October 4th, 2007
09:00 PM ET
15 years ago
Can Obama fire it up?
Has Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign hit a plateau? Candy Crowley has the story.
(CNN) - Watch Candy Crowley's report about what Sen. Barack Obama must do to overcome stagnant poll numbers.
Related: Obama: 'Fired up'
The only thing this guy seems to "fire up" these days are his cigarettes.
And he'd BETTER hope Hillary doesn't win – otherwise those cigs are going to double in price to pay for Hillary-care!
Obama seems to have some agendas that he's not sharing with the "not wearing the American flag" on his lapel. He didn't have to make such a deal out of it. That put me off. John Edwards usually shows up in a blue sports shirt and pants. No one thinks anything about the fact that he's not all decked out with a pin on his lapel; he has on no lapel. I thought Obama was good on schools and teachers but John Edwards already had written a lot of that stuff in his plan for education a long time ago. I have heard Hillary. She talks about incentive pay for schools. Teachers won't like that. Some schools need much more help than others because of their populatio served, funding in the past and teachers' training and ability. We were making some great progress with the NCTM's Math Standards. We had some innovative, research-based things going on. Hillary is right: Bush has shot us back 30-40 years in education. When you threaten teachers' jobs and threaten to close neighborhood schools, teachers will do everything they can to keep their school. Bush would like to do away with public education and have vouchers for private schools. Don't fall for it. A democracy rests solely on the wisdom of the masses and they must have free, public schools. If Congress doesn't get off the dime and make some changes right away in the war, in Bush's roughshod run over our freedoms, our schools, our economy, there may not be a nation left to govern in 2008. Why can't they make anything stick to these slimy, lying weasels? If the don't they may feel the heat. We are sick of Bush thinking he knows better than everyone ("the decider" really made me wretch and I still am). NO BUSH, YOU ARE NOT THE DECIDER. WE ARE THE DECIDER AND WE'VE DECIDED WE'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU AND CHENEY AND YOUR ATTEMPTS TO DISENFRANCHISE VARIOUS PORTIONS OF OUR POPULATION.
I heard John Edwards yesterday, and he inspired me to tears. He is a truly transparent, good-hearted, and wise public servant who realized the best leader is the servant of those he/she leads. I've heard all of their blustering, dissembling about lobbiest funding, attempts to placate everyone by making concessions and political deals. John Edwards will never make concessions. He will never take lobbiest money. This man's entire campaign has been funded by donations from regular people like me, $25 at a time. This is the man with the vision and the spirit of holding tight to the wisdom of our founding fathers' in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Don't be fooled. Go to John's website and watch and read everything you can. Bush rules with fear; John would govern with promise and optimism. Which do you want for YOUR AMERICA? John and Elizabeth: I'm the little teacher with the cane you met in Iowa City at the Dems. Barbe. I'm the one who gave you some stuff. I will tell everyone with every last breath in my body that YOU are the one to lead us out of these black, black times. Thank you JOhn and Elizabeth for your sacrifices. We are all praying for you and WE ARE WITH YOU. Citizens, inform yourselves and make your choices. But don't choose without listening John and reading what he says. I also urge you to listen to Dennis Kucinich re: people's rights under the Constitution. Go to the National Archive site and read the Constitution for yourself. Print out a hard copy and keep it close. Don't read Bush's presumptuous "history lesson;" this the man who doesn't read and only got through college by whatever means.
Will the Goons trace my blog and spy on me.
My father built planes in three wars; you dodged service. I learned about America from my father, one of the Greatest Generation who is not with us anymore. I will dedicate what's left of the rest of my life to making sure HIS AMERICA, This Grand Experiment, this democracy shall not "vanish from the face of the earth," and while we are at it, we'd better save the Earth. Roses blooming in October in the north? It started in the Arctic; now it's here. Something is very wrong. We also owe it to all of the other creatures who share this earth. Those of you who believe in God, remember we were given this Earth in trust by the Creator. We are all part of a huge ecosystem and without all of the plants and animals, we will not be here either. Will we let Bush's stubborn ignorance take us all down as he destroys our country and our planet? MY AMERICA DOES NOT START WARS! MY AMERICA GIVES TO OTHERS AND MY AMERICA IS A LEADER IN CONSERVATION OF OUR RESOURCES. We are one nation under God and God will have the last word. (Dear Citizen: If you have stuck with me to the end of my piece I thank you.}
Chanting Obama's new campaign slogan – "Fired up. Ready to go" Obama has captured, although not yet bottled, much of the college-going population.
Yet it is hard to dismiss the growing optimism of the Clinton campaign, which appears increasingly to be calibrating its message for the general election that follows the primaries. It is hard, too, to ignore Obama's occasional weaknesses on the campaign trail against the weather-beaten experience of Clinton.
At times electrifying, Obama sometimes becomes subdued to the point of soporific. A rousing speech at one stop is often followed by a damp squib at the next.
His performance in the televised presidential debates has been almost universally derided as ineffectual – particularly when compared with the polished and efficient interventions of Clinton and Edwards. Campaigning is a soul-destroying business and Obama has not yet learned how to minimise the downs and maximise the ups.