BARACK OBAMA

Russert is doing his damndest to get Barack Obama to fall into the usual Demo pit... eating their own. In other words, he is trying his best to get Obama to criticize Democrats and the Democratic party in general. He's also just trying to trip him up any which way he can.

So far, and overall, Obama is doing a truly masterful job of deflecting and redirecting the conversation. Go Obama!

I swear I'd vote for him for President if he wasn't a teenager. Clinton/Obama, I just might go for.

BUDPAUL THOUGHTS - Just my two cents, but I've got a couple of problems with Barack and the possibility that he's going to run in '08. First, he's been in the Senate less than two years at this point and I do not believe that he is seasoned enough for the job at this point. Plus, look at the committees he's currently serving on - Environment and Public Works, Veterans' Affairs and Foreign Relations - not exactly a strong resume at this point. 2012? Better.
Another thing that chaps my ass about him is his ultra-close relationship with on Joe Lieberman. I know that Barack is more of a "DLC" Dem then "Netroot" Dem, and I will refrain from passing judgment on which is "better" at this point, but anyone with as close a relationship with Lieberman as Barak has given what Joe's done to and said about the Dems over the years certainly warrants closer scrutiny in my book.
BLUEKAT'S THOUGHTS: We are different people with different viewpoints, which should make this site even more interesting, I hope. I agree that Obama does not have a great deal of experience in Congress but I don't see that as a negative factor. If anything, I see any experience in Congress as a negative factor for anyone running for President, and to a lesser degree, Vice President. There hasn't been a member of Congress elected President since Kennedy. Congress (both parties) has an approval rating of 16%. Neither factor is encouraging. He is very compelling, but does need more scrutiny. Still, he's not seasoned enough for #1, possibly viable for #2, as I see it.
As for Lieberman, I don't think that he should be running as an independent. I disagree with the way he has conducted himself during the Bush administration. I also disagree with the way he was eviscerated by his party. Democrats eat their own. Since the Johnson administration, Democrats have tended to criticize one another more than their opponents. It is our greatest failing that we cannot come together as a party and recognize that there is room for far left liberals, liberals, moderates and centrists. I think, on whole, the far left liberals have nearly co-opted the liberal blogosphere and are attempting to do so party-wide, which will be disastrous for anyone running a national campaign. I find what they are attempting to do to Rahm Emanuel laughable, when he is working so hard to elect Democrats that he has lost 14 pounds and hardly finds time to gulp a sandwich. This, while I envision his attackers sitting on their asses like me, smoking, drinking and eating and typing, like me. As for me, I refuse to be categorized, except as a Democrat. Depending on the issues, I might be far right to centrist. The Democratic Party needs to be The Real Big Tent, if for no other reason, so that we can all get our bleary-eyed, fat ass carcasses inside. Perhaps here, we can help show how to pitch that tent, eh?