Tune up the violins.

Buy Danish on March 3, 2008 at 6:04 PM

Did Obama really turn down a job on Wall Street, or is it just a myth based on speculation from people like Lawrence Tribe?

One of those people is Laurence Tribe, professor of law at Harvard Law School. Tribe has known Obama since his days as a student at Harvard and is scheduled to appear in an Obama campaign ad praising the young senator’s commitment to helping those in need.

“It was inspiring, absolutely inspiring to see someone as brilliant as Barack Obama, as successful, someone who could have written his ticket on Wall Street, take all of the talent and all of the learning and decide to devote it to the community and to make people’s lives better,” Tribe says in the ad, according to the New York Times.

Buy Danish on March 3, 2008 at 6:10 PM

What qualifications does Barack Obama have to work on Wall Street?:

Before Mr. Obama enrolled at Harvard, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 1983 and worked as a community organizer for a church-based group in Chicago. After earning his law degree, in 1991, he returned to Chicago, where he practiced civil-rights law before winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate, serving for eight years. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

Check this out too, from the candidate who pretends to offers hope for all Americans:

William R. Harvey, president of Hampton University, a private, historically black institution, is among Mr. Obama’s top donors from academe. He and his wife, Norma, have given $4,600 to the senator’s presidential campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Mr. Harvey, who held a fund-raising lunch at his home for Mr. Obama this summer, likes the senator’s policy stances, especially his support for more money for science, engineering, and technology programs at historically black colleges, for federal research, and for improving teacher training.

Obama sure seems to be dumping on his mother’s side of the family.

Buy Danish on March 3, 2008 at 6:18 PM

why did it take 19 rounds of balloting before he was chosen as the compromise candidate?
AZCoyote on March 3, 2008 at 8:04 PM

Good question! I’m also not so sure that Ward Connerly spoke as highly of him for admitting that his daughters were “advantaged” as much as this story would indicated. Recognizing “nuance” is faint praise.

Buy Danish on March 3, 2008 at 8:21 PM

Jaibones on March 3, 2008 at 11:57 PM

Jaibones on March 3, 2008 at 11:59 PM

Here are Connerly’s own words:

For example, in all three of the campaigns that we have conducted to date — California, Washington, and Michigan — Bill Clinton and Colin Powell strongly urged a “No” vote. In Michigan, Senator Barack Obama demonstrated that, while he may be a “fresh face” on the political scene, he embraces the same old stale ideas as other Democrats when it comes to race preferences. Not only did he oppose MCRI, he even cut a radio ad claiming that “the playing field” is not level for women and “minorities.”

On another topic, there was also this item in the Hebel story:

On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama last week announced a broad plan that he said would help working families “reclaim the American dream.” One way to do so, he said, is to make it easier for them to attend college. He proposed creating a tax credit, worth up to $4,000 per year, for tuition. The credit would be refundable, so people would benefit even if their incomes were too low for them to owe taxes.

In other words, he proposed a $4,000 giveaway for the 50% of the population who pay little or no taxes, while the other 50% who pay 97% of all taxes would now be asked to pay a huge amount more – while they are told that their children move to the bottom of the college admissions line, particularly if they happen to be white males.

Buy Danish on March 4, 2008 at 8:27 AM