Every four years, the American public is treated to the spectacle of seeing politicians promising tax breaks for various groups of citizens. These tax breaks are supposed to put money into the pockets of the people who really need it. Well, I have a better idea. Instead of giving these people tax breaks, how about offering them all a year of free mental heath counseling. This would go a long way into helping some people face reality about why they are in the position they are in.
Case in point - have you seen the people who participate on Maury and the Jerry Springer show? What kind of woman goes onto national television to tell the world that she has 8 kids and she has no idea who the father is? Do you think she needs counseling or a few extra hundred dollars? How about the married man who declares his undying love for his wife only to admit that he has cheated on her over 10 times? Does he need counseling? I'm more in favor of putting him out of his misery.
These people are idiots who are selfish and do not care about making a fool out of themselves in front of the whole world. And for what - a free trip to New York? I've been to the "The Big Apple" and it's not worth it.
Give these people counseling so they can get their lives together. Maybe then Jerry Springer and Maury Povich can rediscover their real talents and stop selling out to make the big dollars.
I am so glad that this political campaign season is finally over. I can't speak for everyone else nor do I pretend to, but I have been very disappointed the events of the last 2 years. The candidates (Obama, Clinton, McCain, Biden, Romney, etc.) consistently displayed the ability to lie to the American public. For once, I would like a politician to say, "You know what - there is nothing the government can do about this problem." I would vote for that candidate in a minute. Unfortunately, that person would not have a chance to win because the majority of the citizens in this country are intellectually lazy. They only read snippets of questionable information and listen to 30 second sound bytes that play loose with the truth. There are very few citizens who challenge the politicians and the mainstream media who print their words and actions.
Now that the presidential elections are over the lies and misleading statements can desist for a while. Maybe Obama will think of a way to be really honest with the American public about the "change" he will be able to implement. On the other hand, McCain can be well - McCain again. The man who really is a maverick and not afraid to take on the system. He can be the man the conservative Republicans have never trusted or liked. It's too bad that McCain was not allowed by the Republican establishment to run for President.
I only hope that the 2012 campaign is better. Contrary to popular belief, the politicians do not determine the kind of campaign that is acceptable for that season. It is the American public who decides. The people of this country have always had the power to dictate and change the environment of this country. They just don't do it.
I am what the pundits call an independent voter, swing voter, undecided voter, or whatever the new term is for this election. It's no secret that I think both of these candidates are guilty of lying to the public just to get elected. When I think of John McCain, I think of a man who has served his country for a long time. McCain sees the presidency as the crowning achievement of his political career.
When I think of Barack Obama, I think of an intelligent opportunist who knows when to run for President. Obama reminds me of a guy I went to junior high school with. He really wanted to be president of the Student Council, but he knew that there was no way he could garner enough support to win the election. However, the perfect storm of events happened that allowed him to enter the election and win before any one realized what happened. The next day when the principal read the election results over the intercom system, everyone was shocked that he won.
I don't have anything against Obama and I respect his life journey as he tells it. However, I cannot help but to think of "The Omen" and its main character, Damien, when I see him and his supporters. I'm not saying that he's the Anti-Christ, but the man has shown the ability to convince millions of people that he represents revolutionary "change" and can solve the country's economic and social woes.
Maybe he can. Fox and Major League Baseball have agreed to start Game 6 of the World Series a few minutes later to accommodate Obama's expensive infomercial. That's good for Obama, but he better hopes the Series does not go to a Game 6 because there will be a lot of people who will take the delay in a negative way. Trust me when I say that no politician wants to be seen as the one who made the game start at a later time so he could browbeat you one more time with the same tired message.
Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Convention have decided that Obama will give his speechaccepting the Democratic nomination for president at Invesco Field instead of the Pepsi Center in Denver. Invesco is a football stadium that can hold over 75,000 whereas the Pepsi Center is an arena that can seat approximately 20,000.
Even though I am an independent voter and not a die hard supporter of Obama's campaign, I understand and appreciate their efforts to give members of the general public a chance to attend this event. It will be interesting to see how the DNC and Obama's campaign distribute tickets to the stadium. Even though 75,000 people can attend events at Invesco, there is no way there will be 75,000 members of the general public in those seats. The tickets for Obama's speech are going to be hot like tickets for the Super Bowl. Only the chosen few will not have to stand in line to get tickets and I would not want to be a part of that process.
Logistics aside - I think Obama is making a mistake by giving his speech in the stadium instead of the arena. I will admit that I am not one of the so-called network political experts who would like you to believethey are so savvy about the convention process. However, I do have an opinion as to what looks "right", "cheesy" or "over the top".
Everybody knows that Obama is going to give a great speech that night. I'm worried that the DNC and Obama's campaign are going to put on a huge spectacle that is going to turn off and irritate a lot of people watching on television. If I were handling the conditions for Obama's acceptance speech, I would keep his stage and the surrounding area simple and patriotic. Let Obama's speech do all of the heavy work. Please keep the obligatory camera shots of the VIP's to a minimum. For example, it's almost a given that if the Clinton's are in attendance, the camera will zero in on their facial expressions every 3 minutes. The networks would be better off showing the "real" people in the crowd.
One more thing, please do not overplay the "JFK - MLK - BHO" connection that is being forced upon the American public by some members of the media and the Democratic establishment. I know we will have to view montages of King and JFK giving speeches. However, I do not want to see any kind of production that would have images of the icons smiling over Obama as he and his family wave to the crowd. It would kind of remind me of the celebration at the end of the Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedimovie when during the party Luke Skywalker looks over and sees the images of Yoda, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi smiling at him. That would be creepy if anything similar to that was included before or after the speech.
When the speech is over, I'm sure there will some fireworks and music playing. That's fine and expected. I just hope they do not go over the top with the celebration. Everyone needs to remember - it's just Obama accepting the Democratic nomination for President. It's not like Obama is announcing that everyone's student loan debt has been retired. Don't laugh - if he can walk on water then he can erase student loan debt.
I am a big fan of Beyonce the singer and actress, but I am not a fan of the fashion part of her business empire - House of Dereon. In their advertising campaign for their new clothing line for kids, House of Dereon has girls that look to be 5 and 6 years old dressed in outfits that I would not want to see adults wearing. These young girls are in high heels, tight fitting clothes and wearing makeup. I know I am not as hip as most of the people in the world think they are, but I think this advertising campaign is perverse.
As the father of two young girls, I can guarantee you that there is no way in hell they would ever dress up like this. Unfortunately, this is par for the course when it comes to the clothing choices for young girls. Most of the clothes these days are tight and cut to be very revealing. Parents have to work hard to dress their girls in "normal" clothing these days. The only way these fashion designers will change is if parents stop buying these clothes for their daughters.
Beyonce needs to shut this campaign down and find something else to do with her extra time.
When the presidential inauguration is held in January, I am sure that Hillary Clinton will have another episode of "what if" on her mind.
- What if Clinton had been aggressive in attacking Barack Obama from the beginning of the campaign?
- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not acted as clinching the nomination was just a formality?
- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign had given the caucus states the same respect they had given to primary states?
- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not completely mismanaged their campaign contributions to the point that Clinton has had to loan her campaign approximately 11 million dollars?
I cannot wait for the day when Clinton will sit down and answer questions like those mentioned above. It has to drive her crazy to think that the Democratic nomination was hers to lose and that is exactly what she proceeded to do. Don't get me wrong, Obama and his campaign team deserve much of the credit for Clinton losing the nomination. Obama's game plan was organized, strategically better and well executed. Obama campaigned to win while Clinton campaigned not to lose. Obama has soundly beaten Clinton in every phase of the game. I know everyone wants to blame her loss on statements made by Bill Clinton. Some of the pundits are also saying that the country is tired of a Bush or Clinton being in the White House. I will admit there are some people who hold those sentiments, but the fact is that Clinton just got her butt kicked.
Does that make Obama the best candidate for the Democratic Party? Not exactly. However, Obama's performance for the past year says that he competed well enough to win the nomination and that is all that counts in politics.
Once again, Obama is asking the American public to take a leap of faith and believe him when he says that he never heard Jeremiah Wright say anything that the general public would find offensive. Now that Obama has finally denounced Wright and some of his views, some people want to know why it took so long for him to make the right decision.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not have a problem with Wright saying the stuff that he does. If he wants to act crazy and say hateful things then that is his right to do so. Just as it is my right to question the sanity and judgment of the members of Trinity United Church of Christ who continue to sit and listen to Wright. I still have a problem that Obama was a member of this church for twenty years.
Obama continues to say he was unaware that Wright was delusional and controversial, but there is evident that says otherwise. Tom Bevan does a great job of documenting Obama's awareness of how problematic his relationship with Wright could be to the day he announced his candidacy for the presidency on February 10, 2007. According to Wright, Obama called him the night before the announcement to tell him that he no longer could do the invocation.
"Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama
disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an
article in Rolling Stone, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, "You can get kind
of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for
you not to be out there in public."
I have questioned Hillary Clinton's sanity and inability to tell the truth after her "sniper" fantasy played out on national television. Therefore, I also believe it is fair to question Obama's judgment and decision making in regards to Wright. I have come to the conclusion that Obama is either lying about what he knew about Wright's controversial beliefs and sermons or he is a member of a church that he rarely attended. Time will tell what the real truth is, but by then it may be too late for Obama.
I remember it wasn't that long ago when most black people wondered aloud if Obama was black enough. Some blacks did not trust him because of his biracial background. He did not have the similar life experience that the majority of blacks have as a result of living in the United States. Blacks who doubted Obama pointed to the fact that he was the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother. He also attended and graduated from some of the best schools in the country. Therefore, some blacks questioned his authenticity on his knowledge of being black in America.
Now approximately 90 percent of the voting black community supports Obama and his quest for the presidency. Even though he is biracial, Obama has allowed everyone (black, white, media, etc.) to say that he could be the first African-American president of the United States. For the record, I respect Obama's decision to identify with his African heritage, but I am of the opinion that Obama would be the first biracial President who happens to identify as a black male. I only say this because I believe when people say Obama is African-American, they totally disregard his white mother and her family. Obama is the man he is because of his white mother and her parents who basically raised him as a young man in a white household.
When Obama won the Iowa Primary, most black people were stunned that a predominantly white state would vote for someone of color. The Iowa victory and his strong showing in New Hampshire gave some blacks the courage they needed to support Obama. For example, Jesse Jackson won 77 percent of the black vote in 1984 and 92 percent of the black vote in 1988. Currently, Obama is getting numbers close to what Jackson got in 1988.
Despite the support he gets from the majority of black voters, Obama has to be careful of his perception in all segments of the black community. There are already rumblings from some members of Indiana's black communities that Obama and Hillary Clinton are basically ignoring them while concentrating on courting the blue collar white voters.
Obama is also being watched to see how he handles the Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ controversies. When Obama denounced Wright yesterday, most people knew he did it for more political reasons than for personal ones. For Obama to have any chance of making inroads into the white blue-collar vote that Clinton has consistently beat him in he knew he had to strongly denounce Wright. However, Obama has to be careful how he denounces Wright so as not lose many members of his black voting bloc. Obama knows that there is a risk that some blacks will think he's just criticizing Wright to appease some white voters. I believe young black voters are more likely then older black voters to understand why Obama had to give the speech he gave yesterday. I think older black voters will understand, but will be less likely to forgive him for it.
Obama has to continue to find the balance that allows him to criticize Wright's views while not making it look like he's selling Wright out to white America because he needs their votes. For example, Obama was allegedly criticized by Al Sharpton for trying to "grandstand for white people" by appealing for calm after the controversial verdict in the Sean Bell shooting trial.
Obama is in a delicate situation but he can overcome it by just being himself. The trouble is I don't know if Obama really knows who he is because I sure don't. The man is being pulled in all directions by all people on a daily basis. This is one reason why most people do not run for President of the United States. I wish him well even though I will not be voting for him in the fall because he's too liberal for my blood. However, I am willing to overlook the flaws or political leanings of any candidate who would be willing to forgive student loan debts over $50,000.
It has been very interesting watching all of the news shows and reading all of the various newspaper articles discussing the the fractured relationship between Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama as a result of Wright's appearance at the National Press Club on Monday. I have been amused by some of the comments I have heard and I have been confused by others. My perception of the falling out between Obama and Wright is a little different then what is being largely reported in the media. My opinion is based on my life perspective as a black male who grew up in Missouri. My grandfather is a minister of two black churches in west Tennessee, so I have an understanding of the widely discussed and misunderstood black church experience.
Obama could have eliminated the Wright issue years ago when he decided to enter the world of politics as a Illinois state senator. However, Obama did not see Wright as a problem until he announced his presidential candidacy on February 10, 2007. The fact is Obama sought out Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ for several reasons. First of all, as a biracial male living in the South Side of Chicago, Obama needed and wanted the black half of his life to be validated. I did not have a problem with his decision to identify himself as a black male. For the most part, depending on the color of the individuals skin, American society will assume a biracial person is black if one of their parents is black. It is very rare for society to identify a biracial individual as white unless the person's skin is so light that they could pass for white. I digress because this is all a subject that will be discussed on another day.
When Obama made the decision to identify himself as a black man he basically needed a "reference". Wright and Trinity provided Obama with his "ghetto pass" that he knew he needed if was going to succeed in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. This "pass" allowed him to do a lot of good work in the South Side neighborhoods. Wright made Trinity into an institution in Chicago. It became the thing to do to become a member of the Trinity congregation. Therefore, Obama became a member of Trinity and began making the political connections he needed to make it in the Chicago political wars.
Obama did not have to hide or worry about his relationship with Wright while running for the Illinois State Senate or the U.S. Senate. The majority of the people in his district do not disapprove of Wright or his message. Obama and his campaign team knew that Wright would be problematic when he made the decision to run for president. However, what the Obama camp curiously underestimated was how the content of Wright's sermons was going to negatively impact the majority of Americans. This is why the Wright cloud has continued to hang over Obama's campaign. Obama was also helped by the fact that the mainstream media kept a reasonably tight lid on issues regarding Wright because they did not think the Wright problem was newsworthy and they did not want to be viewed as racist for harming Obama's presidential march.
Obama finally addressed the Wright issue in Philadelphia with his much ballyhooed speech on racial relations in America. He eloquently discussed the issues of race in this country in a way that John McCain or Hillary Clinton could not. Obama also said that he did not agree with what Wright's comments, but that he could not disown him. The speech satisfied his supporters, but it did not resonate with his detractors. The speech may have helped him with some undecided voters, but not enough to help him win the Pennsylvania primary. The Obama campaign was feeling pretty confident that they handled the Wright fiasco and now they were focused on winning Indiana and North Carolina. Little did they know that a storm was coming down the road.
Wright is an intelligent and proud man. I cannot imagine how Wright felt having the entire world view snippets of his sermons without the full context of the respective sermons. He was being blasted by the national media on a daily basis as a racist. To make matters worse, a member of his congregation for 20 years, decided to go in front of the national media and make a point to say that he didn't know of Wright's previous comments and did not agree with those that he heard. There was no way Wright was going to stay silent and allow himself to be made into some sort of racist caricature by the national media. He was going to fight back and he was going to do it the only way he has known how - he was going to speak his mind. I do not believe Wright was trying to intentionally hurt Obama's campaign by going on his talking tour that began last Friday on the the Bill Moyers Journal show. However, I do believe that Wright was not going to continue to allow himself to be misrepresented to the American public without defending himself. He did not care about the negative effect it would have on Obama's campaign. Political campaigns come and go. If you look at the transcript from Wright's Moyer's appearance, this fight was about how his life's work was being portrayed.
Wright's speech and comments made the National Press Club forced Obama to do what he should have done a long time ago. Obama was forced to cast aside a man (Wright) who he looked up to and held in high regard. If you look at Obama's speech below, it is obvious that Wright's comments have upset him and he is saddened that he has to have a public breakup with a man who he saw as a father-figure.
Before I go on any further, I want to make it clear why Obama supporters are mad. It is not what Wright said during his appearances. Wright did not say anything new; he just repeated the same old controversial comments he has said for many years. Obama supporters, especially the approximately 90 percent of black voters who support Obama are mad about the timing of his speaking engagements.
Please understand that the majority of blacks are not mad about what Wright has said in the past or will continue to say in the future. They are mad that Wright did not wait until Obama was elected president before he started defending himself. Obama's quest for the presidency is very personal for the majority of the black community. They see Obama's candidacy as their chance to finally get to the White House where he can change the way the game is played in Washington. If Obama is elected president that would be a dream come true for many blacks, especially older blacks like my parents and grandparents who lived during the Jim Crow days in the south. This is why there is this almost naive belief among blacks that President Obama will make it easier to be black in America and this is why so many blacks are currently upset with Wright.
It will be interesting to see how Wright will respond to Obama's forceful public denunciation of him. Is Wright going to be quiet and lay low in Chicago because he has said what he had to say? On the other hand, is Wright going to return to the podium to respond to Obama's remarks about him and his beliefs? This is a difficult time for those people in the black community who support both of these men. They do not want to see Wright or Obama fail.
Obama and Wright are playing a game neither man can win. They have both already lost in ways that they could not have imagined a year ago. Obama has lost his shine as the candidate who can lead this country to a new place and help heal the racial divide. Wright has lost the respect and admiration of some blacks because they feel he has irreparably damaged Obama's campaign. You would be hard pressed to find a black person who does not think that Wright should defend himself. However, I would also venture to say that you would find it difficult to find many blacks who support Wright's defending himself at the expense of Obama's campaign for president.
Like I said - neither Obama or Wright can win this game.
I have finally viewed the controversial television ad sponsored by the North Carolina Republican Party. What's the big deal? I just don't get what the uproar is all about. Why are so many people upset over the content of this weak 40 second ad? The North Carolina GOP is using the incedinary clip of Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright spewing hateful words about America. A clip of the ad is shown below.
The Republicans are trying to tie the Democratic candidates for governor to Obama and Wright saying that they are "too extreme" for North Carolina. The Republicans are also trying to raise some money too. John McCain and the Republican National Committee have criticized the ad, but that has not stopped the North Carolina Republican Party from trying to air it.
I have viewed the ad several times and I still don't get the uproar. I have finally come to the conclusion that this ad is about more than the inclusion of the clips of the Wright sermon. Even if the clip of his sermon is taken out of context, it is still Wright's words coming out of his mouth. I believe that more people are upset that the ad shows a picture of Obama with his arms around a white woman - Democratic candidate for governor, Bev Perdue.
If this is what people are upset about than I think that says more about them than it says about the ad itself. Now, I will admit that there are still a lot of people who still cringe at the sight of a black man any where near a white woman - so what. What happened to the new mythical post-racial generation that was supposed to be taking over the United States?
If Obama believes this ad is racist then he needs to say so and explain why he feels this way. However that is not what Obama and his campaign team likes to do. They like to let their media supporters stir the racist accusations, so Obama never has to explain anything. This is one of the things that has always annoyed me about Obama. He could easily come out and say that the ad was stupid and the Wright clip was taken out of context again. Obama could also do a lot of good by saying that he did not believe the ad was racist because he was pictured with his arm around a white woman. He could continue to say that he has a lot of white supporters who he has given hugs to and there is nothing wrong with that.
I need someone to tell me - a black man - how this ad is racist. I thought it was weak, but not racist.
McCain better be careful about his criticism of this ad. Before he starts apologizing for everything a Republican says that may or may not put Obama in a bad light. McCain better go talk to his buddy Hillary Clinton about what happens if you run a campaign that is overly sensitive towards Obama. McCain and the GOP better wake before they find themselves in the same losing position Clinton finds herself in.
The campaign between Obama and Clinton and now Obama and McCain is funny too watch. Clinton, McCain and their supporters are so afraid to say any thing about Obama out of fear of being called a racist. Their actions remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine had a biracial boyfriend and no one really was comfortable talking about him. Once again, Obama has got another candidate on the defensive when he has no reason to be.
