Posted on 11/21/2008 6:45:28 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
EVEN before Barack Obama takes control of the Oval office, he has already initiated substantive changes in American politics, it has been claimed.
US political commentator Mark Shields, who has worked on several White House election campaigns, believes that the incoming president will harness the power of his supporters to enact change.
“He has created a whole new way of doing things. There are 10 million names on a list committed to Obama and he will use this support,” said Mr Shields, on a visit to Galway this week.
Addressing the National University of Ireland, Galway, (NUIG) Law Society, the well-known US political commentator said the Democratic party had garnered a reputation for being a “coalition of interests” in the US.
But he added a stated aim of the 44th president was to end partisan politics, drawing from the expertise of both Democrat and Republican advisors to forge future policies.
CNN commentator Shields has worked on a number of political campaigns, including Robert Kennedy’s campaign in 1968 where he acted as Kennedy’s California state director.
He believes there are strong parallels between the approach adopted by Barack Obama and Robert Kennedy. Had Kennedy not been assassinated and lived to be president, the hurt caused through racial segregation would have been eased.
“Kennedy had the support of both white working class voters and African Americans. He would have helped heal the great turmoil caused by civil rights tensions,” Mr Shields told the Irish Examiner.
Kennedy differed from the incoming president in one key area, he added, the former attorney general had many powerful enemies.
“We feel better about ourselves now that Barack Obama has made history. There’s a sense of relief. Racial segregation caused deep divides,” said Mr Shields.
While Obama has already ushered in change, by not being beholden to powerful establishment lobby groups, the task in front of him is monumental.
“Like it is in this country at present, Americans are deeply concerned about their homes, their jobs and the future. The focus now is on the economic crisis,” said Mr Shields. He said foreign policy issues will take a back seat for now, given the urgency of the challenge to deal with the economy. The reverberations of a sub-prime fall-out continue to rock the US financial system.
“There is much speculation about the changes ahead. The principal test now is dealing with the economy. Obama has fuelled hope. There is a huge amount of goodwill towards him,” said the US political pundit.
Peter Mannion, auditor of the NUIG Law Society, met Mr Shields when he spent the summer working as an intern for Barack Obama, through the Washington Ireland programme (WIP).
The lecture by Mr Shields was organised by WIP in conjunction with NUIG law society. Each year WIP picks 30 Irish students to enrol on a two-month internship in Washington DC.
Mark “Panty” Shields: “OK, I’ve always been a Democrat”.
Wrong!
A year from now we WILL look back on these stories and laugh our heads off!!
Prepare for Carter II, the Obama presidency....
Wheres the BARFFFFFFF ?
whatta joke!
Yes. Obama comes with his own (as some call it) barakracy.
Fine. But it's a 10-million-man, well-armed, strong-as-the-Army civilian people's police that worries me.
Last time I checked, Americans are still deeply divided. How does electing a racist, America hating, left-wing radical change that? "WE" do not feel better about ourselves, Mr. Shields. Speak for yourself!
It is amazing how they can write this pablum as truth when they would have to know it is completely false. If they write it and someone reads it often enough, it becomes the truth. A lot of it looks eerily like it was churned out in the Ministry of Truth.
In which case - it will be wise to have prepared some kind of response - in other words - having millions of supporters for limited government.
Could you imagine if Bush had this sort of blind support in the first four years of his administration? Think about it. Think about how different the world would be today if the press supported Bush’s foreign policy decisions? It’s mind boggling.
You really should have added a barf alert.
;-)
With so many ignorant voters and with so many stupid voters now in existence at the national level, I’m not convinced that this leftist domination at the national level is just for the short-term. Look at how many problematic, leftist politicians that Massachusetts has and how many of them keep getting re-elected no matter what. When both “Massachusetts politics”, and all of its problems, and “Chicago politics”, and all of its problems, goes national, look out! There really will be many more pessimistic conservatives throughout the U.S. before “everything leftist” is officially over, if the national leftist dominance is ever officially over at any given point in the future. Too many present people, who do vote, see reality television shows as being much more important than American politics!
Former legislative assistant to former Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.). During Robert F. Kennedy’s bid for the presidency, Shields helped organize the California primary. He then went on to work for Sen. Edmund Muskie’s presidential campaign in 1972, R. Sargent Shriver’s bid for the vice presidency and Rep. Morris Udall’s campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1976. In 1979, Shields joined the editorial staff of The Washington Post. Enjoying life as a full-time political pundit, Shields appears regularly on CNN, on public television and on radio.
Any questions as to why he pimps for Hussein?
Sorry Guys, We live here, Under the Constitution.
Obama does not RULE, the Constitution is the RULE OF LAW.
The BIGGEST Change in DC has already Occurred, and Obama had nothing to do with it, if he had, he would have revesed the Court Ruling striking down the City of DC’s Gun Laws.
The DC gun Ban has been struck down...no longer will you have to have Trigger locks or Dis-assembled shotguns in your house, laying around as Useless hardware.
The Constitution Rules, however so slowly, and delibertly. The DC Crime of home invasion is going to take a Dive. Citizens can defend themselves, and Chicago is Next.
The DC murder rate will drop. An Armed Society is a Polite Society.
I'm already chuckling!
Mark Shields = fuddy duddy.
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