More than Eighty Four Thousand people attended the last night of the Democratic National Convention to hear the Democratic Candidate speak. More Americans watched the speech than watched the opening night of the Olympics, the Oscars, or the american idol finale. Presidential Candidate Barack Obama's speech was strong, well written and forward looking. It informed Us of what the Change he keeps talking about means. It defended him against attacks about his "elitism" and "celebrity", and more importantly defended Democrats and the Democratic Party. It had more "attacks" than some had hoped, but those attacks were directed at the policy, direction, and lack of connection with the American people that the former straight talker and the administration he has supported 90% of the time have provided Us with for the past 7+ years. And I have to admit it sure was nice to see a Democrat with teeth, who stood up for himself and actually went on the offense.
It's not surprising that the speakers at the under-attended republican convention mock Barack Obama "the community organizer" instead of offering a plan to move America forward. It's not surprising that they leave out Barack's being a constitutional scholar at Harvard, or the fact that while the gop's vice presidential choice was on the town council and in the mayor's office of a small town in Alaska, Barack Obama was an Illinois State Senator and then a United States Senator.
When it comes to "experience governing", the right wing's VP candidate is under investigation for abuse of power after less than two years as governor of Alaska. And I'm sorry, maybe I know too many mayors and city council people, but thinking that is experience enough to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency of the United States is ludicrous. The Democratic candidate for President, that 18 million people voted for, has been campaigning for president as long as the red veep candidate has been governor of the least densely populated State in the Union. And it's been one heckuva campaign.
Barack Obama has commanded and controlled his campaign, it's message, and more recently the DNC, to a place unthinkable at it's start. A recent poll finds an African-American candidate for President named Barack Hussein Obama has the support of 50% of those registered voters polled. I'm sorry, but that is Astonishing! With stories of the bewildered and angry one wanting to pick LIEberman or colored coded tom ridge as his vice only to appoint someone for vice president he met once, makes me wonder who's in control of his campaign. If he can't command his own campaign, how can he command Our forces. And before you hit me with the he, like 600+ other American soldiers, was a POW in Vietnam, why not read what a man who was a POW with johnny third term has to say.
This was going to be (even more) of a hit piece on the red Vice Presidential candidate, whose selection peggy noonan (former raygun speech writer and WSJ columnist) described as part of a "politcal bullshit narrative". A blog about how a former Alaskan secessionist now preaches about American patriotism. It was going to be a piece questioning whether it matters that a governor, who cut $1.1 million dollars from a program because it contained sex education instead of the abstinence only programs that she pushes on taxpayers, is the mother of a pregnant teenager. Or whether it's fair to make Our Nation's teenage pregnancies Our Government's business, while saying a government official's teenage pregnancy is none of Our Nation's business. It was going to be a shot at her SUPPORTING the "bridge to nowhere" and then telling press she didn't, not to mention the millions more in "pork" she called on Congress to provide. A rant about her support of disgraced senator ted stevens and his of her. A pontification on whether it mattered that the vice presidential candidate hasn't "focused much on the war in Iraq" nor has she any foreign policy experience aside from the fact that "Alaska is right next to Russia" (to quote the old guy) . And though it surely isn't my place, I thought I'd ask whether a mother of five should be there for her "special needs" four month old child.
The nomination of sarah palin is, quite simply, political pandering. To tell you the truth, it reminds me a lot of harriet miers, brownie, and others like them. People who have been appointed and hired by bushco. with No Experience, solely because they agree on "hot button" political issues that have nothing to do with the job they are assigned.
But after United States Senator Barack Obama denounced mentions of the candidate's families (Maybe he didn't think she was going to "mock" him throughout her whole bushco. written speech) , I realized that this election isn't about what the gop's vp selection looks or acts like as much as it's about the same things it was a week ago. This election is about US economic policy, getting out of the gop's illegal war in Iraq, a real comprehensive energy policy and Health Care for every American. The republican counterpart to johnny flip into the fold is just more support of the same policies that have sent Our economy into recession, sent foreclosures soaring, ruined Our good standing around the world, and turned the biggest surplus in history to the biggest deficit. The same policies that rushed into and waged a $500,000,000,000.00+ unnecessary war in Iraq, that has cost almost 5,000 Americans and the lives of far more innocent Iraqis than the previous evil dictator ever did. We Need a Change. A Change We Can Believe In. And Hopefully a Change we will see and feel when Barack Obama is elected President of the United States.
To those of you who are "really nervous" about the possibility of Barack Obama not winning this election, all I can say is Do Something to help get him elected. It doesn't have to be volunteering in a swing state for five weeks. You can Donate money, or write letters to your local newspaper and/or local papers in swing states. You can talk about it with friends and family from all political sides. You can buy a shirt and wear it. You can shout about it out of your Obama placarded window, from the mountain top or in the street. You can Register people to Vote, and help get them out on November forth. There are lots of ways to help, if you are so inclined. Elections are the only time the American People's voice can be heard, and this time around it is really important that it is.
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