Category Archives: Obama 08

June 17, 2008 · 9:46 am

Trying to Keep It Close

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During the primaries, I repeatedly denounced the press’ stretching of the facts to keep the Hillary v. Obama contest going as long as possible. The press needed a good story to tell — a battle of the titans — and it also knew that McCain was simply too boring for primetime.

Depending on how things proceed over the next few months, whether there is some unforeseen scandal or political crisis, the general election in November may be a blow out in Obama’s favor. Nevertheless, the press is at it again, trying its very best to cover up the obvious — McCain is less interesting than Bob Dole’s E.D.

In attempting to tune people in, we are made to believe that this race is both too close to call (so keep watching) and that there is a real demographics war going on, with Hillary voters turning to McCain. What a load of excrement! On Sunday, Frank Rich wrote an excellent op-ed in the New York Times about how the press is ignoring the data. Check it out: Continue reading →

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June 12, 2008 · 6:32 pm

Smearing Obama as a Muslim

not a muslim

The Internet is now full of a bunch of silly and sometimes astounding allegations against Obama and his wife. In the primaries, Hillary tried to paint him every color imaginable. Now that he is up against the Republicans, we are hearing even more accusations of Obama being a radical, a racist, and worst of all, a Muslim?

To help defend himself against many of these absurd allegations, Obama has set up a Fight the Smears website. It reads,

What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon — that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

But as an American, especially one who has just been welcomed into a Muslim home, I am incredibly and painfully embarrassed about the whole anti-Obama, anti-Muslim campaign. Obama defended himself as being a Christian, but should have been bolder and braver. He should have said, “No, I am not a Muslim, but even if I were, this is the United States of America where it is not illegal to be a Muslim, just as it is not illegal to be Jewish, Christian, Hindu, or atheist. We cannot afford to lose our most precious values lest we risk reducing ourselves into an intolerant totalitarian nation.”

Honestly, how can we be so politically correct and politically careful all the time about every other class of people and on every issue, yet such raging Islamophobia gets a free pass?

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June 11, 2008 · 6:20 pm

Hope the World Hopes For

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As I have already discussed recently, people around the world are rooting for Obama. Obama’s candidacy and nomination has restored some of the faith in the United States by the citizens of the world.

In a recent op-ed piece for the Washington Post entitled “Whose Race Problem“, Anne Applebaum correctly speaks about Europe’s fascination with Obama and how many in the old continent are asking whether the U.S. is ready for a black president. But then she asks whether Europe and other countries are ready for the U.S. to have a black president. Having spent the last eight years living abroad and witnessing America’s moral authority go down the tubes, I think that she’s got it partly right.

There are two separate issues here. The first is what does an Obama victory mean for European politics and that of the rest of the world, and the second is why the world is so eager to see Obama victorious. Continue reading →

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June 4, 2008 · 8:46 am

Hillary VP?

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Since late February, it was fairly clear that Obama had clinched the Democratic nomination. Now that it is a reality for everyone (except maybe Hillary who has yet to concede). So what is Hillary waiting for? There is speculation that she wants the vice presidential slot or that she is looking for her supporters (and the Obama campaign) to help her with her debt.

Regardless of what she wants, what does Obama want? Should he offer the vice presidency to Hillary? Offering the ultimate olive branch to Hillary would theoretically help reunite the party and bring in all of her voters — especially female voters. But why should Obama be the one with the sole burden of offering olive branches and reuniting the party? Obama has been much more gracious than what the Clinton camp has admitted, and I doubt that any impartial observer would deny that Hillary has run a much nastier campaign, at times shockingly so.

But does Obama really need Hillary to win? Here are a few reasons why Obama should not choose Hillary as his running mate:

  • The danger of picking a vice president who covets your job above all else. Figure in the RFK comments and Billary’s stop at nothing tactics and failure to concede, and you kind of wonder.
  • The Clintons have more to lose by not doing their best to unify the party.
  • Although at times Hillary’s numbers show her leading McCain in national polls, polls consistently and uniformly indicate that a majority of Americans do not like or trust Hillary. More than any other factor or issue, Hillary unifies the Republicans. Such divisiveness is not good for the country.
  • Bill. Do you really want Bill hanging around, helping out, making rouge statements? Obama has learned his lesson from Wright about people you cannot control. Bill is a loose canon.
  • Obama’s message of change requires leaving the past behind, and Hillary and Bill are part of the past.
  • Obama doesn’t need Hillary to win women voters. All he needs to do is say that he will not put anyone on the Court who is against a woman’s right to choose. When women learn about McCain’s position, it will be history for McCain.
  • Yielding to pressure from the Hillary camp would make Obama look weak. Obama should show his independence and sovereignty.

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June 3, 2008 · 1:54 pm

Reflecting on the Primaries

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Two Thursdays ago, I landed in Paris to find myself in the middle of the great French passtime: a public transportation strike. Luckily it wasn’t a complete shut-down, and there were still a few trains that I could take from the airport to the center of the city. While waiting for a train, I struck up a long conversation with a French gentleman, and as you could imagine (especially since the Bush years), I dreaded the question, “so where are you from?”

After deciding against the easy “Canada” cop-out, I came clean — “I am from the U.S.” The conversation turned almost immediately to the U.S. elections. What is so interesting about the presidential primaries this year is that they have very much impressed the rest of the world and helped restore the image of the U.S. abroad. As the gentelmen told me, “Over the last five months there has been a very clear move away from anti-Americanism in France. We are regaining our respect for your country.” Continue reading →

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May 30, 2008 · 9:07 am

Count Every Vote, Except those for Obama

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And the silliness goes on and on. According to the Clinton’s, only certain state primaries’ votes should be counted and definitely not the ones from caucus states. Those aren’t democratic. And Bill, who told Barack that he should get out of the kitchen if he couldn’t handle the media heat (politics is a contact sport, I believe he pontificated), is once again crying about Hillary receiving unfair treatment.

As a matter of fact, Bill and Hillary (who has repeatedly said she would not play the gender card) have rallied many of their voters around the idea of a great sexist injustice towards Hillary. To be completely honest, I am not in the position to disagree — I am sure there is some truth there. My problem with the Clinton’s has to do with their wasted potential, arrogance, and complete lack of scruples. But from a strategic and political standpoint, I can’t see how Hillary can argue on the one hand that her gender has kept her from getting more votes, while on the other she is arguing that she is more electable because she gets more white men and more of the popular vote. Something doesn’t fit.

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May 30, 2008 · 8:02 am

Florida, Michigan, and Silly Standards

I think that it is nothing more than silly to think that there is some ethical obligation to count votes in a primary election where (i) the voters were put on notice and had knowledge that their votes would not be tallied, (ii) the candidates made public statements assuring that the votes would not be counted, (iii) the candidates did not compete in the elections, and in the case of Michigan (iv) only one candidate was on the ballot.

It is like a rained out game where after the referee officially cancels the match, the home team wants to call it a forfeiture. Or trying to use a victory in a pre-season game or friendly match towards points in the regular season. There simply is no logical justification either in fairness or justice to uphold the results of a contest that was never contested. It is just plain silly.

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May 29, 2008 · 8:22 am

Is McCain Ready for Primetime?

My guess is that when this becomes a full fledged two person race between John McCain and Barack Obama, we’ll see a Barack Obama blow out. In theory, McCain is a “straight shooting” independent and fairly moderate, but as we are witnessing — whether on Iraq, social issues, or the economy — McCain is consistently flip-flopping to appease the conservative wing of the Republican party. And the more he tries to advocate a Republican agenda the less believable he comes up. Rather he sounds silly and intellectually incoherent.

Just look at the numbers from fund raising and recent Republican primaries that no one is covering anymore. McCain doesn’t have strong support from his own party, and runs the great risk of boring the American electorate to death. The elections in November may be close, but they also may end up as a total Barack Obama blow out. Why?

McCain is simply not ready for primetime. He might be a good senator; one who can negotiate behind closed doors and across the aisle. That makes him a Bob Dole or a Joseph Liberman. Those guys were great for the Senate, but too excruciatingly boring for primetime television. Some think McCain may be too old for the presidency. I think he’s too dull.

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May 25, 2008 · 10:29 pm

Out of Her Mind?

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Is Hillary out of her mind? In justifying staying in the election, she referenced RFK’s assassination and Zimbabwe’s presidential elections. What is she trying to say? Are the Democratic primaries similar to Zimbabwe’s democracy? I won’t even comment on the RFK reference.

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May 14, 2008 · 9:32 am

Obama – Napoli: Dream Ticket?

Obama Napoli Dream Ticket

Photoshop by Jacobo.

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