Happy New Year

As we approach a new year, we must also prepare to deal with the challenges that will drag on from 2007, as well as new ones that are sure to arise.  In 2008, America will choose it's 44th President; and although there are many great candidates out there, there is one that is most definitely prepared to deal with those challenges.  

May everyone have a great New Year!

Ron Paul Parody

Here is a great, hilarious video I came across that pokes fun at Ron Paul's comments on last week's Meet the Press concerning Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement.  Enjoy!

The Politics Of Change

Every election cycle for President brings out the word "change".  It becomes part of the campaign rhetoric heard from both the Democrats and Republicans who are running for their party's nomination.

 

But what kind of change do the people really want and what change will the next president really represent?  The current president promised change and look what our nation and people received.  We went from a fiscally responsible administration who balanced the budget, created surpluses and paid down the national debt, to record deficits and record increase in the national debt.  We invaded a country that never attacked us over WMD that did not exist.  We are told we have to live in fear because of terrorists threats.  Our government became more secretive and our personal lives have been intruded on by the so called Patriot Act and warrant-less wiretapping.

 

Government figures try to divide us on religious and patriotic grounds.  They try to divide us by leaking secret information to protect their own wrong doing.  The list goes on and on.  Is this the change Bush was talking about?

 

The American people need to think hard if they base their vote on change only.  All candidates have their good and bad positions and qualities, so the people need to think in terms of what candidate can best advance the quality of life for the people and who can bring accountability back in all walks of government.  We, the people, have to bring back America---Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.

Benazir Bhutto: 1953-2007

Today is a sad day for the world.  Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated earlier today following a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.  

Bhutto was perhaps the United States' last hope in bringing stability to Pakistan and the region.  Bhutto, in much contrast to President Musharraf, was adamant in her opposition to terrorist groups, especially al-Qaeda, which find refuge in Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan.  She was a long time outspoken opponent of extremism and was someone who could have truly been the greatest asset to the U.S. in the true war on terror.

I admit that while I have long said that Bhutto was a great woman and a great leader, I did not fully realize the extent that her passion and love for her country went. That changed today when I began seeing interview after interview with Bhutto on television.  

She was truly a brave and courageous person.  She did not have to return to Pakistan after her exile.  She did not have to hold public rallies.  She did not have to seek another run as Prime Minister.  But, as she explained in numerous interviews, Bhutto did all those things because she simply wanted to make her country a better place for its people.  

Bhutto said many times that she knew her life was at risk every second of every day, but she continued her tireless fight for democracy and peace nonetheless.  She was willing to give her life for her country, and today, she did just that.

Bhutto should be a role-model for every politician in the world.  She didn't think about herself; she thought only of the Pakistani people and their needs.  

Now, Pakistan is once again in turmoil.  A hero has been killed.  What is next for Pakistan, the most dangerous country in the world?  I, nor anyone, can even begin to say what comes next.  All I do know is that Pakistan, America, and the world has lost a tremendous person today.  This tragedy should serve as an omnipresent reminder to all that this world is volatile and unpredictable.  Everything can change in a heartbeat, and today it did.  We, in America and abroad, need leaders who are capable of responding correctly and effectively to these sudden changes.  Let that serve as a lesson learned from this tragedy.  

Photo Credit: MSNBC

2008---What's At Stake

Okay, the fun and games are over, it's time to get serious----It's time to choose a President.  

After following this election for over a year now, it's amazing to finally be only eight days away from the Iowa caucus.  But it seems that many are still not in serious mode.  People are still focusing on the idealism of a candidate instead of the policies and records of that candidate.  Instead of checking to see which candidates have and continue to "walk the walk", many are still content with just listening to candidates talk a good talk.  

America can not afford to have its voters look at idealism over experience or the "talk" over the "walk".  That is the kind of rational that got us George W. Bush nearly 8 years ago.  A Presidential election can not be about likability or the old "who would you rather have a beer with" question.  Choosing a President is serious business, and, as I think we've learned over the past 7 years, choosing the wrong one can lead to dire consequences.

The next President will come into office facing unprecedented challenges.  There will be no learning curve; the 44th President will have to be ready to lead from second one.  And while there is surely no perfect preparation for the Presidency, there are certainly candidates who are more prepared than others.  

There is a war to safely end in Iraq.  There is a war in Afghanistan and Pakistan against true terrorists to be waged.  America's standing in the world and its credibility must be swiftly restored.  There is a healthcare crisis to address; as well as an immigration one.  The economy needs to brought back to its greatness of the '90s.  The issue of poverty and education must be tackled, and tackled quickly.  My point: call it a talking point, call it pure rhetoric, but I call it the truth that simply can't be forgotten----America needs a President with the experience, knowledge, and leadership to offer real solutions to the growing problems this country, and the world, faces.  

Again, I warn America not to make the same mistake it did in 2000; don't be fooled by a superior personality or likability; support the candidate who has the proven leadership and skills to make America a better place.  In this day and age, talk is cheap, but often it is what seals the deal for voters.  And while talk might be a great help in getting elected, it does nothing once you take office and actually have to enact policies.  For that, only experience, wisdom, strength, and perseverance matter.  

One thing is for sure concerning the '08 election----it is indeed a change election, and America has never been more ready, or desperate, for change than it is right now.  But change is just a six letter word without the experience and knowledge to make it happen.  There are those candidates who just throw the word around casually and make it the center piece of their campaign, but who have no real record or experience of bringing change, or even attempting to bring change.  Then there are those candidates (yes, plural), who do have a record, some a life long one, of fighting for change, even when it wasn't popular, and then bringing about that change.  Those candidates, who have a record of bringing about meaningful change, are the ones America needs in the White House.  America doesn't need another President who promises a break from the past, only to worsen things because of his inexperience and lack of knowledge.  

To sum it all up: vote with your brain, not just your heart.  Often times we fall in love with the idea of something or someone, only to later realize that our heart was misleading.  Look at the facts; look at where these candidates have been and what they've been able to do.  If everyone in this great country does that, I have no doubt we will elect the right person in '08.  But if America does as it did in previous years, and looks solely at the "talk" of a candidate, we may well be in trouble for another 4 years.  America can not handle that.  We must choose the right person.  That time to choose is now---let's make a difference by nominating a candidate who not only can win in November, but who can actually change this country, for the better, starting January '09. 

About Face In The Iraq War

I have mentioned in past commentaries that regardless of how the war in Iraq ends, or when it ends, Iran will be the main benefactor and Iraq and Iran will be allied together.

 

Now, despite the spin about the success of the surge, the State Department's top official on Iraq says Iran's sharp decrease of arms and munitions to Iraq has decreased the attacks sharply.  We know that the Shiite make up the majority in Iraq and Iran and that al-Sadr told his militia several months ago to stand down for 6 months.  We also know that the present administration in Iraq and Iran meet often and are in close contact with each other.  The game is on for them because they know that with the lack of violence, the U.S. will eventually have to leave.  

 

Another tell tale of what is happening in Iraq is in Basra, where British troops have turned over security to Iraq. Our military commanders are worried because Iran is entrenched in Basra and wields influence there to the point that is alarming.

 

And to top it off, Iraqi defense minister al-Obaidi declared his intent to dismantle the Sunni awakening councils which are financed and backed by the United States.  The Sunnis, who are the minority in Iraq but ruled the Shiite when Saddam was in power by force, will not be allowed to have any infrastructure to challenge the Shiite.  

 

In just 3 more months, the war will be in progress for 5 years.  Almost 4000 Americans have been killed, over 20,000 wounded; we don't have any idea how many innocent Iraq men, women and children have been killed and Mr. Bush still can not articulate when the war will end or how.  What we do know is that it was a war over WMD that did not exist.  Bush's reckless behavior to remake the Middle East in his vision has destabilized the entire region and when all  the killing stops, Iran and Iraq will be two sister states.  Iraq will look nothing like Bush saw in his dream.  But lucky for Bush, he won't have to deal with the mess he created much longer.  Unfortunately, the next President will bear the burden of his reckless behavior.

The Boston Globe's John Sasso On Hillary

Here is a great article from the 12/22 edition of the Boston Globe written by John Sasso.  Sasso has long been involved in the Democratic party and in Presidential elections.  He managed the Dukakis campaign in '88 and the Kerry campaign in '04.  He undoubtably knows what he's talking about. ---

Today Clinton has forged herself into a formidable political leader. She has undergone a remarkable journey. In the face of unending autopsies on her personal and political past, unrelieved targeting at both Democratic and Republican debates, the punishing demands imposed on a woman candidate, she is still standing unflinchingly in place....

Why the most electable Democrat? Because after a year of being tightly measured, Clinton has won a public acceptance that she has the intellect and inner confidence to do the job. She has reached beyond her political inheritance and shaped a political presence all her own. Hillary belittlers still abound, to be sure. She is still caricatured as calculating. But the senator has taken on some different markings. Gone is the defensive bite, on hand is a new openness to concede mistakes, often with glints of humor.

Once nominated her campaign will undergo another transformation. Her candidacy will take on an historic aura as it confronts an historic question -- can a woman, this woman, be elected president? Americans will be caught up in crossing one of the country's great divides. Voters of both parties, not just proud women, will be favorably disposed to make that crossing. Americans like the good feeling of removing barriers.

Why the least vulnerable Democrat? The day the Democratic nominee becomes obvious the Republican attack machine will spring to action. Always, the opponent is a target to be eviscerated. If Obama is the Democratic nominee, a man less intimately understood and less defined, Republicans will rush to manufacture their own brutal definition. Can Obama withstand that kind of barrage? Does he have the personal makeup to be as relentless as his opponents? Do past political positions leave him vulnerable? Because the risks are sky-high, these questions need to be reasonably raised and answered beforehand

Clinton is well past negative redefinition. Unlike John Kerry's 2004 campaign in which veterans opposed to Kerry's candidacy challenged his war record, it will be difficult to ram a Swift Boat into her candidacy. If there is a convict in her political past, as with Willie Horton during the Dukakis 1988 campaign, he will already have been exhumed. Besides, the Clintons are veteran enough to mount a withering counterfire of their own.  

The most vulnerable Democrat, Clinton is not. The most electable, she is. America's political landscape, this time around, looks fertile for the right Democratic candidate. But one day, surely, the country will elect a woman president. I sense that moment - and that woman - has arrived. 

For the full editorial, click here.

Happy Holidays To The Troops

I couldn't have said it better than this:

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone.

Burlington Hawk-Eye Endorses Clinton

In addition to the endorsements of the Des Moines Register and the Quad-City Times, Sen. Hillary Clinton can add yet another well-deserved endorsement to her list.  The Burlington Hawk-Eye had this to say about Hillary:

"Vetted perhaps more than any woman in history, Clinton demonstrates the resiliency and tenacity needed in a president, especially one who will inherit the challenges the current administration will leave behind.

In person, she's calculated yet personable. On issues, she's not a clone of her husband. She's an independent thinker with progressive ideas.

She promises that the days of secret eavesdropping and violations of other civil liberties ends on inauguration day. She promotes a reasonable approach to ending the war in Iraq and developing peace through partnership in the region. She honed her extensive international experience as first lady, traveling to more than 80 countries.

She finds it "galling" that American tax dollars help fund a first-class health-care plan for the wealthy members of Congress, while 47 million Americans go without access to decent health care. We'll take her word that she'll fix that, and that the wealthiest nation in the world will provide access to health care for those of little or modest means.

She sees the federal government as a partner with states and local schools in ensuring quality education.

Can she win? Polls show a dead heat in Iowa, and there are many undecided Democrats. Still, Democrats in the state would be selecting a proven leader with the skill sets necessary for our next president by caucusing for Hillary Clinton."

The Quad-City Times Endorses Clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton picked up another important endorsement today, this one from the Quad-City Times.  Here is what they had to say about her and her candidacy:

"Hillary Clinton passes test after test after test. This Clinton arrived for the caucus campaign with much, much more experience than the first Clinton to stump across Iowa. In campaign speeches and in an interview with the Times Editorial Board, she spoke passionately of people — specific, real people — whose stories drive her desire to solve problems. “I was brought up to believe we were the problem solvers,” she told the editorial board. “If it was hard, that meant America would do it.”

This Clinton hasn’t shied away from problems.

As first lady, she stepped far beyond the traditional role and took on a major policy issue: health care. Washington special interests villified her for trying, branding any reform “socialized medicine” and even giving it her name: “Hillarycare.”

Regardless, she persevered, becoming an advocate for children worldwide and pioneering the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which has survived Republican and Democrat Congresses.

She passed perhaps the toughest personal test. Many Americans stand up for the sanctity of marriage. Hillary Clinton did something much harder. She very publicly stood up for her own marriage.

 She passed the New York voters’ tests. Twice. Rudy Giuliani backed away from challenging her to address his own health and marital problems. She went on to win and six years later won again by an even larger margin.

In the Senate, she’s worked across party lines to pass test after test and earn this testimonial: “This blue-state senator with a blue-state perspective has managed to build unusual political alliances on a variety of issues with Republicans.” That commendation was written for Time magazine by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who led the impeachment prosecution against her husband.

We tested her, too, in our editorial board interview, looking for evidence of the partisan rancor that is destroying our country. We found none. Instead, we found a proven, passionate, intelligent leader with a breadth of legislative and executive experience that is the best of a good bunch.

For Iowa’s Democratic caucuses, we support Hillary Clinton."

This is just another great telling of why Hillary Clinton is the best person for the job of United States President.  Her experience and proven strength sets her apart from everyone else in the field.