Thoughts on Criticisms of Obama for Not Fighting Back Hard Enough

I think Obama does have to hit back, and hit back hard. But, being a recent convert to Obama, I think that there is a feeling of rightness about him, a levity that keeps him above the fray, and that it really is a part of him. Every time he tried to get mean and old-school politics against Hillary Clinton, he had the look of child telling a lie. I have to admit that I thought he wasn't tough enough. That his ill-ease in going on the attack was a weakness. But, he prevailed against Clinton in a way where he didn't have to destroy her career or her reputation. He allowed me to put my Clinton banners away and join the Obama team, really without a hitch (all PUMA's aside).

I have followed this election closely and have seen that it is a different kind of election, particularly Obama's campaign. Obama's beautiful campaign has, for the most part, not been about mass deception and triggering outrage. But, it is passionate, but passion for the principles that America stands for (or ought to stand for). It is a campaign about deconstructing the false outrage, and about believing in the American electorate. Believing that regular Americans are capable of not being fooled, so long as there is a leader out there speaking truth to power. I hope and pray that Obama is that leader. And, if he gets people involved with $5.00 donations, that is absolutely perfect. If he forcefully and respectfully persuades the American electorate that Guilliani and Palin are insulting the very heart and sole of the electorate when they diminish and mock community organizers, he will prevail both morally and in the voting booth. He has work to do, but has begun to chip away, in his unflappable manner and educate the electorate that the Republicans are not just insulting Obama but PTA members, the Catholic Church and many, many other religious groups who organize to serve the poor and underprivileged, . . . like Peace Corps volunteers, your Neighborhood Watch group, MADD, the Polly Klauss foundation, the folks over at American's Most Wanted, Legal Aid Society workers, Megan's Law reformers, Ryan White, the Sierra Club . . . , The list of "community organizers" includes all of us, at some point, hopefully, in our lives. That part, is the better part of us.

So, as a Clinton voter, Obama supporter, I feel completely at peace with my advocacy. That is something new. Not having to be apologetic for the mean-spiritedness of my candidate. I like it. My hope is that Professor Obama will get through to his biggest class, and Father Obama will persuade his parish to look to the better part of themselves, and not buy into the haters, the power-brokers, and the deceivers and reclaim their own power. He really stands for something different.

The internet and Netroots have given him a tool that Gore, Kerry, Dukakis didn’t have: A direct route to his supporters to not give up hope, to not let detractors spoil the realization of their dreams of a better America, a different kind of Washington, and to keep plugging along toward victory one vote at a time. The internet is wonderful this way. It allows the Obama campaign to assure supporters and those thinking of supporting Obama that America is a place where a candidate CAN get elected without taking lobbyist money. We CAN elect a president who owes nothing to big-business and everything to the electorate at large. Obama’s campaign has been very smart, technologically progressive, and future focused. Sooner or later, we all look to the sunrise in America. Don’t sell Obama short, he may just be the Democtratic Party’s Ronald Reagan. Yes we CAN!

Thoughts on Allegatins of Sarah Palin's Abuse of Power Al

Can you say, "drunk with power?" Having grown up in a small town much like Wisaillia, only in rural Michigan, I have a pretty good idea of who Sarah Palin is. The "elite six," of which Palin was top-dog, described by Time Magazine sound a lot like a small town version of "Heathers." People who are big fish in little places sometimes have an arrogance, even meanness the betrays every folksy stereotype of "small town values." I told my husband the moment she was picked to just wait and see what those small town people think of her and say about her. There is no privacy in small town America, and I'm betting everyone in Wisaillia knows about this woman, the good and the bad. If there are any skeletons in her closet, it will be hard to keep that closet closed. I loved my small town and the many kind hearted people in it, but I was also glad to leave it behind because there was a Sarah Palin or two that I just couldn't bear any longer.

I guess John McCain and Sarah Palin do have something in common, a little mean-spiritedness and apparently governing judgment ruled by temper instead of temperance.

Impressions of Sarah Pallin's Speech

I was not at all impressed with attacks made against the Democratic Party. I found it very interesting that Ms. Pallin acted as if she was in touch with the working class, the poor, and the working poor in America, but never acknowledged the pain the common person is suffering at the hands of an administration that has poorly managed the economy, that lined the pockets of oil companies and Halliburton, that let fraud and lack of oversight steal the American dream from hardworking people who were duped into pouring their life savings into homes that they couldn't afford by using loans that benefited the brokers and hedge fund investors, but left small people holding the bag. Now, we have the same people who profited getting government bailouts for Bear Stearns and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. They are supposedly against government involvement in business, but it seems to me that want to privatize profits, but socialize losses. I thought her speech was pointed again at duping the poor into believing these Fat Cats are just like them, so just trust them.

As for attacking hope, it has occurred to me that the Democratic Party has been the party that has brought change to America, sometimes kicking a screaming. It was Roosevelt who dragged us out of the Great Depression with a whole slew of social programs that we still depend upon today. It was pointed out to me that his campaign song was "Happy Days Are Here Again." It John Kennedy who brought us hope of competing with the Russians, and stared them down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He began an era of excellent public schools; he created the Peace Corps; and he focused children on physical fitness. I suppose he was wrong for proffering "High Hopes" to Americans. Lyndon Johnson adopted the civil rights movement’s mantra, "We Shall Overcome", and then he overcame by getting real Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts passed. And Bill Clinton, the "Man from Hope" brought us balanced budgets, family leave, and respect around the world.

The Republican VP nominee brought vitriol and sarcasm with no hope for progress, change, or a return to normalcy. That makes sense since her party has brought us a costly unnecessary war, high obesity rates in kids, the severe decline of public education, higher crime, the return of record deficits, and disrespect around the world. They can't offer hope, because they have done everything to squelch the vast possibilities that the Democratic party has offered the American public. They hate social security, public schools, medicare, and they will fight tooth and nail against health care for all and a preservation of a public welfare system. They aren't offering hope to poor people, so they trick them into making them believe that these Democrats are "elitist.”

Well, Barak Obama has unleashed the hopes of the middle and working classes and, yes, of the poor. Ms. Pallin can’t hope to inspire or even deliver a better future for them. So, she has to do a magician’s act to say, because I am more like you, I am also more likely to do things to help you. Well, look to her positions on issues and not her prowess with a rifle. She’s against a woman’s right to choose, even in the case of rape and incest. She’s the crazy woman who wants to get books banned from the public schools and libraries. She doesn’t want your daughter’s to have access to birth control, or even you or your husband. She doesn’t want your children to learn science in school. She doesn’t want your ailing parent to be cured through the great scientific potential of stem cell research. She doesn’t acknowledge that we have to care for our planet and reduce the use of fossil fuels. She’s vetoed aid for families with disabled children, and for public schools. She’s all about “drill baby drill.” She wants oil money for the state from the top down, but she doesn’t want the state to help the underemployed, the uninsured, or the uninspired.

Come on Democrats, don’t let this woman and her party extinguish the flame of hope. That flame will burn and will bring, not just talk, but real change. Excellent public schools so that even the poorest kids can learn and advance alongside their middle and upper class brethren. Universal health care. A secure Social Security system to protect your dad and mine from living and dying in poverty. These aren’t intangibles. These are the real deal. The intangibles are relying on God to keep your elderly parents fed, and guns to keep your streets crime free, and big businesses to keep your communities employed. I have always been told that God helps those who help themselves. I hope that the working class, the underclass, the small town class, the middle class, and yes the educated class all see that having hope that government can work is not a bad thing. The fact is that this hope has come to fruition when Democratic presidents have been at the helm of our government, and it can and will happen again. So, help yourself, don’t be fooled by this wolf in sheep’s clothing. Vote for Barak Obama.