COSIGN!!! what you've said; especially concerning education. It's high time that we in the educational field were compensated for all that we are asked to do.

Or, at the very least, STOP making it so hard for us to do our job(s).

But, alas, I don't see ANY politician really taking a critical look at that or the issues you've mentioned. *sigh*

[jlewis]

Yeah,    The educational system  needs some serious work.   And Health care  is getting crazy.   They have jobs available, but  unless you got a great corporate plan,   folks better not come down with a serious illness that keeps you off your feet ( or in the hospital) for an extended period of time.

I'm at the point where I want to hear a plan of action, not a discusion of the problem (that we all know already exists).


For the past couple of elections, I 've been voting for the lesser of 2 evils, rather than the best man (or woman) for the job.

Another topic that I would like to hear is the reasoning behind the increase in oil.  And is there a government effort to  look at and implement alternative energy solutions for things like transportation and power.  Has Barack made any statements?

Jlewis

[LaylaMonroe]

What is Barack's foriegn policy stance.

Specifically,   does he have a plan for troop withdrawal.  If so, how does he plan to deal with the power vacuum in the region when and if we pull out.


What about The rising nuclear threat  in North Korea.  I really believe that if  North Korea thought they could tak a shot at us, they would.

Has he made any statements on his plan fro healthcare reform.   What about the rising trend of outsourcing  american jobs ( any plans for bringing some of those back).


I'm real cynical these days.   I really believe that the only safe jobs are in the health industry.  Education as well, but its not like they  are well paid anyway (sorry Sjon, nothing personal). I believe by the time my kids are grown, there really won't be a middle class america anymore.

Jlewis

Let me go one at a time to keep it from being too lengthy to read (and because I have ADD and don't wanna fry my brain by staying in one thread for too long... lol).  If any of my answers don't suffice, feel free to tell me.  If I can, I'll further elaborate.

I'll hit up foreign policy first.  Foreign policy is pretty broad, but I'll just tell you what I know about the troop withdrawal.

Okay... I just deleted everything I typed, and decided to just give you a cut and paste.  His words are way better than mine were... lol.  If you wanna know what I think, we can discuss it if you want.

Bring Our Troops Home: Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

Press Iraq's leaders to reconcile: The best way to press Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq's Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing.

Regional Diplomacy: Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq's neighbors – including Iran and Syria. This compact will aim to secure Iraq's borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq's sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq's reconstruction.

Humanitarian Initiative: Obama believes that America has a moral and security responsibility to confront Iraq's humanitarian crisis – two million Iraqis are refugees; two million more are displaced inside their own country. Obama will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a safe-haven.

[LaylaMonroe]

Bruh, not only am I NOT offended, but, I COSIGN!!! what you've said; especially concerning education. It's high time that we in the educational field were compensated for all that we are asked to do.

Or, at the very least, STOP making it so hard for us to do our job(s).

But, alas, I don't see ANY politician really taking a critical look at that or the issues you've mentioned. *sigh*

If you don't see any politicians taking a critical look at it, it could be because you're not watching the debates or not attending candidate events.  They discuss it, critically, quite frequently, it just doesn't get a lot of media attention.

HOWEVER, I will concede that there are still some serious problems in our nation's education system, and some lack in the attention that the media is giving to the issue.  The best candidate for teachers is no longer in the race, unfortunately. 

But, you might want to give Obama's education platform a look.  It's a fairly easy read, if you're interested.  Hilary and John also have similar plans, for the record.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

[under13]

Am I the only one that thinks some people wont vote for Obama because is name sounds like "Osama"?

[LaylaMonroe]

Am I the only one that thinks some people wont vote for Obama because is name sounds like "Osama"?

No, you're not.  That's old news.

[rochelle33]

Oh, I knew you were just asking. My apologies if I gave you the impression otherwise.

No, no...I knew that.  I just wanted to make sure everyone else knew that too.  This is a very crucial campaign and I feel like my own head is spinning with all of the controversy sometimes.  Then I start reading "facts" about certain candidates, and later find out that what I just read or heard isn't true anyway.  It's just crazy.