Are You Serious?

So Sen. Obama seems to not be all idealism and lofty rhetoric. His decision to decline to use public funding in the general election after saying that he would " aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election". He put out a soundbite response as to why he changed his mind on his website. His reason didn't pass the smell test. Saying that the current finance rule was easily manipulated. No the real reason is, he had no idea that he would raise more money than OPEC during the primary campaign. It is not guaranteed that Obama will raise as much money in the general election as in the primaries but I wouldn't bet against it. So now John McCain is saying straight forwardly that you can't trust Barack Obama because he changed his mind on accepting public financing.  The same John McCain that was for opting out of public financing is now for it and on and on..  From tax cuts for the wealthy to off shore drilling  And this from the website, "The Carpetbagger Report" In 1999, McCain was in New Hampshire, campaigning for the GOP nomination as a moderate he said he was pro life but would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, saying "it would force women in America to (undergo) illegal and dangerous operations."  But a year and a half ago, now running as a conservative he told  ABC's George Stephanopoulos  "the Supreme Court should--could overturn Roe v. Wade, which would then return these decisions to the states, which I support...Just as I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states, so I do believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade returned to the states"  I heard a great quote the other day that "John McCain is both sides of the same coin that doesn't add up to much change".   I thought it was clever anyway.  You can read more of McCain's flip flop list here. The list of McCain's flip-flops, according to MSNBC, is 3 pages long.  To be fair, he has been in political office for a long time.  But most of these "flips" are recent.  In quest of the presidency. At worst it a kind of a put your finger to the wind of political expediency, whatever it takes to get the vote.  Or at best its a man that has no judgement or direction.  Politicians should be able to evolve on certain issues but this seems like a trend for the Senator.   Is the John McCain that was unbelievably disciplined and principled as a prisoner of war under the most unimaginable torture going to sell his soul for the office of president?   Even George W. Bush's record is stubborn, stupid but somewhat consistent.  He's not going to surprise you.   Does John McCain really believe that given the evidence, he can't questioned anyone's integrity on the issues?  Stick to the issues...At least on side or the other.

Lost

I used to work in local television for NBC in Washington DC as a news photographer for 11 years. We were located in the same building with the NBC network. I worked the early morning shift. When I would be driving my live truck back to the rear of the building to prepare to go home, I would often run into Tim Russert getting out of his car in the parking lot. I would tease him about hockey in Buffalo, (I was a Detroit Red Wing fan), and he would smile and talk to me a little about hockey and sports. I can't say that he would remember my name but he would recognize me and wave if he couldn't stop. When I told him that my Danish father in law was a huge fan of his and "Meet The Press", he said "Why haven't you brought him by the show?" I did and my father in law was overjoyed to not only to see a taping of the show but to meet Tim and get a picture with him. He was as kind as he was famous. A big shot that never acted like one. Never made you feel inferior but just like you were shooting the shit with any other guy.

I will miss him..

Wow!!

As you might have guessed, should you have read some of my other installments on this blog, I'm a Barack Obama supporter. I have said in the last blog installment, that Hillary showed at the very least, poor political sportsmanship in her speech on Tuesday. I thought that it showed what a bitter person she was. A sore loser. That was her chance, on Tuesday night, to embrace the fact that she lost, endorse the winner, in this case Sen. Obama and get off the stage. I was lacking what I think is Barack Obama's strongest suit, empathy. Losing any election is personal. Its a personal, very public rejection by the voters. Add to that that you were the "inevitable" candidate to not just win the presidency but to also make history. Seeing the nomination slip away to someone that has less experience than you, seeing it slip away when you have truly found your voice, developed a constituency and winning primaries in end by large margins. That is a lot to take in and come to grips with in a short period of time. There is evidence in primary history where the concession came after weeks of losing the primaries. Sometime its never comes, like with Ted Kennedy in 1980 against Jimmy Carter. I have often said during this primary season, that Barack has been the larger person in this election when faced with adversity but today, Hillary was the "large" person. Her speech today took so much courage and humility. She spoke from the heart and there can be no doubt of her support for Sen. Obama. She does not need to be vice president to make history, she is history.

History..

I wish my kid's were older so I could explain to them the historical significance of this day! I would tell them that this day is going to change the rest of their lives, hopefully.... That now they can be whatever they want to be, that their voices will be heard and their faces will be seen.

I would tell them that this NEVER could have happened when I was their age. That the America they will grow up in is going to be a different America from the one in which I was raised. The America I knew had me sleeping under a window for an entire summer during the Detroit race riots in the sixties. It was the safest place to sleep to avoid being hit by a stray bullet, and I was just 7 years old. This same America had my mom applying for special grants for minorities to get me out of poorly run inner city schools, just so I could get the decent education that I deserved. That my America had me watch my mother struggle to explain to me, when I was just 4 years old, why I could not take a sip from a water fountain while on a trip to New Orleans .


I know that racism is not going to be wiped out in one fell swoop, but this certainly is a huge step in the right direction-I can't help but imagine what it could mean for my children if Obama becomes the next President. My kids are upstairs sleeping, completely unaware of this gift of a better future that was just given to them. 

How Can I Miss You When You Won't Leave

I think that Barack Obama is singing that country song, "How can I miss you when you won't leave." He is, at this hour, 37 delegates from the Democratic nomination. She is 198 delegates away with less than enough delegates to make up the difference. She lost and now its her time to be gracious and back up her words that she is in this for the American people. That the "big picture" is a Democrat in the White House. The historic news agency AP was reporting early this morning that she would concede the nomination tonight, paving the way for Obama to announce his victory in the same Minnesota arena where John McCain will accept the Republican nomination later this summer.

It would appear that Hillary Clinton is going to take the low road of raining on the Obama parade. This is not a fighter but a sore loser. America had a wealth or reservoir of sympathy after 9/11 but Bush, with ill guided policies used up that surplus of empathy. It may not be a totally fair comparison but Hillary is using up her wealth of respect for all that she as accomplished in the same way by not being a gracious loser.

I say again, "How can we miss you when you won't leave."