Obama: No warrantless wiretaps if you elect me
Sen. Barack Obama slams President Bush's warrantless wiretap program at Dartmouth College in his last public appearance before the polls close here in New Hampshire.
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/News.com )HANOVER, N.H.--Barack Obama may be leading the Democratic presidential pack in every major poll here, but that didn't dissuade the Illinois senator from a final early-morning rally with the Facebook generation.
Clearly not content to leave their votes to the whims of online politicking, the Illinois senator stepped onto a stage fashioned in a Dartmouth College gymnasium, pulled an index card from his inside jacket pocket, and launched into a familiar set of talking points centered on what has become a familiar theme for his campaign: change and hope.
"My job this morning is to be so persuasive...that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Barack," he told a crowd of about 300 Ivy Leaguers--and, by the looks of it, a handful of locals who managed to gain access to what was supposed to be a students-only event.
For one thing, under an Obama presidency, Americans will be able to leave behind the era of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and "wiretaps without warrants," he said. (He was referring to the lingering legal fallout over reports that the National Security Agency scooped up Americans' phone and Internet activities without court orders, ostensibly to monitor terrorist plots, in the years after the September 11 attacks.)
It's hardly a new stance for Obama, who has made similar statements in previous campaign speeches, but mention of the issue in a stump speech, alongside more frequently discussed topics like Iraq and education, may give some clue to his priorities.
In our own Technology Voters' Guide, when asked whether he supports shielding telecommunications and Internet companies from lawsuits accusing them of illegal spying, Obama gave us a one-word response: "No."
(Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards and Republican Ron Paul, for their part, came to the same conclusion in our survey.)
Barack Obama's audience at Dartmouth College was receptive but, compared to other political events in the state in the last week, relatively small.
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/News.com )At the event, which was interrupted for about 10 minutes when a woman in the audience felt faint and was carried out on a stretcher, Obama also spent a few moments on another cause that's important to most of his competitors, regardless of party affiliation: the need to "break from the tyranny of fossil fuels" and the "addiction to foreign oil" in favor of a "green economy" built on alternative sources like solar, wind and biodiesel.
"We are going to save this planet, and you are going to help us do it because you are going to be voting today," he predicted.
Already 5 to 13 points ahead in the polls, depending on which ones you consult, Obama may not have needed to air the tried-and-true speech yet again. And thanks to springlike temperatures--a stark contrast from last week's subzero blitz--New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner reportedly predicted a record turnout of half a million voters before the polls close at 7 p.m. (and a few at 8 p.m.) EST Tuesday.
of our cherished Constitution. Al Qaeda supports Bush because
Bush allowed 9-11 to happen and has done NOTHING SINCE to
prevent it from happening again.
Someone explain to us why Saddam Hussein is dead, yet OBL is
running around in Pakistan. Try to do it without sounding retarded.
Head for the bunkers people, this isn't going ot be pretty.
You sir are a COWARD. Where has courage gone? In world war 2 houndreds of thousands of people lost their lives for your freedom and here you are throwing what they died for away because you've been scared and tricked by your own government.
In the past people died for your freedom, now your giving up your freedem for a false sense of security... Sad...
"And I'm sure those who were discovered plotting bombings in
the US and the UK prior to this enlightened announcement
would never have even attempted to communicate (which led to
their capture) if they knew a tough guy like B.O. might be
approving warrants for wire tapping here and there." End Quote
First of all, who was plotting bombings and got caught by an
illegal wiretap? I missed that news story. Or did you just make
it up?
Second, approval for legal wiretaps doesn't come from the
President, it comes from a Judge.
Third, no warrant would "appear". Just like now, the terrorists
won't know if their phone is tapped or not.
You call it the blind leading the blind, but in your case it's more
like the ignorant defending the guilty. Get your facts straight,
and come back when you have something to say.
Lampie the Clown
If we want to stop militant Islam from flying aircraft into our buildings, perhaps we should ban freedom of religion and make Islam the official religion of the United States. We could suspend elections and have our new religious leaders select our rulers for us.
I know, lets have our new Theocracy choose our clothing. They can tell us what to eat and when to eat it.
By giving up our freedoms against illegal search and seizure, we are destroying our greatest weapon against tyranny.
the United States.
What you don't understand is that these people running for
office will say just about anything you want to hear, but you'll be
robbed blind once they get into office. It really doesn't matter
who it is, or what party they're in.
Bottom line, America is hosed!
Fire up those cell phones boys! Let's talk!
ATTACKED US ON 9-11!
Osama's getting depressed because his boyfriend GWB is going
to lose power - unless he declares martial law and violates more
of the constitution.
I'm starting to wonder if it's required for someone to be retarded
in order to be admitted to the repukinazicon party.
Let's be honest, short of killing a few people, what can Al-Queda actually do to us? NOTHING!!!!!!
Designated third parties would be able to ban those addresses and identities from their sites.
Because those addresses are free and annonymous, a proposed bill is in the works to force RSOs to register their IP addresses and have third parties monitor the Internet activity associated with those IP addresses.
Obama would be in favor of this because he owes Murdoch; and Murdoch is a piper who likes to get paid.
Yes, Obama may be better than many of the alternatives, but until he starts actually acting on what he says, it's all smoke and mirrors.
- Terrorist inside the us are very happy
- by sexydarin January 11, 2008 4:56 PM PST
- if obumble gets elected.
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