Obama Getting Closer?

[Dos Equis]

Sweet column: Obama, wife fears for his safety. Says he has a "pretty good chance of winning the nomination.''

Sen. Barack Obama is concerned about his personal security —telling the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board Thursday that he and his wife fear there is a potential for violence — even if he does not run for president. “Being shot, obviously, that is the least-attractive option,’’ Obama said.


The Illinois Democrat told the Sun-Times he has concluded a 2008 White House bid “would be viable” and he would have “a pretty good chance of winning the nomination.’’

For the first time, Obama talked about the downside of his swelling popularity, before his expected presidential announcement in January, after a vacation in his native Hawaii.

Security, Obama said, referring to his wife, is “something that is on Michelle’s mind. And the minds of many of my friends. “I think it is something that will have to be addressed if I ran. You are not assigned Secret Service protection until you are effectively the nominee.” Obama said he “might have to build in” his own security provisions.

“Now I will tell you, this is something, this is one of the least-attractive — not the part about being shot, obviously, that is the least-attractive option. But even just having a security apparatus around you; one of the things that I have been very proud over the last several years, is, for all the hoopla, I am not an entourage guy. “. . . I have been accessible, and Michelle and I have gone out of our way not to change our habits. Even if I am not to run for president, the crush of attention has created a different set of problems.” Obama’s family has been nervous for some time for his safety.

On Sunday, Obama found himself surrounded by hundreds of people at two stops in New Hampshire. In Nairobi, Kenya, last August, Obama at a stop grabbed a bullhorn to talk to thousands of men stampeding in a street to see him. During that Kenyan visit, Obama’s half sister, Auma, gave an interview to Laurie Abraham of Elle magazine in which she worried about his safety. “Not to be offensive, there are crazy people in America as well, with crazy ideas. And at the end of the day, what matters is that he’s a black man. The history of America is quite violent,’’ Auma said in a story in the Elle December issue.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2006/12/sweet_column_obama_wife_fears.html#more

[Dos Equis]

Precisely why I don't think he will not be elected, even if he is half white. 

[Dos Equis]

Race would absolutely be a factor if Obama ran.  Probably the deciding factor. 

Gore couldn't win his home state of Tennessee, which cost him the 2000 election.  He won't be able to beat out Hillary, much less most any Republican candidate. 

[Dos Equis]

Black and hispanic votes have been split, leaning dem, but nothing major, the last 2 prez. elections, which were both very very close.

Do you think blacks and hispanics would be MORE likely to vote for Obama because of his skin color?

Obviously some blacks would vote for Obama solely because of his color, but an equal or greater number of white voters will not vote for him because he is half black. 

[Dos Equis]

See:  life experience . . . outside of the house.   

I just posted a CNN story this week talking about the race issue in this country.  There's another "source." 

Go read any topic that involves race in General Topics (or whatever it's called) and see if you can catch a hint of people who have race issues. 

Anytime there is a high profile race issue, the country becomes polarized along racial lines.  The O.J. Simpson case and verdict was a prime example. 

[Dos Equis]

Local commentator's take on Obama.  Interesting how he is called "African American" when his momma is white.   

Why Obama Won’t Be President
By Rick Hamada
Wednesday - December 20, 2006

Is America ready to elect a black man president of the United States of America?

I know this is a politically incorrect question. Heaven forbid we should remind people that differences among men include skin color. We seem to avoid observations about race for fear the PC police will pounce upon us for inappropriate conversation.

Like it or not, race plays an important role in everyday life and specifically in politics - as my colleague Dan Boylan has pointed out in numerous local elections.

There are those who say that race is irrelevant. I say those people are disingenuous. I understand the desire for a bias-free Utopian state, but it simply does not exist. Prejudice and preference - whether it’s regarding body type, tattoos, religious belief, your high school, sexual orientation or political affiliation - are alive and well.

Consider the phenomenon that is U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. He has risen from virtual obscurity to the lofty position of viable alternative to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. In all the fervor surrounding Obama, rarely do you hear the question asked if his race, African American, will be a campaign issue.

Not only do I believe it will be an issue, but it will be a primary factor in his defeat, if he chooses to run.

I understand the lofty goal of fulfilling the wishes of Martin Luther King Jr. I agree that one should judge a man by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin. I believe I do that, and I am sure you believe you do, too. But human nature (some would say ignorance) and our flawed superficial qualifiers kick in.

There are some Democrat activists here at home who are working to draft Obama into a run for president in 2008. The only stated reason for their collective support is his birth in Honolulu and graduation from Punahou. I guess that’s all it takes.

Let us consider Obama for the presidency.

First, he has two years of experience as a U.S. senator. Yes, he was instrumental in increasing the amount of Pell Grants to university students. OK, what’s next?

I hope an examination of record and position will emerge and as the clock ticks closer to 2008. I would hope one would also consider Obama’s thoughts on the war on terror, North Korea, China, Israel, Iran, Palestine and Lebanon. I expect supporters will cite his position (whatever it may be) on the economy, public safety, taxation, education, overall military preparedness, intelligence and transportation.

I have a sneaking suspicion these criteria for presidency are trumped by Obama’s celebrity candidacy. OK, his speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention was good. But is it the basis for the pursuit of the land’s highest office?

When former ambassador Alan Keyes ran for president in 1996 and 2000, he was consistently referred to as an “African-American” or “black” candidate. Part of the reason media trumpeted his race is he is a conservative Republican. He was treated as a novelty.

Sen. Barack Obama is being treated like a rock star because the Democratic Party is starving for a candidate who is fresh and, in a way, clean. The bench is a little thin with Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Kerry and the omnipresent former Vice President Al Gore.

At the very least, Obama does capture the imagination. But because of his race and our present point in American history, I wouldn’t bet on him capturing the nomination for president.

http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/ace_article/why_obama_wont_be_president/