We've been looking for about 6 months. It's been a funny journey, we must have gone inside about 25-30 houses.

We started out in South Buffalo looking at single family homes. I grew up in South Buffalo, so I know the neighborhood is safe, the houses have character, and the people are friendly. I also know the housing prices are reasonable. But when we started looking we realized the prices were higher than I expected. We were looking for a good deal but nothing really got us excited.

Then we had this investment property brainstorm, we wanted to get a double in the Elmwood area, make money off rent, and get something more expensive. So we started looking at doubles around the West Side, and discovered the meaning of "structural problems" and "property taxes". We started going further and further west to try and find something under $100,000 that wasn't falling down. No luck, but we did bump into a friend of mine who had gotten a decent West Side house at the Buffalo tax auction for about $30,000. Sounded like a good plan, but we had to wait a month and a half before the auction. We liked some of the addresses on the auction list, but we couldn't get inside the houses without without breaking the law. One house on Cottage I went to inspect, took about 40 pictures, and the next week it was off the list, I guess the owner paid his taxes.

We slowly got tired of the auction idea, and the high prices on the West Side, so we started looking in South Buffalo again, with a more open mind this time. At first we were looking near Caz Park which is a great neighborhood, but houses up there are around $65 - $75,000, we wanted to see if we could get anything cheaper, and possibly avoid the mortgage thing entirely. We looked at all the houses between $30-$40,000, some were ok, but all of them needed updating. We aren't afraid to get our hands dirty, but we didn't want something that needed updates before we could move in. Then we looked at houses between $40-$55,000....... That's when we found it.

It's in South Buffalo Near Tifft and South Park, All Natural Woodwork that has never been painted, 4 bedroom, full attic and basement, Nice Yard 36' x 140' lot, driveway, garage, 2 fireplaces, 1.5 bathrooms, leaded glass, pocket doors that slide easily, front porch, good Roof, efficient Furnace, and Water heater, dry basement, well insulated. This place is a steal, we got it for $46,000.

We like the location a lot too, The house is on Altruria St. which is a very well kept street, all single family homes, mostly owner occupied, lots of gardens and pride of ownership. Plus you're in the center of everything, the Botanical Gardens, the Beach, Tifft Nature Preserve, Caz Park, the Buffalo River, all of it is within a 20min walk. We like canoeing, and parks, that's what we spend our summers doing, so this will be great for us, though we will miss the restaurants around Elmwood. But we think it's a good trade off.






Living Room & Fireplace


Upstairs Bedroom, Fireplace #2



Dining Room, with a Window Seat! I love that stuff.


Good sized kitchen, the style is a little funky, but we can fix that over time.


Upstairs, I really like how it's not a hallway, it's a square space with doors all around you leading to 4 bedrooms the bathroom and the attic. I like the cabinet thing too.


Big open attic, the floor is insulated too, keeps the place pretty warm.


The Front Porch, this is currently enclosed but the original stuff is all there and it won't be hard to pop out the windows next summer.


Driveway, fenced in yard, the exterior needs some paint, but it has the original wood shingles and stuff which I like.


Yard and Garage, Partly shaded yard, but we can still grow a lot of veggies, the garage needs a little help but no big problems.


From the back, you can see there is a little landing off of an upstairs bedroom, not much now, but we can make it interesting. There are also those funky bilko doors that lead straight to the basement. Good for storing the canoe.

Joe the Plumber jumped into the limelight because he provided a great talking point for the Republicans. "Obama wants to Share the Wealth". Which means, when you think of Obama, think of lazy people getting a free ride, Welfare, Communism, and big government.

Here's the problem. Conservatives love to share the wealth, they'll take as big of a share as they can get from us taxpayers. They want us to buy their bad debt, they want no bid contracts, they want subsidies for their oil companies.

We can share our wealth with the rich. But when it's time to build the economy from the bottom up, that's "punishing success" The middle class can go ahead and bail them out repeatedly, but don't expect anything in return.

Conservatives may tell you that Big Government, and big spending is the ultimate evil. But that doesn't stop them from advocating handouts for the rich. Watch them line up for a handout, while they call us socialist for wanting some healthcare.

McCain was vague on specifics last night. He insisted that he alone could fix our problems but he didn't tell us how. He tried to seem like he understood the trials of average Americans, but he seemed out of touch. He doesn't realize that when you have 7 houses and 14 cars you need to prove that you can identify the bottom 95% of America and the problems we face every day.

McCain has an empathy deficit when it comes to the middle class. Democrats give examples of the human cost, Factory workers losing their jobs, people who've gotten screwed by health insurance companies. When Democrats talk about people they've met, you can sense the empathy in their voice, you can feel that they care about the problems our families face. McCain talks about the worries we deal with around the kitchen table and it sounds like "all that stuff, of course we have to address it" But he doesn't give us specific plans that inspire confidence.

Obama was clear, specific, and direct. It was easy to follow his logic. He gave us details. He made it clear that his priority is the Middle Class. When average people do well, the entire country does well. We need to invest in Infrastructure and green technology to create jobs. We need to lower the cost of healthcare, gasoline, energy, and home heating to help people save money. We need to make education more affordable, and we need to make sure our retirement is safe. In order to attain these goals we will need to make sacrifices, we'll have to work together, and take responsibility for the health of our country.

McCain basically has no platform. The current economic problems have turned the usual Republican dogma into crap. We've tried their way, fixing the economy with tax cuts and deregulation, and we ended up in a depression. The "trickle down" economic world view has no credibility. We need a government that makes it easier for the middle class to pay their bills, we need specific plans, targeted at average Americans.

Americans are worried, and they have no confidence in the free market to save them. People saw the government spend a trillion dollars on Wall Street, now average people want to know when they are going to catch a break, when is the government going to invest more in its people, what is the plan, is it going to work? It's time for a new New Deal, that focuses on the majority of Americans, not just the rich elite.

Watching the VP debate, I thought Palin was hanging on for dear life. And Biden was excellent. Biden was clear and direct, I think he got through to people. I hope he gets some more media attention after this.

Sarah Palin... She didn't fall down, pass out, or puke, good for her. But her responses were absolutely awful!! After about an hour I couldn't stand her anymore. Message to Sarah, if you can't answer the question please stop talking!!!!! The longest rambling responses came when she avoided questions. I could not resist smothering my head with a pillow and leaving the room during her 3 minute nonsensical answers. Finally we couldn't help muting her 3-4 times. I was screaming at Gwen Eiffel to make her stop. We liked Sarah more with the sound off.

Biden on the other hand got about 10 hell-yea's from us. Creating jobs by investing in Infrastructure and greener technologies that we can export! Healthcare at the top of the list. Sincere diplomacy to restore our standing in the world, and achieve peace. 3 weeks in Iraq = the entire Afghanistan budget so far. Epic failures of letting the market "run wild" Restoring the Middle Class!

Biden gets an A+ he could even teach Obama some things about being more direct and unequivocal in his responses. Palin gets a D-, what American was comforted by her responses?

Bush announces a $700 billion bailout plan. To put that in perspective, the Iraq War so far, over 6 years, has cost around $500 billion. Add the bailout to the $400-$500 billion spent so far on the financial sector, it's over a trillion dollars. The national debt is $9.5 trillion dollars. If all goes as planned, the debt will be over $11 trillion. That's big.

Remember how Bush wanted to privatize Social Security? Put our retirement in the stock market for 'safe keeping', imagine if that would have passed.

This deregulation nonsense has been going on for decades. The New Deal and consumer protections have slowly disappeared. Clinton, Bush, Regan, Nixon, Carter, LBJ, there's a lot of blame to go around. There have been plenty of warning signs too, Enron, the savings and loan crisis, housing bubbles, etc. But still the "Free Market" has been worshiped like some kind miracle that will fix all of our problems.

The Free Market is dead. Good Riddance.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government agencies created during the New Deal. Privatized under LBJ to balance the budget, deregulated in future years, now we're paying for what they screwed up.

Investment Banks and Commercial Banks used to be separate. This made our money more secure by keeping it away from risky business. Under Clinton, that changed. Now our banks are floating our money in the stock market. If we all wanted to get our money out of our bank, it wouldn't be there, the bank would go bankrupt.

Debt, that's a new trend too. If you wanted a mortgage you used to need to put 25% down, no matter what. Now all you need is the closing costs to 'buy' a house. Credit Cards were basically invented in the 50s and 60s. Now people don't save any money, really America has a negative savings rate. We just make payments, forever... it's the new serfdom, we're all indentured servants.

Railroads, Airlines, Energy, all deregulated, all in trouble. Taxpayers had to pay for Enron, we had to bail out airlines. And trains have been replaced by trucks that hog oil, wear down our roads, and clog our streets.

Why don't we just privatize the Water systems, schools, Social Security, and healthcare too? Leave it up to the invisible hand of the market.

This crap doesn't save us any money, or make us any better off in the long run.

If the government screws up, we vote them out, impeach them, or put them on trial. If the stock market eats our life savings, the companies fold, and we lose everything, maybe a couple people go to jail, but most of the executives get a fat check from a company that they helped bankrupt. And we don't get our money back, unless it's insured by FDIC, a government program from the New Deal.

So Who thinks reducing government regulation of the economy was a good thing? Don't you feel better off now?

The government is corrupt. Money is power, not People. Politicians went along with this crap because it was in their own self interest.

Government has been demonized for the wrong reasons. It's not the regulations and taxes that are the problem. It's the Corruption. It's the influence of money, and the disregard for the welfare of average people.

We've been watching the government use hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars in order to bail out huge irresponsible corporations that made bad bets in an under-regulated stock market. The CEOs of these corporations still get paid despite the damage they've done. They'll keep their pensions, while the rest of us are losing our life savings. We taxpayers now own their crappiest investments and worst decisions, because we just propped them up by buying their debt with some national debt, even though we already have $9 trillion worth.

This offends me on so many levels.

Here's one point that few are mentioning.

Why are these companies suddenly going bankrupt? Because Americans can't pay their debts. The Loans and mortgages aren't being repaid. Why can't Americans pay? Because the housing bubble popped, and people's homes are now worth less than their mortgages they owe. Or people got varriable rate morgages, now they can't afford the interest. So people are going bankrupt and losing their homes in record numbers.

People leave those homes empty, and declare bankruptcy, they have no good options. People got screwed, so the banks are no longer getting all that money they were promised. So.... now the banks are screwed.

Suddenly the government is willing to shovel cash at rich people who mad terrible choices and led their companies into the ground. But when average Americans lost their homes, we called it a Handout, rewarding people who made bad decisions.

Now it's Wall St, and we call it a Bailout, stabilizing the economy. Well, if you'd helped people stay in their homes and pay their debts, this never would have reached Wall St. Why should the middle class bail out Wall St after we were left to fend for ourselves when we were in trouble.

Anybody know how much money the government has put toward helping citizens overcome the housing crisis? I'll bet it's less than $400 billion. But that's what us citizens has given to Wall St over the past year.

I get really offended when people lie to the public.

What does it say about someone when they repeat a lie over and over again in front of the American people? Especially when that person is trying to get those same people to vote for them. Especially when they're running for the highest office in the land.

McCain, Palin, and the Republicans don't respect democracy, they don't respect you, they think we're a bunch of gullible morons.

They Lie about Obama's tax plan, healthcare plan, energy plan and his voting record. They lie about the bridge to nowhere. They lie about their record, and they say one thing while their actions tell us the opposite.

The Republicans are on record saying facts and issues don't matter, people vote for a composite image of the candidate. Ok, and you're going to build that image with lies? Excuse me, but elections are NOT a fucking game.

This country is in dire straights, but Republicans would rather win an election than offer solutions. Straight talk my ass.

Tell me if Obama, or his campaign has lied about McCain and Palin. I can find false internet rumors, but nothing from the actual Obama Campaign.

The media should call a lie when they see one. There aren't always two sides to a story. Journalists need to set the record straight, and realize that lies are not just a matter of opinion. I've noticed some indications that they may start doing more fact checking, if they don't, they fail.

Sources:

I thought Palin delivered her speech very well. She will probably be an asset after all. Seems like she might help the Republicans keep some of their usual voters, I think she shored up the base a bit. She looked like a normal kind of person who supports all of the conservative principles. Kind of makes the party look like it's not just for billionaires.

The conventions are basically a string of monologues, speeches in front of sympathetic crowds. It's much more difficult when you have someone questioning your assertions in a debate, press conference or interview.

The thing that bugs me about the Republicans, at least the ones who get the most attention, is that they don't respect the truth. And when they get up in front of the TV cameras and distort the facts, they are insulting the American people. Say whatever it takes to get elected, turn the elections into lip service, the goal is to win, who cares how you get there.

I watched Romney, Giuliani, Huckabee, some of Lieberman, and Palin. I knew what was bullshit, but not everyone does. I was happy to find this article from the AP when I woke up, At least to AP noticed it too.

Here's an AP fact check of Palin's speech, and some other statements:

And a few debunked claims from Liberman and Fred Thompson:

I want to take people to court who lie to the American people like this.

Police State Now!
At the RNC convention the Police FBI and Sheriffs departments are PREEMPTIVELY arresting journalists and activists who are connected to any and all protests in St Paul. They are arresting people without court approval and holding them on Conspiricy charges, which means they have 36 hours to get evidence against them before they have to let them go.

Pre-emptive Raids? That means breaking into a house and storming into the room with automatic weapons drawn (no bullshit) where peaceful activists are planning protests. Before the activists even set foot in the streets.

independent Journalists are a common target, video and photo equipment is confiscated, erased, and kept for a few days to prevent journalists from exercising their constitutional duty.

This is so extreme that 3 of the top people from the Democracy Now! were detained, including Amy Goodman. For those who may not know, Democracy Now! is independent journalism at its finest, the forerunners of Pacifica radio, and also on TV. They ask the difficult questions, they are always professional, and they get eyewitness interviews from inside jails and conflict zones, their reputation and huge network of independent journalists means they get the critical stories and perspectives that mainstream media misses. The one thing they stand up for above all else is the rights of journalists and average people to know what their government is doing and respond to it, without fear of arrest, injury or death. They have saved many journalist's lives and reputations worldwide, over the years simply shedding light on the injustice of their detention.

Now the challenges of journalists in America are apparently the worst in a generation.



How did the DNC handle the protests there? Well they faced some problems too. Many of the police in Denver were not wearing name tags, a way to avoid persecution for excessive force and other violations. There was a huge free, Rage Against the Machine concert that kicked off a protest march that was determined to enter the convention and read a list of demands from the floor. Tear gas was ready to fly outside the convention as it already had in previous days, but the Obama campaign came out and spoke to the leaders of the protest and treated them with dignity. Crisis avoided. And though it was a small gesture, it did a lot for Obama's credibility among the activists who would likely protest again in November by voting for Independent Parties.

God Hates Republicans
What other conclusion can you make? A hurricane on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, that forces their convention to do improv. But the hurricane was not fierce enough to allow republicans to grandstand during the search and rescue effort. The levees barely held. The whole event just served to remind people that Katrina was a whole 3 years ago, and New Orleans is still a disaster.

Republicans trying to out Democrat the Democrats
This is the fun part. McCain finally picks a VP, Sarah Palin, she comes out and appears on the national stage with him for the first time. During that event, both republicans tried to use Democratic talking points as their own. McCain within the first minute of the speech "you want your government to understand what you're going through, to stand on your side and fight for you. That's what I intend to do" I also notice McCain is trying to look like a man of the people more by abandoning the suit and tie, and using a loose button up shirt more often.

Palin's speech was almost a parody of the DNC. She talks first about her family one by one, then her roots as an average schmo in Alaska, before thanking Hillary Clinton and trying to sound like a feminist. And she ends the speech with this "The next 67 days I'm going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background, in every political party, or no party at all. If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, then we're asking for your vote on the 4th of November."


I have to laugh, and cheer a bit about this whole thing. The DNC pulled the rug out from under a host of traditional republican issues. Like the faith based free market economy. Trickle Down economics. Tax cuts for the top. Bankrupt the government it's my money. Me first, everyone else fend for yourselves. And foreign policy, reminding us who abandoned an unfinished war in Afghanistan to go fight for some geopolitical pipe dream in Iraq.

I had a feeling that we could change the debate this year. All the energy of the Democrats and progressives determined to turn this country around. An excellent, empathetic leader and speaker like Obama. And the limitless evidence, given to us over the past 8 years, of the failure of the conservative philosophy. All these things create an opportunity to move away from wedge issues, and toward a government that does its job. A government that plans for the future, invites public participation, and maximizes the potential of every American, so that as a country we rise together.

The Liberal philosophy is a patriotic one, I've been talking about it for years. Finally Liberals are not ashamed of their ideas, they used the DNC to show America what we stand for. And America liked it :) They liked it so much, that the McCain campaign freaked out and started trying to turn a man who owns 7 houses, into a man of the people, a working class hero. It realy makes me a little giddy. Probably a good move, but I doubt it will save the Republican Party.

You know more people watched Obama's speech than the Olympics opening ceremonies, and the American Idol finale. In fact there are only 4 football games including the super bowl that got higher ratings this year.
Also Focus on the Family asks people to pray for rain during Obama's speech, no goal, republicans not on God's good side.

It will be interesting to see the RNC, and what happens with their VP choice, much info coming out now. But at least it's entertaining.

Politics is finally more interesting than Reality TV. Hooray!

If you haven't seen Obama's Speech, I'd definitely recommend it.
The NY Times has the transcript on the same page as the video,


I think the speech was excellent. The whole convention went well. I feel like I know the Democratic party much better, I feel like they understand the problems of everyday people, and they care about making things better. I also feel like I can relate to the Democratic Party more than I ever have before.

The Democratic Party is diverse, but they find common ground and move in the right direction. They don't all agree on things like the death penalty, nuclear power, blackwater, or NAFTA, but they're able to find common ground and keep moving ahead. You have people like John Lewis, an old black congressman who marched alongside MLK and got beaten in the street by cops, you've got Waxman, and Dodd, and Richardson, and Kucinnich, and Jim Webb. This party looks like America, it's not a bunch of fat cats who can't relate to what's actually going on in the lives of Americans. They feel a duty and a responsibility to look out for the common good.

In Obama's speech he gave specifics on where he stands and what he wants to do in Washington. He also attacked the Republican policies point blank. He totally redefined the debate. But beyond that, he reminded us what makes America great. When we work together, for a common purpose, we can do great things. Let's get back to that basic American idea, that we want to help create a better future for our children. Let's see the Republicans answer that one, do you want a better future for our children or not? If you do, we need to take action on better schools, global warming, healthcare, the middle class, voting integrity, international respect, keeping jobs in America and being a self-sufficient nation, where those who work hard can get ahead.

Let's stop dividing ourselves into categories and realize that we are all Americans, we're in this together, and if we work together we will succeed.


Some of my favorite quotes:

"through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well."

"These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency [ouch] of George W. Bush. America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this."

"the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Sen. McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90 percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change." -zing!

"Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know."

"For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own. Well it's time for them to own their failure." [D-Pumps fist]

Fundamental Point: "You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put away a little extra money at the end of each month so that you can someday watch your child receive her diploma ... We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work. The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great "

[Talks about his less than privileged family, well worth watching] then - "I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States." [crumples the elitist caricature into a ball and tosses McCain's money in the garbage]

"It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road."

"government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology." [pops the conservatives balloon, and drain's the bathtub Norquist wanted to drown the government in]

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President. " [see below for abbreviated platform]

"The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America."

"What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore."

"If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.
You make a big election about small things.
And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know."

"I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you. "

"You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it"

"This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences"

"That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream. "

"At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess."


Barrack Obama's Platform in incomplete sentences:
"stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America."

"cut taxes - for 95 percent of all working families."

"in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East."

"meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance."

"Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years (OPEC Price tripled in 70's), and John McCain has been there for 26 of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels."

"drilling is a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close."

"As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America."

"invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy ... an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced."

"If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most."

"Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations."

"Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy." - good start

"we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength."

"Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise. "

"We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans - Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are to restore that legacy." [Long Convincing national security part, basically says history has proved him right and McCain wrong]

"You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq."

"I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort."

I'd call it a pragmatic Liberal platform with patriotic vision.


wow, this is long, how the hell could I call this a summary.