Last of Our Kind

Alaska’s largest newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, just endorsed Senator Barrack Obama for President. Not only did the newspaper say Barack Obama is the better choice, but it actually said Sarah Palin was “too risky” to be VP, and therefore one heartbeat away from the Presidency.

I know Barack Obama will not win the state of Alaska and its 3 electoral votes. However, to the Republican Party this has to come as a shock and definitely has to be seen as a slap in the face to Sarah Palin. Not to mention this is yet another blow to an already shaky (and some would say finished) campaign.

We are in the final week of this election and the candidates can not afford any negative press, or any mistakes. And yet here John McCain has ANOTHER one.

It seems like from day one (at least day one from picking Governor Palin) he can not get a break. Now, as a supporter of Obama I think this is good news, but it almost makes me feel sorry for the guy. He truly loves this country, I don’t doubt that, but his party is so far to the right that he never could run the campaign or make the decisions that he actually wanted to. The Daily News clearly chose not to endorse McCain because of his VP choice, a choice that many think (especially as the two running mates begin to tear each other down) was not his first pick.

Conventional wisdom says John McCain really wanted to pick Joe Lieberman as his VP. That choice would have shaken things up for the Republicans. The problem is that they as a party are so conservative that McCain would have been skewered had he had made such a controversial decision and asked a “liberal” to join him.

I also believe that John McCain could (and should) have picked Mitt Romney as his VP. Looking at how horribly McCain handled the economic mess we are in, Romney certainly would have helped. However, he is a Mormon, and would that have really appeased the Christian Right? I don’t think so. Had they been able to accept his religion would they get over the fact that he once supported abortion and that he is from the “Elitist Territory,” Massachusetts? This man says no.

So how does this fit in with the endorsement for Barack Obama? As I said before I think it’s great for the Democratic Party, and great for the nation that a progressive man with good ideas will finally be able to lead. It is important however, to say that we are also at a moment of great division. If we don’t learn to come together and support our new President, we are doomed to fail as a nation. We will be destined to take huge steps back in everything that we have fought for. And that is what we must realize going forward.

We have come to a place now, where our division is no longer helpful. It does not allow for discussion and debate, but only gridlock and fighting. We have to stop arguing about the legality of abortion and focus on prevention, education, and the safety of Women. We have to stop arguing about Gay marriage and focus on equal rights for everyone (which is what this nation truly stands for).

America, it is time we turn the page past partisanship. We have to, or else we will never move forward again.

Day one of the “real” Republican Convention got me thinking about a lot of stuff.

First of all I have to admit that they really know how to spin just about anything. I feel bad for the Republicans such as Rudy Guiliani and Fred Thompson (both former GOP Candidates) get in front of cameras and actually take pride in McCain’s VP Pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I find it ridiculous that these “true” Republicans can all tout how great of a choice she is when the truth is that she really was the worst choice McCain could have made.

We don’t have to touch the issue about her pregnant daughter (I agree with Obama that families are off limits.)

We don’t have to talk about her incredible lack of experience. We don’t have to talk about her getting a huge applause because as Thompson said, “She knows how to field dress a moose.” (And that qualifies her for what exactly?)

We don’t have to touch the fact that Sarah Palin said “that our leaders -- that our national leaders -- are sending [soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” We won’t speak about the incredible ignorance and hate statements like that create. We will ignore the resemblance to Jihad and the Crusades that she is closing in on. I don’t have to mention the fact that that kind of dialogue will not help our nation in a time where countries and people hate us for our occupier/invader manners of the past eight years.

I guess all these things are what really qualify her for the Vice Presidency. I guess it is all these things we won’t mention that in fact make her an “Everyman,” an “Average Joe” (an Average Josephine?) Personally, I say give me the man who for the past twenty years after getting work done in the senate (a little more complex than the PTA) still takes the Amtrak train home to his wife and family. That’s an average Joe. That is an average Joe that has the experience to be VP, one heartbeat away from the presidency.

I find it hard to believe the GOP can spin the fact that John McCain wants to “Put the country first” when his “great judgment” allows him to pick someone who he has known for less than a week.

Hurricane Gustav was a horrible event, and luckily it did not do much damage. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were well prepared and ready. It is unfortunate for the GOP that the convention had to be postponed/overshadowed by the hurricane. I would have like to see them fall of their faces without an excuse to blame the media for unfair coverage.

Senator Lieberman spoke directly to the Independents and Democrats today (because he still has credibility with them?) He asked for them to vote for John McCain because he is better for the country.

Watching the RNC so far I have learned McCain is a war hero (which is great and honorable, but this qualifies him how?). I have learned that the Republican Party hires Christian Singers, because that is its base. I have seen Republicans lie through their teeth in support of a crazy VP pick. I have seen this political campaign spin a hurricane to shore up support.

John McCain is about country first? So far he sure isn’t making a very good case for that.

Talk about a 180 degree change from last week.

So here we are, the Democratic National Convention. We are in the second day of this post-rational (thanks Rachel Maddow) gathering of political nonsense. And all I can possibly think of is:

What did you honestly think was going to happen Clintons?

Now I know the last thing we need is more divisive talk about the Democratic Party, but seriously? Every single pundit, news anchor, elected official, and so called expert that receives airtime, is working as hard as possible to cover up the huge rift Clinton’s protracted campaign has caused.

And I see right through it. They all seem like that one socially awkward individual that tries just a little too hard to fit in. They are trying their absolute damndest to convince you and I, and the rest of the nation, that the primary has not left the party divided. There is a complete façade of everything being just peachy, and it is so completely faked. The Democratic Party is as nervous as all get out right now because of the situation the Clintons have created. Is this façade of unity really supposed to fool everyone?

Clinton’s refusal to cede the democratic nomination to Obama when it was clear that she would not gain enough delegates was detrimental. That choice has created this dismal situation. That choice has created the PUMA’s (one of the most ridiculously rabid and irrational groups since PETA). That choice has created attack ads that use Hillary’s words against her. That choice has created a situation that could conceivably break Obama’s presidency and place a permanent asterisk next to the Clinton legacy. Think about it, if Obama loses:

-We get another Bush term
-Gas prices continue to soar (off-shore drilling is not going to bring relief for at least 10 years)
-Our soldiers stay in Iraq
-We will continue to be less than respected abroad
-At least some of the blame will be placed on the failure of the Democratic Party to unify
-The Clintons’ will be seen as political leaders that refused to serve a cause greater than their own
-And I could go on for days and days and days…and well you get the idea

So what did you expect to happen Clintons? Did you honestly think that, had you wrested the nomination from Obama, things would be any different right now? Did you honestly think that the millions of people that voted for Obama would happily vote for the candidate that forced her will upon an entire nation?

I hope, for your sake, that your speeches at the DNC make reparations for the wrongs you have done. I hope your speeches prove that you are more interested in the advancement of our nation rather than the advancement of your own political careers. I hope you can set aside your egos, and fully embrace and endorse a candidate that won the primary race fair and square. I hope that you can do something to get your rabid and irrational supporters to start listening to you again. I hope you realize that you have created a monster that is so blinded; it would rather elect an out of touch republican who shares none of your beliefs or policies. I hope you realize that all of this is your doing, and if you cannot repair it…you will forever be known as the political leaders who felt so entitled to the presidency, they could not see the forest for the trees. The political leaders who could not set aside their personal egos for the greater good. The political leaders who would not serve a cause greater than their own.

For your sake, and ours…I hope that does not happen.

Don't chop down the forest,
-LoOK

I want to know why the major news media organizations are suggesting that Russia’s invasion of Georgia is a “major concern” for the next US President? Try a major concern for our current administration! What about our current president? Or is he just so incredibly obsolete that the remainder of his presidency means absolutely nothing? It seems we forget that the Russian invasion of Georgia is happening RIGHT NOW. This is not taking place in January of 2009. I understand that this issue is not going to magically disappear in the next few months, but can we please realize that the current president has a responsibility to our nation and the world despite his approaching exit from office? I understand the need for the news media to question which candidate will handle this matter of international politics and diplomacy better; it is a crucial question for our next president. In any case, I believe the news media should be focusing on the current administrations’ delayed response, and what steps they will be taking to resolve (or at least move towards resolution) this international crisis, both in the long and short term.

We are spending way too much time on what Barack Obama and John McCain have to say about this conflict. This crisis is happening now, and President Bush is the only one that can execute policy, NOT the candidates. He is not a lame duck until the next president is elected, or maybe in his mind, his job is done (thank you Mr. President…what a long, strange, disastrous trip it has been). I have heard more from McCain and Obama in the last few days than anything from the Bush administration (they were all on vacation apparently). And apparently, the news media is happy to see this vacation extend all the way until January 2009, judging by their coverage. Today is the first day I have heard anyone questioning how the candidates are overshadowing the actual president on this issue. Took you long enough.

And our illustrious candidates seem to be more concerned with painting the other as a bigger celebrity…GIVE ME A F****** BREAK. I do NOT care, and neither should you. And is it just me, or does it seem like McCain is overstepping his bounds by holding “presidential” phone calls with Georgia’s President? You are not my president yet Mr. McCain, and this being the case, maybe you should focus on the issues and stop worrying about Obama’s celebrity status?

Ok…I’m angry, and this being the case, I’m starting to rant and probably not making much sense (that happens when emotion takes over). But if you aren’t pissed off, you aren’t paying attention.

Refusing to let sleeping dogs lie,
-LoOK