Well 2 weeks until the election. My last post ripped McCain's campaign a bit, and I must say it was good to hear him try to somewhat fix that. However, today two people that I'm very impressed with have endorsed Obama. The first is Colin Powell. Powell somewhat disappointed me during the lead up to the war. It's hard to know what he did or did not know, and whether he is loyal to fault. However, I still see him as a good and honest man who does what he feels is best for the country. I would have voted for him had he run in 2000. Today he said:
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"I strongly believe that at this point in America's history we need a president that will not just continue — even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects — will not just continue basically the policies that we have been following in recent years.... I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama..... He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president." - Colin Powell Oct 19, 2008
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The second endorsement comes off a lesser known figure named Fareed Zakaria. He is a foreign affairs and global policy journalist. He has an amazing knowledge and comprehension about the world. I've added his sentiments below. They very much reflect my own.
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"I think we have two good candidates. Both are serious people with an obvious commitment to the United States. Both are knowledgeable and substantive. Both talk about reaching across party lines to solve the country's problems.
But I think one is distinctly better for our times.
As I've watched John McCain discuss the current economic crisis, I couldn't help but think that he was really out of his element. His response to questions about the crisis and the rescue package tended to all be about cutting taxes, keeping government small, ending earmark spending.
This is a recitation of 30-year-old Republican orthodoxy and feels irrelevant to the problems we face today.
To get a sense of how divorced from reality McCain is on economics, consider this. He is still promising to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term, while offering large new tax cuts. In reality, the deficit is likely to be $1 trillion. Balancing it would require not good government policies, but magic.
On foreign policy, McCain is a relentless warrior. He wants to fight in Iraq, openly threatens to bomb Iran, is skeptical of the Bush administration's diplomacy with North Korea. He wants to kick Russia out of the G-8, humiliate China by keeping it also out of that body. He sees a world in which a league of democracies will tussle with an alliance of autocracies.
It's a Cold War strategy for a post-Cold War world.
By contrast, Barack Obama has been calm, sensible and intelligent on both economics and foreign policy. His proposals to respond to the financial crisis have been careful, measured and attuned to the moment we're in. Some of them have been adopted by the Bush administration already.
He wants limited tax cuts for the middle class, but also major new investments in infrastructure and alternate energy.
On foreign policy, he argues for greater international cooperation and the aggressive use of diplomacy. He sees a world in which America doesn't have to fight with everyone, and should instead work with other countries to solve the common problems we all face.
I repeat, these are two good men, but with two very different views of the world.
John McCain represents the best of America's past, and Barack Obama the hope of the future -- the hope of a country that can make big changes and live out one of its greatest promises, of equal opportunities for all Americans, of every caste, creed and color.
And America has always been a country that looks forward." - Fareed Zakaria Oct 19, 2008
full text @ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0810/19/fzgps.01.html
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Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
William Ayers
"McCain has gone in his ads one step too far, and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the 100-percent-truth test.... there ought to be an adult who says: 'Do we really need to go that far in this ad?" KARL ROVE 9/08
I grew up in Arizona. I have long liked John McCain and favored him in the 2000 elections. But he has changed this time. I admit to heavily leaning toward Obama over the last few months. But I still watch the debates and I still agree with some aspects of McCain's views. Unfortunately McCain campaigns' renewed smear tactics have really upset me. When Sarah Palin and McCain campaign staff are everywhere saying "Obama associates with terrorists" something is wrong. That isn't a debate over issues, policies or ideas. That is the politics of fear...The kind the appeals to the most weak minded Americans.
No one is accusing Obama of helping Bill Ayers bomb anything are they? No one is accusing Obama of sharing Bill Ayers political views are they? No. Bill Ayers might support some of Obama's views. But someone believing in you is definitely not the same as you believing in them. Guilt by association is a dangerous road to go down. Do we really want to judge people on what their acquaintances do or believe? In fact, all Obama is being accused of is associating with him while both were members of the board of an anti-poverty group. Oh and Ayers has helped fundraise for Obama. But, Ayers now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago and received Chicago's Citizen of the Year a few years back.
Don't we have an economic collapse right now? Are we still overextended in Iraq? Aren't there some real issues about our country we could talk about?
I found this today......
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"Senator John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.....
John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that surround the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are a bitterly divided country on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there.....
John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses....
Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever."
From an editorial by Frank Schaeffer. Shaeffer supported McCain in 2000 and McCain wrote an endorsement of one of his books about military service. Full text at :
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.mccain10oct10,0,7557571.story
I grew up in Arizona. I have long liked John McCain and favored him in the 2000 elections. But he has changed this time. I admit to heavily leaning toward Obama over the last few months. But I still watch the debates and I still agree with some aspects of McCain's views. Unfortunately McCain campaigns' renewed smear tactics have really upset me. When Sarah Palin and McCain campaign staff are everywhere saying "Obama associates with terrorists" something is wrong. That isn't a debate over issues, policies or ideas. That is the politics of fear...The kind the appeals to the most weak minded Americans.
No one is accusing Obama of helping Bill Ayers bomb anything are they? No one is accusing Obama of sharing Bill Ayers political views are they? No. Bill Ayers might support some of Obama's views. But someone believing in you is definitely not the same as you believing in them. Guilt by association is a dangerous road to go down. Do we really want to judge people on what their acquaintances do or believe? In fact, all Obama is being accused of is associating with him while both were members of the board of an anti-poverty group. Oh and Ayers has helped fundraise for Obama. But, Ayers now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago and received Chicago's Citizen of the Year a few years back.
Don't we have an economic collapse right now? Are we still overextended in Iraq? Aren't there some real issues about our country we could talk about?
I found this today......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Senator John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.....
John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that surround the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are a bitterly divided country on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there.....
John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses....
Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever."
From an editorial by Frank Schaeffer. Shaeffer supported McCain in 2000 and McCain wrote an endorsement of one of his books about military service. Full text at :
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.mccain10oct10,0,7557571.story
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