Election 2008

Amid the din of the dueling democrats, people seem to have forgotten about that other guy in the presidential race—you know, John McCain. McCain is said to be benefiting from this politically because his rivals are tearing each other apart. In fact, few people are paying much attention to what the Republican nominee is saying, or subjecting it to any serious scrutiny.

On March 26, McCain gave a speech on foreign policy in Los Angeles that was billed as his most comprehensive statement on the subject. It contained within it the most radical idea put forward by a major candidate for the presidency in 25 years. Yet almost no one noticed.

In his speech McCain proposed that the United States expel Russia from the G8, the group of advanced industrial countries. Moscow was included in this body in the 1990s to recognize and reward it for peacefully ending the cold war on Western terms, dismantling the Soviet empire and withdrawing from large chunks of the old Russian Empire as well. McCain also proposed that the United States should expand the G8 by taking in India and Brazil—but pointedly excluded China from the councils of power.

We have spent months debating Barack Obama's suggestion that he might, under some circumstances, meet with Iranians and Venezuelans. It is a sign of what is wrong with the foreign-policy debate that this idea is treated as a revolution in U.S. policy while McCain's proposal has barely registered. What McCain has announced is momentous—that the United States should adopt a policy of active exclusion and hostility toward two major global powers. It would reverse a decades-old bipartisan American policy of integrating these two countries into the global order, a policy that began under Richard Nixon (with Beijing) and continued under Ronald Reagan (with Moscow). It is a policy that would alienate many countries in Europe and Asia who would see it as an attempt by Washington to begin a new cold war.

I write this with sadness because I greatly admire John McCain, a man of intelligence, honor and enormous personal and political courage. I also agree with much of what else he said in that speech in Los Angeles. But in recent years, McCain has turned into a foreign-policy schizophrenic, alternating between neoconservative posturing and realist common sense. His speech reads like it was written by two very different people, each one given an allotment of a few paragraphs on every topic.

The neoconservative vision within the speech is essentially an affirmation of ideology. Not only does it declare war on Russia and China, it places the United States in active opposition to all nondemocracies. It proposes a League of Democracies, which would presumably play the role that the United Nations now does, except that all nondemocracies would be cast outside the pale. The approach lacks any strategic framework. What would be the gain from so alienating two great powers? How would the League of Democracies fight terrorism while excluding countries like Jordan, Morocco, Egypt and Singapore? What would be the gain to the average American to lessen our influence with Saudi Arabia, the central banker of oil, in a world in which we are still crucially dependent on that energy source?

The single most important security problem that the United States faces is securing loose nuclear materials. A terrorist group can pose an existential threat to the global order only by getting hold of such material. We also have an interest in stopping proliferation, particularly by rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea. To achieve both of these core objectives—which would make American safe and the world more secure—we need Russian cooperation. How fulsome is that likely to be if we gratuitously initiate hostilities with Moscow? Dissing dictators might make for a stirring speech, but ordinary Americans will have to live with the complications after the applause dies down.

To reorder the G8 without China would be particularly bizarre. The G8 was created to help coordinate problems of the emerging global economy. Every day these problems multiply—involving trade, pollution, currencies—and are in greater need of coordination. To have a body that attempts to do this but excludes the world's second largest economy is to condemn it to failure and irrelevance. International groups are not cheerleading bodies but exist to help solve pressing global crises. Excluding countries won't make the problems go away.

McCain appears to think that he can magically unite the two main strands in the Republican foreign-policy establishment. But he can't. This is not about personalities but about two philosophically divergent views of international affairs. Put together, they will produce infighting and incoherence. We have seen this movie before. We have watched an American president unable to choose between his ideologically driven vice president and his pragmatic secretary of State—and the result was the catastrophe of George W. Bush's first term. Twenty-five years earlier, we watched another president who believed that he could encompass the entire spectrum of foreign policy. He, too, gave speeches that were drafted by advisers with divergent world views: in that case, Cyrus Vance and Zbigniew Brzezinski. It led to the paralyzing internal battles of the Carter years. Does John McCain want to try this experiment one more time?

Rev Jeremah Wright National Press Club Speech Video April 28, 2008

Rev. Jeremiah Wright gained much applause and a few standing ovations this morning speaking at the National Press Club to an appreciably Black audience.

He served out a few zingers for the supportive crowd which is in Washington for a two day black church symposium.

"I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?" Said Reverend Very Right

"My goddaughter's unit just arrived in Iraq this week while those who call me unpatriotic have used their positions of privilege to avoid military service while sending over 4,000 American boys and girls to die over a lie." Said Reverend Very Right

A few video clips of the speech...

But his central theme was that it is not he who is being vilified by the media, but the African American Church. Said Reverend Very Right

"The most recent attack on the black church -- it is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright -- it's an attack on the black church, just might mean that the reality of the African-American church will no longer be invisible."

NYTs - Wright says criticism is attack on black church

Geraldine Ferraro and Bill Clinton have spoken the truth to race concerning the politics of the Democratic Primaries and are also Very Right.

Rev Wright has rightly dissed the media, which as Hillary Clinton has learned, no good can come from. All that will come from his recent televised appearances on Bill Moyers, the NAACP and the National Press Club will be on the one hand a further saturation of his divisive video clips by the media, and on the other, complaints that putting himself out front will further saturate the air with his divisive video clips from the media.

Speaking of being Right, Adlai Stevenson was right, Hubert Humphrey was right, George McGovern was right, Jimmy Carter was right, Walter Mondale was right, Michael Dukkasis was right, Al Gore was right and so was John Kerry. Looking back further Jesus Christ was right, Gandhi was right, JFK, RFK and MLK were right.
Being right mostly gets you a little sticky gold star and a kick in the head...

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 09:17

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Wednesday, April 23. 2008

Jesse Jackson Most Reponsible for Barack Obama on the Win

After the 1988 primaries Jesse Jackson initiated the rules fight within the Democratic Party. At that time it was much like the Republican primary rules today, with many states, most of the big ones as winner take all the delegates, or winner take all regards to each congressional district within a state. Jackson won the fight and now it is all proportional in the Democratic Party.

The old way - and the present GOP way - was structured to the Electoral College system of the general election where states decide the outcome rather than individuals. This hit home like a Florida hurricane in 2000 when Al Gore beat George W. Bush in votes, but sadly for everyone in the world - with the help of the five conservatives on the Supreme Court - Bush became President no matter.

Had the old rules been in place this year, Hillary Clinton would have wrapped up this nomination months ago.

My argument for Hillary is not about policy or disliking Mr. Obama, it is based mostly upon my personal Texas belief that a Black man cannot win the Presidency in America. My God, do you realize he fathered Black babies!

I also lean toward Hillary because not only does she have far more political experience, but has her feet firmly planted on the ground. Unlike many of my fellow Democrats I bare no animosity or spiritual falderall in this matter, they are both wonderful people and I will happily take either one.

Other than the sad question of racism, another important factor keeps at me. Remove all Obama's delegates from the states (mostly in the South because of African American turnout) that will go Republican no matter Charlie Manson were the candidate, and Hillary is far ahead. Yes, I know, Geraldine Ferraro got her ass fired for saying much the same thing, but I don't have to worry, I was fired long ago.

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 10:00

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Friday, April 11. 2008

Barack Obama Bitter San Francisco Speech a Political Misstep

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothings replaced them…And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Barack Obama Speech in San Francisco April 6th.

McCain's campaign criticized the comment Friday. "It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking. It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

Hillary Clinton also jumped on this Obama speech in a more subdued but like manner.

Even with liberal blogs and the main stream media blatantly behind Good Person Barak Obama and against Bad Person Hillary Clinton [Newsweek this week even ran side by side photos of a scowling Richard Nixon next to Hillary to compare their similarities for chrissake.]

Everyone, well almost everyone, is saying Hillary is a loser, a spoiler, a bad person and living in a fantasy world because she stays in the race even though the math makes it impossible for her to win. No, Hillary is staying in because there may be more missteps and revelations about Obama that could change everything. And woe be to this country if they come out after the convention!

This is a serious political misstep by Obama which followed last months major negative revelation concerning Rev. Wright.

What a convoluted issue for me. I am behind Hillary because I believe this country is far more racist than we like to admit and a Black man cannot win in a general election. I know it in my bones. I do not want another 4 years of George Bushism.

On the other hand...

Obama in his own small way with his speech Sunday night addressed this issue that I have been screeching about here for 12 years to no avail.

To put it lightly...

The ascendancy of the Right - and the pain it has caused as the cows come home these days - over this past generation has been because the GOP so successfully played upon the inherent religious intolerance, bigoty, racism, nationalism and gun madness of the small brains and bitter hearts of Dirtball Americans.

We are where we are because these nitwits blame all their troubles on Blacks on welfare, immigrants stealing their jobs, queers doing whatever it is they do and those damn fereners up to no good all over the world!

Red State America refuses to put the blame where it belongs and they vote for the very people that are causing them their real heartaches by moving their jobs offshore and skimming off all our economic successes into their own back pockets. But Republicans are white, wear tiny flag lapel pins and say they love Jesus which is all that matters to these mindless boobs.

I guess I can't run for office with that as my stump speech hey?

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 19:45 Comments (4)

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Monday, April 7. 2008

Neocon William Kristol Weighs in on a McCain Victory

One Republican strategist not affiliated with the McCain campaign mused about how an independent advertising effort against Obama might work. “Barack Obama: He’s not who you think he is” would be the theme. The supporting evidence would come from his left-wing voting record in Illinois and Washington, spiced up with fun video clips of Reverend Wright.

In his Monday column for the New York Times, The Shape of the Race to Come King Neocon William Kristol muses that John McCain can beat Barack Obama. The above excerpt only brings attention to what is already the present basis of Republican Talk Radio, the racist card used by the GOP for most of a generation has changed from Jackson/Sharpton to Jackson/Shartpton/Obama. No enlightenment there from easily the most irritating, annoying, smirking little chickenhawk on planet Earth.

Kristol goes on to tell us even more of what we already know:

And an experienced Democratic operative e-mailed: “Finally, I think [McCain’s] going to win. Obama isn’t growing in stature. Once I thought he could be Jimmy Carter, but now he reminds me more of Michael Dukakis with the flag lapel thing and defending Wright. Plus he doesn’t have a clue how to talk to the middle class. He’s in the Stevenson reform mold out of Illinois, with a dash of Harvard disease thrown in.” In a close race, that “dash of Harvard disease” could be the difference.

For as was proved in the absolute in 2004, most Americans don't like voting for anyone they think is smarter than they are.

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 07:53

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Sunday, April 6. 2008

Hillary For President - SNL April 5, 2008

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008, Videos Funny, Videos Politics at 08:36

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Thursday, April 3. 2008

John McCain, Nukes and the Queen of Diamonds

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 09:22

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Monday, March 31. 2008

Tennessee Believes Andrew Jackson was a Good Slave Owner

For years, Dave McArdle loved dressing up as Andrew Jackson, and visitors to the Hermitage delighted in McArdle's folksy way of bringing "Old Hickory" to life. McArdle is also the spitting image of Jackson, and we cast him as Jackson in our film. But just after we finished shooting, startling news arrived: McArdle had resigned from the job he loved — the job for which he was seemingly born — because he refused to work for an organization that made Jackson look bad because he owned slaves. Soon after, we found out that McArdle held something close to the majority view in Tennessee. No more Excuses Carl Byker

This is one of the three reasons I am still holding hope for Hillary. Sure Tennessee is part of the Old South which a Democratic Presidential candidate cannot win no matter, but this racism - oops wrong word, there is no racism anymore the GOP has changed the name for it to nativism now - spills over everywhere to various degrees which leads me to sadly believe The Bradley Effect is in full swing in this election. White Americans may say they will vote for an African American, but when they hit the voting booths they won't. My other two issues are that Hillary will do a much better job of the long overdue ass kicking the Republicans are so in need of, and my fear of some unknown issue in the past that will rear its head after the convention and knock Obama out making John W. McBush President. There is nothing new about Hillary, and NEW sells.

If you have been reading this blog over the months I hope you have taken note that I have not attacked either candidate, or any Democats for that matter. The bottom line is that I tend to believe that the so called unlikeable Hillary factor is less a problem than our historic racist nature. Please please prove me wrong come November...

Perhaps white Americans should ask themselves: "What would it have been like to work 365 days a year from sunrise to midnight, with no hope of a better life? And to see my children living exactly the same nightmare."

And perhaps black Americans ought to ask themselves: "If I were a white Southerner before the Civil War, would I have owned slaves if it meant a better life for my family? And would that have made me irredeemably evil?" No more Excuses Carl Byker

And that is the gist of our racist nature. Byker is referring to what is called empathy, or what over the years I have called the POV gene (point of view). Though no Republican possesses the genetic material to put themselves in another's shoes and ask such questions, it too drifts beyond the GOP base.

Continue reading "Tennessee Believes Andrew Jackson was a Good Slave Owner"

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 08:57 Comments (3)

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Saturday, March 29. 2008

New Rules with Bill Maher March 28 Hillary's Beard

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 00:29

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Saturday, March 29. 2008

John McCain an older senile George W. Bush - Gail Collins

"And at bottom, his economic vision makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. He’s going to keep the Bush tax cuts, continue our $3-trillion-and-counting war in Iraq and decrease corporate taxes. And how is he going to pay for it? By getting rid of pork-barrel earmarks. And I am planning to remodel my house by purchasing a tube of Elmer’s glue. But give the man credit for telling it like he thinks it is. So far, he’s only alienated the homeowners, retirees and vacation-takers."

March 29, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
McCain Forecloses Early
By GAIL COLLINS

I don’t see how anybody could deny that John McCain is a straight-talker. The country is terrified of economic collapse and he’s been sounding like Mr. Potter, the banker in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” You can’t get more forthright than that.

McCain, by the way, is going to be the Republican presidential nominee. Really. While you were watching Hillary and Barack in the Campaign That Never Ends, the Republicans picked him.

How did this happen so fast? We haven’t even heard from Pennsylvania!

The Republicans, with their unfair but very, very efficient winner-take-all primaries, closed the deal while the Democrats were still trying to count the votes in Texas. (Results are due any minute!) Now, the Democrats are terrified that McCain will have months and months to raise money and ingratiate himself with the American people while their candidates are spending every cent they can get their hands on to make each other less popular. On Friday, Senator Patrick Leahy called on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race because McCain was getting a “free ride” while Democrats squabble.

That felt like an overestimation. Not that McCain hasn’t scored some points on the days that he wasn’t getting Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq mixed up. Witness the speed and dexterity with which he’s been distancing himself from the White House. The only withdrawal McCain supports began when he said he was eager to have Bush campaign for him whenever “it fits into his busy schedule,” making it clear that the busyness of said schedule was going to be beyond comprehension.

Then McCain gave a foreign policy speech in which he broke dramatically with the administration by acknowledging that we should probably quit invading other countries in the face of enormous opposition from our allies.

No fair! He got to start first! Why aren’t the Republicans required to use primary rules that allocate delegates in a fair, proportional way that makes it impossible for anybody to actually win? If McCain were still running against Mitt (Available for Vice President) Romney and Fred (Available for “Law & Order” Cameo) Thompson, he would, of course, still be sounding like a divorced-from-reality loon. But once a Republican clinches his party’s nomination, he moves to the middle, stops dropping Ronald Reagan’s name every five seconds and begins describing himself as a “Roosevelt Republican,” hoping that older working-class voters will think he means Franklin.

Fortunately for the quivering Democrats, McCain has also felt compelled to speak about the mortgage crisis. His economic thinking — which is, in any form, a brand-new phenomenon — harks back to the time when Republicans all seemed to be elderly rich guys who muttered a lot about bonded indebtedness. The public’s deep lack of enthusiasm for this worldview was what encouraged Reagan to change the subject to optimism and abortion.

The theme for his mortgage speech this week was basically McCain to Homeowners: Drop Dead. It was, he said sternly, “not the duty of the government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly.” The good news, he noted, was that out of 80 million American homeowners, only 4 million are in the tank, while everybody else is “working a second job, skipping a vacation and managing their budgets” the way Countrywide Financial intended them to.

He did, however, leave the door open for some vague, amorphous, undefined aid to good homeowners, as opposed to irresponsible ones who ... did something irresponsible. Like taking that vacation.

McCain then suggested that the federal government ought to do something about getting regulations off the back of the financial markets and concluded with a call to reduce the corporate tax rate. It was not exactly a rallying cry for the masses.

Imagine what Mitt (Really, Really, Really Available) Romney would have been saying about mortgages if he had the nomination in hand and was repositioning his deeply flexible self for the general election. Can you see the “Wall Street Is Broken” banners? He’d probably have sent a son bearing a certified check to every mortgage defaulter in a swing state.

McCain also favors privatizing parts of the Social Security system, an idea so deeply unpopular with actual people that it never flew in Congress, even when the Republicans were in control and the nation had not yet deduced that the president was permanently out to lunch.

And at bottom, his economic vision makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. He’s going to keep the Bush tax cuts, continue our $3-trillion-and-counting war in Iraq and decrease corporate taxes. And how is he going to pay for it? By getting rid of pork-barrel earmarks. And I am planning to remodel my house by purchasing a tube of Elmer’s glue.

But give the man credit for telling it like he thinks it is. So far, he’s only alienated the homeowners, retirees and vacation-takers.

Posted by Rack Jite in Election 2008 at 00:07

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