Family Matters

After eight years of supposed leadership from someone almost completely devoid of emotional intelligence
I’m not sure that Bush lacks emotional intelligence as much as he doesn’t really care. Maybe what he’s got is emotional shrewdness because he certainly knows how to manipulate people’s feelings. We turned to him after the trauma of September 11th, and he used the opportunity to launch unnecessary wars.
I look to Obama to be emotionally engaged in a way that would never occur to Bush or to the lizards around him. And what a crew they were! Cold-blooded creatures like Cheney and Rumsfeld and Gonzalez, all of them lacking in human sympathy. McCain isn’t entirely like them, because he craves admiration. I’m not sure where Sarah Palin fits in here. I’d hate to think that a mother with children would test positive on the Cheney scale of reptilian affect.

My thoughts are with Barack at this diffcult time. I completely understand stopping your life in order to be with a gravely ill relative. Being human comes first and I support him even more than I did before for being a caring human being. And if McCain/Palin keep ripping into him while he’s at his grandmother’s side, well…that would be truly, TRULY disgusting.

McCain will be attacking Barack on Biden’s comments that Barack if elected will be tested militarily. Biden is wrong on this issue because we live in a different world today than the cold-war mentality Biden grew up in. Leaders around the World are waiting for Barack Obama to become President as they know him to be a fair and just man. Ready to talk through problems than to bomb, bomb Iran!
There will be crisises but they are world crises such as the economic crisis we face today, which is a world crisis and countries around the world will have to work together to address this issue. They will not be thinking about fighting but on how to turn their respective economy around and they know that it will take a combined commitment of countries to get this situation under control, along with other challenging problems like climate change and energy. World leaders realize that only by working together with unity and inclusiveness will the world problems be solved. It is no longer an individual problem or isolated. These are world problems met by countries united and not divided.
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The Russian mission to the UN in New York says it has turned down a request from John McCain to help fund his presidential campaign.
Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin and others received standard mail-outs asking them to help “stop the Democrats from seizing control of Washington”.
(More Republican Hypocrisy!)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7681168.stm

I have linked to this and to a great photo I never saw before at Andrew Sullivan’s. I recommend it. As to Bush’s intelligence, I believe Bush is substantially mired in chip on the shoulder resentment which expresses itself in mildly cruel and thoughtless denigration of his peers. I doubt that he examines himself to evaluate his intelligence.

Barack isn’t suspending his campaign, but just taking a day and a half off from it, while it continues on. McCain would be wise to do some preemptive renouncing of idiots already slamming Obama about this, though.

the point that seems to be profoundly missed here is that this woman (his grandmother) played a HUGE role in barack obama’s upbringing. in that sense, she was more than a “grandmother” and much more than “an ailing relative”. mrs. dunham was a mother to him. read “dreams from my father”. despite the title–it is a testimony of barack obama’s love for his grandparents.

Bush and McCain are both influenced by successful forebears. Both Republican descendants are driven to outshine the shadow of shining male relatives. To do so, war becomes a means for personal glory, with a president seeking redemptive limelight. This projection fails our American needs for true and steady leadership, and priorities that serve us.
Obama is different. He has already chased down his family demons, as an author. No wonder he is so steady and calm — his axes don’t need grinding. Americans, we can hope, will make good use of Obama’s leadership and his guiding legacy of connecting differences.
As Obama visits Hawaii, lets practice the art of getting along.

Very nice – A skinny, barefoot guy with sunglasses & a hat – that could be just Everyman

Very nice – A skinny, barefoot guy with sunglasses & a hat – that could be just Everyman

“I don’t expect the McCain campaign to exhibit any deference at all to Obama for his timeout, at this critical juncture, to be with his ailing grandmother.”
Just like economic emergecies, familiy emergencies can occur while the president is in office as well. I don’t see any reason that McCain should, or should be expected to suspend his campaign because Obama is dealing with a family issue. Of course, it’s good form, especially considering the negative image that McCain is currently dealing with, to express sympathy, but that’s really all that courtesy expects.
“And if McCain/Palin keep ripping into him while he’s at his grandmother’s side, well…that would be truly, TRULY disgusting.”
Would you expect an hurricane to pause, or a foreign power to cease hostilities because the US President has a family emergency? It’s an admittedly high standard, but I want the best man (or woman) for the job in office.

“Would you expect an hurricane to pause, or a foreign power to cease hostilities because the US President has a family emergency? It’s an admittedly high standard, but I want the best man (or woman) for the job in office.”
We all do. That’s where Obama’s intelligence, emotional maturity, intellectual curiosity, and organizational abilities come into play.
I’ve had enough of Vulcans for one lifetime.

This looks like a picture that could have been taken decades ago when Obama was a much younger man. I was surprised to learn it was so recent.
There’s something so elemental, and human, about seeing him barefoot. I can’t imagine McCain in an even remotely similar situation.

Very poignant pic. Thanks for a glimpse into the man behind the candidate. I would guess that everyone can relate to the personal thoughts that are implied in the image. It is this relatability that is helping Obama reach people who might have not been initially inclined to consider voting for him.

Having spent some time on the Islands and knowing the Hawaiians’ attachment to their land, this image resonates very strongly for me. It says, Humility. Period. This image, to me, illustrates respect to the forces beyond our comprehension and control. Yes, I love you Barack, don’t go wobbly on us. We. Need. You. Serve us well?
Mahalo.

Who’s that teenager tossing something into the surf? They’re so skinny when they’re that young! Makes ya jealous, wishing for those days in your own life.
Barack Obama? You’re kidding. No. Really? THAT’S Obama???? Are you sure?
Well, OK, but how long ago, when he was in high school? No? Last summer? No, you can’t be serious. Are you sure?
Boy, he’s in good shape. Coulda fooled me. Looks like an ordinary Joe, like just another kid, like he’s gonna get his surfboard and jump in as soon as he’s pitched that thing over the edge.
Maybe he did .
Nice to see him performing such a caring ritual with such complete absence of pomp, just standing there by himself with his thoughts and his mom’s spirit.

Well…if the McCain campaign tries to criticize Obama over his ailing-grandmother trip during a campaign….Obama could say: “It’s about Family Values, John.” Or: “It’s called Family Values, John”. I don’t know if Obama WOULD say that, but he COULD say it. Zingers appear to be not his style, but this one would be a zing just waiting to be zung,
if McCain creates the opening.

i posted in comments one of the series of these photos of barack paying homage, that was featured on wapo, around the time after he came barack from hawaii. one that had a spray of water towering over him. i asked you to comment on it. wapo print edition had a large display of the photo while the online edition held a tiny sample, whittling down it’s emotional impact. guess you didn’t see it or deemed it not worthy of comment.

hey, found it:
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2008/08/biden-3.html#comments

We Americans have become a nation of excess, and so many of us reflect this in our chunky body types. In this photo I see a man whose body reflects his temperament – moderation. His comfort with himself and the environment is a plus. I’ll truly grieve if he loses, but cry for joy if he wins.