The History Book Club discussion
PRESIDENTIAL SERIES
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THE PRIMARIES, THE CONVENTIONS, THE ELECTION
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In Ohio
Columbus, Ohio (CNN) -- President Barack Obama used the first official rally of his re-election bid to highlight the accomplishments made during his three and a half years in the White House, and to make a case for a second term in office.
"We are making progress and now we face a choice Ohio," said the president, at a rally at the Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus. "This is a make or break moment for the middle class and we can't turn back now."
In his 36-minute-long address, Obama tied presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to Republicans in Congress, saying that if elected, Romney would rubber-stamp the congressional GOP agenda, telling the crowd that "we cannot give him that chance."
"That's the choice in this election, and that's why I'm running for a second term as president of the United States," added Obama.
The speech highlighted the narrative that the Obama campaign hopes to push this year: reminding voters how many millions of jobs were lost before the president took office.
The president said that in the final six months of 2008, "nearly three million of our neighbors lost their jobs." But he said when he took office, "we didn't quit. We don't quit. Together we are fighting our way back."
Obama touted the federal government's rescue of the big auto companies, and he criticized his challenger, saying "when some wanted to let Detroit go bankrupt, we didn't turn our backs."
"Today, America's auto industry is on top of the world," he said.
A former Massachusetts governor who was born in Michigan and whose father was a former auto executive and governor of the state, Romney opposed the bailout, saying a structured bankruptcy could have achieved the same result without the massive cost to the U.S. government. Moreover, he has argued the Obama administration made too many concessions to auto unions as part of the bailout.
The president also touted his foreign policy achievements, saying that "for the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq." He said that "Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to this country" and "al Qaeda is on the path to defeat."
He then pledged that "by 2014, the war in Afghanistan will be over," and pointed out that Romney had opposed setting a troop withdrawal deadline in the Afghanistan conflict.
On the controversial issue of illegal immigration, Obama declared that "it's time to stop denying citizenship to responsible young people just because they're the children of undocumented immigrants."
Romney took a hard stance against illegal immigration during the Republican primaries, opposing the president's push for a limited pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. The issue is of importance to the growing Latino electorate in the United States.
The arena, which holds seating for around 20,000 people, appeared to be around two-thirds to three-quarters full, with around half of the seating in the upper deck empty. The Columbus fire department estimated the crowd size at 14,000.
While smaller in size than many of the Obama rallies held during the 2008 campaign, the crowd dwarfed the size of any rally held this cycle by Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
The Romney campaign quickly reacted to the president's speech.
"No matter how many lofty campaign speeches President Obama gives, the fact remains that American families are struggling on his watch: to pay their bills, find a job and keep their homes.
While President Obama all but ignored his record over three and a half years in office, the American people won't. This November, they will hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership," said Romney campaign press secretary Andrea Saul, in a statement.
Prior to Saturday's rally, the president had made 20 trips to Ohio since taking office. Romney returns to Ohio Monday, his third trip to the Buckeye State in three weeks.
Ohio's unemployment level stands at 7.5%, slightly lower than the national average of 8.1%. Ohio has become a crucial battleground state in recent presidential elections. The Buckeye State put President George W. Bush over the top in his 2004 re-election. Four years ago, Obama won Ohio by five points over Sen. John McCain of Arizona (52%-47%).
The most recent public opinion poll in Ohio, released earlier this week by Quinnipiac University, indicated a tie between Obama and Romney. According to the survey, 44% of registered voters supported Obama, with 42% backing Romney. The president's two point margin was well with in the poll's sampling error.
Acknowledging that his re-election bid faces hurdles, the president told those in the audience that "Ohio, this election will be closer than the last."
And while he continuously used the 2012 Obama campaign slogan "forward" in his speech, he did hark back to his 2008 slogan, saying "if people ask what this campaign is about, you tell them it's still about hope, it's still about change."
After the speech in Ohio, the president departed for Virginia, another crucial battleground state. Obama will hold a similar rally later Saturday at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/05/politic...
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Obama kicked off his re-election campaign rally today before a sea of Ohioans holding blue “Forward” signs at The Ohio State University.
Standing casually in shirtsleeves, the president for the first time drew direct contrasts between himself and the presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, by name.
“Governor Romney is a patriotic American who’s raised a wonderful family” and has “much to be proud of” with his business successes, Obama said. “But I think he has drawn the wrong lessons from those experiences.”
“Somehow he and his friends in Congress think that the same bad ideas will lead to a different result, or they are just hoping you won’t remember what happened the last time we tried it their way,” he said of the Republican’s economic philosophy. “Ohio, I’m here to say we were there, we remember, and we are not going back. We are moving this country forward.”
The comments mark the debut of his “Forward” slogan, what the campaign hopes will be a continuance of the “Change” started four years ago. Aides say they believe the motto effectively sells Obama’s progress on the economy — including Friday’s lackluster jobs report — because a slow recovery is better than the alternative, going in the opposite direction.
He gave a nod to the anemic jobs picture and sluggish economic growth today: ”It will take a sustained, persistent effort — yours and mine — for America to fully recover [...] Now we face a choice. The last few years the Republicans who run this Congress have insisted we go right back to the policies that created this mess.
“And now after a long and spirited primary, Republicans in Congress have found a nominee for president who’s promised to rubber stamp this agenda if he gets the chance,” he said.
Obama said Ohioans “couldn’t afford” to give Romney that chance, and that this election was “a make or break moment for the middle class.”
The president repeatedly dinged Romney his party in congress for “out of touch” statements from the past: “Corporations aren’t people. People are people,” he said.
“My opponent said it was tragic to end the war in Iraq,” he said. “He said he won’t set a timeline for ending the war in Afghanistan. I have, and I intend to keep it.
“My opponent won’t tell us how he’d pay for his new $5 trillion tax cut, a tax cut that gives an average of $250,000 to every millionaire in this country,” he said. “But we know the bill for that tax cut will either be passed on to our children or it will be paid for by a whole lot of ordinary Americans. That’s what we know. And I refuse to let that happen again.
“We don’t need another political fight about ending a woman’s right to choose, or getting rid of Planned Parenthood, or taking away access to affordable birth control,” he said. “We’re not going to eliminate the EPA, we’re not going to roll back bargaining rights that generations of workers fought for.”
Obama ran through a litany of familiar policy proposals — boosting college access, investing in clean energy technologies, funding more infrastructure projects — with the tagline, “That’s why I’m running for president.”
“On issue after issue we can’t afford to spend the next four years going backward,” he said.
Today’s remarks offer a good glimpse of how the Obama campaign’s strategy will play out in the months ahead, attempting to paint his rival in the same colors as the last occupant of the Oval Office, President George W. Bush. Similarly, the reelection effort is hoping to return to the grassroots student popularity that helped propel him to the White House in 2008.
Obama told the crowd he plans to win “the old fashioned way, door by door, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.”
“We have come too far to abandon the change we fought for these past few years,” he said. “We have to move forward to the future we imagined in 2008 where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. That’s the choice in this election and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.”
The president asked voters if they had the “courage” to move forward.
First lady Michelle Obama introduced her husband at the event, after a number of democratic organizers and lawmakers. Sen. Sherrod Brown, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, and former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn were among those to take turns at the podium.
There were 14,000 supporters at the stadium for the rally, according to the local fire department. While the campaign was prepared for overflow crowds in Ohio and a later event in Virginia, none materialized at OSU.
The Republican National Committee and Romney campaign released rebuttal statements to the president’s outing today. RNC chairman Reince Priebus says the president has failed to live up to the expectations he gave voters in the last election cycle.
“Three and a half years after running on hope and change, Barack Obama kicked off his campaign with more divisive rhetoric and showed us he really is running on hype and blame,” he said.
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Americans in November will “hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership.”
While today marks the first public event of Obama’s reelection effort, members of GOP contend recent official presidential travel to battleground states amounted to the same effect.
However, during the 2004 election Democrats leveled the same charge against then-President George W. Bush for stumping on tax-payer dollar.
The president traveled to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for another rally immediately after the Ohio stop. The early evening venue reached building capacity with a crowd of 8,000.
Source: ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/...
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by LINTON WEEKS
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and President Obama will spend the next six months highlighting their differences. But they also share some striking similarities.
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Barack Obama and Mitt Romney just may be the same person. Think about it. Have you ever seen the two of them in the same limo?
All right. Of course, the pair of politicians who will in all likelihood be the major party nominees for the 2012 presidential election have their differences. Republican Romney, for instance, has been a governor and chairman of the Olympics; Democrat Obama has not. Obama, on the other hand, has been a senator and a president. Romney has not.
The two men do have different skin colors and they were raised with different religious beliefs. But we are here to explore their likenesses. Of which there are so many — major and minor — that political wags have referred to the two with mashed-up monikers, such as Barack Oromney, Baromney Obamitt and just plain Obomney.
President Obama, speaking at the recent White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington, joked about his similarities with Romney: "He and I actually have a lot in common," Obama said. "We both think of our wives as our better halves. And polls show, to a alarmingly insulting extent, the American people agree."
Other people have noticed parallelisms between the pols. From the left, billionaire political activist George Soros told Reuters in January, "Between Romney and Obama, there isn't all that much difference."
From the right, Newt Gingrich agreed with Soros — which does not happen often. Gingrich, putting himself forward as different from Romney, told ABC News in January that Obama and Romney are "the same people." There are "a lot of parallels between these two guys," Gingrich added, pointing out that they both receive massive funding from Wall Street investors and share similar views on health care issues.
Both Obama and Romney "are very successful guys who kind of figured it out," says Mac McCorkle, who teaches the politics of public policy at Duke University. "They both have faced major challenges and they both have met those challenges."
And both Obama and Romney come across as cool and somewhat aloof. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, says, "I've joked that we may finally have found a political solution to global warming. Let these two campaign incessantly for six months and we'll lower the temperature by a few degrees."
Tale Of The Tape
Arguably, Obama and Romney see the world pretty much the same way — in very many ways. They have at least a dozen data points in common:
1) Neither man served in the armed forces. This would be the first election without a veteran representing a major party in the race since 1944.
2) Both Obama and Romney hail from far-flung family histories. Obama's father was born in Kenya; his mother in Kansas. Romney's father was born in Mexico; his mother in Utah.
3) Both men operate from out-of-the-norm religious backgrounds. Obama, the Christian son of a Muslim father, says that his faith guides his decision-making; Romney is the Mormon son of a Mormon father. Both religious upbringings can elicit prejudice.
4) Both men earned degrees at Harvard University. Romney spent four years among the ivied towers, graduating in 1975 with a joint degree in law and business. Obama spent three years in Cambridge, graduating from Harvard Law School in 1991.
5) Both men worked in the financial sector. In 1983, Obama took a job at Business International Corp., a New York-based multinational business counseling firm, as a researcher in the financial services division. "He wasn't there long — only about a year," NPR's Scott Horsley reported in 2008. "But the job at Business International Corp. provided a crash course in market economics." Both politicians have been heavily funded by Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg reports.
Romney migrated from the banks of the Charles River to the banking world of Bain Capital, a private equity firm. "What Bain Capital did — and was among the first, if not the first, to do it — was to look at the operations before buying the company, as well as after," Romney told NPR's Ari Shapiro in 2011, "and try to figure out, how can we make it better and then help the management team to improve the company."
6) Both served, for a time, as advisers to their communities: Obama as a community organizer in Chicago; Romney as a bishop — a spiritual lay leader — in the Boston area.
7) Each man lost his first federal election. Romney lost to incumbent Ted Kennedy in a 1994 Massachusetts senatorial contest; Obama lost to incumbent Bobby Rush in a 2000 Illinois House of Representatives election.
8) Both men have championed comprehensive health care initiatives. Romney, when he was governor of Massachusetts and Obama as president. "Romneycare and Obamacare are essentially the same," Gingrich told ABC News.
9) Both Obama and Romney stay fit, dress sharply and look vaguely out of sync when wearing blue jeans.
10) Both occasionally laugh uncomfortably at their own humor.
11) Both have been known to lapse into song during public speaking.
12) Both are political pragmatists. "This presidential election tells us something unexpected about American politics," writes presidential historian Julian Zelizer on CNN.com. "For all the talk about polarization and discord in Washington, it appears that both parties will have pragmatic problem-solvers at the top of their tickets."
The Party Trumps All
Watching the 2012 slates materialize — bringing together two similar political figures — reminds Sabato of certain similarities between the candidates in the election of 2000. George W. Bush and Al Gore "were crown princes who had gotten as far as they did because of their fathers' successes," Sabato says. "So the parallels between Obama and Romney aren't that unusual in American politics." (Which may raise another question about the type of person who runs — and whom we nominate — for president.)
But what is different this time, Sabato says, is the political climate and the potently partisan atmosphere. The major distinction between Obama and Romney is where their support comes from — their parties.
"What they don't share politically — their party — trumps all similarities," Sabato says. "We live in a highly polarized era, and in the modern age at least, Democrats and Republicans have never had less in common on politics and policy."
The fact that Obama and Romney, left to their own devices, might well meet in the middle and find common ground, Sabato says, "is literally irrelevant. Their party bases will not permit them to do so, and their own partisan activists will go after them hard if they try to compromise too much. Or maybe at all."
On Monday's Morning Edition, NPR will air the first in its series, "Parallel Lives," comparing President Obama and Mitt Romney.
Source: NPR
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/17/1507957...
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Fun Facts
NAME: Willard Mitt Romney
OCCUPATION: Governor
BIRTH DATE: March 12, 1947 (Age: 65)
EDUCATION: Cranbrook School, Brigham Young University, Harvard
PLACE OF BIRTH: Detroit, Michigan
ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
BEST KNOWN FOR
Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts and made a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He has announced his candidacy for the 2012 race.
Mitt Romney biography
SYNOPSIS
Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947, in Detroit. The son of Michigan governor George Romney, Mitt founded the investment firm Bain Capital. He ran for Massachusetts Senate in 1994 but was defeated by incumbent Edward Kennedy. Romney took over the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and helmed a successful 2002 Olympic Games. He was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2003 and made a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, but lost to John McCain. In June 2011, Romney announced his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
EARLY LIFE
Born Willard Mitt Romney on March 12, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Romney attended the prestigious Cranbrook School before receiving his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 1971. He attended Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School and received both a law degree and an M.B.A. in 1975.
Mitt Romney married Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons, Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church.
ENTRY INTO POLITICS
The son of George Romney, Michigan governor and Republican presidential nominee (he was defeated by Richard Nixon in 1968), Mitt Romney began his career in business. He worked for the management consulting firm Bain & Company before founding the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. In 1994, he ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts but was defeated by longtime incumbent Edward Kennedy.
In 1999, Romney stepped into the national spotlight when he took over as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. He helped rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics from financial and ethical woes, and helmed a successful Salt Lake City Olympic Games in 2002.
In 2004 Romney authored the book Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games.
MASACHUSETTS GOVERNOR
Romney parlayed his success with the Olympics into politics when he was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2003. During Romney's term as governor, he oversaw the reduction of a $3 billion deficit. Romney also signed into law a health care reform program to provide nearly universal health care for Massachusetts residents.
2008 PRESIDENTIAL RUN
After serving one term, he declined to run for reelection and announced his bid for U.S. president. Romney made it through Super Tuesday, winning primaries in Massachusetts, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado and Utah, before losing the Republican nomination to John McCain. In total Romney spent $110 million on his campaign, including $45 million of his own money.
Romney continued to keep his options open for a possible future presidential run. He maintained much of his political staff and PACs, and raised funds for fellow Republican candidates. In March 2010, Romney published a book titled No Apology: The Case for American Greatness in March 2010. The book debuted on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
2012 CAMPAIGN
At a farm in New Hampshire on June 2, 2011, Mitt Romney announced the official start of his 2012 campaign. A vocal critic of President Barack Obama, Romney has taken many standard Republican positions on taxes, the economy and the war on terror. Romney's critics charge him with changing his position on several key issues including abortion, which he opposes, and health care reform—he opposed President Obama's health care reform program, which was similar to the Massachusetts plan Romney supported as governor.
From the start of his campaign, Romney emerged as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. He showed more mainstream Republican appeal than Tea Party-backed competitors such as Texas governor Rick Perry. In January 2012, Romney scored a decisive victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary. He captured more than 39 percent of the votes, way ahead of his closest competitors, Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman. As the race has continued, Rick Santorum became his greatest competition, winning several states. But Romney had been able to secure a substantial lead in the number of delegates need to clinch the nomination.
In April 2012, Romney benefitted from a narrowing of the field when Santorum announced he was suspending his campaign. He publicly paid tribute to his former rival, saying that Santorum "has proved himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation." After Santorum's departure, Romney only has two opponents left—Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. But neither seems to have enough support to gain the necessary delegates to take the nomination from Romney.
Here is a pretty good video outlining his background:
http://www.biography.com/people/mitt-...
Sources:
Harvard Style
Mitt Romney [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/mitt-..., May 05
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NAME: Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.
OCCUPATION: Lawyer, U.S. President, U.S. Representative
BIRTH DATE: August 04, 1961 (Age: 50)
EDUCATION: Punahou Academy, Occidental College, Columbia
University, Harvard Law School
PLACE OF BIRTH: Honolulu, Hawaii
ZODIAC SIGN: Leo
BEST KNOWN FOR
Former Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. Inaugurated on January 27, 2009, he is the first African-American to serve as U.S. president.
Barack Obama Biography
SYNOPSIS
The 44th and current president of the United States, Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was a civil rights lawyer before pursuing a political career, first as Illinois State Senator, and later as the first African-American president of the United States. President Obama continues to enact policy changes in response to the issues of health care and economic crisis.
EARLY LIFE
President of the United States. Born Barack Hussein Obama on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dunham's father, Stanley, enlisted in the service and marched across Europe in Patton's army. Dunham's mother, Madelyn, went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, the couple studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program and, after several moves, landed in Hawaii.
Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. The elder Obama grew up herding goats in Africa, eventually earning a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams of college in Hawaii. While studying at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, Obama, Sr. met fellow student, Ann Dunham. They married on February 2, 1961. Barack was born six months later.
Obama's parents separated when he was two years old, later divorcing. Obama, Sr. went on to Harvard to pursue Ph.D. studies, and then returned to Kenya in 1965. In 1966, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. A year later, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama's half-sister Maya Soetoro Ng was born. Several incidents in Indonesia left Dunham afraid for her son's safety and education so, at the age of 10, Barack was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. His mother and sister later joined them.
EXCELLING IN SCHOOL
While living with his grandparents, Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahou Academy, excelling in basketball and graduating with academic honors in 1979. As one of only three black students at the school, Obama became conscious of racism and what it meant to be African-American. He later described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage with his own sense of self. "I began to notice there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog...and that Santa was a white man," he said. "I went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with all my senses and limbs seemingly intact, looking the way I had always looked, and wondered if something was wrong with me."
Obama also struggled with the absence of his father, who he saw only once more after his parents divorced, in a brief 1971 visit. "[My father] had left paradise, and nothing that my mother or grandparents told me could obviate that single, unassailable fact," he later reflected. "They couldn't describe what it might have been like had he stayed." Obama, Sr. eventually lost his legs in an automobile accident, also losing his job as a result. In 1982, he died in yet another car accident while traveling in Nairobi. Obama, Jr. was 22 years old when he received the news of his father's passing. "At the time of his death, my father remained a myth to me," Obama said, "both more and less than a man."
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science. After working in the business sector for two years, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked on the South Side as a community organizer for low-income residents in the Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities.
LAW CAREER
It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his biological father and paternal grandfather. "For a long time I sat between the two graves and wept," Obama said. "I saw that my life in America—the black life, the white life, the sense of abandonment I felt as a boy, the frustration and hope I'd witnessed in Chicago—all of it was connected with this small plot of earth an ocean away."
Obama returned from Kenya with a sense of renewal, entering Harvard Law School in 1988. The next year, he met Michelle Robinson, an associate at Sidley & Austin law firm in Chicago. She was assigned to be Obama's adviser during a summer internship at the firm, and soon the couple began dating. In February 1990, Obama was elected the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review, and he graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School, and helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. On October 3, 1992, he and Michelle were married. They moved to Kenwood, on Chicago's South Side, and welcomed two daughters: Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).
ENTRY INTO ILLINOIS POLITICS
Obama published his autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. The work received high praise from literary figures such as Toni Morrison and has since been printed in 10 languages, including Chinese, Swedish and Hebrew. The book had a second printing in 2004, and is currently being adapted into a children's version. The 2006 audiobook version of Dreams, which was narrated by Obama, received a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Obama's advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He won election in 1996. During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services, and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee as well, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, he worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. Undeterred, Obama created a campaign committee in 2002, and began raising funds to run in
the 2004 U.S. Senate Race. With the help of political consultant David Axelrod, Obama began assessing his prospects of a Senate win.
Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush's push to war with Iraq. Obama was still a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza in October 2002. "I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne." Despite his protests, the war with Iraq began in 2003.
U.S. SENATE CAREER
Obama, encouraged by poll numbers, decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he won 52 percent of the vote, defeating multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity, and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.
After the convention, Obama returned to his U.S. Senate bid in Illinois. His opponent in the general election was supposed to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, a wealthy former investment banker. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of unsubstantiated sexual deviancy allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.
In August 2004, diplomat and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers and tax cuts. In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70 percent of the vote to Keyes' 27 percent, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. With his win, Barack Obama became only the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since the Reconstruction.
Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Obama partnered with Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then, with Republican Senator Tom Corburn of Oklahoma, he created a website that tracks all federal spending. Obama also spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina; pushed for alternative energy development; and championed improved veterans' benefits.
His second book, The Audacity of
Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006. The work discussed Obama's visions for the future of America, many of which became talking points for his eventual presidential campaign. Shortly after its release, it hit No. 1 on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestsellers lists.
2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and then-U.S. Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton. On June 3, 2008, however, Obama became the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party, and Senator Clinton delivered her full support to Obama for the duration of his campaign. On November 4th, 2008, Barack Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain for the position of U.S. President, 52.9 percent to 45.7 percent. On January 20, 2009, Obama became the 44th president of the United States—and the first African-American to hold this office.
When Obama took office, he inherited a global economic recession; two on-going foreign wars; and the lowest international favorability rating for the United States ever. He campaigned on an ambitious agenda of financial reform, alternative energy, and reinventing education and health care—all while bringing down the national debt. Because these issues were intertwined with the economic well-being of the nation, he believed all would have to be undertaken simultaneously. During his inauguration speech, Obama summarized the situation by saying, "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met."
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FIRST 100 DAYS
Between Inauguration Day and April 29, the Obama administration took to the field on many fronts. Obama coaxed Congress to expand health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for women seeking equal pay. A $787 billion stimulus bill was passed to promote short-term economic growth. Housing and credit markets were put on life-support, with a market-based plan to buy U.S. banks' toxic assets. Loans were made to the auto industry, and new regulations were proposed for Wall Street. He also cut taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. The president also loosened the ban on embryonic stem cell research and moved ahead with a $3.5 trillion budget plan.
During his first 100 days, President Obama also undertook a complete overhaul of America's foreign policy. He reached out to improve relations with Europe, China, Russia and open dialogue with Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. He lobbied allies to support a global economic stimulus package. He committed an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan and set an August 2010 date for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. In more dramatic incidents, he took on pirates off the coast of Somalia and prepared the nation for an attack of the Swine Flu. For his efforts, he was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
2010 STATE OF THE UNION
On January 27, 2010, President Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. During his oration, Obama addressed the challenges of the economy, proposing a fee for larger banks, announcing a possible freeze on government spending in 2010, and speaking against the Supreme Court's reversal of a law capping campaign finance spending. He also challenged politicians to stop thinking of re-election and start making positive changes, critisizing Republicans for their refusal to support any legislation, and chastizing Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed. He also insisted that, despite current obstacles, he was determined to help American citizens through the nation's current domestic difficulties. "We don't quit. I don't quit," he said. "Let's sieze this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and strengthen our union once more."
Sources: For posts 7. 8 an 9 - A&E Network
Here is a very good biography video of Obama:
http://www.biography.com/people/barac...
HISTORY OF THE PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESSThere is no provision for the role of political parties in the United States Constitution. Before 1820, Democratic-Republican members of Congress would nominate a single candidate from their party. That system collapsed in 1824, and since 1832 the preferred mechanism for nomination has been a national convention.
Delegates to the national convention were usually selected at state conventions whose own delegates were chosen by district conventions. Sometimes they were dominated by intrigue between political bosses who controlled delegates; the national convention was far from democratic or transparent. Progressive Era reformers looked to the primary election as a way to measure popular opinion of candidates, as opposed to the opinion of the bosses. In 1910, Oregon became the first state to establish a presidential preference primary, which requires delegates to the National Convention to support the winner of the primary at the convention. By 1912, twelve states either selected delegates in primaries, used a preferential primary, or both. By 1920 there were 20 states with primaries, but some went back, and from 1936 to 1968, 12 states used them.
The primary received its first major test in the 1912 election pitting incumbent President William Howard Taft against challengers Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt proved the most popular candidate, but as most primaries were non-binding "preference" shows and held in only fourteen of the-then forty-eight states, the Republican nomination went to Taft, who controlled the convention.
Seeking to boost voter turnout, New Hampshire simplified its ballot access laws in 1949. In the ensuing "beauty contest" of 1952, Republican Dwight Eisenhower demonstrated his broad voter appeal by out-polling the favored Robert A. Taft, "Mr. Republican." Also, Democrat Estes Kefauver defeated incumbent President Harry S. Truman, leading the latter to decide not to run for another term. The first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary has since become a widely-observed test of candidates' viability.
The impetus for national adoption of the binding primary election was the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention. Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured the nomination despite primary victories and other shows of support for Senator Eugene McCarthy, running against Humphrey on a strong anti-Vietnam War platform. After this, a Democratic National Committee-commissioned panel led by Senator George McGovern – the McGovern–Fraser Commission – recommended that states adopt new rules to assure wider participation. A large number of states, faced with the need to conform to more detailed rules for the selection of national delegates, chose a presidential primary as an easier way to come into compliance with the new national Democratic Party rules. The result was that many more future delegates would be selected by a state presidential primary. The Republicans also adopted many more state presidential primaries.
With the broadened use of the primary system, states have tried to increase their influence in the nomination process. One tactic has been to create geographic blocs to encourage candidates to spend time in a region. Vermont and Massachusetts attempted to stage a joint New England primary on the first Tuesday of March, but New Hampshire refused to participate so it could retain its traditional place as the first primary. The first successful regional primary was Super Tuesday of March 8, 1988, in which nine Southern states united in the hope that the Democrats would select a candidate in line with Southern interests.
Another trend is to stage earlier and earlier primaries, given impetus by Super Tuesday and the mid-1990s move (since repealed) of the California primary and its bloc of votes—the largest in the nation—from June to March. To retain its tradition as the first primary in the country (and adhere to a state law which requires it to be), New Hampshire moved their primary forward, from early March to early January.
A major reason why states try to increase their influence, and vie for earlier primaries, is because in recent years the races were usually over before the primary season ended in June. For example, John McCain officially clinched the 2008 Republican presidential nomination in March, while during that same month Barack Obama held an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates in the Democratic Party primaries. In 2012, Obama faced no major challenger in the Democratic Party primaries since he had the advantage of incumbency, while Mitt Romney gained enough delegates to be declared the presumptive Republican nominee by late April.
Source: Wikipedia
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Mitt Romney:
http://www.mittromney.com/
President Obama's
http://www.barackobama.com/
As Bentley noted, we do not support any candidate at this club....but I am curious as to opinions regarding who Romney will or should choose as his running mate and how important is that position in garnering votes?
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However the governor of Michigan is getting a lot of buzz not sure why - Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan. Rubio says unequivocally he would say no; Jeb Bush? - I doubt that Romney would take that on.
So then if not Florida - he has Santurum maybe but they are really too far apart; Paul Ryan from Wisconsin (the popular budget guy), Christie from NJ but what would that buy him, there is Portman from Ohio.
For a woman - Condoleezza Rice's name has been floated. Who knows at this time?
To honest I don't see a lot of choice for him. I think he needs someone who has a strong public face. I don't think he will pick anyone who has a connection with the Bush administration/family so that leaves out Condi Rice and Jeb Bush. Rick Snyder doesn't have much public recognition. Christie is too controversial and as you say, what does that get him. His best bet is probably Rubio and we will see if he actually turns it down or if he is just being cagy. It is an interesting situation.
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Thanks for setting this thread up, Bentley.
It isn't a surprise that Obama started in Ohio, a swing state. Most of the time, whoever wins Ohio, will win the election, because the state has the right mix of voters: urban, rural, white collar, blue collar, race, etc. We have to add the third party website:
Ron Paul:
http://www.ronpaul.com/
I get a chuckle out of the polls. Some say Obama leads, others say Romney leads, and yet another says it is a dead heat. I've never paid much attention to polls since one is never sure who was polled to reach the conclusions....... but is is amusing to see how the various media use the information to make their cases for their particular candidate/party. I can't imagine that an MSNBC poll and a Fox Network poll will have the same results. Which of the independent polling organizations do you think have a neutral position......or are there any?
Good question, Jill, and no easy answer.Here is a pretty good list of polls:
http://www.politico.com/2012-election...
I see universities are involved here too, which is interesting.
Here is an early book that looks interesting:
Michael KranishInfo:
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he’s become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? He often seems to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.
In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, readers will finally discover the real Romney. The book explores Romney’s personal life, his bond with his wife and how they handled her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, and his difficult years as a Mormon missionary in France, where a fatal car crash had a profound effect on his path. It also illuminates Romney’s privileged upbringing in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; his rejection of the 1960s protest culture; and his close but complicated relationship with his father.
Based on more than five years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The Real Romney includes a probing analysis of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, where staggering profits were won through leveraged buyouts that helped create jobs but also destroyed them. This penetrating portrait offers important new details, too, on Romney’s failed Senate race against Ted Kennedy, his role leading the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics, and his championing of universal health care in Massachusetts. Drawing on previously undisclosed campaign memos, e-mails, and interviews with key players, Kranish and Helman reveal the infighting and disagreement that sunk Romney’s 2008 White House bid—and his conscious decision to switch tactics for his 2012 run.
In The Real Romney, Kranish and Helman delve searchingly into the psyche of a complex man now at his most critical juncture—the private Romney whom few people see. They show the remarkable lengths to which Romney has gone in order to succeed in politics and business, shrewdly shifting identities as needed, bringing tough-minded strategy to every decision, and always carefully safeguarding his public image. For the first time, readers will gain a full understanding of the kind of man Romney is—the kind of man who may be running their country.
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Oh goodness - should have added Ron Paul's web site; Paul is a Republican so I was concentrating on the two who are left as front runners going into the convention. But I have to say this for Ron Paul - he has the most devoted and most dedicated group of campaign workers and supporters of any of the candidates and that is saying a lot.
He does indeed, Bentley and have you noticed the number of young people that support him?
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Too true.....but the man has more energy that most of his supporters and obviously his message resonates with some young people. He is an interesting man to say the least.
But what is frustrating to the Paul folks is that all this enthusiasm is not translating into votes. However, I think young people tend not to vote as much.
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I wonder how many votes he is bringing into the convention?......and what influence he will have?I also chuckle over the "I am 'suspending' my campaign" statement by those that have dropped out. I think Herman Cain used it first. "Suspend" means temporarily stop.....I guess it sounds a little less negative than "I give up"!!
Jill wrote: "I wonder how many votes he is bringing into the convention?......and what influence he will have?I also chuckle over the "I am 'suspending' my campaign" statement by those that have dropped out. ..."
Yeah, I am hoping Paul can "stir the pot" a little at the convention. I am tired of these pre-planned conventions, but there is a reason why they are set in advance. No surprises, thank-you.
Paul picked up Nevada:
Despite former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s overwhelming victory in the Nevada caucuses, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has won a majority of the state’s delegates to the party’s national convention later this year in Tampa, Florida.
Thanks to organized Paul supporters, who have been working to increase their candidate’s support at state conventions around the country, 22 of the 25 Nevada delegates up for grabs will be Paul supporters.
(Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/t...)
Thanks for the information.......I could not remember how many votes he had picked up. And I think he will stir the pot at the convention...for what that is worth in the overall scheme of things.
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Jill wrote: "I wonder how many votes he is bringing into the convention?......and what influence he will have?I also chuckle over the "I am 'suspending' my campaign" statement by those that have dropped out. ..."
Declaring the campaign as 'suspended' allows them to continue to raise money for their campaign funds even though they are no longer actively running. Essentially allows them to find people to pay off their campaign debt. It's odd nomenclature.
Bentley wrote: "I think folks right now do not want another Bush after George W....but then I could be wrong. I personally do not think that Rubio has the experience to be one heart beat away from the presidency..."He has got to be thinking about choosing a woman but I am not familiar enough with the Republicans to speculate as to who might be credible enough to make the ticket. A swing state person would be good. I wonder if he is considering a Southerner - certainly a geography where he has low numbers and picking from the bible belt might help deflect the attention to his religious beliefs, pull in a few more conservatives, and if the person is moderate enough appeal to independants. Tough, because the Republican party seems weak and fractured and limited bench depth. Will be interesting to see how this plays out. I doubt it will be Santorum or Bachman. I can't see either of those two doing anything for him.
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Not many, Bentley. Thanks, Alisa, for the clarification on "suspending" your campaign; however, I still chuckle. What a game politics is!!
Ha, well Bentley you have a good point. Then again, there must be somebody who is willing to put their differences aside to get a shot at the VP chair. Bobby Jindal? Seems like an unlikely pair but they don't have much of a bench. Kinda fun to speculate.Jill, I am with you. It is the sport of another stripe!
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Allen West (wonder why he is floated)
Herman Cain on Monday offered up his pick for who Mitt Romney should select as his running mate: Rep. Allen West, a first-term Florida congressman who has also been touted as potential vice presidential nominee by Sarah Palin.
During an appearance on conservative radio host Steve Gill's show, the one-time GOP front-runner said that despite West's relative inexperience in Washington, he would be an "excellent choice" for the job.
"He is well-spoken; he is direct," Cain said of West. "People in Florida love him; he has a huge following. ... Florida is going to be one of those key states [in the fall]. But more importantly, Col. Allen West is a dedicated patriot. He has served in the military, and he is willing to serve his country some more."
Politico points out that Cain’s suggestion comes one week after Palin name-dropped West as a potential "rogue" VP pick for the GOP's presidential nominee. West doesn’t seem opposed to being on Romney's short list—he told CNN last week that he would be open to joining the GOP ticket "if it was the right fit."
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And as for Romney's running mate, Gingrich had a few suggestions.
"I think Romney is going to look for somebody who is younger," said Gingrich, on CNN. "I think he's got somebody like Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, Rob Portman, Marco Rubio. You look at a Susana Martinez, Bobby Jindal, or you look at somebody like Mitch Daniel. We have a really -- we have a big, deep bench now."
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With this close race, he will need a solid VP choice, little controversy as possible. So, will he choose someone to balance the ticket nationally, or someone to balance the Republican party?I don't know how happy everyone is in the GOP for Romney. It is not a full revolt like Goldwater in 1964 certainly, and everyone for the most part (minus Paul) will be under Romney's umbrella. However, I don't know how much healing occurred or decisions were made for the future of the GOP.
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Me too; I just get the impression everything did get settled. We will see at the convention, I suppose. There probably will be some back-room dealing for the platform.
Well, the conventions are done and we are counting down until November. I found Politico's article quite good:http://www.politico.com/news/stories/...
Good article, Bryan.I have to laugh...if you switch around among the network and cable news channels, you begin to wonder if they all heard the same speech. The bias is amazing and frankly, disturbing.
Jill wrote: "Good article, Bryan.I have to laugh...if you switch around among the network and cable news channels, you begin to wonder if they all heard the same speech. The bias is amazing and frankly, distur..."
I resigned myself to C-SPAN or PBS where you had less commentary, or none at all.
Bryan wrote: "Jill wrote: "Good article, Bryan.I have to laugh...if you switch around among the network and cable news channels, you begin to wonder if they all heard the same speech. The bias is amazing and fr..."
I don't watch TV almost ever - maybe 10 hours a year.
I read speeches, either on the net or in the paper.
Neither do I, Peter, but I did follow the conventions on different channels and it was quite an experience!!!.
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http://www.c-span.org/DNC/
Here is the C-Span link for the RNC:
http://www.c-span.org/RNC/
Regarding Upcoming Debates:
http://www.c-span.org/Debates/
For those who like historical references - here are some links to speeches of prior conventions:
http://www.c-span.org/ConventionClips/
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates (other topics)The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted (other topics)
Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People (other topics)
Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics (other topics)
The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jim Lehrer (other topics)Mike Lofgren (other topics)
Thomas Frank (other topics)
Michael Wolraich (other topics)
John Sides (other topics)
More...
All, in the United States we are in the midst of the Primaries to start the process of electing the next President of the United States.
Once the primary season is officially over and even before, you will see and hear the candidates campaigning across the United States making their case which they are in the process of doing right now.
That will take us into the conventions, the debates, the campaign rhetoric, the promises, the ads and then finally the election.
This is a thread where you can discuss and post any aspect of this process with civility and respect. Any posts not following this rule will be automatically deleted. As firm in your conviction and choices as you think you are; there are other group members who feel the same way with the opposing view and opposite choices, so respect, common sense, civility are expected.
Any aspect of the campaign may be discussed; but no ads or campaigning is allowed.
Note: Make sure to cite your sources.
Make sure to start the discussion with post 75.