A New Round Of Political Games

The dust has settled in the struggle between conservatives and liberals and we are beginning to see the changes in our political landscape.  Yesterday, the Republicans Party picked up the governor’s office in Virginia and New Jersey, even though President Barack Obama had campaigned a bit for both of those state’s Democratic nominee.  Yesterday’s results may call attention to the fact that Mr. Obama is not able to overcome the rest of the Democratic Party’s inability to appeal to their Democratic base.  This should be a warning to all the Democratic politicians facing reelection next year, two years into Mr. Obama’s administration, at all levels of the government from the local to the national.

It is a safe assumption that most of the Democrats have safe seats.  But a good percentage will face strong competition from Republican or conservative challengers.  Over the next year, these politicians will have to decide how closely they want to align themselves with Mr. Obama’s agenda and the rest of the party leadership.  Their constituents are watching their choices and actions very closely.

But it isn’t all roses for the conservatives.  Republican Party politicians suffered their own share of setbacks.  An upstate New York district that the Republicans have controlled for more than a century went to Democrat Bill Owens won a special election after conservative activists went public with their political bickering.  Staunch conservatives pressured the Republican nominee to quit the race and supported a third party candidate.  Indeed, every incumbent should take note that the voting public is ready for change, any change in the political climate, if they feel their representatives, regardless of party affiliation, aren’t working for the public’s benefits.  The voting public is more cynical now than ever.  People want tangible, real solutions to the problems facing the country and not just hard line dogma that does nothing but inspire people to dig their heals in.

What all of us should have learned from yesterday’s elections is that issues can trump ideology.  Issues like the three Gs, god, guns, and gays, take a back seat when the entire country is in a recession.  In polling-place surveys, the overwhelming majority in Virginia and New Jersey said they were worried about the economy.  And even though there are signs of economic recovery, good jobs have not returned just yet, and trouble looms if people are still not seeing some kind of improvement in their bottom line by the next time they go to the polls.

Yes people were ready for change last year when they elected Mr. Obama.  But people are still waiting for that change and if the Democrats that were so overwhelmingly elected last year aren’t able to produce the change they promised then maybe they need a reminder that they only have so much time to dither in their political roles before they too will be replaced.  It isn’t so much that Republicans can win as Democrats can lose and they can lose big.  The biggest advantage the Democratic Party had in previous elections was the record of former President George W. Bush.  But Mr. Bush wasn’t going to stay the albatross around the conservative’s neck forever.  And as much as people might like Mr. Obama as a person, he alone does not a party make.

Today the airwaves were thick with conservative politicians and analyst and political pundits and party leaders bragging about their party’s political victories.  The blue state and red state numbers aren’t really going to change that much.  Numbers wise, there should be little impact to the legislative agenda.  But from an incumbent who should want to stay in his or her job’s perspective the impact can be earth shattering.  In order to appeal to a broader political base, Democratic contenders might try to move more to the center and abandoning their own political base.  Such a move is bound to deflate their core constituents and no matter how much a Democratic candidate might try to look conservative, the Democratic can’t out conserve a conservative.

The truth of the matter is that this should be a wakeup call for both Democrats and Republicans to do more to work together for the benefit of the people.  It might sound like a common sense concept.  Every politician promises to work across the aisle for the benefit of the American people.  But in practice, the politician that is ready to do what is best for the people is truly a novel concept.  There will always be a tendency for the politician to do only that which protects the politician’s job.  Sincere change for the better will always be hard when half the people in politics can benefit more by gumming up the works and keeping the status quo.  Every year we hear how the people want change and the political spectrum changes because people want the bums out.  This year is no different.  Next year will just be more of the same.

Who Elevates The Naysayer?

It was reported in Yahoo’s news website that Rush Limbaugh called President Barack Obama immature, inexperienced, in over his head, offering the country radical leadership, and laying siege to the American economy.  The comments were made as part of an hour long Fox News Sunday featuring Mr. Limbaugh as the lone guest.  Mr. Limbaugh was interviewed from his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Obama administration has labeled the Fox network as the voice of the radical right wing of the Republican Party.  The Fox network has made its contempt of the Obama administration plane long before Mr. Obama was elected and long before he took office.  On Mr. Obama’s inauguration day, while all the other networks were celebrating a new President of the United States and all the events associated with a changing of the executive branch, Fox bucked the trend and focused on former President George “Dubya” Bush as he returned to his Crawford, Texas ranch as a civilian.  The Fox focus was on Mr. Bush’s last trip on Air Force Once and the small assemblage of people who came to the airport to welcome Mr. Bush home.

Since that January day the Fair and Balanced station has been heavy on the negative criticism against Mr. Obama.  There has been no balance of reporting anything from a positive perspective.  So it is no surprise that Fox would give any high profile character willing to express disgust at Mr. Obama a forum to spew that rage.  So it is no surprise that Fox would feature Mr. Limbaugh.  But what is surprising is the fact that so many other broadcasting networks want to get onto this story and report what Mr. Limbaugh said about Mr. Obama as well as if it was news.

With all the attention given to Mr. Limbaugh, the news reporters trying to stir controversy will ask Mr. Obama’s closest advisors for a comment on what Mr. Limbaugh said.  Of course, the advisors will dismiss Mr. Limbaugh’s criticism as nothing important.  In fact while making an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer, David Axelrod, the Senior Advisor to the President, said that Mr. Limbaugh is an entertainer while the President has to run the country.

With all that said, a lot of people are criticizing the Obama administration for taking their eyes off the national prize in order to respond to people like Rush Limbaugh.  The question some people are asking is whether or not Mr. Obama and his staff are better off ignoring the negative criticism coming from the Fox network.  To be seen as engaging in some kind of argument with Mr. Limbaugh is interpreted as diminishing the office of the President and elevating Mr. Limbaugh as something closer to an equal.  And if that’s the case, then why asks for a comment to something Mr. Limbaugh may have said?

Mr. Limbaugh is much more than a simple entertainer.  While it may be true that he holds no political office and he is paid handsomely for his ability to attract an audience of conservatives to listen to his radio show, his special brand of entertainment wreaks of editorials and commentary meant to influence his audience’s opinion and consequently to influence politics.  When Fox gives Mr. Limbaugh an hour long forum to broadcast his disdain for all things Obama, it is trying to influence politics as well.  And to allow such influence to foment without a retort simply invites a dip in favorability ratings and public opinion.

The idea that the President or his staff elevates a political naysayer when they respond to criticism is not true.  The naysayer is elevated when they are given carte blanch to influence the public when he or she is given a public forum to broadcast a messages of derision.  When the Fox network made the decision to put Mr. Limbaugh on to criticize the President, they made a step to elevate Mr. Limbaugh.  When the other networks reported what Mr. Limbaugh said and prompted the President’s closest advisors to respond, they helped to elevate Mr. Limbaugh.

When people say that the Obama administration is playing into their political opponents’ hands by responding to the questions asking for a response, they are helping to elevate the story, they are helping to elevate Mr. Limbaugh, and they are helping to stir controversy and diminish the office of the President.  In fact we all contribute to this equivalency when we give baseless criticism a chance to spread like gossip at a barber shop.  It diminishes the President to defend his character, his position, his office against a lower life form given free reign to spread unwarranted criticism?  That is very doubtful.

The Latest Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Some people are saying that the primary reason President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize is the fact that he’s not former President George Bush.  But hey, a lot of people aren’t Mr. Bush either so where is their prize?  Therefore, it must take a little more than that.  A lot of people, including the President, are saying that he hasn’t done anything to warrant him winning the prize.  But the reason people say he didn’t deserve to win ranges from a mixture of humility and genuine surprise to blatant derision and disgust.

The scorn and mockery against the decision by the Nobel committee reminds me very much of when Mr. Obama was running for President and people were making all kinds of excuses why Mr. Obama didn’t deserve to be the country’s chief executive.  A lot of people said then that he hasn’t done anything to deserve the honor of the presidency.  But nobody said anything similar about his opponents.  What did then New York Senator Hillary Clinton do to deserve to be President?  What did Arizona Senator John McCain do to deserve to be President?  Many people were comparing Mr. Obama to then Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.  What did Ms. Palin do to deserve to be a heart’s beat away from being the President?

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the founder of the Nobel Prizes, the Peace Prize should be awarded to the person who, during the preceding year, did the most or the best work for peace between nations.  And from that respect, I have to say that Mr. Obama has done very little to win.  But I guess another fair question is who has done more?  Maybe he did win because he was the one that became the symbol of the end of Mr. Bush’s reign of terror.

And if that’s the case, I nominate the Iraqi who threw his shoes at Mr. Bush’s head during a press conference.  Muntadhar al-Zeidi’s astonishing act of defiance struck a chord with millions around the world.  While many Iraqis were happy to follow script and honor the man most responsible for the devastation to their country as a man of peace, Mr. al-Zeidi had the courage to call a warmonger a warmonger.

Last year I heard Mr. Obama condone Israel’s tremendous devastation against the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip.  Mr. Obama gave tacit approval to Israel’s bombing with United States sourced weapons and the use of white phosphorous on a civilian population when he said that if somebody was firing rockets at his girl’s bedroom he would do the same.  Mr. Obama never tried to look at the situation from the Palestinian father’s point of view and say what he would do if somebody was trying to starve his daughter into some form of submission through blatant cultural disparity.  So much for that idea of fostering peace between nations.

Whether or not the people who are responsible for deciding who’ll win the Nobel Peace Prize recognize Mr. Obama’s peace efforts as the most noteworthy is beside the point.  Obviously they liked what they saw.  Either the pickings were slim or, what is probably the more likely case and truly unfortunate, is the fact that those people who are responsible for the selection of this award really could care less about peace and only care about high profile popularity with little substance.  The Nobel Peace Prize is little more than a popularity contest.

Rio’s Olympic Win

Rumor has it that something in the neighborhood of ninety percent of Americans was looking forward to the Summer Olympic Games coming to Chicago.  Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.  The International Olympic Committee in charge of doling out the Olympic Games to cities has decided to send the 2016 affair to South America.  I really didn’t have a pit bull in this fight.  Whether it’s held in Rio de Janeiro or Madrid or Tokyo or Chicago I seriously doubt if I would have bothered to attend.  But regardless, I have to admit to a certain sense of national pride and would have found it pretty exciting if Chicago had pulled the deal off.  So even though I may not have manifested any excitement watching President Barack Obama, Mayor Richard Daly, super celebrity Oprah Winfrey, and former Olympic gold medal winners Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Nadia Comaneci, and basketball star David Robinson, lead the effort to bring the Olympics to Chicago, deep down I was actually wishing them the best of luck.

I was listening to NPR when the announcement was made.  Despite the best efforts by everyone involved Chicago was eliminated.  The 2016 Summer Olympic Games were going to go to Rio de Janeiro.  The decision was somewhat disappointing, but only somewhat.  I went on doing whatever it was I was doing.   I heard the news late in the morning.  I went on to have a pretty average day.

But late that night, I saw video clips of Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh celebrating the fact that Chicago’s Olympic bid failed.  And if the Olympic bid failed, the last minute pitch by President Obama means that Mr. Obama’s can be clearly associated with failure.  Mr. Beck called the failure sweet.  Mr. Limbaugh proved that no disappointment to this country is worthless if it can be used as part of a partisan attack on the Obama administration.  Mr. Obama is the first United States President to ever appear before the International Olympic Committee and add his voice to the chorus pleading for the games.  And Mr. Obama is the first and only President of the United States to be rejected by the committee.  And these high profile conservatives are absolutely loving it.  Back in January Mr. Limbaugh said that he wished that then President-elect Obama failed.  Mr. Limbaugh is remaining true to his word savoring any and every failure that he can.

Mr. Beck said he loved America so much and hates to see the country in so much trouble.  But that love of America takes a back seat to his hate for Mr. Obama.  Indeed, someone who loves America so much that they’re ready to cry on screen and on cue as if he was Tammy Faye Baker sans the heavy duty mascara application would probably be a little more sensitive to America’s loss.  Instead, the crocodile tears of caring have quickly turned into cheers of triumph.  All of America’s problems have evaporated now that Mr. Obama is a failure.  Mr. Beck is as happy as a school girl.

Other conservatives said that they wanted to make the fight for healthcare reform in America Mr. Obama’s Waterloo.  For some, it appears that his Waterloo was making the decision to become Chicago’s pitchman for the Olympic Games.  Now, some people are asking if this rejection is a signal that Mr. Obama doesn’t have the global political clout many thought he had.  Some are wondering if Mr. Obama has been politically wounded over this humiliating loss.  At least that’s the perception.  And how come nobody is saying that Ms. Winfrey suffered a humiliating loss as well?

In reality, Mr. Obama didn’t have a very heavy hand in this contest of Olympic magnitude.  Despite the impression some want to give that Mr. Obama was pinning his political future on getting the Games for Chicago, it is my understanding that his decision to enter the fray at the eleventh hour was more of a “why not” type of approach.  If Chicago’s bid was rejected and Mr. Obama didn’t do what he could to help people would ask, why not.  And really, there is not much political skin would come off his proverbial nose if he tried and didn’t succeed.  Mr. Obama still has to deliver on his healthcare reform promise, he still has to clean up the mess on the terror war, he still has to juggle a struggling economy, and he has to deal with political opponents who feel so emboldened to call him a liar during his political addresses.  I’m pretty sure that after receiving the news, the President went on to have a pretty average day.

The failure to get the Olympic Games for Chicago is not the be all, end all for Mr. Obama or Chicago or America.  Out of the dozens, potentially into the hundreds, of cities that applied, only one was going to win.  The fact that the games have never appeared in South America gave Rio an edge that no one could surmount.  It’s time had come.  All of South America should be proud.  And I’m pretty sure had Rio lost the people in South America would be unified in disappointment.  I’m pretty sure that few, if any, high profile South Americans would be publicly gloating over Rio’s lost and breaking out the champaign.  Maybe it was that lack of political unity that did Chicago in.  Maybe the International Olympic Committee simply saw that there is no unity in the United States to put on the best show possible.  From that respect, it looks like the people on that committee made a very wise decision.

Jimmy Carter Calls A Spade A Spade

It is a sentiment that is politically unpopular.  To say anything that promotes the reality that racism is alive and well in post-racism America is to invite ridicule and exclusion.  To say that racism is a factor in our day to day lives gives people carte blanch to respond with accusations of being a person who chases the ambulance of racism or staring into the abyss of racism and suddenly seeing it everywhere.  Racism is our dirty little secret that accounts for so much disparity in the perceptions of black and white people.  But few people in high profile political circles want to bring the subject up when it can be most accurately applied.

Indeed, many conservatives have slammed President Barack Obama as being a hate filled racist.  Popular conservative talk show hosts have wasted no opportunity to slam Mr. Obama as a racist.  Glen Beck says that Mr. Obama has a deep seated hatred for white people.  Rush Limbaugh says Mr. Obama chooses people who are racist against white people for the Supreme Court.  Tons of high profile conservatives have stood in line to call Mr. Obama a racist for throwing his white grandmother under the proverbial bus because he called her a typical white person.  And yet, when anyone even hints at suggesting that racism is playing a role in the criticism against Mr. Obama, people want to roll their eyes and huff their exasperation like a steam powered locomotive as they do their best to defuse the suggestion.

Close your eyes and you can imagine Mr. Obama assuring people with, “Let me be perfectly clear.  Racism is still a factor in America.  But it has absolutely nothing to do in this particular case.”  Mr. Obama will dodge the issue of racism like former President George Bush dodges shoes.  Instead of calling out blatant acts of racial disparity, Mr. Obama would rather have a beer summit and bury the racial hatchet dripping with the blood of people who simply have to suffer inequality as just a part of the American way of life.  Let the other side play the race card.  Mr. Obama is happy to act as if the race card simply doesn’t exist.

Out of the entire pool of high profile black politicians, celebrities, and political pundits, the number of black community leaders willing to call out racism and/or acts of racism can be counted on one’s fingers.  Most high profile blacks would rather tell black people to shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down and roll the fuck over as civil rights are trampled.  Most are happy to leave the dirty work to other people with well earned reputations for pissing off the racially generic dominant community.  The black community has lost the will to even control the conversation of racism.  Racism is now defined by people like Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Beck who earn multi million dollar salaries by catering to people who belong to a political party void of any real racial inclusion.

Leave it to former President Jimmy Carter to pull out the big guns and try to put the conversation about racism back on track.  Mr. Carter goes where a black President fears to tread.  Mr. Carter says that racism is behind much of the criticism against Mr. Obama.  It is as plain as the many signs conservatives hold to vent their rage against a black President.  There are signs showing Mr. Obama as an African witch doctor.  There are signs questioning the President’s patriotism.  There are signs with guns and the suggestion that people are ready to put them to use.  Never mind all that.

Never mind all the accusation before the election that he didn’t have enough executive experience even though he had just as much as his conservative opponent, or accusations that people didn’t know anything about Mr. Obama, even though he was the junior United States Senator from Illinois since January of 2005.  Never mind the fact that people continue to swear he’s not an American citizen because they refuse to accept the fact that he has a Hawaiian birth certificate and no other modern President has been hounded so persistently for proof of citizenship.  Never mind the fact that proof has been supplied and rejected.  Never mind that this is the first President people feel entitled to heckle during his public address.

It is very true that no matter what Democrat got into office he or she would be hounded by conservative leaning opponents.  When President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton tried to push healthcare reform through the legislature they were met by a viciously resistant organized opposition.  But never did their ethnicity or race or culture or religion or family history play a part in that opposition.  There is no shortage of people willing to dismiss or minimize Mr. Obama as an undercover Muslim or an African or some other illegal alien.  And the number of people ready to play the race card against Mr. Obama appears to grow minute by minute.

But while Mr. Carter stands tall to say that which many fear to say, he stands alone.  The White House was quick to distance itself from Mr. Carter’s statement.  In true Barack Obama form the issue of race needs to be avoided at any and all cost.  In typical high profile black people fashion race refuse to be acknowledged as a factor.  Despite the fact that many conservatives see race, many conservatives will distribute CDs with songs like “Barack the Magic Negro” or show pictures of Presidents in official poses but where in the space where Mr. Obama’s picture should be there is nothing but an ogling round eyeballs against a black background.  But neither racism nor race is a factor here.

Just like when his attorney general Eric Holder put race at the forefront when he gave his speech on race relations during Black History month back in February, the Obama administration refuses to step to the plate with anything resembling racial courage.  There is way too much to lose by pointing to racism as a contributing factor here.  It’s too easy for racist to say that their resistance is because of something else.  All a racist has to say is that they don’t support the black candidate because of policy or his lack of experience on the subject at hand.  Don’t pay any attention to that sign with Mr. Obama as an African witch doctor with the caption “lyin’ African”.

Mr. Carter is one of the few people ready to show solidarity in the fight against blatant racism.  He has nothing to lose, he has no agenda to push.  So people can’t say that he’s just out for some personal gain.  Mr. Carter is looking at the racial landscape and sees the reality that racism is a huge factor at play here.  Everybody can deny it.  Even Mr. Obama can refuse to admit that he is the victim of it.  But the fact of the matter is that racism is alive and well in America and is a deciding factor for way too many Americans.

Joe Wilson’s War

Can you believe this?  Republican South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson broke the rules of civility, threw decorum out the window, and called President Barack Obama a liar during his address to both chambers of the Congress.  Mr. Wilson claims he was caught up in some fit of passion that he simply could not contain his emotional outburst.

Joe the Heckler immediately apologized after the address was through.  At the request of Republican Party leaders, Mr. Wilson called Mr. Obama that night to apologize.  A sudden rush of people going to Mr. Wilson’s website knocked out the servers and phone lines.  His Democratic opponent reported nearly a half million dollars in new political contributions the next day.  A hastily created web site highly critical of Mr. Wilson includes a link to donate to Ron Miller, his suddenly popular political opponent.

What Mr. Wilson has done is thrown down the gauntlet.  In essence Mr. Wilson has issued a challenge to him and to the Democratic Party.  In front of the nation, in front of the world, a lackey in the Republican Party tossed an insult to the leader of the Democratic Party.  If this was the Godfather, the insult would have required a hit on the Tattaglia family.

For all intents and purposes Mr. Wilson was doing his part to undermine Mr. Obama’s office and called the President and the rest of the Democrats pussies.  Mr. Wilson was making a bet that none of the Democrats had the balls to throw down.  And even if they did decide to mix it up, the Republicans had the support from so many Americans ready to carry guns to town hall meetings where the President was scheduled to make an appearance.  The President’s poll numbers were steadily falling.  More and more people were deciding that healthcare reform was not what they needed since they think they already have what they need to assure and insure their health and the health of their family for the future.  Mr. Wilson was feeling pretty good.

And to many people, the people who think Mr. Obama pals around with terrorists, who think Mr. Obama is secretly a Muslim who attended a Christian church intent on spreading hatred for white America, who thinks that Mr. Obama threw his grandmother under the bus because he described her as a typical white person, who thinks Mr. Obama isn’t a United States citizen and his certificate of birth from Hawaii is not legit, who thinks Mr. Obama is out to take everyone’s guns, who throw tea parties because they think Mr. Obama is responsible for the massive deficit, who thinks Mr. Obama is preparing death panels, who thinks Mr. Obama is Adolph Hitler reincarnated, Mr. Wilson is emerging as an American hero.  The same people who will yell that Mr. Obama is a terrorist and “kill him” at a Republican rally will support Mr. Wilson and anybody who would scream any unruly criticism of the President.

This isn’t anything new.  Glen Beck called the President a racist with a deep seated hatred of white people and he hasn’t stopped yet.  A lot of people called Mr. Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court a racist with a deep seated hatred of white men.  And through it all people rally around these mongers of hatred like moths to a flame.  In response to all the cash contributions going to Mr. Wilson’s political opponent Ron Miller, Mr. Wilson is asking people to donate to his coffers and people are opening their wallets.

In his speech the other night, Mr. Obama said that he’s ready to call people out and it sounded aggressive.  But Mr. Obama is once again ready to let bygones be bygones and turn the other cheek.  Instead of calling Mr. Wilson out and holding him up as an example of the atmosphere of politics these days, he’s more likely to invite Mr. Wilson to the White House to make peace over a drink of his favorite suds.  With all the talk of blister Mr. Obama has shown time and time again that he is more than ready to forgive and forget with a great deal of emphasis on the forget part.

When the Reverend Jeremiah Wright called him a politician Mr. Obama was so outraged that he formally and very publicly severed his relationship with the man.  Mr. Wilson calls Mr. Obama a liar and more likely than not Mr. Obama will let bygones be bygones and open up a six pack.  That’s not the way you take people to task.  That’s not the way you call people out.  That’s not the way you make people regret their tempting fate.

In the Godfather, to let such disrespect stand would mean that a family was weak and toothless.  Well, it should be obvious how Mr. Wilson and many Republicans feel about the Democratic family.  It looks like the gauntlet has been slammed down at Mr. Obama’s feet.  Joe Wilson is ready for political war.  But a challenge is just a challenge until somebody agrees to a dual or something.  Joe Wilson is ready for war.  And a lot of people who support Joe Wilson are ready for political war.

You Lie Mr. President!

President Barack Obama was trying to put the rhetoric and angst against healthcare behind him.  All of us have seen the town hall meetings with people on both sides of the issue foaming at the mouth.  Granted, one side has a lot more foaming people than the other, but there was rhetoric coming from both directions.  But the era for civility and calm conversation will have to wait just a bit longer.  In the middle of his healthcare address, South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson yelled from the floor two words, “You lie!”  This was in response to Mr. Obama’s statement that his plan for healthcare reform would not cover illegal immigrants.

Now Mr. Wilson might want to explain away his rudeness as a momentary lapse of civility based on his passion for the subject at hand.  Supposedly, Mr. Wilson is a firm opponent of illegal immigration.  He might even try to blame his emotional outburst on his latent turrets syndrome that manifests whenever he sees an authoritative black man.  But one of the television cameras in the house chamber panned over to Mr. Wilson.  He was holding a sign in his lap saying, “What bill?”  It should be obvious that Mr. Wilson came prepared to do his impersonation of a typical town hall foamer ready to cause a ruckus for ruckus sake and not ready to listen at all.

In response to Mr. Wilson’s outburst the chamber erupted in a wave of disapproving boos.  Mr. Obama held Mr. Wilson with a harsh gaze for a moment and calmly responded, “That’s not true.”  As Mr. Obama went on with his speech, both Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden continued to send eye daggers Mr. Wilson’s way.  Mr. Wilson looked around at all the people giving him their own stairs of disapproval as if to say, “What?”  For the remainder of the night, his attention was focused on his Blackberry.

Mr. Wilson’s actions did much to reinforce Mr. Obama’s words.  As if prepared for a shameful display of Mr. Wilson’s caliber.  “What we have also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have toward their own government,” said Mr. Obama.  “Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long term challenge.  And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned.  Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed,” he added, to Democratic cheers.

Well, in Mr. Wilson’s own words, you lie Mr. President.  There will always be time for bickering and for lies and for mistruths for political gain.  There will always be time to put self serving political agendas ahead of what’s best for the nation.  There will always be a time for a politician to scream an improper comment from the safety of the sidelines.  There will always be time for people to be obnoxious when there is plenty to support the notion that others are ready to support and reinforce obnoxious behavior with their own obnoxiousness.

Many other Republican Party politicians expressed open contempt for Mr. Obama by tweeting during the speech, scanning their BlackBerrys, or holding up copies of Republican healthcare reform bills during the speech.  Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said that he was incredibly disappointed in the tone of Mr. Obama’s speech.  He said that he found Mr. Obama’s tone to be overly combative and believed he talked in a manner beneath the dignity of his office that will make it more difficult to find common ground.  The way Mr. Graham speaks you’d think Mr. Obama simply walked over to the Republican side of the House and just bitched slap them all, not that they and their Democratic associates, don’t deserve it.

So this morning, it’s clear that the speech didn’t do much of anything.  People on the left are still on the left.  People on the right are still on the right.  If anything, the trenches just got deeper, the heights of the stonewalling has a new layer of stone on top.  There will always be a time for entrenchment.  It seems to be the natural order of things.  If anything, it is the time that we can achieve anything that resembles reform or at the very least a bipartisan effort that looks like it might lead to reform, is what has come to past.  The idea that we can set aside differences and come together for the true benefit of the American people is a bold lie.

Why Education Is So Important

The Nerve Of A Black President

Today, President Barack Obama will give a speech to the children in the nation’s schools telling them that the President of the United States expects great things of them.  He wants to deliver a message telling them that they can have the best teachers in the best schools.  But all of that can be for naught if the individual student fails to do their part and take advantage of their opportunities and fulfill their responsibility to their future and to their self.

But critics of the President have attacked the President’s message as political propaganda designed to further a socialist agenda.  Many people are so outraged of what they haven’t even heard yet that they have decided to keep their children out of schools in an effort to minimize any potential for their children to hear anything dangerous and unpatriotic said.  Some people have decided to tape the broadcast and if they approve of the message they will then allow their children to hear it.  Others say no way José and won’t even bother to with suspicion because they are in full nothing good can come out of the President speaking to children mode.

Now for years, just about ever since the television became a tool of political theater, the President has used it to deliver messages to the American public.  And never before has any of these messages been accused of anything diabolical.  No matter which side of the political fence people may have been on, whether it was the same side of the President’s party or the opposite or the middle fence, nobody has ever charged the President with anything sinister.  That is, at least not until now.

Now, Mr. Obama is too much in league with everything that America doesn’t stand for to be worth listening to.  Suddenly, people so loyal to the country that they wear their patriotism on their red, white, and blue sleeves, who may have disagreed with their President before but always respected the institution, are thinking twice before allowing such pure unadulterated evil to speak to their children.  It’s all some political plot by the President to reach out and influence our children’s thinking.  The fear and derision is so thick people act like no President has ever done such a thing before.

Every modern President has spoken to the nation’s children.  It has never been a big deal before.  It shouldn’t be a big deal now.  But somehow, it is different now that we have Mr. Obama giving the message.  Now, we can see everything wrong with this tradition that before was a President’s right and responsibility.  Now we know what is wrong with something we’ve taken for granted before.

If I didn’t know better, I would say that this is a typical response from the racially generic dominant community that is predominantly white.  A behavior that has always been seen as benign before can become downright sinister when we see black people performing it.  People gathering on a corner and hanging out is nothing to worry about.  But when black people gather on a corner, there is a mob brewing and who knows what can trigger a riot.  A person walking into a store is nothing unusual.  But a black person walking into a store is a sure fire sign of inevitable shoplifter.

This racial disparity is so thick that we can look at a picture of white people wading through chest deep water in a city flooded after a hurricane and the caption will assume that they are trying to procure food, while the same photo with black people will have a caption accusing the people of thievery.  Why would we think that a black President would be immune to such race based disparity?

A lot of people will say that race has nothing to do with it.  This is just the nature of the political atmosphere we find ourselves these days.  But that’s also more evidence of our racial disparity.  We are quick to give people who hold black people under a microscope of suspicion the benefit of a doubt.  And yet, we continue to foster an environment of such race based animosity that these people have a problem giving a black President the benefit of a doubt.

Maybe it is just a coincidence.  Just because we suddenly look at the black President sideways and look for every reason in the world to disrespect him and his office for doing the same things a number of Presidents have done before him.  But I really must say that I have to look with suspicions of racism at anyone who thinks that a President encouraging our children to stay in school is reason enough to pull children out of school.  Encouraging children to do their in school and stay in school is a message that is worth being heard, even when it comes from a black President of the Untied States.

Somebody Knows How To Handle The Crazies

If the little woman holding the President Barack Obama with an Adolph Hitler style moustache knew anything about Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank she probably would have thought twice about making a reference to the infamous German Party when she asked her question at one of these town hall meetings held to promote some debate about healthcare reform.  The woman stepped up to the microphone proudly holding her Obama as Hitler sign and explained the rather incredulous leap of how Mr. Obama’s push for a public option is similar to Hitler’s Action T-4 program.  The Action T-4 program was a government sponsored euthanasia program in which incurable patients were killed.  She followed her brief history lesson with a question to Mr. Frank, why are you supporting this Nazi policy?

Mr. Frank responded to the woman’s question with a question of his own, on what planet do you spend most of your time?  He then accurately referred to her rhetorical question as “vile, contemptible nonsense”, for she truly did not want an answer but an opportunity to voice her two cents of derision for Mr. Obama and his attempt to reform the healthcare system.  Mr. Frank went on to say to the woman that, trying to have a conversation with you would be like arguing with a dining room table.  And he had no plan to argue with a table in anybody’s dining room.  Mr. Frank is Jewish and more than likely he didn’t appreciate his work and the work of the Congress being dismissed as nothing more than a Nazi policy.

It’s about time somebody slapped some sense into these cry babies.  In currently popular conservative fashion, this woman came to the podium swinging her contempt around like a set of light saber nunchucks.  But instead of being the adult opponent and politely listen to a verbal barrage of disdain and disrespect, Mr. Frank pulled out his own copy of Just Tell People to Shut the Fuck Up for Dummies and started putting it to use.  However, I suspect that Mr. Frank will eventually issue an apology to dining room tables for the suggestion that they would be stupid enough to bring an Obama is Hitler sign to a political rally to discuss healthcare.

While other politicians will coddle their contemptible constituents, Mr. Frank is ready to say enough is enough.  It isn’t helping anyone to understand the issues at the heart of the matter when people start their questions comparing healthcare reform to a Nazi plot.  What could have been said to convince her that right now America needs the healthcare reform that she believes is synonymous with an organization responsible for one of the darkest times on this planet?  Mr. Frank assessed the situation and deemed any attempt at an intelligent dialogue and exchange of talking points was a waste of time.  She wasn’t there to listen.  Mr. Frank wasn’t there to indulge her.

Now one thing we have to take into consideration is that Mr. Frank represents a district where he enjoys the support of a majority of his constituents, despite the best attempts of people like the woman with the Obama as Hitler sign and her conspiracy theory that Mr. Obama is waiting to kill Americans citizens off and Mr. Frank is one of his accomplices.  He has the luxury of telling one of his constituents to have a hot steamy cup of shut the fuck up.  Other political representatives are not so lucky.  Other politicians recognize the fact that they walk a fine line that keeps them from losing their temper with even the most dimwitted of their constituents lest they lose even a single vote to a political rival.  So it has become the norm to see politicians trying to placate the hysterical potential voter.

But all too often, there is no placating people so steeped in their chosen beliefs no matter how bizarre they may be.  President Obama, the nation’s first chief executive who wasn’t a while male, is chomping at the bit to sully his name and the name of his children so he can kill the infirm and the elderly.  The outlandishness of such a theory truly defies comprehension for anyone who thinks with anything with even a remote resemblance to rational reasoning.  And since rational reasoning was thrown out the window, what’s the point of engaging the bizarre and trying to hold a conversation?  What could Mr. Frank or Mr. Obama or anyone else to this group of people with this mindset of doom and gloom to put their fears at ease their anxiety at bay?  I would fathom a guess of nothing.  Time would have been better spent talking to that fore mentioned dining room table.

So to the little lady who asked a Jewish man why he endorses a Nazi style policy as she waved her Obama is Hitler sign, graciously donated by LaRouche PAC who had set up a table and handed the signs out to anybody who wanted one as people walked into the meeting, I say thanks for giving Mr. Frank the opportunity to show other politicians just exactly how you handle crazy.