Obama Youth
 

So I’ve heard some criticism about the involvement of youth participating in the presidential campaign. I’ve always been of the mind set that anything that gets kids interested in the political process was/is a good thing. Now normally I wouldn’t post something like this but since it has such obvious GLO references I was hoping we could have some discussion about it. Sorry if it has already been posted.

Obama Youth - Junior Fraternity Regiment

"Because of Obama I am inspired to be the next community organizer, ha, whatever that is."

-a la Rudy Guiliani at the RNC.

Sadly, this wasn't just an attack on Obama. It was an attack on community organizers and human services professionals nationwide.

I still don't see how basically stating that working as a community organizer does not serve as preparation to be president of the United States is an attack on ALL organizers or human services personnel. It may well be that a good case can be made that it IS - but my point is that when I heard it, I certainly didn't think all organizers were being discussed. I was pretty sure it was meant to be a statement about Obama, in the big "I'm more prepared than you are!" contest going on at the time. Did I miss something? I'll admit I didn't give it more than a passing thought.

Did you hear when Palin said that when was a member of the PTA it was sort of like being a community organizer, with the exception being that she had actual responsibilities? I don't know how that could be considered anything less than a slam on all community organizers.

So you stopped reading after "next community organizer"?

"Because of [whoever] I am inspired to be the next neurosurgeon, ha, whatever that is."

No, I heard her say that she was Mayor, which was sort of like being a community organizer. . . Will try to hunt up the transcript - I heard it on NPR, and it wasn't PTA, I'm pretty sure.

eta - here you go. Still looking for the insult to the general group. Let me know where it is in the speech, jeni.eta - AH - you are talking Rudy - I'm talking Palin. Sorry. I hate Rudy, so there you go. He's an ass, and I didn't listen to his speech.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.

And for the record, I'm not a Palin fan. I'm just sick of BOTH candidates having their words twisted, misquoted, and the other side heaping scorn on them for things that didn't even happen. The whisper campaigns get on my last nerve, too.

Huh? The quote was already posted in this thread.

I fixed my post - I had gone on to thetadancer's Palin quote, and you were discussing Rudy, who is, as I mentioned, an ass. Cracker Barrel's "a la" threw me. Yes, he insulted the larger group, but hey, it's Rudy. I'm not the only one who skipped his speech, luckily. Most of the discussion of the insults I've heard has focused on Palin, naturally enough, since she's the vp candidate.

And back to the youth involvement question - I was a College Republican back in the day, and we had a Mission:Possible event - we met at 4 in the morning, listened to a Mission:Impossible type tape, and went on a massive get out the vote drive. Fun times.

Palin also insinuated that a community organizer doesn't have "actual responsibilities." Probably not the best thing to do when your campaign is trying to appeal American workers, some of whom are community organizers.

Both campaigns have said some things that pissed me off. This was one of those things. I'm also disappointed that McCain thinks the most critical areas of federal spending are veterans and war. :(

The weirdest part of the Obama Youth video is that it became a news story.

Honest question - what is the definition of a community organizer? Is it more of an informal grouping ( one in which you get to define what it means to be one - and they are all independent of one another), or do they have an umbrella group to which you can belong if you are one? And how many are there?

One definition:

Source: http://www.marininstitute.org/action...munity_org.htm

Community Organizers fall under NAICS code 21-1099 "Community and social service specialists, all other." As of 2006, there were approximately 109,970 employees in this category.

Source:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ioindex/soc_21.html
http://www.bls.gov/OES/current/oes211099.htm

ETA: Certifying agencies for Community Organizers are still being developed but there are some out there. The Southeastern Association of Community Action Agencies does certify Community Organizers.

I agree with the first comment on the youtube page. How could anyone compare this group to Hitler's Youth Group??...hmmm..lemme guess, some crazy conservatives trying to claim Obama hates Jews? Come on! These boys are saying really positive things, whether you agree with Obama or not!

Thoes ralling against this group should take some time to rally against the ever-growing local kkk youth corps in your area...

It's an ill wind that blows no good - maybe now community organizers will get more attention, since so many people now have HEARD of them, and maybe this will lead to a better understanding and appreciation for what they do. Maybe?