On January 1, two days before the Iowa caucuses, Obama left a message for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. According to Robert Gibbs, Obama’s Communications Director, Rice called back “as we were driving from Sioux City to Council Bluffs on January 1. They talked about the situation and Rice asked Obama to tape a Voice of America message calling for calm.” Obama taped the message on January 2, after a rally in Davenport, Iowa. […]

On January 3, the day of the caucuses, he had a conversation with Bishop Desmond Tutu, who had flown to Nairobi to see if he could begin negotiations with the factions. In the days since his Iowa victory, Obama has had near-daily conversations with the U.S. Ambassador in Kenya or with opposition leader Raila Odinga. As of late this afternoon, before his rally in Rochester, N.H., Obama was trying to reach Kenyan President Kibaki.

Chuck,

I don't hate republicans, I hate what I have becom because of the republicans

Darth–

First, have the discussion intelligently and submit a real name, not what you likely think is great achievement in humor. Second, people will take you seriously if you learn to spell (becom???). Third, and most importantly, the above statement is completely ignorant. What you have become is others' responsibility? GROW UP. It is polluted thinking such as that–thinking you share with so many other "victims–" that will keep the country from moving forward. The responsibility for what you "are" or what you "become" lies at no doorstep other than your own. Quit blaming everyone else. It's a big time waster, and no one buys it, anyway. Voinovich is correct in his assessment. Obama is arguably charismatic and certainly likable, but there's no "second act." Give me experience–REAL SUBSTANTIVE EXPERIENCE. Obama may be many things, but the one thing he is not is QUALIFIED.

The reality is, in our competitive society, the most talented among us do not often pursue positions in government, they pursue fortune in the private sector. To get the best of what is available to us, I wish to see a seasoned executive manager from the private sector in the White House.

This is why I support an independent presidential run by Michael Bloomberg.

http://www.RunMikeRun.com

Yes how much foreign policy, did Bush have? I didn't vote for him. Look what he has done. What a question.

Problem is this world is so screwed up right now, our deepest yearning seems to be for a Saviour to fix the mess. Hello? The ultimate American Idol. Yeah right. But no matter how the pundits and the media pitch it, while Barrack is smooth, stylish and will look good jumping out of helicopters onto the White House lawn, he isn't the second coming.

Vote Hillary. She's smart, hard-headed and REAL.

Senator Barack Obama has been endorsed by sixy foreign policy experts. He serves on the Foreign Policy Relations Committee. He showed judgment, integrity and vision by speaking out against the Iraq war when it was unpopular and has been right on Iran, and right on Pakistan. He has supported funding of the war only when necessary to support the safety and equipment for our troops. He laid out a withdrawal plan in September 2007 that was widely approved by other Democratic leaders.

What BACKGROUND or CULTURE are you referring to, Senator Voinovich? I don't think you mean because he is from Hawaii.

It was the great foreign policy experience of people like you, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld that got us in this mess in Iraq. You voted for the Iraq War and then you and the GOP Senators absolutely abdicated any responsibility to exercise oversight. So that's what we need now? More of that?

Sen. Obama has wisdom and good judgment beyond his years. He will be more effective on American foreign policy on his first day than you've been in all of your pointless years doing next to nothing on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I know the other states must be laughing at Iowa and maybe now even NH. They honestly have been so blindsided by this toke. Alot of democrats will crossover. Stop making this guy out like he is something when he actually is nothing

And, merit pay programs do NOT work. Why? Show me the administrator who knows each and every subject area well enough to be able to judge student performance on a level playing field, especially when many of them are not tested.

There is not one of these people on this planet. Merit pay is the buddy system in public education. Obama knows this much.

"'Between now and the election there are going to be many things that are going to happen in this country that will have an influence on people's choice in terms of who the next president will be,' Voinovich said.

That sounds like he knows something that he's not telling. Pretty scary actually. I wonder what they're planning."

The same thing occurs to me. What exactly does Voinovich know?

I wonder how many out there have harbored the thought that certain factions within our country would pull off another terror scare/attack just before the elections?
I have worried about this for a long time and now it seems as if the cat is out of the bag.

Be scared, be very scared.

Get a grip folks. Having lived in this country for 20 years plus 20 years in Canada and now being a North American in almost every way, I see both sides now.

There is a GREAT and desperate need for understanding of other cultures and norms, peoples and places. Sorry, Clinton and whoever have not a clue as to what it's like to live in another skin, in another place, to rise above circumstances and what's more, to get above the fray (witness Bill Clinton's tirade of yesterday – what was THAT about? Certainly wasn't classy, or in any way what America wants to be portrayed! Goodness!)

Only someone who has worked in the trenches (what – three years at 10K a year plus mileage, in the mid-80's? I earned more than that as a clerical worker in the Loop shortly after that) – only someone who has done the kind of work Mr. Obama has done, not for 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 months, but for 3 years, voluntarily, deliberately, and STUCK IT OUT (while others aimed at the White House, WITHOUT such experience), can have the sense of what's needed, among the disenfranchised, here and elsewhere, and can diffuse tension and bring about lasting peaceful and positive solutions.

This someone is no newbie – he has all the educational pedigree needed, seven years as a state Senator (with much useful legislation behind him) and his years in Washington, quickly contributing there as well, plus his teaching of constitutional law at the U of Chicago, his practice in the field of law (civil rights) and so on and so on.

Mr. Obama is a true son of America, and truly can represent us here and abroad.

To date we have seen nothing but rubbish.

We are desperate and long overdue for quality and honor.

"Frankly, Obama doesn't have any idea at all, he is a subcommittee chairman for European and Foreign Relation, he has NOT held a single hearing. Obama was busy prior to announcing his candidacy for nomination crisscrossing USA pimping his books."

Obama has maybe a year's practical experience in the senate. The rest of the time he has spent it on the campaign trail. He has one of the poorest voting records in the senate and that's prior to the campaign cycle.

I just heard on PBS this past week that Obama is not well liked among his colleagues, it appears that they think of him as being lazy and arrogant. Senator Voinovich's comments prove that point.

Would you guys rather vote for someone who professes to know everything?

How about someone who realizes they don't know everything, but promises to work hard to learn?

In the latter, you have Obama.

What media ploy are you referring to? All the major media
favor HRH. Reality check, please.

~ Jess

That all having been said, very very few of our presidents have had strong foreign policy experience before becoming president, and the experience they have brought has had mixed results. W had no experience, and, well, he has clearly been a failure. Clinton had no experience, and he was relatively successful in foreign policy and helping the US' world image. You could go back about a hundred years (to when the US first became a real world player), and I think you'd find that prior experience in foreign policy has had very little to do with how reality played out.

Uh oh! sounds like the GOP is engineering another 9/11 style terrorist attack to try to scare us into voting for them again. I'd take this statement from a republican insider as a direct threat/prediction for the coming months. also: Dont be surprised if they suddenly find Bin Laden just before the election.

We operate a democracy in this country and not GERONTOCRACY...you Mccain with all his 'experience' sadly is too old for the 21st century.

But didn't W call the Greeks "The Grecians" at one time?

Is that a promise, a prohecy or a threat? I wonder what crisis they are planning to manufature this time to try to scre the American public. The GOP fit the definition of terrorists, spreading fear in an attempt to gain power and further their cause.

Yes, yes, a Obama win will give the republicans the whitehouse and congress again,

THAT IS THE DUMBEST THING I EVER HEARD

All that turnout in these Iowa, a Red State, and NH mostly independent state is not because of Mit Romney or McCain. Its because of Obama. The republicans, as we speak, ARE BEING CRUSHED BY DEMOCRATS.

Don't believe me, check out hom many people voted for Democrats and how many voted for republicans (I can assure you it will be at least 2:1 for the Democrats)

Get your head checked Less.

What?! Who ever thought that? We all knew his managerial record. He failed in every business he ever attempted.

John McCain is the only one with a chance of winning, but I believe that at this point in his career, he's not going to be able to form the new political coalitions we're going to need to make progress on important issues in America over the long term.

Moreover, I would ask that people consider that the U.S. has a completely unprecedented foreign policy challenge. We have never faced an asymmetrical stateless entity whose objectives are ideological and whose reach is global. The traditional conception of "experience" doesn't work here, because no matter who gets elected, they're going to have to implement new strategies in our foreign policy that haven't been tried before.

What Barack brings to the table is a degree in foreign affairs, a history of sound judgement on the most important foreign policy issues of our time (correctly predicted the outcome of Iraq in 2002, did not support escalating tensions with Iran, identified the threat in Pakistan early on, etc.), and a willingness to bring all the relevant experts to the table, regardless of ideological attachment.

That's what we're going to need over the next decade, because currently, we don't have anyone operating in the foreign policy establishment that has an effective way to get at terrorism from the source. We need someone willing to bring outsiders to the table. Moreover, there is no one else running for President who can bring any credibility to a debate with the Muslim world over pluralism and moderation. Barack IS pluralism and moderation.

I would wager that part of the reason this President got our foreign policy so wrong over the last 7 years is that he chose his advisers strictly out of the extremist neocon camp- people who were considered absolute psychos when they were working for Reagan and Bush I. This is why Barack's approach is so much better and so important- he has demonstrated a willingness to seek advice from across the spectrum, and to not be concerned with "isms" when crafting policy.

This is why his healthcare plan doesn't have a mandate- because it was crafted by going to the people and asking them what they need, and they all said they didn't want or need a mandate to buy health insurance. You can see some of the town halls that crafted this policy at http://www.barackobama.com (look under "Media"). It's why he didn't get the teacher's union endorsement- because best practices in other states show that merit pay and rewarding innovative programs does work, whether the unions like it or not. It's the reason he didn't get AIPAC's endorsement- because even though it's politically correct to value our allegiance with Israel above all, he went to AIPAC and told them that the next President must consider the suffering of the Palestinian people.

This election is not about who has been most tempered by experience in a system that is not working. This election is about who will restore Federal leadership that actually works and isn't an obstacle. I believe Obama is that man, and America, and indeed the world, are beginning to agree.

Don't be bitter just because your candidate is losing. Read Obama's policy proposals if you don't like his rhetoric. He's definitely the man for the moment, and he's definitely got my vote.

What's interesting about the campaign is that those opposing Barack Obama are making his case for CHANGE. Their experience did not prepare them for what they encountered in Iowa. Now, everybody is changing their stripes and redesinging their campaigns to capture the vision that Barack Obama first establlished.

The original is always better than the copy.

Dr. Melvin T. Jones
Lansing, Michigan

If I were him I would duck and cover every time a camera came near me. The sooner we get poor representatives like him out of government the better. He cares more about his party than he does the american public and the people who elected him.

As for voting for the right person, a very good president comes once every 20 or so years. One who puts the people first. I just hope that the american public does not see the side show and votes for the wrong person. Eight years is enough.