Obama on Rolling Stone

When I saw the new Rolling Stone cover, I picked it up with both hands and shook it in the air. "That's right!" I was yelling. My family members possibly think I'm crazy.

In the past six months, this is the second time Obama has appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with a feature article on his campaign. To me, this issue was more interesting because we finally get to hear from the man himself. The interviewer got 50 solid minutes with him, and his responses are revealing and encouraging to hear.

Just from reading Obama's responses, I can tell that he has put much thought into his direction, and his ideas come from the American people. He listens to us and responds. He is very clear and wise in how he speaks--he is very careful at wording himself so the appropriate message comes across. I am just impressed with how he speaks and what he thinks--I am in full support.

I want to post some of his responses here which I think are important for anyone who calls himself/herself an Obama supporter, or just anyone in America in general:

QUESTION: Is there a marker you would lay down at the end of your first term where you say, "If this has happened or not happened, I would consider it a negative mark on my governance?"

OBAMA: "If I haven't gotten combat troops out of Iraq, passed universal health care and created a new energy policy that speaks to our dependence on foreign oil and deals seriously with global warming, then we've missed the boat. Those are three big jobs, so it's going to require a lot of attention and imagination, and it's going to require the American people feeling inspired enough that they're prepared to take on these big challenges."

QUESTION: On global warming:

OBAMA: "Every scientist that is serious about looking at this question will tell you that, at a minimum, we've got to reduce carbon emissions by about 80%..."

"Here's my point: Whenever you transition to a new technology, or a new way of thinking about structuring our economy, the old is going to resist the new. The key is to make the new profitable, job-generating, and appealing enough that more and more people embrace the new and let go of the old. That's where government can play a role. If we institute a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, that's going to generate billions of dollars. Now, that's also going to mean higher electricity prices for consumers, so a huge chunk of that has to go back to consumers in the form of rebates, so they don't feel the pinch as badly. That's the number one."

"Point number two is we'll put $15 billion a year into alternative energy. We want to give encouragement to exisiting utilities, existing energy companies, to invest in solar and wind and biodeisel..."



QUESTION: What is the difference between [interracial marriage] and the current bans on gay marriage?

OBAMA: "Well, I'm always careful not to draw easy equivalents between groups, because then you start getting into a contest about victimization or who has been discriminated against more. What I'll say is that I'm a strong believer in civil unions that would provide all the federal rights under federal law that a marriage contract would provide to people. I think that the country is still working through the idea of same-sex marriage and its entanglement, historically, with religious beliefs.

My sense is that a consensus has already been established itself that when it comes to hospital visitation, the ability to pass on benefits like Social Security, that people shouldn't be discriminated against, everyone should be treated equally. I think that's the starting point--the consensus is what will grow over time."

Otherwise, Obama has great things (positive and supporting) to say about pop culture, the youth, and music. The beginning of the interview deals a lot with asking Obama on his iPod selection and music choices. Here are his favorites: "Maggie's Farm" by Bob Dylan, "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and "Gimme Shelter," Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Jay-Z, Sheyl Crow, Howlin' Wolf, and Yo-Yo Mama. He notes books that inspired him as well: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Shakespearean tragedies, and Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.

So what do you think of these comments or ideas? Anything to note?