Obama sounds good, but...

...words are not enough

That's the headline of James Klurfeld's column at Newsday.com. An Obama admirer, Klurfeld says, "just saying you want to bring people together isn't sufficient." He makes some good points about some of the key issues facing this country and how on many, there is very little common ground. So the question is how is Barack Obama going to bring about the fundamental change he continuously talks about. He also says that reporters sometimes find Obama to be "aloof, even arrogant." Kurfleld continues saying, "so far, I like what I see. But I'm still not sure what I'm getting.

His feelings are probably that of many. Read the complete article here:

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-opklu155577880feb15,0,102266.column

Obama the flip-flopper

Back when Barack Obama thought he would have an uphill challenge in fundraising for his presidential campaign, his campaign said that if the Republican in the general election accepted public financing, Obama's campaign would do the same. John McCain's campaign agreed. Now that Barack Obama has shown his true fundraising prowess, he appears to be turning back on his word.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5imF0stzng4QHQfEka6jVR8_Di09AD8UQFCF80

Is Barack Obama tied to special interests?

An AP story today highlighted the energy policy debate of the Democratic candidates. It points out that Barack Obama misled voters about standing up against the nuclear power special interests.

Obama said he "passed" a bill requiring nuclear power companies to disclosed leaks.

Well, it turns out that the bill never passed the Senate and the language that made it out of committee was watered down after Obama met with the nuclear power companies. I don't think that classifies as "straight talk." In fact, it seems to me that this is about as "Washington" as you can get.

The story also points out that Exelon executives and employees have given Obama's campaign over $200,000. But I'm sure they all donated the money because they were glad he was trying to slap their industry with a bunch of new regulations. Oh wait, they talked him out of it.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jyrMRzzhtkEXXcGY9cNmKYSRpVigD8UQG91O0

Barack Obama’s "Ethics" Reform

While Obama should be commended for his refusal to accept money from political action committees, the ethics reform legislation he sponsored did little to stop the truly troublesome practices in Washington, D.C.

While lobbyists can no longer buy a congressional staffer a $10 lunch, for some reason they are still allowed to spend up to $5,000 for the political action committees (PACs) of members of Congress. Yes, pretty much every member of Congress has their own PAC – its not just the labor unions and the corporations. Members of Congress can set up these committees and then beg lobbyists to hand over the big bucks at fundraisers (e.g. ski weekends, hunting trips, spas, etc.) Members in turn use these dollars to bribe their colleagues into supporting them for leadership positions. Leave it to Barack Obama to to make it illegal to have a normal business lunch – and still allow the outrageous excesses of Members’ leadership PACs. Now that’s true ethics reform.

Rants and Raves from Craigslist

Some interesting posts from random people on Craigslist:

"I don't understand why people like Obama..."

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/rnr/570850068.html

Clinton "just needs to show people they're getting duped"

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/rnr/570869177.html

"If Obama wins the nomination from the Democrats, I will vote for McCain out of spite!"

http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/rnr/572518004.html

"Today I asked 10 Obama supporters why they were voting for him......8 answered 'change' and the other 2 thought he was 'cool'"

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/573146971.html

"Another Obama supporter who cannot state specifically WHY he/she is supporting him. MORE proof that people are not voting based on FACTS, but on some ILLUSION."

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/rnr/573136742.html

"Obama: government program is solution to every problem"

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/rnr/573668698.html

"Who says Obama accomplished nothing?"

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/rnr/573056324.html

Obama's economic plan: A lot like Clinton's

Barack Obama unveiled his new plan to revive the economy yesterday. The only problem is that his plan is almost identical to Hillary Clinton's plan. John McCain spokesman Kevin Hassett said Obama's plan is "the most shameless piece of potential plagiarism that I have ever seen."

For a more detailed account, check out the article in the Chicago Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/794128,CST-NWS-campweb14.article

Interesting post about Obama's record in D.C. and Illinois

Check out this post on CBS News. It contains some interesting facts:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml#o