Bush Wipes Hand Clean of Haitians

Just when you thought that it was safe to say that former president George W. Bush was in the history books he goes and pulls yet another stunt. Apparently, the former president is a germ-a-phobe and wiped his hands clean of the tent people of Haiti on former president Clinton's shirt. What the hell dude?

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Clinton Strategy and Platform Influence

With the passing of each primary state I’ve been in the tank for Barack Obama for the most part. I’ve written several post’s on why Hillary should get out of the race with my own personal opinion on that subject. (links below)

It’s Over Hillary, Step Aside

Chris Matthews to Hillary, Pack it up!

Hillary Should Bow Out


Since the North Carolina vote I’ve been amazed at how resilient Senator Clinton is when faced with the fact that the numbers and super delegates will just not add up for her campaign for President. One thing I have not done is insult the Senator with derogatory comment or condescending remarks… well calling her the Queen could be complimentary in some respects. Over at the Washington Post they have this on the “Poor Hillary” hype.

Belittled Woman
The Candidate Refuses to Bend, Or Bow Out. Cue Another Chorus of 'Poor Hillary.'

By Libby Copeland
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 16, 2008; Page C01

At some point along the way, Hillary Clinton became "poor Hillary" and it stuck.
She went up against a charmer who once made an audience cheer just by blowing his nose (poor Hillary), and she lost states and delegates and she bet on a filly that died (poor Hillary), and nobody cares that she won West Virginia because it's over, except she can't see it because she's . . .

"Poor Hillary," write the op-ed writers and the bloggers and the newspaper letter-writers. "Poor Hillary's done," writes a gleeful reader in Portsmouth, Va., on Mother's Day. "The Billstone Around Poor Hillary's Neck," reads a New York Daily News headline yesterday. The talk show host Bill Maher has used the phrase, and the occasional CNN anchor, and, of course, the conservative yakkers who like the pure, distilled schadenfreude of those two words.

"Poor Hillary," Sean Hannity said at one point during this never-ending primary. "Running out of money, couldn't pay her staff."

"Bless her heart," said his conservative guest. - Washington Post


This article ticked me off because it was more of a bully in the school yard piece. If you look at the facts, Hillary Clinton should be damn proud of what she has been able to do in this race. No other woman in this nation could have come this far and kept the race so very close. Hillary and her campaign crew should be proud that the issues they care about are front and center and still being debated in the Democrat Party simply because Hillary is still in the race.

If you think politics is as easy as picking a candidate and sticking with them come hell or high water then you would be mistaken. Yes, I am still a large Obama supporter but now I think Hillary Clinton has a very good reason for staying in the race now more than ever. That reason is to use her influence and strength at the convention to form a better Democrat platform that can beat McCain come the general election in November. Without her influence on this race then Barack Obama could become complacent and “Yes We Can” us to death. Personally, I prefer discussion on the issues rather than creative jingles and speeches littered with catch phrases.

Make no mistake about it, even if you are not a Hillary Clinton supporter, Democrats owe her a huge amount of gratitude for staying in this election.

Papamoka

Cross posted at To the Center

Race Relations Be Damned

Listening to talk radio or watching even the network television news you find an avenue of opinions that run contrary to the current trend that favors Hillary Clinton because of the fact that Barack Obama just happens to be a black man. When I was trying to toss down a burger at the local Wendy’s I was shocked to hear the many controversial and frankly racist comments made about Senator Obama that were thrown at his campaign workers by so called residents of West Virginia.

When I woke up this morning it was 2008 and not 1968. Trust me, my five children let me know that fact is true every single day. In 1968 I was five years old and now I have my youngest that is five. In each of their eyes they do not see the color of a persons skin but the heart of the friends they choose. Race is not an issue in their eyes or heart and I thank God above that we as parents have been able to raise them without that ugly personality trait.

America was a very separatist society back before 1968 and in the progress that has been made in all that time since many African American’s have prospered and were finally free to be the potential person that they could become. My child has the potential that is the same as any African American and all they have to do is work for it and earn it. That is the American way. Then you hear the draw back on the polling numbers and reports of whites verse black voters and race lines in the vote and it all disgusts me to the bone. MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX did a non stop reporting of why white people would not vote for Obama in West Virginia and the undertone that I perceived as a viewer was that they were playing the race card simply because one of the candidates is a black man and the other is a white woman. Basically, they labeled everyone that didn’t vote for Obama as a racist.

Today I heard of all kinds of racist incidents that the Obama campaign is facing including a Curious George cartoon with an Obama 08 sign depicting Obama as the monkey. Even Rush Limbaugh is running from the mishap simply because he had no clue as to who Curious George was and why it was associated with Obama. Something I find hard to believe is that Rush was ignorant when he claims every single day that his brain is on loan from God in his broadcast. The character and authors of the Curious George character have been around for over 67 years! Margret and H.A. Rey, Curious George's creators worked on children’s books for decades! Rush apologized when he found out how racist the caller was. Then he banned the caller for life.

We don’t need hate in America for or against fellow American’s in any form, function, or broadcast. It serves no purpose other than to divide us as a people and prove out that ignorance of another human being is not only contagious but full of contempt. In the past decade we have seen separation of American’s based on wealth and this kind of thought on race bashing only serves that style of degradation of our people even further. It’s truly up to you as an individual to say enough is enough.

I’m just guessing but I think there are several different America’s and in parts of our nation there is still a racial problem. All of the MSM made West Virginia sound like the KKK headquarters and frankly that scares me. They single handedly manipulated the race for President into a racial bias and they sold it all across the airwaves and then the newspapers the next day.

My kids will grow up color blind and wear one pink sock and one blue sock to the school of life and if they are happy then so am I. No offense intended to the people of West Virginia that voted on the issues and not the color of a persons skin but the MSM made your state look like the racist capital of the United States.

Papamoka

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It’s Over Hillary, Step Aside

One of the things that I admire in Hillary Clinton is her never say die attitude. Running for the Presidency of the United States is the ultimate campaign in politics and the Clinton family knows how much is at risk. Personally, it is a drag on the human spirit knowing that no matter how much you put into it the end result is the votes state by state. In this current process, the Senator from New York has fought the good fight and licked her wounds or celebrated in the few victories she has had. What is the end result that we as Democrats need is one united party. That can not happen with careless remarks based on race from the Senator from New York.

In this election process Democrats from all campaigns have signed up millions of new voters and that in itself is remarkable. Watching the political pundits on the television you would think that the people for Clinton would never vote for Obama and that is simply idiotic thought. This is a primary process within one political party where the two candidates are so close on the issues that for the most part it comes up to tossing a coin in the air in the voting booth for most voters. Heads she wins, tails he wins.

In the general election the difference between John McCain and either Democrat is as vast as the Pacific ocean. Who would logically think that if Hillary Clinton is not the Democrat nominee that the Clinton supporters that are Democrats would vote for McCain? Clinton supporters are just as angry about our government take over by big business and their candidate has the same thoughts as Barack Obama. Democrats will not be crossing party lines in November as much as Republicans will.

That leads to Rush Limbaugh thinking that his personal campaign in Operation Chaos will divide the Democrats using Republican voters to manipulate an election. This is another tool that makes no sense from the right wing. If you happen to be a Republican, would you be willing to change your political affiliation just to help Hillary Clinton against Barack Obama? Changing parties is an act of a political extremist so I don’t see Rush and his bash all Democrats campaign realistically giving fruit to the chaos he would love to spout about on his mega million money making broadcast.

As far as the Clinton campaign goes on, the task of doing so is in the support the campaign gets from donors to the campaign. With the Senator having to give $6.4 Million dollars to her own campaign then the support is not there. If the grass roots of dollars are not flowing in then the race is over for Senator Clinton.

It is not dishonorable for Hillary Clinton to bow out. In her race for the highest office of the land she has brought the truth to a nation in need of many changes and forced all people in the political process to engage in that debate. Hillary Clinton is not out of the political loop if she concedes the race, not by far. With her campaign she drew a new interest in politics by woman and in doing so has changed the face of politics in this nation. No longer will it be acceptable for woman to stand on the sidelines as the world around them changes. In that respect she deserves credit and I thank her for running for President of all of our United States of America.

The time for political healing is now and not later. Our party needs to be one voice, one message, and one party wanting to end the destruction of America at the cost of our middle and lower classes. Something Senator Clinton has campaigned on over and over again. One party united is far better than any joke on a divided Democrat Party on right wing talk radio.

Papamoka

Syndicated

To the Center

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Penn Results Coverage part 2

CNN Coverage:

Nomination is still on trial

Paul Begala:

Bush hid DUI and that came out in the last days and that is what happened to Obama in PA

Donna Brazile:

Record turnout and Obama had some missteps and is fately wounded but Obama will not be defined by every relation in his life then so will McCain and Clinton. People care about the economy and the issues.

Alex Castellanos:

You know who wheres the pants in my family and that is the campaign Clinton is running.

Bill Bennett:

Very one sided and very Republican and one sided.

Hagee mentioned in comparison to Obama preacher problems

***********

CNN is way over the edge and strictly on a John McCain swing fest and love fest.... Donna Brazille is the only objective voice. The panel was skewed with two many single sided thoughts and they all played to their candidates opinion. It was more of a discussion on why John McCain is better than anyone in the Democrat Primary.... Clicking back to MSNBC

No vote count 8:32PM

Papamoka

McCain, Not the Compassionate Conservative

Many Americans fell for the BS story that current President Bush spread around that he was a compassionate conservative politician and now we all know what one is not. As the unmitigated candidate from the Republican Party, Senator McCain is giving lip service to the little people we all call the middle and lower class. After repeated criticism for lack of any plan on the housing crisis and that he has a plan. Or is it just more lip service from a want to be Presidential candidate?

Conservative principals are less government intervention in individual rights and less government and taxes overall. Is the distinguished Senator from Arizona playing politics with his plan to help but not help homeowners facing the loss of their homes? Over at the Washington Post and On the Trail they have this to say on his latest speech…

McCain Refines Plan for Homeowners
By Dan Balz

BROOKLYN -- Two weeks after drawing criticism for saying he favored only a limited federal role to help deal with the home mortgage crisis, Republican presidential candidate John McCain sought to assure Americans he is prepared to use the government where necessary to help ease the impact of a declining economy on working families.

In a campaign appearance with small business owners in Brooklyn, McCain also addressed the spreading economic downturn with proposals to help families facing foreclosure restructure their mortgages and to give workers who have lost their jobs more flexibility and incentives to seek retraining and a speedier return to the workforce.

McCain plans a more comprehensive economic speech for next week, but came here today to blunt criticism from Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that he is insensitive to the plight of ordinary Americans.

"Let me make it clear that that in these challenging times, I am committed to using all the resources of this government and great nation to create opportunity and make sure that every deserving American has a good job and can achieve their American dream," he said.

~SNIP~

Instead, McCain proposed a federal program that would require individual homeowners to seek help from the federal government and, if they qualified for assistance, emerge with a restructured mortgage that would allow them to stay in their homes.

"There is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream to own your home, and priority number one is to keep well meaning, deserving home owners who are facing foreclosure in their homes," he said. - Washington Post, The Trail

Senator McCain’s plan is more government? Is that even remotely Conservative or Republican? Then you have to love the part of “deserving homeowners”. What’s the classification or status as to what American deserves to keep their home Senator? Is there a nobody making under X amount of dollars gets a McCain thumbs down? Same article, same link…

There are some limitations. Those families who can afford the terms of their current, albeit higher, mortgage would not qualify. And the assistance would only cover primary residences and only go to families that can truly afford the new mortgage.

McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said the housing assistance would reach an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 families, with an estimated cost of $3 billion to $10 billion. He said McCain's goal is to use federal money only for those families "who really need help." He also called McCain's approach superior to some Democratic measures because it places primary emphasis on the individuals in need, rather than the lenders.

Hello to the Senator! If they could afford the mortgage payments they were lassoed into they would not be in foreclosure? That is the first clue to the big picture that John McCain and his political staff have no clue as to what is really going on down in your neighborhood.

One of the only things in his speech that made sense was demanding a Justice Department investigation. Shouldn’t he be doing that from his Senate office where it would actually be a formal request? Something that someone that in our government that cares about all Americans should have done a year or more ago? Politics is a learning curve for the McCain camp and they are pretty much amateurs. He’s still on the same page as Bush.

You get what you pay for Mr. McCain. Or in the case of homeowners facing foreclosure you get screwed. Same thing, different geography.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and To the Center

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McCain on the Economy

When it comes to the economy we can pretty much give Senator John McCain an F for Forgetaboutit! (New York City Accent)

McCain’s idea about dealing with the current troubles and economic collapse is to leave all options on the table? That’s a great sound bite but means absolutely nothing. It’s tantamount to telling a dead man in a car crash directions to the hospital.

Do I believe that John McCain is serious about rescuing our nation from the current economic downturn? No, I don’t! Apparently, his idea of fixing the housing crisis caused by “Irresponsible American’s” is to wait for the dust to settle. Umm, that pretty much means he is giving a green light to disreputable lending practices because people are stupid. Those people are American’s betrayed by our own banking industry. Over at the Washington Post they have this to say on his brilliant idea to fix the housing crisis…

McCain told reporters he would oppose any big government bailouts, saying they had not worked in the past and would not work in the future. But he expressed support for the Senate's economic stimulus package.

"We have got to restore confidence on the part of the American consumer to invest, to save, to do the things that make our economy run," the Arizona Republican said.

"We have got to find the floor on the cost of houses. When we find the floor, then there will be people who will come in and purchase some of these at bargain rates," he said.
A sharp downturn in the U.S. housing market has led to a full-blown credit crisis that has reverberated throughout the U.S. financial system.

Still, McCain said he was confident about America's economic future. "The fundamentals of our economy are strong," he insisted.

Some Democrats have criticized McCain for advocating a less interventionist approach to the housing and financial crises than either Clinton or Obama. McCain said in a speech on the economy last month it is "not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers." - Washington Post

When we find the floor? That is McCain’s answer to the housing crisis? When you are loosing your house you can’t take the floor with you. If you are a neighbor to a homeowner that lost their home in foreclosure it reflects on your own homes value. Vacant houses owned by banks waiting for a buyer that might pay for a bargain go empty for months and in some cases years when the evicted family takes the pipes and destroys the home rather than give the bank a move in condition home. Maybe McCain is right and you can wait for the floor? You’ll find the floor boards over at the surplus construction scrap outlet.

Is his plan to save the economy restoring the Hoovervilles of years gone by? Maybe his plan is to let the banks police themselves and fix the problems in their own back yard? Maybe his plan is to offer the banks mega tax cuts to repay all the favors he owes them? It’s not like he doesn’t know that end of the political spectrum given his Savings and Loan history.

McCain with every passing day in this election is coming off as a man that will wing it as President. Unfortunately, the Senator is gravely mistaken when it comes to the economy. It would help when he claims to have more economic background than Senator Clinton or Senator Obama if he actually had a workable plan to temporarily sure up the economy. Maybe his wing man has it?

McCain’s actions and thoughts on the economy are always limited to his own experience and with that thought in mind he sounds more and more like George W. Bush every single day.

No more W!

Papamoka

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Hillary Should Bow Out

Personally, I don’t like to knock the distinguished Senator from New York and former First Lady when it comes to politics. And yet this post is all about politics and reality. The Democrat Party is united in one message, no more Bush! That is a concept that we all can agree on. Something that makes your blood boil and your heart race in anger as you contemplate the unbelievable morphisim of Senator John McCain over the last couple of years into a George W. Bush clone. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is a total wag the dog hypocrisy created by Bush and Cheney and the soldiers coming home in caskets continue on a daily basis simply because they serve our nation.

Do we as Democrat’s want more of this or do we want to pick one another’s pockets to see what deep dark secrets our candidates really have? Do we as Democrat’s want to see our political party dissolved and lose the next election because the opponent on the Republican side loaded his gun with the ammunition we supplied willingly? As many main stream media pundits have pointed out, Hillary Clinton can not win the nomination from the Democrat Party. Mathematically, it is impossible and yet she continues for the sake of what? Being right? Being a political party contender? Or simply for believing that the Clinton political machine will come through for her? That isn’t going to happen. The votes are not there for her, the delegates are not there for her and the ride is over.

Bill Clinton destroyed the Clinton political machine with the disgrace he brought to the Presidency. What Bill did should not reflect on Hillary but it does whether she or you like it or not. People see a cheater, a liar, a man that looked us all straight in the eye and told us all that he did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinski. What part Hillary had to do with what is irrelevant. Bill Clinton lied, destroyed the trust of the people in doing so and is now a President that achieved such great heights but the matter still comes down to the blue dress evidence. Again, not Hillary’s fault.

Politics is a very strange business and Hillary Clinton has given this a good run. I respect her gumption for sticking in it for so long but her place is in the Senate from the great state of New York. From that post she can do much good and use her skills to work across party lines to unify a divided nation. From that spot she can make change possible with one voice among many with a hammer as strong as her personal convictions.

For the good of the Democrat Party, Hillary Clinton should bow out in an honorable manner. If she and her husband the former President, are in fact true Democrat’s, then they both know that the unification of all Democrat’s is the most important fact facing America today. This nation can not survive another President in the pocket of big business and the industrial military complex. Those free range pigs need to be rounded up and brought back to the family farm so to speak.

Hillary and Barack are alike when it comes to all of the issues and if the outcome of the election process is that our political party is too divided over personal issues then who wins? Answer the door because John McCain is knocking on the door of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Is that what we want as a political party?

Papamoka

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Obama Family Made Big Bucks?

Let me first start out that this is an in the tank slam on the Obama campaign for President from MSNBC. While his tax filings are released, his opponent, the well respected foggy memory Senator from New York are not. I might also point out that out of all the Democrat candidates in the original field of candidates, Barack Obama was among the poorest of the mega millionaires.

Why is this even a story plays into the racial card that the Clinton campaign unleashed with the Reverend Wright matter. If black people are not supposed to make it in the big time roll of millionaires and politics then Oprah and Bill Cosby should just sit down and shut the hell up. I don't think so! Screw you MSNBC!

The beginning of this lead story on MSNBC should have read that the Clinton family has not as yet released their tax returns but the Obama family has. Yellow journalism is alive and well at this story over at MSNBC…

Obama's tax returns show leap in income
The family's best year came in 2005 with a combined income of $1.6 million

By Jim Popkin
Senior Investigative Producer, NBC News
updated 4:05 p.m. ET, Tues., March. 25, 2008

WASHINGTON - The tax returns for Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, offer new insights into the power couple's rising fortunes. They chronicle the candidate's rise from state legislator to U.S. senator and beyond.

The tax returns are dated between 2000 and 2006, showing a steep increase in family income.

For example, the first return indicates that the Obamas' combined income was $240,505. That included Obama's salary as a young state senator in Illinois, $16,500 in fees as a "foundation director/educational speaker," and his wife's salary as a hospital administrator.

But just six years later in 2006, the Obamas' combined income was $983,826, some $740,000 more. Obama had become a U.S. senator by then, making about $165,000 a year, and his wife's income from the University of Chicago Medical Center had sharply climbed to about $265,000 a year.

Obama's book-writing career had also become profitable, earning him $551,240 in author fees for 2006 alone.

Michelle Obama also made an additional $51,200 that year, as working as the director of TreeHouse Foods. According to the company's website, it's a "food manufacturer servicing primarily the retail grocery and foodservice chains."

The Obamas' best financial year came in 2005, when their total combined income was $1.6 million. That included $1.2 million in author fees for Obama's best-selling books. Michelle Obama's salary that year was $316,962 plus another $45,000 from TreeHouse Foods. - MSNBC

Maybe we need to be realistic and ask how much Bill Clinton as a former President of the United States of America gets for every speech he gives. Last I heard it was upward of $100,000 bucks for thirty to forty minutes worth of breath from Bill Clinton to spew his sense of reality to any organization with the check book big enough to pay him. Good for him to be able to take that kind of coin down!

Maybe we need to look at what Senator Clinton made off of her book deals. Not that having a book in print is a crime but that income is a play on politics just as Obama’s was so is Obama a bad person for making money off of a book deal?

Mud is flying and the press is just as guilty as the political campaigns of both candidates. What this story from MSNBC stunk, stank, and filled the back of my throat with bile was the simple fact that they do not think a Black African American should be making that kind of money? Baffles my mind!

What bothers me is not how the story was placing facts as much as it was the manner of the facts. He made X amount of dollars and his wife made X amount of dollars as if it was all ill gotten income and not deserved. Again, Screw you MSNBC!

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle earned their lot in life the hard way and overcame the many obstacles that our society threw at them. I give them full credit for a job well done and hope my children can be half as good in their life travels.

In this latest phase of the political campaign for President it seems that a black man is not allowed to have a life with financial gains even though his Harvard education and life mission is to be in public service. Hillary Clinton is somehow absolved of this guilt trip.

Hillary’s income is clean but Barack Obama’s is wrong? That is political stereo typing gone wrong and the Main Stream Media is playing it up as if the Obama’s do not deserve to have a life with rewards based on the same life mission.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com

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Mississippi Going for Obama

Even before the votes are counted Senator Clinton is counting the great state of Mississippi out for Senator Obama. Not that that surprises me but you would have thought she at least might have thought the contest might just be close before the results were even tallied. Given all the blunders of all the polling numbers I would never personally give the state to any candidate before the full vote count was in.

When it comes to delegates to the Democrat Convention and that is what the primaries are all about, this state plays a key role when it comes to the final process. Not simply because they are holding a primary but simply because they played by the rules of the Democrat Party on selecting a candidate. We’ll get into that a little bit latter after we look at this piece from MSNBC on Hillary Clinton’s white flag campaign for Mississippi…

Clinton battles Obama for Mississippi votes
Illinois senator favored to win majority of state's 33 delegates

Obama began the night with 1,579 delegates, to 1,473 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.

Neither of the two rivals appears able to win enough delegates through primaries and caucuses to prevail in their historic race for the nomination, a development that has elevated the importance of nearly 800 elected officials and party leaders who will attend next summer's national convention as unelected superdelegates.

Obama leads Clinton among pledged delegates, 1,368-1,226 in The Associated Press' count, while the former first lady has an advantage among superdelegates, 247-211.

Adding to the uncertainty of the nominating campaign, Democrats from Florida and Michigan are pressing for their delegations to be seated at the convention.

Snip and Tuck

"Some people have said 'Well Mississippi is very much a state that will most likely be in favor of Senator Obama.' I said 'Well, that's fine,' but I want people in Mississippi to know I'm for you," she said in Hattiesburg before flying to Pennsylvania.

Obama made a stop Tuesday in Greenville before heading to Pennsylvania, too.

"I've been praying for you," a man called out.

"I believe in prayer," Obama replied. - MSNBC

Both Obama and Clinton probably have better access to polling numbers than I do and I would hope that they do. What I’m getting at is even if the numbers are bloody ugly, a candidate for President should never leave any state chucking the bird at the folks that just happen to be in the middle of the road and undecided. How many times do you have to see on the local news, national news and every single online news site that many people made their decision on who they want for the Democrat candidate for President when they actually were in the voting booth?

As for the ongoing debate over the delegate’s to the Democrat Convention from Florida and Michigan, that is or should be ended with three words, “Let Them Vote”.

Make no mistake about it, this process is not a popularity contest for the general public. This is the Democrat primary for President of the United States of America. It is a political party that allows Independent voters to participate but there are rules for all candidates to abide by. Florida and Michigan broke the rules of the Democrat Party by moving their voting dates up. In doing so the Democrat Party stripped them of their delegates to the Democrat Party Convention. If you broke the rules you get penalized for it.

There are some that say the delegates from each state should be seated as the process stands and I would have to argue with you on that point. Both candidates vowed to not run in Florida and yet Senator Clinton’s name was the only one on the ballot? Knowing many a friend and family in Florida that just happen to be Democrats they didn’t even bother to vote because they were told the election process did not count. Same goes for Michigan!

If you want to make this a fair fight then schedule a re-vote for both states with all of the candidates on the ballot. Schedule it, let the candidates campaign in the states and let the voters decide with an actual vote that THEY know will count. Don’t back door, smoke filled room, old boys of the Democrat Party decide who can and can not be seated at the convention. Doing that wreaks of political election corruption and we have had enough of that under the current occupant of the White House.

It is our political party and the people in Florida and Michigan should be given the opportunity to decide who THEY want to face John McCain in the next general election for President. If the Democrats back room dealings seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan without a re-vote then the election process is a joke for every single Democrat.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com

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Democrat Election Over Kill

With all the hype over the election it makes one wonder who the real person is that is actually the candidate for President of the United States of America. I can picture John McCain red faced with anger in a doubting mode just before bed forgetting where he put his glasses only to have his lovely wife point out that they are on the tip of his nose. Hillary, upon getting ready for bed would kick all of the campaign staff off the Clinton couches and out of the kitchen so she could get the 3:00 AM call from Bill at yet another undisclosed location. Barack would be rolling into bed as the stars were perfectly aligned, the sound of choirs from heaven above singing and just as he kissed Michelle good night she punches him solidly in the arm demanding that he shut the damn motivational tapes off and go to bed like a normal person.

All of the candidates claim to be what is best for America and yet each has their own faults. While John McCain takes a walk as the duly elected next candidate from the Republican Party he is not the next President. He might as well be if the two candidates on the Democrat side keep up the daily slams of one another. He said, she said, is bull and the only one that wins in that kind of debate between Obama and Clinton is McCain.

I have been in constant contact with some very interesting friends and bloggers that write about politics all the time and this election is unique in a generation or more time span. Not since the primaries of Bobby Kennedy have the Democrats been so active with such a passion for politics that we are all in fact wearing our heart and soul candidate for President on our sleeves. Our choice of candidate no matter who it is can be and is the only hope for change in America. We are a political party so desperate for change that the actual process of selecting the one candidate to represent our political party could be our undoing. While we tear the candidates down in comments on blogs we in fact tear one another down in the process. Who benefits from that other than the one true candidate from the right, Senator John McCain.

If you do not know what Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama stand for then you have not listened. If you know one then you know the other and the end result is a Presidency based on change. Neither is George Bush and that is honestly clear. If you love W then by all means vote for more of the same in John McCain. If you want a new America not owned by special interest where the future is just a little bit brighter than a ten thousand year war in the Middle East then vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Pick a damn issue and they are close enough on those issues to be brother and sister arguing over who did the dishes the last time. As a voter you should not care who did the dishes last but care if you have a clean plate to start your meal off with.

If there is one more debate, Obama and Clinton should not bash one another over the issues but concentrate on what McCain will not do for the people. Other than his commitment to continue to send our sons and daughters off to fight in a land that would not recognize freedom even if it was stuffed down their throats. Isn’t that what Hillary and Barack are both running against anyway?

The people are voting in such large numbers because they do not want George Bush policies anymore. Concentrate on that and you win the election.

Papamoka

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Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones and Bring IT ON!

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W W W?

President George W. Bush has done it once more. He’s taken the Constitution and pretty much shredded it this time. He wiped his backside with it over wire tapping, tromped on it over the Patriot Act and pretty much stuffed it in the trash with his personal war in Iraq. For a man that took an oath to uphold the Constitution before the people on his inauguration as President he sure finds it to be a pesky little thing to deal with. Apparently, none of the photographs showed his other hand that was not on the bible had his fingers crossed. This is not my President, not your President, this man thinks and acts like a damn King!

As a lame duck President he is enacting laws that no matter who is elected the next President will have a difficult situation to change. W is back room dealing to guarantee our military presence in Iraq permanently and without Congressional approval.

Over at the Washington Post they have this opinion piece on it…

An Agreement Without Agreement

By Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway
Friday, February 15, 2008; 4:30 PM

The Bush administration is so intent on securing its legacy in Iraq that it is once again ignoring the Constitution. Without seeking the consent of Congress, it is well on its way toward a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that threatens to deepen the American commitment without the congressional support the Constitution requires.

President Bush's plan to cut out Congress has provoked a growing chorus of criticism, joined by both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In response, the administration has begun to back-track from its vision of a sweeping military and economic agreement. Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the agreement would not contain a security guarantee committing the country to fixed troop levels or permanent bases. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, speaking before the Senate Armed Services last week, stated that the agreement will be "like other Status of Forces Agreements," which deal with the rights and obligations of the military when operating on foreign soil.

Such agreements, the White House is quick to point out, are not usually subject to congressional approval. That is true. But this truth will not suffice, since the administration is still aiming for an agreement that moves far beyond the traditional scope of these limited military accords. We should not allow false advertising to serve as a cover for a constitutional fait accompli.

Snip the Constitution

Worse yet, the administration is keeping most of its plans secret. (Much of what we have learned comes from leaks reported in the press.) Congress has held two hearings -- on Jan. 23 and Feb. 8 -- on the legitimate scope of the Iraqi agreement, and the administration has twice refused to testify. While Gates and Rice have made a few reassuring remarks, they have fallen far short of full disclosure.

This is unacceptable. Sen. Joseph Biden, as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is a strong critic of the administration's unilateral approach. But if the stone-walling continues, he should make it his committee's business to sponsor a congressional resolution declaring invalid any military agreement that seeks to go beyond the traditional limits of the standard Status of Forces Agreement. No president has the unilateral power to impose broad international obligations on the nation without congressional support. But it is especially wrong for a lame-duck president to make such commitments about a controversial policy that is at the very center of the debate among the candidates vying to succeed him. - Washington Post

What is next for W? Is he going to annex Canada because he really likes their bacon? Then he moves on to Mexico because he just happens to like taco night at the White House and we all know them brownies make the best tacos. I didn‘t coin that phrase, the Bush family did… (No offense to Mexican American’s intended… I’m on a rant). W will probably next rename Iraq Haliburtonville in one of his notorious “Screw the Constitution Signing Statements” and his buddy Dick Cheney will have a shorter commute to work from the headquarters in Dubai when they leave office in 2009.

One thing that every President of America had in common prior to Bush was faithfully taking the pledge to defend the Constitution. In doing so George Washington built the Presidency from the ground up not as a King but an office based on the greater good. Thomas Jefferson propelled our nation out of a religious based government into a man made government. To which some today think and believe is wrong but isn’t that what Iran and every Middle East government is. How’s that looking lately? Abraham Lincoln divided but united our nation in the midst of a states rights issue that cost hundreds of thousands of lives but his integrity and place in history is sound because he believed in the greater good for all. Read any news report and you can clearly see that President Bush has no intention of legally upholding the office he was elected too. Full speed ahead for Bush and damn the consequences as he lets the chips fall where they will. There is no historical value to any action he has performed as President that is for the greater good. In all of his actions he has turned the people on themselves and not for the same reasons as Lincoln. He is a rogue President and if the Congress will not reel him in then they are a body without power and Bush has succeeded in his mission.

This is the reason why Republican’s will not see the White House in the next election. Our so called defender of our Constitution thinks it is just a piece of paper and it is not. In the same respects that our flag is just a piece of cloth, burn it, shred it, stamp your dirty boots on it will never kill or mame the meaning behind it. He hijacked our nation and his own political party to serve his own personal, political and financial gains. AKA Dick Cheney and his net worth going through the roof on a VP’s public servant salary. President Bush does not like our form of government and he has proven it over and over again and still he is not called to task for it. Both political parties should be screaming at the top of their lungs over this sidestep of the Congress ensuring our military presence in Iraq for any time the secret documents will make law. If our President is never to be held accountable then he does in fact have a monarchy. Should that fact alone inspire you to contact your representative in government with your anger?

Our Constitution is our government. That is the foundation of America no matter how we look at it from any perspective. No matter who you are as an American it still starts out with “We the People…”

W, W, W, what are we going to do with you? In less than a year there will be no problem with the door hitting him in the back side as the ghosts of Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington will be the ones slamming those doors on the White House as he exits. Thanks for visiting W. Somebody else will clean up the mess you left behind.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring IT ON!

Other folks talking about this issue:

Loveable Liberal

Firedoglake

Rock the Truth

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McCain Rove Connection

With all the hype about McCain being the only qualified GOP candidate you don’t hear much about former Governor Huckabee who is still in the race. That is till he starts winning states over McCain.

Over at GOP central they possibly manipulated this election with the Romney drop out but they never considered the Huckabee chip in this election. In the game of political chess the GOP was praying that Huckabee would follow Romney’s lead and just drop out of the process thus ensuring a unified GOP political machine. This is how the big boys play chess and sometimes the moves you make are missed when the player your are protecting is way over on the other side of the chess board.

Over at the Washington Post they have this on the current political state of the GOP. Somebody is moving the pieces on the board over at the GOP and it isn’t just John McCain…

Karl Rove, President Bush's former senior political adviser, did his best to shoot down Huckabee's chances. Rove said on CBS that it is far-fetched to presume that McCain will say or do something to doom his candidacy.

Huckabee "said he could win, provided that there were mistakes made by his opponent, and that some of these bound or pledged delegates would change their mind. Well, even if they change their mind, they're bound or pledged to vote for the candidate who won their primary," Rove said. "I find it very unlikely, completely implausible, that Governor Huckabee could win 83 percent of the delegates."

As Bush's adviser, Rove ran a brutal campaign against McCain as Bush and the senator dueled for the GOP nomination in 2000. But this week, Rove donated money to the McCain campaign. - Washington Post

Karl Rove should have been put in jail with the CIA identity agent leak scandal but that is another story for another day. If he is the background of the GOP then that is the type of folks they want in the White House once more. Make no mistake about it Karl Rove has his hand in this election process and the tactics he will use against any opponent will be far worse than you have ever seen.

Not to detract from the political record of John McCain, I’m wondering if he sent Karl Roves check back? Common sense would dictate that you do not want anything to do with the Bush crew of more lies, more deception, more smoke and mirrors and more screwing over of America. That isn’t the Straight Talk Express of McCain but I’m betting the farm that the check cleared and McCain is dirty with it.

Is it just me or is it just politics where a man could stab you in the back eight years ago but then he believes in your message today? Push poll and call you a coward and having a child unrecognized by the father eight years ago but he’s your guy for President in 2008? It’s up to the Huckabee Campaign to pick up on this and run with it but then again he’s running on a shoe string budget.

Any connection to any campaign by Karl Rove is a death sentence simply because everyone running for President is running against what Bush and Karl Rove did to America. Common sense dictates that you don’t touch the same burner on the stove once you have burned your fingers. You just don’t do it ever again.

That all being said, Obama or Clinton have an EZ Pass to the White House. Save this post, this was the undoing of John McCain in this Presidential election. That makes this Democrat happy.

Papamoka

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Politics in the Primaries

There is some confusion in many of the political blogs that we all read when it comes to the brutality that elections and primaries end up being all about. This is an election for President of the United States and no matter who you think you are as a candidate the questions need to be answered more so now during the primaries than when or if they sit behind the desk of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in our nations capitol. It is simply part of the process and I find myself guilty by a long shot of slamming some of the candidates I simply do not care for with one iota. Republican or Democrat makes no difference to me simply because I do not have an editor over my head telling me what I can or can not write. It’s called blogging. God I do love America! I could be shot for less in some countries.

Right here, right now on this site, I could call any single one of the Presidential candidates the biggest @&#^$% and that is my right as an American citizen. That would be my first amendment right under what used to be the Constitution pre Bush2 but that is another topic for another debate on the Bush Presidency.

Then again I think we tend to see to much of that kind of mentality in the past politics where division of the people is the main goal and the problem with our society during this election cycle.

Speaking with my best friend the other night she told me that she was divided as a lifetime Democrat over the vote she would cast and her mind was still not made up until the minute she voted. Our discussion regarding our votes was based in the fact that we both appreciate each of the candidates and yet we were divided on who should face the Republican’s in the general election.

Her desire to vote for both overwhelmed her mind simply because she always wanted to see a woman for President and she always wanted to see an African American for President. Finally, a strong woman, finally a strong African American? How she voted eventually she has sworn to secrecy till the results are all out. In her heart as in many others is the super ticket of either candidate in any position as President or Vice President. A ticket where hope and the political machine meld for one objective and that would be you the American people. Not a tough sell but super ego’s have their little agenda’s.

I voted for Obama and gladly did so. For the record I think Hillary Clinton has the right stuff to lead our nation as President and she might be able to cross party lines to draw Republican votes in the general election. I just don’t believe that she could draw as many Republican’s as Obama could. What she does not have is the ability to sell herself and her abilities like Obama does. In all of the recent campaign states, Obama has drawn huge crowds of the people that need his message of change where as the Clinton crowds are just not there. That in itself tells you where the people are going and that in itself tells you who can sell the needed change in our nations mentality that looks at our federal government as broken. Independent and Undeclared voters in many states will play a huge roll and that factor is not in the polls you see on the television night after night. And no, we are not lemmings running over the cliff following any form of change, we are just far smarter than the political media brainiacs give us credit for.

One of the greatest communicators to the American people was Franklin Roosevelt and in his message to the people was always hope. From the depths of the depression through World War II he managed to present hope to the people that was believable and they knew that he would not let them down.

Kennedy came along and the message of hope continued for the common man and America could once more dream of Camelot and beyond the stars. His dreams became ours with the hopes of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Dreams of a better tomorrow and a brighter future were never bigger. Change had a taste, a feel and it was once within our grasp.

That was then, this is now. America is not corrupt of heart when it comes to our vision of what hope and change is, we just forgot what it was like to see it, touch it, and feel it. Feel it again and just vote for change. If you have voted, I thank you.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MicaelLinnJones.com and Bring IT ON!

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Republican Retirement or Abandon Ship?

With the new addition of Davis from Virginia dropping out or resigning from Congress the list of Republican’s fleeing public service is alarming. In some respects I’m glad that they are jumping ship but while they are jumping off, the seats they leave vacant may just be filled with Democrats. That leads me to the thought that this just might be the greatest political set up in history if you look at the economy.

Would it not be Karl Rove and W as a personal joke on America to chuck us all the bird one last time by scuttling the economy just to say screw you for not liking them more? When it comes to trust and Karl or George, they don’t deserve the courtesy of even the simplest of it.

When you really think about it and just for giggles assume that one of the Democrat’s takes the White House in 08, the Congress and Senate are all a majority of Democrat’s, and our nations economy tanks. Who will the people blame for the next eight years? Don’t place your bets on the gentleman jumping out of politics from the red and right side of the aisle accepting any blame. Regardless of the damage they have all done in the past to the nation, the blame will rest on who is in office when the crash comes.

Last week the Federal Reserve dropped rates by three quarters of a point and one week later (Today) they dropped it again. Our economy is in serious trouble and those that will serve in the next term in Congress will face the crisis of a century. Republican’s are jumping ship because our nations future will be that ugly. The well has run dry and the game is up. They fear the future and know damn well that they screwed it up big time. Where the Republican’s saw the protectionism of a free market was the undoing of our nations economy. Free markets without gentleman rules other than who can grab the most bucks the quickest does not work. AKA home lending crisis. Who can race a company to the bankruptcy courts first but take down hundred million dollar bonuses does not work.

Not to be too depressing, only the people that look out for all of the people can get our nation through a tough recession and it is not done by huge tax cuts for the millionaires and billionaires amongst us. Our nation will get through the coming recession by legislation that looks more to the interest of where the majority of the people are in the middle and lower classes. That is not a favorite group for Republican’s in any political speech. That might just be why thet are bailing public service in droves. When the economic glass is not even half full we need leaders that think in terms of hope and not what is in it for me. The millionaires and billionaires will ride this storm out but you and I will face the full storm of what a real recession is. In eight years from now the speeches of your lot in life being better now or eight years ago will rise up from the dust and they will promise the world from the seats that never felt your pain. And just like the post Great Depression days the party of change is in the Democrat’s hand and they will need to prove their steel.

It is simply ironic that John McCain has forgotten his roots and became more Liberal in politics in the original race against Bush but then became Bush for this election. Then again Hillary Clinton has become more right wing with her voting record and yet claims to be a Progressive Democrat. I don’t get where she and Bill call themselves the first Black President? Hillary isn’t Black and neither is Bill? Neither has lived or stepped in the footsteps of a black American person and saying you are black is just wrong.

Both front runners play the game but the end result is not about the people in either of their messages. It’s about the power of the Presidency for them alone. That is not what the Presidency is all about. We elect our President based on our opinions and life situation. We do not elect them on why they demand our vote.

In the days to come I believe Barack Obama is the only hope that we as a nation have in his Roosevelt and Kennedy like message of change. I find myself thinking that he is the only light in the path that we all will be forced to follow because of the past Republican sell out of America. He didn’t create the problems but he has the power to unite us all as a nation to get the American people through it.

One politician is not America but one President at the right place and time can make hope a possibility. One can not bind hope in any political message or advertisement but the only one that shines is Obama when it comes to hope. Hope is just what it means. It isn’t about fear of war, fear of terrorist attacks and it isn’t about who did what in the past in the civil rights movement. It is about our nations future. Hope is definitely not about a flag draped casket coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan. That was George W. Bush idea of hope. That isn’t working out so good these days is it?

Papamoka

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