Free Republic

ABC's Nightline Gushes: Obama, An 'American Political Phenomenon' Posted by Megan McCormack on November 7, 2006 - 15:19. On Monday night’s edition of Nightline, just hours before the polls opened for Tuesday’s midterm election, ABC’s Terry Moran prematurely promoted a potential 2008 Democratic presidential contender. Moran went along with Illinois Senator Barack Obama as he campaigned for Democrats across the country. Moran’s piece was full of praise for the "American political phenomenon," whom, according to Moran, millions see as "the savior of the Democratic Party." Terry Moran: "You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. How they...

Wisconsin is squarely in the eye of Obamamania this week with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama crossing the border to campaign for Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, attorney general candidate Kathleen Falk and Congresswoman Gwen Moore. Two years ago, when Obama showed up at Milwaukee's Martin Luther King Park to campaign for Moore and Sen. Russ Feingold, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel didn't even bother to run a story the next day. With every magazine and talk show in the nation now promoting the possibility of Obama becoming America's first black president, even the most oblivious local media have taken notice. That's why...

For a politician, is there such a thing as too much popularity? If there's any cloud over U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's seemingly charmed political life, it may be that one. With national political pundits now using words such as "messiah" in connection with the Chicago Democrat - and one former campaign opponent calling on him to run for president - some say he could ultimately be rising so fast and high in the American consciousness that he may end up with nowhere to go but down.

Hollywood's George Clooney is making no apologies for being a political liberal. "Yes, I'm a liberal and I'm sick of it being a bad word," the actor-director tells the Sunday Times of London. "I don't know at what time in history liberals have stood on the wrong side of social issues. We thought that blacks should sit at the front of the bus, that women should be allowed to vote, that maybe McCarthy was a jerk, that Vietnam was wrong and strip-bombing Cambodia was probably stupid. We've been on the right side of all these issues."

Republicans controlling the federal government practice Social Darwinism, a discredited philosophy that in economics and politics calls for survival of the fittest, according to a Democratic U.S. senator. Sen. Barak Obama of Illinois, a fast-rising Democratic star, told Florida party members that only a philosophy among Republicans of sink or swim explains why some Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans still live in cars while Republicans in Washington prepare next week to enact $70 billion in tax breaks. "It's called the 'Ownership society' in Washington. This isn't the first time this philosophy has appeared. It used to be called Social...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate's only black member, criticized another lawmaker from Illinois on Wednesday for published comments on discrimination against young Arabs. Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk was at an event last weekend at Northwestern University when he was asked about the difficulties of the visa process for immigrants. He was quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times as saying: "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I'm OK with that." "I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men, between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from...

Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-abortion U.S. senator is slamming pro-life groups who have raised concerns about the American Girl doll company's partnership with a girl's group that backs abortion. Pro-life organizations have threatened a national boycott if the company doesn't pull out from its partnership with Girl's Inc. Sen. Barak Obama, an Illinois Democrat, called the criticism and possible boycott and overreaction. “It's just silly,” said Obama. “This is a classic example of overreaction and a lack of proportion.” "An organization like this plays a vital part in making certain we are opening up our windows and letting our...

Obama Addresses Clash Girls Inc. appearance A rising star in the Democratic party offered support Monday to an Omaha organization swept into a political clash.U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D) Illinois, spoke Monday at a luncheon for Girls Inc., which has drawn fire this month for its support of abortion rights and acceptance of lesbianism.At issue is Girls Inc.'s involvement with American Girl, a manufacturer of popular dolls and children's books. The company is donating proceeds from sales of a special wristband, which reads "I Can" to support the programs of Girls Inc."This is a classic example of overreaction and...

Even for a man who made the cover of Newsweek before he was sworn in, it’s an impressive achievement. Senator Barack Obama, according to last week’s Tribune/WGN-TV poll, wins the approval of 72 percent of Illinois voters. If that weren’t enough, state Republicans give the new Democratic senator a 57 percent approval rating. These results will generate more speculation about his placement on the national ticket in 2008 or 2012. They will also fuel, if more fueling were needed, the media swoon over the junior senator. He is, we’re told constantly, a star. That message has come from the New...

FOR countless Democrats around America, the announcement last week of a new initiative linking Senator Hillary Clinton to one of her party’s most appealing new stars amounted to a match made in political heaven. Not since President George W Bush crushed the Democratic party’s hopes in last November’s election have two senators with perhaps the strongest chances of beating Republican rivals to the White House formed such an intriguing alliance. Clinton has been linked with Senator Barack Obama, the charismatic black Democrat from Illinois, in a healthcare initiative that unites two formidable and ambitious politicians who have their eyes on...

If the U.S. government resorts to rifling through library records without a search warrant, libraries will no longer be sanctuaries of learning where people can freely think and read, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama told the American Library Association Saturday. Obama said he is working diligently to make sure the country has a Patriot Act that helps track down terrorists without trampling on civil liberties. He told the applauding crowd at McCormick Place he hopes the U.S. Senate will follow the U.S. House's lead by passing a provision that would require federal agents to obtain a search warrant before going through...

The Veterans Affairs Department needs at least $4 billion more than President Bush has allotted or else veterans' health care and disability claims will suffer, Sen. Barack Obama warned Monday. Obama (D-Ill.) criticized the president during a press conference in Chicago, calling him "bull-headed" and warning that Bush's proposed 2.7 percent increase for the VA doesn't consider an increased demand from returning Iraqi veterans. "When you adjust for inflation, the president's budget has even less money for veterans than it had a year ago," said Obama, who serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "We have a tendency to applaud...

In November, Sen. Barack Obama became the first black man elected to the Senate as a Democrat, but doesn't intend that historical first to be his only achievement. "I haven't done anything yet, and I didn't get elected to just sit there and say I did it," said Mr. Obama, of Illinois.

The New York Post chats up the idea of an Obama Vice-Presidency in 2008. The idea is as running mate with present New York Attorney General - Eliot Spitzer. The idea is ridiculous because we all know Hillary Clinton will be the candidate. The Obama Factor does believe that Obama makes the most sense for a Hillary candidacy as a named VP. Not surprisingly this silly idea stemmed from the "Eliot Spitzer for Governor" website... The (Chicago) Daily Herald is also pointing out that Obama is still behaving as though he is still running for office. Though we guess...

CHICAGO -- Chicago's media gossip columnists are abuzz with news about Illinois' new political sensation, U.S. Senator-elect Barack Obama. Friday night, Obama will be featured on "Late Show" with David Letterman. CBS released a portion of tonight's transcript, and the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan teased readers this morning by publishing part of the interview which will air Friday night at 10:30 PM CST: Letterman: " . . . Now was there a guy running for Senate, maybe an incumbent, maybe not, I think a Republican, and he had a problem because he and his wife would go to strip clubs...

He is eloquent, well spoken, with a membrane-thin veiled socialist agenda cloaked in flowery speech. But unlike Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn. – who had to be reminded by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that while congressional blacks were no longer relegated to ticket taker in a cloakroom, they had better not forget their place – Barack Obama, D-Ill., is just the kind of black man elite liberals can use.But also unlike Ford, Barack Obama is much more appealing to blacks nationwide and thus much more formidable when you combine that with his ability to raise large contributions, his Muslim roots and...

CHICAGO -- Friday night, Grammy award winner Stevie Wonder and comedian Robin Williams, two outspoken critics of President Bush, will be in Chicago to raise $500 per person for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama. Pop and soul singer Stevie Wonder, who campaigned on behalf of Al Gore in 2000, will be joined by Robin Williams, who has been an outspoken critic of President Bush. Earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival before a group of international journalists and film critics, Williams criticized Bush's decision to rid Iraq of Saddam Hussein and questioned the search for WMDs. "Bush is...

Once known as a conservative paper, the Chicago Tribune has become a liberal attack dog. It ran Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan out of the race after sniffing into his divorce records and publicizing the results. The allegations of a sexual nature had nothing to do with Ryan's qualifications for office, and he denied they were true. It might have remained a local or state story, were it not for the fact that the beneficiary of the charges, Senate Democratic candidate Barack Obama, is being supported in an unprecedented way by media from Chicago to Washington, D.C. to New York,...

Clarence Page questions reasoning of observers who say the Illinois Senate candidate is less black because of intercontinental roots. CHICAGO — Some people, particularly those who are tone deaf to the ironies of life, have a problem with Barack Obama's race. They have a hard time deciding what it is. Ever since the front-running candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois burst onto the national stage with a riveting keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, I've been hearing from readers who question why the media, including me, insist on referring to Obama as "black" or "African-American" when he is...