Jeri Ryan -- The Real Obama Girl

46. Why would anyone vote for Osama???
He does not participate in the Pledge of Allegiance and his middle name is Hussein?????

Posted at 2:48PM on Feb 15th 2008 by rayrayfromla

47. This story would be interesting if it were true. None of the facts are incorrect, but a few very important ones are left out, namely the rest of the backstory of the election. (I've lived my whole life in Illinois and have voted in every national election in the last decade) Obama's real surprise was in the Democratic primary, where he was projected to finish 3rd or 4th but vaulted to the nomination with large numbers of late-breaking African-American votes. Once he got to the general election, he was almost certain to win, for several reasons.

First, the seat was previous held by Peter Fitzgerald, a one-term Republican who got elected because he ran against Carol Mosley-Braun (the first African-American female Senator) in 1998, when she was in the middle of a corruption scandal. He eventually got on George Bush's bad side (back when that meant something) and didn't run for re-election. Jack Ryan was the best candidate the Republicans could find, but by 2004 they were in the middle of their own corruption scandal, specifically former Republican Governor (and current federal prisoner) George Ryan. (no relation)

So Jack Ryan was pretty screwed before he even got in the race, having the same name as the disgraced Governor, and running in a generally Democratic state. Even before the scandal, he was polling 15-20 points behind Obama, and barring a big mistake or scandal on by Obama, Ryan had really no shot. This is further proved by the fact that, once Ryan left the race, the Illinois Republican party scrambled to find a good in-state replacement, got turned down several times, and finally had to settle on wingnut (and former Michael Moore moshpitter) Alan Keyes, who had absolutely no shot and got blown out.

So while IN THEORY Jeri Ryan may have prevented her ex-husband from making a miraculous comeback and wrecking Obama's current trajectory, the reality is that once he got out of the primary, he was pretty much a lock to end up in the Senate.

Posted at 2:47PM on Feb 15th 2008 by doofman

48. You can bet the Republicans will vote him in. They are scared of the Clintons.

Posted at 2:50PM on Feb 15th 2008 by Kelli

49. 40. This country is too racist to elect a black man for president.

Posted at 2:39PM on Feb 15th 2008 by FlBiker

speaking from personal experience? there are a lot more multi-cultural people in this country than lily whites you know....

Posted at 2:50PM on Feb 15th 2008 by glee

50. #40 Typical knee jerk reaction. The term "magic negro" was coined a long time ago. Most recently used by the LA times in an editorial on Obamas attraction to liberal white voters. But I see you "thinking people" prefer to call people names when you disagree with their views. You must still be in 5th grade! LOL

Posted at 2:54PM on Feb 15th 2008 by NCDog

51. The U.S. was just led for 8 years by an inexperienced guy who couldn't pronounce the word 'nuclear' who has racked up an enormous debt. I doubt Obama's lack of experience will prove a hindrance comparatively, lol. As for Carter, he inherited those problems from the previous presidency, just as Obama will should he win.

Posted at 2:52PM on Feb 15th 2008 by Lois Lane

52. wow TMZ, New low!
Not only is this story stupid it is also blatantly plagurized from a story on entertainment weekly.com published back in January. OF course the folks at EW know how to actually write....youguys should stick to just taking pictures

check the link
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/01/obama-jeri-ryan.html
or here is the article.

If Barack Obama (pictured, right) wins the presidency, he may have the most powerful woman in the pop-culture universe to thank. No, not Oprah; Seven-of-Nine of the Borg collective. On the heels of Obama's victory in the Iowa caucuses last week (and before his second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary last night), the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute reminds us that Obama owes his current high profile in part to Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan (left). Without her (and her apparent violation of Star Trek's Prime Directive, the law against meddling in the internal affairs of other civilizations), he might still be a little-known state senator toiling away in Springfield, Illinois.

In 2004, Jack Ryan, the actress' ex-husband, was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. Then his divorce records became public, including allegations by Jeri that he'd pressured her to have public sex in swingers clubs in various cities. Ryan denied the allegations but dropped out of the race a few days later. The Republicans recruited former MSNBC host Alan Keyes to run in Ryan's place. Obama defeated him in a landslide, earning himself a U.S. Senate seat and a prominent public platform from which to launch his presidential campaign.

Which just goes to show: the Borg remain all-powerful. Resistance is futile.

Posted at 2:53PM on Feb 15th 2008 by mark in nyc

53. rayray why don't you go look it up before posting lies? or are you deliberatly posting lies? he is a christian not muslim and he took the oath on the bible.

Posted at 2:53PM on Feb 15th 2008 by glee

54.
doofman---

Actually, there ARE facts in the article that are incorrect. They were NOT in the middle of the divorce, it had been finalized in 1999. And she was on Jack's "side" regarding keeping the records sealed.

Beyond that, your post is great.

Posted at 2:53PM on Feb 15th 2008 by Wake Up

55. #47glee

Calling people 'lily whites' and insinuating I'm a racist? Look in the mirror there, racist.

Posted at 2:57PM on Feb 15th 2008 by FlBiker

56. This is a true story. You can catch the whole story of wikpedia. The fact is Obama was elected during very scandalous political time. Between the Ryan accusations, the Fitsgeald mess, Obama was t the lesser of evils. I grew up in Chicago and Obama would never have won had these things not gone on. Not to say he maybe would have eventually won the Senate seat. But had these other two scandals not been happening, he would not have won. I hope some of you making these statement aren't registered to vote because your ignorant, rude and uninformed. Go try to find out information about a candidate. For me personally, Clinton has the experience that Obama is lacking. We will have a mess after Bush leaves and we need a candidate with experience. To say the least, if you all want out of a war our candidate should have foriegn policy experience and Obama does not. I think he will have his day, I just don't think it is now. At least for our country, I hope he doesn't win. Vice-Presidency would be great. He could get a lot of experience there. This link is a great tool for trying to see who fits you best. http://glassbooth.org/explore/

Posted at 3:53PM on Feb 15th 2008 by Magpie926

57. who is #40? who is calling people names NCDog?

So Obama is attracted to liberal white voters? I doubt michelle would like that. I can see you are one of those "thinking people" as well... (you know what they say about those glass houses).

Or you just need more of a sense of humor. :)

Posted at 3:00PM on Feb 15th 2008 by glee

58.

Okay, TMZ, so you finally corrected one of your errors to say that the divorce had already taken place.......so now why don't you correct the part where you say Jack Ryan was favored to win!

Stop making stuff up, please.

Posted at 3:03PM on Feb 15th 2008 by Wake Up

59. lily white is a racist term? not really, more of a descriptive term. I think I've hit a nerve.

no i'm not white, i'm not black, i'm not hispanic.

i'm caucasitalianindianportugueso. i dated a black guy once tho.

Posted at 3:03PM on Feb 15th 2008 by glee

60.

this is to "glee"

--I don't want to get in the middle here, but the term "lily white" is definitely a pejorative racial term.

Posted at 3:06PM on Feb 15th 2008 by Wake Up