Another Interesting Day.....

Al Gore endorsed Barack Obama today. The only major force that is right now missing are the Clintons. I would be very interested in finding out how they come out and in what fashion in they come out.

Now, on another note, the Iraqi Foreign Minister claims that negotiations over the Iraqi-US Status of Force agreement is a sovereign Iraqi decision. Sorry, Mr. Foreign Minister, that is as big a joke as I have ever heard. I don't know who to believe. For the sake of Iraqis, I do hope that the insurgency has been defeated.

As for Afghanistan, the so-called good war, Karzai the puppet spoke up yet again. He threatened to send his forces into Pakistan. He can't even fix his own country, yet he wants to attack Pakistan. Now, Al Jazeera is reporting that the Taliban are threatening to take over Kandahar, Afghanistan's Second City and Karzai's home town. Of course, the coalition will probably destroy the city in order to save it (remember falluja). The British are also sending more troops to fight the "good war". The wars seem never to end.

Change...Can it be truly possible?

Barrack Obama is talking about change and how he is going to be different. He has gone after the President and Senator McCain by making sure that they understand that Patriotism is something that is not exclusive to the Conservatives. Although I was disappointed that he gave in to the corporate mass media criticism of wearing a flag pin, I still am waiting for him to totally and unequivocally repudiate all Presidential Signing Statements issued by George W. Bush so that a new era of transparency dawns so that the nightmare of the past 8 years is behind us. As I noted before, I am counting the hours until January 20, 2009 at 12:01 PM. Hopefully, it won't be President McCain...although he has promised he would be a different kind of President. But, George W. Bush promised us compassionate conservatism and look what it got us.

The struggle goes on.....

Edwards endorses Obama

The talk of the political world yesterday was on John Edwards endorsing Barrack Obama. This image is courtesy of the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk, retrieved May 15, 2008). The writing is indeed on the wall that Barrack Obama was the nominee and it was only a matter of time. John Edwards made quite a speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The speech was about the "two Americas" that is haunting this country. Barrack Obama has tapped into that yearn for change. The people seem to be responding. The writing seems to be on the wall for the GOP after the loss of 3 special house elections. It will sure be an interesting election. It is the most interesting election of my lifetime, maybe even surpassing the election of 1992 when the country was trying to decide between more of the same and a new way. The country chose a new way then and I believe it will do so, again.

Briely On the Campaign, The Election & Senator McCain

The drama over the Democratic Nomination continues. Senator Obama hauled in $ 40 Million & Senator Clinton hauled in $ 20 Million. The momentum continues to be on Senator Obama's side. Senator Clinton is the underdog and she has said she won't quit. Senator McCain, though, is focused on building up party unity and solidifying his general election campaign coffers. He's also one lucky guy , being married to his wife Cindy. What they have been able to achieve is admirable. The commitment to public service the family has with a Son in the Marines and a Son in the Naval Academy speaks to what they believe in this country.

As I reflect upon the campaign, I am listening to a audio diary from Manuel in Zimbabwe who is talking about the misery of life in that country. Mugabe seems to have stuck his head in the sand. How can he go to sleep when there are millions of his compatriots who can't afford bread, have no running water and no electricity? I can't understand it...but I am not supposed to understand....

The Democratic Battle

Well, voices have arisen for Senator Clinton to quit. I can understand President Clinton's E-Mail pledge request yesterday when he said that the battle is still potentially winnable. The problem I have is that the more this battle goes on, the Republicans are going to take advantage of it. I am reminded of that scene in the Rob Reiner Film, the American President, when Michael Douglas said that the two key things that helps wins elections are the blame and the fear game. The Republicans are masters are it. John McCain has been at it when he accused the Democrats of raising the white flag of surrender. In addition, John McCain also has basically said that people are on their own and cannot expect any help on mortgage relief, on health care and on education. I am sure that Senator McCain and his surrogates will disagree with this blanket statement. But, the facts are the facts. Of course, I don't think Senator Obama's speech about blaming Bill Clinton's Presidency for the economic predicament helped matters earlier this week. The Republicans did a fine job of blaming everything on Bill Clinton.

Now, what does the future hold? I am very very pessimistic. Let's see what this week brings about.

By the way, Iraq went through another five days of renewed violence. Motagda Sadr did order his figthers of the streets and as the BBC said, preserved his army. But, the so-called progress that the Bush Adminstration has been peddling turned out to be a hollow claim. In addition, there is word that the troop drawdown will slow down. When will Mr. Bush be held accountable?

The Democratic Nominee For President

Today, Barrack Obama won Missisisipi. Why is that critical? For one thing, it is because as Senator Obama puts it, "...it is another win in our column". Although I am a clintonista, I think Senator Clinton ought to start thinking about how she's going to be the unifier. The Democratic Party needs to begin the unification process now or else John McCain will drive a Mac Truck through the opening. There is nothing wrong with being graceful. She has carved herself out a very powerful position in the Senate with her work over the last seven years. Give Barrack Obama the chance to begin the process of building a team for the general election. I think this is even more so now, in light of the story I just read in CNN noting that Barrack Obama has won the Caucus in Texas and will end up with more delegates.

Although it is not over yet, I think the party elders need to step up and bring this process to closure. My party, the Democratic Party, is better for it simply because the Democratic Base is motivated and wants to win. We have to begin to come together now...for the sake of our country's future.

May One Live in Interesting Times......

The Democratic Primary continues to be interesting, to say the least. Barrack Obama has momentum. He has just sweeped the Potomac Primaries. Vernon Jordan said it is tough to run against a "movement". My problem is that if the Democratic Primary continues, it will pose a challenge in the general election. McCain is one tough guy to run against. There is no way one can run against him on National Security. However, his one vunerability is Iraq. Juan Cole's reporting today on the violence in Iraq is one indication of this. In addition, when Robert Gates talked about a pause in the US troop draw means to me that the Adminstration is seeing something the rest of us already know. The fact is that this strategy has been a temporary solution to a long simmering problem which will continue to haunt us until we have a President who is courageous enough to say that "enough is enough". The struggle goes on.

Going across the Pacific Ocean to Australia: Kevin Rudd, The Australian Prime Minister, just issued a long-promised apology to the natives of his country for how they have been treated. It takes courage and leadership. There is nothing wrong with saying that a mistake has been made. The key thing is to figure out how to insure that one does not learn from it again.

The Democratic Campaign For President

Barrack Obama won some endorsements today. Senator Kennedy endorsed Obama, along with JFK's daughter Caroline. I respect Senator Kennedy's judgement. But, I respectfully disagree with it. I would have liked for Senator Kennedy to stay neutral. Yet, he decided otherwise. I wish it was otherwise.

I have had a chance to review Senator Obama's plans and will continue to visit his website (http://www.barackobama.com). One thing I respectfully disagree with him is on the 2006 war. The war has led to instability in Lebanon that could ignite the civil war at any minute. His ill-advised comment about leading attacks into Pakistan had no foresight at all. I agree with him that we need change. However, change for change's sake is simply not possible. We have to know why we are changing. I don't know if Barrack Obama is that man who is able to lead that change.

What happened Today in South Carolina

John Kerry endorsed Barrack Obama. First of, I view this endorsement as proof that John Kerry has no backbone. I supported him during his campaign for the Senate, enthusiastically voted for him and his running mate, John Edwards, in 2004 even though he was a lousy candidate and did not have the political backbone to beat the Republicans at their own game. I view him responsible for giving us the last four years of Bush, just as I blame Ralph Nader I have no quarrel with what he did in Vietnam, his opposition to the war and his long public service and his accomplishments. But, to me, politics also means honor. He could have stayed quiet and worked to support the nominee of the party. He elected not to do that.

As for Barrack Obama, I think his message of hope is starting to resonate. However, I submit that he could have waited. I knew he had something in him when I heard him in Chicago in 2004 as he was running for the Senate and when the Republicans, in their desperation, decided to the run Alan Keyes against him. He trounced Alan Keyes and of course, the rest is history. What will determine the course of the Election is February 5. Beyond that, those of us who want change have to get behind the idea of change and truly work to make it happen.

More to come......

:-)

Mike