Finally, we can move on to the business of winning in November. I was never too hot on Obama, but he's the choice the voters have made (despite Clinton's idiotic insistences otherwise). It is interesting that Obama's resume has a lot in common with another Illinois senator from our history: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was an Illinois legislator, then elected to the Senate for a single term, then ran for president. Even most Republicants would concede that even with that "thin" resume, he was unquestionably one of the greatest presidents in our history. It is a clear example of the content of the candidate's character, his resolve and judgement, that truly makes the potential for greatness. McSame has a ton of experience, but he wants to stay in Iraq 100+ years, opposes the new GI Bill, and favors keeping George W. Botch's disasterous economic policies going. In the contest of ideas, judgement and character far outweigh a candidate's level of experience in my view. Obama isn't perfect; I would like to hear him talking about concrete issues much more often, but the alternative from the Republicants makes me nauseous and disgusted.
Sphere: Related ContentThursday, June 5, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Picking up after a long hiatus...
Well, fast forward a few months, and we find ourselves locked in a battle for the Democratic nomination. Hillary is trying to pull a rabbit out of a teaspoon, talking about the popular vote and seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. This is of course a direct contradiction with her previous statement where she said, "Well, you know, It's clear, this election they're having is not going to count for anything," referring to the Michigan voting. Now, of course, she wants the votes to count. Clear self-serving hipocracy. Shameful and embarrasing for the party and herself.
My confidence in Obama is also quite thin. I just don't see him as a formidable candidate. The media love-fest we saw earlier this year is clearly over, and as coverage becomes more negative his fortunes seem to slip. Clinton continues to raise questions about him and his vague "change" message is getting tired. I would like to hear some specific policy statements from his podium rather than just more vague statements about moving forward in a new direction. WHAT new direction are you talking about, sir?
McCain continues to embarrass himself with gaffes over the troop levels in Iraq and continuing to mistake sunni and shiites for each other. This from the supposed experienced military guy. Either he is truly getting too old for the office or is just stupid. One wonders whether he may even be stupider than GW Bush. Bush's problem seems to be a generally poor relationship with the English language (nu-ku-lar, anyone?), rather than an actual lack of intelligence. McCain, on the other hand, with his continued factual gaffes and conflations, just seems out of it in general. On top of all of that, his ham-handed pandering to the right wing clearly shows this is not the McCain of 2000. The 2008 version is disappointingly predictable.
One last note about the new GI Bill currently in the Congress. McCain (and Bush) is ridiculously hypocritical on this one, and one wonders what the true motivation for opposing it is. He (and Bush) complain that it is too expensive, and will affect retention. This is tantamount to saying that our men and women who fought for us (ostensibly) in Iraq just don't deserve to be taken care of when they get back. Not only that, but we want to make the civilian world less attractive to them so they feel trapped in the military if they want to have secure futures. What a load of bull. Either you support our troops or you do not. It is so easy to SAY you support the troops, make speeches, wear lapel pins, etc. But when the rubber hits the road and it comes time to put your (our) money where your mouth is, it suddenly all goes out the window. The truth is, these young people deserve our support when they get back, whatever the cost is. This is just another cost of the war that we will have to bear, but in this case its also an investment in all our futures as the money invested in these veterans will surely stimulate the economy far more than issuing refund checks to the general populace. That I believe is a very stark difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats are willing to INVEST in our people and infrastructure whereas Republicans are not.
The opposition to the new GI Bill also ignore the obvious counter-point to the retention "issue", which is the boon it would be for recruitment!