Yesterday out of boredom (mostly) I was scanning through the Dkos search to see how many comments I've made on Daily Kos since I joined around this time in 2004 (6,712 for those curious!) While I went through the list of random comments I clicked on a particular one and then went on to the diary it was contained in.
The diary was called Help Build Draft Obama '08 from October 13, 2006.
We were in the waning days of the 2006 campaign, and people naturally wanted to focus on getting those Democratic majorities in Congress. People didn't want to talk about 2008 just yet. But beyond the comments made at the inappropriateness of the diary in the midst of the still-running 2006 midterms, what struck me re-reading it was just how hostile we were as a group to Barack Obama.
The purpose of the diary was to try to get a 'Draft Obama' website going and helping to get Obama into the 2008 presidential race.
Let's walk down memory lane shall we?
Not a Chance (11+ / 0-)
and therefore we can't waste our energy here. One more electoral cycle and I will get behind this man 100%. But, he's too young and inexperienced in Washington politics at this point.
Ok, yes I am old and not on point with the social democratic scene. But, someone prove me wrong. Washington is still run by nitwits my age.
He Reminds Me Of Mark Warner (3+ / 0-)
Except that he isn't a southern governor with a CEO past. I'm really not sure why some people here assume that what they find to be charisma, and/or a compelling origin story, would be appealing to swing voters.
Right on. (2+ / 0-)
Not sure where the idol worship of Obama and Edwards comes from. Jees. Someone makes a good speach and they're the next one to run for office. I like both Barack and John, but there are more qualified individuals out there. Also, Senators don't make good candidates. Rinse and repeat.
Obama has to prove he isn't an idiot (7+ / 0-)
in my eyes. He is the younger, male, minority version of Hillary Clinton at this point...IMHO.
These two comments particularly made me laugh in light of the Paris Hilton Celebrity ad...(bold is my edit)
I dont get the charisma either (0+ / 0-)
He seems pretty bland to me.
All I see is a guy who is being groomed by the establishment. You could compare him to Britney Spears. She is a product created by stylists and producers for a record company.
It just seems to me he is being marketed to us as the next big thing. and the cynic in me says that his being of black skin -- he didnt grow up "black" in america folks -- is his big selling point.
Obama? Include me out (21+ / 0-)
A celebrity candidate with a dodgy voting record and a propensity to wag his finger at fellow Democrats? No thankee.
Screw Obama (13+ / 0-)
Really. Excuse my French... but screw Obama.
This guy was supposed to be a rising progressive star, and what has he done so far? Nothing. He had a tremendous amount of moral authority and he is too cautious to use any of it. All he does is criticize Democrats -- just like his pal Lieberman.
Seriously, a draft Obama movement is insanse.
This one particularly made me laugh pretty hard considering what Joe Lieberman has done this year:
Right !! (3+ / 0-)
Let's draft the Black Joe Lieberman.
And this one too:
Why don't we draft Hillary and Lieberman too? (4+ / 0-)
That way we can just have a whole plethora of candidates in the field who do nothing but rip on core progressive values, in case our "backstabber de jour" doesn't work out.
Draft Obama? I think I'll be voting for someone who actually agrees with and champions progressive causes in '08, thank you.
And finally, my comment, that one that took me to the diary in the first place.
No. (10+ / 0-)
"People place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution. They don't put their hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible." --J.R.
by michael1104 on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 06:39:25 PM EDT
The most succinct comment in the thread.
It's pretty amusing actually considering where we are now: 6-9 points ahead nationally, Up 10 in Virginia and up in Florida and Ohio, and possibly sweeping 7-10 former red states that are now in the swing category.
I, and a hell of a lot of people on this site were adamantly opposed to the idea of Barack Obama as the nominee for 2008. In large part it was because we saw him as a mushy do-nothing centrist in the Senate who took to scolding progressives rather than acting like one. Now he didn't all of a sudden turn into a raging liberal fire breather since then, but he has clearly grown from a Freshman Senator Who Gave a Good Speech, to the likely President of the United States of America right before our eyes.
Barack Obama is the right man for the job, at the right time in history, and I personally want to thank acaben, the author of that diary, for having the foresight that many of us didn't at the time. You were right. We have a winner in our hands here, a Democrat who might win with the biggest popular vote margin since Lyndon Johnson, and the first since Carter to get above 50%.
Now, I just thought it was an amusing trip back in time, but it does make one reflect on what they thought in the past and also I think it makes us see how things can change so quickly in the future. And the future from now certainly looks a little brighter today than it did yesterday.