On the Wrong Foot

I give every incoming president the benefit of the doubt, but I gotta admit that Obama rubbed me the wrong way earlier than any other president that I can remember.

Let's see, we are in a hell of a recession, with a trillion dollar deficit, about to add another trillion to that deficit in an effort to "stimulate" the economy (personally, I think we need more immediate help that DOES not require increasing our debt), and what does the President elect to do in his third day in office?

Send money to other countries to fund abortion programs. Excuse me? I have enough problems as it is with the fact that federal funds, ie. taxes I pay, go to ending pregnancies and killing babies (something I vehemently and fiercely oppose), to now have to deal with the fact that my good American money WHICH SHOULD BE STAYING HERE, the one there isn't enough to go around is going to OTHER COUNTRIES to FUND ABORTIONS.

Hello????? Anyone home? What happened to austerity? I thought Democrats were the DOMESTIC policy kings. Nice going Mr. President.

Election 2008

Well the Democratic primaries are finally over; sadly the party didn't implode. However, I do celebrate the first Black candidate - whether you like or hate the guy he has accomplished history. Hooray for us; it remains to be seen if the US is ready to elect a Black president.

Pundits have been abuzz everywhere with VP talks on both sides. They've shown us the lists, and the pros and cons of each. We anxiously await these announcements to see if our candidates benefit or not.

A major issue still is Hill - what will she do? Will she be the VP? Will Obama ask her? My dem friends actually believe it would be counter productive for Obama to select her for the VP. Why? They believe Obama would lose the independents and "republicans" he has attracted as Hill's presence would undermine his "change" paradigm. She's not new; she's politically mature; she's part of the Clintons therefore there is no change.

There is some truth to that. However, after last night's speech in which she did not concede, people are wondering what her next steps are. I found the following comment intriguing:

Senator Clinton: Please tell us that you are not considering an independent candidacy during the general election. This would be a loser for the Democratic party. The party is poised to win super majority in both houses of Congress. You can help insure this or destroy it. Most importantly your independent candidacy would insure victory for John McCain; a loss for America

Robert Moleski (Sent Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:39 AM)

Isn't that interesting? Let me be clear, I do not put this past her; but I don't think the party will allow this and if she even thinks about it she would be under great pressure to not do this. Wouldn't that be fun though? A four candidate ballot?

My own conspiracy theory on this goes a bit too far. Humor me. There is been some talk that McCain should promise to only run for one term. There has also been some talk that he should reach across party lines for a VP to garner some more votes (if Obama truly stood for change, he should be the one reaching across party lines for a VP). If to that you add the praises Hill has been singing to McCain and vice versa - would it be too farfetched to think of a McCain-Clinton ticket? What would that do to the electorate, the Democrats and Republicans?

If you have an overactive imagination like me, these elections stand to be a lot of fun as long as no formal decisions are made. Speculating can lead you to quite the history making tickets and ballots.

Obama and Wright and wrong

I'm not a fan of Obama, but I was rooting for him to win the Democratic nomination. I thought what a great thing it would be for a Black to win a nomination, and for Hillary to get shafted. I also wanted to see how the Democrats would handle the race issue and proved me right about Hillary: it's all about power no matter who is in the middle.

So in a way, I was very disappointed when I saw and heard Rev. Wright's now infamous diatribes about how we deserved 9/11, about how we invented AIDS for genocide (probably more how the white man invented AIDS to cleanse Africa of the brothers) and that hurtful phrase that I still can't believe any citizen would say - God Damn America. They are not light words, and for someone who wasn't running on race having your spiritual leader be all about race became an issue.

You read the MSM and get two points of view: the speech was either the second coming of Christ or it was filled with contradictions. I've seen more of the former than of the latter. Still, not that many people are holding Obama accountable and responsible for his pastor's comments. After all this is his pastor and his church for the past 20 years. If any priest at any church started anything like this, on the spot I get up and leave. Trust me, I've done it for less inflammatory things.

So, today, I was pleasantly surprised when Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe called Obama on his excuse of not thinking this was a problem before it affected his possible nomination. In college I wrote once about reverse racism (if there is such a term) of Blacks being racists with Whites while complaining of racism against them. That is a double standard that still exists and no one addresses - and is what makes this such a strong issue for me.

For example, Obama quickly stated Imus should be fired yet his pastor is "provocative". Even more, he stated

"There's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group"

yet Rev. Wright is was part of his staff; and had these videos not made it to the public, he probably still would be.

I have no doubt that Hillary could possibly be behind this; yes even more so than Republicans. But it shows that Obama has a double standard; and as Jeff Jacoby so eloquently states:

Such a clanging double standard raises doubts about Obama's character and judgment, and about his fitness for the role of race-transcending healer. Yesterday's speech was finely crafted, but it leaves some troubling questions unanswered.

I really encourage you go read the whole article.

Words, Race and Politics

Arianna Huffington, of the HuffPost, failed McCain on a litmus leadership test for the senator's lack of passion in disagreeing with racially charged insults hurled at Obama by one of the senator's backers.

How quickly the tides change. Let's see what grade the Clintonistas get.

Are you enjoying this as much as I am?

Barack Obama?

He shocked in Iowa, came second in New Hampshire, and routed in South Carolina. So who is this candidate? I figured since he has momentum and is the media darling it was the right time to post on Barack.

His website is here. The candidate for change: Black, young, and inexperienced. That is a change in itself. So what does he stand for? Let's review the highlights

Foreign Policiy - out of Iraq and invite all to the tables - friends and foes - in hope that by showing America is willing the world and the enemies would sort of gain respect for us again. IMHO, too naive, too inexperienced. Showing the world that we are willing to talk to Iran, North Korea, Cuba etc. will only appease people into thinking ok so far they are not going to war. Will it do anything to advance our purposes with our enemies? No. Will it disarm North Korea? Only when he has no choice left and has realized his tantrums are getting nowhere. Will it halt Iran's nuclear development? Support for Iraq's insurgents? Acceptance of Israel? No, No and No. But then again nadie aprende por cabeza ajena. If he becomes president he will soon realize he will be the only one sitting at that table. The out of Iraq part, at least in definition seems like everyone else.

Immigration - pay a fine, pay taxes, go to the end of the line. Can they become citizens? Apparently so; I'm against any illegal immigrant becoming citizen. They should only be able to get legal residency status. He favors border security, he just doesn't say in which order he would deal with the issues. End of the line? How do you ensure this will happen? They will be in front of new applicants that are sitting in their countries waiting for the process. Anyway you spin this it just does not seem fair. End of the line should mean, go home, fill out paperwork and wait like everyone else. On top of that, pay a fine and pay taxes.

Energy independence - he has the right goal, I just cannot understand what he is proposing

Healthcare - here is a biggie for me. He supports a national health insurance - bad idea. There is no way I can support this. He wants to expand S-Chip - another bad idea. How can you guarantee that only people who truly cannot afford their kids insurance are the ones benefitting? I know families that get their kids in Schip so as not to have to pay the Family insurance and maintain single insurance at their jobs. He does have one thing in his favor here: reduce health care costs....yes! Finally someone realizes the root of the problem. My advice to Obama is to start there first, with the costs. Once healthcare is actually affordable, the insurance problem will be greatly diminished as will the necessity for Medicaid and Schip.

Economy - he brings all his plans in here. I differ with the fund to prevent foreclosures though I agree with making sure lending practices are fair. People should read what they sign; consumers have accountability too. The government is not our parent and we are not helpless children; it is in our best interest and it is our responsibility to know what we are getting into and defend ourselves. I don't get the mortgage tax credit for everyone; everyone has access to it you just have to fill out the correct form. The rest of his ideas we've all heard before, so there is nothing new. It does seem to entail more government involvement, which I oppose. One good thing is the idea of not taxing some senior citizens.

Homeland security - he really doesn't say much other that we are still not safe. Wow, enlightening.

Education - same old same old. Some tax breaks for colleges and those of us with student loans are still getting screwed. How about some relief for those of us whose education turned us into a walking mortgage? Will there be a rescue fund for us as well? Will the government also help us buy a home? Let me tell you it is not easy to secure a mortgage when you have a debt of 50K+ for your education.

Poverty - I don't see anything about migrating people out of welfare, or making welfare a transitional program. That is not good.

Social Security - how he will save this is not known. He addresses other retirement options, but remains silent on how to make sure I will have my check when I reach 65.

Veterans - hey, I'm all for whatever makes veterans taken care of. Healthcare, housing, food, anything. These people risks their lives for us; we should all be second class citizens next to them.