Disclaimer: I just had surgery on Thursday, and sm still pretty loopy. If there are typos or a little rambling, I apologize!
So, Obama gave this spech the other day that his supporters are claiming is the best since JFK. I read it - didn't come away thinking that. As a result of this claim by the Obama folk, I DID learn about a really cool site, www.americanrhetoric.com, which has the best 100 speeches. Oh, and as someone pointed out in response to an attack on Clinton's speechgiving, her speech on "Women's Rights are Human Rights" is in the Top 100 speeches. Check it out!
OK - back to Obama's "Can't we just all get along?" speech. Right after he gave that speech, his campaign started to attack Clinton again - this time claiming HER people got into his passport file. Um, no - actually, her's had been breached, too, a year ago, and she wasn't throwing a tantrum like he was. Then there was the photo he released of her husband his pastor, as if a photo is COMPARABLE to a 20+ year close relationship. Clinton's people summed it up nicely in this Press Release, from her site (www.hillaryclinton.com):
3/21/2008
MEMO: Obama Campaign: Just Words
To: Interested Parties
From: The Clinton Campaign
Date: March 21, 2008
RE: Obama Campaign: Just Words
At this point, it’s no secret that the Obama campaign is in political hot water given the news stories of the last few weeks and is desperate to change the subject.
The ground is shifting away from them and their response?
First, disenfranchise voters - Prevent new votes in Florida and Michigan. Stop voting in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, Kentucky, South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia and Indiana.
Second, peddle photos of President Clinton shaking hands with Reverend Wright less than 48 hours after calling for a high-minded conversation on race. Well, President Clinton took tens of thousands of photos during his eight years as president. Stop the presses.
Third, accuse our campaign of having something to do with Senator Obama’s passport file being breached, a reckless charge that has zero merit.
Fourth, continue attacks on Senator Clinton’s character in an effort to implement what the Chicago Tribune called a full assault on her ethics.
Fifth, stonewall the press: no tax returns, no state records, no answers about the inconsistencies in the Rezko story.
So it’s not a pretty sight - it’s all part of a pattern of just words.
Senator Obama talks about voter participation while actively disenfranchising millions.
He calls for high minded debates while practicing lowdown politics.
He promises a different kind of campaign while attacking Hillary’s character.
He promises transparency while hiding basic info and stonewalling the press.
It’s no wonder that Americans are coming to see that for all of his lofty rhetoric, Senator Obama’s candidacy is really just words.
It’s no surprise that Americans are expressing serious doubts about his ability to answer the 3am call.
It’s no wonder that top journalists are calling the Obama campaign desperate, saying that it’s amateur hour in Chicago.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Update!
The DNC has (finally) approved the MI revote plan, so the ball is REALLY in Obama's court now!
Out of Pocket...
I will be for a few days. I am having knee surgery tomorrow, so it will probably be a couple of days before I get back to this. Just so you know!
I'm rushing to get things done before I leave today to go have the surgery, but I did want to mention that Hillary Clinton is talking to the MI legislature about a re-vote, and not silencing the voices of so many voters there. (There was a crappy article about this in the Washington Post today by Anne Kornblut, who included lines like Clinton was the ONLY Democrat on the ticket - do these reporters not know how to FACT CHECK any more?!? This is the Washington Post, for cryin' out loud - surely they have access to the internet, at least!!)
And Floridians feel like they have already voted, dadgummit - count their votes already! AND, more disturbingly, 1 out of 4 Floridians say they may abandon the Democratic Party if their delegates aren't seated (that was in the St. Petersburg Times, according to TalkLeft.com). 1 out of 4. Talk about disenfranchisement! What the heck have Dean and Brazille done to the DNC?!?!? I have said this a thousand times - the right to vote, and to have one's vote COUNT, is one of the most sacred acts we have in this country. For the DNC, of all organizations, to disenfranchise over 2.2 million people is reprehensible. No other way to see it, im my opinion (there is an EXCELLENT run-down of what happened in FL here: http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2008/03/004343.html)
Meanwhile, as a campaign strategy, Obama has dragged his feet on FL and MI as a way to not have them seated until after he is the nominee, presumably. Nice. After having his camp push for people to vote Uncommitted. And after advertising in FL. So much for a "different" kind of politician. Yeah. Right.
Just a quick note on Obama's speech yesterday: His campaign started all of this race talk to begin with, as I have noted. And for him to compare the long-term hate mongering of his minister to one statement from Ferraro, something that Obama himself has basically said, is insulting at the very least. Yet, this media continues to lap up everything he says, and IGNORES that he lied a number of times leading up to his speech yesterday in which he NOW claims to be telling the truth. If this was ANYONE else, the media would be all over him. But since the media has proclaimed him the Annointed One, he truly seems to be able to get away with anything - McClurkin, Rezko, Wright, not ever calling a committee meeting for his very important subcommittee...The list goes on and on. And the media attacks CLINTON. Yeah. Okay. Whatever. How I long for the "good ol' days" in which the media actually did its job...
On that cheery note, it will be interesting to see how the rest of this primary season unfolds...
I'm rushing to get things done before I leave today to go have the surgery, but I did want to mention that Hillary Clinton is talking to the MI legislature about a re-vote, and not silencing the voices of so many voters there. (There was a crappy article about this in the Washington Post today by Anne Kornblut, who included lines like Clinton was the ONLY Democrat on the ticket - do these reporters not know how to FACT CHECK any more?!? This is the Washington Post, for cryin' out loud - surely they have access to the internet, at least!!)
And Floridians feel like they have already voted, dadgummit - count their votes already! AND, more disturbingly, 1 out of 4 Floridians say they may abandon the Democratic Party if their delegates aren't seated (that was in the St. Petersburg Times, according to TalkLeft.com). 1 out of 4. Talk about disenfranchisement! What the heck have Dean and Brazille done to the DNC?!?!? I have said this a thousand times - the right to vote, and to have one's vote COUNT, is one of the most sacred acts we have in this country. For the DNC, of all organizations, to disenfranchise over 2.2 million people is reprehensible. No other way to see it, im my opinion (there is an EXCELLENT run-down of what happened in FL here: http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2008/03/004343.html)
Meanwhile, as a campaign strategy, Obama has dragged his feet on FL and MI as a way to not have them seated until after he is the nominee, presumably. Nice. After having his camp push for people to vote Uncommitted. And after advertising in FL. So much for a "different" kind of politician. Yeah. Right.
Just a quick note on Obama's speech yesterday: His campaign started all of this race talk to begin with, as I have noted. And for him to compare the long-term hate mongering of his minister to one statement from Ferraro, something that Obama himself has basically said, is insulting at the very least. Yet, this media continues to lap up everything he says, and IGNORES that he lied a number of times leading up to his speech yesterday in which he NOW claims to be telling the truth. If this was ANYONE else, the media would be all over him. But since the media has proclaimed him the Annointed One, he truly seems to be able to get away with anything - McClurkin, Rezko, Wright, not ever calling a committee meeting for his very important subcommittee...The list goes on and on. And the media attacks CLINTON. Yeah. Okay. Whatever. How I long for the "good ol' days" in which the media actually did its job...
On that cheery note, it will be interesting to see how the rest of this primary season unfolds...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Rep. John Murtha and Out of Iraq
While Obama was giving his usual passive aggressive speech about how great he is(with the added bonus of throwing his white grandmother under the bus,essentially denying the work on race relations done for the past 40 yrs, AND stealing a line from Presidnet Clinton's last speech as president), Rep. John Murtha, a highly decorated Vietnam war hero and former Drill Instructor at Paris Island, endorsed Hillary Clinton in her presidential run. Nice!! Oh - and he has been anti-Iraq War from the beginning.
Then there was this statement (from hillaryclinton.com) from the Out of Iraq Caucus:
3/18/2008
An Open Letter From Members Of The Out Of Iraq Caucus
As firm opponents of the Iraq war, we believe there is no higher priority for the next President of the United States than ending this war, and we believe there is no one better prepared and more committed to bringing this war to a responsible conclusion than Hillary Clinton. The best way to honor the sacrifices of our brave young men and women in uniform is to bring them home.
We support Hillary Clinton because she is the candidate with the stature, strength, and experience needed to end this war as quickly and responsibly as possible.
Hillary has put forward the most comprehensive plan for bringing our troops home, with troop withdrawals beginning within 60 days of taking office. She bravely pressed the Pentagon to begin planning for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. And she has introduced legislation to bar the Bush administration from unilaterally negotiating a long-term security agreement with the Iraqi government and thereby tying the hands of the next administration.
Hillary’s commitment to ending this war is matched by her experience. Her knowledge of the armed forces, her service on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and her extraordinary efforts on behalf of our veterans have earned her the respect of our men and women in uniform.
We are proud to support her because we know that she is the candidate ready to bring our troops home.
Del. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
Then there was this statement (from hillaryclinton.com) from the Out of Iraq Caucus:
3/18/2008
An Open Letter From Members Of The Out Of Iraq Caucus
As firm opponents of the Iraq war, we believe there is no higher priority for the next President of the United States than ending this war, and we believe there is no one better prepared and more committed to bringing this war to a responsible conclusion than Hillary Clinton. The best way to honor the sacrifices of our brave young men and women in uniform is to bring them home.
We support Hillary Clinton because she is the candidate with the stature, strength, and experience needed to end this war as quickly and responsibly as possible.
Hillary has put forward the most comprehensive plan for bringing our troops home, with troop withdrawals beginning within 60 days of taking office. She bravely pressed the Pentagon to begin planning for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. And she has introduced legislation to bar the Bush administration from unilaterally negotiating a long-term security agreement with the Iraqi government and thereby tying the hands of the next administration.
Hillary’s commitment to ending this war is matched by her experience. Her knowledge of the armed forces, her service on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and her extraordinary efforts on behalf of our veterans have earned her the respect of our men and women in uniform.
We are proud to support her because we know that she is the candidate ready to bring our troops home.
Del. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
FL, MI, and Obama's Speech
Okay - so FL has decided that there is no way for them to do a re-vote in the amount of time they would need to do it. No way. They think their delegates should stand since 1.7 million people have already come out and voted. They said the DNC needs to figure this out in their meeting in April.
There is some speculation that Obama is pushing for FL to not do anything because then Clinton cannot claim big-state momentum. Well, it seems to me that she has ALREADY won FL, so why can she NOT claim she has big-state momentum?? She DOES!!!
As for MI, Obama is dragging his feet on the re-vote, as in he doesn't really want to let the Michiganders have a voice in this year's primaries. That is not going over very well Michigan. Or in FL. But it is very telling for how Obama operates. And what it says is not very complimentary, IMHO.
I think McCain will have a field day with this, especially in FL. The ad practically writes itself in terms of having FL go for McCain. It is really disturbing.
And also disturbing is that Obama gets even MORE free air time today to try ans squelch all of the concerns over The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's hate speech. As I understand it, Obama is going to mention how race has come up for the past two weeks in the campaign. In other words, he is going to be attacking Clinton. Never mind that HIS campaign started the race baiting against Clinton after NEW HAMPSHIRE in which his camp claimed that he only lost because of race. Then they twisted around the FACTS that both Hillary and Bill said about MLK, LBJ, and Jesse Jackson in SC. It was OBAMA'S camp that attacked these people who have done SO much for the African American community, and now HE is bringing up race and the negative campaigning?? Spare me. Meanwhile, MSNBO has already moved on from the hate mongering of Wright - "nothing to see here, folks, just move along, move along..." Uh, no - wrong. There seems to be PLENTY to see about Obama's 20+ year relationship with Wright. And Rezko. And goddess only knows what else...
And to the first point - this man has gotten SO much free air time this election. I swear, I thought there were FCC rules about the candidates getting equal time. That sure hasn't been the case THIS primary.
So, Obama continues to want to disenfranchise FL and MI - that does not bode well for the Democratic Party and the upcoming election. The DNC seems to have lost its way under Dean's leadership, which is disconcerting. But between Dean, Brazille, and Pelosi, people have lost a lot of faith and trust in the DNC. I would be one of those people. Not only for the FL and MI debacle, but their tacit acceptance of sexism and misogyny in the race, and their seeming endorsement of one candidate over another. That sure is informing a lot of people's perspectives, and it is not good. Again, the ad for McCain practicaly writes itself over Obama and Wright, and over FL, MI, the DNC, and Obama's stand. And you know what? The DNC will have no one but itself to blame if we do lose the White House...
There is some speculation that Obama is pushing for FL to not do anything because then Clinton cannot claim big-state momentum. Well, it seems to me that she has ALREADY won FL, so why can she NOT claim she has big-state momentum?? She DOES!!!
As for MI, Obama is dragging his feet on the re-vote, as in he doesn't really want to let the Michiganders have a voice in this year's primaries. That is not going over very well Michigan. Or in FL. But it is very telling for how Obama operates. And what it says is not very complimentary, IMHO.
I think McCain will have a field day with this, especially in FL. The ad practically writes itself in terms of having FL go for McCain. It is really disturbing.
And also disturbing is that Obama gets even MORE free air time today to try ans squelch all of the concerns over The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's hate speech. As I understand it, Obama is going to mention how race has come up for the past two weeks in the campaign. In other words, he is going to be attacking Clinton. Never mind that HIS campaign started the race baiting against Clinton after NEW HAMPSHIRE in which his camp claimed that he only lost because of race. Then they twisted around the FACTS that both Hillary and Bill said about MLK, LBJ, and Jesse Jackson in SC. It was OBAMA'S camp that attacked these people who have done SO much for the African American community, and now HE is bringing up race and the negative campaigning?? Spare me. Meanwhile, MSNBO has already moved on from the hate mongering of Wright - "nothing to see here, folks, just move along, move along..." Uh, no - wrong. There seems to be PLENTY to see about Obama's 20+ year relationship with Wright. And Rezko. And goddess only knows what else...
And to the first point - this man has gotten SO much free air time this election. I swear, I thought there were FCC rules about the candidates getting equal time. That sure hasn't been the case THIS primary.
So, Obama continues to want to disenfranchise FL and MI - that does not bode well for the Democratic Party and the upcoming election. The DNC seems to have lost its way under Dean's leadership, which is disconcerting. But between Dean, Brazille, and Pelosi, people have lost a lot of faith and trust in the DNC. I would be one of those people. Not only for the FL and MI debacle, but their tacit acceptance of sexism and misogyny in the race, and their seeming endorsement of one candidate over another. That sure is informing a lot of people's perspectives, and it is not good. Again, the ad for McCain practicaly writes itself over Obama and Wright, and over FL, MI, the DNC, and Obama's stand. And you know what? The DNC will have no one but itself to blame if we do lose the White House...
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