Madam President

One of the things that women can count on when they start working and playing in typically male arenas is that sooner or later the name calling begins. First come the behind the back snickers. The male to male allusions and presumptions, then, if those don’t work, out come the attacks on character and personality. Truth not necessary.

Sometimes the attacks go to the extreme of becoming physical, all the way to death. No woman is safe when she chooses to labor inside the male dominated arena, no matter what the arena happens to be.

I have long wondered why men feel so intimidated that they need to resort to the relentless take down of the alleged “weaker” sex. Maybe it’s a sexual/dominant thing. I don’t know.

I do know that it is ugly and it hurts when it happens.

The attacks on Hillary Clinton have been mounting for weeks now. To this point, they have been quasi political in nature. But the boys have resorted to ganging up in the debates, probably because she is stronger than they thought, with a better or more appealing agenda than they or their advisors thought possible.

Now comes a darker, more insidious attack from the boys overseas, complete with pictures. A London newspaper has resurrected the old line that Hillary is a lesbian and further, that she is having an affair with her personal assistant, who has been dubbed “hot.” Hillary has never been considered attractive by the boys who trade in these rumors. She has been dogged by this particular rumor since her college days. In fact, it surfaced when she was in the White House and centered around one of her college chums.

The attacks by the boys are tired and typical....a woman who is successful...sleeps her way to the top, meaning she is a whore, or “ho” in today’s parlance....or she is a ball breaking dyke...unattractive and humorless..The boys obviously don’t watch the L word on TV.

Even Condoleeza Rice must endure this crap. One minute she is sleeping with Dubya, the next minute she is a lesbian, apparently owning a house with another woman.

It’s all smoke screen blown up when the boys get scared that they may lose to a girl. It’s an old way of keeping women under control, they think.

The operative word here is “old.” It’s not going to work anymore. I know it’s early, but many everyday people that I’ve talked with and listened to, both male and female are not happy with the attacks on Hillary Clinton. Many say they plan to vote for her because she is the best person to get us out of this mess that the boys have gotten us unto.

But then again, that is what women do....clean up the mess...after the boys are done screwing around.

Maybe the boys need to find a real agenda and do something positive.
You listening, Obama!?

Failure to Communicate

An Open Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President,

I listened intently to your speech last night, waiting patiently for clarity, and some indication that you finally understand what you’ve done by sending American troops into Iraq. I waited and waited for you to reveal the logic behind your actions. I waited to see you return to the realm of sound thinking about the way we, as a country, deal with the rest of the world.

Instead, with mind firmly planted in the old west, you handed us more platitudes, lies and denials fueled by the religious fervor of your arrogance. The smugness with which you have tried to sell this travesty to the American people is still very much in evidence.

You just don’t get it. You still refuse to face the reality of your actions. You are going ahead with sending more troops into danger, despite the recommendations of your generals, whom you’ve now replaced with puppets. You have turned your back on the Baker-Hamilton commission and their recommendations for getting us out of this trouble. You have steadfastly refused the counsel of the United States Congress, circumventing them and bypassing the Constitution at every given opportunity.

Sir, you were elected President, not Emperor of the United States. The last King George lost, and you will too. The difference is that he didn’t take us down with him, but you might accomplish the destruction of America, if you continue down this perverse path. History will not treat you well. Your legacy is in shambles.

You say that you are fighting the war on terror, keeping it away from American shores. I understand the move into Afghanistan. I understand going after Osama Bin Laden. It makes sense to go after the people who have tried to harm us. I even understand the recent retaliation bombings in Somalia, albeit late in coming.

But your move to Iraq and your wrong headed decision to stay there boggles the brain. What are you thinking?

There was no Al Quaida in Iraq before you invaded. Now the whole country has been turned into a terrorist practice ground ready for export to the rest of the world.

There were no weapons of mass destruction.

The man who tried to kill your Dad has been hanged.

Your policy of forcing democracy with the business end of a gun has not worked.

You haven’t tried diplomacy and you should. It served your father well. Maybe you should ask Dad for some help.

The new Iraqi government is a sham. Your puppet, Maliki, is a joke and unable or unwilling to confront the Shia death squads that are dominating the streets of Baghdad.

You asked for more money, a billion dollars more, to rebuild and restructure Iraq. This after you’ve already poured billions into the country and your cronies' coffers for the past four years to do this very thing.

Yet, the people still don’t have the necessary comforts of safety, electricity, and water.

You want to rebuild a country when you can’t even rebuild Louisiana and Mississippi after Katrina.

I guess what scares me most are your blatant threats against Iran and Syria. Threats such as the ones you issued should only be made from a position of power. We have none. Our dog in this fight is the little one in the corner, not the pit bull with the big teeth.

You have taken us from being the one true superpower to a shadow of our former competence.

We don’t have the troops to open another front in your war on the middle east. Some of your generals have recently asked for repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," thereby bolstering military numbers and enlistments, while providing more cannon fodder for your fatal dream of a democratic middle east.

Your mea culpa comes four years and 3000-plus lives too late. How many more are going to die for your ego and your perceived legacy?

You have ruined this country financially for years to come. We are a debtor nation in debt to China which is slowly buying us one highway at a time.

My fervent hope is that Congress will finally stand up to you by refusing to support this death march that you call a surge.

Saner heads are needed now. You, Mr. President, and your invisible vice president, need to step aside and let more rational people take over, before you take us from civil war in Iraq to global World War III. A war that I fear, given the current climate, we may not win.


With sadness and little respect,

Jo Anne Moore

The Accidental President

Until Bill Clinton came along, Gerald R. Ford was my favorite president. He is still in my top two.

He never intended to be president, just like I never intended to be a reporter. The stars lined up and we did what we did.

He was selected in 1973, to replace Spiro T. Agnew, as Richard Nixon’s vice president. He ascended to the White House when Nixon was forced to resign. Mr, Ford is the only man to serve as vice president and president without being elected to either office.

While all this was going on, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I had no clear plan. I never thought a black woman could have a future in radio and television. But it happened and in 1976, I met Gerald Ford, president of the United States of America.

I met him when I was a rookie reporter and he was a rookie president. He always had an easygoing way about him. He always smiled, looked you in the eye and if you were close enough, shook your hand.

His handshake wasn’t that phony politician wet fish handshake. It was real. Solid. Firm. Friendly.

Mr. Ford always remembered your name. I wasn’t a national reporter at the time, but I covered him several times, at different times around the country, and after that first time, he always called me Jo.

Back in the day, before Hinckly shot Reagan, it was possible to get close to the president and sometimes Mr. Ford would hang around and chat. He talked sports, current events, and sometimes even asked about your life. Nothing special. Just chitchat before things turned official.

I liked him and looked forward to seeing him, even when there was no chitchat. His eyes always said “hello” even when he couldn’t.

Gerald Ford and others, like Barry Goldwater, Jimmy Carter, George McGovern, Ed Muskie, Tip O’Neill, are the last of a dying breed of bigger than life men, who never took themselves so seriously that they couldn’t connect with just plain folks.

Gerald Ford was a nice guy, period.

Rest in peace, Mr. President.


(originally published in CRAM Magazine, Volume 2, 6/2006)

Running for President

The possibility of a Barack Obama candidacy for president raises a lot of questions about the American people. The first and foremost, or course, is whether or not whites and some blacks, would be willing to support a black man in his quest for this country’s highest office.

Obama represents the second black man who actually has the opportunity to pursue the presidency with the potential for success. The first was General Colin Powell. General Powell opted not to throw his hat into the ring, reportedly because his wife feared for his safety.

The Obama camp reportedly is also considering or has considered the safety factor. The bogeyman for blacks seeking higher office remains the white man with the sniper rifle.

Safety is not something usually discussed with white candidates. They don’t fear for their life when seeking higher office. The average white candidate doesn’t need to fear for his life in politics. They only worry about whether or not they have or can raise money for the campaign.

And that speaks to the underlying racism still permeating this country. For blacks, it’s the knowledge that going down some streets or traveling through some neighborhoods can still get you assaulted or killed in America. It’s not about being a politician. It’s about having power over whites, something that some whites simply will not allow.

As a country, we have not dealt with our racial feelings. We think we have. We respond to the racism polls as if we’ve put racism and racial thinking behind us, but we really haven’t.

A recent CNN poll reveals the deep disparity on race between blacks and whites. Whites think the problem is solved. Blacks are nearly united in thinking racism is still a very real problem in America.

Racism has changed. It’s not about slavery, jim crow, or segregation of the races. The laws of the land have done away with these concrete situations. The perception of racial inequality has been slower to change and therein lies the problem.

Just because the law says everyone is equal doesn’t mean that folks think that way. Mindset, just like morality, cannot be legislated away. It has to die off.

So until that happens, black presidential candidates will worry about their safety first and their fundraising abilities second while being twice as qualified as the white guy to handle the job.

Presidential Temper Tantrum

I watched in amazement at the temper tantrum thrown by Dubya late last week. I actually had to back away and cool down after his most recent news conference at the White House.

He was angry and reacting to the letter written by Colin Powell questioning him about his recent demands that Congress rewrite the Geneva Conventions, specifically Article Three that deals with torture of captive prisoners.

As you probably know by now three GOP Senators have found some back bone and told the Prez he is full of it and should find another way.

Dubya huffed, and he puffed and he tried to blow down the house, but nobody backed off. So now it looks like he is changing his approach.

The thing that bothers me is the incredible arrogance that continues to emanate from this White House. It’s his way or the highway. There is only his view of the world, his view of reality and no need to compromise despite the fact that few others beside his “yes” men and woman agree with him.

We’re America...we don’t need to follow the rules. He even went so far as to tell the American people we don’t have the right to think anything different. We don’t have the right to have an opinion. We should just let him do our thinking and reacting for us.

Cheney, Bush, Rice and Rumsfeld now admit they lied to us on everything for the past couple of years, but apparently only for our own good. They can’t use the truth, so they use scare tactics to get us to go along with the program.

I am outraged. This group of incompetents is telling me how to think, how to react, how to be an American. I thought we had the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to define our Americanism.

I am outraged that some to the manor born former frat party boy, reformed crack head, now born again Christian extremist is attempting to dictate my thought process.

Our differences is what makes us America. Our differences is what makes us strong.

Marching lock step with the Neocons and buying into their Orwellian view of the world is the true fascism of this century.

We’re not safer five years after 9/11 because this administration has bungled every opportunity to do the right thing. Their only allegiance is to the almighty dollar and how much they can stuff in their own pockets, the rest of us be damned.

As a people, we are deeply in debt for the next century. We are ridiculed around the world. We have no foreign policy. Our military has been abandoned by this administration in an unwinnable situation. Simply put, we are in trouble and all Dubya can think about is politics and how to salvage the midterm elections for the GOP.