“The ideals at the core of the American experience, and the values that bind us together despite our differences, remain alive in the hearts and minds of most Americans” – Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois and Democratic candidate for President.
Thanksgiving is traditionally a time when millions of Americans across the country make a special effort to be close to their loved ones. Since the celebration of the first Thanksgiving Day in 1619, when 38 English settlers came together near Jamestown in the old British colony of Virginia to mark “…a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God”, this national holiday has evolved into a event in many ways as big as Christmas, where family participation involves everyone from the youngest to the most senior. It is at times like this when the thoughts of Americans also turn to those who are serving overseas in the armed forces, mostly notably today in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is the fifth Thanksgiving of the Iraq war and Americans have reached their threshold. A poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post at the beginning of November showed that 75% of Americans want their next President to take the country in a new direction. Bush is well and truly a lame duck and his focus now is on trying to salvage something, anything, from this administration that will save him from going down in history as one of America’s worst presidents.
The American public’s cynicism with the politics of Washington began with Watergate, when Richard Nixon was forced to resign as President rather than be impeached by the Congress. Since Watergate, partisan politics has governed the day to day running of the country, where special interests, lobby groups, nepotism, cronyism and downright criminality have been the order of the day. Forty seven million Americans still have no private healthcare, the income gap between the rich and the poor has come full circle back to where it was in the 1920’s and the confidence that Americans have in their political institutions is at an all time low.
Americans are tired of Beltway politics. The current candidates for President, both Democratic and Republican, are an eclectic mix of Washingtonian insiders and fresh, energetic politicians that have made their reputation outside of the day to day cocoon that envelope those who spend their days on Capitol Hill. Washington has a way of insulating politicians to the point where they begin living in a parallel universe; one that is disconnected from the issues that the average Mr. and Mrs. America have to contend with on a day to day basis. The current rivalry between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama is a clear example of the power of the status quo on one hand against a desire for a real, lasting change in the way politics is operated in America.
The appeal of the Obama campaign is that here is a man, a black man, still in his mid ‘40’s and a relative newcomer to Washington who is appealing to America’s desire for a real and significant change in direction in the same way that Franklin Roosevelt did in 1932 and John Kennedy did in 1960.
This month my wife and I and some friends went to see Barack Obama speak at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. On a cold Wednesday night in the middle of November, the queue outside to go in and see the Senator was 8 blocks long, an estimated 7,000 people. As we waited patiently to get in, the Obama motorcade pulled up outside the building. Energized by the crowd, Obama jumped out, grabbed a loudspeaker and began addressing the gathering in the streets. Under the protection of secret service personnel, a “perk” that all presidential candidates have been granted since the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968, Obama mingled as best he could, shook some hands and spoke for a few minutes. My wife and I were 20 feet away from the Senator and he was electrifying. Later inside, he spoke with passion and strength that moved many in the audience.
The audacity of hope that Obama is talking about in this campaign is something that every American understands. In a week where former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan came out, and in an excerpt from his upcoming book accused Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney and George Bush of deliberately covering up the Valarie Plame Wilson CIA leak case, Americans are again reminded of the cynicism and criminality that has pervaded the administration of George W Bush. The leaking of Wilson’s name as a covert CIA operative to the press was done to embarrass her husband, Joseph Wilson, who was a former ambassador to Iraq and a chief critic of the Bush/Cheney reasoning for prosecuting the war in Iraq, i.e. the existence of WMD.
In less than a year Americans will go to the polls to elect a new President. For me, it is not surprising that Obama has energized the presidential campaign in the way he has, especially when you consider that in every year since 1980 a Bush or a Clinton has occupied the position of President or Vice President in the White House. Americans are tired of the same-old, same-old style of politics; I see it and hear it everywhere I go. Whether it will be enough to win Obama the Democratic presidential nomination remains to be seen. His chief challenger, Hilary Clinton, is the toughest, shrewdest competitor in town and she is still the front runner in all the national polls. Stay tuned…
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Taking The Pulse of America
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them” – Thomas Jefferson (1762- 1826) - 3rd President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence
The news this week that the Iowa Democratic Party has voted to bring forward the date of its caucuses to January 3rd has, for many, brought the presidential election campaign of 2008 sharply into focus. While national polls have Hillary Clinton enjoying a 30 point advantage over her nearest challenger Barack Obama, the most recent survey of potential caucus voters in Iowa show the two Democratic heavyweights in a statistical dead heat.
Some commentators are already referring to Clinton as the nominee, however as history has shown, a candidate with a big lead in the national polls going into the first big caucus challenge of Iowa should not take the nomination for granted. So before Hillary self anoints herself as the nominee she should recall what happened to Howard Dean in 2004. Going into the Hawkeye state caucuses four years ago, Dean held a commanding lead over John Kerry only for Kerry to win and go on to the nomination while Dean’s campaign imploded.
There is no doubt that there is a ground swell of support for radical change in the way government works in this country. The majority of Americans want to become engaged in the political process, however their sense of reality is being continually blurred by the ineptitude (and timidity) of most of the television and cable news networks to talk in any real, substantive way to the issues facing Americans today. On the other hand, FOX News is essentially the propaganda arm of the Bush White House and a host of fear mongering racists from Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter to Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh are using issues like immigration, terrorism, religion and the so called liberal agenda to scare the crap out of people.
Amidst the cacophony however there are some people out there that can not only speak in a constructive way to the issues facing Americans today, but to also suggest workable solutions. And you know what? The public wants to listen.
Last night I, along with 750 others, each paid between $15 and $25 to attend a lecture given by New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman in downtown San Francisco. I was fascinated that such a crowd would turn out to hear a journalist speak on a cold Tuesday evening the night before Halloween. That was before I found out that Krugman is the author of 20 books and also a Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Krugman treated us to a 90 minute lesson on the history of American politics and economics since FDR's New Deal of the 1930’s.
In summary, he contends that economic policy IS driven by politics and that race is the card that has been played by Republicans to win elections over the past 40 years. Quoting a myriad of statistics, Krugman outlined why, since the adoption of the so-called “Southern Strategy” by Richard Nixon in 1968, white Southern males have left the Democratic Party and switched their allegiance to the GOP. Republicans have never been able to run on their economic record so they have appealed instead to people’s base fears and prejudices; initially race and segregation and latterly religion, national defense and terrorism.
As a result, government policy is directly affected by ideology, which in turn directly impacts the economy. It comes as no surprise therefore to learn that in the last 7 years of the Bush presidency, where the country has been at war for over 6 of those 7 years, America has not had a balanced budget and the national debt of the United States has almost doubled, while on the other hand no progress has been made, for example, on universal health care for all Americans.
The moral of the Krugman lecture, however, is that Americans want to engage with their politicians on the issues. The many questions from the floor last night were insightful and clearly thought through. Barack Obama is coming to San Francisco in mid November so I myself will have an opportunity to hear his message for America. For the Democratic candidates going into the Iowa caucuses, rhetoric, double speak and clichés will no longer suffice for voters. We have had 7 years of that and America is morally bankrupt because of it.
The news this week that the Iowa Democratic Party has voted to bring forward the date of its caucuses to January 3rd has, for many, brought the presidential election campaign of 2008 sharply into focus. While national polls have Hillary Clinton enjoying a 30 point advantage over her nearest challenger Barack Obama, the most recent survey of potential caucus voters in Iowa show the two Democratic heavyweights in a statistical dead heat.
Some commentators are already referring to Clinton as the nominee, however as history has shown, a candidate with a big lead in the national polls going into the first big caucus challenge of Iowa should not take the nomination for granted. So before Hillary self anoints herself as the nominee she should recall what happened to Howard Dean in 2004. Going into the Hawkeye state caucuses four years ago, Dean held a commanding lead over John Kerry only for Kerry to win and go on to the nomination while Dean’s campaign imploded.
There is no doubt that there is a ground swell of support for radical change in the way government works in this country. The majority of Americans want to become engaged in the political process, however their sense of reality is being continually blurred by the ineptitude (and timidity) of most of the television and cable news networks to talk in any real, substantive way to the issues facing Americans today. On the other hand, FOX News is essentially the propaganda arm of the Bush White House and a host of fear mongering racists from Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter to Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh are using issues like immigration, terrorism, religion and the so called liberal agenda to scare the crap out of people.
Amidst the cacophony however there are some people out there that can not only speak in a constructive way to the issues facing Americans today, but to also suggest workable solutions. And you know what? The public wants to listen.
Last night I, along with 750 others, each paid between $15 and $25 to attend a lecture given by New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman in downtown San Francisco. I was fascinated that such a crowd would turn out to hear a journalist speak on a cold Tuesday evening the night before Halloween. That was before I found out that Krugman is the author of 20 books and also a Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Krugman treated us to a 90 minute lesson on the history of American politics and economics since FDR's New Deal of the 1930’s.
In summary, he contends that economic policy IS driven by politics and that race is the card that has been played by Republicans to win elections over the past 40 years. Quoting a myriad of statistics, Krugman outlined why, since the adoption of the so-called “Southern Strategy” by Richard Nixon in 1968, white Southern males have left the Democratic Party and switched their allegiance to the GOP. Republicans have never been able to run on their economic record so they have appealed instead to people’s base fears and prejudices; initially race and segregation and latterly religion, national defense and terrorism.
As a result, government policy is directly affected by ideology, which in turn directly impacts the economy. It comes as no surprise therefore to learn that in the last 7 years of the Bush presidency, where the country has been at war for over 6 of those 7 years, America has not had a balanced budget and the national debt of the United States has almost doubled, while on the other hand no progress has been made, for example, on universal health care for all Americans.
The moral of the Krugman lecture, however, is that Americans want to engage with their politicians on the issues. The many questions from the floor last night were insightful and clearly thought through. Barack Obama is coming to San Francisco in mid November so I myself will have an opportunity to hear his message for America. For the Democratic candidates going into the Iowa caucuses, rhetoric, double speak and clichés will no longer suffice for voters. We have had 7 years of that and America is morally bankrupt because of it.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Election '08 Comment: Fred Thompson and the Personality of Toilet Brushes
“The achievements which society rewards are won at the cost of diminution of personality” – Carl Jung, Swiss Psychiatrist 1875-1961
With a little over three months to go before the start of the 2008 Presidential primary season, the race for the Republican nomination is beginning to take shape. Whilst the staying power of third tier candidates like Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul is admirable, the combination of their lack of adequate support within the GOP grass roots, severely restricted campaign budgets and practically no national media coverage means that they will fall by the wayside even before “Super Tuesday” next March. They are consigned to join Jim Gilmore and Sam Brownback as early casualties of a long campaign cycle.
Perhaps not surprisingly we are left with the usual suspects to fight it out for the nomination, Messrs Giuliani, Romney and McCain. While each is an attractive candidate to different elements of the Republican base, none of them can command cross party support for reasons as diverse as religion, abortion, gay rights, fiscal policy and the war in Iraq.
Enter Fred Thompson; actor, senator, lawyer and former lobbyist. In a race where the vast majority of Republicans were, and are, not happy with the choice available to them in 2008, Thompson was seen by many as the ideal candidate who could garner cross party support. His conservative voting record in the Congress and support of the Iraq war, coupled with his dominant physical presence and actors’ charisma led many romantics within the GOP to believe that Thompson was the Ronald Reagan of the 21st century.
After less than 60 days as an announced candidate however, my instincts tell me that the light has already gone out for Thompson. Despite an initial shot in the arm after announcing his candidacy on September 5th, he has slipped back to the position he held in the minds of voters prior to getting in the race. His performance at the most recent Republican presidential debate in Michigan was awful, where he looked ill prepared, not fully versed on the issues, and gave way completely to Giuliani and Romney whose strong personalities and presence dominated the event.
His inability to effectively engage on the issues and argue his position was striking to most commentators, including many leaders in the Christian conservative base of the Republican Party. In what seems like an ominous development for Thompson’s chances, he was recently thrashed by James Dobson, founder of “Focus on the Family, thusly, “He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent 'want to’….and can’t speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail. And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!"
For me, I have never understood Thompson’s appeal. I see him as a wooden and one dimensional character with, to borrow a quote from one of my best friends, about as much personality as a toilet brush.
With a little over three months to go before the start of the 2008 Presidential primary season, the race for the Republican nomination is beginning to take shape. Whilst the staying power of third tier candidates like Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul is admirable, the combination of their lack of adequate support within the GOP grass roots, severely restricted campaign budgets and practically no national media coverage means that they will fall by the wayside even before “Super Tuesday” next March. They are consigned to join Jim Gilmore and Sam Brownback as early casualties of a long campaign cycle.
Perhaps not surprisingly we are left with the usual suspects to fight it out for the nomination, Messrs Giuliani, Romney and McCain. While each is an attractive candidate to different elements of the Republican base, none of them can command cross party support for reasons as diverse as religion, abortion, gay rights, fiscal policy and the war in Iraq.
Enter Fred Thompson; actor, senator, lawyer and former lobbyist. In a race where the vast majority of Republicans were, and are, not happy with the choice available to them in 2008, Thompson was seen by many as the ideal candidate who could garner cross party support. His conservative voting record in the Congress and support of the Iraq war, coupled with his dominant physical presence and actors’ charisma led many romantics within the GOP to believe that Thompson was the Ronald Reagan of the 21st century.
After less than 60 days as an announced candidate however, my instincts tell me that the light has already gone out for Thompson. Despite an initial shot in the arm after announcing his candidacy on September 5th, he has slipped back to the position he held in the minds of voters prior to getting in the race. His performance at the most recent Republican presidential debate in Michigan was awful, where he looked ill prepared, not fully versed on the issues, and gave way completely to Giuliani and Romney whose strong personalities and presence dominated the event.
His inability to effectively engage on the issues and argue his position was striking to most commentators, including many leaders in the Christian conservative base of the Republican Party. In what seems like an ominous development for Thompson’s chances, he was recently thrashed by James Dobson, founder of “Focus on the Family, thusly, “He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent 'want to’….and can’t speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail. And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!"
For me, I have never understood Thompson’s appeal. I see him as a wooden and one dimensional character with, to borrow a quote from one of my best friends, about as much personality as a toilet brush.
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