Where have you gone John McCain?

I have to write one more post before I leave on how the old McCain has transformed himself into just another liberal-bashing fearmonger. It is sad to see the transformation of a candidate who campaigned the right way in 2000 trash his own "maverick" style and appeal to our worst instincts. John McCain is now stumping against two bills bearing his own name! He now oppose his own previous attempts to reform immigration and campaign finance reform. Let us take a look at John McCain's political "beliefs."

1. As a congressman supported Rove V Wade
2. Opposed Bush tax cuts
3. Publicly compared Abu Ghraib and Gitmo to the techniques of the Spanish Inquisition
4. Opposed drilling of the Pacific coast and repeatedly voted against drilling in ANWAR
5. Publicly took on the Bush administration for waterboarding and called it torture
6. Described Jerry Falwell and other evangelicals as "agents of intolerance."
7. Stated he would never release pictures or use his image as a P.O.W. to get votes.

So who is John McCain? For one thing he is a canny old goat who knows how to play the game. After Bush clocked him in 2000 McCain retooled his image for 2008.

Consider the following:
1. Solidly pro-life
2. Wants the Bush tax cuts to be permanent
3. Torture? No problemo
4. Drill, drill, drill! (translation- win, win, win!) He wants to drill off California (and was booed for this at a Republican dinner in Santa Barbara) and drill in ANWAR
5. Not a peep on this one, no complaints
6. Listed noted clown Joel Osteen ( a televangelist who tells people that God wants you to be rich) as the author that inspires him. Publicly begs for Pastor "Catholicism is a whore religion" Hagee to endorse him before the Texas primary.
7. Used images of him as a P.O.W. while telling a story about drawing a cross in the dirt on Christmas day.

McCain realized that to win this time he must tap into the deep vein of fear that is splitting America's psyche. He must convince voters that only he can beat back the forces of 60's radicalism and social relevance. Only he can continue on this seemingly endless quest to crush the mythical leftist revolution. I can recall the reason why so many people hated Clinton in 92 was because he constantly changed his positions and you felt he would say anything to win. People said that a man who constantly changes his positions has no character and is only driven by the latest polls. I wonder if Bill Clinton ever campaigned against two bills that had his name on them? hmnnn...... This would bother me but I am more worried about what Obama's pastor will say this Sunday, wait a sec, that is meaningless because it does not affect policy! Silly me!
P.S. the money is still out there......

A few predictions before I go

Obama is up by 12 points over the crypt keeper (hold you fire A.A.R.P. members, I kid) and just raised over five million dollars in one night. Things are going fine for Obama as McCain tries to play the Jimmy Carter card. Jimmy Carter? How much is he paying these clowns? Jimmy Carter is the best they could do? This campaign looks like it will be much worse than Bob Dole's in 96. As most of you know I am leaving for a long awaited backpack trip on Friday and will have no phone, T.V. or Internet. So, while I am off the grid, here are a few predictions from Mattstrodamous.........

1. McCain will repeatedly confuse Sunni and Shia and forget where he left his car keys.
2. Hillary will debut a new look for summer, go on the view and tell Babs that she too wishes she could have an affair with a "married African-American senator."
3. Al Gore will gain 15 more pounds
4. A former Bush aide will criticize the President and be denounced by the same people who thought he was a genius.
5. Bush will once again almost choke to death eating snack food.
6. Gas will hit 5 bucks a gallon and politicians will tell us we need more drilling, not more public transportation.
7. Jeb Bush will look at W and let out a long, painful sigh.
8. Chelsea will come out of the closet
9. More Americans will die in Iraq, Republicans will tell us we are winning, and nobody can define "victory."
10. Obama will be up by 15 points when I get home!

Fear is a weapon of mass destruction

In his book, Courage Matters, Senator John McCain (this is the 03 McCain, noth the flip-floper of 08) wrote, " fly on the damn plane! Calculate the odds of being harmed by a terrorist! It is about as likely as being swept out to sea by a tidal wave." Wise words indeed from a serious and brave man. So why is he trying to scare us into voting for him? What could be the reason for John McCain to change almost every position he had in O4 (see Bush tax cuts, drilling in Anwar etc) The answer is McCain knows he can win by scaring up votes and acting tough. He publicly said, "he will be Hamass's worst nightmare." This might generate cheers from the unthinking crowd (it is a good soundbite) but what does it really mean? Is a 71 year-old man going to go to the middle east and sort those people out? Is the United States not going to recognize the DEMOCRATICALY elected government? Because we are in Iraq for democracy right, so we respect however they vote......right? We will NEVER be able to prevent a small band of determined individuals from striking the U.S. This is simply a fact of life that we all deal with on a daily basis. I always ask my students, did more people die from terrorism in 2001 in the United States or die in auto accidents? They ALWAYS say more people died from the terrorist attack. I tell them it is not even close, fatalities from auto accidents are way more than terrorist attacks for the year 2001. They look at me with wide eyes and ask, "Mr. Riley if cars are so dangerous than why do we drive cars every day of our lives?" I tell them that fear is a weapon of mass destruction and that is why you MUST VOTE FOR SOMEONE TO KEEP US SAFE! You know, Ralph Nader because he DEMANDED seatbelt laws! So Susan, if you want to be safe, vote Nader!

Colin Powell may vote for Obama!

It looks like it's time to burn your copies of Colin Powell's bestselling memoir, An American Soldier. In a speech yesterday, the former REPUBLICAN secretary of state, said he may vote for Obama in 2008 because "he is the candidate who is best equipped to solve the problems of the 21st century". Looks like someone has been reading my blog! So, dear readers, how do you feel about yet another republican voting democrat? Can't wait for your thoughts and comments......
P.S. President Bill Clinton was the graduation speaker at Garrett and Matt's old school, Riviera Hall, yesterday! What an amazing world we live in.

Why I am for Obama-Foreign policy

I will be writing today about why I am supporting Obama over McCain in the 2008 election. As Obama said, "you can be for someone without being against his opponent". I admire and respect McCain and I am proud to have personally met him. It amazes me when I tell people that I am voting for Obama they instantly call him an "extreme" liberal and assume I am a dyed in the wool liberal who has turned his back on the Republican party and conservative principals. I have no allegiance to a political party, an obese radio host who never voted till his 40s, or a T.V. anchor who sexual harassed his co-worker and paid her to keep quiet. I try to read as much as I can, from all political points of view, and make up my mind. I love my country, not a political system, and I vote for whomever I feel will be the best President of our country. I felt that Bush would do a better job than Gore and I feel that Obama will do a better job than McCain. Here is why:

1. Foreign Policy

It is amazing how different the world was in 2000. Here is the state of the world in 2008.
1. The U.S. launches two wars
A. Iraq, the world's third largest oil reserve, is in chaos
B. Over two million Iraq citizens are refugees living in foreign lands
2. Iran has gained strength and is moving towards nuclear capability
3. North Korea has become the world's eighth declared nuclear power
4. Russia has turned hostile and imperious in its dealings with the West
5. Israel and Hezbollah fight a war in Lebanon
6. Gaza is a failed state ruled by the democratically elected Hamas
7. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have gone nowhere

This is the state of the world that our new President must deal with. I am not blaming Bush for what has happened these past eight years, I simply look at who is the best candidate to deal with foreign affairs.

I believe in Obamas approach of talking with your enemies, as Reagan did with the Soviets. In the baseball book, Moneyball, the writer pointed out how our opinions calcify and our perceptions harden as we age. We judge people, countries, etc., based on past performance where we should judge them on future performance. Reagan was called an idiot and fool for believing he could talk and negotiate with the Soviets. Reagan, to his credit, never believed the cynics and was able to negotiate with the Soviets and hasten the demise of Communism in Russia. Obamas hope, optimism, and fresh perspective will result in a stronger American foreign policy. His youth and out of the beltway experience will be his strongest asset.

On the other hand McCain seems to look out on the world with pessimism. He has publicly stated that we may be in Iraq for one-hundred years and has joked about bombing Iran. He will keep us in Iraq for his term, possibly start a third war with Iran and take a hands off approach in the rest of the middle east.

I understand the fear and worry about what will happen in Iraq if the U.S. pulls out. The conventional wisdom is that Iraq will fall into chaos, a civil war will break out and Iraq will become a safe haven for Al Qaeda. But consider the following:
1. Iraq already is in chaos.
2. A civil war is currently raging between Sunnis and Shiites
3. Al Qaeda already has a safe haven in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border

Al Qaeda has morphed into an anti-shiite group, espousing a purist Sunni worldview. Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi wrote, "the danger from the shia is greater than the Americans." The logic seems to be if we leave the Iraqis will erupt into a bloodthirsty rage and start killing each other. (wait a sec)Yes, they will, because they already are and they are killing Americans at the same time. If we are so worried that Iraq will be a safe haven for terrorist what is going on the Afganistan/Pakistan border? Bin Laden has been able to survive for seven years because he and his band of terrorist already have a SAFE HAVEN! We also tend to believe these apocalyptic predictions from the same people who said we would be greeted as liberators and as a side benefit for the war, which will pay for itself, we will have cheaper gas! Do you think it is possible that there predictions about what would happen if the U.S. pulled out just might be wrong? Hmnnn.....

Just a few questions

Thank you so much for responding to my blog. I really appreciate everyone who has the courage to put down their comments. I will go into a detailed analysis discussing my support for Obama this weekend. In order for me to fully address your comments I must pose a few questions to the blogosphere in order to fully respond to your questions.

1. How do you define "victory" in Iraq? For instance-
A. Revolutionary War- over with the formal British surrender
B. War of 1812- over with the formal British surrender
C. Civil War- over with the formal surrender of the Confederacy
D. Mexican-American War- over with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
E. W.W.I.- over with the surrender of Germany
F. W.W. II -over with the surrender of Germany and Japan
G. Korean War-stalemate with the recognition of North and South Korea
H. Vietnam War- U.S. pulls out and South Vietnam becomes Communist
I. Gulf War I-over with Iraqi troops removed from Kuwait
J. Gulf War II-?????
Please tell me how you define victory and what does"cut and run" mean? If it means that another young American is not killed or wounded in the middle east than I am all for cutting and running. I think Reagan "cut and run" in Beirut and he was a genius right? How is O.K. for Reagan to "cut and run" but not Obama? But Reagan made us all feel good becuase "it was morning in America" and we "are a shining city on a hill". Wait, that sound like he was a great orator-damn him for fooling me!

2. Obama as a black man-
Is his mother not a white woman? Why do we call him black and not multiracial? What has Obama said to make his race an issue?

3. Security
If security is your number one priority, how can you vote for a party that allowed the greatest security disaster to take place on American soil? I think Bush was president on 9/11 so he DID NOT KEEP US SAFE!


Please clarify your points and I will get back to you.

BTW
Paul said it best, it is all about Iraq, get the troops home! What are they fighting and dying for?

In a season that has been so improbable,

"In a season that has been so improbable, the impossible just happened!"
-Vin Scully

The audacity of hope! Only in America!

Obama must know how David felt when he knocked off Goliath. Using only a slingshot of hope he knocked HRC right between the eyes and put her down for the count. The truth is, this thing has been over for some time but it is hard to recognize when giants fall. Political historians will write volumes on this campaign. David Alexrod is the new Karl Rove, the old Karl Rove is ducking subpoenas, and Carville is muttering gibberish about Judas. The political world has shifted, the boomers were told too just f.f.f..fade away, you tube rules and the Internet is king. The Clinton machine was outboxed, out fund-raised, out-organized and simply out-smarted. The Clintons ran a campaign that only offered hope for voters with nostalgia for the 90's, the return of pantsuits, and a love of the ill timed cackle. It lost to a younger, smarter candidate that was gasp, multi-racial!
America has moved forward and a new generation will lead this country forward. The boomers, predictably, will cling to McCain while they pull shawls over themselves and pet their cats. They will find comfort in the familiar assumptions, the usual patterns, and will fail to realize that history has just passed them by.
BARACK OBAMA WILL BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!

P.S. I have called every presidential race correctly since I voted for Reagan at Rivera Halls mock vote in 84 and I take all comers: Who wants to bet?