Peace On That

I am going to discuss this topic on my upcoming show but I wanted to get a sense of what you guys had to say. Let me set it up. I've been listening to WVON and hearing complaints about how the stimulus package does not address the specific needs of the black community. There is rumbling that putting so much money towards infrastructure does not create jobs for black people because we are not in that industry in great numbers. A lot of black people are in the service industry and that is where Barak Obama should have targeted stimulus in order to help our community.

I also want to tie this discussion in with a previous discussion about spending money in the black community. The theory of having money circulate in our community to create economic development is nothing new and there is ample evidence that the "multiplier effect" is sound economic policy.

But the question I have is are we thinking too small when it comes to economic development? While it would be nice to do all of my shopping with African Americans, it is also true that globalization means that a lot of businesses have to compete in a highly competitive arena. So rather than holler about what money is not coming in, we should look at where the economic activity is taking place and look to get a part of the pie.

For instance, Youngstown Ohio created an incubator project for high tech companies after losing its manufacturing base. The incubator has created several profitable companies with more growing because of the collaborative nature of the system.

Then there is the pastor, Van Jones, in Oakland, CA who received grants to train low-income people on green-construction jobs and organic foods. (Read More)

Both are innovative approaches to creating jobs and economic development and they are in areas where this administration is making its biggest investment. So while I hear complaints about what we are not getting, I'm not seeing any innovating thinking as to what we ought to be doing.

The Urban League has a few good programs but what of the small black owned businesses in Chicago taking charge. Do we have incubator projects initiated by the private sector? Is the city of Chicago or black tech businesses in particular thinking of the next generation of products that will come from nanotechnology?

Again, I ask all of this because I believe our politicians think incrementally when the times call for bold initiatives. I will read you comments on the show and I look forward to a robust discussion.

It was presumed that one of the casualties of Obama’s victory would be the black-identity politics that catapulted many Civil Rights leaders into the political arena. For over four decades these leaders have sought and secured power by airing the grievances of the black community and attaining retribution for the centuries of inequality. On November 5, the eulogies of these leaders were written. Unbeknownst to the majority community, the younger generation has been working on these eulogies for some time. Young politically astute voters in the black community have for years called for the replacement of Civil Rights leaders in the political arena as they seemed more concerned with maintaining their own statuses than with the economic empowerment of the black community.

This past week, Rep. Bobby Rush confirmed the necessity of writing this eulogy when in defense of Roland Burris, Bobby Rush equated opposition with that of segregation. Here is man that is screaming for the inclusion of a black person in the US Senate but did not support Barak Obama when he first ran for Senate. At that time there were no blacks in the Senate, yet Rep. Bobby Rush chose to support a white candidate. Can you say hypocrisy?

There are legitimate legal arguments for seating Burris and I am sure that in the near future he will become the Junior Senator from the state of Illinois, but his skin color is not one of them and a lot of young black people are upset with how this has turned into a racial issue. Black people will just have to come to grips with the reality that not every political fight requires a racial component in order to make a compelling argument.

As for Roland Burris, he should have handled this appointment differently. Rather than make a spectacle of himself, he should have worked behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition. The law is on his side, but the political theater counts for a lot and on that front he has bombed.

There is a lot of handwringing in the Chicago black community over the appointment of Roland Burris. Our beloved governor has saw fit to make the appointment despite the criminal complaint that he tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder. He (the governor) is now facing the likelihood of impeachment and in one final finger gesture on his way out, has given the state another controversy.

There are many in the black community who feel that it is necessary to have an African American replace President-Elect Obama and have suggested that not seating Burris would equate to a modern day lynching. Listening to the local talk show, African Americans are intent on keeping the seat with someone from “our community”.

All politics being local, I understand this idea but it is short-sighted of the African American community to take up this cause and what today may seem like a gain may not be the case come 2010. First, Roland Burris is 71 years-old and will probably not run for re-election. This will make it difficult for any African American to begin the process of running for the seat as the field will be wide open, leaving only the most established politicians with the means to mount a campaign running for the office. On the Democrat side, Jan Schakowsky, Lisa Madigan and Jesse Jackson Jr. are possible candidates. Tammy Duckworth is a long-shot but could mount an effective campaign. All of these individuals would have a hard time winning considering the cloud that Blago is leaving behind.

The alternative should be cause for concern as well. If Roland Burris decides to run for re-election, he will have a very difficult time beating any Republican. He is turning his appointment into a race issue but it is impossible to win state-wide elections in Illinois if you do not get large swaths of the white and Latino communities. Roland Burris lost when he ran for governor, Senator and even lost when he ran for Mayor of Chicago. If race-politics were in his favor then he certainly should have won the race for Mayor. Since winning the Attorney General post, he has not shown he can win state-wide and that should not only be a concern to those who believe that an African American should hold the seat, but a concern to the Democrat Party.

If an African America were to replace Barak Obama, a special election would have been a good opportunity to take advantage of a motivated electorate. But many in the African American community were afraid that the Blago fiasco would empower Republicans to go to the polls so here we are. I for one am more concerned with keeping the Senate seat in the hands of the Democrats than I am with keeping it in “our community”.

There isn’t much anyone can do to keep Burris from taking the job, but I feel that in two years we will see the true cost of this appointment and sadly it will have nothing to do with the job that Burris does as Senator.

Illinois politics is a funny game of shoots and ladder. The direction one takes on the ladder depends on whether you are shooting or getting shot in the back. The good politicians know to carry a lot of bullets but are selective when pulling the trigger. Men like Tony Rezco, Ed Vrdolyak and former Gov. George Ryan shot with reckless abandon hoping to be the last man standing. Then there is Gov. Rob Blagojevich who doesn’t have many friends, few weapons and the aim of a six year old taking a leak in a wind tunnel. Couple that with a big hairdo and even bigger ego and you get one of the worst politicians in Illinois history.

Blago as we like to call him, is being indicted on numerous charges but one being that he was attempting a pay-for-play scheme with the selection of President-elect Obama’s Senate seat. The following is from the Criminal Complaint filed by the FBI:

Paragraph 87: In particular, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has been intercepted conspiring to trade the senate seat for particular positions that the President-elect has the power to appoint (e.g. the Secretary of Health and Human Services). ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for his wife’s placement on paid corporate boards or ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s placement at a private foundation in a significant position with a substantial salary. ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship.

Paragraph 90. Later on November 3, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke with Advisor A. By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the Presidentelect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect. During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated, “unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], shit, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH later stated, “I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.” Later, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the Senate seat “is a fucking valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

The rest of the complaint reads like the script of a movie. Blago put his foot deep into the mix this time and he should be going away for a long time. It really is a shame that our most recent governors have ended up in prison. That doesn’t say a lot about the selection process. Maybe now we can get an honest governor in Springfield. I feel sorry for the person that gets Obama’s seat because they will have a bullseye on their back the size of Lake Michigan.

Update: Just so everyone is very clear on where I stand. I believe this is a very GOOD DAY for Illinois. I do not support the bastard and am glad to see him go. I can't wait for the perp walk :D Blago is a crook and to have him and Bush out of my hair in the same year is something I thought was possible only in my dreams. Now, all we have to do is get rid of Todd Stroger and I will be riding high on political utopia.

This will probably be the one and only post where I actually side with Sarah Palin. With the $150,000 wardrobe issue, I actually believe that is a non-factor but one that the GOP should stop trying to defend. Elizabeth Hasselback calling the controversy sexist is stupid and the campaign should not have put her on the stump. Not only does she is an idiot, but the sound of her voice make me cringe. How her husband tolerates her I’ll never know.

But the story behind the story is that Sarah Palin is going rogue. She is not happy with the way McCain handlers have presented her and McCain’s camp is placing the blame for their upcoming defeat on Sarah Palin’s dismal performance. I never believe Gov. Palin was ready for prime-time but come November 5, McCain will have to own the defeat. Sarah Palin has nothing to do with it.

Many on the Right have yet to acknowledge that McCain has run a horrible campaign. After locking up the nomination, he went into hibernation. His “green screen” speech was a hot mess. His campaign had no strategy outside of tarnishing Obama. His now infamous, “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” marked his downfall. Certainly Sarah Palin didn’t help and she has yet to recover from the Katie Couric interview. But that too was McCain’s fault. Rather than allow her the opportunity to get her feet wet with reporters, they tossed her into the deep end.

I don’t blame Palin for going rogue. This is John McCain’s last run at the Oval Office and Palin’s first. She has a future and McCain is the past. It will be interesting to see just how far under the bus the McCain camp toss Palin.

The Future of the GOP

Sarah Palin will be a popular figure in the GOP but I doubt she is a lock for the nomination in 2012. First, she may have money but at some point she will have to up some substance on issues. Her biggest problem is that she will have to learn how to attract independents because right now she is a “base” candidate in the vein of Pat Buchanan and that is too narrow of a window to win a national election. She will also have to compete with other up-and-coming GOP candidates. That is not an easy feat especially with Mitt Romney and John Thune waiting in the wings.

But her major hurdle will be that she must navigate the political scene with very little room for error. Any gaffe that reinforces her intellectual lightweight status will be the nail in the coffin for her political career. Another obstacle is staying on the national scene while residing in Alaska. Out of sight, out of mind and no state is further out of site than Alaska. Being governor will not afford her the opportunity to stay on the circuit.

Despite it all, I believe Sarah Palin will attempt to make a run in 2012 but I believe the Republican Party is in for a major overhaul and Palin’s style of politics may not be in favor by the next election cycle.

It has been reported the RNC has spent $150,000 dolling up Sarah Palin and et al. That is a lot of money and it probably would have been wise to bypass Barney’s and Saks Fifth Avenue for Macy’s. With that said, as fashionable as Gov. Palin might have been in Alaska, I am sure she needed some polishing to stand on the national stage. There aren’t many of us that wouldn’t need a total upgrade if we were thrust into the spotlights. This is the look Gov. Palin need to show:

The hair could use some work but overall, it’s a good look.

If there is something that we can blast the McCain campaign about with regards to fashion is that they allow John McCain to wear that god-awful blue sport coat with the gold buttons, highlighted with a small-box checkered shirt. Someone should pull Cindy McCain to the side and tell her to get her act together. Wives don’t let husbands look frumpy… especially if you’re worth $100 million.

And then there is this abomination:

Again, there he is with the gold buttons on a blue jacket. MY GOD!!! Are you running for President of the United States or President of the local Moose Lodge? Plus, the jacket is too big and too long. In fact, the pants and the sweater are too large. They should put this Bob Hope ensemble out if its misery. I'm not the only one who thinks this. Check out this post with a series of pictures critiquing McCain's wardrobe.

Now, people are wondering how much does Obama spend on his suits. Well, there is a company called Hartmarx that makes Obama suits. It is the Gold Trumpeter collection and retail for $1500. The suits are 97% wool and 3% cashmere, pleated pants with an inch-and-a-quarter cuff. It’s a good look for him.

They say next to a wife, a good tailor is the best friend a man could ever have. I concur.

Michelle Obama seems to have a good sense of style as well. Unlike Gov. Palin, most of her dresses range somewhere between $150 and $400. Of course, I’m sure she has 100 times more clothes than Obama considering that she can’t wear the same outfit twice.

Joe Biden – Mr Scranton, Pennsylvania – is a very good dresser. This particular outfit seems a bit ornate with the cuff links, lapel pin and the tie making for a busy look. But the dark blue suit and silver hair makes for a classic look.

As opposed to Frumpy McGrump:

Note to self: Place into storage all sweaters received as Christmas gifts by the grandchildren until such time they can be burned or buried in the back yard. Again, Cindy McCain should be flogged for allowing McGruff to leave the house with an alien penis stenciled on his sweater. There is nothing worse than looking old and gay - especiall when your wife looks like a Klingon.

And this final photo is for my own entertainment. McCain’s jacket is too big but who would notice when he’s trying to grab Obama’s ass. It seems as though McCain has a thing for men.

He needs to tuck his shirt in and it wouldn’t hurt to order a little starch. Considering how bad John McCain dresses, having to take Sarah Palin from this:

To this:

is probably the best return on investment the campaign has gotten this fall.

Robocalls are in the news once again. I live in Chicago, and Illinois is considered a safe state for Barak Obama so it was with great shock that I discovered robocall messages on my voice mail. After listening to them, I really understand why people hate them. Just so you guys can get a feel for what it is like, I transcribed just a few of the messages. It is shameful what these guys have done to the political process.

[Message received today at 10:27 am] Hi, this is Barak Obama and as you know this country is in dire need of change. Not the change that McCain found under the pillows of his sofa and is now using to fund his campaign, but a change in the direction of this country. I’m hoping that I can count on your support on November 4. This message was paid for by the donations I received just a few minutes ago.

[Message received today at 11:05 am] This is John McCain. My friends I am here to inform you that Barak Obama is a socialist pig and has sold his soul to the devil. My friends, we cannot allow this man the opportunity to call for jihad from the Oval Office. I am the type of American that you need. Vote me on November 4, and spare our country from socialism. This message was paid for with public funds.

[Message received today at 12:23pm] Hi, I’m Colin Powell and I am supporting Barak Obama for President. He is exactly what America needs at this time in our history. Support America on November 4. Vote for Barak Obama.

[Message received today at 12:24pm] This is Rick Davis for the McCain Campaign. On November 4, we’re asking you to set aside your worries about the economy, healthcare, wars, Wall Street’s collapse and the overall shitty job that the Republicans have done over the past eight years and tap into your racist subconsciousness and vote for McCain. Though you will be voting against your best interest, at least you can say to your grandchildren that you didn’t vote for a black man.

[Message received today at 1:15pm] It's your friendly neighborhood Maverick here, and I’m paying for this ad with some Food Stamps I swapped for cash. So what is this election really about… Ayers…Ayers… Ayers… Joe the Plumber… ACORN and… um, hold on a sec. What are these kids doing… I know the hell they ain’t playing ball [sound of door opening] Get off my lawn you dirty rotten kids before I…[Click]

[Message received today at 2:51 pm] Heeeey, this is Joey. That’s what my old man called me when we were just scraping by in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Ladies and gentlemen, John McCain, god bless him, is a total dick. He wouldn’t know middle America if it snuck behind him and gave him a good ole fashion weggie. That’s what the kids use to do to me when I was growing up in Willmington, Delaware. And ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing fun about a weggie. That’s what McCain and Palin will bring to the White House, a weggie for middle-America. Small towns across the country will have their whitie tighties scrunched in crack of their economic asses while the corporatcrats walk around in loose fitting, silk, Polo boxers. That's not right. It's not fair. This country needs…what do you mean shut the hell up? [sound of pushing and shoving] Hey, don’t take the mic, I’m not done talking. I’m never done talking… Wait…no… no… nooooooooo [Click]

[Message received today at 3:27 pm] This is Sarah Palin and goshdarnit, I hear Joe’s got a robocall. Ohhh say it aint so Joe. While my opponents are palling around with terrorist and trying to convince mothers to kill their babies, I’m out traveling across real America, exciting the base and trying to keep Obama from completely humiliating ole McGrumpy. So go out a vote and then donate to my 2012 campaign run for President. Don’t be discouraged by my interviews with Katie Couric or the Tina Fey caricature of me. Those carpet-munching bitches will be long forgotten and I’ll be ruler of the free world just in time for Armageddon. God bless ya.


[Message received today at 4:00 pm] Wassup, bitches. This is Paris Hilton. I’m not running for anything but I have more money than any of the douche bags running for office and besides… I’m hot. In two weeks when you finally vote for one of these guys, you’ll go back to your pitiful, mundane, useless lives and they are going to forget about you until the next election cycle. In the meantime, they will make you hate one another, call each other names, then after the election, spend your tax dollars however they please. So why am I telling you this? Do I care? Not in the least. I just firgured you would like to know that I’m rich and it doesn’t matter to me who wins. I’ll see you bitches in the soup lines… while I’m passing by in my Mercedes. Smooches.

What does it mean for the Presidential race to have Colin Powell endorse Barak Obama? I think many of us expected this endorsement but now that it is official, but having him come out so strongly is very important. The Right will attempt to disregard this but there are a lot of independents and center-right people who respect Powell and it will have some pull.

"I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities -- and you have to take that into account -- as well as his substance -- he has both style and substance," Powell said. "He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president."

I like this statement. It shows that Powell has been paying attention to the race and has come to his decision based on the evidence. I believe most people who support Obama feel the same way about Obama. John McCain is an angry man and feels that he deserves the Presidency. This is probably the same attitude that bedeviled Hillary Clinton. It seems incomprehensible to them that this young man could come out of left field and win.

We will see in the upcoming days what this will mean.

I expected the McCain campaign to pull out their bag of tricks sooner or later but I never really expected this level of hatred to rear its head. I am sorry to say that with the election of Barak Obama, the McCain campaign has ushered in a new of 1950’s level or racial hatred. What we are seeing now will not dissipate after November 4. No, what we are seeing is a new generation of racial intolerance which many of us thought was a product of bygone eras.

Make no mistake about it, Bill Ayers is not the issue. He is just a conduit for those to express their hatred and fear and McCain has stoking it with the help of Fixed News. I’ve always thought Sean Hannity was a racist and he has proven me right. But I never expected this from McCain. I never trusted him but I never thought of him as one that would go this deep into the gutter. He has and with it he has dragged American politics into a dangerous arena.

We are now on the precipice of destroying any hope of realizing Dr. King’s dream. If Barak Obama wins in November, half of America will actually believe that he is a terrorist and they will direct their hatred of Obama onto the African American community. Instead of using this opportunity as a means to finally put to rest the most divisive issue of American history, their hatred will invigorate them to work towards eroding the influence of African Americans in our society.

They will seek to destroy Obama and those of us that support him. They will set out to eliminate every Civil Rights gains made in the country. This is what McCain is creating with his campaign. He will regret that his final legacy will be that of a man that was willing to unravel the fabric of American society to win the White House. And he will see the rotten fruits of his labor and it will pain him to know that in the most important election of this generation, he chose the undignified path. With every racist rant from Sean Hannity, it will remind him that he appealed to America’s darkest side.

November 4, 2008 will mark a milestone in American history. There will be very little to celebrate. Either Barak Obama or John McCain will win but America as a whole will lose. Should Obama win, 50% of the electorate will feel that a Muslim Terrorist won and they display their hatred in ways we have never seen. Should Obama lose then 50% of the electorate will feel that stoking the fears of racial hatred is the most powerful force in American politics and despite what we’ve believed, not much progress has been made over the past 40 years.

As much as I love this country, I am sad for her.

Now that we have had a few days to digest John McCain selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, it is time to make an analysis with clear eyes. My initial thought was that Sarah Palin was an odd pick and didn’t make any sense. In politics, I have learned, there is always a method to the madness. By the reaction of my right-wing friends, McCain made up the enthusiasm deficit and has co-opted the “change” strategy.

Obviously the talking-points were sent out to combat the inexperience argument that has arisen with this selection. I find touting two terms as a mayor of a town smaller than most Chicago suburbs as executive experience adequate enough for Vice President of the United States far fletched – but the right-wingers are making it in earnest. The additional 18 months as governor of a small state is weak as well. However, the experience argument was one that was not working with Obama and it will not work with Palin. After 8 years of Bush, the American people are looking for something different. Obama represents something different and McCain/Palin ticket represents the same. From that perspective, the Palin pick was a good selection.

There is considerable risk to Palin as McCain doesn’t have a relationship with her and have only 60 days to sell her to the American people. Any stumbles by Palin will be magnified and will reflect more harshly on McCain. Just as Obama has little room for error, Palin’s learning curve will be much smaller. At some point she will have to show some political/policy gravitas that will show the American people that she is ready to take the helm as Commander in Chief should anything happen to McCain. Barak Obama had this same test which he answered on his trip to the Middle East and Europe.

How to Attack Palin

The obvious approach would be a direct attack. That is exactly the wrong approach. It is not to the Democrat advantage to have Palin the central issue in this race. John McCain is still the issue and Obama/Biden should spend very little time talking about Palin. The media will do that and surrogates will scrutinize her stance on the issues. Any missteps by Palin will air on the 24 hour cable channels. This is not to say we should underestimate Sarah Palin. As you recall, George HW Bush won with Dan Quayle as a running mate. But it is to say that Obama/Biden can look past her and remain focused on McCain.

Things to stay away from

There are rumors on the Internet stating that Palin is not the mother, but the grandmother of Trig. Now, that is something that I’d rather not deal with. It is something for the National Enquirer to scope out and if it is true… then I’m still not sure how much it matters.

The latest development regarding the pregnancy of her 17-year old daughter is causing a stir. I do not believe that John McCain was aware of this but although it may something about abstinence-only education, it really doesn’t say much about her as a mother. There are many American parents dealing with teenage pregnancy and it should be left as a personal matter for the Palin family.

The Vice President Debate

Low expectations are a burden but not true when it comes to debates and giving speeches. No on expects Sarah Palin to match Joe Biden’s grasp of foreign affairs. She can come off as a light-weight but not clueless. This is a true gift because it means that she has to stand their and not mangle the names of foreign leaders and show some basic understanding of geo-political issues. So she wins the debate if in the end we are saying “she is not a dunce”. That’s a pretty low bar that most political junkies could hurdle.

In the end…

We will see what happens but the race is still Barak Obama’s to lose.

This is the question that we so carefully avoid asking. Media pundits discuss the topic in coded language and many conservatives frame the subject in such a way as to stir fear in the American electorate. On any given day you will here terms like “radical”, “is he one of us”, “hard working Americans…” and so on. On the left we have Civil Rights leaders quietly providing tempered support to Obama and others suggesting that they would vote for McCain. Why? What would it mean if America elected Obama as president? Why are so many for fearful and others so hopeful? Lets start with the fears.

Why the Right is a afraid of a black President?
I would be wrong to say that most conservative are racist and this is the basis for their fears. However, I do believe that most racist are conservative so that is a part of it, but I don’t want to paint the entire conservative wing of America with a racist brush but all anecdotal evidence suggest that it is Obama’s race and not his policies that frighten them. The talking heads at Fox News and many rightwing talk show host focus primarily on Obama’s race. It is why they mention his middle name so often. Black American men have always been the pinnacle of the fears of white America. On an episode of the O’Reilly Factor where Bill was discussing immigration, he stated:

“break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you're a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have."

This is the driving fear of a President Obama. The fear of losing absolute power.

Why the Left is afraid of a black President
The Civil Rights movement succeeded because it always had an Ace in the Hole: Human Rights. As progress was made on the Civil Rights front, many of the leaders saw their power and influence wane. My generation and the generation that followed began to question the strategy of Civil Rights organizations that didn’t seem to take into account the progress they made possible. The relevance of its leaders came into doubt. The fear now is that a President Obama would further erode their relevance; not to white America, but to African Americans and other minorities. There is also the legitimate fear that in response to Obama winning, white America will seek to reverse many of the gains made by Civil Rights legislation, using Obama as a means to suggest that all is well in the Republic.

Why the Right would welcome President Obama

The Left’s fear is the Right’s joy. Obama, they believe, would mean that there is no longer a need for Affirmative Action programs. Any claims of racism by minorities would have no legitimacy. Any social program to assist poor African Americans would no longer be necessary because by electing a black man as president, America has remedied its past inequities and the playing field is now level. This is the very claim that is being made with the Arizona ballot initiative end Affirmative Action.

Why the Left would welcome President Obama

Beyond the obvious of ending eight years of Republican rule in the White House, there is a feeling that many of the structural inequities in America will finally have an advocate in Washington. It will also symbolize the crowning jewel of the Civil Rights fight. I grew up hearing that I could do anything I wanted to do, but the President of the United States was the one caveat that stood as a reminder to the reality of racism in this country. When Obama accepts the Democrat nomination, part of the barrier will come down.

Conclusion

I am not sure if Obama will win but this is a perfect test. McCain is the perfect placebo is this case study on America because he does not have an enthusiastic base. This election is truly a reflection on Obama and how comfortable America is with electing a black man. Any other Democrat would win this election going away. So the only think separating Obama from the White House is his skin color and the effectiveness of the right to paint him as the scary black man. Some may believe that a loss would be devastating. Because of McCain’s policies, I believe that to be true.

Obama is a pioneer as is Hillary Clinton. Often times, pioneers do not reap the reward of their effort. Martin Luther King never saw the fruits of his labor. They will be political forces for some time to come. What would a President Obama mean for America? If nothing else, it would that Bill O’Reilly was right in one part: the white male Christian, power structure is breaking down. But instead of immigration – it is hill fellow Americans wielding the hammer.

Technocrati Tags: Barak Obama | Race | Conservatives

At the end of every church service, the pastor of a southside church I attended would say, 'govern yourself accordingly'. This is what Rev. Wright failed to do. The Press Club is not a Sunday morning sermon and they are not apt to respond as a black congregation would. They brought him in looking for cannon fodder and it was his job to leave them with understanding. He was given the world stage to finally present himself in such a way that he would leave as a teacher and prophet and not as a demagogue or as an albatross around the neck of Barak Obama. He failed miserably.

For the past several months I have supported Rev. Wright and Barak Obama. I still support Rev. Wright but there comes a time when a friend must be set aside. Barak Obama is running for the most important and most powerful political office in the world. He will represent the will of the American people – all of her people. And her people have a problem with race relations. We know that. We have seen how they have used Barak’s middle name in disparaging ways. We have seen how they used a photo of him in native African apparel as a means to frighten people. And we have seen how they use Rev. Wright’s words as a means of communicating that Barak Obama is really a black separatist and cannot be trusted. This is the way of the world but we must be smart in combating the lies.

Rev. Wright spoke some truth at the Press Club. However, his rant about defending the black church was off. His statement about the government creating AIDS to kill black people is off. As an aside: the reason that black people can believe the government created AIDS is because the government has in the past purposely infected black people. Remember the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? Finally, giving the Q-Dog sign might not raise an eye in the black community but on the world stage, it will.

As intelligent and articulate as we know Rev. Wright to be, he failed himself and Barak Obama. The Press Club wanted tabloid snippets and they should have been given intellectual diatribes. Questions should have been answered in such a way as to raise the dialogue from mere politics to the mental condition of this country with regards to race. That didn’t happen and it was a lost opportunity on the reverend’s part.

Barak Obama had no choice but to distance himself from his pastor. There are black people that will disagree with his move but again, Barak Obama is running for President of the United States. There is more at stake and sacrifices must be made for the greater good. In the black community, we tend to want to criticize individuals that don’t stay “down”. That leads to some placing themselves in situations that are not healthy for them. See Michael Vick. See Pacman Jones. And if he is not smart, we’ll see Derrick McFadden fall.

I’m sure it hurt Obama to have to denounce his pastor in such a public manner. I have family that I don’t care to be around but I would hate to have to make an announcement to the world about them. This is the way of politics. But this issue had to put to rest before the General Election and to make the Superdelegates comfortable. There will be some that will say Obama waited too long but they weren’t voting for him anyway. There was a need to have Rev. Wright speak for Rev. Wright and not the Obama campaign. It is now time to focus on the task at hand and that is winning this nomination and beating McCain in November. The attempts to use Rev. Wright as a weapon against Obama will continue - that’s politics. For the sake of both men and this country, I hope they use wisdom and govern themselves accordingly.

I love dining and my selection of restaurants is based on the food, the ambiance because the experience is just as important as the food. I’m not at all interested about the workings of the kitchen so long as what comes out of the kitchen is a delight to my taste buds. Chicago has a lot of restaurants that serve the purpose of ridding one’s appetite, but only a select few have a certain je ne sais quoi about them.

It seems odd how the biggest complaint giving regarding Barak Obama is that he’s a great orator with no substance. Recently, Hillary Clinton stated that “Speeches don’t put food on the table. Speeches don’t fill up your tank, or fill your prescription, or do anything about that stack of bill.”

The GOP has placed aim on this same issue. They do so because let’s face it, no one would mistake Hillary Clinton or John McCain for great speakers. But what is missing in the attack of Obama is that words actually do matter.

If you think about the great leaders of our time, a familiar trait that many had was the ability to communicate with their followers. Not only did they communicate well with constituents and supporters, they inspired them. We don’t pay much attention to Winston Churchill’s day to day decisions during the war. But we do remember his speeches. Ronald Reagan wasn’t called the “Great Trickle Down Economics President”, he is referred to as “The Great Communicator”.

Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John F Kennedy… all had a vision, political philosophies and ideas… but what set them apart was their ability to inspire, to lead to connect with masses. A leader must have the ability to influence people to action. There are no shortages of ideas and great leadership is not measure by how many bullet points one can come up with to solve problems.

There is a reason why millions tune in to watch the State of the Union address then completely ignore the Ways and Means Committee meetings that airs on C-Span: we have no interest in seeing the making of sausage nor do we want to listen to someone describe how sausage is made. Tell us about the dish. Tell us about the ambience; the music playing in the background, the wine selection. Inspire me to the point where I am anticipating a great dining experience.

I have no doubt that all of the candidates are capable of slaughtering a cow (i.e. present legislations to Congress) and we have two candidates saying with a bad Russian accent, “Come, watch me slaughter fat cow and I feed you,” and another saying “Our featured meats are seasoned to perfection over an open flame to capture their individual flavor to be savored in atmosphere reminiscent of the Rio Grande do Sul of Southern Brazil.”

All serving steak… but I’m dining at the Rio Grande do Sul… bone apatite.

Note: Part of the description comes from the Fogo De Chao website. If you have never dined at a Brazilian steakhouse, you are missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures.

There is an obvious distinction between the enthusiasm and apathy that doesn’t require much discussion. Enthusiasm connotes excitement in or for a particular event, subject or individual. Apathy is an indifference to or a lack of emotion for an event, subject or individual.

When it comes to political support, enthusiasm is a politician’s best friend next to incumbency. If a politician has neither, then pragmatism is the next best thing. The lowest forms of support are the anti-vote and apathy. The wild card support is the enthusiastic anti-vote which is a totally unreliable because those supporters can so easily become apathetic. And here is where we find Mitt Romney and John McCain.

At this stage of the race, John McCain has garnered pragmatic support. He is the likely nomination so many in the GOP are hedging their bets and throwing him their support. Mitt Romney, who has failed to generate an enthusiastic support, has now become the anti-McCain candidate. McCain, for his part, has mostly pragmatic supporters which is why he leads in the polls.

The problem I see with Mitt Romney’s campaign is that he is always running against McCain or against Hillary Clinton. This type of campaign gives the pragmatic voter an out because they are allowed a, “That may be true but…” statement to validated their pragmatic decision. He does nothing to motivate voters to support him because of what he stands for that is not in contrast to his opponents. Yes, he does have to at times contrast himself with McCain but as you see with McCain and Huckabee, they speak about what they believe in and what they stand for and if you disagree, then so be it. Rudy Giuliani ran on his own terms (as flawed as it was), but he did have an enthusiastic following.

Viewing what is happening on the Democrat side, there are excited voters and since the candidates are very close on policy, it is the intangibles that are motivating people to go to the polls and vote for either Clinton or Obama. If Mitt Romney were to win the Republican nomination, his largest block of voters would be the anti-Democrat or anti-Hillary block. That will not be enough to overcome the overwhelming excitement on the Democrat side. John McCain will have the same problem only he would face an anit-McCain block from his own Party.

No matter what the talking heads and prognosticators tell you, the Presidential election is more about ideology and emotions and has very little to do with policy. Most of us know that any policy presented by the President will go through a bureaucratic blender called the Congress. Though I am no fan of Ronald Reagan with regards to his policy, I readily admit that he was able to inspire Americans and that has been his lasting legacy. I seriously doubt we’ll get that from Mitt Romney and that is why he will not be the next president.

State of the Union

It was nice to see Bush end his last State of the Union speech. It is the end of an era that I should hope is never repeated. I have never supported the President so it will come as no surprise that I didn’t think much of the speech. Basically, it was a laundry list of things he hasn’t accomplished and would like to now. For instance, he informed Congress to send him a bill with a 50% reduction in earmarks or face a veto. This from a President that didn’t veto a single spending bill until May 2007 after Congress added timelines to the Iraqi occupation.

Overall, I think the Bush Presidency is a failure on many levels. Most of it could probably be blamed on his management style of letting his subordinates have their way and stubbornly supporting them even when the evidence suggested otherwise.

Onward Obama

Obama’s victory in South Carolina was impressive but even more impressive is the events in the wake of Bill and Hillary’s attack of Obama. Though many may not feel that endorsements carry a lot of weight, as surely the case with celebrity endorsements, political endorsements are something entirely different. Endorsements by Ted Kennedy and now Democrat Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas do carry a lot of weight, particularly when it comes to political infrastructure and access to power brokers.

Barak Obama will have some support in the East Coast and will surely take Illinois and Georgia. He will then have to make some inroads in the Plain states and has gotten some important backing in Arizona. After Super Tuesday, Barak Obama should garner enough support to win the nomination even with Hillary having the support of the Party establishment.

Good Bye Rudy

I’ve never supported you and I am so glad that you made the idiotic move of not running in the early states. There are some that want to blame the media for ignoring you but you my friend did this to yourself. You are a one-note Johnny and even your record on 9/11 is suspect. Your appearances in the debates were lackluster and you pandering in Florida is transparent. I think you should refund everyone that paid you to speak to them on the aspects of leadership because you have proven that you don’t know what the hell you are talking about. I have only two words to say to you… I’ll Holla!!!

The Presidential election is underway in earnest and already many things have come to light. First, I was absolutely wrong about Barak Obama not being ready for prime-time. In fact, he is prime-time and his strong showing in Iowa has eliminated all doubt whether America would elect a non-white President. I firmly believe that she would and Mr. Obama is just the man to lead this seismic shift in American history.

I was also wrong about the death of the influence that evangelicals have on the Republican Party. They are as strong as ever and although Mike Huckabee may not resonate across many other states, there are enough social conservatives willing to hold on to their principles that Huckabee is now a viable candidate to represent the GOP come November.

There isn’t enough time between the Iowa and New Hampshire elections for candidates to audible their strategy. This does not bode well for Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. Both are in a position where New Hampshire becomes a must win situation, more so for Hillary than for Romney. Huckabee must simply make a strong showing then hope he can raise enough funds to compete in the states that are voting on February 5.

Rudy Giuliani has placed his bet on Florida but I think that is not going to go well for him since the GOP stripped Florida of half of its delegates. So, morally it may come as a victory but if Huckabee continues to surge and McCain stays competitive, then Giuliani could find himself out of the race before he ever got in.

Overall, this is going to be a very exciting election cycle and my prediction is that Barak Obama will win the Democrat nomination. I’m still not sure about the Republican nominee. That will become clearer after the February 5 primaries.

Imagine this: You put to the voters a referendum that allows the President to handpick representatives, suspend the Constitution and all an individual to become President for life (i.e. King). When the referendum goes down in defeat, you then claim it as evident that democracy is working. Irony at it’s finest.

Chavez told reporters at the presidential palace that the outcome of Sunday's balloting had taught him that "Venezuelan democracy is maturing." His respect for the verdict, he asserted, proves he is a true democratic leader.

"From this moment on, let's be calm," he proposed, asking for no more street violence like the clashes that marred pre-vote protests. "There is no dictatorship here."

A senior U.S. official hailed Chavez's referendum defeat Monday as a victory for the country's citizens who want to preserve democracy and prevent Chavez from having unchecked power.

"We felt that this referendum would make Chavez president for life, and that's not ever a welcome development," U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters in Singapore. "In a country that wants to be a democracy, the people spoke, and the people spoke for democracy and against unlimited power."

It is clear that Dee and I may have to make another visit to President Chavez.