Taking a look at some well publicized Barack Obama quotes: politic-speak or substance?
The 2008 Presidential election is now behind us and the new U.S. President-elect, Barack Obama will be running the show. After two years of speeches and campaigning, everyone has got to be happy to see it all end. Politicians seem to have a language all their own, filled with rousing phrases and rallying cries. Here we take a look at a sampling of Barack Obama quotes and see how well he fares when compared with his competitors. Some are funny, some are definitive statements of policy and many others remain to be confirmed.
Here’s one Barack Obama quote that made me laugh. “What Washington needs is adult supervision.” I can agree with that sentiment 100%! Hopefully, with Obama at the helm, he will be able to pull it off. He’ll surely need lots of help!
“My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.” This is a ‘duh’ in my book. After all, that’s what we’ve been led to believe is the program.
Our next Barack Obama quote follows closely in line with the previous remark. “If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost.” However, perhaps it was necessary to specify this obvious truth, particularly when you consider the bank and auto maker debacles, still unresolved and to the people’s detriment.
Obama seems to be an articulate, intelligent man. I can only hope he was very tired when he made this statement. While Sarah Palin might have made such a remark (she does believe that Africa is a country), I’m willing to believe Obama had a momentary lapse. “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”
“Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.” In light of the fact that Obama managed to raise humongous sums of money from the ordinary Joe and Jane, this Barack Obama quote might be taken with a grain of salt. Alternatively, as a standalone comment, we might hope he applies that thought to our economy!
“We’ve gotta restore the American people’s confidence in the ethics process by ensuring that political self-interest can no longer prevent politicians from enforcing ethics rules.” This Barack Obama quote has the interesting double negative which some may find confusing, i.e., ‘can no longer prevent politicians from enforcing…’. OK, I think I can buy this, on the basis of better ethical standards being the message.
The following Barack Obama quote is an obvious stab at the Bush ‘doctrine’ which probably hit home with a lot of folks. Probably was significantly helpful in winning the election. He doesn’t mince words here. “I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars. What I am opposed to is a rash war.”
Last in our sampling of Barack Obama quotes is one of my personal favorites. Certainly not the most substantive, but it does prove he’s a regular guy. “Why can’t I just eat my waffle?”
Along with the rest of the world, I certainly hope this well educated and intelligent man is going to help turn around the many problems we face, big-time and quickly!