My campaign treasurer is in Iowa, working on the Obama campaign. He sent back a message:
“Obama does not want volunteers to blog.” That’s plain wrong. Any one who thinks they can control their brand through such draconian policies is going to find out that you can’t stop what’s being said about you- you need to instead, welcome people to say the good, bad and the ugly on your site- so at least you can respond.
As longtime readers on this site know, I very rarely edit or delete comments- and respond to much of what’s said (unless someone else does it for me). I plan on continuing this policy even after getting elected. How better to respond to constituents than directly?
I think of my campaign to send me to DC as a way that the people of Ohio 3 can have a Direct Connection to who represents them. This is far different than what we have now with Mike Turner as our Congressman.
Unless Obama changes his policy, he just lost some points with me.
Since you have a link to Obama, does that mean you are going to vote for him?
And WHEN you are elected, how often will you come back to Dayton? More or less than Mike Turner?
Gene, I don’t keep track of how much time Mike Turner spends in Dayton vs DC. The people of Dayton won’t be able to tell a difference between when I’m in DC or Dayton because I’ll always be available right here.
If I had wanted to live in DC- I would have moved there- I want to be in Dayton as much as possible.
As to who I support in the Presidential election, I’m not allowed to make a decision until March- so a lot will be determined between now and then.
Nice dodge on the voting question! You’re starting to sound like a politician already. ;)
Charles, honestly- I like to gather all the information possible about issues and candidates before I make a decision. One of the advantages/disadvantages of living in Ohio is that by the time we get to vote- often, many candidates have dropped out, or changed their tune.
I took an online test to see which candidate lines up with my views best- and it was Mike Gravel, followed by Dennis Kucinich. I’ve known Dennis since I was young, my Father worked at the Plain Dealer while Dennis was Mayor. However it’s not about who we think is the best candidate based on issues in our country anymore- it’s about who can raise the most money and can win. Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely that either of those two have a chance. The NPR dem Radio Debate that I listened to didn’t have Bill Richardson in attendance, which was sad, because I consider him as one of my top choices.
I’m still confused at why Hillary is considered a contender- I think she brings too much knee-jerk Republican baggage to the race.
My first choice would be Al Gore- who I believe would win, esp. with Obama or Richardson as number 2. However, the “Draft Gore” din has died down for now. He was the true winner in 2000- and would be again, esp. now that he has won a Nobel and an Oscar.
Is that better? Sorry for sounding like a politician, it was not my intent.
Obama might be wrong on blogs, but he’s right about everything else. He was right on this B.S. war at the beginning when everyone else was wrong. But most important, he’s a transformational candidate that can break us out of the blue-red divide, and create civic peace in out policitcal culture.
As The Atlantic Magazine’s Andrew Sullivan notes in the current edition:
“Obama’s candidacy in this sense is a potentially transformational one. Unlike any of the other candidates, he could take America—finally—past the debilitating, self-perpetuating family quarrel of the Baby Boom generation that has long engulfed all of us. So much has happened in America in the past seven years, let alone the past 40, that we can be forgiven for focusing on the present and the immediate future. But it is only when you take several large steps back into the long past that the full logic of an Obama presidency stares directly—and uncomfortably—at you.
At its best, the Obama candidacy is about ending a war—not so much the war in Iraq, which now has a mo mentum that will propel the occupation into the next decade—but the war within America that has prevailed since Vietnam and that shows dangerous signs of intensifying, a nonviolent civil war that has crippled America at the very time the world needs it most. It is a war about war—and about culture and about religion and about race. And in that war, Obama—and Obama alone—offers the possibility of a truce.”
Who else can do the same?
RON PAUL
I was surprised to see that Obama doesn’t want volunteers to blog. Back in September some his top staffers in his campaign HQ put out a question via LinkedIn.com asking members the following question:
“How can the next president better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?”
Of course I couldn’t resist and answered, but it probably wasn’t the kind of response they were looking for.
But I will give credit where credit is due. At least he bothers to recognize the small business owner and makes some effort to reach out to him/her. The other two front runners on the Demo ticket see all businesses as nothing more than bottomless cookie jars to keep reaching into. They hold the entrepreneur in as much disdain as they do those who serve our country in the military. And at least Obama is somewhat likable.
David,
I was totally kidding with my politician joke–you’re a bona fide straight shooter. As to why Al Gore won’t run, well, he’s making too much money. He just joined Kleiner Perkins venture capital firm to work on “Green” investments (pun intended). I expect Gore to show up on the Forbes 400 richest people within 3 years. This wouldn’t happen with him in the White House.
It is sad that this world has become so politically correct. I graduate this summer and was hoping to work and support Mr. Obama’s campaign but this news eliminates that option.
Damn shame all this concern about image. Lord knows how a staffers semi-nude myspace picture could ruin his campaign. Funny thing is the media would cover an escapade like that over any real substantive issue.
It’s even sadder that it’s not about ideas anymore-
we’ve got the best politicians money can buy.