If I could choose to meet three living people, Bill Clinton would be one of them. Now I can cross him off my list - I shook his hand Thursday evening at an Obama Fundraiser Event at the Lowe Gallery in Atlanta!
Dan and Sue (pictured with the President above) Lipson were very gracious to take me as their guest. I didn't get a picture with the President, but I did get inspired by the riveting talk Mr. Clinton gave. He made the most logical and compelling case for Obama I've heard yet. Here were a few of his talking points:
* Obama has the upper hand on the most important issues - the economy, the war, and health care. The Republicans have been notorious for clouding the issues with personal attacks over the last few years, but there has been less of that this year. Mr. Clinton contended voters won't stand for it - this election is too important. (McCain will supposedly go on the attack pretty soon, so we'll see how that holds.)
* We don't get anywhere by looking down our noses at Sarah Palin. She's weathered extraordinary family challenges, and we should not underestimate her. (Personally, that's tough to do for me following her inability to assemble anything resembling a rational thought in response to a few of the questions in Thursday's debate. If I were moderator, this would have been my response.)
* For the next couple of years, the President is going to need to hunker down and solve this economic crisis. The person in charge has to have the intellectual tools to understand very complicated systems. Barack Obama is that man. (By what he didn't say, Bill insinuated President Bush did not have these tools. The audience got a chuckle out of that, but Clinton was careful to qualify his statement by saying Mr. Bush has done what he thinks is right, and it's exactly what he said he'd do in his campaign in 2000.)
* Given the President's need to focus on the economy, the Vice President will have an unusually important role travelling and handling foreign relations, and we need someone with the knowledge and experience for the job: Joe Biden. (This seems a bit of a stretch to me, but Biden certainly could be trusted dealing with foreign dignitaries. I can't say the same for Palin.)
He made it all sound so simple - I wish he was speaking to an audience of undecideds rather than 80 of Obama's biggest supporters in the state. Clinton's ability to communicate his understanding of complex issues in a way that everyone can not only understand but feel creates a charisma unlike any I've ever encountered.
TAKE ACTION: Bill's always trying to put that charisma to use, whether it be in $1 million speeches for his own coffers, raising $400,000 for Obama as he did on Thursday, or working with Bush Sr. on hurricane relief. Watching Sunday football, the two ex-prezes reminded me of the massive rebuilding project we have on the gulf coast. Make a donation @ bushclintoncoastalfund.org.
2 comments:
I wish there was this sort of passionate support on the Republican side. I suppose it's because our candidate's Maverick forays were usually in direct opposition to conservative positions. The left stands a real chance of getting the most liberal President ever, and will back it up with a liberal Congress for at least 2 years. We'll see where that leads us. Regardless, you demonstrate some strong optimism for BHO.
Do you have any concerns about his ties to J. Wright, B. Ayres or ACORN? Is this just seen as "dirty politics" from the right? Am I just being a fearful conservative to even mention them? Do you think the right will treat him as the left has treated Bush administration? We should all hope not.
I realize these questions are character related and not issue related. I concede that you're in-line with his socialist policies and that I may have a more difficult time persuading you that his re-distribution of wealth and ALGORE inspired save the earth ideas are bad for America.
Buster
Hey Buster - Thanks for reading! I am quite fired up. But I was fired up in 2000 and 2004, so you can imagine my disappointment.
In response to how the left and right treat each other, I am hopeful (big surprise) that we can get past the personal attacks. Since the Gingrich revolution, everything has been SO divided by party.
Aside - When I lived in Indiana, I voted for Dick Lugar for Senate. Although I disagreed with him on many issues, I felt his foreign policy expertise and generally level-headed approach were a force for good from the right side of the aisle.
Honestly, I'm not concerned about the affiliations you mentioned. Jeremiah Wright is an unfortunate loose cannon, and nothing in Obama's personal record leads me to believe his ties with him go beyond the religious. When I was a Presbyterian, my pastor and I disagreed on several issues about which I felt very strongly - reproductive rights, civil rights for same-sex couples - but he was still my pastor.
Obama swiftly condemned the crazy statements Wright made during the campaign. It seems to me that McCain and Palin's failure to immediately condemn rally attendees who yell out that Obama is a terrorist are much more alarming oversights in that department.
Ayres has done amazing things for the Chicago community and attempted to atone for his violently radical past, and Obama's affiliation with him is passing at most.
In '06, McCain was a keynote speaker at an ACORN-sponsored immigration rally in Miami. Although I believe there are certainly some bad seeds in that organization, I believe most of the folks in ACORN want to do good things for their community in an honest manner.
In response to Obama's plan to "redistribute" wealth, everything I've read lately has been pointing to the fact that everyone gains under democratic administrations.
And I am of the belief that the wealthy owe something to the country that allowed them to get so rich. Good schools, a national health care plan, and a progressive Al Gore-style energy policy will benefit all of us in the end.
And save all of us money.
I think both Obama and McCain are men of outstanding character, and both want to do what's right for our country. I did like McCain a lot more in 2000, when he proposed a much more maverick-y platform than he does today.
But ultimately, I think Obama is the man for these times.
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