Raging Cynic

Well McCain’s really done an amazing job here. He and that vacuous puppet Palin have created a truly amazing Campaign of Hate. This really is a disgusting low in the election. Already, McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” has been riddled by an amazing amount of one-sided number fudging and just flat out lying to the American people. Then the debacle of “trooper gate” and McCain’s near refusal to debate Obama; both gross insults to the noble idea of an informed electorate. Now, their new despirate low is pure, unadultrated racism.

Obama’s got a foreign sounding name, he’s not a near-death white guy, so he’s a terrorist? Is this the message McCain’s supporters want to send to America and the world? That we’re so close-minded and arrogent? That they such uneducated racists? This is the sad state of the Republican Party? They’re so power hungry that they’ll let McCain make such a disgusting specitle of this election?

It’s more than sickening, more than disapointing. It’s a sad, shameful reflection on our country today.

Well after “Maverick” John McCain decided to be generous and humor the idea of an informed electorate, I thought we might actually see something interesting happen. And despite the fantastic efforts of Jim Lehrer to get a dialogue going between the two candidates, I, along with probably the more critical minded Americans, was quite disappointed.

McCain came off as nothing but a stubborn, ancient, ill prepared bag of hot wind. Looked like Bob Dole in his mechanized motions and lack of intellectual flexability. Obama, despite his fine rehortical technique, seemed humble and timid. Nothing wrong with being being gratious, but he pulled the door open a bit too far and seemed more of a door mat. Of course, McCain’s inability to address, or even make eye-contact with, Obama won’t affect the decisions of those that follow him religiously (or, really, for religous reasons, follow him) since they’ll no doubt see this as evidence as his ability to be a hard-liner. Really, it’s just a form a petty fear and gross insecurity which he coveres up by speaking over everyone else. The classic child’s reasoning that the loudest voice is most correct.

Obama had a rare opportunity to stand up to such arrogance by challenging one of McCain’s many tirades and show that when he meets with dictators, he’ll be able to get a word in. While he, unlike McCain, did address his opponent directly, I just didn’t see that he adiquatly presented himself as strong in the face of non-academic, non-regulated adversity.

So what is gained from this? Did we learn anything that will help us in November? Not much, McCain’s an arrogant hot-head and Obama’s Mr. Cool. So, not much new. The greatist revilation, to me, is the meer fact that McCain was so ready to be a no-show. Is he afraid of what people will think? Afraid of an informed populace? Or just so easily disrespectful of people he hopes to represent to the world that he feels we don’t deserve his presence at such forums? Maybe the good people at Black Box Voting got it right and McCain’s counting on the foul play factor to cinch his bid.

I just hope the Biden Palin show is more entertaining.

    It was over a good coffee yesterday that I came to a sudden sad epiphany. Hillary’s proud and loud core of, what’s the term?, “working white,” supporters who are so vocal about her beating her dead horse into a powder are looking to handicap themselves. It’s a pretty clear demographic split between more educated, higher earning Democrats supporting Obama and the less educated, minimum wage Democrats supporting Hillary. Wooing her core, Hillary routinely promotes short-sighted solutions to pressing issues (look at this “gas tax holiday” plan of hers), and short-sighted attacks on Obama (i.e. the red phone ad where she claims she’s more qualified because of years in Washington which, following that logic, means we should vote for McCain).

Let us assume the Hillary, like most who occupy the office of President will plan on a second term. Naturally, she will look to court the same group of her supporters who elected her the first time to form the foundation of her support base. Establish a strong base, and spread out from there; standard strategy. What initiatives, then, can we expect Hillary to take with regard to the lower-class? Well, if she wants their support in 2012, she’ll want them to stay in the lower-class. Take the axiom that “demographics are destiny;” if Hillary’s supporters become, demographically, more similar to Obama supporters (more educated, higher wages, less rural), they become less-likely to support her because she’s no longer looking out for their interests.

This simply means that she isn’t looking out for their interest now. Hilary has a vested interest in hampering the social mobility of America’s lower strata.

Does this change anything? Probably not. Some of the most destructive and treacherous agents of politics and political change have been supported overwhelmingly by those groups who had nothing to lose but their lives and whatever modicum of freedom they had previously enjoyed. The person who justifies his actions by saying “it can’t get any worse” is often proven wrong; a desperate choice isn’t a thoughtful decision.

The alternative is clear. Where Hillary would want to keep the lower class cemented in place (or better yet for her, grow it), Obama would want to improve earnings and education to grow his supporters. Isn’t that the American Dream? The pinnacle of Social Mobility? To have our highest elected official WANT to help us become wealthier and more educated?
But then, it’s your vote.

It’s nice when we can keep getting others to do our dirty work, isn’t it? BET founder Bob Johnson (also a strong Clinton supporter), has recently made comments that Obama wouldn’t be worth noticing if he were White. Apparently, the first female candidate for the Presidency is not worth remarking on (otherwise we’d be sexist) but Obama’s half-black background is fair game in the battlefield of politics-by-proxy.

After firing Geraldine Ferraro for making racist comments about the sucess of Barack Obama’s campaign, Hillary, once again, has pawns lined up to spread animosity and take flack on her behalf. Fantastic.

Why doesn’t she accept that the debate now (or, at least, the debate following McCain’s appearance on Hardball) is all seen in an McCain vs. Obama  paradigm? She’s already being phased out. It’s somewhere between sad and short-sighted that Hillary is unable to realize her own 3rd place standing here.

Her desperation can only be explained in one way: She’s got debts owed.  Politics, and political favors, don’t come cheap.

Ralph, darling, I feel all too poignantly the shortcomings of our non-parliamentary system. I understand that we lack options and variety in fancy names for political parties. And I understand that one politician, running half-cocked with too much money and too little sense, can ruin an important electoral cycle.

We’ve had some fantastic times, Ralph. Remember when Al Gore was running and the Republican party started running ads supporting you? That wasn’t because they felt you would be a good president. I’m sorry to say it and it may hurt to hear it, but the Republicans supported you because they knew you would only split the left.

Ralph, don’t think I don’t appreciate all you’ve done in working with the EPA and OSHA and NGOs, because I do. You’re doing great work there. And it would be a shame to see you stretch yourself too thin; just as it would be a shame to once again loose to Republicans in some ridiculous manner that only reaffirms the world’s feelings about us.

Ralph, please do not run. Please -PLEASE- just stay out of it.

I’d appreciate it.

Stay Chill and Best Wishes

On February 11th, the New York Times published a piece by op-ed columnist Paul Krugman titled “Hate Springs Eternal.” In this piece, Krugman hearkens back to the glory days of the mid-50’s when presidential hopeful Adlai Stevenson saw his opponent’s running mate, a young, starry-eyed Richard Nixon’s tactics of as the type of thing that would open the door for a political climate filled with dirt digging and mud throwing, lies and innuendo. A happy place Stevenson called “Nixonland.” While Krugman rightfully identifies the standards of campaigning today as being precisely what Stevenson warned about, he goes on to ask, validly, “why, then, is there so much venom out there?. . . Most of the venom I see is coming from supporters of Mr. Obama, who want their hero or nobody.” ( full article)

Now, I’m not the first to find Krugman’s conclusion here shocking, but I will go so far to say he’s gone past absurd and landed firmly in the muck of ridiculousnesses in his narrow, offensively skewed presentation of the Democratic contest.

Pardon me, but is it not one of the cornerstones of our system that we can vote for whomever we feel most qualified? Krugman is missing something in what’s either a simple glance or a simplistic understanding of polling numbers. The reason Obama is more likely to win again McCain compared to Hillary is a simple fact that everyone with half an ear in what’s happening should know: Hillay is divisive. She also comes across as deceptive by presenting a liberal facade on one side while taking countless contributions from shadow sources to finance her campaign. These things make her less endearing to independents and undecided voters who’re cleave themselves between her and McCain in match ups. Obama doesn’t have this problem. It’s not venom, it’s likability and the impression that with someone who can bring people together for the good of the nation might get some things accomplished.

Which leads to this “cult of personality” business. Labeling Obama’s following as a a cult of personality is nothing more than the latest attempt at degredation for a man who has inspired hope. Naturally, the term inspires images of WWII dictators who were raised on such pedistols and given such unquestioning support that their populations were willing to die (or kill) en masse for them. While Stevenson was warning about Nixonland, tens of thousands of Chinese citizens were dying of starvation or disease in China because Mao’s cult of personality. Is Obama’s support anywhere close to this? No. Nowhere close.

Obama’s not running on a cult of personality and it is not venom from his supporters. What brings Democrats, Independents, and Republicans to Obama’s side is just hope. Someone new has entered the political arena; happens all the time. But look at what’s he’s saying. Listen to how he speaks. See how organized he has his house. He has support where Hillary doesn’t because he is better than Hillary. He doesn’t try to say Hillary doesn’t have enough experience, he doesn’t try to say Hillary might have skeletons in her closet, he doesn’t try to say Hillary is relying on a cult following. He’s saying America can be better than it is and he’s making it work without selling out, without relying on former presidents campaigning for her, and without the lies and innuendo and filthy seeds of doubt that are being directed at him as the Clinton’s show their colors and desperation. The Clintons are campaigning in Nixonland while Obama is moving forward. He’s shown that he’s better than that and the American electorate has shown that we are ready to respond to honest politicians.

The answer to your question, Mr Krugman, on why there’s so much venom out there, is easy. There’s so much venom out there because the Clintons can’t think of any other way to win.

Now my question, what favors does Krugman feel like he’ll be entitled to from such a lopsided piece? I think someone wants an position in Clintonland.

Another great poll by the punctual pundits of perpetual percentages (acting on behalf of TIME) report that President Clinton’s appearances on wife Hillary’s campaign trail are hurting Hillary’s presidential bid more than helping.

According to the random sampling of 1,000 voters, 19% said they were less likely to vote for Hillary due to President Clinton’s involvement compared to the 9% gain in support ( TIME, Feb 07, 2008).

Startingly, few in the Clinton camp seem to have anticipated that the first viable female candidate for President, who for months has been waving the sex card by compelling women to vote on chromosome more than issue and reason while appearing on predominantly female demographic talk shows anticipated people would be disheartened to see her leaning so much on her husband’s reputation than her own merit.

Can they really be surprised? Look at Bill. Eight years of President, major surgery, very active with charity fund raising putting everything aside to work tireless to get Hillary elected. I don’t follow the Clintons around with a handy cam and a notebook but from my point of view Bill’s working much harder than Hillary out there on the trail. Maybe it’s because he looks absolutely exhausted. Maybe because he’s on the news more than she is. But the fact remains that the image presented is that Bill is campaigning for President with more energy than in 1992 and he’s not even on the ballot.

The backlash of this campaign strategy and Obama’s strong support with female voters suggests a weak link in the Clinton campeign strategy: just as one can be a sailor and not understand oceanography, a woman who’s lived her life sheltered from Americans may not understand womans issues in America.

It is nothing short of amazing the amount of hope an inspiration the American people are picking up from Obama’s campaign. People from all over this nation votes in droves last night to take part in primaries which will impact whether in November we’ll be voting for the first woman president or first non-white president. They braved cold, dark, snow, and even hurricanes to tell the Democratic Party either they’re happy with the way Washington has been working for the last few decades or that they’re ready for change. Based on the number of deligates Obama’s campeign picked up, it’s clear that his message of change is still gaining influence in the hearts of Americans across the country and across party lines.

More people have been turning out for this clection cycle than ever before. Not by thousands, not by hundreds of thousands. Millions. Pole turnout for the democrats across the country is up by millions over previous records.

California’s poles showed such a turn out that pole workers started asking people to use their sample ballots since they had ran out. That’s right, we were so eager to vote that we were running out of ballots.

There’s an energy in the air. Something sharp and nervous. Not just hope, but also fear of that hope will being lost, taken away. That’s why we have to keep pushing. It is my sincere hope that anyone who was touched by Barack Obama’s message of change enough to vote for him will also help contribute to his campaign. $5 to help get a president in the white house who won’t be pushing the agenda’s of corporate America. $5 to elect a president who inspires hope for America. Real hope. Unprecedented hope. $5 to elect a president who wasn’t born into wealth or an easy life and understands how American’s really live and what we have to struggle with.

Can you imagine what would happen to have a President who could inspire hope in people’s hearts? Not to downplay Clinton’s Presidency; it brought prosperity and comfort but not as much hope. Probably because things weren’t as bad as they are now. I think that’s why people react so strongly to President Clinton campaigning for Hillary; they see him and they remember when it was better. Republicans saw Bush Jr. and thought he could bring back some of what his father brought back for them maybe. It doesn’t work that way. No matter how much President Clinton supports his wife, she’s no Bill Clinton and nostalgia isn’t really the same thing as hope.

There is no surprise that a man who spent ten years teaching law at one of the most prestigious institutions of law in the world would be a fantastic speaker. But it’s one thing to speak well, and another to inspire hope. The hope that Sen. Obama inspires is no doubt one of the key reasons that his support base is as strong as it is. Real hope. Forward looking hope. Not we’ll do things like we used to, but we’ll do things better. He’s not only saying he’ll make the USA better, not only saying WE will make the us better. We have the chance to elect a president who is telling us we can do better and inspiring us forward toward that change.

How inspirational is he? His words were made into a song. He’s lyrically inspirational. We’re talking artist of hope inspirational.

There’s a fantastic article up on the New York Times’ site detailing McCain’s growing lead and the tight race between Hillary and Obama.

What I found particularly blood-boiling was reading Hillary’s degradation of Obama’s political record only because he was elected to one less term in the US Senate than she was.

“You know, I hear all these folks talking about who is and isn’t electable — and they said all the same things in New York,” she added, noting that voter support for her grew and deepened over time. “I trust the voters — frankly, that’s who matters.”

“One thing about me, I’ve already been through tough campaigns, and I think that says something about me,” she said. “My opponent hasn’t had to go through that baptism of fire    . And in a general election, you know what’s going to happen to our nominee. Let’s not kid ourselves.”

[ full article]

It’s getting past the “oh that’s an interesting side note stage” and entering “FINE! You were elected to the US Senate one time more than he was, let’s move on.” It’s becoming obnoxious. And it overlooks the fact that he was elected to the State Senate three times PLUS once to US Senate. So, really he’s been elected to senatorial positions TWICE as much as Hillary. That doesn’t even start to delve into the differing socio-economic disadvantages that Obama had to face for his elections.

Hillary should stop beating that horse because it’s LONG since dead and, you know what Hillary, that’s not even a horse. If she thinks that counting how many times someone’s been elected to US Senate is the yard stick of “electable” then I suppose Bill Clinton never should have ran and Hillary should step aside for McCain because Mr. Qualified over there was serving in the US Senate before Bush Sr. was President.