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This is a good video

this is a great video

I was genuinely disturbed and concerned by the wording on Iran in the current draft of the Democratic Platform, which has been posted numerous places, including on the Atlantic.com at http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/Platform%208%207%2008%20%282%29.pdf .

As many of us know, one of the major foreign policy fault lines in our party is centered on Iran. One school, led by Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton, believes Iran's army is terrorist, and they voted for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment last year accordingly. Later in the campaign Hillary Clinton remarked that the US can "obliterate" Iran. And now, just a few brief months later, some hawkish Democrats, led by Representative Ackerman in the House and Senator Evan Bayh in the Senate, are pushing a resolution containing language which calls for what is tantamount to a blockade of Iran, an act of war.

The other school, led by people like Barack Obama, believes that rattling sabres and refusing to talk to Iran is ill-advised and counter-productive. Here is a representative quote from Senator Obama's position on the issue, as posted at http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/#iran :

"Obama believes that we have not exhausted our non-military options in confronting this threat; in many ways, we have yet to try them. That's why Obama stood up to the Bush administration's warnings of war, just like he stood up to the war in Iraq. Obama opposed the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which says we should use our military presence in Iraq to counter the threat from Iran. Obama believes that it was reckless for Congress to give George Bush any justification to extend the Iraq War or to attack Iran. Obama also introduced a resolution in the Senate declaring that no act of Congress – including Kyl-Lieberman – gives the Bush administration authorization to attack Iran. Obama is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions."

Well, here's the bad news: The first complete draft of this year's Democratic platform was released yesterday, AND IT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT THE FOLLY OF PURSUING BUSH'S POLICY OF WAR WITH IRAN. Instead the paragraph in question reads like an ultimatum that could have been written by Hillary Clinton or Joe Lieberman. Here's a representative quote, as it appears in the quote furnished by Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic.com at http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/08/obamas_democratic_platform_inc.php :

"We will present Iran with a clear choice: if you...refuse, the United States and the international community will further ratchet up the pressure, with stronger unilateral sanctions; stronger multilateral sanctions inside and outside the U.N. Security Council, and sustained action to isolate the Iranian regime." (The entire pdf of the current platform can be read at http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/Platform%208%207%2008%20%282%29.pdf .)

To my ears, this reads like an ultimatum, pure and simple, and nothing else.

More broadly, what concerns me about this plank is that it depicts as the chief concern here the possibility that Iran may be a threat to us in the future. It totally omits what Obama clearly laid out on his web site, which I quoted above, namely that his other concern is that overly bellicose, aggressive and threatening behavior on our part could lead to a precipitate and ill-advised military engagement.

That concern is totally eliminated in the current version of the Iran plank.

To me that flies in the face of one of the most fundamental basic reasons why our party nominated Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. Again and again, Barack Obama reminded us that he not only wanted to end the war in Iraq but that he also wanted to end the mindset that got us into Iraq in the first place. Well, in this plank I'm hearing that short-sighted and reckless mindset again. I strongly recommend that we call on the party to correct this discrepancy. Barack Obama is our nominee, not Joe Lieberman, not Hillary Clinton.

And I can sure tell you one thing: At the two platform sessions which the Obama campaign held and which I attended during the last week in July, this is certainly NOT the positions that we hammered out on Iran and sent up the chain of command. And I seriously doubt that this was the position that most of those sessions took on the issue.

We need to do something about this. I'm open to suggestions. Please let's straighten this out.

this is an informative video

Awesome! I love how these videos continue to be positive, while McCain keeps pumping out negative ad after negative ad. Keep it up till the debates, where McCain (and his legendary temper) will loose his cool, and this election will be a lock.

Barack and Roll!

Barack Obama could talk about increasing tax revenues - not by increasing the taxes on American making less than $250,000, but adding more jobs in America so that these American employees can pay taxes. That is simple math. The Bush policies shared by McCain want to ship more jobs overseas so that more Americans are not working and paying taxes putting the tax burden on the remaining (soon "few) working Americans.

Let's create jobs here in America that cannot be shipped overseas. No one can build solar plants and wind farms in India or China and ship that energy here to America.

McCain keeps saying that what Obama wants to do is impossible. Obama's message is "Yes We Can," not "Yes I Can." He will engage Americans to do what is necessary to make changes. He makes many great suggestions to Americans so that these ideas will always be on their minds. As a result even now some Americans are thinking of ways to create more energy and energy-efficient motor vehicles. We are thinking of ways to rebuild our economy.

We all know that the McCain supporters won't do it. They want a band-aid approach to solving high gas prices (which they have caused): Drill for some more oil, DON'T ever look for any new energy sources, live for today, let that oil run out, and pass the burden on to future generations.

Yes, McCain wants change just like Bush and Cheney do: FROM BAD TO WORSE. A good TV ad would be of McCain making false promises and at the end, he peels off a mask. Under that mask is...BUSH.

Another TV ad idea is McCain wanting to do some scientific discovery to solve energy and environmental problems. Out of a science lab comes...a marching army of thousands (millions) of BUSH CLONES.

Yes, it is true that Barack Obama gives these eloquent speeches. He may not be able to do magic and create change overnight, but if these ideas are out there and Americans are thinking about them, they will come up with answers. And President Barack Obama will listen. Then he will put things in place to get things done and will include those Americans making suggestions. This is how America should work.

By the way, speaking of jobs being shipped overseas, I was contacted by a well-known phone company. The person talking to me was talking extremely fast in an accent that sounded like from India. Of course I asked him if he was from a foreign country where American jobs have been shipped and foreign workers are getting paid less, and he said no (that was a lie). I could not understand what he was saying. He was about to sign me up for some deal for cheaper service on DSL and phone (and lie about being no fees, no taxes, no surcharges, etc.). Then after he thought he was going to sign me up and send a modem, his boss came on. He also talked fast with an accent. This is just an example of what these companies should be doing. Americans should get hip to crap like this and put them out of business until they can bring jobs back here to America.

SPECULATION: Let's reverse it. Make it work in our favor. That is what Barack Obama is doing. Let's threaten to come up with new sources of energy: wind, solar, other rocks, plants, and minerals, whatever. When the oil companies see that happening, the price of oil should go down, down, down. When they see we mean business in making sure we find enough sources to put oil companies out of business, oil prices will continue to fall.

good ad

very positive.

Its really awesome and very informative video.
Matt had done a great job by posting this video.
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caroline16

South Carolina Treatment Centers

"The hands that build roofs can install solar panels"

Why does he want to let roofers install photovoltaic panels? That's the job of electricians. You need someone who knows more than just which way to hold a nail. You need to be able to work with the panel safely. You should only hire electricians for this work. He needs to change that part of the video.

Nice ad but with little gut level impact in the face of the withering ads attacking Obama and the recent Corsi book of slime. McCain forced this campaign to new lows when he recruited the graduates of the Karl Rove School of the Big Lie and Smear to be his handlers. As far as energy goes, McCain and his handlers know full well that drilling is a complete shuck since there will be no effect on oil prices for at least ten years and even then it will be minimal. This is a gut issue and needs to be addressed vigorously in the energy discussion. Obama cannot "turn the other cheek" in the face of Willie Horton or Swift Boat style attacks and show only nice quiet messages. Sadly, there is no question that the electorate punishes those who do not give back what they get.

On Tuesday we heard a Presidential speech on the convention floor. What are we going to hear on Thursday- a rock-star speech in a celebrity stadium.
Today Senator Clinton did what Senator Ted Kennedy, with far fewer delegates refused to do in 1980 and caused Carter the election.
Caroline and Senator Kennedy have ensured Senator Clinton was defeated in the primaries and not even considered for the VP spot. They have declared the torch has passed from the Kennedies to Barak Obama. Not so fast Senator- the Clintons are still the leaders that many tens of millions of Democrats and Independents look up to. And there is still many Bobby Kennedy children waiting in the wings to take on leadership roles.
Senator Obama and his surrogates have called President Clinton a racist, and consistently played the race card; President Clinton who has done more for African Americans than any other contemporary Presidents.
Senator Obama is beholden to the far left much like President Bush was a puppet of the radical right.
Senator Obama has insulted and ignored Senator Clinton.
And Senator Obama's mouthpiece and propaganda machinery- CNN, is calling Senator Clinton mean-spirited and somehow is responsible for the party not uniting. And what is the responsibility of the party nominee?
And the party expects many Clinton supporters to back Senator Obama!!!!