You Be The Judge

The Weekly Standard: Obama Campaign Focuses On Candidate's "Super-Human" Judgment

(Weekly Standard)  This column was written by Dean Barnett

---

If you’ve spoken with someone who has swooned for Barack Obama, chances are you've heard them say the word "judgment" a lot. The Obama campaign's central talking point has devolved into, "You have to vote for Barack Obama because he has such wonderful judgment."

Back in the early days of the campaign, references to Obama's super-human judgment served as a shorthand for the fact that he knew enough not to get us involved in what the left considers the Iraqi quagmire. The Lioness of Tuzla, on the other hand, in spite of her many decades of making change at the highest levels of power, fell for the farrago of Bush administration lies and deceit and supported the Iraq war. Thus, in 2003 when he was but a humble state legislator, Barack Obama showed a moment of wonderful judgment — judgment so superb that even Hillary Clinton couldn't approach it.

I have no problem with the Obama campaign and its supporters using the term "judgment" to remind Democratic voters that Obama is more in line with the Democratic mainstream than his rival. My problem is that Obama supporters seem to have forgotten that "judgment" was just a codeword, and it was never really supposed to serve any other purpose beyond invoking the memory of Hillary Clinton's Iraq war vote.

It became clear to me a few weeks ago just how ludicrous the whole judgment issue has become for the typical Obama supporter. I was exchanging emails with one of Obama's law school classmates who, like all the other Obama classmates that I spoke with, was quite fond of Obama. I asked him if he could send me a written testimonial on Obama. He agreed.

Obama's classmate began his statement by saying that he didn't know Obama very well at all back in law school, but what he did know he liked. Somewhere near the end of the message, he took a detour to make sure he praised Obama's judgment.

In some ways, this was an impressive testament to the way modern campaigns, just by osmosis, can get their supporters to regurgitate the campaigns' talking points. Of course, the praise for Obama's judgment in this context made no sense. I, too, went to law school. And I can't imagine a circumstance where I would come to admire a fellow student's judgment, especially when the fellow student in question was a casual acquaintance. I couldn't see myself saying back in my law school days, "Gosh, the way that 28 year-old outlined those cases before attending Civil Procedure really showed judgment. Presidential judgment!"

When talking about politics and candidates, the term "judgment" doesn't seem to have a proper place. I've known Mitt Romney for 14 years, and served as his occasional driver during his 1994 senate campaign. I'm a tremendous admirer of his. I've seen him show an exemplary temperament, an extraordinary array of skills, and great human kindness. But if someone asked me about his judgment, I wouldn't know what to say. He held the line on taxes in Massachusetts and shined some much needed light on Harvard's cloning plans, but were those things "judgment" or just a politician doing what I considered the right thing? I guess there was one time when I was driving Romney and he told me to hit the toll lane on the left rather than the one on the right; it turned out the one on the left did move faster. While that was a superior judgment call, I wouldn't put it at the top of Romney's résumé.

The beauty of the whole "judgment" thing for the Obama campaign was its sublime squishiness. Beyond its invocation of Hillary Clinton's politically damaging Iraq vote, the whole emphasis on judgment was just a way of saying "Barack Obama is a uniquely wonderful human being" without doing so in a way that required any supporting evidence. Ultimately, "judgment" became the campaign's euphemism of choice for what a spectacular person Barack Obama is.

Over time, his supporters' use of "judgment" morphed into a grander and entirely inappropriate statement about Obama's qualifications for the presidency. The judgment thing was supposed to reassure the electorate that it needn't concern itself with Obama's lack of experience. His extraordinary judgment would compensate. But in truth, Obama's life, like most of ours, has been spotted with moments of bad judgment.

It's a delightful irony that the campaign's choice of the judgment euphemism has made Obama's way out of the Pastor Disaster even more difficult than it otherwise would have been. When John Edwards rebooted his political life for the 2008 campaign, he repeatedly and bluntly said that he made a mistake in voting for the Iraq war. Admitting such an error wasn't a particularly big deal for Edwards. His supporters hadn't made a fetish of his lifetime's worth of purportedly magnificent judgment.

Since day one of the Pastor Disaster, the best way out for Barack Obama would have been to say that while Jeremiah Wright's church did some fine things, Obama blundered in so closely associating himself with a man like Wright. If Obama enjoyed a moment where he so candidly acknowledged his feet of clay, he could have trotted out some similar rhetoric to distance himself from Tony Rezko and explain his strange lapse in - um -- judgment in accepting financial help to buy his home from such a shady figure.

Of course, there's an even grimmer side to the judgment issue from Obama's perspective. The thing about judgment is that good judgment is most often evident only in its absence. For instance, no one would ever say to an aspiring politician, "You showed magnificent judgment in not financially relying on a political fixer cum slumlord to buy your house!"

That brings us back to the vagueness inherent in saluting Obama's judgment. In all likelihood, that vagueness is what made the "judgment" meme so powerfully appealing to Team Obama. But with specific incidents of Obama exercising poor judgment surfacing, the matter is no longer so vague.

In a different campaign with different supporters, I would expect all the talk of Obama's brilliant "judgment" to vanish instantly. But we all know that won't happen. Obama supporters have fallen into the politically destructive habit of seeing what they want to see as opposed to what really is.

[dewardbowles]

It is worth noting that the primary in NC and IN and ultimately the election hinge on a bet by two of the candidates that low information voters will believe their preposterous assertions that a "gas tax holiday" will help them pay their fuel bills this summer.
Anyone with a high school level education in economics will tell you a gas tax holiday will actually have the effect of raising gasoline prices. The consumer will simply never see a dime and the oil companies will make even higher profits. Not to mention the fact that it might put as many as 300.000 people out of work when the country is reeling from job losses or drive our debt even higher.

It is simply impossible to even suggest that such a measure could be introduced much less pass through congress before the end of the summer given nobody but McCain and Clinton support it in congress.

We are witnessing an epic and historic clash of old and new politics, one rooted in pander and deception of the past and one with the promise of truth and transparency.

My vote is for Senator Obama

[ubrew12]

Weakly Standard: "My problem is that Obama supporters seem to have forgotten that "judgment" was just a codeword"

You mean like ''Compassionate Conservative''?

I''ll leave the codewords to you neocons, you''ve displayed such memorable ''judgement'' regarding the Shrub.

[barbara08-2009]

All I hear these day%u2019s are he%u2019s black and I would never vote for Obama (and it''s not because I''m a racist). That statement just proves you are racist!!! I am White and I know the difference with the racist comments. I understand the hardships of African %u201CAMERICANS%u201D
It doesn%u2019t matter if your black, blue, green, purple or white or if you are Muslim, Christian, Mormon, Atheists, Jewish, Baptist, or Catholic, you are still an %u201CAMERICAN%u201D we all bleed the same, die the same, have some similar common ground with our own trials. Everyone has owns their own thoughts and bad judgments. I have seen Mrs. Clinton tirade around picking out women even a *** filly trying to make this campaign about gender and that is where the race card comes in. yes a lot of us seniors are still a little weary about color but it shouldn%u2019t matter, Obama is still fighting for us and what he believes in so is Mrs. Clinton This RACE should be about FACTS. NOT RACE GENDER or ASSOCIATION we all know they both have some associations that we would like to forget about!!!
Mrs. Clinton has brought a lot of good to us American Women. Mr. Obama knows first hand about the so called suspension about the gas tax, he tried it and it didn%u2019t work so he is right!! We need to fix our problems not gutter ball them.

[twotraps]

Does anyone care that the Clinton V. Paul trial will start soon? Anyone care that a presidential candidate has been ordered to testify, after the election? Anyone care that the trial concerns Hillary''s senatorial run? Obama''s pastor is a nut for sure, but when enough evidence piles up to merit a trial....are we allowed to question Hillary Clintons character?

Predident-Elect Hillary Clinton to testify today....

President of the Untied States of America, Hillary Clinton today made history by handing out her first Presidential Pardon to Bill Clinton, her husband. No resports yet on how much she charged him for that.

Obama gets taken to task for what might be....and I''m ok with that level of scrutiny! Hillary''s court date has not even been mentioned in the media!! When do we get to ask her about that? Its public record, everyone can look information about the case. What is going on here? Have we lost the plot or what?

[joyous88]

ubrew12, hey! right on!

where was the weekly standard when we got stuck with

the conservative republicon nightmare that is now ruining our country

[samthetvcat]

Dean Barnett said, "I, too, went to law school"

Spoken like a middle-of-the-pack B-student who never could figure out what it was the A-students knew that he didn''t.

B-students read opinions looking for the rule, A-students read opinions looking for analysis, reason, pieces of evidence used to support or not used to support, changes in political climate, who''s affected, potential consequences to everybody affected (the parties AND society), potential problems in applying the holding and analysis to future disagreements, ability of the holding to withstand the test of time without further caveats, etc.

The difference between Barack and Hillary when it comes to accuracy of judgment is ability to take personal ambition out of the equation in the name of what''s universally beneficial. The neocons who have never shown ANY ability to accurately assess situations of universal concern seem to miss this point when it comes to the ''question marks raised'' by Rezko and Wright - Barack''s choices didn''t impact anybody else, unlike Hillary/Bush/McSame''s choice to go to war.

The difference between Barack and McCain seems to be the ability to hold more than one concept in his mind at a time in order to be able to do complex analysis.

[absecon2]

What does Obama%u2019s relationship with his pastor tell us about Obama? In the past Obama has called Jeremiah Wright his %u201Cmentor%u201D. Obama has said that his pastor was like family to him. For a while he was defensive of his pastor referring to him as an %u201Cold uncle%u201D who he suggested meant no harm. Early in these discussions he denied having heard or having known of some of his pastors more extreme and anti American views. Later he admits he did know some of these things. Then, when Pastor Wright tells all in several widely publicized speeches and deeply offends many white voters with his views, then and only then does Obama disown him. All this causes me to believe that there was and perhaps still is a lot more agreement between Obama and his pastor that Obama is ready to admit. But even if Obama is sincere this time Obama has at the very least shown very irrational judgement in his handling of Pastor Wright.

[absecon2]

What if Obama were faced with something like the Cuban Missile Crises. The military advised Kennedy they could obliterate Cuba before they could respond and asked for Kennedy%u2019s authorization to continue. Kennedy asked if the military could guarantee the Cubans would not have an opportunity to fire upon any American city and they couldn%u2019t give him that guarantee so Kennedy chose diplomacy instead. Later it was learned that the Russians had given the Cubans land-based weapons with nuclear warheads that could have been used against us. Had Kennedy given the military the go ahead they requested, the Cubans most likely would have gotten off at least one of those nuclear warheads and World War Three would have begun.

What if Obama was in that position? Does he have the maturity and judgement to have made the right decision and have kept us from a nuclear disaster? I think not. Obama was too naove to realize how much of a problem Pastor Wright would be in his campaign. I don%u2019t want a naove President. I want a smart perceptive President with good judgement in a crisis and I just don%u2019t think Obama has yet developed that type of maturity of judgement.

[wogerwabbit]

Why does the right wing want Hillary to win the nomination? Because they believe McCain can beat her.

[samthetvcat]

--"I want a smart perceptive President with good judgement in a crisis and I just don%u2019t think Obama has yet developed that type of maturity of judgement."--
Posted by Absecon2

I think you''ve just proven that wisdom has nothing to do with age . . .

[wwsword]

A lot of Republicans are supporting Obama because they know McCain will easily defeat Obama in November. If members of the political right support Clinton it is in part because they have an irrational fear that a personality cult could win the presidency. I say irrational precisely because if Obama is the nominee McCain will be president. But so scary is Obama to some conservatives that they are crossing over to vote for Clinton. It is well-known among Republicans than Clinton is the much stronger candidate. Other Republicans are supporting Clinton because they are disappointed in the past eight years of a Republican in the White House. Not every Republican is an idiot.

[DCropp]

Hillary''s judgement?

She said she will "obliterate" Iran.

The next day, she agrees with McCain that Americans should be given 18 cents per gallon tax break for 14 months.
More driving means more money for oil rich terrorist countries like Iran. This money is used to Americans.

Gas tax holiday would go into effect before the oil company windfall profits tax. That means 330,000 highway workers would be laid off immediately. It also means roads would not be repaired during the summer. The results would be devastating and felt for years.

Prior to Hillary''s suggestion for a gas tax holiday, she had already budgeted for the oil company windfall tax going to health care. Now, she''s saying she will use it for both?

Hillary''s response to criticism from every economist in America was to quote George W. Bush "are you with me or are you against me". Quoting a terrible president who doesn''t listen, is bad judgement.

On CBS news, you can see Obama''s oil solution ad. I''d rather have Obama''s $1000 permanent tax cut than Hillary''s $28 (and Hillary double spends windfall oil money, so she doesn''t actually pay for it).

[fblack7]

You guys have just such deep-seated racism that it is sickening! This man has said that he hadn''t heard comments by Rev. Wright that were so offensive...his attendance record in the Senate PROVED it, yet you keep pinning it on him. While Clinton(s) have been PROVEN to be ball-faced liars, but you take her lying *** "at her word" that she was tired and simply mis-spoke. What BS! This is precisely why American couldn''t stand the words of Rev wright - you just don''t want to hear the truth. Deal is: the Jews, and I love my Jewish brothers and sisters, can have a day of Holocaust remembrance, but if we dare even mention slavery we''re told to ''get over it"! Americans can accept criticism of everyone else, but not of America.
I actually wish Clinton wins this race and screws these poor, uneducated simpletons like a .25 ***!
Black folks will continue to do well - we always have. Truth is, me, my waterfront Florida home, my five vehicles and my Carolina vacation home will be ok. In fact, it would be great to get another white BS''er in the WHITEhouse for another 4 years -- hell the last 8 have been great for me!

[fblack7]

You guys have just such deep-seated racism that it is sickening! This man has said that he hadn''t heard comments by Rev. Wright that were so offensive...his attendance record in the Senate PROVED it, yet you keep pinning it on him. While Clinton(s) have been PROVEN to be ball-faced liars, but you take her lying *** "at her word" that she was tired and simply mis-spoke. What BS! This is precisely why American couldn''t stand the words of Rev wright - you just don''t want to hear the truth. Deal is: the Jews, and I love my Jewish brothers and sisters, can have a day of Holocaust remembrance, but if we dare even mention slavery we''re told to ''get over it"! Americans can accept criticism of everyone else, but not of America.
I actually wish Clinton wins this race and screws these poor, uneducated simpletons like a .25 ***!
Black folks will continue to do well - we always have. Truth is, me, my waterfront Florida home, my five vehicles and my Carolina vacation home will be ok. In fact, it would be great to get another white BS''er in the WHITEhouse for another 4 years -- hell the last 8 have been great for me!

[fblack7]

You guys have just such deep-seated racism that it is sickening! This man has said that he hadn''t heard comments by Rev. Wright that were so offensive...his attendance record in the Senate PROVED it, yet you keep pinning it on him. While Clinton(s) have been PROVEN to be ball-faced liars, but you take her lying *** "at her word" that she was tired and simply mis-spoke. What BS! This is precisely why American couldn''t stand the words of Rev wright - you just don''t want to hear the truth. Deal is: the Jews, and I love my Jewish brothers and sisters, can have a day of Holocaust remembrance, but if we dare even mention slavery we''re told to ''get over it"! Americans can accept criticism of everyone else, but not of America.
I actually wish Clinton wins this race and screws these poor, uneducated simpletons like a .25 ***!
Black folks will continue to do well - we always have. Truth is, me, my waterfront Florida home, my five vehicles and my Carolina vacation home will be ok. In fact, it would be great to get another white BS''er in the WHITEhouse for another 4 years -- hell the last 8 have been great for me!

[seanoneill5]

It seems the author is confusing judgment with political shrewdness. He conscpicuously ducks giving any examples of poor judgment; to do so would belie his prejudice. If one defines "judgment" as what will "play well"; ie if good judgment means acting in folksy in North Carolina, promoting gas sprees to buy votes, playing on fear, prejudice and ignorance to rally the electorate, then stick with Billary and the old style politicians. If "judgment" means opposing an unjust war at a time when such a stance was dramatically unpopopular, refusing to stoop to smears, ackoweldgeing one''s mistakes, and seeing today''s world through suitably multicultural eyes that abhor race and culture branding, then you''ll stick with the frontrunner- he''s there for good reason.

[elevando]

I too believe that Obama has "wonderful judgement," and he will have enough sense to drop out of the race after he loses in both NC and Indiana next Tuesday. He will leave because he will have seen that he has lost momentum and that his campaign manager, David Axelrod, is ripping apart the democtatic party at the seams with his divisive politics.

[monmacent]

There are a great many who are of the intelligent reasoning that have come out in support and endorsement of Barack Obama. It takes a majority of these Americans to see and have Barack Obama as the nominee and then elected as the next President of the United States of America. There are to many Americans of the mentality of sheep and cows grazing in the fields across America that will prevent America from having a great man like Barack Obama as the next President of the United States of America.

[bluestardad]

Obama supporters have fallen into the politically destructive habit of seeing what they want to see as opposed to what really is.


HEY WEEKLY STANDARD...SORT OF LIKE MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! WAR ON THE CHEAP! THE SURGE IS WORKING!
MAKING PROGRESS IN IRAQ! JUST SIX MORE MONTHS! SUPPORT THE TROOPS! NO BODY ARMOR! NO MILITARY HEALTH CARE! YOU ARE EITHER WITH US OR AGAINST US! MUSHROON CLOUD! NO ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE!

IF YOU NEOCON REPUBICANS CAN GET OUT OF THE MENS BATHROOM STALLS LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND BAGHDAD BOB IS WORKING FOR YOU AS YOUR MOUTHPIECE!

START WAR CRIMES TRIALS NOW!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[darrren12000]

Sam, although Obama says his anti-war stance evinces good policy judgment, believing him requires blind faith. We will never know the position he would have taken as a US Senator planning to run for president. We cannot prove that Obama would have defied the president and his security advisors, UK/Tony Blair, CIA, vast majority of the House, 80 percent of the Senate, media outlets, and public opinion. His resume fails to demonstrate such vast political courage and independence, but it does show that he has taken and modified positions for political gain. He voted 3 times for a "gas tax holiday" in Illinois due to voter demands, but now waffles in order to cast Clinton and McCain as %u201CWashington%u201D politicians. He blasts Clinton over NAFTA in %u201Crust-belt%u201D states, but their positions on trade are virtually identical.

Finally, the notion that Clinton cannot engage in complex analysis is absurd. Even her critics agree that Clinton has an excellent grasp of intricate social policy. She has campaigned largely on her deep policy expertise. Her critics, however, originally said this was %u201Ccold%u201D and %u201Cuninspiring%u201D; Obama said that %u201Cwords matter,%u201D and the media claimed viewers demanded they obsess over the religious-like rallies. Now that %u201Cbitterness%u201D and Rev. Wright have derailed his message of hope and change, Obama wants to become a %u201Cpolicy man.%u201D Ironic.

[ranger1948]

fblack7
I take it your cocaine sales are going rather well.

[ranger1948]

twotraps
NO. Clinton is the lesser of three evils in this case.
I don''t care how many ******** Bill got in the White House. He left office with an outstanding economy. I think Hillarym was running things while Bill was uh preoccupoed.

[paris1969]

Hillary voted for the Iraq war like the majority of senators and congresspeople ... but she never sat in Rev Wright''s church for 20+years and then expected his radical-hate-mongering-minister to "white-it-up" for the voters ... so who has the better judgment?

[rashidah1]

Do we want a confirmed liar in the White House (as distinct from someone who ''misspoke'')?
Do we want a war monger in the White House - even if he was a POW?
If we answer ''no'' to both questions, there''s only one rational choice for Americans: Barack Obama.
Don''t let all the media sideshows --- Rev. Wright, lapel pins, accusations of elitism, etc. -- fool you.
As we say in school: let''s get back to basics: HONESTY, COMMITMENT, LEADERSHIP.
That''s Barack Obama -- the rest is manipulation by the competitors, aided and abetted by cable news media who love this as much as they would another O.J. trial.

[getcentered]

Hillary supported NAFTA, the war in Iraq, and now she wants to cut gas tax for a few months even after economist say it won''t help most Americans.

"Expert Support For Gas Tax Holiday Appears Nonexistent"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/30/expert-support-for-gas-ta_n_99474.html

Hillary might talk a good game but she makes the wrong decisions....

I want a really, really smart person in the White House......so Obama is who I support. I hope Obama wins in Indy and in NC, then we can put this mess to rest and get on with what matters like the war in Iraq and our energy problems.....also I like Obama%u2019s deportment...and I think that it is important for bringing people together....which is what America needs right now....

My hopes and dreams of a united country are with Barack Obama.

FYI: Obama just won the Guam delegates.

[samthetvcat]

---"Sam, although Obama says his anti-war stance evinces good policy judgment, believing him requires blind faith."---
Posted by darrren12000

No it doesn''t - it requires research into the rationales for the three candidates.

Barack said "But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I''m opposed to dumb wars."

Hillary said, %u201CIt is clear%u2026that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.%u201D

McCain said, "I believe that we can win an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time."

[samthetvcat]

--"Finally, the notion that Clinton cannot engage in complex analysis is absurd. Even her critics agree that Clinton has an excellent grasp of intricate social policy."--
Posted by darrren12000

Her only supporter of her gax tax holiday is a Shell Oil lobbyist

[samthetvcat]

---"It seems the author is confusing judgment with political shrewdness."---
Posted by seanoneill5

Wow - that''s why I love these boards . . . people make the most astute observations.

What we''re all talking about when we speak of good judgment isn''t just accurately predicting outcomes - aren''t we really talking about politicians following through with promises made to others (either implicitly or explicitly)?

Like it could be said that Cheney has great judgment if his true goal was to just look out for himself and his Halliburton stock because the war in Iraq resulted in exactly that.

It could I guess also be said that Hillary has great judgment if her true goal is not to provide relief to middle-class Americans but rather to win Indiana by playing the numbers knowing that more people will choose immediate over delayed gratification.

But then the author goes on after defining good judgment as having social bearing to attempt to equate bad judgment with Barack not avoiding situations that could be for him PERSONALLY political negatives. They''re not evidence of policy miscalculations impacting voters.

If anything that says more about what his priorities are, and it''s putting people ahead of his own ambition.

[samthetvcat]

PS Also, predicting outcomes isn''t always 100% possible - you don''t always have enough information to know, and sometimes there''s so many factors impacting the outcome that it then becomes a matter of trial and error.

PPS Mitt Romney is very, very smart - I didn''t spend a lot of time studying his track record, but his economic plan was very solid, so imo yeah he had pretty good judgment . . .

[observantx]

An screed from the Weakly subStandard on "judgment".

How utterly fvcking ironic.

Here''s the neoclowns who brought us 7 years of complete disaster ala GWB all the while boisterously proclaiming his prescient and awe inspiring "judgment" that has wrecked our economy, nourished our enemies, killed 4,000 plus of our sons and daughters, soiled our Constitution, and nearly killed off the middle class with the most blatant reverse Robin Hood of our times.

Mr. Barnett, stuff it where the sun doesn''t shine. And tell Kagan and Kristol to do us all a favor and stuff their socks in their mouths any time they feel like trotting out more of this silly sewage.

[truthyness]

Does anyone in this country really believe that the majority of Americans would accept Obama as President??

[mcvet]

Does anyone in this country really believe that the majority of Americans would accept Obama as President??


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by truthyness at 06:12 AM : May 04, 2008
+ report abuse

Of COURSE they will... MOST American''s find him to be a decent person with great skills speaking and expressing himself. Sure the Fascist and people like the Klan will find it very upsetting.... but what''s new about that. If they don''t like it, they can find someplace to live I guess. Sieg Heil Grand Wizard.

[bluestardad]

ObservantX GREAT POST!

[hypnotoad72]

If nothing else, it was refreshing to read the word "farrago". :)

[irliberal]

Dean Barnett said: "Obama supporters have fallen into the politically destructive habit of seeing what they want to see as opposed to what really is."

No. That''s the DEFINITION of every Republican and the entire Bush administration.

You DARE to talk about Judgement?

How about McCain''s singing (to the tune of Barbara Ann), "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the PRESS? YOU DARE?

GO away and write something that isn''t 120% hypocritical.

[irliberal]

Let''s talk more about great judgement!

"Mission Accomplished"

Guantanamo Bay Torture Sessions

4000 dead Americans in a voluntary war.

Hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis in a voluntary war.

$4 a gallon gasoline.

Negligible tax rebates when we''re in a record deficit (after coming out of a record surplus in the previous administration)

Illegally wiretapping American citizens

...need I go on?

Dean Barnett - you DARE to talk about good judgement? You''re a joke.

[cattlekate]

Does anyone in this country really believe that the majority of Americans would accept Obama as President?? Posted by truthyness at 06:12 AM : May 04, 2008

Of course they will!

If they take the time to turn off their fake news stations and go on the Web and compare platforms!

[zendigity]

So Obama shows poor judgment because he can filter through Wrights anger and hatred and focus on the positive things gained from his church, but Hillary shows good judgment when she threatens to KILL EVERY MAN WOMAN AND CHILD in Iran?

Uh, that''s not the kind of RASH JUDGMENT this country needs any more of.

[samthetvcat]

-----"While I have to agree with this observation without reservation, it also bears saying that this could be said about politics in general. After a certain time in the fold of any given candidate, the devout follower is rue to look in the mirror and see that they have become a zombie, headlong in the service of their master."-----
Posted by sincityq

Wow, so that''s how it rolls - well please do share your wisdom with the rest of us ignorant masses . . . how is it you unlike the rest of us has been able to not fall prey to the service of your master?

Or are you saying just the opposite - that you admit Hillary''s totally pulling your strings?

PS Please stick to the issues when/if you respond rather than lashing out with derogatory judgments if that''s even possible for you. Specific examples you might want to use are:
- Hillary''s Iraq War support in contrast to Barack''s denunciation
- Hillary''s support for the gax tax holiday in contrast to Barack

thx

[samthetvcat]

---"Even with the best ''platform'', there needs to be an honest accounting and to this point, he has not even begun to scratch the surface."---
Posted by sincityq

Hillary:
- failed to pass universal healthcare legislation
- supported NAFTA
- voted to go to war against Iraq without reading the NIE
- lied about having her aides read the NIE
- didn''t vote for the Levin Amendment which would have required inspections to be exhausted first
- voted to give Bush authority to combat terrorism in Iran
- supports a gax tax holiday which has proven to be a windfall for gax companies, a net push for consumers, and a net negative for bridge repair and construction jobs
- embellished her contributions to Bosnian and Irish peace processes
- antagonized Pakistani, Iraqi, Iranian, and Chinese world leaders
- etc

Hard to take Hillary supporters seriously about having an honest accounting . . .

[butterfly583]

http://www.hillaryproject.com/index.php?%2Fen%2Fstory-details%2Fwhat_hillary_clinton_and_the_media_are_hiding_from_the_voters%2F

[butterfly583]

http://www.hillaryproject.com/index.php?%2Fen%2Fstory-details%2Fwhat_hillary_clinton_and_the_media_are_hiding_from_the_voters%2F

[crewmember1]

The press is like the bill collector. He forgets that he too, is a U.S. citizen with rights, and sells his soul to the cause of finding the culprit who may or may not have charged up a bill and never paid it, but by the resources alowed, breaks every rule to invade privacy, scheme on neighbors to nose information out of them, and in the process, they devolve a whole society''s mores. You too, press, will have to live with Hillary CLinton in the White House, no matter what she may have paid CBS, you didn''t get any and she will continue to leave a trail of stink behind her because she is a reckless, narcissistic sociopath. But you just don''t get it, do you?

[thecandypoem]

I question Obama''s judgment. He has poor judgment in his choice of friends, he is too much influenced by his wife and a ranting pastor, he is too much of an unknown to me. He might become a great president, or he might take us to peril. Who knows? I am not willing to gamble with my vote.

[truthyness]

There is too much at stake to elect an unknown.

[truthyness]

We have enough problems in this country without adding 4 years of Civil Unrest to it.