Warning to Racists and Bigots

I’m taking a huge risk on writing this post but I think the American experiment as our fore fathers saw it, as the Presidency of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan and Clinton foresaw that it needs discussion. McCain and his campaign is blindly playing the race card and as just one American voter I don’t like it one bit! As an Irish, Catholic, White father of five daughters, a Democrat, a Moderate, and an Independent voter, I don't like it one bit. When they play the us against them card it tick's me off. Apparently, the McCain Palin campaign can not assimilate into the real America that exists all around us. We are a melting pot and that is the genuine reason why America is so great.

One of the greatest fears of most people in America is that your own thoughts will not be included in the current debate. Wall Street has a bailout plan so the mega rich and their investments are safe, what about you? This campaign for President is going to get ugly, the advertisements will go super nova with deceptions and lies based on context taken from wherever from each of the candidates. That is what politics is, it happens, it is the expected path when the stakes are this high. This is a Presidential election. Make no mistake about it, the man or woman in the executive office of the Presidency is the leader of the free world. So why would someone wanting that high office want to play the race card? Why would they do that other than fear?

Over at the LA Times they have this little tid bit that I need to discuss further…

By Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 5, 2008

WHITEWOOD, VA. -- The isolated towns of Virginia's Appalachian coal region are home to strong labor unions and Democratic political machines that date back generations. Yet voters here who eagerly pushed Democrats into the Senate and the governor's office are resisting Barack Obama.

Some Americans say Obama's race and uncommon background make them uncomfortable -- here those people include Democratic precinct chairmen and get-out-the-vote workers. Many Americans receive e-mails falsely calling Obama a Muslim -- here a local newspaper columnist has joked in print that Obama would have the White House painted black and would put Islamic symbols on the U.S. flag. - Los Angeles Times


You and I could use FactCheck.org to clarify and learn the truth but the mud hitting the fan is more important than the facts to most voters. They hear a sound bite and that is gospel truth! They hear the reply to the sound bite and they look at a dirty liar. Not the person that originated the sound bite but the one defending themselves.

I’m puzzled but I understand the politics of the desperation of the McCain campaign to do anything to win. John McCain and Sarah Palin will do anything short of using the “N” word when it comes to describing their political opponent Barack Obama for the Presidency. A word I personally despise. This is not 1958 or 1968! I’m offended already but I’m a political junkie and I have a rough clue as to how McCain will move his political campaign to try and win this race for President. In each video they come out with over the next thirty or so days they will dance around the word but not mention it directly. Thinking they are above board, above accusation, they will dance around the subject that a black man can not be President but a white woman with absolutely no clue in national politics is okay one heart beat away from John McCain? They have to travel this path simply because they can not win on the real issues that face all Americans! They can not match Obama on the issues so they have to go to dirty political tactics. When you have nothing left to offer then why not go extreme racist and show your true colors?

John McCain has begun to travel down that path in his political campaign that smells of racism and that is a path that America must never follow. Which leads to the question if McCain is not truly a racist? This is not the 1950’s, 1960’s or the 1970’s! A time period comfortable to John McCain but not so comfortable for today’s voters. That was thirty, fourty, and fifty years ago. That was then, this is now. And yes I read that book! America has grown up since the time of John McCain and his upbringing where racism was acceptable in the good old boys club in not just Washington but in many of our Governors offices that is frankly no longer acceptable all across America.

Brietbart has this opinion and thought to check out...

Dare John McCain talk about the issues as passionately as Barack Obama then we have a discussion on politics and reason to vote for one or the other for President. When the McCain campaign is grabbing at the edges of the cliff as the polls are falling they will use any tactic and count on you as an ignorant voter to fall for racism as a last ditch effort to survive. Let him go, he is not worth it. If he has to bash African Americans to win the vote then what will he do next to win? Is your nationality immune from ridicule?

When you take the time to really look at the issues and where each candidate for President stands, you see the real difference. One candidate is for Americans and the other is for protecting the status quo of corporate America. You get to decide and pick just one.

Obama is looking out for you, John McCain is looking out for the friends of George Bush and the gravy train to come if we elect McCain as President. It’s your vote ultimately that counts. Racism or a new America that finally includes all Americans?

So what do you think?

Papamoka

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Health Care McCain and Obama

Hillary Clinton had no problem presenting a Health Care Plan for all Americans and so did Barack Obama. John McCain has nothing other than the same old same ideology of a free market manipulation where the Pharmaceutical industry writes our senior citizens health care plans. Begging of more corruption. It makes me wonder why he signed onto this legislations but signed off of every single bill designed to help veterans.

Two words, Doesn’t Care! Voting Democrat or Republican does not mean a single thing. Voting what is best for America more than ever is important not just to you but to the damage that has been done to your elderly parents Social Security benefits that you too will one day have to tap into but the bigger picture is that of being an American and looking out for those that can not or do not have a voice. Take out the right and left side of the political arguments, take out the flag waving and talking points. Toss it all aside and look at what the politicians have done in the last eight years to America. Do your own research. Do Not base your judgment on who you will elect as your next President of the United States of America on a campaign television advertisement or You Tube video from any political organization or for that matter from my comments on this election.

Use the gift that you have in front of you while reading this post to search Google, Yahoo, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Alta Vista, and every other search engine available to you.

You don’t need the questions to ask from me on your search engine exploration of who the real John McCain is. Veteran’s in need of serious care already know who he is. John McCain has voted against Veteran benefits over and over again. The Maverick is not who we all think he is. When McCain claims his POW status he is in fact slapping all of them in the face but you can do your own research on how he voted on Veteran issues.

Just because he wore the uniform, served our nation, was imprisoned in horrible means, does not mean that he is in the tank for veterans from any battle. His record as a U.S. Senator reflects just the opposite.

A good friend of mine at Bring It ON! reminded me of how much more Obama has done for change in America and the facts don't lie. Johnny McCain can not boast this kind of enthusiasm for Americans in all of his Congressional career.

Red state, Blue State, do your own Google Search on it or whatever means you like. One candidate cares about those of us under the five million dollar pay grade and the other has no clue. Last time I checked, I won't earn five million in my lifetime but I'm just a smuck with five daughters eaking out an existence in the middle class.

I'll let you know when the campaign gets back to real issues like Health Care for all Americans or actually caring about our nations Veterans! Education for the next generation that will provide our next leaders in govermnent. Real reform that makes sense in politics as it is today and not sound bites repeated over and over again till it becomes believable.

Papamoka

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Bill Clinton DNC Speech

If there was ever any doubt that the Clinton family is not behind backing Barack Obama one hundred percent then former President Bill Clinton tossed that trash out. Bill Clinton is a great speaker and his ability to cover all the hot nerves of this race for President proved that he, his wife Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton are on the Obama band wagon.

Bill Clinton gave one of the best unifying speeches for the democratic party to date. Over at MSNBC they have this video coverage on the entire speech.



The Clinton political machine is in action and the bump in the polls after the DNC convention will be huge. I’m just guessing but the people the Clinton camp hung around with were not the same people that the Obama camp hung around with too. Two huge political campaigns merging with 36 million votes combined is a huge number of voters. Some of those voters Backing Hillary Clinton will not loyally follow Barack Obama simply because Hillary or Bill say they shoud but most of them will. To those disenfranchised by the election process I can only offer the simple difference between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are almost non existent on every position. Hillary is and will be a large contributor to the Presidency of an Obama administration and Bill Clinton’s speech proved it out. I don’t havee a problem with that and neither should Hillary Clinton supporters. Hillary Clinton is the opposite of John McCain on almost every issue and if you think that the Congress is a check and balance then you need to rethink the last couple of years with a Republican President and a Democrat lead Congress. George W Bush found his veto pen when the Democrats to control of both houses of Congress. Before that historic moment, George Bush vetoed nothing. Voting for McCain as a liberal Democrat or moderate voter and thinking that the checks and balances will keep things going on the straight path is troubling. It's just taking on the fact that the changes that are possible with a new direction is something you have to believe in and Obama can do that for America. He isn't going to do it alone and in the course of Linclon, he wants oppossing opinions and thoughts around him.

Papamoka

Related Posts...
Joe Biden DNC Speech
Bill Clinton DNC Speech
Hillary Clinton DNC Speech
Kennedy Speech at the DNC Convention
Michelle Obama Speech at the DNC Convention

Right Wing Spin Gone Mad

David Brooks of the New York Times has an opinion piece up and I’m here to tell you he is full of bull. Mr. Brooks opinion is biased in his lack of hope not for just America but the world when it comes to Barack Obama and his world tour. Apparently, Mr. Brooks life is fat and happy and he is not part of the population that worries about paying the bills from week to week and good for him. I have no ill will toward anyone able to make a good life for themselves. All the power to Mr. Brooks in the super disgusting paycheck he receives for writing drivel and condescending opinion on what a hack Barack Obama supposedly is.

Below is just a clip of his biased opinion and slamming of the Obama campaign for President…

July 25, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Playing Innocent Abroad
By DAVID BROOKS

Radical optimism is America’s contribution to the world. The early settlers thought America’s founding would bring God’s kingdom to earth. John Adams thought America would emancipate “the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.” Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush preached their own gospels of world democracy.

Barack Obama is certainly a true American. In the first major foreign policy speech of his campaign, delivered in Chicago last year, he vowed a comprehensive initiative to “ensure that every child, everywhere, is taught to build and not to destroy.” America, he said, must promote dignity across the world, not just democracy. It must “lead the world in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good.”

In Berlin on Thursday, it was more of the same. Speaking before a vast throng (and a surprising number of Yankees hats), he vowed to help “remake the world.” He offered hope that a history-drenched European continent could “choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday.” He envisioned “a new dawn in the Middle East.”

Obama’s tone was serious. But he pulled out his “this is our moment” rhetoric and offered visions of a world transformed. Obama speeches almost always have the same narrative arc. Some problem threatens. The odds are against the forces of righteousness. But then people of good faith unite and walls come tumbling down. Obama used the word “walls” 16 times in the Berlin speech, and in 11 of those cases, he was talking about walls coming down. - New York Times

Mr. Brooks points out that there is in fact two America’s and the haves want to keep the status quo and the have not’s just want a step up. In that step up is the message that Obama is selling far better than the doom and gloom of Senator McCain’s message. One hundred years more of war in the Middle East and nation building in that region. One of the few Republican’s I do respect is Former Secretary of State Collin Powell, and one of his greatest quotes was that of America intent on nation building. Collin Powell was asked about America and nation building and his reply was that America has been in many wars in defense of freedom and the only land we asked for was enough to bury our dead. That quote is out of context but the end message is the same.

Senator Obama gave a speech in Berlin that will be marked in history as the change in not just America’s opinion on mankind but the worlds. There is nothing wrong with speaking of hope and all people coming together to solve many of our worlds problems. We are no longer a nation of one people but a member of the world community. Hate and anger have never solved anything but hope and discussions on issues with realistic goals can. Barack Obama is not telling the world or the American People that he can end global warming, the tragedy that is Darfur, our global energy concerns, or even racism of one people of one religion against the other. What Obama is offering is hope and discussion to change the status quo of us versus them that the Bush Presidency perfected.

This world is messed up and change is needed and in some peoples thoughts, we have been handed in this election the mind of Lincoln on a united people, the thoughts of Teddy Roosevelt on seeing a corporate America amok, the determination of FDR to never give up on the American People, and JFK on human rights not just here in America but all over the world. Like him or hate him, Barack Obama brings the message of hope and that is not far from what many of our greatest Presidents have given us throughout history.

When I kiss my daughters goodnight, I hope and pray that the next day and their future will be brighter than my own. That is the beginning of hope, it isn’t anything new to any parent but it is reality. There is nothing wrong with believing in hope. America needs to be cautious and careful when there is only one political party that is selling fear and doomsday scenarios to sell patriotism. Ask any Veteran if the nightmares they suffer and the thoughts of military action and what they have done to them as a person. War is hell and hell lives in the minds of all of the Veterans coming back from the war in Iraq. We as a people can not fix the Vet’s already damaged but we can end the war in Iraq based on the lies from President Bush. A war John McCain wants to continue. What is wrong with putting a little hope in the minds of our military sons and daughters? The end of this war in Iraq is foremost in most voters and Obama is talking about diplomacy to end it. And he is starting the end of the war with actually talking about diplomacy from America. That is hope, something to pray for and dream of.

What bothers me about this opinion article in the New York Times is that my children’s future was right back to the 1950’s. Fear sells well over on the right wing political ideology. I and my family would rather live in a world of hope and diplomacy where people talk out their differences and come to a resolution. Something that has been lacking for the last eight years of the Bush Presidency. I feel bad for David Brooks, somewhere along the way he lost his way and forgot his roots. I think he forgot what hope is because he just doesn’t get it or live it. Maybe Mr. Brooks parents made sure he lived a better life than they ever dreamed possible. Good for him but that isn’t the reality of the average American family.

Don’t ever give up on hope. In your efforts to make a better life for you and your family there is always hope and results from your hard work and just striving for the American dream are never unpaid. I’m all for hope and Obama is not wrong in selling hope. The alternative is not or should not be acceptable to you as an American.

Papamoka

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Europe in Love with Obama

Let me be the first to say that the Europeans are right on the money with being smitten with Barack Obama. With the charm of JFK and the oratory skill of a master politician he literally kicked butt and took names in Berlin.

After watching the speech myself there was only one conclusion to come to and over at Spiegel they said it better than I could ever do…

No. 44 Has Spoken
By Gerhard Spörl

Anyone who saw Barack Obama at Berlin's Siegessäule on Thursday could recognize that this man will become the 44th president of the United States. He is more than ambitious -- he wants to lay claim to become the president of the world.

It was a ton to absorb -- and what a stupendous ride through world history: the story of his own family, the Berlin Airlift, terrorists, poorly secured nuclear material, the polar caps, World War II, America's errors, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, freedom. It's amazing one could even pack such a potpourri of issues into sentences and then succeed in squeezing them all into the space of a speech that lasted less than 30 minutes.

Snip

Europe is witnessing the 44th president of the United States during this trip. Anyone who listens to him quickly realizes that he is not only ambitious but will also make demands. In the inner circles of Angela Merkel's Chancellery, he is reportedly seen as a pleasant person, one who arouses curiosity. - Spiegel

You really need to check out the full article on the Obama appearance to get the full impact of it. This speech alone boosted the odds in Vegas of any chance of McCain winning the election in November.

Papamoka

*****UPDATE: The Obama campaign emailed me the video link for YouTube in it's entirety and you can view it here or below.

Spiegel and al-Maliki Endorsement of Obama

What is a guy like John McCain, the defender of freedom in Iraq, the will of the people of Iraq foremost to be independent in his mind supposed to do when the Prime Minister of Iraq endorses Obama? I told you here once before that Iraq wanted the U.S. out of Iraq and that that would be the time that they would step up to the plate.

I kid you not, al-Maliki of Iraq supports the Obama plan and that is a nail in the coffin for Senator John McCain’s campaign as a foreign policy expert on Iraq! Mind you, there is still some controversy over this endorsement but it is the biggest news on the region in months. Over at Spiegel they have this on the subject and I have one hell of a follow up opinion…

MALIKI'S PRAISE FOR OBAMA
Iraqi Leader Stirs up US Campaign

Obama is pleased, but McCain certainly is not. In an interview with SPIEGEL, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki expressed support for Obama's troop withdrawal plans. Despite a half-hearted retraction, the comments have stirred up the US presidential campaign. SPIEGEL stands by its version of the conversation.

In the interview, Maliki expressed support of Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. "That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of changes."

Maliki was quick to back away from an outright endorsement of Obama, saying "who they choose as their president is the Americans' business." But he then went on to say: "But it's the business of Iraqis to say what they want. And that's where the people and the government are in general agreement: The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited."

A Baghdad government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said in a statement that SPIEGEL had "misunderstood and mistranslated" the Iraqi prime minister, but didn't point to where the misunderstanding or mistranslation might have occurred. Al-Dabbagh said Maliki's comments "should not be understood as support to any US presidential candidates." The statement was sent out by the press desk of the US-led Multinational Force in Iraq.

A number of media outlets likewise professed to being confused by the statement from Maliki's office. The New York Times pointed out that al-Dabbagh's statement "did not address a specific error." CBS likewise expressed disbelief pointing out that Maliki mentions a timeframe for withdrawal three times in the interview and then asks, "how likely is it that SPIEGEL mistranslated three separate comments? Matthew Yglesias, a blogger for the Atlantic Monthly, was astonished by "how little effort was made" to make the Baghdad denial convincing. And the influential blog IraqSlogger also pointed out the lack of specifics in the government statement. - Spiegel

We live in a world of immediate information and reporting of facts and I'm just guessing that a not so popular guy in our nations capitol has instant access to any information involving Iraq. Maybe we should re-word how the retraction came. Maybe we should say that somebody in a sort of oval office with tons of interest in all events happening in Iraq placed a very angry phone call to the Prime Minister of Iraq? Maybe in that phone call some strong words were exchanged on a one sided basis and the guy in the oval like office told the supposed Prime Minister of Iraq to spin the statement backwards and twist it out of context?

Make no mistake about it, al-Maliki was intimidated into retraction of his endorsement of Obama and his plan for Iraq and we all know what kind of power and influence that was needed to do just that. There is far to much money to be made in Iraq and the pit that the money has gone into to date has been bottomless up to this point in time. How fast would you as Prime Minister of Iraq take a second look at your statements if you were threatened with the loss of hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars coming into your nation that are not accountable for or asked to be accounted for? I’d recant my statements pretty damn quick if I were him and then I would personally put a John McCain for President bumper sticker on my bullet proof limo‘s bumper. I would never ride in that limo again but the damn bumper sticker would be on it!

Make no mistake about it, this next election for President is for sale and the people making the endless amount of dollars off of this war have a friendly ear in a house somewhere in Washingtion, D.C. that just happens to be painted white. Check back soon on the mega dollars being donated to build a Library in Crawford, Texas… That would be another topic on something completely different I swear. Ummm, okay, I'm lying. Sorry.

My thanks to Memeorandum for this post...

Papamoka

Other folks talking about this issue:
The Atlantic
Taylor Marsh
The Impolitic
The Political Carnival
The Swamp… (Loved the Comments)

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McCain has a Nader

While the Obama campaign has John McBush on the run on what to do about Iraq and Afghanistan the Arizona Senators back yard has been infested with Obamacans. Bob Barr running on the Independent ticket for President is eating into the McCain base and the poll numbers have driven him into the cheap seats of the election process in his own home state. Al Gore would be proud, but then again he lost his own home state to Bush so he isn’t talking to the press on this poll.

Over at the Huffington Post they have this little ditty on the poll results…

In a sign of continued weakness in his home state, an online poll shows Sen. John McCain trailing Sen. Barack Obama by 3-percentage points in Arizona. The poll also shows the candidacy of Libertarian Bob Barr is having a significant impact on McCain's campaign by siphoning off conservative voters nationwide.

The Arizona poll was part of nationwide Zogby International poll that put Obama ahead in total electoral votes with 273 to 160 for McCain. The poll found 11 states with 105 electoral votes too close to call -- including Arizona. McCain's campaign in June included Arizona among its list of swing states. – Huffington Post

I can’t argue with the poll. Nope, I can see where the great people of Arizona see a puppet doll and not a President. While all the main stream media sees this as a Democrat wet dream I have to look at the reality of polls and they don’t mean diddly at this point in the election. Should Obama go to Arizona a couple of dozen times? Hell ya! Should McBush go to Arizona rather than Columbia South America… Depends, how much is dinner going to cost for the guests?

One of the things that piss most politically active people off is where the money comes from to elect a Congressman, a Senator, and a President. Some people criticize Barack Obama for waiving the federal funding match and rightfully so. In the same respect, when you see that many of your contributions which are $5 and $10 are coming from ordinary people in America begging for change then a candidate must consider their voices in everything he is doing on their behalf. Hillary Clinton would have done the same thing if she won the primary process. And Bill would have been the one to tell her not to be stupid because he knows politics better than anyone at the federal level. Who knows, maybe he told Barack the same advice?

Nobody will ever know what kind of promises John McBush made down in Columbia South America or how much money followed him home in contributions sooner or later. One thing is certain, McCain voted against his own bill to change the immigration policy of America after he had a chat with his mentor in the White House. His own damn bill, he wrote it, gave it life in the Senate, fought for it and yet he voted against it? What logical response could ever explain that fact and be actually believable?

I’m going to be looking into the Bob Barr guy and see who he is. If he is able to steal 7% of the vote from McBush in Arizona then he might be able to carry a couple of other key states for Obama and that my friends might be worthy of a donation from yours truly to his political campaign. Politics, it’s like chess, you move pieces, you sacrifice pawns, rooks and even a queen, but the end result is getting your opponents King.

Papamoka

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Obama and al-Maliki Plan for Iraq

One of the things that I am certain of in this next political election is that I want to end the body bags full of our children coming home for burial from Iraq. Everything to do with the Iraq War has been more or less proven to be a lie. Bush and Cheney proposed it and the Republican henchmen in charge of the Congress railroaded it through. They tossed flag burning, patriotism, with us or against us, 9/11 and terrorists at us all till it stuck to the wall. Same thing they did against Gore and then at Kerry in the Presidential elections to close to call that the courts decided who won one election and the other was a guess. Misdirection is a key forte of the Bush Presidency and it worked again when it came to the war in Iraq. Again, every single reason they used to get us into the war other than the UN violations that were ignored for decades turned out to be lies, rumors, innuendo and hearsay.

Barack Obama and John McCain have an open forum over at the New York Times and I applaud the Times for allowing them both to write their thoughts on many of the issues that we the people need to know where they stand. Like it, hate it, the issue is covered. Obama wants to end the war and so does the Prime Minister of Iraq! Huge surprise that McCain wants it to go on for as long as America has one last dollar to spend.

After reading the article by Obama there is not one way I could see that we should not be out of Iraq. Our troops, our support personnel, they are all easy targets for anyone with a pissed off attitude against our military being in Iraq years after the monster of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, was captured and hanged. Then again, even the Prime Minister of Iraq no longer wants our troops on his soil and believes that his nation can deal with what they have to deal with. Maybe al-Maliki will make Saddam look like a saint but that is not our problem.

Over at the New York Times they have this piece from Barack Obama, read it through. He isn’t looking at this blindly…

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
My Plan for Iraq
By BARACK OBAMA
Published: July 14, 2008

CHICAGO — The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq presents an enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States. - New York Times

One of the things I do know about war is that it is hell to the people that actually face it. Washington is not looking at what effect this war has on the wounded or killed in this conflict, they are looking at the dollars rolling into campaigns.

One last thought, the only part that was not blah, blah, blah in this piece from Obama to the general public was this little ditty…

It’s not going to work this time. It’s time to end this war. – New York Times

Now that makes sense to me!

One of the things important to remember in this Presidential election is that you and your Congressional representatives in your government were lied to. Not just in Blue States and Red States but all of us were deceived and pretty much conned. Bush and company sold the lies after 9/11 and the first amendment and freedom of the press exposed it. Common sense tells you why so many Republican candidates have chosen a graceful exit from public service. Vote where your heart and children are. How are we supposed to raise our children with the truth when those we send to lead us follow lies blindly even if they are wrong?

Papamoka

Related articles of interest...

Gun Toting Liberal
Carpet Bagger
The Moderate Voice

Richardson Goes for Obama

In a very surprising and controversial time in the Obama campaign they have found a new friend with the very much needed endorsement of Governor Bill Richardson. Even the close friendship of former President Bill Clinton could not sway the Governor of New Mexico to join the Hillary Clinton band wagon. Over at MSNBC they have this to say about it…

SANTA FE, New Mexico - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, America's only Hispanic governor, is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, calling him a "once-in-a- lifetime leader" who can unite the nation and restore the country's international leadership.

Richardson, who dropped out of the Democratic race in January, is to appear with Obama on Friday at a campaign event in Portland, Oregon, The Associated Press has learned.

Snip

Richardson has been relentlessly wooed by Obama and Clinton for his endorsement. As a Democratic superdelegate, the governor plays a part in the tight race for nominating votes and could bring other superdelegates to Obama's side. He also has been mentioned as a potential running mate for either candidate. - MSNBC

What is interesting about this endorsement is the quality of the individual. Earlier in this political contest Bill Richardson was a huge favorite for Independents and Moderate voters. Even at one point there was talk back in the Iowa caucus days of Richardson and Biden joining camps to form a super Democrat ticket.

Richardson’s endorsement brings some serious credentials with it when it comes to diplomacy around the world. When he was still running for President he spoke at length about talking to nations of the world with issues against America rather than brow beating them into submission or using military force to show them the true path.

What will be interesting to see is if the endorsement of Obama by Governor Richardson will swing a big enough chunk of Hispanic voters away from the Clinton campaign. That will be the true test of this endorsement.

It begs at the mind to wonder if Barack Obama has promised the Vice Presidency to the Governor if nominated by the Democrats. Having a running mate with five Nobel Peace Prize nominations under his belt certainly would work to Obama’s favor when it comes to foreign policy.

Papamoka

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Will 2008 Be The Year The Democratic Party Is Assassinated?

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

Within my own lifetime I've lived through the assassinations (or attempted assassinations) of JFK, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. All of them were so stupid; so pointless. Where the attempts succeeded history was altered, and not for the better. People think of Lee Harvey Oswald of killing Kennedy. But he also gave us Lyndon Johnson in the White House.

Johnson was a terrible president, yet historians seem to concentrate on what a great politician he was. The same is true of Bill Clinton; he knows how to politic but I don't think history is going to be too kind to his acts as president. Don't even think about comparing Mr. Clinton to Mr. Bush.....ANY president looks good, except maybe James Buchanan.

As sad and pointless an assassination of an individual is, the same act carried out against something greater than an individual is even worse. To be fair, it might be said that with the best of intentions the Bush administration has done a pretty good job of assassinating the Constitution.

After the March 4th voting, whereby Senator Hillary Clinton won Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island, the question is being asked by many just how far the Clinton campaign is going to go. The "math" is clear in that neither Obama nor Clinton will have the delegates to win the nomination before the party convention in Denver. Obama can rightfully claim that he has an insurmountable lead.

The advantage Obama now has is this: while he may be human and not keep his promises, he represents a form of hope. That is, hope that we can finally crawl away from the corporate forces that have been turning the nation into a giant banana republic. Senator Clinton's handicap is her being a reminder of her husband's presidency, which was not exactly an arch-enemy of greed and corruption.

The real rub for the Democrats is do they proceed with a vision or accept the blandness of sameness? The Clinton campaign will not allow Barack Obama to continue to offer hope. Said hope must be dampened down or preferably destroyed.

In so doing, Hillary Clinton will win a nomination and lose any ability to go anywhere but backwards. It is admirable for anyone to follow the advice of Dylan Thomas and not go gently into that good night. But, what works for an individual does not translate into a group. Senator Clinton may or may not be that likable a person. That is not relevant. Franklin Roosevelt was not really a very likable person; he was an enigma to just about everyone around him. But he was a great president.

There comes a point where someone in Senator Cinton's shoes must ask herself if the goal is worth the cost. This year there is a good chance for a Democrat to win the White House. But it would be foolish to assume it's there for the taking. Lots of things can happen.

One thing that should NOT be happening is heaping dirt on an opponent as if he were a Republican in a general election. Worse, using LBJ-style tactics to convolute a convention would be fatal in many aspects. The outcome of the Democratic convention could hand the election to John McCain on a silver platter.

The next president is going to need one attribute more than any other: the ability to lead the American people. FDR did it, as did JFK and Ronald Reagan. Doesn't matter whether you agree with their policies, it's the fact that one individual can inspire people to draw from within themselves that which they didn't think was there any more.
*****************************
Cross-posted at Michaellinnjones.com

Online News or Big House News

One of the things that drives me nuts is the Main Stream Media houses, aka Big House, calling themselves unbiased when presenting the news. That is the biggest case of Bull . When it comes to political reporting all you have to do to prove my theory is tune into Fox News or MSNBC to prove my point. Fox News is obviously Conservative Republican leaning in most of its political reporting. MSNBC News is just as guilty with a left leaning Democrat bias. Isn’t that a shock to your system?

How can you call Hannity or Olberman unbiased when covering any political event? You can’t! Over at Reuters they have the latest poll on where Americans get their news from…

More Americans turning to Web for news
Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:48am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.

While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed.

"That's a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives," said Andrew Nachison, of iFOCOS, a Virginia-based think tank which organized a forum in Miami where the findings were presented.

Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago. Less than one third use television to get their news, while 11 percent turn to radio and 10 percent to newspapers.

More than half of those who grew up with the Internet, those 18 to 29, get most of their news and information online, compared to 35 percent of people 65 and older. Older adults are the only group that favors a primary news source other than the Internet, with 38 percent selecting television. - Reuters

How can you trust any network television news broadcast that at one event has the reporters commenting on what is supposed to be a debate and then the next show on the same news channel has the same reporters blasting candidates in that debate because they simply can not stand one of the candidates personally? That isn’t political reporting its someone with an axe and a soap box into millions of viewers homes.

It does not shock me or I’m sure many of you reading this Blog that I don’t trust the Big Houses when it comes to political reporting. Just like politics in itself, depending on which news broadcast you watch on television or big house online reporting, polls are done day after day and they tell you where the pulse is in the latest political race for President. Pick a poll that has numbers to your liking and report what fits your demographics.

Blue collar workers in any poll could mean they only polled unionized plumbers with a loaded amount of push poll questions. Middle class voters (Somebody define that for me please) in any poll could be anyone making $30,000 per year to $250,000 per year and depending on that vast income gap is a huge difference of opinion.

Pick a news source and every single Big House is guilty of putting numbers out there that I no longer believe. In pretty much every race in every state but a few they have been way off.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge need for great reporters in politics that actually report the facts just as they are. Not tweaking the facts so it fits your readership is what is needed and that is a page out of the old school of reporting. People that ask the right questions to the right people and follow up with real research to back up their stories. That is what real reporting is all about. I can think of just one journalist that fits that mold and of late he too has become somewhat biased because that is the direction of his political news network. Reporting the news is not entertainment and the two should never be confused.

Rush Limbaugh is no more a reporter of the news than Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, or Sean Hannity. They are more entertainers than go to sources for any news. If you want to hear your political line of thought reinforced then by all means tune in to their respective networks. Otherwise, log on to the internet and find every website your can with a real life persons thoughts on how this election is really going. Be aware that all Main Stream Media outlets are guilty of bias just as a simple blogger like my self is. The difference in blogging about the news and reporting actual political events is that people know that I am in the tank and I do not hide that fact. I just don’t have tens of millions of viewers.

For the record so you know this is a go to site for honest political opinion news, latest polling numbers for Papamoka Straight Talk show that 100% of deceased Americans that were once politically active prior to 1800 have not linked too or read this site. +- 0% margin of error. Finally a decent polling number you can trust!

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring It ON!

Feel free to link to or borrow this post…

*****This post picked up by Reuters...

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The Audacity Of DoubleTalk

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

The area of North Carolina I live in is used to be an area with large numbers of textile and furniture jobs. Several years ago I had to visit a local machinist to have some work done. While in his shop I noticed this huge machine sitting on the floor. He told me he was contracted to getting the machine in shape before its shipment to Mexico. With no pride in his voice he said that was the last textile machine in the county.

Several weeks ago I was in the local Walmart. I'm not making this up; it actually happened and the multiple ironies compressed in such a short time made me wonder iif some force was trying to tell me something. First, while browsing in stationary I hear on the official Walmart P.A. system a Bruce Springsteen song. "My Hometown" of all things. As I threw the graph paper in the cart I heard the lines that could be the anthem for this area:

Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your
hometown

Then at the checkout I'm delayed because the couple in front of me is tossing some kind of form on the counter. They are not speaking English and presumably were from Mexico. They had a small infant in the cart. Finally, the cashier did whatever she was doing (they had multiple transactions). Upon asking the cashier what that was all about, I was informed that the transactions involved W.I.C.

So, someone who is presumably in this country illegally (and don't even TRY to convince me of the odds that they are not), working illegally, and yet is receiving government assistance. By the way, one of the REASONS there are immigration laws is to prevent people from coming into the U.S. and receiving government benefits. Try sponsoring or marrying a foreign national and doing things legally. Been there, done that....got a bunch of T-shirts.

To top the whole shopping experience off, I passed this same couple coming out of the Walmart Money Store, where I presume (again, and correctly I believe) that these folks used the savings from their W.I.C. benefits to send some money back home. Yep, that's what welfare benefits are all about....propping up the sagging economy of Mexico.

As a human being I cannot condemn people for trying to take advantage of circumstances to better their lot in life. My problem lies in the fact that NAFTA is the keystone that supports a bridge of false promises, both to Americans AND Mexicans. Let us not forget that while successful in engendering corporate profits, NAFTA has succeeded in eliminating Mexican livelihoods far more efficiently than American jobs.

Yesterday I read an article by Jake Tapper of ABC News, Obama Knocks Clinton, But Wouldn't Ax NAFTA:

Appealing to union voters in a dry wall manufacturing plant in this crucial primary state, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Sunday afternoon said that even though he has repeatedly said the passage of NAFTA was bad for the country, he would not try to repeal it.

"I don't think its realistic for us to repeal NAFTA," he said during a town hall meeting on the economy.

He argued arguing that because the trade deal had been passed more than a decade ago, it was entrenched in the economy, and any attempt to repeal it "would actually result in more job loss ... than job gains."

In the fierce fight for votes here in Ohio, where NAFTA is not popular among many blue collar Democrats, Obama has repeatedly attacked Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for the trade deal pushed by President Bill Clinton and passed in Congress in November 1993.

If one assumes that NAFTA has caused, shall we say, an allergic reaction in the U.S. economy, then it seems rather disingenuous to condemn it while at the same time emphasiing that doing anything about it would be too painful.

Senator Obama can make a talking point out of Hillary's husband and NAFTA. He can make a valid point about Sen. Clinton praising NAFTA in the past while condemning it now......

But what is the point if Sen. Obama is going to throw up his hands and say there's nothing he'll do about it since it's so "entrenched" into our economy? Tapeworms are entrenched too, but any expert will agree that getting rid of it is much healthier than living with it.

Bill Clinton got my vote 1992 based upon the notion that he would also bring "change." It meant a swing away from the worshiping at the feet of Wall St. and concentrating on the greater mass of people who actually live with the consequences of their own actions, let alone those of others in higher places.

Is Obama like Bill Clinton?....great at getting elected but suffering political amnesia as soon as he takes the oath of office? If that's the way it is, then so be it. The nation cannot afford it, but SOME level of honesty and promise-keeping must return or the whole thing is a joke.

And very few are laughing.
*******************************
Cross-posted at Michaellinnjones.com

So, The General Election Is Going To Be About The "War On Terror?"

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

Mitt Romney is out. John McCain is now the presumptive candidate for the presidency representing the Republican Party. And, as is natural, everyone will be playing kissy-kissy in the name of party unity. One thing that will help bring that about is to define what the general election is all about.

Governor Romney almost bowed out gracefully. By tossing in the notion that his continued candidacy might impair the "war on terror" he put forth a warning that Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama would "surrender" to the terrorists. Sen. McCain followed suit with similar observations.

The gist of this new drumbeat is that we cannot afford to "lose" Iraq. Like we "lost" China in 1949. If only we had.....what? It might be fair to say that there are those circumstances where the United States doesn't own anything to "lose" in the first place. Call me crazy, but it is arguable that the Chinese themselves had a lot to do with what happened in China.

The "war on terror" is similar to the "war on drugs" in several ways. It has no clear goal in sight, meaning an endless supply of unquestioning loyalty to the goal, which is redefined to match current political situations. And, the first casualty in such a "war" are the very freedoms and liberties that are only revoked from the very people who pose no threat in the first place.

It makes a great cudgel, though. That is, if you have no interest in (or interest in addressing) boring things like economics, disenfranchisement of citizens, healthcare, bloated government, and so on. President Bush used the GWOT very well in 2004.

But this is 2008. Some people might question how any national struggle can be maintained when the country is going broke. Lecturing those in Michigan that their jobs aren't coming back sounds like tough love. Maybe. It also sounds like someone who really doesn't have a grasp of economics. I'll offer this one for free: if a $20-an-hour job is exported, the governments' (fed, state, & local) tax base shrinks. The individual who then lands one of those valued "associate" nametags at Walmart will do the best they can. But the taxes they pay will be much less. Also, try not to lecture such people on pulling themselves back up by their bootstraps while pulling a Congressional salary. You may as well give swimming lessons in New Orleans.

"Compassionate Conservatism" has been revealed for what is is: cynical conservatism. And that applies to the GWOT as much as to anything else. For all the hope that our venture in Afghanistan would bear permanent fruit, the debacle in Iraq has to be transformed from one of those stupid moves into part of a justified expenditure of life and treasure. It is always easy to sound tough while sending someone else's son or daughter into the fire. It's also easy to turn your back on them when they return because "we have to show fiscal discipline."

For a man who dismissed critics of his ill-fated immigration "reform" bill last year, Sen. McCain is displaying a very selective view of national security. Americans are dying every day at the hands of criminals here illegally. Enforcement of existing law would put a stop to most of it. Sen. McCain might come to an understanding that American citizens and legal residents are not xenophobes just because they want the law enforced.

However, campaigns are like a house of mirrors at a carnival. Talking points and campaign themes can be made up out of whole cloth. The key is to keep banging that drum; truth has nothing to do with elections. Not when it comes to instilling fear.

For all the talk about Mitt Romney's Mormonism; for all the talk about Mike Huckabee's Christian zeal....no one mentions the fact that the Global War on Terror has become a faith also.

What Senator McCain and Gov. Romney may discover this year is that at this stage there are not as many believers as before. Pat Buchanan believes that a President McCain will start more wars; that his administration will be an expansion of the Bush II initiatives.

We're all mortal. I know I'm going to die someday; that's a simple fact. It's much harder to accept the notion that my country may perish through neglect. To borrow from T.S. Eliot, I'd rather go out from a terrorist bang than die an economic whimper.
**********************************
Cross-posted at Michaellinnjones.com

Papamoka Blog’s and more reads…

One more Republican steps down with minimal controversy over his child using her shoes in protest of her arrest. - Washington Post

Bring IT ON! has this on Bush Lied.

When we got to Baqubah and once found fifty IEDs on a stretch of road less than a mile long, we figured it might be a good idea to walk even more often. - Army of Dude

Zogby Poll on South Carolina from The Moderate Voice.

Florida 8th Congressional Race on Crooks and Liars with Alan Grayson… Must SEE VIDEO!

Suffer the Children from I See My Dreams on Bush being just an idiot. Who’d of thunk?

Michael Linn Jones on Huckabee and his arsenal of theocracy.

One more on Alan Grayson from Down With Tryranny.

Gun Toting Liberal has this on Hillary the Hypocrite calling Obama a slum lord buddy.

That’s a wrap up…

Papamoka

White House for Sale

Somebody check the Century 21 listings, I swear that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is on the market. By the looks of the offers in on this pristine address the price for the this strategic location is going into the hundreds of millions of dollars. In political home ownership it is all about location, location, and location.

As much as I love politics I detest the way it is paid for. Most of us political junkies that actually vote in large numbers can not attend a $500 or $1000 a plate dinner to support any candidate. We have to settle for the best that we can do and nuke a frozen dinner while flinging a stream of expletives at the opponents commercials on the boob tube.

One thing is certain though, some of these candidates have grass roots behind them and some of them have large, huge, mega huge businesses supporting them. For the most part they are all guilty of taking big money donations but that is part of the process that is built into being elected President. Is it not ironic that the upper classes of America (Royal’s) are donating so much to the probable winners of the election process. Even hedging your bets is not out of bounds when it comes to getting influence at the White House with the next President of the United States of America.

What is a political realtor to do but follow the money and the New York Times has this to say about it…

Iowa Victories Scramble the Money Game, Too

By LESLIE WAYNE
Published: January 6, 2008

Victories by Senator Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in Iowa have not only upset political calculations, they have also upset the money game and spurred a growing flood of donations for these candidates while making fund-raising trickier for the rest.

Mr. Huckabee, a former Republican governor of Arkansas who ran a campaign with minimal resources, now finds more money flowing his way. As he jetted to New Hampshire from Iowa, money began to show up, click by click over the Internet — a total of $350,000 by the time he had landed at dawn. By Thursday, the campaign hopes to have an online total of $1 million in fresh cash.

The one-day surge comes on top of a rise in donations that has coincided with Mr. Huckabee’s improving political fortunes. In the last quarter of 2007, as his campaign began to take off, Mr. Huckabee took in $5 million, after raising $2.3 million in the first nine months of the year. Mr. Huckabee has scheduled fund-raisers in Texas and Florida, and his campaign has said it is getting so many requests from supporters to hold fund-raisers that it cannot schedule them all.

“I have a feeling that after tonight,” Mr. Huckabee said on Fox News on the night of his Iowa victory, “we’re going to see a huge surge in fund-raising because up until now, people said, ‘Well, we would give to you but we’re not sure you can win.’ Now they’re thinking, he already has, and he is winning.”

Snip a contribution

In some cases, Democrats who supported Mrs. Clinton out of loyalty or conviction or because they felt she could win are now taking another look at Mr. Obama, Mr. Kramer said. Donors with enough resources can hedge their bets by giving the maximum $4,600 for the primary and general races to both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton. - New York Times

First thought I have is for Governor Huckabee. Don’t sell that double wide trailer yet Reverend. If you win the office of President you might be able to park it on the front lawn of the White House but the neighbors over at the Smithsonian might complain. Snobby know it alls are like that in the nations capitol. Then there are those busy bodies over at the FBI and CIA that are always looking in your trailers windows. Very poor neighbors but great for neighborhood security. Most of the time good for neighborhood security if you take 9/11 out of the equation.

As for Barack Obama the race is not over and do not get a big head over winning Iowa alone. New Hampshire is not Iowa. Live Free or Die isn’t on the license plates of every car just because it is a catchy phrase. They actually believe in it and live it. Big government is bad and not a reflection on your liberal agenda. You sure you want the White House Barack? Latest trends are that the place has gone down hill with little support from the American people who own it to fix it up or even renovate. Absentee land lords are like that from what I hear. Are you sure Barack that you want to move into this house with all the problems it has now?

We can not discount the Co-Presidency attempt by Hill and Bill Clinton. Why they want to buy the Presidency back again is beyond belief. Didn’t they sell it out to the current slum lord? Some reports say that Hillary wants her damn drapes back and that is the only reason she is running for the office. Other rumors are that Bill thinks Monica still works there. I can not confirm either rumor but that is the way things go in politics.

Al Gore was looking to buy it from the Clinton’s some years ago but some legal problems at the last minute had his hopes dashed. Apparently, the Supreme Court decided he could not afford the mortgage even though his vote income more than met the criteria for home ownership. Al Gore, the first victim of our nations mortgage lending crisis, bookmark this page because you heard it hear first. He and Tipper were evicted and foreclosed on. Al Gore packed up his truck and moved back to Tennessee to forget America forever.

Getting back to my rant, it is simply disgusting that it will take two hundred million dollars plus to occupy the oval office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That price is a direct reflection on who really owns our nation and it is no longer Joe Six Pack and his 2.3 kids. Next time you fill up your tank start humming “Hail to the Chief” and fork over the $3.00 a gallon with a smile. Tell me which one of any of the candidates has pumped their own gas recently and then you have someone that knows what Joe Six Pack and his 2.3 kids are trying to budget for but can not.

Maybe we need rent control for the White House because nobody ever stays more than eight years? Then again maybe we need to get private funds out of our election process and put candidates that will actually serve all of the people in office. Take the money out and you will actually have people elected to the Presidency that are not beholden to the money that elected them. Would that not be a true change in American politics. This post courtesy of and thank you George W. Bush aka King George W who sold us all out to the highest bidder and enriched his inner circle! Change is coming and its one election away.

Papamoka

Originally posted at Papamoka Straight Talk

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones and Bring IT ON!

Feel free to link to or steal this post…

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