ELECTION IN A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY

It is coming down to crunch time in the U.S. presidential election, and the nation is in the grasp of incredible uncertainty. The mind numbing occupation of Iraq still continues, and neither of the two leading candidates will say exactly when this insanity will end; only ambiguous time tables , or time horizons, are floated out there, with caveats of “when conditions on the ground make withdrawal possible” or “when the mission is brought to completion”.

For John McCain it is all about winning, or at least not losing. A part of the Arizona Senator believes that with enough fire power, boots on the ground, and bribery of important local militias, the situation can be made manageable.

For Barack Obama, the Illinois Senator tries to assume the moral high ground by saying he was against this war from the start. But as veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk has noted: “what does Obama want to do with his soldiers once he withdraws them from Iraq? He’s going to send the poor devils back to Afghanistan, that graveyard of foreign armies where the Taliban were so utterly defeated in 2001 that they are now stronger than ever.”

Uncertainty has become the lay of the land. The economic troubles, so exacerbated by petrol inflation, has lead to massive job loss, home evictions and bankruptcies. What were once seen as aberrations, have now become standard signs of the spiraling down economy. The main response from Senator McCain to the oil crisis is to drill drill drill! Senator Obama speaks of a windfall profits tax on Big Oil, and even mentioned swift boat funder T. Boone Pickens, who said: “this is a crisis we can not drill our way out of.”

How any of these suggestions will lower the price of gasoline is any body’s guess. The higher the price of gasoline, the more the profits of Big Oil increase. Exxon-Mobil’s recent quarterly earnings were the largest in history. Senator Obama mentions this, but how he would be able to get taxes on Big Oil through the legislature remains to be seen.

Then there is the business of the election itself. The McCain campaign have made it their number one focus to try an impugn Obama’s character as much as possible, by any means necessary, so as to plant xenophobic seeds of doubt that they hope will grow in the minds of the electorate, until they become convinced that the ambitious graduate of Harvard Law is not “one of us” and not ready to lead.

It has also been noted that black Americans are uneasy about Barack Obama’s candidacy. Not because they don’t support him, they do. But there is an uncertainty among plenty of folks, who have difficulty imagining him actually accomplishing this historic task, and fear their hearts will be broken, by hook or crook, or something even worse.

One thing that seems to have disappeared is the idea of any kind of landslide victory. That is why some democrats say that Senator Obama should choose Senator Clinton for the vice presidential ticket. Hard core Obamakins would howl of course, but they may just have to get over it.

Historically it should be remembered that John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were not good friends, when he was picked as JFK’s running mate. And it should also be remembered, that with Lyndon on the ticket, Kennedy won the state of Texas. Without winning that state, in that very close election, John Kennedy would have never become the President. It just might be that Senator Obama faces a similar dilemma in this election.

It is worth noting that Hillary Clinton won the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries, among others. She proved to be strong among older white women in those states. These are votes that Barack Obama will certainly need, in the event of a very close election.

This all may seem strange to those who bought into the idea of a new kind of politics. But Senator Obama has proven, with many recent reversals in policy, to be in fact, a flexible, pragmatic politician. Conventional wisdom has it that he will pick for VP a governor or senator from a state that seems to be in play. But many of the people glowingly mentioned by the mainstream news are somewhat unknown to the general public. By contrast, everybody knows Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A Truthless Monster

By: Thebeerdoctor

This is going to be tough. It has to be. First the quote: “It is difficult for the ordinary voter to come to grips with the notion that a truly evil man, a truthless monster with the brains of a king rat and the soul of a cockroach, is about to be sworn in as president of the United States for the next four years…”

That was Hunter S. Thompson, writing about George H.W. Bush on September 14, 1987. This could also apply to the wife of a former president, who just happens to be running for the very same office. Why do I say this? Well you only have to look at the manure being shoveled out from the team Clinton barn

“He would not have been my pastor,” Senator Clinton announced, passing judgment on the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. “You don’t choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend…”

The arrogance that comes out of the Senator’s mouth is astounding. Woe betide anyone who has the temerity to question the authority of the United States government. According to Mrs. Clinton and the media minions, that is treasonous talk. The “chickens coming home to roost” remark about 9/11 that was so shocking, it is now classified as hate speech. I do not know the sphere of the Washington insiders, but I heard the same analysis said by white people, less than a month after the event.

With the advent of the video loop, we can now hear and see, ad nauseam, Reverend Wright saying “God damn America!” Never of course putting this into any kind of context. But why should it? It is doing the job intended. Joseph Goebbels would be proud. Do not think, emotionally react. A gut check, from day one.
Recently the prime minister of Australia made a public apology for the way his country treated the aboriginal people. It is difficult for some of the jingoists to admit, but there is honor in admitting shame. Hillary Clinton has praised Martin Luther King. Was it hate speech when Dr. King said that the U.S. government was one of the great purveyors of violence in the world? To call a black minister’s criticism of the United States government “hate speech”, reveals an intolerance that prevents real change from taking place. Barack Obama attempted to address this in his famous remarks about race. But it does not seem that the whirling dervishes of spin media had a clue to what he was talking about.

John McCain has been given essentially a free pass when it comes to careful examination of his spiritual supporters, John Hagee and Rod Paisley. Perhaps it is alright to be endorsed by religious nut jobs, just as long as they support aid to Israel and want to go to war with Iran. Jeremiah Wright is hateful when he speaks of justice for the Palestinians.

Another remarkable acrobatic trick of team Clinton was to marginalize the vote for the Iraq war resolution. According to their take, the vote was unfortunate, with the had I known then what I know now alibi. But an examination of the record shows that 23 Senators said No to that resolution, including Barbara Boxer of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Just what did those ladies understand that the Senator from New York did not?

“President Bush’s speech in Cincinnati and the changes in policy that have come forth since the Administration began broaching this issue some weeks ago have made my vote easier.” So said Senator Clinton from the Senate floor, before casting her yea vote. It is not surprising that she refuses to admit she made a disastrous mistake. That would be admitting participatory shame, which is something a leader, ready from day one (as her inflated resume indicates), can never do.

So this wrenching spectacle continues. Hillary Clinton and her team, including the very snide ex-president, continue to demonstrate that when it comes to seeking power, there is no room for principles.

Since I am not a part of the Obama campaign, I do not have to do a mea culpa, like Samantha Power. I stand by my statement. “Truthless” is a word invented by Hunter Thompson. But it so apt for this situation. I leave you the rest of his prophetic quote: “And he will bring his gang in with him, a mean network of lawyers and salesmen and pimps who will loot the national treasury, warp the laws, mock the rules and stay awake 22 hours a day looking for at least one reason to declare war, officially, on some hapless tribe in the Sahara or heathen fanatic like the Ayatollah Khomeini.”

RIP Hunter S. Thompson.

CAUGHT UP IN THE CONCEPT

By: Thebeerdoctor

I recently spoke to a friend of mine and said somewhat dramatically that this election may be the last gasp for this country to be a democratic republic founded on human freedom. The signs of a rather dismal future are everywhere. The money is devalued. Oil has become a commodity god that justifies everything from torture to preemptive war. To paraphrase James Baker during Gulf War I, “in a word, it is about oil”. And do not forget greed. The billions being looted by the corporate outsourcing of the military, will continue no matter who gets elected. The main difference between the two political wings is that the republicans would never consider something so regressive as a windfall profits tax. KBR, Blackwater, and Bechtel etc., put out real money to make sure that never happens. The political machine needs grease. Always.So it is quite understandable that the political establishment feels threatened by Senator Barack Obama. For the first time in twenty years, there is a distinct possibility that the pageant government known as the presidency, will not be under the control of the Bush-Clinton crime families. Imagine that! It is no wonder that the Clinton team have resorted to the kitchen sink concept of campaigning. Karl Rove is most likely, very proud.

Add to all of this, the news media’s obsession with creating a story, using ambiguous talk about image, momentum, and of course, who is raising the most money. Suddenly it is time to call in the experts. Folks who will explain that Senator Clinton is stronger than ever, despite an enormous amount of mathematical evidence to the contrary. Pay no attention to that person behind the curtain. Obama they claim, is a light as a feather fairy tale ready to float away. Not exactly the truth, but if it sticks when you throw it up a wall, use it.

All of this helps to explain the alibis given when the election results do not turn out favorably. So if 600,000 more voters went for Obama, it is because the country, as Geraldine Ferraro put it, “is caught up in the concept”. According to the former vice-presidential candidate, Obama’s success is due to affirmative action. That is why he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Who would have known?Racism, sexism, fear mongering and ridicule are useful weapons in the team Clinton toolbox. The disingenuous nature of Mrs. Clinton’s behavior should cause even her most loyal supporters to examine this election more carefully. What exactly is the concept to be caught up in? To maintain the status quo? Unfortunately maintaining things as they are, is very high maintenance indeed. The protection of the wealthy corporate elite is job number one. How else can you explain why national health care remains some abstract point of argument, rather than, as the British would say, a proper public service.

The fact that the United States government embraces the concept that violence and the purveying of it, is now proper global policy, only reveals how far the national character has been corrupted by mindless jingoistic fear. Barack Obama keeps pointing out that fear is not a working model. That not only the Iraq war is bad, but what is worse is the mindset that lead to it taking place. There is genuine empathy on the part of the Illinois candidate, for all of those not connected. People worried about losing their homes. Worried about loved ones being killed in wars no one seems to be able to explain. Worried about their analog televisions. Worried about vehicles that keep demanding more money for gasoline. Worried about jobs to get more money to buy more things, to get deeper in debt. Worried about cell phone coverage and the price of entertainment. Yes, the vast majority of Americans are caught up in the concept of a way of life, that soon, may no longer be possible. In such an atmosphere, it is not all that surprising that many ordinary Americans have said: it is time to try something different.