Politics – When Barack Obama comes onto stage, he moves like a jazz musician. So said Harvard Professor Elaine Kamarck, a superdelegate in the US Democratic Party, who was a guest speaker at a public sector awards dinner in Cape Town on Saturday.
The OBAMA craze reminds me a lot of the Pierre Trudeau craze we had here in Canada. He was one of our best Prime Ministers in my opinion. He was a bit more flamboyant than Obama but a straight shooter and a born leader like Obama.
I only hope you're right gm. I'm very leary of putting my hopes in Obama. My reasons are the preacher man, Israel and the remarks about Iran.
He was in Portland yesterday and drew quite a crowd. It's easy to get caught up in that excitement. He is a beautiful speaker and I like many things about him. The three things I mentioned above are what keep me from jumping on the train.
I believe fault can be found in each and every one of us. The candidates that are running have lots of flaws. I see Obama as having the least.
McCain is much the same as Bush in a lot of areas. He perfers action before thought and discussion. We know where that ends up. That is a high risk to take with your vote.
Clinton...See will tell you anything that you want to hear...it doesn't have to be true. It's whatever it takes to get into power. Power being the key word.
Obama.. Yes he had the affiliation with the preacher and it is viewed as negative by some. Though I have to say some of the preachers observations were correct...even though they hit a raw never with the American public.
As I said before.... I would be more afraid of the known than the unknown when I placed my vote.
Just to be clear gm---I don't have a problem with the relationship between Obama and his preacher---my problem is that he turned his back on the preacher and denounced him. Obama really wants to be president and I understand that. But has he sold his soul? I think the preacher was RIGHT ON!
As far as Clinton and McCain---they aren't even in my vocabulary.
Israel, Palestine, Iran?????????
TC, i think Wright placed him in that position. At a critical point in the campaign, Wright spoke out again. If Wright wanted to help his clergy member I think he could have done a lot better to wait until after the campaign. It's political suicide for any Democrat running for President to appear "soft" on Iran. All the candidates that expressed this view aren't running anymore. Sadly, even to take a neutral stance on Israeli policy is political suicide. What I do feel is that when he becomes President is that his decisions will be based on common sense and diplomacy. Not gut feelings, party lines, or loyalty. Maybe I'm wrong, but i think that Obama is the closest thing to a diplomatic President we have. At least he said he would talk with Iran and Hamas. All the other candidates think that he's a fruitcake for saying this.
Jovial put it right. There are certain political realities that are nauseating but so. Kucinich for instance, told the truth and was chastised, subjugated, and framed as a lunatic.
It is a balance between doing what one must do and say to succeed politically and actually serving the people's interests. So far Obama has done well, in fact astoundingly well at publishing enough material that those who have read it can have confidence in his decision making criteria, yet doing what the game dictates is necessary.
Frankly it remains to be seen whether Obama represents real change or just nice words. He has made a lot of ugly compromises already (e.g. support of zionist ethnic cleansing in palestine, wall street financial interests, the nuclear industry,...). We should hope he does (and that the democratic party gets a through cleaning out of the stables), because anger is building up in america.
With Contempt
An Open letter to Dianne Feinstein
Dianne,
You may be surprised and offended by my familiar salutation, but you have lost the right to be addressed as Senator Feinstein. Although I have voted for you in every single election I could (a lot, I'm 60), you have failed miserably as my elected Senator. I now completely withdraw my support for you and the Democratic Party. For the past seven years I have begged and pleaded with you do your job and uphold the solemn oaths you have repeatedly sworn to protect and defend the Constitution of these United States and its laws.
Your standard pablum response has been a patronizing pat on the head and a vacuous reassurance that someday something might be accomplished through further legislation, providing Bush doesn't veto it or your colleagues disapprove. Your latest such response (written correspondence, 29 April 2008, regarding torture) is the final straw. I am tired of your sorry excuses and dilatory tactics. Your failure to do your duty has helped bring us to this sorry state of affairs.
.....
.....
Mark my words: you have perhaps a year, maybe two, before the riots start. High gas prices, high food prices, incompetent disaster relief, home foreclosures, lack of jobs, and a loss of faith in the system will combine to create chaos. If your aides were to look up my previous correspondance with you they will find that I accurately predicted the lack of WMD, the quagmire that is Iraq, and a number of other things.
I'm sure you believe that if we can just get throught the election, everything will be better with a Democratic President. Wrong: whoever is president will soon discover that we are broke, the business class has no interest in rectifying anything, and we are bereft of influence. More people will lose their homes while you and your colleagues pump billions into corporations "that are too big to fail". Those corporations will take that tax money and invest it outside the United States. The kicker is going to be TV, in February '09. When you have millions of people with no home, no work, no money, hugely expensive gas and food, and nothing much to do besides watch TV, and you take THAT away from them what exactly do you think they will do? Vouchers for new TVs or adapters don't help if you can't afford to feed your children. The subsequent riots will spin completely out of control with most of the National Guard deployed overseas.
While most of this is too far gone to stop, it might yet be mitigated if you do the right thing and support the impeachment of Bush and his cronies. Unfortunately, my concerns are going into the empty head of some ignorant intern who is likely going to have to look up some of the words I've used. So to you who is actually reading this: hide and watch as our country falls over the next two years or so and when it happens, remember that she was warned well in advance and nothing you could do would get her to do anything constructive about it, because that would require more sacrifice and selflessness than she, or anyone in Washington for that matter, is capable of.
Don't worry: I don't expect anything like a reasoned, respectful response, just more phony pablum.
with contempt,
Michael Piotrowski - Citizen, Vietnam Vet, Educator, former Democrat
If you haven't read his book or biography, you should. This is a good man. Most of us are so jaded from the run-of-the mill politicians that we wouldn't be able to even recognize a sincere man who wants to serve his nation for honorable reasons. Jesus couldn't run for office in this country and be trusted, so why should a black man with the name Barack Hussein Obama expect any better? And he doesn't!
double post...
According to the article Kamarck pointed out that Obama had won support from a whole new generation of voters: "the millennials", as she called them - the most racially diverse and racially integrated generation in American history.
"This is a generation that is turned off by a politics that tears people down and insults them," said Kamarck, referring to the politics of the previous 'baby boomer' generation. "They're a generation of solutions and a generation to whom Barack Obama's message of hope is quite extraordinary and quite appealing."
Indeed what separates him from the others he does not insult our intelligence.
There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty about the presi
dential candidates at this point. I believe that McCain represents more of the same. Clinton is a shrewd, intelligent, and calculating woman. She might be a very effective president. I feel that,of the three, Obama is the most honest and compassionate, perhaps indeed a "new" American hero. I will vote for him. That being said, I will vote for Hillary should she get the nomination. I will not vote for McCain. I'm too bitter about what Bush has perpetrated on our country and its constitution.
hi found out on the obama is in trouble hes going to other countrys middle east were is a bad thing he wants to make peace with them. rep telling him not a good idea that he dont know who hes dealing with. the thing is that obama wants to do it in peson go over there the rep tell him its dangerouse to do that. i must agree for the first time with the rep it is dangerouse for anyone in person to go in person to make peace with the middle easte. they have no idea who they are getting into. middle eastern men or army people are very fisty fighting people they have nothing to loose or gain so they fight the women well they do nothing.maria
FTA: "John McCain is the American hero of John Wayne movies..."
Look, I have great respect for John McCain and what he suffered through on behalf of his country.
But this whole WAR HERO thing brings to mind something my martial arts instructor told the class one day.
Our master was an ex Army Special Forces guy himself. While he was in the service, one of his SF compatriots ran up against a particularly pugnacious Airborne soldier. This guy had scars all over his face. To most people, when he tried to pick a fight, he would have looked terrifying. But the Special Forces guy read the situation from a different playbook. When the pugnacious soldier threatened him, he smashed him in the face, knocking him down two flights of stairs.
Asked about his bravado, he explained that it was pretty obvious that a guy with that many scars on his face had already lost a ton of fights.
Bluster and false bravado is no substitute for picking your fights wisely.
Grani,
Why do you hate America so much?
National Security?!?!?! We'll all assume that you're joking. No one could be so naive to think that a policy of provoking enemies like Dumby has done for the past 7 years has made ANYONE in the world safer.
Remember 9/11? What was Dumby pursuing rather than protecting his country???? STAR WARS!
A provocative and highly inaccurate, unproven means of leveraging offensive strength.
All the while 3,000 people died as a result of this administration's complacency.
WHO has no clue about 'National Security'??
Obama has shown his poor choice in mentors (Wright), poor choices in friends (Ayres)that bombed our country, lying about what you heard in church for 20 years, and then throwing Wright under the bus, calling whites "You People", Throwing Grandma under the bus, killing live babies,
The remark about clinging to guns and bible, his anti-American wife, his socialistic ideas for America, higher taxes,
his "Sweetie" remark last week in Detroit.
It makes me sick to think of this man as our President.
i fell the same obama preacher bot a president yea right i dont think so i hear nothing but trouble on his side. hes taking truoble and with the rep fighting with them and trying to prove to everyone how good he is and trying to go to over countrys by himself to make peace. hes to young dont have enough experience to do all that dont know what hes doing. i think hes making a big mistake. its only a matter of time when he will make a very big bo bo a no no you will see. clinton is working very well with her people and talking without making souch a big deal very smart lady maria
Not a member? Sign-up today!
MacBookForMe
m3chman
CommonDavid
CRYMTYPHON
alamala
Eagle Eye
chiefee351
Ciera Marie
cosmogenium
blico
Tessylo
GWHayduke
geniusbeauty
capnews
DiffeeOnline
pagey
BillSmythe
trater
SunnyDays
daducha
ETproductions
bizexpert
neophyteblogger
deezin2
Chuck The Canuck
lenseview
foksipayne
Colaba
bamababy
hyooo25
questionseverything
marias
Radiofreeeuropa
Goppy
jordan11
deadlyhaiku
bruhaha
bluetexasvalley
Gleep
ffiwow
lilianhellmann
gabriel19671968
mcgrievysr
Shadowolf
not2needy
Spadecaller
lawrencee
hyperbola
Ratskii
TimALoftis
About Propeller | Frequently Asked Questions | Help
© 2003-2008 Propeller. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
37)
Vote
The man represents a change in government from the regime of corporate interests. He has to be causing the right wing a lot of angst with his appeal and by his ability to put subject and verb together to form complete sentences.
He's 100% Hype. Anyone with a 3rd grade education can point out the problems that we have, but that doesn't make him qualified to be President.
And just wait till the Rev. Cone story breaks.
"He's 100% Hype. Anyone with a 3rd grade education can point out the problems that we have, but that doesn't make him qualified to be President."
Odd you say that since according to the GOP we're doing great, best economy, low unemployment, stock market up and it appears the 20%ers swallow that hook line and sinker. Oh yeah thats right you need that third grade education to see the problems, that explains it.
ROFLMAO, yeah Hagee and Robertson spew hate at anyone that disagrees with them and the right is worried about who associated with Obama 20 years ago. And the top keeps spinning.