Obama: I don’t care how poor you are. You’ve got $5 - promises UHC by end of 1st term

[The Straight Story]

Obama kicks off campaign in Ohio with Cleveland stop at Tri-C East

He pledged that “by the end of my first term (as president), there will be universal health care for every American.”

....

He told the story of a 105-year-old woman who attended a speech he gave while running for the U.S. Senate. An African-American born in Louisiana in 1899, the woman had lived through lynchings, Jim Crow laws, the Depression and two world wars. Yet she remained confident that “the world as it is is not the world as it has to be,” Obama said.

The Tri-C rally capped a day of fundraisers in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, which reportedly raised over $600,000 for the presidential hopeful. Still Obama asked those in the crowd to realize “you do own this thing” (his election campaign) and to “pony up $5 or $10. I don’t care how poor you are. You’ve got $5.”

http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2007/03/01/news/local/obama0301.txt

I bring up the $5 thing (bias note: To date Obama has my vote) because the RW is starting to bandy it about, which one could find odd since they say pretty much the same thing all the time about food, etc. This may get legs on blogs as the attacks on Obama heat up (like the whole, Obama's relatives owned slaves...Apparently they are REALLY reaching to find something to bitch about).

Overall though, it does sound poorly worded - but if the worse he does is word something poorly, compared to the killers in the RW, then I don't see how people can bitch much about it (bush lies, the rw blows it off as our troops they 'support' are dying...fuck hannity, rush, et al)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. It's a lot more honest...

For a candidate to ask people for $5.00, then it is for the Repukes to give blowjobs to corporations.

[Nite Owl]

2. I'm not sure I see it

even as poorly worded. Giving something, anything, gives people a vested interest in the campaign as well as hopefully his administration.

[illinoisprogressive]

3. He is trying to raise as much money that is not corporate with strings.

the rw doesn't understand that concept and neither does Hillary. He wants to build a grassroots movement and is trying to get people involved. The more he raises from us the less he is owned by corporate world.
of course it'll be played for the negative.
Hillary's money is all corporate. She is an establishment and owned candidate and to compete and not be owned he has to beg from the average person.

[ngant17]

4. I just sent a check to Obama

I'm on a Dem mailing list, and it was only for $1. I would have sent $5 without him even asking, maybe next time, but at least it covers some of his postage and mailing costs for the campaign.

I've lost my confidence with Hillary since the war vote. She could have voted "no" and it wouldn't have stopped the war, it was overwhelmingly a Repug agenda, but the damage was done and it is hard to fix that now. She still acts like a war-hawk from what I can tell.

When the gov. is willing to spend $1 trillion dollars on a war that we've already lost, and not a dime for health insurance, education, domestic issues, ect., we have a serious problem and I don't want to waste my time supporting candidates who are inconsistent wrt peace and our national priorities.

[DKRC]

8. I'm sending a check too, but also suggested a PayPal link to his webmaster

Takes less than 2 minutes to send off the money and no stamp to buy for those of us that don't have a book lying around handy.

[ngant17]

11. PayPal has a bad reputation

and I would hope that they don't use them, myself.

I would at least recommend a disclaimer before putting PayPal ads on any site:

"AboutPayPal.org is an Anti-PayPal information site where you can find out about PayPal problems, court cases, lawsuits, and dangers to avoid."
http://www.aboutpaypal.org/contact_us/?msgbrd=1&topic=2177

[DKRC]

12. I haven't had any issues with them

and the site linked at the bottom of the testimonials is a competitor of PayPal, Cardservice International, so it's in their interest to run PP down. They're more than happy to help me sign up for their service once I'm convinced by the testimonials to ditch PP.

YMMV, but we're satisfied with the service we've gotten.

[Kurovski]

16. In six years, i've never had a problem with Paypal.

DU uses paypal.

[pitohui]

19. paypal is a terrific company

you can find a so-and-so sucks about every business, paypal is a reputable money transfer company owned by ebay and traded on the stock exchange, and i've done many thousands of dollars of business with them over the years with no problems

5 people in 1998 claim to have a bad experience w. paypal and paypal has a bad reputation?

it's an excellent money market and a great place to get 5 percent interest on your money until you're ready to "ship it"

they've also treated me v. well w. their debit card that i can use to withdraw money cheaply in other currencies around the world, including pounds, euro, and yen, without huge fees

i love paypal

i can and have recommended them to people i love

[ngant17]

20. PayPal is generally okay, but

I've had enough of their weird billing practices that I don't want anything to do with them. I like ebay, OTOH, and it's the feedback system which helps to keep the dishonest sellers out of the business.

I think Yahoo got out of the e-cash market a few years ago, maybe there are just too much ways to hack it.

If people want my money, they will have to wait for the post office to deliver the check or money order. I still do my banking online, but PayPal isn't a bank and it needs to be regulated more.

[area51]

5. "there will be universal health care for every American"

Ah, but what does he mean? Laws to force people to buy expensive, worthless republinazi health insurance (Newt Gingrich's wet dream idea), or single-payer, universal healthcare like the civilized countries have?

[sandnsea]

7. single payer will be mandated like social security

You can't have a system where everybody isn't required to participate and contribute.

[Leopolds Ghost]

9. Mandated private for-profit insurance (Hillary's and Mitt Romney's idea)?

Which is like those insurance brokers who you pay to hook you up with the most expensive contract on the market, because that is what they are being paid to do by the providers. Masscare/forced HMO contract are not single payer they are Fascism at work. Like in Victorian England when you could be forcibly put in a workhouse if you did not have a job. Beneficiary: for-profit providers of the mandated service, who benefit from "competition".

[sandnsea]

10. Universal coverage must be mandated

Whatever we end up with, it won't work any other way. Subsidized insurance will pass. Government regulated single payer won't. It's that simple. It's been 15 years since the last failure. Let's not fuck it up and make people suffer another 15 years.

[Jcrowley]

13. It's a very good point

that area51 brings up. California has recently brought into play this bizarre and intricate "health care for everyone" plan but it has extraordinary complications that come with it.

Until Obama or anyone acknowledges that all of this is hitched to cuts in the military budget there is good reason to be skeptical. And he has stated that he would increase the Pentagon budget in his first year.

Eveyone is already paying through the nose it is just disguised as fees instead of taxes and for what we pay out health care is the least we should get. It's a right.

[sandnsea]

15. If we're too broke to have it

then why do single payer advocates keep beating candidates up over health care. We can't afford any kind of universal health care if the country is bankrupt. So let's just cancel all the govt health care and pay down the debt.

[Jcrowley]

17. You have to look at the core reasons

as to why the treasury is dust.

Virtually all of the US surplus has been sucked into the vortex of Militarism and its infinite tentacles. Look into it. You'll see it's breathtaking and goes way beyond the prepostrous yearly $500 Bill/Year expenditure.

It all comes back to this.

[sandnsea]

6. Poor folks know it's true

and that he isn't asking a homeless person to contribute $5. They might gin up some false outrage amongst the country club set - but there's more po' folks and it's high time somebody started talking to us and reminding us of that simple fact.

[benny05]

14. Another day

Obama's day is tomorrow. I would leave this alone for now.

[blues90]

18. Easy to say

But I ahve heard this before . One thing I cannot handle is promises made without a sure fire plan to actually get this done . What we don;t need are promises based on a campaign rally .