Obama: No imposters here.

I read the article, Obama's Chicago Boys  by Naomi Kline.

Since trade is such a huge deal to me and to 99.99% of Michigan, it caused me some concern.  So, I sent an e-mail off to the Barack Obama website assuming it would fall off into a big black hole just like other campaigns and websites I have contacted.  

To my utter amazement, I got the following response from my friend, Barack Obama.  

Barack Obama E-Mail (emphasis is mine)

 
Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about our economy.  I agree strongly that our economy is failing too many hard-working Americans families right now.

This is the fight of my life.

The situation we face now in many parts of the country isn't so different from the one that brought me to Chicago in 1985.  The old steel factories had shut down and the neighborhoods were dying.  The schools weren't preparing the children for the few new jobs that were being created.  So I came to Chicago to be a community organizer.  I learned about the neighborhood by listening to anybody who would talk to me - laid-off workers and teachers, priests and pastors, small business owners and retirees.  And then I fought alongside them.  I organized with them to create the changes the community wanted and needed.

America needs a president right now who sees eye to eye with workers.  You can't look out for workers and fix our broken trade laws if you're taking money from Washington lobbyists and special interests, and you've promoted trade deals that hurt American workers.  And you can't take on the establishment in Washington if you can't rally the American people behind a legislative agenda of change.

I have developed that detailed legislative agenda, and I hope you'll take a look at it by clicking here.

Or for an overview, please click here.

These plans build on laws I've passed in over a decade as a legislator.  Together, they provide a path to financial security for every American family by stimulating the economy, restoring fairness to the tax code, protecting home ownership, strengthening workers' rights, and renegotiating trade deals like NAFTA to make them work for American workers.

America's economy is changing. We can no longer provide every member of our workforce the security of lifelong employment, but we can ensure that every American has lifelong employability.  

I hope you will join me in that fight.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

No, I don't think that Obama personally sat down to write and send me this e-mail; but I am impressed that somebody, anybody took the time to read and respond to my e-mail. I could give you a long list of black holes that I personally have encountered.  

Things to Notice in the E-mail

*It did not contain an appeal for money, so here it is.  It is very important that Obama, a change candidate, win in a landslide.  That is his our mandate to remind DC that WE are their customers and NOT the corporations and their lobbyists.

*It did not pander.  It didn't say, "vote for me, and I will return you to the golden "Leave It To Beaver" age.  What he did say is that he would restore balance and opportunity.  Good god almighty, the American Dream and the American people would certainly appreciate that.

Bottom Line
Obama is no imposter.  He is the real deal and a great opportunity for us to change the political landscape and bring about the change this country so desperately needs.

Did I already say, send money?

•  How many black holes can you name?

  DCCC, DSCC, DNC are my top three.

  by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:34:01 AM PDT

  •  Wow

    You really know how to make friends... and WITHOUT giving money! :)

    by gsbadj on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:01:44 AM PDT

  •  Oh, I dunno,

    they did pretty good in '06...

    by wozzle on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:21:59 AM PDT

•  I love hearing comments about

  how thoroughly the Obama campaign has thought about the details fo how it interacts with its supporters.  Down to the minute nitty gritty, he gets it right.

  by ItsJessMe on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:40:09 AM PDT

  •  It is impressive...

    If this carries into his administration, we are gonna see real change.

    by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:41:59 AM PDT

    •  with respect, change is inherent if he is elected

      There is no way he could sit behind the desk in the Oval Office and not be night and day from the Shrubster.

      please let him be our next president, please.

      by 7November on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:52:51 AM PDT

      •  Does sound like it, doesn't it.

        We, of course, have been promised that before (Bill Clinton) and got Reagan IV instead.  

        by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:54:40 AM PDT

        •  wtf?

          There is no comparison between bill and Obama. Bill was already a typical politician when he was elected. He had many dealings with lobbyist and other shady politicians not to mention his love jones (no pun intended). Obama is young and in his short 2 years in Washington has recognized and pin pointed why our country is in such dire straights. That's why he wants change. He still believes in a gov. for the ppl and not for himself.

          by desnyder on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:50:14 AM PDT

          •  I think the claim was not that Bill was the same

            as Obama, but that in many ways Bills was the same as Reagan.

            While Bill was a big disappointment, (what did we expect from a Southern Democrat anyway?) he was not the same as Reagan.

            More to the point, no one could be the same, or as bad, as Shrub.  You could put someone in the office to roll a dice every time they made a decision and by definition the dice roll would be right half the time, which would be so much better than Bush who figures out the right thing to do and does the opposite every time.

            by 7November on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 06:51:51 AM PDT

          •  My point was simply that

            Bill Clinton ran on change and hope.  He said he was a "new" kind of Democrat, and he was.  He was just like Ronald Reagan and a huge disappointment. Do I think Obama will disappoint us?  No, I hope not, I am optimistic, I want to believe, but I never put all of my eggs in one basket.    

            by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 02:42:04 PM PDT

            •  i agree

              by desnyder on Thu Jun 19, 2008 at 06:07:48 AM PDT

    •  there's no denying that there

      is great desire in this country for real change, there has been for a long time.  The only thing lacking has been a leader with the courage and competence to get started on really changing things.

      It finally looks like we're going to have the chance to get that leader elected.

      by sodalis on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:54:38 AM PDT

      •  Even his campaign is original in so many ways...

        What an impressive candidate we have.  

        by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:56:07 AM PDT

    •  Gotta remember that

      the Federal government and (even moreso) the military are behemoths.  Like loaded supertankers they take a very long time to turn.  We have to hope that the citizens who make up those institutions are going to work hard to make the turns as quick and smooth as possible.

      by wozzle on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:25:28 AM PDT

•  No, he's not an imposter

  He's a consistent moderate progressive 4th Way Democrat splitting the difference between New Liberalism and Liberalism. As he admits. For example, on trade he says he's trying to be a bridge between the progressive wing and the moderate wing. Me, I prefer progressive.

  If he panders, sadly, it's generally to the corporate class. His latest is that he says he might cut taxes on corporations!! At least I assume it's a pander--he said it to the Wall Street Journal--because I refuse to believe he's actually open to the idea.

  by david mizner on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:55:08 AM PDT

  •  Hope is, we (the people) can get his ear.

    Access is everything.   Maybe this time, maybe, it will be us.  

    by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 04:57:16 AM PDT

    •  Yeah, I've got some hope

      Because, for one thing, he hasn't shut out he labor left. He's got some liberal economists on board. Let's hope they hold their own against the Rubinites.

      by david mizner on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:00:56 AM PDT

    •  Digital Overhaul

      From what Ive gathered from his proposals is that there will be a revamping of the whole system. Sorta like, out with commodore64 and in with the 21st century.
      Theyll be televising (and livestream) the healthcare initiative as to put the corporate waterbearers in the spotlight. They are really media savvy to the point where they will be able to topple alotta the sellouts.
      With a powerful grassroots movement, we can have the GOP on the defensive for at least half a generation while theyre rebranding and retooling the Party.

      by tellinya on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:09:00 AM PDT

      •  What you describe would be great.

        David and Goliath...Hyrdra - do we dare really hope?

        by dkmich on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 02:46:04 PM PDT

  •  If targeted tax cuts

    to corps assist us in job creation and green/greening industries, I'm all for them.  Who wouldn't give Honda tax breaks for a fuel-cell vehicle plant or two, or subsidies to small/co-op farms that specialize in organic, soil-friendly farming?

    by wozzle on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:03:56 AM PDT

    •  My husband and I were talking about this

      last night.

      In Portsmouth, VA they decided to raise the taxes on all boats from 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation to 50 cents thinking they could raise a little capital.

      The result?  Everyone decided to register their boats elsewhere and because of the "days in state" rules they left.

      No tax money coming in.

      No jobs for marine mechanics, painters, lifts, boat yards, marinas, marine suppliers, and on and on and on.

      Sometimes the best laid plans have ill effect.

      by arielle on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:12:50 AM PDT

      •  We must assume

        that the tax writers know a bit about what they're doing...;-)

        by wozzle on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:19:50 AM PDT

        •  Why?

          by david mizner on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:20:21 AM PDT

    •  Well that's a different question

      Obama suggested that if the loopholes were closed he'd be open to cutting corporate taxes across the board. I mean, he's already for targeted tax cuts.

      So, he'd finally collect money that corporations owe, then turn it around and give it back to them?

      McCain wants to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. I'd much rather see Obama attack him for that, rather than perpetuate the notion that corporate taxes are too high.

      by david mizner on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:20:04 AM PDT

  •  Corporate tax cuts aren't necessarilly terrible

    ... provided the cuts are conditioned on job creation.  It's quite another thing to cut taxes so that a company can give it to CEO's, shareholders, or investment bankers.

    I have no problem with trickle-down economics, PROVIDED that the cuts actually do trickle down and do so quickly.  Unfortunately, in the past, corporate tax cuts have had no such strings.

    by gsbadj on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:06:49 AM PDT

  •  Cut tax to corporations! Wow.

    That's worrying.

    by notquitedelilah on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:12:27 AM PDT

•  Talking about imposters

  I was just listening to a spokeswoman for "Hillary for McCain" on XM Radio (ch. 130) it was obvious that she was a Republican pretending to be a Democrat.

  by aaraujo on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:04:18 AM PDT

•  I just hope that

  the Obama administration will pursue justice for the many who have suffered deeply from the perfidies and perversions of the current administration, and at least some prosecution of its major miscreants.

  by wozzle on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:05:50 AM PDT

  •  that makes two of us

    It is sickening to think this cabal can do so much destruction and walk away without any repercussions. Someone needs to be in jail already.

    by CocoaLove on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 05:18:25 AM PDT