David Boren on his son: a 'puzzling' Barack Obama stance*

Father's Day may have come early for John McCain, but in the Boren family of Oklahoma, they may just want to let it pass without notice.

Rep. Dan Boren, a two-term Democrat, made a splash earlier this week with his announcement that although he would be voting for his party's presumptive presidential nominee, he was not endorsing Barack Obama.

The Boren formulation struck many as odd ... including, it turns out, his father, a legendary political figure in the Sooner State who is president of the University of Oklahoma.

David Boren, a former governor and U.S. senator who chatted Friday with Chicago-based talk radio host Roland Martin, had this to say about his 34-year-old son: "I have to say I’m puzzled about how much thinking he put into that before he said it. I think he’ll probably be saying some other things."

The elder Boren, 67, continued: “He did say he was going to vote for Barack Obama. He just made the puzzling statement he wasn’t gong to endorse him. Well, when you say publicly you’re voting for somebody I think that means you’re supporting them."

A classic case of father knowing best.

The full interview can be heard here.

The younger Boren is not alone on Capitol Hill feeling a bit betwixt and between about the general election presidential matchup. Following the burst of attention David Boren got for his pronouncement, The Hill reported that at least 14 Republican members of Congress "have refused to endorse or publicly support" McCain.

That includes at least one whom the presumptive GOP nominee would want to steer clear of anyway -- Rep. John Doolittle, the House member from Northern California who is giving up his seat under an ethical cloud.

Then there's Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, McCain's erstwhile presidential rival, who's adopted Boren's stance -- he's disinclined ...

to utter the e-word, but he has said he will vote for McCain ("reluctantly").

The entire Hill story can be read here.

Nor is Boren the only Democratic lawmaker in Washington keeping a distance from Obama.

We've noted before that Rep. Tim Mahoney* (an earlier version of this post misspelled Mahoney's first name as Tom) may steer clear of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Similarly, Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi is talking about skipping the August gathering -- and he isn't sure about who'll he'll be voting for in November.

Still other Democrats who've shown reluctance to embrace Obama, such as Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, are noted in this story at Politico.com.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Carolyn Grace]

What a spineless bunch of wimps. They're more interested in getting reelected than supporting their party's nominee. If they can't stand up for the country or their district on this, what about the really tough problems we face as a country. Do they like the way the country has been going in the past 8 years with the republicans or are they willing to stand up for a direction of change with Senator Obama. What's it going to be "blue dogs"?

[Alessandro Machi]

I am so fed up with this attitude that everyone must support the presumptive nominee. SuperDelegates at the end were actually voting for Obama just to put him over the magic number rather than voting for whom they wanted to win.

Stepford Wives society, here we come.

http://www.Hillary-Wins.com
http://www.FAIR-REFLECTION.com
http://www.CaucusCheating.com
http://www.WallStreetChange.com

[Wm Tate]

Reps who refuse to endorse are in districts where the presidential candidates are not popular among the base. Politicians have made an art of looking out for Number One.
-Wm Tate,
http://www.atimelikethis.us/

[Michael Wright]

FROM AN OKLAHOMAN:

Dan Boren is as phony as his father, former U.S. Senator David Boren, who mysteriously resigned from his Senate seat in 1994. David Boren was one of the most right-wing Democrats in Congress. He is a good friend of the Bush family and a member of Skull and Bones. He supported the Reagan-Bush foreign policy. In 1991, as a favor to Bush, he pushed through the confirmation of Bob Gates as CIA director. Earlier Gates, in service of Reagan, had completely sabotaged the analytical wing of the CIA and turned them into a gang of Reagan yes-men. Boren also is the mentor and sponsor of the discredited George Tenet. After he left the Senate, Boren at different times has endorsed Ross Perot, Abe Lieberman, and Michael Bloomberg. This spring he endorsed Obama, for the Democratic nomination. This was probably a secret favor for McCain, since the polls were showing that Clinton would have an easy time beating McCain but it would be a close race with Obama (see the April 30 ABC news poll and the May 2 Gallup poll). Young Dan Boren is acting in the family tradition by keeping Obama at arms length. This should surprise no one.

[msbobbie]

I am a Conservative and live in Dan Boren's district in Oklahoma. It is difficult to know just where he stands on most issues. He seems to play both ends of the field. I am far at odds with him now. Just write him about the illegal immigration issue and you will get a form letter back telling you he voted for H.R.4437 in December 2005 and co sponsored H.R.4088 (the SAVE Act) in November 2007 but he (and 39 other Democrats who cosponsored H.R.4088) has refused to sign the discharge petition to being it to the floor of the House for a vote. He will say how important securing the borders is to him and how much he supports controlling illegal immigration. Write him another letter with IMMIGRATION in the subject line and you will receive the same form letter.

Dan Boren speaks with forked tongue and out of both sides of his mouth. I really do not care who he votes for or who he says he will vote for. I know I will not be voting for him.

[LACADEM]

Whether he is pandering to his base constituency or not--It wreaks of racism.

[EDDIE JOHNSON]

WHY IS IT PUZZLING, WITH HIS CHOICE OF 60'S TERRORISTS AND RACIST MINISTERS AS FRIENDS, LET ALONE HIS NEAR ENDORSEMENT BY IRANS CRAZY LEADER (READ BELOW) WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD ENDORSE OBAMA?
In October 2005 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a conference in Tehran, said he that "Israel must be wiped off of the map." Speaking to a large gathering of students on an October 26 program titled, "The World Without Zionism," Mr. Ahmadinejad called on Palestinians to take control of the land, saying that "The establishment of a Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world." On December 11, 2006 the "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust" opened and was called for by and held at the behest of Ahmadinejad, and it was basically a Holocaust denial conference.

Despite this in July 2007 and afterwards Barack Hussein Obama said that he would be willing to meet with the Iranian President (as well as various other dictators), anywhere, anytime with no preconditions. He has since retracted such statements but apparently its too late.

Ahmadinejad declared on Monday june 9, 2008 that Israel “has reached its final phase and will soon be wiped out from the geographic scene.” At the same time he indicated he looks forward to being able to work with a President like Obama.

[Wiam]

Hey Lacadem, DO YOU THINK IF YOU SHOUT IN YOUR COMMENTS that people are more likely to believe the nonsense you're posting?

Republican trolls who can't find anything bad about Obama are busy trying to paint him as anti-Israel and tie him to terrorists and Iran. Oooh, big scary black dude, he might even talk to Ahmadinejad, and look the bad guys are endorsing him so he must be a mancurian candidate or the antichrist or whatever…!

Just don’t talk about the real issues like the economy, the price of gas, the war in Iraq, McSame’s ridiculous alignment with Bush. Give it up troll. Voters are smarter than you.

No Republicans Left Behind in 2008

[sjjtt]

there are a lot of conflicts with david boren. his son probably asks his father how to vote before he does.

conflicts
iran contra committee did he tell about the drugs at bixby, oklahoma. the fbi was looking for a man on their 10 most wanted ilist.

right to work in oklahoma was he involved?
when did he join the board of american airlines?
is he responsible for the mess it is in now? what experience does he have with an airline? was he a friend to don carty?
robert crandall? he was a senator when they worked for american airlines? does he get involved with lawsuits against
american airlines and use his influence to delay trials? like joe white vs american airlines? was he involved as a governor
or senator?

does he hire private detectives on citizens because they try to get information out about him? like this blog?

did he have any part of the karen silkwood investigation?
as a senator or as a governor. he is on a board now of a oil company?

what is his association with gene stipe, oklahoma,
frank keating, the clintons?

why did he leave the senate early?

did he hinder investigations about the oklahoma city bombing, the drugs at mena, arkansas?
did he give out information about people that other people used?
did he stop investigations when he was a senator?
does he think he is above the law?

[sjjtt]

there are a lot of conflicts with david boren. his son probably asks his father how to vote before he does.

conflicts
iran contra committee did he tell about the drugs at bixby, oklahoma. the fbi was looking for a man on their 10 most wanted ilist.

right to work in oklahoma was he involved?
when did he join the board of american airlines?
is he responsible for the mess it is in now? what experience does he have with an airline? was he a friend to don carty?
robert crandall? he was a senator when they worked for american airlines? does he get involved with lawsuits against
american airlines and use his influence to delay trials? like joe white vs american airlines? was he involved as a governor
or senator?

does he hire private detectives on citizens because they try to get information out about him? like this blog?

did he have any part of the karen silkwood investigation?
as a senator or as a governor. he is on a board now of a oil company?

what is his association with gene stipe, oklahoma,
frank keating, the clintons?

why did he leave the senate early?

did he hinder investigations about the oklahoma city bombing, the drugs at mena, arkansas?
did he give out information about people that other people used?
did he stop investigations when he was a senator?
does he think he is above the law?