Obama: I know alot of people won't want to acknowledge this....

[zanne]

But he really DOES care about people. Last summer, I was in a round table discussion with him and eight others. After it was over, and all the PRESS had gone away, I was getting up from my chair and he said "Do you have a minute--I'm worried about you". He then went on to suggest different ways I could get discounted or free prescription drugs. We were the only two people in the immediate vicinity. I've posted this before, but nobody replies. I think that some people just don't want to acknowledge it, because this personal experience goes against their opinions of him.

[dailykoff]

1. Thanks that's a wonderful story.

It's a shame he's got to waste his time dealing with the Clinton smear machine because it makes it harder for people to figure out who he really is, which I suppose is the point.

[zanne]

2. Thank you for responding.

This is the third time since September that I've mentioned this on DU, but it never got a comment before today.

[jackson_dem]

3. I recommended the thread and I am no obama lover

[glowing]

4. I think that all these candidates care in a one on one situation..

but money and power have major influence... and its easy to forget about those things when in Washington.. I don't want him bringing everyone to the table.. he needs to walk away.. if he said that, I'd gladly support him.

[cali]

20. Edwards talk is just talk. He'll deal with them if he becomes president

he says now he'll deal with their proxies in Congress. It's actually better to deal with them face to face. You can't ignore the drug companies' input or the insurance companies. It's not remotely realistic.

[stravu9]

31. Edwards has Taken in These Corporations And WON TIME AND AGAIN

Who are YOU to say how things can be done?

[rox63]

5. Thanks for sharing your story

It deserves this K&R.

[ursi]

6. I am on the verge of switching to Obama and its largely because of the

low and immature negativity I've read here and elsewhere.

Thank you for sharing this story.

Peace!

[Djinn]

11. really bad reason to base your vote on

if all the Democrat supporters you met from now till the Presidential election were total tools but you met a bunch of thoughtful and polite Republican supporters would that switch your vote?

It's not American Idol, you're not voting for the nicest person let alone the person with the nicest friends.

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. You said it better than I would have. I would have probably been 'immature".

:evilgrin:

[Nedsdag]

38. The Hillary supporters are like "Mean Girls" in High School.

If you don't like her, they'll shit all over you.

[conservdem]

7. I too want to thank you for sharing this.

I will probably be vote for him. I had been supporting Biden, but that did not work out.

[Ian David]

8. I don't think anyone honestly thinks either Hillary or Obama don't care about people. n.t

[AndyA]

9. How is he going to bring real change to you, or to me, when he owes

the same big corporations Bush owed? He's taking huge donations from them. They are going to want something in return for that money.

Barack has compromised himself by taking this money. In order to bring health care or lower prescription drug costs to you or to me, he's going to have to force changes on companies that don't want change, because they're making a fortune.

Follow the money...he says one thing, but does another. He could have been different, but it's too late for that now. He has compromised his ability to bring change by accepting the big bucks.

[dkf]

13. Why do you assume Obama owes anybody more than John Edwards?

Is it because Edwards doesn't have $?

That is so weird. Obama's success in fund raising is a negative, even when his track record is that he cleans up ethics in Government.

I guess by that standard Kucinich is a much better candidate than Edwards.

[AndyA]

15. It's not just that.

It's the media support of Obama, while Edwards is ignored. Why would they choose to ignore one candidate? Edwards does still have strong support across the country.

It's the huge donations that have been given to Obama. There's a huge monetary difference between what Barack and Hillary have raised, and who they took it from, and what John has raised and who he took it from. And people use that difference to make a point that Hillary and Barack are somehow more qualified to be President because they raised more money.

Money is electing Presidents in this country. And who controls the money? Follow the money, look at the facts, look at what's going on and you will see Americans are being force fed our next President.

[dkf]

22. Well then, I guess I shouldn't give Edwards money

I'm sure it would taint him getting some funds from an employee of an evil corporation.

Everyone who works for a corporation should refrain from giving $. That would corrupt him!

Keep John Edwards pure! Don't donate!

[AndyA]

26. Individual donations are fine, it's the big money from powerful corporations

that's bad.

But I think you know that.

[dkf]

28. Corporations can't give $.

I gave $1500 to Howard Dean. My company is ranked in the top 40 companies by Forbes Magazine. I am sure you would consider my company a large powerful one.

If I gave $1500 to anyone I am sure you would consider that significant no?

Or do I need to give the max to be considered "evil".

All I know is that John Edwards tried to raise $7 million yesterday. He wouldn't call my $ evil.

[AndyA]

30. Corporations have ways of getting money where they want it to go.

Which is why we should move to publicly funded campaigns, to remove all the dirty money.

And no, John Edwards did not try to raise $7 million yesterday. It was a grassroots movement of Edwards supporters that was behind the fundraising, and it was not endorsed or sponsored by the campaign.

As for your questions, I believe you know what I meant.

[sam sarrha]

10. there is no doubt he is a good person and has charisma,.. but that is also what others say about W,

Edwards plan is to pay for universal health care by repealing W's tax cut for the Richest 4% and using it to provide health care for the under-classes... the big two.. are just planning to deal with the present system.. their platform is simply the status quo,

[zanne]

12. I wasn't talking about "charisma"....

I was talking about Obama's genuine compassion for other human beings in a one-on-one situation with no witnesses! How many politicians do you think would bother to help somebody out like that without a million pictures of it, or at least an article in the local paper?

[sam sarrha]

16. that is what i said.. i am sure he is a genuinely good person, but i dont think he has the guts to

take on the Status Quo head on... charisma isn't a bad thing, some people are born with it and i admire that.. wish i had it.. but, it wont save the day in a battle between good and evil if that is all you got

[zanne]

19. It's not "all I got".

This is ridiculous. A simple account of a personal experience with Obama gets flamed. Unbelievable. It just proves to me that people who don't support Obama will take any comment about him, turn it around and find something negative to post about. This is nuts.

[sam sarrha]

21. free speach is such a bitch..

[zanne]

23. ...

Again, you're avoiding talking about the OP. Can't you explain exactly what you mean in reference to what I said in the OP?

[cloudythescribbler]

17. The PRESS meowed that W was "likeable" -- he was always a smirking, spoiled, entitled preppie

Likeable? Good God! Think for yourself! It didn't take any time at all for me to see that this preppie who had always been able to enjoy "success" regardless of the degree of his actual failure, who presided over an UNMATCHED number of executions in TX (which has a 'weak' governorship, by the way, hence the ludicrous exaggeration
about his bringing the parties together for change), who didn't even know when asked who the head of state of India was. The press and all the justifiers of the lying all went to town about how that wasn't important and was just playing gotcha, including one op-ed writer who expressed doubt that JFK would know the names of four "obscure" world leaders (Chiang Kai-shek? Nehru? I don't think so).

W Bush was only touted as 'someone you would like to have a beer with' in contrast to Al Gore, who insisted on always speaking as if he were addressing a third grade class.

[zanne]

18. You're ignoring the important part of my post...

Bush et al. touted charisma as a campaign ploy that got alot of publicity. This personal experience only got as much publicity as I could give it. It was a personal exchange, not a public one. THAT'S what makes it different. Do you understand that? It proved to me that he's sincere, as opposed to Bush.

[cloudythescribbler]

35. I don't disagree -- and Obama was a community organizer, not some playboy w/family connexions ...

I am for Obama. I think what you CAN see in the debates is that his answers are thoughtful, and as on the issue of his greatest weakness, have a certain frankness lacking in the others. As a community organizer, NO DOUBT, there are LEGION stories of him helping people out, in specific situations, stories like yours (which I don't mean to minimize).

The notion of W Bush as "likeable" just got my goat: The W Bush I SEE is horrible, and was horrible in 2000. I was dismayed even then with my many colleagues on the left, and mainstreamers like Bill Maher, who said it was a matter of "Bore" and "Gush", tweedledee and tweedledum. The difference between the two was vast, and discernible. Gore spoke incredibly boringly, but was serious and knowledgeable, and I think would have made a BETTER president than Clinton, let alone either of the Bushes. Nader claimed there was no significant difference between the two -- but all too late we can see just how "insignificant" it was.

I am also more positively impressed with Obama, in many ways, than with Gore, though the gap is not a chasm, as with Bush.

[dkf]

25. Yeah stories of W talking to and helping individuals are legion.

You people have got to be joking!

All * does is talk to parents of kids he got killed. What other stories have we heard about him helping out random members of the general public?

[dkf]

14. Thank you Zanne.

It is good to know that Obama really is as good a person as he appears to be.

[SoxFan]

24. Kick!

Keep speaking the truth, neighbor!

[bunkerbuster1]

29. Thanks, but...

"There's always a big 'but'." --Pee-Wee Herman

I appreciate the story. I never really doubted that Barak is a decent guy.

Thing is, I don't doubt that Hillary or John or Dennis are decent people too. And frankly (please don't write me up for saying this, 'k folks?), I suspect that a several guys running over on the GOP side might not be averse to take a few minutes out of their busy schedules to do something fairly selfless, now and again.

These are people, not monsters. Some of them do a lot of douchebaggy things, some more disgusting than others. I'm glad you posted this to remind us that at the end of the day, while policy decisions can have either wonderful or horrible effects, the people making them are just people.

[gregjones]

32. Obama's one of a kind

Thanks for sharing your experience. How many other candidates
would care that much.

[stravu9]

33. I Do Things Like That EVERYDAY!

Do you think I SHOULD RUN FRO PRESIDENT?

[usregimechange]

34. Thank you for posting this... k/r

[Martin Eden]

36. Then he has something in common ...

... with the other Democratic candidates.

[AGirl]

37. thats nice of him. Obama really does sound like a great guy.

:)

[EffieBlack]

39. What a lovely story!

[Bluerthanblue]

40. your experience doesn't

go against my opinion of him.

And I'm glad to rec. this post-
Sorry I didn't read your other attempts to voice this.


thanks Zanne!!

:hi:

[Avalux]

41. Thank you zanne.

I get that he DOES care, he gives off that vibe. I see nothing phony or calculated in him (although part probably is) as I do Hillary. He didn't need to talk to you but he did. I hope the advice he gave you made a difference. :hi: