I Know It's Been a While...

It's been a while since I posted, even about the epic, dramatic and world-altering election of Barack Obama, so the question begs...why?

Basically it boils down to a lack of time, a lack of a home computer, and a recovery from the orgy of politics I've been swimming through for the last 2+ years.

I can't promise a coherent, regular posting schedule, but I can promise my full effort and weight behind anything I do put out there.

I hope to do a couple pieces on Canadian politics in the coming hours / days, as we look to be on the verge of either a coalition government of Liberals and New Democrats, or yet another election.

There is also the Cabinet picks of Mr. President-elect to mull over, although I will be perfectly honest and admit I don't know who too many of these people are, because their time in the sun, back with the Clintons, was when I was still in my early teens, and not into politics in the least, let alone digging through qualifications for Cabinet picks.

In any sense, I do hope to get more out there more often, but only time will tell.

On the Precipice

Here we stand on the verge of history, hours away from something that will shape the American society, and by extension, the Canadian as well, for a very long time.

And I'm not just talking if Obama wins. The way I see it, tomorrow either pushes us off that aforementioned precipice, or pulls us back from it.

Western society is kind of teetering right now, with the credit crisis, a possible sequel to the Depression and 8 years of George W Bush pushing us towards the cliff.

If John McCain is able to fraud himself a seat in the Oval Office tomorrow (I truly think this is the only way a McCain victory would come about, and the only way 2 Bush victories did) then the world as we know is done for.

I know you're thinking, but, but, it'll be the same as the last 8 years, what will change?

Well, 8 years was almost too much to take, but people see it as somewhat of an aberration, 8 years that got away from them all, and a new President is what will cure the wounds of the Bush years. If McCain is elected, we will have the same indecisive, ideological, misguided, downright nonsensical leadership that the West has endured over the last 8 years for at least the next 4. At the same time, there will also be the constant horror of President Sarah looming over all of us.

A dash of electoral fraud and a relapse of melanoma = some scary shit happening in Washington.

No one likes to say it, but the US sets the tone for the rest of us, in the G8 and outside, so whomever sits in that big chair does determine a large part of where the rest of the world moves, not just their own nation.

That being said, if McCain is able to get in, it ruins the notion that Bush was an aberration, and I frankly think the world might look for a different guiding light than the one that has led us all since the end of World War Two.

But, anyone reading this probably understands the depth of the dangers a McCain presidency would bring, so I won't beat that dead horse any more.

If Barack Obama wins tomorrow, it is like a blank slate, a new beginning. The sins of slavery will be washed almost clean, if not entirely, and the world will look upon the US with new hope in their eyes.

Pardon the word usage, but it would be a black and white scenario.

As Canadians we now stand on this edge, watching, pained that we cannot affect it in the least, and all we can do is sit, watch, wait, and hope everything turns out the way we, and the rest of the world need it to.

I'll say it again, we don't want Obama, WE NEED OBAMA.

I for one view this race as the defining one for my lifetime, win or lose. It will either make me believe that change is possible, and the son of a single mother, who had to take student loans to get an education and who worried where the next meal would come from can actually shift the world, or it will drop me into a pit of cynicism that I probably won't be able to crawl out of ever again.

For a person that wants to get into this political game one day, and very much fits the points I listed in the previous paragraph, I really need my hopes to be heeded, just this once. I have watched election after election up here, and around the world, where the winner didn't really deserve the prize, where the person who could toss out the most ads or smear the most took the seat.

No one has ever energized me in the way Barack has. I have watched him with apt attention for over 3 years now, and I need to see him win tomorrow. I need to know that the good guy can win the race, that rationality can take hold at a point, that people can do the right thing, and not be scared into doing the wrong one.

Of course, that viewpoint is a tad selfish, and of course I want all of the other dominoes that fall with an Obama presidency. I want healthcare, I want the flow of money to stop jumping into the upper-most tax bracket, I want justice and equality, and I want everyone to have a fair shake at things.

One Canadian blogging about the American elections likely won't change one tiny iota of what is going to happen tomorrow, but this is my two cents nonetheless.

We all stand on the precipice, and we all stand together, but only some of us have the power to pull us all back, or to push us over the cliff into oblivion.

I will watch tomorrow night, as I know many of my fellow Canadians, Americans, and citizens of the world will. We will all watch, holding our collective breath, and wish with all the might we can muster that for once, we can believe, we can have hope, and yes, that things can change.

I will close with the three words that have defined this lanky man from Hawaii and his campaign, who grew up with nothing and came to be so much, who has touched so many of our hearts. They are the three that have carried us all this far, pushed us to blog, cut videos, doorknock, phonebank and donate.

The words we have carried and the words we will carry forward, to give us that hope, and to push us forward to change the world.

Yes We Can.

The World Changes This Fall -- For Better or Worse is Up to Us

The electoral maps are shifting like crazy right now, with Obama booming and Harper falling, and I couldn't be happier about either one.

Economy, economy, economy. The one issue people care about, here, and down South. The one thing that affects everyone, and the one thing that Conservatives and Republicans lose on every single time.

Whenever the economy starts to trend down, people turn to the left to resurrect it.

The most striking example, and one that has an immense parallel to today would be FDR's election in the midst of the Depression. The New Deal came along after he stepped in, and revolutionized the way the government does business, and the values of an entire nation.

The same opportunities lie bare right now in the US, and even to an extent here.

Stephane Dion is no FDR, and at best a poor man's Obama, but his Green Shift would bring a dramatic, future-reaching change to the Canadian economy that is desperately needed right now.

I am not comfy with the thought of Dion being the face of Canada, but on his policy proposals alone, the man will change us for the better. Not to get too far deep into the Green Shift, but as I have ranted in the past in this space, and others, flipping our economy to be Green-based, with innovations and Canadian-made green technology that we can then go sell and market abroad would make us akin to oil powers in today's age, like Saudi Arabia. It will create green collar jobs, and we will then be on the cutting edge of technology the entire globe will be using in a few decades. We will control patents, and be able to provide our economy with a stable, renewable, clean base for the next ten generations, as opposed to the dirty, fluctuating and unstable footing we and the previous few have stood on.

Ok, Green Shift / carbon tax rant over.

In terms of Obama, there is nothing overarching like a Green Shift, but with promises to invest in those very same technologies in the US, like wind, solar, etc, he is also putting his country on the same footing, and looking to the future, not staying mired in the present and past of carbon-based economic models.

That, along with ambitious healthcare proposals, ending the war in Iraq, giving the middle class back their country and taking it from the 1% that George W let it be consolidated into will fundamentally change how Americans see their country, and therefore the beliefs that country reflects, and it can only be viewed as for the better, because it cannot get any worse than it is right now.

In the face of the economic issues that he helped to propagate, Johnny Mac has really done nothing but flounder and flip flop his way through the last few weeks, watching his polling numbers sink almost in tune with the stock market.

Now we have William Ayers on the political map again because of it, as Johnny figured out he simply cannot win on economics, and desperately needs a change in subject. This crap was tried and failed badly in the primaries, and it will do so on this stage as well.

McCain is behind in several key states, and even some that should be on lockdown. All the so-called battleground states, like Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, Nevada, all show 10+ leads for Obama in the polls, something that cannot be explained away by margins of error, or anything else other than he is WINNING.

Plain and simple, he is winning, and only electoral fraud or god forbid, assassination is going to stop this man from sitting in the White House January 20, 2009.

On that front, the McCain-Palin ticket is beginning to race-bait, starting a few days ago by inciting crowds to a frenzy, to the point where they have yelled out, 'Kill him', 'terrorist', and 'Off with his head', obviously referencing the junior Senator from Illinois. Is it just me, or is this seriously dangerous territory to be running on? The noble maverick-y candidate has clearly lost that honor he touts so frequently, if he ever really had it in the first place. Clearly the memories of the sting of George W's baseless attacks in 2000 have faded away, replaced by a hunger to win at all costs.

Obama is projecting out at 350+ on some electoral maps, and at least 300+ on some of the less ambitious or gutsy pollsters (270 to win). Nate Silver over at FiveThirtyEight.com, the single best polling site out there, has Obama winning 9/10 times in his electoral predictions, which all through the primaries proved to be about as rock-solid as can be.

It has never looked better for the good Senator in the 20 months he has been in this game, and I have a sneaky suspicion that trend will continue on through November 4.

Back to Canada, before we close.

Harper's poll numbers have been dwindling in the past week or so, down to the point where Dion is nearing the margin or error.

My belief is that his drop is two-fold. First, people are watching him brush off the economic crisis as nothing more than background noise, while watching the economy of the country where 80% of our exports go completely tank. If they have issues with liquidity, and being able to buy anything, let alone import our lumber and other commodities, who do you think is going to feel the pain first?

Harper has shown little to no leadership here, repeating over and over that the Canadian economy is strong. Platitudes and words are all well and good, but I want contingency plans, I want clear visions of what we can do if the US gets into really serious trouble. We get nothing but essentially this : 'Nah, don't worry about it, we're cool'. That doesn't suffice from a Prime Minister.

The second of those two folds is Dion, who has been coming on strong, starting in the English debate, where he actually showed he has the chops to stand toe-to-toe with Harper on the issues of the day.

I find this is what worried people, and myself, the most about a Dion government, that he would be a little weakling drip. I think he has shown that's not the case, and the only thing left is whether people get on board with the Green Shift, which is not a foregone conclusion by any sense.

Dion still has a communication problem, and with a complex, tax-shifting policy, that is a serious issue. I still don't think he will end up being Prime Minister, but if he can stem the Conservative flow to a majority, he's good in my books.

Jack has run strong so far, but he will never be PM with that orange albatross around his neck. Same with Elizabeth May, except hers is tinged Green. Both of these two are more effective communicators, and better leaders than Stephane Dion, and yet, they chose parties that can never actually govern.

Ideological people are great, and the people that end up really caring enough to effect change in the end, but at some point, you have to see the only path to 24 Sussex is a little red / blue road, not orange or green.

We are days away from Canada's choice, and about three weeks from the US's. This is special ground my friends (sorry to steal the line Johnny ;)), and this time in politics will be talked about and studied for a long time into the future.

Game-changing, ground-breaking, paradigm-altering races.

I'm just glad I'm around to take it all in.

Presidential, Federal, Municipal, Oh My! - Election Tidbits From All Sides

There are so many elections and races going on right now, it's hard for the most fervent political fans to stay with everything that comes across the wire.

There are exciting races happening everywhere.

There is obviously the US Presidential elections, covered ad nauseum, the still-blooming federal election here in Canada, and for those of us in the Vancouver area, as I myself am, there is also the very intriguing Mayoral race to follow.

Whew.

First up, Vancouver Mayor.

I like the energy Gregor Robertson and his youth have brought to the campaign, and I have actually signed up to volunteer for him. He scored a huge boon yesterday when COPE and the municipal Green Party agreed to run a unified left wing slate against the NPA, and when COPE more importantly, chose not to run a candidate of their own, and instead back Robertson straight up.

That's huge, because a divided left wing is what handed Sam Sullivan the keys to City Hall in the first place three years ago.

Furthermore, I flat out disrespect the way Peter Ladner came into this race, sweeping the NPA's nomination away from Sam Sullivan, a man who just based on personal story, let alone being the sitting Mayor, deserves to run and defend his record. He will not get the chance to do that and has since stepped away from politics. It was a dishonest and immoral way to jump onto the main stage for Ladner, and simply, his whole campaign just feels dirty because of it.

Federal Election.

Dion is tanking, badly. He is running last in the province, and a shocking poll out today shows the Greens actually running second (!) to the Conservatives, and furthermore, they are only 2 points behind, 26%-24%

That is flat out amazing. Contained in that link is also the incredibly bad news for Dion and the Liberals, that they are running dead last in BC. The NDP support is flagging as well.

The real story in BC and across the country it seems, is with the Greens. This comes from a number of factors.

a) People don't really like Stephen Harper.
b) People think Stephane Dion is a drip, and they don't trust him.
c) Jack Layton comes off as a used car salesman.

People want some change, but they have nowhere to turn. The Barack Obama syndrome run amuck.

Jack can try to be Barack all he wants, and he can say the word change as many times as it can get past that 'stache, but he simply does not have the gravitas of the man across the 49th parallel.

There is no one fresh, except for Elizabeth May and her slate. She is benefiting from apathy with not one party, but three, and four if you count the Bloc, which I don't.

There has never been such a bland slate for a somewhat-fringe party to pick up gains from, but by God, this seems to be it. The Greens should do well this cycle, barring some unforeseen game-changer.

Harper is doing okay for the campaign he is trying to run, which is the 'make Dion look like shit' strategy. Dion is doing a lot of the job for him, but Harper is countering anything positive about the Liberals very effectively.

Bland, uninspiring campaign so far, except May, she is performing wonderfully.

Presidential Elections.

I honestly feel myself being a little soured towards the Presidential campaign right now. Firstly, the strict partisanship that everyone has aligned into, which completely squashes any kind of independent thought outside of what flows from Obama and McCain, which is then disseminated by talking heads and surrogates a thousand times over.

Secondly, I am a very rational person. I take everything, break it down, follow it to its logical end and go with it, and any time that doesn't happen, for me, is cause for a headache. McCain's lies, distortions and illogical explanations and justifications for those lies and distortions has caused me to reach for the aspirin too many times over the past few weeks, starting with the Palin nomination.

Mostly, it is her bare incompetence, but also the reasoning surrogates come up with as to why she isn't incompetent, such as, foreign policy - Russia is close to Alaska / energy (?), denials of the Road to Nowhere, especially after explicit evidence was found and distributed that she supported it, the whole Troopergate debacle that has now had about four different explanations, and the family rights anti-abortion advocate who says how happy she is for 'the choice her daughter made' when she wants to strip that very choice from those in the same situation.

And to see everyone lap it up has just kind of turned me off. McCain got a bounce out of it and is still running even with Obama in a lot of swing states and nationally. That honestly infuriates me. I cannot see how people can compare the two, on ideas, substance, actions, words, anything, and not see McCain is as transparent as a piece of saran wrap. It's like no one can see the incredibly grave risks posed by a McCain presidency, or they simply don't care.

The financial collapse of today has finally turned the attention off of lipstick and pigs and onto actual issues, which is a nice change of pace, and also completely out of McCain's comfort zone, which mainly consists of his POW time.

There are too many negatives with McCain, and so many positives with Obama, I'm not even going to attempt to fill the space. It would take the whole night.

I didn't mean to rant on the US race, but sometimes, you just have to go with what's going, and that went.

Bottom line, good news for Gregor Robertson, bad news for Dion, good news for May and the Greens, and bad news for anyone with a rational mind, and prone to headaches induced by right-wing talking points.

CNN Blinks and Fawns Over Palin - Pundit Live Blog Mishmash

I only had to watch about 5 minutes of post-speech coverage to see that yes, CNN has blinked. They have bent over for McCain AGAIN, and seem to be backing off Palin's numerous, and I mean NUMEROUS scandals.

The speech was light on the economy, and national security policy, but full of down to earth, real person rhetoric, which the stadium audience ate right up, and the so-called experts are now also scooping up heartily.

Ahahaha, Alex Castellanos just said that Palin is essentially the lead character in an 'Annette Benning movie', where the 'woman fights the good ol' boys network, wins, marries Michael Douglas, falls in love and lives happily ever after'. Castellanos is a longtime street fighter Republican, and this is how he, and the majority of his party see a pivotal woman's story playing out on the largest stage possible. This is the kind of respect that anybody but the rich and the pedigreed receive with this party. Anything else is pandering. Remember that.

Campbell Brown seems to have been put in her place as well, stating more than once how fantastic the speech was after nailing Palin's record to the wall yesterday. Wolf Blitzer, the man of the all-mighty beard, called the speech not only a home run, but a grand slam. John King, as always, is doing his best to not seem a strong partisan Republican, which, as always, is not going well. He even pulled out the Magic Screen to illustrate how many states George Bush won in the last election, as if that map has any bearing on this game-changer of an election.

Roland Martin is sllllllaming Palin right now for criticizing community organizers, saying they are the people who fight on the streets, and for people, and it should be a major talking point for Obama and Biden going forward. I agree, it could be huge, as those same organizers have great influence over generating people to go to that voter booth and cast a ballot. Who is that ballot going to be for, the campaign that mocked, or the campaign as essentially came from its roots? Nice, simple equation there.

Jeffery Toobin is making a point that I thought of during the speech as well, that Palin came off smug and sarcastic for a large chunk, kind of ruining her sweet hockey mom image.

He also cited the lie about her opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere, the lie about Barack Obama raising taxes, when taxes will fall for, he said 80%, Obama says 98%, of the middle class and the only increases will be for people making over $250k a year.

Lastly, making the most of his two minutes on the air, he said how Sarah Palin has in a sense lost the innocence around her, that she showed that she's a tough fighter tonight, and the Obama campaign will be less hesitant in the future to go after her. I like the fact that she came out that way, as absolutely no one likes to see a major leader be soft and weak in the face of pressure, but she, and McCain sure as hell better not cry smear campaign or character assassination or sexism any more. No one that goes out there and delivers a speech like that can ever again be portrayed as weak, or a victim, implicitly or not, ever again.

This thought made its way around the round table and seemed to get everyone's acquiescence. Excellent, no more sexism, Palin-is-the-victim memes. Well, at least for right now, I'm sure they'll be back in full force whenever they are on the defensive again, like say tomorrow, when the next scandal breaks loose about Alaskan independence, or women's rights, reproductive, contraceptive, or educational. She has a checkered past and no policy stands to speak of, and that will be an issue, speech or no speech.

Oops, Dana Bash just slipped and said "we", when referring to Republicans. Smooth, and clearly shows how independent her journalism is, if her words and actions didn't show that enough.

Wow, in a shocking act of actual journalism, Blitzer is stating McCain doesn't have executive experience, and has been part of the 'Washington establishment' for more than the last 25 years. Castellanos blew it off by again hitting the POW theme (Good lord, can that be referenced again, I think I forgot what happened) and it then was passed over, but still, nice to actually see some honesty flowing around.

Christ, Campbell Brown has pulled a complete 180, now defending Palin, on sexist grounds, against a statement by Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader for issuing a statement saying that 'shrill, partisan attacks do not change the fact that McCain-Palin is four more years of failed Bush Cheney policies. Wow, Dana Bash agrees, there's a surprise. Nice how a few minutes after saying Palin will be attacked now, saying she opened that door, the first attack that rolls off the wire after the speech is ripped to shreds, portraying Palin as a victim of sexism.

That's it, that's all, I'm done with CNN for the night. Republicans give me a headache, and watching Guiliani go two minutes without referencing 9/11 was almost enough to shock me into a seizure even before the mind-numbing right-wingness of Sarah Palin barracuda'ed (Heh) onto the stage. Twenty minutes of praise for the campaign that embarrassed the network and made them all look like shit not even 24 hours ago is enough to make me flick off for the night.

Live Blogging the Palin VP Acceptance Speech

She's kept it pretty 'down home' so far, talking about humble roots, her family, her husband, introducing her and her family to the world, as most know literally nothing about her.

She just dropped what is honestly a very good dig at Obama, explaining that being the mayor of a small town is 'like a community organizer, with actual responsibilities' Snap!

She's now bringing up the 'bitter' comment, which Guiliani did too. She's painting Obama as an elitist, and McCain as a straight talking good guy. She just made a comment about how John McCain is 'the same person wherever he goes'. I wonder if she knows about McCain's switching out of the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in his POW story of the mental trick he used during interrogations based on whatever state he's in at the time?

There seems to be an image behind Palin now of a fiery explosion. Nice symbolism guys. No need to tie her to y'know, a bomb or anything, as it's not like she's fighting the image of being a bomb as a candidate...

Now she's saying she opposed earmarks and pork. Weird how Alaska ranks first in earmark money and Palin was cited by McCain at least 3 times in her term for unnecessary earmark diversion to her state. Let's also toss her connection to Jack Abramoff into the mix, as we seem to be on an anti-Washington establishment theme here. Real true reformers here guys and girls.

Oh, and she just repeated her 'thanks but no thanks' lie about the infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere', which she campaigned upon in her election as Governor, fought for, then kept money intended for the bridge after Washington killed it. Now though, it went down with her rejecting federal funds. Well, about that little nugget of a lie Sarah, thanks but no thanks.

She's actually discussing policy now, instead of taking shots and giving a bio, saying that the Alaskan oil pipeline will essentially solve America's foreign oil dependency. Yea, maybe after drilling in the pristine Alaskan National Wildlife Preserve, which she supports fully, by the way.

Geez, again they are going after Obama for 'not having a record' when he's spearheaded dozens of bills fighting against nuclear proliferation, government transparency and other major issues, going across the aisle to do so. Message to Republicans, stop beating this dead horse, it's just going to backfire.

Now apparently Obama again lacks specifics, even though he went line by line through his plan last Thursday in front of 75,000 in person and almost 40 million at home, listing off exactly how his policies will be laid out and paid for, and exactly who they will benefit. But I guess facts and statements aren't really applicable, this is the RNC after all.

She's also hitting a Libertarian kind of theme (Or maybe it's that Alaskan Independence streak, who knows), saying that more controls will be coming from Washington under an Obama Administration. Yes, that is true, and I must ask Gov. Palin, has the deregulation and 'freedom' of the past 8 years has really worked out all that well?

Here comes the 'hard facts' on Obama as a tax raiser. This is in spite of the fact that 98% of families will be getting tax cuts under his tax plan, and only the richest would see an increase. 'Hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes' under Obama she says. Well, when the top two percent control that much, then yea, it could be a number like that. But lets keep letting the gap between rich and poor grow larger, that's definitely a better idea Sarah.

I must say though, she seems very comfortable up there, very smooth, doesn't seem nervous, and is very down to earth. I know that's what they're trying to push, and I know she didn't actually write the speech, but she sure is reading it well. Almost like someone who used to be a sportscaster (Oh wait, that was what she studied in college, wasn't it?).

This is quite a hard-hitting speech though, and she is delivering it well. This is very much what Palin needed to do tonight, which was essentially her first platform as a national politician.

She just mentioned McCain was a POW for about the 27th time as well. She's basically saying McCain should be President almost as a reward (!) for being a POW. Apparently his POW experience also counts as foreign policy cred now too (Well if being geographically close to Alaska counts, I suppose this could too). Never mind of course McCain's POW colleague Phillip Butler said McCain should actually be disqualified from running because of the physical and mental strain of his POW days. McCain's judgment because of his POW status counts...not this guy.

The speech is over, she ended with another McCain is a POW mention. Shocking. The whole Palin family, secessionists and baby-mommas in a row, are now on stage, and Palin is holding her son Trig, in a nice family moment.

Johnny Mac is on stage now, saying only a few words, thanking Palin and saying he is sure he made the right choice.

They're switching over to the pundits now, and I'm interested to see if they will heed to McCain's criticism earlier today about their supposed 'smear campaign' (read: truthful journalism) about Sarah Palin. Will they fawn, or will they break it down honestly?

We'll see, and I'll try to be back for an end of the night recap later.

It was about as good as the Republicans and Palin could have hoped for, as she hit all the points, introduced herself well, and slammed Obama in a few new and interesting ways. Interesting night, we'll see how it plays out in the news and the polls.

I was just about to publish and realized that I need to add something else.

CNN is bullshit. Plain and simple. They never once broadcast the closing pledge of allegiance and national anthem during the DNC, and yet here it gets full coverage. Who comes off as more patriotic of the parties then? Nice and classy, as CNN always is. Oh and now, they're keeping the main feed on the stage for 'Raising McCain', a pro-McCain country song performed by John Rich. Real objective guys, thanks for showing your true stripes.

The Obama Speech

That was simply amazing. It was the best speech by a politician, or by anyone for that matter, that I have ever heard, hands down.

He did everything he needed to do, hit every area he needed to hit, and dropped more than one notable, time-enduring quote.

It started with a biographical video beforehand that was so deeply personal it let everyone know exactly who Barack Obama is and where he came from. He alluded to this in his speech as well, and I'm paraphrasing here, that his upbringing was not that of any celebrity, taking a shot at that particular and ridiculous narrative, and hopefully putting it to bed for good now that people understand his roots.

It was about his mother, his grandparents, his childhood and his romance and marriage to Michelle. His work in the streets, eschewing a life on Wall Street or in a prestigious law firm. His career in the Illinois State Senate, where he made his first mark. It was a complete picture of the man Barack Obama, and then Senator, candidate and future President Obama walked onto the stage.

He hit McCain on everything. His ties to Bush, voting record, his temperament, (which I found to be particularly outstanding, as that is one of my bigger fears of a McCain presidency, the fact that that hothead is going to have his finger on the button), domestic policy, Katrina, everything. And the beauty of it all was it was not done in a petty way, or a cheap way, but in a calm, rational, respectful way, which always has more resonance than say, the Rush Limbaugh, battering you to dust style of politics.

It was a strong, tough speech, and it showed the fighter that Obama is, which should allay some fears about his perceived weaknesses against McCain's supposed strengths of judgment and leadership skills.

He hammered McCain on Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror, saying, "John McCain said he would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave that he lives in." Wow.

Then there was the domestic issues, where he clearly defined every single major policy piece he is laying out. That was the major worry of many, that there was no details, but that cannot be said now.

There was a lofty promise as well, that the United States will not be dependent on oil from the Middle East within 10 years.

10 years! Amazing.

He also made it very, very clear that the ads McCain is running stating he is going to raise taxes on the middle class are completely false, stating flat-out that 95% of middle class families will get a tax cut, and under McCain, those cuts would go to corporations and oil companies. Great contrast.

Tax credits for hybrid vehicles, to the producers and the buyers. $150 billion into renewable energies like wind and solar power.

Most importantly, a vision for the future, not a continuation of the past.

And all on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Even the most Republican of the CNN 'pundits' are lauding the speech. Alex Castellanos, who is a straight-up Republican street fighter, said that whomever didn't get chosen to be the Republican VP is "a lucky Republican". Whoa, THAT is some serious praise.

Do you really think John McCain is going to be able to compete with that one week from tonight? No way in hell. Word is he is still trying to give away tickets to his 10,000-strong VP announcement in Ohio tomorrow. The 75,000 tickets for this speech were gone within hours, and were actually being sold (The tickets were free by the way) on Craigslist for upwards of $1000/pair. I'd call that an enthusiasm gap.

Barack Obama inspires me like no other politician I have ever seen. I know I will be talking about him to my children and grandchildren the way people talk about Kennedy, and in Canada at least, Pierre Trudeau. In the video that kicked off Obama's time, there was a quote that I'm going to carry with me for a long time, that is going to define a lot of what I do with my life, and a lot of what Barack Obama has done with his.

"You see a situation, and you think, well that's not right, someone should change that. Then you realize that no one is going to change it unless you do."

Perfect.

Obama-Biden - A More In-Depth Look

My VP allegiance has swung a bit during the build-up, but in the last week or so, I found myself pulling hard for Joe Biden.

I was a Sebelius fan for a while there until I became convinced that she alongside with Obama, would be prime targets for a 'no experience' line of attack from the McCain campaign, and would compound Obama's biggest problem, his lack of experience.

Quick note, I don't think experience should be a huge issue in most elections, this one especially. I think every leader, when they sit behind that desk for the first time, is a bit daunted by the challenges that lie in front of them. The best thing for any leader to have isn't necessarily a long resume, but good judgment to confront those challenges in ways that progress the nation.

Anyways, I'm getting a bit off point.

Experience is an issue with this electorate though, as they are not all simply clones of myself, and so Obama not choosing someone with one of those long resumes could be an issue, shake people's confidence in what his administration would really bring to the table, etc.

So you go with experience, easy, there are plenty of people in and out of Washington that can fit that bill, right?

Problem is, when you base your whole campaign on a theme of sweeping change and eliminating the lobbyist culture and scuzzy politics of Washington, D.C., picking someone with experience is also problematic. (My what a tight rope to walk!)

So as we see, walking that rope deftly, as always, Obama has chosen a 33-year Senate veteran who, for those 33 years, has never held a residence in Washington, and never had time to fall under those special influences. A person who takes an Amtrak train every day to and from DC from his home state of Delaware.

Watching Biden and Obama on stage together Saturday, and hearing them speak only confirmed all the positives I saw in the past few weeks with the idea of this ticket.



Most of the response to Biden from the media, and the party, seems to be fairly positive, with Gov. Ed Rendell saying, "He speaks our language", and Gov. Ted Stricland quoted, "...his humble Pennsylvania roots give him a deep understanding of the challenges facing Ohio families."

There are of course the Hillary supporters who are threatening to jump ship again to the (incredibly misogynistic) John McCain, but after the convention, where the Clintons will be getting two nights to speak, and Hillary's name will be placed in roll for the nomination, showing her the respect she does rightly deserve, hopefully a chunk will see the light and come back.

Joe Biden has an almost unparalleled level of experience with foreign policy issues, grew up in a small Pennsylvania factory town, made himself into a multi-term powerhouse of a US Senator, has pushed legislation to fight violence against women and fills in all the areas Obama seemingly lacks on that ever-important resume.

He has a silver tongue and whipcrack of a wit, and he seems to have no bones about taking Republicans to task. I frankly think that McCain will have to factor this into his choice, as if he picks someone safe with relatively little charisma, who isn't quick on their feet, Biden will embarrass and destroy them come the VP debate and subsequent interactions between the campaigns.

His personal story, aside from all the success in the Senate, is also very inspiring.

He overcame personal tragedy with the death of his first wife and young daughter, two weeks after he was first elected to the Senate at age 29, and then proceeded to commute every day from DC to care for his two sons in the decades following. One of those sons went on to be the Attorney General of Delaware and is shipping out to Iraq in the coming months.

I'm sure more will be said about Joe Biden in the coming months, not all of it good, as with nearly every politician, he has his flaws, but he was by far the best VP choice out there for Obama to make.

VP picks can be dicey, especially for someone who has no scandals to their name for Republicans to hammer upon. Obama is essentially tying himself to Biden, and everything that comes with him. I don't forsee any problems, but I don't think anyone saw Rev. Wright coming either.

I'm sure I'll take up many more pixels talking about Joe Biden, but for now, I'll keep everything simple.

When the microphones went cold on Saturday in front of the Old Capitol Building in Springfield, Illinois, I was struck with the simple thought that this election was over, and that Joe Biden was that final piece of the puzzle to winning this thing and convincing people that Obama does have the skills, and the team, to get the job done.

Obama-Biden Will Be the Ticket to Win

It's been leaked.

Joe Biden will be Barack Obama's running mate for the 2008 election.

It's been confirmed by the AP, DKos, HuffPost, and CNN.

No time for links and such, but Joe Biden will be introduced, and the much-fabled text message sent out, tomorrow morning.

Obama-Biden '08 sounds damn good to me.

Biden to Georgia a GOP Monkey Wrench for VP Timing?

I was thinking last night while reading some speculation over when Barack Obama is going to choose his VP, that Joe Biden's trip over to Georgia is going to really mess with the timing of a pick, especially if that pick is, as I hope, Joe Biden.

His presence was requested by Georgian President Saakshvili but it still smells a tad fishy to me.

There's been far too many Diaries already posted on the merits of Kaine, Bayh, Sebelius, etc, so I won't get into anything in that regard, but what I will say simply is from the group that is apparently shortlisted, Joe Biden would be, by far, the best choice available in my humble opinion.

Now, with the Olympics winding down on Sunday of this week, and the Democratic convention opening a week from today, Obama is running out of time to choose, at least if he wants to get 2-3 days of positive (hopefully) spin before the Olympics ceremonies overshadow anything political.

The convention is already going to dominate the news, so that isn't the place we would see an announcement, if we're talking pure publicity, which should always be part of the conversation.

So, the way I see things, the nod should come, at the latest, on Wednesday, giving at least two days of solid coverage, effectively removing John McCain from the news cycle until after Obama gives his 75,000-strong acceptance speech next week.

With all of that said, Joe Biden, the strongest VP choice available, is not in the country to stand with Obama, appear on stage or in front of microphones, hug, look good as a team, etc, etc, that would come along with such an announcement.

Biden isn't gone forever, but he likely won't be back until Thursday at the earliest, which isn't ideal time-wise.

I think I've gone far enough into this Diary without covering the actual title, so here goes. Georgia just had the US get its back over the war with Russia, hard. Georgia owes the current leadership in Washington a lot, and I think Mr. Bush might be cashing at least some of his chips with Saakshvili right here and now.

With the election being such a 'horse race' in the minds of many, despite so many reasons why it should not be, every little jab, stall tactic or delay is important. If Obama loses a day of publicity over his VP pick, so much the better for Johnny Mac, and for the Republican Party.

Obviously there is no hard evidence here, and I have no quotes from George, McCain or Saakshvili to point towards this hypothesis, and with Joe Biden's serious foreign relations cred, I can understand why he was the pick, but it's all just very convenient.

Maybe it's Saakshvili soaking up his 15 minutes on the international stage as much as possible, using his newfound ironclad allegiance with the US to show his own people how strong of a leader he is, cavorting with the US Secretary of State, and along with Lieberman and Graham, three heavyweight US Senators, who knows for sure.

Of course, no one knows who Obama is going to pick, and it could be Bayh or Kaine anyways, but I just hope if it was set to be Biden, that the announcement timing doesn't alter the decision, because while the VP pick is important for so many other reasons, the timing, and the control of the news cycle that one gets out of such a high profile choice is really what counts at this time of the year.

I don't think Obama would really toss Biden into the dumpster alongside the Superticket (sorry Hill) simply because of a scheduling conflict, but in the minutiae-heavy Presidential race we find ourselves in, every little tit or tat counts.

Cross-Posted at Daily Kos under the name Red Star

Barack Obama Passing on Town Hall Debates is a Mistake

Barack Obama said during his interview with Tom Brokaw that he is moving away from the Town Hall debates idea floated just after the Democratic primary ended, and sticking to three traditional moderated debates instead.

My question is, why?

It is plain to see who has the oratorical edge, who is better on their feet, and who has the issues advantage in this election.

So why are we not looking to hammer McCain and make him look ridiculous on a grand scale? It doesn't have to be anything like getting to the Republicans level and attacking him, I just mean airing out all his flip flops, bad policies, and GWB-like qualities with an audience at home watching.

Can't you see McCain getting flustered in that type of setting, showing that anger we've all heard numerous stories about? I sure can, and I don't know why Obama isn't pushing for it. He doesn't have to attack McCain, he just would have to poke at him enough for Johnny to implode on himself like a dying star. Kind of like the last week has done. Barack did nothing but show why he would be a more effective Commander in Chief, and it riled McCain into making almost a baker's dozen of horrendous mistakes, gaffes and outright lies.

The debates he came off best in during the primary season were the informal ones, where both people sit, either behind a desk or on stools. In the podium debates, he seemed to lose a bit of his gravitas. Now he is the one advocating those as the only method of direct interaction with McCain until November.

Maybe he doesn't want to be paired with McCain in the sense that he could be seen as the big black man dominating the old white guy. Who knows. Or it could be plants in the audience with fluff questions like the flag pin, or attack questions about Rev. Wright or him being a Muslim. Maybe he fears being seen as a snob or an elitist while McCain turns up the good ol' Straight-Talkin' charm.

In short, maybe Obama smells a setup.

This is about the only rationale I can see for not putting himself and a lesser opponent together in a free-wheeling environment.

I don't doubt that Obama will do well against McCain in the traditional debates, but he could do so much more with even one Town Hall.

It just seems like a missed opportunity, where McCain could have been very much exposed, within an hour or so, for the liar, flip flopper and Pander Bear that he is.

I don't know, maybe I'm missing some sort of strategic play here from the Obama camp, but to me, Town Hall debates seem tailor made for a huge Obama advantage.

Cross-Posted on Daily Kos Under the name Red Star

Anti-Media Media

As I was watching The Daily Show tonight, I was thinking about how more than ever, it seems there are some media types that have really started to tee off on the ridiculous coverage of this election, and the insipid nature of the state of journalism as a whole.

John Stewart usually devotes at least the first segment of his show, every single night, to lambasting McCain, and the media by proxy. I know Stewart has always had an 'edge', but it seems like after the writer's strike ended, he was filled with a different kind of fire, and I like it.

Keith Olbermann is a prominent member of the so-called 'MSM' that seems to be trending harder and harder against the media as a whole, calling out CBS, BIG TIME, for the jimmied up editing of the McCain interview the other night. Also of course, there is his long battle with Bill-O from a certain news channel that Nas protested today for, gasp, racist and biased coverage.

These are two examples of the 'Anti-Media Media', who are a part of mainstream news or pop culture, who consistently criticize others in their own medium.

Rachel Maddow and Arianna Huffington would be another two who are bucking the trends of modern journalism for the pure sake of rationality and truthful coverage.

It's like journalism died around these people over the last few years, and they are kind of standing in the ruins, contemplating just WTF happened.

Without these few, the Hannity's, Limbaugh's, Blitzer's and Katie Couric's of the world would be considered all too normal. (Well, maybe not Hannity)

Lightness breaking into darkness, Jedi vs Sith, pick your metaphor, you get the gist.

Of these, only Olbermann can truly be considered mainstream, with a nightly show on a major network, but the others do their part to squeeze the tiny bits they can into the narrative that is being told.

John McCain might get a largely free ride on his now daily idiocy, but with a handful of names fighting for the issues and reporting the stories that others won't, the ones discussed here and on hundreds of other communities, we may just be able to sneak a little bit of this truth thing into the argument.

With McCain's frequent flubs, there are dozens of opportunities to nail him to the wall. 9 times out of 10, he's probably going to slither past, but every now and then, as with the CBS interview, he's going to get hit, and we have the members of the Anti-Media Media to thank for that.

Cross-posted on Daily Kos under the name Red Star

Hillaryis44.com Has Gone Over the Deep End

I thought it would be an educating trip to look over at the extreme Hillary camp after her concession speech yesterday, and see their viewpoint on the general election going forward.

The main extreme pro-Hillary, anti-Obama site has got to be Hillaryis44.com, especially after mydd.com has united behind the choice of the Democratic Party, as they are, in the end, Democrats. The Hillaryis44 people have been saying they were going to not only vote for McCain but try in an extremely proactive way to disrupt and derail the Obama campaign in the name of Hillary.

But now that Hillary has stepped aside, and endorsed their most hated foe, the Hillaryis44 people have gone down a different, far more disturbing track.

Now, the main message is that the Democratic Party has betrayed its roots.

Yes, you heard it right, the Joe Lieberman argument is in full steam.

The main message in the first page is a diatribe by a self-described former 'Reagan Democrat' named Taylor Marsh, who goes off on Obama for betraying the Democratic Party :

I’m an American first. I will not support my party no matter what, or someone in my party who is doing what I believe is horrendously destructive things to the ideals I hold dear.

I have no intention of stuffing my beliefs back in a bag in the name of party unity. On this I stand with the Founders who weren’t all that crazy about political affiliation. I have absolutely no intention of backing someone who believes Republicans were the party of ideas for the last 10-15 years.

As a Reagan Democrat, I know that dog whistle, baby, and I’m running in the other direction. Someone who takes Democrats for granted in order to reach out to independents and Republicans to get the Democratic nomination holds no sway over me. It’s also not my job to unify the Democratic party.

So apparently betraying everything the Democratic Party stands for and voting for the Republican in the fall is a way to...protect the Democratic Party's values? Huh?

His last line is a doozy :

I’m a proud Democrat, but I’m an American first. If you want unity you’ve come to the wrong place.

Hmmm, can I get some extra Lieberman sauce on these sour apples?

And as a final coup de gras, this is what convinced me that these people have literally lost it :

...a few words of advice to Hillary: If you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas.

They are now attacking the woman they so fervently worked for because she has the gall to try and swallow her pride, admit her defeat and unite the Party to defeat the Republicans in the fall.

This line also came about a paragraph after this :

November will come soon enough and we will vote for Hillary; No one else but Hillary. We will encourage others to do the same.

We won’t be alone in that decision- vote for Hillary - Not Big Media, Not Big Media Tool Obama. We will also NOT vote for any candidate who endorsed Obama over Hillary during the primary season. We will encourage as many Democrats as possible to follow our lead.

You love Hillary and the Democratic Party so much that you will not only will you work against a Democrat in the White House in the fall, you will also work to prevent a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. Awesome guys, thumbs up.

I wish Hillary had directly called out this sect of her supporters in her speech yesterday, which was actually my motivation for thinking it wasn't up to snuff, and told them in very distinct terms that going against Obama and the Democratic Party is a betrayal of everything she has stood for in this campaign. Hopefully she will soon enough, but with the mood already at this level, and threats already being tossed out there, I don't think it will matter.

These types of sites, as well as 'Hillary Clinton Supporters for John McCain' need to be completely ignored, and not flamed, cited, or referenced ever again. This is the reason why I am writing this diary, not to increase their hits or start a war like mydd and DKos experienced. Not to divide, but to unite, against this kind of nonsensical crap, just as my candidate would do, and just as their former one did in the end.

Cross Posted on Daily Kos under the name 'Red Star'

Barack Obama, 2008 Democratic Party Nominee for President of the United States

I know I'm a little late with this, but as anyone can tell by the lack of posts, I've been busy.

On Tuesday night, we all witnessed a piece of history. We watched something unfold that even 3 months ago you probably would have said was impossible, and for the entire history of the United States, was impossible.

A black man will lead a major party into an election, with a very good chance of being the first man of color to actually take the mantle of President.

I remember the night that Obama won the first primary in Iowa, I was watching the results roll in on CNN and heard Wolf Blitzer say this about the historic victory that started the tidal wave, "This is only the first contest, and this doesn't mean a thing." I was taken aback, but it set a good standard for the quality and class of the media so far in this cycle. Next came Rev. Wright, Flag Pins and Ayers, and attempt after attempt to drive this campaign towards the meaningless gutter issues, by the classy media and an even classier Hillary Clinton, who was all too eager to go dirty the second she faltered.

But through it all, Barack Obama was never tripped up, he never strayed from his values, no matter how tempting it must have been to take shot after shot back at Hillary and really blow her hypocrisy and lying into the mainstream argument. He was class all the way. He gave her the benefit of the doubt, he let things slide that could have killed her early, and he re-directed things back to the issues whenever possible.

He never got that courtesy in return, but it didn't seem to matter. From the start Barack Obama didn't take lobbyist and PAC money, and he hasn't to this day. While John McCain sold his Maverick values for a staff full of lobbyists and Hillary sold her soul to anyone that would cash a cheque, be it corporate interests or not.

McCain so far, frankly, has looked well out of his depth, and like a complete fool during the free time he enjoyed in the last few months while Democrats were still battling. Mixing up Sunni and Shia Islam 4 separate times, saying the US was down to pre-surge levels in Iraq when they are not, flip flopping on things we had as a hallmark, like opposition to torture, the list goes on and on.

If anyone caught his speech on the night Obama clinched the nomination, you know how terrible he is going to look when put toe-to-toe with Barack. If you haven't seen it, well, gosh golly, I happen to have it right here :



McCain has challenged Obama to a series of 10 Town Hall-style debates across the country. I have heard the yay and the nay arguments on this, the nay being that McCain just wants to suck off Obama's star power, and get larger audiences than he has now, but I think the positives of making McCain look like a fool in real time outweigh anything he might gain.

The Obama camp has said they would like more of an open style than what the McCain campaign has designed, which of course would be ideal, as McCain isn't very good on his feet (or actually that good reading off a teleprompter, see video above). Even if they can't get that kind of forum, I think anything where McCain has to stand side-by-side, or on stools, or behind podiums with Obama is already a win in my books, because every single time, McCain will look like shit, guaranteed.

I think the real race for the Presidency just ended, as McCain should be like high school football next to the Super Bowl we just watched unfold. Hillary was ten times the campaigner and the opponent John McCain ever could be. They both would have walloped him in the fall.

I would like to salute Hillary Clinton, because she did break a glass ceiling for women, just as Obama broke it for minorities. She did receive millions of votes, even if she didn't win the popular vote, as she is claiming, as you cannot count a state where Obama wasn't on the ballot, and then not count caucus states where estimates are half a million people or more participated in.

She had moments where I wanted to throw my shoe at the TV, like during the ABC debate/debacle when she said Ayers was a legitimate talking point, or when she tacked "Not that I know of..." onto the end of an answer that should have been unequivocal about Obama being a Muslim, or when she said on more than one occasion that McCain and her had passed the leader test but Obama had just made a speech in 2002.

Her surrogates, and her husband stirred the race pot, subtly, and not-so-subtly. She let the campaign be run by a man that didn't understand the modern campaign, and bungled even management of an old-style campaign, Mark Penn. She disparaged states, didn't count others, and basically took February off and let Obama take the momentum, which he never gave back.

She was groundbreaking, but she made her share of mistakes, and had the misfortune of running against the most dynamic and powerful candidate since JFK.

When these campaigns were launched, it was seen as an inevitability that she would be the nominee. I knew of Obama earlier than he hit the mainstream and was a fan instantly, never thinking he would actually do this thing. It's an amazing feeling to watch someone, support them to your wits end, defend them like family even though you've never met and don't even share the same citizenship, and then have them pull off the most unexpected political victory in history.

So, hats off to Hillary, and I hope she doesn't fade away. She should stick in the Senate and help Obama pass Universal Health Care, there's the legacy she's looking for. Maybe the governorship of NY? Or a higher post in the Senate? Either way, she will not be President, and I don't mean now. This was a one shot deal for her, and that is why she fought so hard.

She will be 68 years old when Obama's theoretical two terms end, leaving little space to run again. Also, she has probably put many voters off her for a very long time. Hillary will fade to the background after Saturday, when she is officially ending her campaign, endorsing Obama and advising her supporters and donors to do the same.

The Democratic Party is Barack Obama's to lead now. He has started, instructing the DNC not to accept lobbyist funds, and pulling rogue 'Democrat' Joe Lieberman, by the hand, over to the corner in the Senate chamber to talk some sense into him for supporting McCain so vocally. That is what a leader does.

It will only grow from here, but a movement and an election that will shape this generation, my generation's future, is fully under way.

It began during Barack Obama's stirring speech on Tuesday from the site where the GOP will hold their convention in the summer. I was standing at my patio door, thinking, as I did during the Philadelphia speech on race, that I should remember where I was when this all went down, so that I can tell my kids what it was like to watch President Obama on his road to the White House.

CNN's Bill Schneider : Obama Too 'Exotic' For Kentucky Voters

He just said this live on the air, in between shiny clips of Hillary's 'victory' speech on the night Obama clinched a majority of delegates.

This is now the second primary in a row where I've watched CNN and been utterly appalled by what I heard said on the air. Last time it was the alleged fraud and 'old school Chicago Style Politics' when a county close to Illinois posted their results a few hours late.

Now it is an outright slur right on Live TV.

Obama is too exotic? I turned to my partner and went, 'did he just say that?' and we both kind of sat there stunned while Wolf Blitzer segued onto the next spot.

I've come to expect the worst from most news networks, especially CNN, but I thought we could maybe keep this to some biased issues and language. But nope, we're going to move right to the GOP's under the radar message this fall, that Obama doesn't fit into the 'values' of everyday people, that he is an elitist, exotic and extreme liberal.

I really should stop watching the results on CNN, I know this, but I think that magic screen that John King plays with is hypnotic...

Cross Posted on Daily Kos Under the Name 'Red Star'

Obama and the Teflon of Rationality

This is why Barack Obama will be sitting in the White House nine months from now.



This man is like no other politician I've ever seen. No matter what kind of ridiculous kitchen sink attacks come at him, he holds a press conference and calmly makes reasoned and logical arguments that make the other side look petty, stupid, and just plain wrong.

You cannot doubt the sincerity of his words, but you sure as shit better doubt the hypocrisy of John McCain's.

I don't think the GOP quite understands yet what they are going up against in the fall. Not Al Gore, and not John Kerry, but Barack Obama, the once-in-a-generation candidate that is going to blow them, and their tired, out of touch 'distraction issues' out of the water.

Hell, this kind of crap was put On Notice wasn't it?


Cross Posted on Daily Kos under the name ' Red Star '

McCain-Clinton - The New Dream Ticket

With all the talk of a Dream Ticket on the Democratic side dying away, as it should, my mind got to wandering about another match made in heaven that seems to be emerging.

No, not Gore-Obama, I'm talking about John McCain and Hillary Clinton.

Blasphemy, you say?

Well, yes, but as they have been coordinating their messages lately, it almost seems like Obama is running against a McCain-Clinton ticket right now.

I know there isn't a realistic shot of a McCain-Clinton ticket here, both parties would throw the two square out on their asses. But, they seem to have no trouble unofficially cooperating to drag Barack Obama's name through the mud.

Now with McCain, the motivation is easy, Republican nominee-Democratic nominee (presumptive on both accounts**).

But why is Hillary tearing down a fellow Democrat and building up a, supposed, Republican foe?

This is one of the mysteries of the day right now, with the only clear theory being she wants to utterly destroy Obama, even if it costs Democrats the White House this fall.

With all these kind words bandied around by Clinton to McCain, it's a little hard to see her coming back in the fall and campaigning for the Democratic Party against him.

Hillary seems to be swinging more and more 'Rove-ian' with her campaign as she sinks deeper and deeper into the hole her lies, and Mark Penn, have dug underneath her.

Watch this short video, where Clinton is giving a lot of praise to McCain, and taking a lot of talking points from not only just McCain, but Bush, and even Cheney, all while criticizing a fellow Democrat. Some of the quotes are taken a bit too ambiguously for my taste, but the meaning is clear for the majority of them.





If she is elected, what changes? The mindset is the same. There might be large differences in domestic policy between a Bush administration and a HRC administration, which I would gladly welcome, but is the price of maintaining the aggressive stance of the Bush administration worth it?

There still will be a hard-line approach, and the threat of an attack on Iran looming. Obviously ditto for McCain.

Comparing the two, their seemingly high respect for each other, and how they seem to really synch up nowadays, uttering the words 'elitist' and 'out of touch' like a toddler that just learned how to say them, John McCain and Hillary Clinton don't just sound like the new Dream Ticket, they sound like Best Friends:




Also posted on Daily Kos under the name 'Red Star'

Barack Obama responds to the 'Bitter' Criticism

Barack Obama again today proved why he is going to be giving a brilliant Inauguration speech as President about 9 months from now.

He is smart, level headed, and he is honest with people. He responds to the 'elitist', 'out of touch' criticisms from the multi-millionaires with this down-to-earth speech in Steelton, PA.



For all those that worry Barack Obama is going to be stripped apart by the Republican attack machine this fall, that video should show you that he's more than ready to bob and weave and jab around it all the way to the White House.

Compare and Contrast

I was just reading another article about Barack Obama's 'problems' regarding controversial (To say the least) sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. What I've been thinking and waiting for ever since this story broke, was when the story of John McCain's controversial pastor John Hagee was going to be blasted all over the airwaves.

And then........nothing...

Nothing about how Hagee called the Catholic Church 'The Great Whore', who called Hurricane Katrina 'The judgment of God against New Orleans', who said the Catholic Church collaborated with Hitler during WWII to exterminate the Jews, or who said the Qua'ran stipulates the murder of Jews and Christians.

Are these on par with "Goddamn America!" and 9/11 as "Chickens coming home to roost", I'd say so. In fact, I'd say it far surpasses the statements of Rev. Jeremiah Right.

Unless you've got your blindness-inducing patriotic glasses on, I think most can agree with all the death and destruction the US has wrought upon the world, 9/11, however it actually played out (INSIDE JOB!) it was certainly chickens coming home to roost. It was deserved, and frankly, the US deserved 10x more.

I'll never wish death on another human, not even Bush, Cheney and company, and I do not condone the thousands of deaths on that day, but the simple and plain fact of the matter is that the US populace had it coming.

Place Hagee and Wright side-by-side. At the very least, they must be placed in the same category. At the most, Hagee should be decried as a acidic hate monger for his statements about Jews, Muslims, Catholics, and almost every other definable group that he feels doesn't meet up to his moral standards.

Wright, on the other hand, is also horribly offensive, widening racial divides instead of healing them. But his words were born from a generation of fire hoses, civil rights marches and battles for equality. Wright was shaped by this, and it shines through in his passionate sermons now.

Hagee has nothing like this to define or somewhat justify his views, actions and words. He is simply a bitter, hateful man.

And yet, who gets plastered over the news hourly, gets debated, slandered and insulted, called un-American and racist? Wright, and by extension, to an extent, Barack Obama.

Who gets the attention or blame for Hagee? Certainly not Hagee, as he pulled in over a million dollars last year, making him one of the highest paid evangelists out there. And it sure as hell isn't John McCain, who is getting the freest and easiest ride I think I can remember from any political candidate, while Obama gets killed at every turn for the slightest miscue.

Things like John McCain confusing (or not even understanding) the different Sunni and Shia branches of Islam and trying to connect Sunni al Qaeda with Shia Iran goes completely under the radar, unnoticed. But Obama not using the proper word to denounce the un-sought endorsement of Louis Farrakhan dominates a debate for a good 20 minutes.

To go even further, McCain not only didn't denounce Hagee, as Obama was nearly pressured to do to Wright before he gave the speech of a generation on race relations, he sought after and graciously accepted the endorsement, even going so far as to say, "I’m very proud to have Pastor Hagee’s support."

Can you imagine the firestorm if Obama had said that about Farrakhan, or even about Wright, whom he said he disagrees with, but loves like a family member? If he had of done so, I think we all know without a doubt that Barack Obama would not be competing for the Democratic Presidential nomination, he would be sitting at home in Illinois.

The media has never been, never will be, and honestly is not expected to be fair and impartial. That is a perfect worldview in an imperfect world. What they are expected to do, is at least give some semblance of neutrality and integrity, and report issues, statements and controversies somewhat equally. Hell, I'd even take a 90-10 split right now.

I do think it is going to get much harder on McCain, as he is still in his honeymoon period as the nominee, and Hillary and Barack are still cutting each other apart bit-by-bit. Once Hillary can finally put her ego to bed, we can move on with Obama-McCain, and hopefully something, anything will be brought up about Hagee, his not understanding Sunni v Shia Islam, breaking campaign finance laws that he helped to craft, following in lockstep with the disastrous policies of George Bush. and so so many other things...and lest we forget the Keating 5.

Compare and Contrast Hagee v Wright, and the media coverage and slant of McCain v Obama, and tell me who you think is getting the fair treatment so far in this cycle...

The Phantom Campaign

The fragile House of Cards that was Hillary Clinton's campaign is really starting to crumble now.

I say was in such bright bold, red letters because in every aspect except the media desiring a dramatic narrative, or a civil war-inducing superdelegate coup, the Democratic race is over.

The reason her campaign is really crumbling now is because of the rash of, er, um...lies that are being uncovered lately about statements she has made, in some cases multiple times, in the past.

The obvious one is the Bosnia deal. I would think everyone would know by now, but with that overwhelming need for a narrative, this story is inexplicably getting swept under the rug. For the uninitiated, Hillary has told a story at least 4 times on record stating that back in 1996 in Bosnia, she was on a diplomatic trip, and had to land under sniper fire and "run to their vehicles for cover". She said the greeting ceremony that was supposed to be held on the runway was canceled, and they were all in mortal danger.

Problem is, that's utter bull. I could see this type of thing flying if there wasn't, say, video evidence to the contrary, which, in the YouTube age, is readily available to anyone who wants to see it. There were cameras everywhere, a CBS news team on the flight with Clinton as this all supposedly unfolded. There was a ceremony, there wasn't any sniper fire, and no one was in mortal danger.

Why she would choose to blatantly and utterly lie over something so insignificant and easily verifiable, I don't know. But the fact remains is that she did, and it is a glaring mark on her credibility.

There are other things that have come to light after the release of her schedules as well, such as, she never really seemed to play a major role in any initiative that had any legs, and actually was in favor of NAFTA, after blustering all over every manufacturing state in the country that she was against it and would try to reform it.

This would have been fine if she said something like, 'times have changed, it needs a re-do', but no, opposed from the start, even though there's really no point in staking such a claim. Pattern?

There is a great story at the link below about an initiative called 'SCHIP', that dealt with healthcare for children, that apparently was opposed by the Clinton White House, which Hillary now takes credit for on the trail. Full credit to Boston.com for the story.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/14/clinton_role_in_health_program_disputed/

All of the problems with her credibility in the past, coupled with this information, as well as Barack Obama's dominant and impossible-to-overcome delegate and popular vote lead, polls showing she will be stomped in states Obama would not, and a shortfall of cash, Hillary Clinton is simply running on fumes.

And the two entities that can stop this phantom campaign are two I mentioned up at the top of this piece.

First, the media needs to stop pretending Hillary Clinton isn't the Mike Huckabee of the left. Period. An interesting story of the battle between Hillary and Obama isn't worth ripping the Democrats in two and handing John McCain a huge advantage in the fall. Or maybe, for their owners, and their interests, it is. Not the time to go into corporate media controls here, but it is a valid argument, and McCain has been getting an easier rub from the media than either of the Democrats.

Second, the superdelegates and elders of the Democratic Party, the Al Gores, John Edwards-type figures really need to step up and call this race now, and make it clear the coup-by-delegate strategy isn't going to fly come Denver. Bill Richardson took the first step of this tier when he came out for Obama last weekend, being called a Judas in the process. It took guts to go against the Clintons, but it showed the rest of the superdelegates and everyone else involved in the process that it can, and should be done, and done quickly, before the damage she has already done becomes irrevocable.