35 posts tagged “president”

Rush Limbaugh.  You know there is trouble when something starts with that name.  Today he rallied the “Republican Extremists” by saying that Colin Powell (normally a Republican) is voting for Senator Barack Obama because he is African American and that is the only reason. 

• There is no possibility that he could be disgruntled at what he has seen over the past few years. 
• There is no possibility that he really thinks that the campaign tactics that Senator McCain has undertaken were over the top. 
• There is no chance that he actually watched and studied the candidates and picked who he thought was a better candidate. 
• There is no chance that he actually thinks Barack Obama is going to better handle the campaign. 
• There is no chance he has not bought the rhetoric and nonsense of the Republican Party. 

All of those are absolutely impossible.  How is it that all of these things are absolutely impossible and the only possibility is that this man is voting for Senator Obama, simply because he is African American?   It would be different if he were saying it was just a factor or it may have pushed him over the edge but to say that was the only reason is to say in effect that the only way an African American person could vote for Senator Obama is because such a person could not be as Mr. Limbaugh.  Because intelligent African American people could never disagree with the Republican Party.   

Seriously folks?  Who pulled the race card again? 

When the race issue comes up because of this person voicing such stupid ideas I suppose that the (fundamentalist) Republican Party will suddenly cry foul and say the Democrats are pulling the race card.  Let me say this clearly – RUSH LIMBAUGH JUST PULLED THE RACE CARD!

“Would Colin Powell endorse Senator Obama if he were a white Democratic?”  That is the question Pat Buchanan asked on television.   

Let me say this clearly – PAT BUCHANON JUST PULLED THE RACE CARD!

How come nobody ever says that maybe Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh wouldn’t vote for McCain if he were an African American candidate.  It seems like similar speculation to me. 

These things are okay with the “Evil, Right Wing media” that allows such offensive things and thinks that anyone that is not comfortable with such things is somehow oversensitive and influenced by the crazy right wing media.

In the past few weeks there has been racist newspaper adds from the Republican Party, racist publications, outburst of anger, hate and racism at rallies, church and spiritual abuse and manipulation and these incredibly aggravating robo-calls.  I can’t possibly see why anyone wouldn’t see how there is this big plot of the Left Wing to make the Right Wing look bad.  Why do we need a plot when both sides do such a good job of making themselves look bad?

Us real Americans (that miraculously may not only live in the small towns Sarah Palin visits) who serve our country and die, fight in wars, pay our taxes (unlike this Joe the plumber person who we are tired of hearing about – but it’s okay the local plumbers union seems to support Obama), try our best to raise our children here, can read and write.  Some of us are intelligent enough to know when we are being manipulated and don’t stand for it.  Some of us have a little money, a little influence and do vote.  The key is some of us, who Republicans keep calling the unreal Americans (which is very offensive to those of us who do not live in small towns or play hockey consider ourselves to be like pit-bulls) do not feel like people like this can bully us around.  The Republicans may or may not win this presidential race, but they will inevitably lose far more political power than already lost over this campaign.  There are some Republican politicians that I would have normally voted for who have already lost my vote and John McCain is dangerously close. 

The way both candidates are running we now have our own running of the bulls that we must all run from or be killed but it is the running of the “bull.”  Or better put the “Unleashing of the Idiots.”   We are the greatest nation in the world, how do we get such idiots as politicians and then support them as if they are not idiots.

I may only be one voice, but the key is I am not the only one and this has moved from a discomfort to a cause.  It is a shame that as a person who is diametrically opposed to many things that the Left stands for I may become a person who is more diametrically opposed to what the Right stands for than the Left.  I guess that is where the middle is going to be and soon the people in the middle who tend to the Right (like me) and those who tend to the left are going to have to come together and seek our political voice and bring change from the stupidity that both of these candidates and those who support them have unleashed on our nation. 

By the way, could somebody please slap the next person who uses the words “Joe the Plumber” no matter which party that person comes from.  Joe the Campaign Plant or Joe the Liar (who doesn’t pay his taxes, is not buying any business, and the business he works for makes nowhere near $250k a year) is more like it.  All Americans are not plumbers or in McCain-Palin world. 

I’m a rugby-dad and you wanna know the difference between a rugby-dad and a pit-bull?  If you tick me off I’ll never let go and I have a worse temper!

 

Semper Fidelis

1. Challenged The idea that any person who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour is saved (even if that person doesn't properly understand God's desires (as of yet)
2. You have implied that somehow Islamic Law has more authority than what is outlined in the Bible ("according to Islamic Law he is a Muslim." your exact words in opposition to his statement to the contrary)
3. You have demonstrated that somehow a person who has a disagreement with another professing Christian's interpretation of scripture (correct or incorrect) has the right and authority to publicly question that person's salvation.
4. You have called upon the fear of those in Islam to convince us that somehow Senator John McCain is the Godly choice for our nation effectively putting all of God's eggs in the McCain basket - what happens if he becomes president and is nowhere as Godly as we make him out to be (history shows that this could most likely be the case) the church again looks collectively crazy and sets the stage for loosing more political influence than ever before (winning the battle at the expense of losing the war)
5. You have used a page and a half of scary statements to take the worst most evil doctrines of Islam, tie them to a person who proclaims himself to be Christian, and manipulate those easily influenced by such tactics to believe that God wants them to vote for John McCain as God's messenger for the next four years.

I have just viewed the last debate and watched the polls.  I was very impressed by Senator McCain’s performance and was overtaken with interest by the fact that some issues actually were addressed. 

Senator John McCain came on strong but started to seem a little cheap and gimmicky to me with this “Joe Plumber” nonsense.  The first half of the debate almost unanimously all agree was a win for McCain and probably the high point of his campaign.  I was kind of surprised at how good his performance was but on the other hand thought it was about time considering all of his experience.  Senator Obama seemed to be sticking to the plan of any candidate with that big of a lead at this point:  Just don’t mess up.

Then we hit the Acorn and Ayers conversation which seemed to energize Senator Obama and to scramble Senator McCain’s footing.  From there he seemed angry and actually kind of grumpy from that point until his (very strong) close.

I do not agree with the polls I have seen in that I think it was either a tie or a very close win for Senator Obama.  The pools all gave a landslide victory to Senator Obama.

I was pondering why and was confronting the reality.  Senator McCain needed a huge game changer and did not even come close to getting it and I am not sure that he (or those in his campaign) has any idea how to do that at this point.  The polls probably already reflect the reality of how the voters are leaning.  The most important statistic I saw was the over fifty percent of the independent voters that gave the debate to Senator Obama.  That may be the backbreaker.

I do have one insight to offer.  I noticed in the previous debates that Senator McCain seemed to be focused on the message of I am good and Obama is bad while Senator Obama was able to make similar statements seemed to have a message that said I am thinking about you out there watching on television.  That alone will adjust the statistics and give people the feeling that there is a better connection with Senator Obama.  That might explain the polls where people seem to be trusting Senator Obama on things that nobody thought anyone would trust him on.  I think there was less of that this time, but far more of Senator McCain’s temper which seemed to be barely held at bay for much of the second half of the debate.  One channel was keeping the camera on both men when one was speaking and his reactions were almost disturbing at times.

What do you do now if you are John McCain and there is nineteen days left, you have just lost three debates in a row, the polls are beginning to pummel you, and the CNN map thing says Senator Obama already has enough electoral votes to win the election?

First, you stop the attack campaign; there have rarely been worse results for any campaign tactic as we have seen for this over that past few weeks.

Next, I would have my economic advisors working night and day for some earth shattering plans and solutions for the economy that I could introduce by this weekend that would make economists say “Wow, what a plan!”

I would educate Governor Sarah Palin on the new plan and have her talk about it and how it is better than Senator Obama’s plan.

The biggest thing to do is to study the tapes of this debate and do more of whatever he did in the first half of the debate and less of (if not stop altogether) whatever he did in the second half of the debate.

There is still time, but if the campaign stays on the same course I fear watching the McCain campaign might be a bit like watching the Titanic sink in slow motion.  Then of course there is still the outside chance that Senator Obama could make some terrible mistake and blow the whole deal.

All said, this was a bit better of a debate, but I fear that again Senator McCain did not come close to doing enough and may have missed any chance of winning (plus I have to admit he looked like a case study in beginning anger management).

Maybe he should make friends with Chris Buckley and possibly get him his job back at his father’s paper.

Here are some ideas that have helped shape my ideas on the nation, politics, presidents, vice-presidents, and candidates.  These are all quotes from a rather informed authority on such matters matters.   I hope we can all ponder these ideas and slow down all of the nonsense we are seeing currently.

 

“A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.”

 

“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”

 

“Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.”

 

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.”

 

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

 

“It is difficult to make our material condition better by the best law, but it is easy enough to ruin it by bad laws.”

 

“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

 

“The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.”

 

“The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice.”

 

‘When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "Present" or "Not guilty."’

 

“THE THINGS THAT WILL DESTROY AMERICA ARE PROSPERITY-AT-ANY-PRICE, PEACE-AT-ANY-PRICE, SAFETY-FIRST INSTEAD OF DUTY-FIRST, THE LOVE OF SOFT LIVING, AND THE GET-RICH-QUICK THEORY OF LIFE.”

 

The person quoted here is my favorite president of all time…Theodore Roosevelt.  Strength, intelligence and straight forward, while also a man of honor and integrity and decency.  (the decency is the biggest thing missing from all of the presidential campaigns of recent years.

 

I received this in an email and felt the need to respond...

Revelations Chapter 13 tells us it is 42 months and you know what that is.
Almost a four-year term to a Presidency. All I can say is Lord Have Mercy on
us! According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is: The anti-Christ
will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations
with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the
prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will
promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy
everything..

Is it OBAMA??

There are absolutely no statements in revelation that say the “anti-Christ” will be from any country, any age these ideas come from Daniel and have been interpreted to say all kinds of things. I remember when Ronald Reagan was president there was this trip going around that he was the anti-Christ because of the amount of letters in his name. I actually remember his middle name because of the amount of times it came up. Ronald Wilson Reagan the number of man three times 666 (six letters each name). And we wonder why people who are not Christian think we are all crazy. It is not even if this man is or isn’t the antichrist that is in question at this point, it is that we will twist the Bible to support our arguments.

The Pharisees and Scribes knew the Bible and what it said, but would stretch everything to adjust what it said to fit how they felt about issues. In my lifetime (I noticed this more before I was saved) I have heard so many ideas about someone (usually someone unpopular with American churches) that tried to tell me this person was the anti-Christ that if the real anti-Christ came and sat down to dinner with me I probably would no longer have any way of even considering that he was the anti-Christ. The church has cried wolf (anti-Christ far too many times to suit their own needs of the time.

I am saying this to help us consider this fact. The truth is that Barack Obama is simple a terrible candidate for president on many levels. John McCain is not only a terrible candidate, but he is terrible at picking people for his political regime (he has several people that other presidential candidates including Ronald Reagan fired because of the level of attacking and dirty campaigning they were doing). Here we are looking at such things.

I make it a point to try to look at both sides of any political argument, but this campaign has had people at McCain rallies screaming racial epithets out loud, screaming things like “kill him” etc. without a word from the McCain campaign to stop it. There is a pastor who stands In front of the entire nation this weekend and says that if Barack Obama wins it would somehow show other that God is not powerful and their gods are more powerful. A man last week, from the McCain campaign in Virginia wrote an article (click here to see the actual article) which I was personally offended by. I am perplexed by the idea that several people have tried to put before me that the McCain campaign is somehow a move of God (seriously, does God really move like that) against the evil of Barack Hussein Obama.

It is also amazing to me that suddenly the guy who lost his mind berating Christians in the media in 2000 is suddenly the great hope for God and Christianity all of a sudden.

I have a unique view of this election for several reasons – I am very into politics, I am an independent, I am of mixed race and comfortable with both African American folks and Caucasian folks, I feel I have a pretty good working knowledge of the Bible, I am in the middle class (not the rich that McCain seems to tend towards and not the poor that Obama seems to tend toward), I have a home bought during the questionable period, and I am very worried about healthcare and my retirement.

I think both parties have become outright silly. For me race will not choose a president, neither person even remotely has God’s best interests in mind (unless you are of the opinion that the only thing that will matter to you and your family over the next four years is the possibility of having an abortion), neither candidate is going to help me out financially according to the plans they have outlined so far, and neither has a plan that will help my family out at all.

They are both absolutely terrible candidates but only one has the audacity to assault and insult my ability to reason with repeated attacks on the other that are designed to raise fear in me and make me think that my only hope is to vote for him (the technical term is manipulation). If we are relying on anything that has anything to do with either of these candidates to determine our relationship to God and how close we are to the end of the world there is good news. We can stop worrying about health care and retirement plans because we won’t be needing them.

My favorite president of all time, Theodore Roosevelt once said; “Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.” (another way to say this is that every tree has it’s fruits and nuts) I deeply wish to be a part of the reform of our nation but not on the lunatic fringe. The one thing I will do however is let somebody use things I hold dear to me to manipulate me, particularly letting a candidate manipulate my belief in God to force me to vote for them. That goes double for rumors based on statements made in a book written by someone who is literally insane whose statements have no basis (Read about it by clicking here).

The worst part is that the statistics are showing that I am not the only person that is offended by all of this attack campaigning, but we are still seeing it. Obama is not winning the campaign; these ungodly tactics are losing it for Senator McCain. And these tactics are the type of underhanded tactics I want to see from our president.

Over the past couple of weeks my blogs have often been pretty much anger at the McCain campaign for running such a poor campaign and doing such a disservice to Senator McCain and Governor Palin while also not allowing us to have real choices for president (keeping in mind that the person ultimately responsible for the campaign is the candidate).

Things like this will rally the base and lose the election!!!!!!!

Yup, I’m back.  The voice of the independent, Christian, voter of mixed race. 

 

What a year.  Never have there been two candidates for anything where the both less represent what I believe in as this presidential race.  They are however, both pretty adept at talking a pretty good game.

 

There is good news on the horizon (other than the fact that all of this is almost over).  This election may not be the total waste I had once thought it was inevitably going to be.

 

Over the past few weeks, the usual attack ads and ongoing verbal attacks from the person falling behind have be at or near an all time high.  Palin, McCain, the McCain campaign and so on are dangerously close to going nuclear in their assault on everything Obama.

 

At this point in the campaign season the American public begins its normal ranting and carrying on about how much they hate this kind of politics and wish the candidates would stick to the issues and other such complaints.  The funny thing is that this usually works in spite of all of the complaining.

 

This year much of how campaigns are run (particularly presidential campaigns) is evolving right before our eyes.  The most impacting change I am seeing (and I hope I continue to see) is the immediate expression of dislike of the attack technique in polls, discussions, and those funny little button things on CNN during the debates.

 

Whenever the attacking starts, the little CNN graph drops faster than a Mike Tyson opponent in the early part of his boxing career.  The stronger the attacks in “Tall Hall Meetings” and on the campaign trail, the larger the gap grows between the candidates.

 

The surprise for me is that in spite of this, the McCain campaign has decided to continue to run the campaign as if Senator McCain was running for president in the late sixties (sort of Nixonesque with a touch of George W.).  The hurrahs of the unwavering party faithful seem to be blinding the McCain camp to the fact that the “undecided” voters, are getting far more of that in the news than anything else from his camp.  The truth is, it is far ore interesting news, but at this point in history terrible campaigning. 

 

Have they forgotten that he is fighting the image of the elderly, grumpy guy who has outburst of anger and randomly votes for stuff that makes no sense?  Are they sure that twenty-four hours of news with clips of him, barely holding back the fact he cannot stand Senator Barack Obama, with barely harnessed intensity (bordering on anger) saying negative things about the man.  For many I have spoken to even many that are leaning his direction, he is starting to look a little scary.

 

I am not a campaign manager nor a rocket scientist, but I think Guy McIntyre (formerly with the San Francisco 49^ers) one said:  “If something is not working, you should do less of it.”   I would have to say I agree totally.

 

As one of those independent voters, I am nowhere near being convinced that Senator Obama is ready to be president.  But the way things are going, I would have to say that the poor judgment of the McCain campaign as directed by Senator John McCain is drifting towards being what I see as grossly negligent.  If the people he has selected to run his campaign are doing such a poor job of responding to the changing times and he has not changed the course in the face of impending disaster, what does that say about his potential presidency and those he will appoint to important positions? 

 

I personally, as an undecided, independent voter, am not likely to vote for Senator Obama, but I am getting more and more likely to vote against the entire McCain campaign.

 

I honestly hope he hears this message and changes the course of his campaign to something that is less akin to watching the Titanic right after it hit the iceberg.  I desperately would like to feel like one of these guys could do the job and the longer this goes on the less convinced I seem to become.  This current ploy of attacking Senator Obama, while it gets hoops and hollers from the “diehard” Republicans (like cheering for their favorite football team when they are loosing), the result of energizing the a Republican base will not have the same effect that it did for George W.  It is the quickest way to loose.

What is going on?  This morning I am growing more and more frustrated with our “big two” candidates reducing the huge issues of our lives to political tools.

This time it started in the morning with (as best as I can tell) a request from Senator Obama’s people to put out a bipartisan statement from both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain about the rescue/bailout plan and the economy.

A little while later, Senator McCain was in the media saying that he was suspending his campaign and was not going to participate in the debate scheduled for Friday.

Then we saw Senator Obama saying that a president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time (ouch).

Then Newt Gingrich was seen praising how responsible Senator McCain is being (of course not mentioning that no senator has missed more votes than Senator McCain this year but Senator Obama is not far behind).

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (a Democrat from Maryland) then makes the point that their presence is not going to help with solving the problem they will just take what progress is being made and complicate it with politics by just bringing the political campaign into the halls of congress.

Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat) called this an injection of presidential politics. 

Then we start to find out facts like the fact that neither has been participating in votes all year and that neither is on the committee involved in this debate.

Now we are finding out that they are both scheduled to meet with the president to discuss this.

I understand that these men are in effect top leaders in their respective party, but can they really be of help to this negotiation process.  The truth is that we are not expecting the people on that committee to be there to help one candidate or another, but to be helping the economy, the people, the financial institutions or whatever.  

Have you ever been driving with a passenger in the car and right when you are about to change lanes or something like that that person starts trying to get your attention.  Why is it a bad idea for you to look away from the road?

Both of these guys have neglected their jobs to campaign (really what it takes to run for president) and now suddenly each acts like the economy messiah ignoring the fact that each has been in a powerful political position all this time and have yet to save the world.

If these candidates wanted to be helpful why wait until the car has died and the mechanic is working on it (in the service station) to begin to try to fix it.  There are people already working on it and their debates or lack thereof, starting or stopping commercials and so on will not have any effect on the outcome. 

The current job of both of these men is to try to get American people to like, trust, and respect them.  The problem here is that there are serious people, wresting and fighting to find a realistic solution to our economy troubles before the economy collapses.  If I were one of these people (Democrat, Republican, and otherwise) I would be angered by the handling of this by both candidates. 

If the economy is now the big issue we should be hearing far more about these Bernanke and Paulson fellows and what they think and far less about what these Obama and McCain fellows think. 

We have moved from a period where the economy is a key topic to a terribly desperate moment.  The candidates have been discussing their theories and what each would do in the (near) future if elected.  This is important to know, but is not worth a hill of beans as far as what is going on right now.

The debate does not need to be put off, some of our focus needs to be put somewhere else.   Their theories are important as one of their mindsets is our future, but there is a whole lot of people doing stuff that will make or break us right now, we cannot allow the nonsense of the candidates to divert our attention from that or to further complicate the process of figuring out a solution.

Over the past few months I have been astonished by the number of people from other nations who have been deeply interested in our presidential election.  What an opportunity to show the world how our wonderful democracy really is and to dispel the myths about us that have created such a great deal of chaos around the world.

We began our presidential primaries with a tremendous showing of how much our country has advanced.   We had a female candidate, an African American candidate, a Mormon candidate, an actor as a candidate, a candidate who is advanced in years, and a bunch of other people.

But, somewhere our great nation took a left when we should have taken a right (not the revered of course). 

There was the issue of Senator Barack Obama’s former pastor that brought out this huge race issue and revealed to the world that as a nation we have ignored and never closed the door on our ongoing race issues dealing with people of African heritage and/or their deep resentment of their treatment at the hands of the laws and people of this nation from it’s inception. 

Then we revealed to the world that with all of our pious talk of equal opportunity for women in our country and  how advanced we are in terms of gender equality there was suddenly a rush of both accusations and some demonstrations of chauvinism and hyper-feminism.  This showed the world that we are clearly not as far along as we let on.

Then we decided it was time to demonstrate to the world that we had no dignity or class at all.  We suddenly saw images of members of our senate who were realistic hopes for leadership of our nation using such things as bowling, taking shots in bars and chugging beer, and describing our nation as people who cling to religion and guns because we are angry used as serious campaign strategies.

On the Republican side there was this McCain fellow, another prominent member of our Senate, stating that the American people were basically on their own and the government would do nothing to help (probably not exactly what he meant, but that was what came out of his mouth) and that the solution would be a “Gas Tax Holiday” which was immediately reamed by economists and the media worldwide. 

And, let us not forget the images we saw on Martin Luther Kings birthday of Senator McCain somewhere in the south in front of a largely African American crowd apologizing for having fought so diligently against any official acceptance of the Martin Luther King Holiday and trying to explain why he did with the background being a huge chorus of boos.

By this point, people the worldwide laid their only hope in the American public and the media to sort this all out.

Then the statistics and interviews started to pour out that either clearly stated or hinted to the fact that much of the population of our nation that votes, does so for the most ridiculous reasons imaginable.  One of the most important positions a human being can hold on this planet and this person is chosen because he or she is:  a woman, not a woman, is African American, is not African American, is like movie stars (such as Paris Hilton), is a “maverick” (which is synonymous with the word reckless in the minds of many the worldwide), a member of the party the individual is loyal to (no matter how ridiculous or idiotic the individual may be), and so on.

Now the entire planet is concerned with our election.  Not only because it is definitely the best reality show on the planet, but I suspect that there is such concern because many around the world recognize the influence this position has in the world and there is a genuine concern that this years vote will be so screwed up that it may mark the beginning of the Apocalypse. 

Then just when it seemed it could not get any worse, the conventions proved that to be just the beginning of the stupidity.  There were great speeches and suddenly this woman shows up and describes herself as being like a pit-bull wearing lipstick (the hokey mom that said the only thing between hockey moms and pit-bulls was lipstick).  Within a weekend the direction of the votes of the American people (according to the coverage) shifted into the direction of the person who is in reality only running for Vice-president.

I receive emails and responses to my blogs and from people around the world that show a deep concern and interest in our elections this year and the scary part is that the people in this nation are not that deeply concerned. 

Over the last week the most important political conversation and coverage that was consistently heard had to do with putting lipstick on pit-bulls and pigs.  Seriously folks, have we collectively lost our minds!

The conversations and correspondence I have had with people here has greatly discouraged and almost angers me.  People here are acting like we are voting for who is the better football team.  I am loyal to my team because they are from my area, they have more people like me, they have better media coverage, because they play a little dirty, they don’t play as dirty, they have better fans, etc. 

Although there has been a lot of calls for the facts and less campaign nonsense the truth is when different forms of media have offered both the facts and the nonsense people have drawn in droves to the nonsense.  No matter what people say as a group, the fact is that the nonsense and negative tactics have once again shown that they work as evidenced by the polls.

In one conversation I had, someone made a very good point:  “You have to vote for someone so I guess you are going to have to do the best you can and vote for the lesser evil.”

At that point it hit me.  It is like asking me to vote for the Apocalypse I would be more comfortable living through.  Or maybe like the guy in the mafia movie about to be killed and asked by the guy about to kill him if he would rather be shot in the front of the head or the back.

The truth is that the entire planet is deeply interested in and can watch our government in action and we are blowing a great opportunity.  I am not the only person who thinks we have a pool of the worst candidates we have ever had, there are many prominent members of the media and political community that agree.  And have we all not seen the petty and childish actions that have been the basic normal operation of our government as a whole for the past few years.  These things have doubled during this election. 

If you are American, please take a second and imagine how all of this would look if you lived somewhere else.  Is it any wonder that over the past few months all of the nations who hate us have ramped up the rhetoric and worldwide less and less people like us?

I have been quietly watching Senator McCain and trying to see if there was anything to hope for beyond what I already knew.  I tried to have an open mind and was again disappointed. 

Over the past few weeks I have watched Senator McCain get on the offensive (and yes it was definitely offensive).  I actually was okay with the first few attacks and political ploys, but it has really gotten tired.

I could not place how I was feeling about him until I heard somebody describe him as reminding him of the grumpy elderly people down the street that we all remember for always yelling at the neighborhood children for making too much noise or for stepping on their grass etc..  That hit it on the head.  He strikes me as just some grumpy person that that is just angry at a bunch of stuff.

I have also watched him and anyone who supports him build on Senator Hillary Clinton’s theme of his extensive experience in government service. 

I was thinking about that and the first images that came to my mind were

1. Me watching the news sometime in the late eighties or early nineties and suddenly hearing a song from the very political rap group “Public Enemy” playing on the local news.  This caught my attention and although I do not remember which song it was, I will always remember the kinda scary looking gentleman that was the topic of the news story.  The story was about the people who were fighting against the Martin Luther King holiday and that “poster child” for this movement perceived to be anti-African American was one Senator John McCain.
2. I remember flipping through the channels at some point in history and seeing some guys from the government in some kind of legal trouble and trying to defend themselves.  Apparently there was a question of some possible shady dealings and one of those men was this Senator McCain fellow.
3. I remember being vaguely interested in the 2000 elections and suddenly this one guy busts out and says a bunch of anti-Christian stuff and blows his stack.  I remember thinking to myself; “Isn’t that that crazy guy who fought against the Martin Luther King holiday.”

In sports I have had several coaches that made a correction to a popular saying.  The popular saying is “practice makes perfect.”  The correction is “No!  Perfect practice makes perfect.  If you practice it wrong you will only do it wrong in the games and lose.” 

Just time spent in the government does not make a person a good president especially if the memories I have are any indicator of what we can expect of McCain presidency. 

Court cases, angry outbursts, and the end of those pesky tributes to African Americans.  I know it sounds a little extreme, but I am not the only person who has these scattered memories along with some vague recollection of his wife in some kind of trouble for prescription drug addiction. 

I honestly have not given these things much thought until the recent push to focus on Senator McCain’s ever so incredible and extensive political experience.  I went through the memory banks and this is what was buried back there.  Research has revealed much more good and bad, but I am still haunted by these images.

I am even more haunted by the idea of similar images coming from a president of our great nation.

And if I hear one more person defend their plans to vote for Senator McCain by stating he or she doesn’t trust Senator Obama or because he or she wanted Senator Clinton to win the nomination I promise to vomit on them.  Not voting for him because he would be a good president, can save us from the current messes, or even is a good candidate, but to spite the other candidate a person would put the fate of our nation and all of it’s inhabitants in the hands of someone they do not truly believe would be a better candidate.  A person who would do something this careless and reckless should have their right to vote taken away.

I have yet to see any reason to vote for either candidate from the major parties and yet have reason upon reason why neither one is a safe bet for the Whitehouse. 

I am beginning to think there isn’t even a lesser evil.  It is like asking which person in the morgue is deader or in effect which is the “lesser” dead?  They are all dead and that is that. 

Both of these candidates are terrible and that is that!

The White House today undermined the argument that the John McCain Camp has been making that what the Iraqi government was supporting and Senator Obama’s troop withdrawal plan are not the same thing by publically coming out against what the Iraqi government has stated.

This is clearly no longer a “General Time Horizon” in the eyes of the Iraqi government, but is the actual goal they are pushing for.  The fact that an unpopular Whitehouse, is pushing against a timeline to withdraw from an unpopular war, while the government of that country is saying, “thanks, but it is time for you to go,” seems to completely undermine the Republican Parties attempts to help Senator John McCain.

If this had just been left alone by the Whitehouse it might have blown over in a few days, but now with all of the press getting ready to begin discussing how these statements angered the Whitehouse this story is about to begin to monopolize the airwaves. 

This stand by the Whitehouse is also likely to start a war of words with the government of Iraq and do even more to convince them that the Americans need to go soon.

Senator McCain had just mounted an offensive on Senator Obama with repeated talk and adds describing how he does not understand how to work with foreign nations and has been repeatedly wrong about Iraq.  Just as people were beginning to bite on that line, the Whitehouse begins to assault the government of Iraq and bring attention to the fact that the government and Senator Obama seem to agree.

The feeling one gets when hearing the Whitehouse response today is that they knew all along that the government of Iraq felt this way and were in negotiations about it,  but simply wouldn’t tell the American public in support of Senator McCain. 

If that is the case, it looks like the Iraqi government has grown weary of playing American politics the Bush Whitehouse way and has decided to hope on Senator Obama and to even support him publically.

I am not one to agree with all of the negative nonsense that is out there about President Bush and his Whitehouse, but this may leave him looking like the person who ticked off the Iraqi’s (again) and who undermined Senator McCain’s run just as he was gaining momentum.  I suppose it all depends on how far the Whitehouse will go with this media campaign against the Iraqi government.

I have to wonder, if the government of Iraq wants us out in that timeline, much of Capitol Hill wants us out in some kind of timeline, and a decent percent of the American population wants us out in a timeline, if it may not be a good idea to firm up the “General Time Horizon” and leave room to reexamine the state of the country near that time.

I guess if you are too busy trying to play partisan politics and get the person from your party elected, one may not see this as a reasonable option.  But, with all the talk of how well the Surge worked, it seems like the requests of the Iraqi government for us to set a date to leave would not be that far fetched. 

All this talk about how well the Surge has worked has backed the Whitehouse into a corner and may be the boomerang that went up to make Senator John McCain look like the better person on Iraq only to come back in his face when he says setting a timeline is unreasonable.

I mean either it worked or it didn’t.  If it worked, we should not need to be there much longer.  If it didn’t, work all that well, then a timeline is in fact unreasonable and Senator McCain’s assertions will be seen as lies (when they are in fact simply exaggerations).

I am still left with one huge question:  Did the Whitehouse think this through before they made these public statements?  

With this (unpopular) Whitehouse on your side, it must be hard to run for president!