erm that's all i have

apparently he models in his boardshorts in magazines.

go team obama!

my links don't work bah!

Obama's probably the most left-wing candidate to seriously nominate for the Democratic nomination in a long time. He's been anti-war since before it started (unlike Hillary Clinton) supports abortion rights and and a rise in the minimum wage and opposes the death penalty. It'll be interesting to see if he moderates these positions over the coming year. Either way, could Americans elect a man named Obama?

Only on 9/11.

americans will be on the rebound from ultra conservative george w, so he might be in with a chance

was reading about him the other day. seems very balanced, willing to acknowledge both sides of every arguement, almost to the point of absurdity. which of course is getting billed as wishy washyness (god forbid a politican should be anything other than a one eyed fanatic)

hilarious marketing issue his name sounding so similar to public enemy number 1 osama

yeah, just read that on smh.com.au. I went and searched for vision of him 'performing' on youtube.com and watched his speech to the Democratic National Convention in support of John Kerry in 2004 - pretty impressive stuff.

I think though the serious pundits will be wanting BO to impress them with some substance and deeper policy thinking - up to now he's been doing great, but a lot of it is personality politics (which worked for Bush, so who knows?).

There are currently three main democratic candidates in the race - Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton.

At the moment polls indicate that the average American would rather have a black man than a woman as president. However, Hillary has a $1,000,000,000.00 warchest at her disposal - the largest ever raised for a presidential election, and there is a belief that with the name recognition she has, that she will still be a contender.

But indeed - who knows?!?

the primaries will be interesting if you're into such things.. its a pretty wide field and weird things can and do happen.. early favourites often don't make it across the line..

american politics is unbelievably dirty too.. he'd better have a pretty clean resume behind him..

to be honest though.. i'm far more interested in who the republicans put up.. whoever the democrats end up nominating has to be the easy favourite as long as the whole party lines up behind them..

hilarious marketing issue his name sounding so similar to public enemy number 1 osama

and to make things more difficult his middle name is Hussein

two youtube videos

he's a great speaker to boot.

i'm far more interested in who the republicans put up

I reckon it'll be McClain - and he'll push his Vietnam service and experiences as a POW, along with his willingness over the years to think/act independently of Bush and the Republican party (which he has from time to time on big issues).

ooops, damn that stray 'l'.

lately hes (McCain) been heavily courting the christian tell-everybody-else-how-to-live-their-lives lobby.. shame..

re: clean resume: he has admitted to doing pot and crack back in the day. GASP

but he's a nice n respectable christian family man nowadays

No chance, his name sounds too much like Osama.

He's a fantastic speaker and from what I've read about him he looks to be an excellent statesman. The US could do much, much worse than having him as their President.

I reckon it'll be McClain

I'l go with John McClane

McClane?

McCain/Rice vs Clinton/Edwards

Dunno about recently, but Condi's opinion polls have somehow remained unscathed in the current nightmare.

All Clinton needs is a good ad - one fucking good ad that convinces all the non-voting women to vote, so 'the women can take over'.

I'm having withdrawals. The aftermath is not quite as fun. I, too, am feeling smug about my predictions and analysis.

I'm on an Obamacomedown.

Same.

Riddle me this: methodone is to heroin what X is to Obama...?

Hillary Clinton?

Anyone else a bit concerned about the implication of Michelle Obama being Jackie O?

Who would be the new Aristotle Onassis then? Some Russian oligarch? One of the founders of Google?

Who would be the new Aristotle Onassis then? Some Russian oligarch? One of the founders of Google?

You know, it could be that the analogy doesn't flow through to ex-husbands and the like, but as far as motorcades and being spattered with her husband's brains etc, let's hope she's not Jackie O (Motherfucker).
Mind you, I think Obama's security is pretty tight. Let's not think too much about that.

I think Obama will have a successful 8 years. That's my prediction. I'm sticking with it.

I hope you're right.

Still, compared to the past 8 years, almost anything will be an improvement.

She looks like a plump raisin.

it was the inclusion of the adjective ''plump'' that made me squirt solo out of my nose.

It's the sinus crusher.

very true once again, inactivist.

Dead man walking. America are not civilised enough yet

a pretty decent Obama impression

This is a little gem:

Andy Borowitz: Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it ''alienating'' to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

''Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,'' says Mr. Logsdon. ''If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist.''

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, ''Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off.''

The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

''Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also,'' she said.

obi's global warming speech:

Let me begin by thanking the bipartisan group of U.S. governors who convened this meeting.

Few challenges facing America — and the world — are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We’ve seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.

Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security.

I know many of you are working to confront this challenge. In particular, I want to commend Governor Sebelius, Governor Doyle, Governor Crist, Governor Blagojevich and your host, Governor Schwarzenegger –all of you have shown true leadership in the fight to combat global warming. And we’ve also seen a number of businesses doing their part by investing in clean energy technologies.

But too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office. My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process.

That will start with a federal cap and trade system. We will establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them an additional 80% by 2050.

Further, we will invest $15 billion each year to catalyze private sector efforts to build a clean energy future. We will invest in solar power, wind power, and next generation biofuels. We will tap nuclear power, while making sure it’s safe. And we will develop clean coal technologies.

This investment will not only help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, making the United States more secure. And it will not only help us bring about a clean energy future, saving our planet. It will also help us transform our industries and steer our country out of this economic crisis by generating five million new green jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced.

But the truth is, the United States cannot meet this challenge alone. Solving this problem will require all of us working together. I understand that your meeting is being attended by government officials from over a dozen countries, including the UK, Canada and Mexico, Brazil and Chile, Poland and Australia, India and Indonesia. And I look forward to working with all nations to meet this challenge in the coming years.

Let me also say a special word to the delegates from around the world who will gather at Poland next month: your work is vital to the planet. While I won’t be President at the time of your meeting and while the United States has only one President at a time, I’ve asked Members of Congress who are attending the conference as observers to report back to me on what they learn there.

And once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change.

Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high. The consequences, too serious.

Stopping climate change won’t be easy. It won’t happen overnight. But I promise you this: When I am President, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America. Thank you.''

Oh, he's so fucking good! What a guy!