You should take it easy and try to help and not hurt your candidate. The beauty of a democratic system is the fact that it allows you to make free choices. A person’s support of Clinton should not cause you to react in an outrageous manner and demean his choice. I, too, will vote for Senator Hillary Clinton. She has more substance and credibility than Mr. Obama. She is a brilliant woman who is also a Yale graduate and considered one of the top 100 legal minds in the country. Have you ever watched the debates between Clinton and Obama? The disparity between the two in terms of knowledge and substance is like day and night. Besides, Obama obviously has a serious shortage of “judgment” that he kept drowning himself in. To be honest with you, his empty words and his relationships with shady people give me the chills. So, Zelela, I have every right and reason to support Hillary Clinton as you have every right to blindly support a candidate like Obama who is full of contradictions and double standards. Zelela, please don’t demean me for holding these views.

Please not here. There are plenty of those types “out there”. Feel free to join them. And if you are from Ethiopia, you should know better than repeating the “Hussein” stuff. People here are more enlightened and way better than that.

ouch

I may not have mastered the art of debating as you can probably tell. Most of your points are well taken except for the personal attack, I think you are better than that.

I am just frustrated by all this craze about Obama when he has not explained how he would bring about the “change” he has been lamenting. Obama does not represent change. He is just politics as usual, saying one thing and doing another . He said he would renegotiate NAFTA, but that is not what his rep said behind close doors. Let us not forget his dealing with Tony Rezko, his fundraiser who is now charged with federal crime involving extortion and money laundering. He is back paddling from agreement he made with john McCain to public finance the general election after he realized he made more money than he thought he would. When things get though Obama skips. Obama avoids taking tough stance; he avoided voting on several important bills (too many to list). It is easy for obama to claim he was against the Iraq war when he did not vote for it. Even more disturbing, he voted to continue to fund the war. Mr Obama wants it both ways. Mr. Obama believes living in Jakarta from age 6 to 10 gives him the foreign policy credentials he needs to run for president. Try again Mr. Obama. The softer stance of the media on Obama can not be disputed. If you don’t believe me, watch last Saturday Night Live’s clip. Obama should be subjected to the same scrutiny as Hillary. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to say tough things about Obama without being accused of prejudice. Case in point, Bill Clinton called Obama’s run for the white house a fairytale. Some how fairytale was seen as a prejudiced comment. It is very difficult to argue against Barack Hussein Obama when he has very little record to argue against.

Thank you for sharing your feelings regarding this election.

After reading your response I can see why you find Senator Clinton to be a more appealing candidate;there are many similarities between you and Senator Clinton in your approach to addressing issues. The first few similarities that come to mind is that you both(are): presumptuous, dogmatic, defensive, have a partial understanding of the political process, and finally, however frequent or fervent, you appear to think that you have defended persuasively your opinion or judgement by merely asserting your “thoughts”, and/or by resorting to personal attacks that have no merit.

Let me elaborate so I won’t appear as having “gone on a limb” by making the above statements:

(…to be continued at my earliest convenience)

Why the wait? There is no urgency in the matter seeing that you have failed to present any valid argument(s) against Senator Obama, or in support of Senator Clinton.

Please note your feelings expressed in your initial post have been all taken into consideration. In the future I strongly urge you to consider the following matters when trying to make an argument:

1)”Think hard”. Obviously, clear, precise, and cogent analytical writing takes effort; indeed, in the experience of most writers, repeated efforts and sustained concentration.

2)In general, you begin to defend your opinion by initially deploying a general, substantive, and sustainable argument (your “because” or your “reason why”) that supports your stated opinion.

3)The persuasiveness of your opinion depends on detailed elaboration, substantiation and elucidation. Leave statements such as, “..she is far more knowledgable it is not even funny.” Since they fail to achieve any of the above mentioned and actually make you sound “funny”.

4)Presenting multiple, seemingly independent arguements is not apt to prove more persuasive.

5)Avoid circular arguement, that is phony or question begging arguements that only restate or specify, rather than begin to argue for, the opinion you are defending. Circular arguments also sound funny and diminish your credibility, “I conced obama is a new breed of polatician. We should not dicount his message of hope and change. But I think Hillary clinton can offer that better.”

6)An example alone or in itself cannot argue, “Hilary on the other hand has experiance (25 years) and if you paid attention on the debeat especial forigen policy related subjects, she is far more knowledgable it is not even funny.”

7)Trying to argue by means of mere definition, whether implicit or explicit, is not necessarily valid, “Thus far the libral media has been very easy on obama but in the general election you better belive the republicans will go after him with everything they got, and obama does not stand a chance debating agianst Mccain.” What do you mean by liberal?

8)You have not began to argue effectively for your opinion when you rely upon citing a supposed authority. For example,”Hilary on the other hand has experiance (25 years) and if you paid attention on the debeat especial forigen policy related subjects, she is far more knowledgable it is not even funny.” Whether invoking divine law, human nature, or a prominent politician it still fails to address why YOU hold YOUR stated judgement or opinion.

9)The development of interesting arguments most often incorporates some form of imaginative insight-apt analogy, unusual or compelling illustration, a telling contrast. There is no example for this point, which I dare say, implies it is provocative because it is rude, “So, to all of you Obama zelot supporters (cults) I challenge you to use your brain and not your heart. Look at what is at stake.” not because it is thoughtful.

10)Unlike this laundry list of suggestions and abominations (which mimic the ignorance of your post) a persuasive opinion sparks a debate beyond the lack of a coherent argument in your post.

Finally, I am going to go out on a limb here and say…if you think “liberal” is a dirty word maybe you have been considering the wrong candidates all along. You are entitled to your opinions, feelings, thoughts, brain, heart, and liver, but if you make a statement implying the delusional and/or mistaken state of the statistical Majority, please stick to the issues and save personal attacks with no merit for your diary.

President Barack Obama! Can’t wait….

I am probably the only habesha on this one

Hilary for president 2008

Girls, give up the new belt, the unnecessary trip to the hairdresser. I have a friend you just skipped her nail salon appointment, you go girl!

Do we really need the jeans, the facial, an evening of going out or the luxury stuff we spend our money on? NO, but we all need Obama!

Guys, do you really need the latest gadget? Thinking about taking us out on the town? We will understand this time.

Lets wear this year’s spring fashion, the Obama button!
Obama for president is not a luxury but a necessity we can all afford.

What can a 25 bucks get you? A CHANGE!
Don’t wait too long check on the website and donate!

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/abamt25?source=mainnav

Share what you gave up…
Alright, I start…i gave up that purple shirt I just had in my hands, I am putting it back. That $50.00 is going to pay for some real change this year! This is an investment, not just a makeover…
Pass it to your friends and share what you gave up….
Bizu

One of your many striking statements:

“Senator Obama’s impressive track record in politics has received little public attention.”

We need more articles like yours.

And, people need to read his book “The Audacity of Hope” to see how much of an insider (white house material) Obama is with an outsider’s (as in the rest of us) point of view. (I got that impression just from the first 5 or 10 pages of an easy-to-read, pleasant and must-read book.)

By that, I mean he is so much like the ordinary American and yet at the same time so much like the “big shots” in U.S. government. He embodies the best of both worlds. How often do we come across people like that?

Great op-ed Zelela. I think you managed to put into words what a lot of Obama supporters feel but have not necessarily been able to express. It’s not empty hope that Obama inspires, it is real. It is not frequently mentionned that Obama does have 12 years of legislative experience or that he has written, sponsored and co-sponsored hundreds of bills in his time in Illinois, as well as U.S. Senate. People instead like to harp on his so-called “inexperience”, which is inaccurate as you pointed out. Thanks for this article.