Last time Sam Adams and Obama were in the same city, Sam rushed home to grab the media spotlight. I wonder what is up his sleeve now ...

I still think it's cool having a President who acknowledges someone at the rally by saying so-and-so "is in the house."

As a campaigner, he's the ultimate rock star. Especially next to guys like Wyden and Wu, who resemble fabric softener dryer sheets by comparison.

Yeah. He's a great motivational speaker. But thats all he is. A great motivational speaker. Soooo glad he's running the country.

Instead of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Something old. Something new.

Kitzhaber must be scared.

Kitzhaber is shaking in his boots.

But Jack, he did give props to the Ducks. That must have gotten under your skin! :)

shaking in his boots

Assuming Kitzhaber cares. Sometimes I think he's only in it to meet ecologically conscious women to release his second chakra.

As for the Ducks, I note that he split his ticket with the Beavers.

Jack - your boy from NJ is gaining attention as a motivational speaker too. Could be interesting.

Obama the orator... If he was as good at running the Country as he is reading the teleprompter..... At least the Country will soon be back on the Right track after 11/2/10.....

My favorite part was Chris Dudley's rebuttal right after the President's speech.

Oh, wait, Dudley "wasn't available" for a rebuttal on any of the stations. I guess his handlers don't want him talking about taking tips from poor people again.

Seriously, how can anyone vote for a guy that ducks every opportunity (save one) to debate the issues? Chris Dudley has no business running for Govenor.

Chris Dudley has no business running for Govenor.

I'm sure he'll withdraw given your well-reasoned analysis.

I'm sure glad John McCain and Sarah Palin aren't running this country.

I wonder if that implies that you're "sure glad" this guy is?

I wonders. yes I does...

Nice woodwork, Jack. I had no idea it was full of troglodytes, though.

Not much on Oregon specifics, but sure to energize the Democratic faithful.

I know some have compared him to Jesus, but I doubt even the "second coming" will be able to perform that miracle.

False hope springs eternal when you're so heavily invested, I guess.

Sigh...

Will the attempted charisma transplant work?

Oh, Allan...

...spare us.

Recycling governors keeps Oregon green.

I hope Kitz put on a clean pair of jeans to meet the president.

I still think it's cool having a President who acknowledges someone at the rally by saying so-and-so "is in the house."

You still think that, Bill?

Well, that's deep and cool.

If only that sort of coolness were all it took to be qualified to be President, we'd all be as mesmerized as 60's teens at a Beatles concert.

Glad someone's entertained.

I'm now issuing a CSO notice for the comments section on this post.

.spare us

Wouldn't it be nice to be spared? Unfortunately, the people who sent this country into a death spiral ("drove the family station wagon into a ditch," as was often said at the time) and now deride and thwart the efforts of our elected government to put things right again, seem to be determined to see to it that no one will be spared.

Really Jack.....do you really think that the country would be this pissed off or as divided as they are now if McCain had been elected?

I'm sorry. As "nice" as a guy that Obama comes off as he has been a horrible president. Name one thing that he has excelled in?

1. The economy?

2. Spending?

3. The war? (and war spending)

4. The border? (he goes after AZ. not the illegals)

5. Foreign affairs? (example; Iran)

6. Race relations?

7. Reaching out to "average" americans, not just the elite and the people who think just like him?

8. The trade inbalance?

Do you want me to go on????

It's all a moot point anyway -- Kitz is running for gov in Washington, apparently:

http://utterlyboring.com/archives/2010/10/20/apparently_john.php

Kitzhaber and the jeans. Total lack of class.

Bah, those were his dress jeans doncha know.

he has been a horrible president

Compared to the Chimp, he's Abraham Lincoln. And by now McCain would have us in a permanent depression and a nuclear war. Plus, he'd probably have a heart attack, and then the truly unspeakable would occur.

Did anyone else think it was curious that Mayor Adams was not seen anywhere? Both Senators and both Congressmen who represent the city of Portland were present, but not the mayor? If no one wants to be seen with him, why is he still the mayor? No one wants to be seen with him, nor do they want to sign the recall petition. So, we're stuck with an insignificant mayor who is a persona non grata when the big wigs come to town.

There were quite a few face cards who weren't introduced but were probably in the crowd somewhere. It was interesting that Obama did introduce Kate Brown and John Kroger, in that order.

CSO notice for comments on this thread... priceless....

If the Manchurian Candidate had been elected this country would be every bit as divided. The back room boys have decided that plunging politics into deep polarities is the way to fly. So the right and the left are set up to disdain anyone from either side and to quote W.B. Yeats

"Things fall apart, the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."

That is a good summation of where we find ourselves in America in Oct. 2010

LucasAdvo - some of us (like me) do believe that the Manchurian Candidate WAS elected.

As for his 'inspirational' speech, not to my ears. It was just another fine reading from the teleprompter. I've never been impressed with his lack being able to speak 'from-the-shoulder'. To me his inability to do that tells me that he is lacking in his understanding of issues and positions.

Didn't like this man before he was elected and everything he has done since being elected has decreased his standing in my eyes.

"Sometimes I think he's only in it to meet ecologically conscious women to release his second chakra."

Makes me feel real good about the future of Oregon if these two are our choice.

BTW - I don't disagree with your insightful analysis of Kitz. The whole jeans-n-jacket set should be put out ot pasture in a subdvision in Bend where they can lament the collapse of their estates.

Actually, I think the idea is not to have politicians running the country. It should be the people instead. Both political parties have sent the country down the drain. Now we have the most partisan President of my lifetime. Nothing good is going to come out of it.

You'd think our Western Icon could have donned a proper suit just this once.

Lucs Advo,

thanks for the poetry and the sober analysis.

I am just devastated by the fact that the only thing between us and Sarah Palin is this craven patch of jelly, Obama.

Juan Williams got fired yesterday, for saying people wearing Muslim garb on aircraft make him nervous....um, echoing the sentiments of most people with a brain in their head who fly on commercial aircraft. But say it? Oh no, we can't say anything like that because the truth is ugly and makes certain people feel bad.

The fact that Obama is the poster child for this kind of creeping totalitarianism makes me feel utterly ill.

Mr Tee, it's heartwarming to see your elevated respect for Obama, with such sensitivity that you care deeply about the fabric of the pants of those in his company. And all this time I thought you were self absorbed.

Obama and I agree on nearly nothing. The things I agree with the Democrats on (such as ending the wars and legalizing Marijuana) it seems Obama does not agree with. This is exactly how I felt with Bush as well. No matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, this guy isn't 'for' any of you anymore than Bush was.

I'm happy Obama beat McCain. I believe it had to happen in order for the regular people on both sides of the aisle to really wake up and realize how similar both parties are, de facto, and therefore how stupid partisan politics really are. Watching the videos of anti-war protesters side by side with Tea Party activists yesterday made me very happy, they have a lot more in common than they think (mostly due to the media, in my opinion).

Really Jack.....do you really think that the country would be this pissed off or as divided as they are now if McCain had been elected?

I'm sorry. As "nice" as a guy that Obama comes off as he has been a horrible president. Name one thing that he has excelled in?

1. The economy?

2. Spending?

3. The war? (and war spending)

4. The border? (he goes after AZ. not the illegals)

5. Foreign affairs? (example; Iran)

6. Race relations?

7. Reaching out to "average" americans, not just the elite and the people who think just like him?

8. The trade inbalance?

Do you want me to go on????

A perfect post!

I didn't vote for Obama, but he is still the President. The office deserves respect, as does his achievement. Despite believing he's in way over his head, I would never call him a chimp, a puppet, or worse. He deserves better, as did Bush II.

No shout out by President Obama for Schrader or DeFazio? Noticeably absent.

Under the bus?

Joey Link -

Obama didn't beat McCain.

Bush beat McCain.

Obama can't campaign anywhere but Chicago, Boston, Portland and Seattle. I travel quite a bit for work and Obama is radioactive in the rest of the country. Democratic candidates are running away from him and his policies as fast as they can. Apparently in Oregon he still is a rock star. Great.

I just don't see it, he is a total failure. He panders to the same interests as Bush. The war machine and the banksters are doing just as well under this guy as they were under the Republicans. The only difference is the govt is taking over what little remains of our economy. Things are not so good out there.

Obama can't campaign anywhere but Chicago, Boston, Portland and Seattle.

True! By which I mean, true if you ignore recent campaign stops in Miami, Madison, Newark, Philadelphia, Des Moines, Richmond, Albuquerque, Cleveland, New York and Connecticut, as well as his appearances later this week in San Francisco and Los Angeles....

Obama is radioactive in the rest of the country.

And yet his approval ratings (46% approve, 49% disapprove according to the latest average of multiple polls) are virtually the same as Reagan's at the same time in his presidency. Was Reagan radioactive? And although W.'s approval ratings benefited from 9/11, he was in a steady death slide from that point on.

The hyperbole here is absurd. Obama is not popular right now, but he's not radioactive either. In fact, a dominant theme in his approval ratings is the disappoinment of LIBERALS who aren't happy with the war or the lack of a single payer health care plan.

Obama is going to win reelection handily. But he may have to negotiate with a fully Republican Congress in his second term.

Across 100 trials:
Chance of Kitzhaber win 66.6%
Chance of Dudley win 33.3%

Seems a lot of this blog's audience is suffering from the very amnesia the President spoke of last night. The economic catastrophe really is Bush's fault, and things would indeed be much, much worse if McCain had somehow been elected. Obama got one war off the books with one to go. Considering all the help he got from the Senate, he has done pretty well.
Energized? Not really the word for me, but I was inspired to hold my nose and vote for Wu just to help Obama out in the House.

1. The economy?

Sucks. How much worse would it have been without the stimulus? Most economists say > 12% unemployment.

2. Spending?

You do realize that TARP has made money, right? That all bailouts except AIG have returned a profit? That health care reform is projected by the non-partisan CBO to turn a profit for the government in ten years? Don't believe Rush's talking points.

3. The war? (and war spending)

And you wanted him to do precisely what there? He was handed a bad situation, we are now ending the time in Iraq and winding down Afghanistan.

4. The border? (he goes after AZ. not the illegals)

AZ violated federal law. Tell me which party you think has shown courage on this issue?

5. Foreign affairs? (example; Iran)

The previous president essentially destroyed American credibility and inflamed anti American sentiment worldwide. Iran? What would you have him do? Go to war? Bomb them? What specifically has he done wrong?

6. Race relations?

Are much improved under Obama. What specifically has he done poorly?

7. Reaching out to "average" americans, not just the elite and the people who think just like him?

Agreed. He has been distant and detached.

8. The trade inbalance?

http://www.icmarc.org/xp/rc/marketview/chart/2004/20041126ustradebalance.html That is the trade balance over the last two decades. This is not an Obama issue it's a national issue of Americans being unwilling to live within their means.