5.11.2008

Straight Talk Expressed

Hillary’s latest argument for claiming the nomination for president is that white people, poor and blue collar white people, that is, simply won’t vote for a black man. The latest poll numbers seem to bear this out.

She is playing the race card in a last desperate act this late in the campaign season. But is she a racist for saying this? No, she is not. She is a realist. Probably more real than any other white person, alleged pundit or news person talking about this campaign.

I agree with her to a point....I am very pessimistic about how white people are going to vote in the general election in November. Saturday Night Live alluded to this in their opening skit last night. It was nervously funny...everyone laughed, but nervously, like what was said was hitting home.

But I think, unlike Mrs. Clinton, that Barack Obama has earned the chance to find out. He has run the better campaign. He has won the primaries, caucuses and hearts of the party faithful and those others who have turned out to vote in the run up to November.

His message is more positive. It is different from what has been seeping out of that cesspool called Washington, for the past eight years.

Hell, Obama’s message is even different from what the Clinton’s gave us during their eight year run. They made us feel good, but they didn’t fix anything and in some cases, they made it worse.

Personally, I think a different kind of president would send a message to congress that it is time to think about the American People, not just lining their individual pockets. I would love to just drop a bomb on Capital Hill and start from scratch.

Bush could not have accomplished any of his wrong/illegal policies and programs if congress had not caved in to him. Congress was set up to prevent any occurrence or possibility of an imperial presidency. This Congress has obviously chosen not to read or uphold the Constitution.

This congress has been nothing more than a rubber stamp for policy that has literally gutted America.

We are not as strong, we are not as well off or safe, we are not as rich, we are not as independent and we are not as respected as in the past.

I want us as a nation to start thinking about what is good for us, rather than what is good for the rest of the world.

We need to return jobs to America. Our greatest minds are finding their way to Singapore and China or other ports in Asia along with the blue collar jobs that are being outsourced so corporate America can have bigger profit margins. Our government is borrowing heavily from China and Japan to prop up the faltering American dollar.

Bush’s idea of an economic move was to beg...BEG Saudi Arabia to help us get more oil. Does that sound like the act of a true superpower to you?

And speaking of superpowers....hasn’t Russia reinvented itself? Or is everyone paying too much attention to the fiasco in Iraq to have noticed? I thought Condi was fluent in Russian as well as an expert in eastern block affairs.

We need to rebuild our infrastructure....make our public transportation systems better and user friendly as a means of weaning us off foreign oil.

We need to rebuild our public schools. Johnny can’t read, can’t write, doesn’t know history, science or mathematics.

We need to stop propping up countries who then turn around and bite us in the ass. Since World War I, losing to us was the best way to get your country rebuilt. Iraq is just the latest example of this.

More than a new president, we need a new direction. One where America works again for it’s people. America can no longer afford to be the playground for old assed neocons who are comfortable standing by while their corporate buddies rape and pillage this country.

The people who have so far voted for Obama realize this. I hope that those who have yet to cast a vote, will listen to the winds of change and take a stand, for what is still the greatest country on the face of this earth.

4 comments:

Mark Miller said...

Pessimistic about white people?!?Blacks are 13% of the population, and Obama's been pulling in over 50% of the votes. It took a whole lot of white people to make that happen.

The good news is that color is almost a non-issue in this campaign. Hillary's deperately playing the race card because it's the only one she has left. She'll score a point or two, but the rest of the country couldn't care less.

The bad news is that Obama will lose anyway. Not because of his race, but due to his politics. Of the 2 big government "D"s and one big government "R" still in the race, he's the most liberal.

All the problems you outlined are directly caused by government. Public schools are sucking wind while private schools are flying high. Same goes for public transportation, public housing, etc. With few exceptions, the extent of dysfunction in any sector of our society is directly proportional to how involved government is in running it.

You can try to make it a class issue, but the dollar devaluation (caused by government monetary policy) hits rich folks a whole lot harder than it hits the poor. And the rich are as sick of what's going on as everyone else.

Obama is scoring points on "Change" right now because he's focused and effective, and could actually pull it off. But once the primaries end, the debate will get very specific about what and how. Obama thinks government programs can be fixed by more government programs. Honestly, McCain does too, but he's at least paying lip-service to the moderate position of empowering individuals.

Darius T. Williams said...

LOL - race card! You hit the nail on the head!

Jo Moore said...

Didn't say I was pessimistic about white people. I said I am pessimistic about how white people will vote in November in the general election.

It remains to be seen if non whites will stay with him when he goes against McCain. Your comments tell me that you think they won't..

Mark Miller said...

Everybody currently with Obama will stay with him. But that's just over half the "D"s. The other half (HRC supporters) are mostly Democrats first and will also back him. Racist hicks and scorned feminists may crossover and vote for McCain, but there aren't enough of them to matter.

The general race will begin as it always does. Loyal "D"s (40% of USA) will line up behind Obama, loyal "R"s (40% of USA) will line up behind McCain, and the fickle middle (20% of USA) will be up for grabs.

So what's going to grab them? I think this election is going to hinge on people's pocketbooks, not the war, or any cerebral issues.

On that front, Obama promises painful tax hikes with generous spending increases, and he means it. McCain promises to continue the tax cuts, and reduce spending, but that may be just idle talk.

It'll be a clear choice, more government or less, take your pick. With approval ratings of ALL BRANCHES of government at record lows, I can't see the public choosing Barack, the big government guy. I think most of the middle is sick and tired of government and would like it to shutup and go away.