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BIG BUSINESS AND McCAIN'S COMMITMENT TO BUSH & "REGANOMICS" WILL STILL BE FORMIDABLE FOES.
VP Candidate; Joe Biden
McCAIN: JUST ANOTHER NAME FOR"BUSH"?
Some of those on the far left continue to grouse about Obama's moves toward the center, with his changes regarding the FISA bill, a compromise on off-shore drilling and some different views on US trade issues. For those coming from the extreme left, these changes must actually seem "traitorous to the cause". But for the reality of the situation, as has occurred in the past, a smart move to the center is usually a minor issue when trying to challenge the "Big Money Machines" of the GOP, the Republican National Committee's "Black Op's Truth-Twisters" and Washington's "K" Street Lobbyists.
To those people on the outside, they still see McCain as the "Maverick Republican" and the long-time "War Hero Senator" from Arizona that is married to a very wealthy Budweiser Beer Heiress. The reality is, that even though he has previously been known as the so called; "Maverick Republican", (and he is not the obvious #1 choice of Bush's far-right evangical "base"), he is in reality, a self-described devout "foot soldier in the Reagan revolution".
McCain can be a difficult candidate to get a handle on, "if" you don't follow him closely on all the issues. On one hand, he will continue to "say" that his administration would not just be another 4-8 years of a Bush Administration. However, if you've followed him closely regarding the big issues of today, he continues to admit that he is in "total support of the past decisions of President Bush." For most of us, all we can say is....."Now, what the hell is that supposed to mean ??????????"
In reality, McCain is still committed to the continuing debacle in Iraq, to more tax cuts for the wealthy, more corporate and international trade deals, more business and trade de-regulation, he's anti-labor, he is anti-"Roe vs Wade" and he would select more conservative judges and justices. He also has Republican views on most social issues, and as the journalist; Robert Borosage recently wrote, "McCain is just Bush on steroids."
McCain supported Bush's voting record by 95% in 2007, and 100% in 2008, and he supports all of the Republican sponsored corporate moves that have so far devastated the American middle-class. He would still try to privatize Social Security (and most other domestic programs), and he has no vision for health care in America. He continues to support staying in Iraq and he has become a "war-monger" regarding Iran and now Russia. If Obama can beat McCain in November, it would finally be the end of the "era of Ronald Reagan". (And, hopefully not a day too soon.)
The one area that has been the biggest problem since the Republicans took over both the US Congress and then later the White House, has been the loss of the concept of bipartisan "compromise".
Regardless of how you may have previously felt about the Democrats, going back to FDR, Truman, Kennedy and LBJ, one of the basics within the Democratic Party, the Democratic Presidents and a Democratic Congress has been the support of the original concepts of our fore-fathers.
One must remember that the United States was originally formed on the basis of "majority rule". But that concept did "not" mean, the "majority party" rule. There were no "political parties" during the founding of America. The original concept of "majority rule" was for all those involved in the process, to get together and debate the issues and finally coming up with an agreement that the majority of the people could live with in going forward. In fact, this is exactly how the founders were eventually able to come up with both the "Declaration of Independence" and the "US Constitution". History has shown that these documents were heavily debated in the beginning, but at some point, all the representatives were able to "compromise" in coming to an agreement. In many ways, Obama's recent changes of heart on some issues is another way of saying, "I'll give up something today, in order to get support for what I feel are the more critical issues in the future." My goodness, doesn't that sound like a possible attitude toward political "compromise".
After Ronald Reagan came to the office as President, the Republican Party apparently decided that they just; "wanted it all", "no more compromises". This is how it has been in Washington for the past 8 years under the "Bush / Cheney Administration". Their attitude has been; "It's my way, or the highway." Bush has just basically said to all of the American people, "Forget the rule of law, I am the King and I have my 'Signing Statements'."
A REAL CHANGE OF CHOICE:
I believe that the reason that Obama had a surprise win over Hillary Clinton in the primaries, was that he did offer a clear change of choice from both the "status-quo" of Bush & Co. and even a change from "the Clintons". Many voters could see, that it was not a good idea to continue "anything" that was even close to the recent past. Yes, Hillary would probably have also been a good choice as a presidential candidate, but she also had her own connections to "big money and big business", and with her entrenched history in Washington DC, enough people apparently just said "enough is enough", which eventually put Obama as the first choice.
And Obama does offer a major reform agenda. Dropping the tax cuts for the wealthy, leaving Iraq and using the savings for fixing America's infrastructure, a health-care plan for the country, a focus on energy-independence and for using "Green" projects to support new US jobs.
Obama supports Labor, which hasn't been seriously done since LBJ's era. He feels that banks, insurance companies and large corporations need to be held more accountable and he is in total support of reviewing all of the current US trade agreements. Obama's social agenda will not allow his judicial picks to offer "politics from the bench", as the Republican choices seem to do today, and his politics will put pressure on the current "entrenched conservatives" in the system.
HOW BIDEN CAN HELP:
With Joe Biden on-board as the VP candidate, those that have been concerned that Obama's style is "too nice", in dealing with the "Rove-ian, less-than-legal approach" to partisan politics, they now have a new fighter on board. Biden has a history of taking-on the GOP's lies and untruths "head-on" instead of Obama's approach of "taking the high road". As Biden had said so clearly about Rudy Giuliani's "lack of qualifications" during the debates; "all Rudy has is three words: a noun, a verb and 9/11, and that's all he has." I think that Joe Biden will also not hesitate to slice up McCain and / or his VP candidate, with similar candid comments. Obama has a need for a clear speaking election partner that will directly take on the inaccurate comments and sometimes blatant lies from the McCain campaign. Biden can now throw back at McCain, strong, yet truthful responses which will be based on the GOP's past 8-12 years of a poor track-record that Biden can and will be able to pull from.
For those worried that Joe Biden does not support Obama's movement for change, Biden's Senate experience is his biggest asset. His 36 years in the Senate have earned him chairmanships of both the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees. These are positions Biden has used to establish himself as a familiar and respected spokesman for the Democrats on everything from Supreme Court appointments to complex national security issues during and after the Cold War. Obama's lack of comparable experience has him trailing John McCain by as much as 15 points on some foreign policy issues. If a vice-presidential pick can offset voters' concerns on those issues, Biden's resume should be very helpful to Obama's campaign.
Obama also needs help with key voting blocks such as Catholics and white, blue-collar swing voters. Biden ranks with Senator Ted Kennedy among the Senate's best-known and longest-serving Catholics. Biden's pro-union, moderate-to-liberal voting record and Irish-American family background give Biden popularity with the working class and ethnic voters. (Some Americans are already saying that with Joe being of Irish descent, he has put the "apostrophe" in "O'Bama"). Although Delaware has only three Electoral College Votes, Biden's background could help garner a few more in next door's Pennsylvania. Biden was born and raised in Pennsylvania until, while still young man, the family moved to Delaware. However, regarding the family's politics, Joe's grandfather did serve as a Pennsylvania State Senator.
Biden's personal story is solid and compelling. His father was a car salesman and his mother raised him, his two brothers and a sister. He went to school and practiced law in Delaware before running for local government and winning an upset Senate victory in 1972. While Christmas shopping a month after the election, his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident that also injured his two sons. Biden almost resigned, but was convinced by the then Senate leaders to take his new position. Joe has commuted daily by train, to and from his Delaware home, to Washington ever since.
Biden has also led the Judiciary Committee through the contentious confirmation hearings for Judge Robert Bork, and he has spent much time locking horns with Jesse Helms on the Foreign Relations Committee.
His ideas for U.S. foreign policy have been sometimes controversial as he has supported dividing Iraq into three autonomous regions based on Iraq's three main tribes of Shiia, Sunni and Kurd. (Which, after all the recent tribal killing in Iraq, "Joe's recommended Tribal Division" is somewhat happening on its own inside Iraq today.) However, Joe is still accepted as an expert on foreign relations and is well respected on both sides of the aisle.
Biden's biggest edge in the homestretch may have come, paradoxically, from what some say is his greatest liability: "his personality". Obama is charismatic, but in tough political confrontations, he can be cautious and reserved. As a running mate who can add passion to the coming battles, Biden has a "fire-in-the-belly quality" that Obama sometimes seems to lack. That "spunk" first vaulted Biden to the Senate by a narrow margin in 1972 over an aging incumbent. It also gave Biden an edge over the more sedate finalists for the current ticket, Indiana's Evan Bayh and Virginia's Tim Kaine.
It's a measure of how badly the last month has gone for the once high-flying Obama campaign that they're willing to risk taking on board a "shoot-from-the-lip" running mate like Biden. And in a race that is growing tighter with every poll, that risk could make a real difference, for better or for worse.
Let's hope Biden is the right decision as Obama's right-hand-man on the way to the White House.
VP Candidate; Joe Biden
McCAIN: JUST ANOTHER NAME FOR"BUSH"?
Some of those on the far left continue to grouse about Obama's moves toward the center, with his changes regarding the FISA bill, a compromise on off-shore drilling and some different views on US trade issues. For those coming from the extreme left, these changes must actually seem "traitorous to the cause". But for the reality of the situation, as has occurred in the past, a smart move to the center is usually a minor issue when trying to challenge the "Big Money Machines" of the GOP, the Republican National Committee's "Black Op's Truth-Twisters" and Washington's "K" Street Lobbyists.
To those people on the outside, they still see McCain as the "Maverick Republican" and the long-time "War Hero Senator" from Arizona that is married to a very wealthy Budweiser Beer Heiress. The reality is, that even though he has previously been known as the so called; "Maverick Republican", (and he is not the obvious #1 choice of Bush's far-right evangical "base"), he is in reality, a self-described devout "foot soldier in the Reagan revolution".
McCain can be a difficult candidate to get a handle on, "if" you don't follow him closely on all the issues. On one hand, he will continue to "say" that his administration would not just be another 4-8 years of a Bush Administration. However, if you've followed him closely regarding the big issues of today, he continues to admit that he is in "total support of the past decisions of President Bush." For most of us, all we can say is....."Now, what the hell is that supposed to mean ??????????"
In reality, McCain is still committed to the continuing debacle in Iraq, to more tax cuts for the wealthy, more corporate and international trade deals, more business and trade de-regulation, he's anti-labor, he is anti-"Roe vs Wade" and he would select more conservative judges and justices. He also has Republican views on most social issues, and as the journalist; Robert Borosage recently wrote, "McCain is just Bush on steroids."
McCain supported Bush's voting record by 95% in 2007, and 100% in 2008, and he supports all of the Republican sponsored corporate moves that have so far devastated the American middle-class. He would still try to privatize Social Security (and most other domestic programs), and he has no vision for health care in America. He continues to support staying in Iraq and he has become a "war-monger" regarding Iran and now Russia. If Obama can beat McCain in November, it would finally be the end of the "era of Ronald Reagan". (And, hopefully not a day too soon.)
The one area that has been the biggest problem since the Republicans took over both the US Congress and then later the White House, has been the loss of the concept of bipartisan "compromise".
Regardless of how you may have previously felt about the Democrats, going back to FDR, Truman, Kennedy and LBJ, one of the basics within the Democratic Party, the Democratic Presidents and a Democratic Congress has been the support of the original concepts of our fore-fathers.
One must remember that the United States was originally formed on the basis of "majority rule". But that concept did "not" mean, the "majority party" rule. There were no "political parties" during the founding of America. The original concept of "majority rule" was for all those involved in the process, to get together and debate the issues and finally coming up with an agreement that the majority of the people could live with in going forward. In fact, this is exactly how the founders were eventually able to come up with both the "Declaration of Independence" and the "US Constitution". History has shown that these documents were heavily debated in the beginning, but at some point, all the representatives were able to "compromise" in coming to an agreement. In many ways, Obama's recent changes of heart on some issues is another way of saying, "I'll give up something today, in order to get support for what I feel are the more critical issues in the future." My goodness, doesn't that sound like a possible attitude toward political "compromise".
After Ronald Reagan came to the office as President, the Republican Party apparently decided that they just; "wanted it all", "no more compromises". This is how it has been in Washington for the past 8 years under the "Bush / Cheney Administration". Their attitude has been; "It's my way, or the highway." Bush has just basically said to all of the American people, "Forget the rule of law, I am the King and I have my 'Signing Statements'."
A REAL CHANGE OF CHOICE:
I believe that the reason that Obama had a surprise win over Hillary Clinton in the primaries, was that he did offer a clear change of choice from both the "status-quo" of Bush & Co. and even a change from "the Clintons". Many voters could see, that it was not a good idea to continue "anything" that was even close to the recent past. Yes, Hillary would probably have also been a good choice as a presidential candidate, but she also had her own connections to "big money and big business", and with her entrenched history in Washington DC, enough people apparently just said "enough is enough", which eventually put Obama as the first choice.
And Obama does offer a major reform agenda. Dropping the tax cuts for the wealthy, leaving Iraq and using the savings for fixing America's infrastructure, a health-care plan for the country, a focus on energy-independence and for using "Green" projects to support new US jobs.
Obama supports Labor, which hasn't been seriously done since LBJ's era. He feels that banks, insurance companies and large corporations need to be held more accountable and he is in total support of reviewing all of the current US trade agreements. Obama's social agenda will not allow his judicial picks to offer "politics from the bench", as the Republican choices seem to do today, and his politics will put pressure on the current "entrenched conservatives" in the system.
HOW BIDEN CAN HELP:
With Joe Biden on-board as the VP candidate, those that have been concerned that Obama's style is "too nice", in dealing with the "Rove-ian, less-than-legal approach" to partisan politics, they now have a new fighter on board. Biden has a history of taking-on the GOP's lies and untruths "head-on" instead of Obama's approach of "taking the high road". As Biden had said so clearly about Rudy Giuliani's "lack of qualifications" during the debates; "all Rudy has is three words: a noun, a verb and 9/11, and that's all he has." I think that Joe Biden will also not hesitate to slice up McCain and / or his VP candidate, with similar candid comments. Obama has a need for a clear speaking election partner that will directly take on the inaccurate comments and sometimes blatant lies from the McCain campaign. Biden can now throw back at McCain, strong, yet truthful responses which will be based on the GOP's past 8-12 years of a poor track-record that Biden can and will be able to pull from.
For those worried that Joe Biden does not support Obama's movement for change, Biden's Senate experience is his biggest asset. His 36 years in the Senate have earned him chairmanships of both the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees. These are positions Biden has used to establish himself as a familiar and respected spokesman for the Democrats on everything from Supreme Court appointments to complex national security issues during and after the Cold War. Obama's lack of comparable experience has him trailing John McCain by as much as 15 points on some foreign policy issues. If a vice-presidential pick can offset voters' concerns on those issues, Biden's resume should be very helpful to Obama's campaign.
Obama also needs help with key voting blocks such as Catholics and white, blue-collar swing voters. Biden ranks with Senator Ted Kennedy among the Senate's best-known and longest-serving Catholics. Biden's pro-union, moderate-to-liberal voting record and Irish-American family background give Biden popularity with the working class and ethnic voters. (Some Americans are already saying that with Joe being of Irish descent, he has put the "apostrophe" in "O'Bama"). Although Delaware has only three Electoral College Votes, Biden's background could help garner a few more in next door's Pennsylvania. Biden was born and raised in Pennsylvania until, while still young man, the family moved to Delaware. However, regarding the family's politics, Joe's grandfather did serve as a Pennsylvania State Senator.
Biden's personal story is solid and compelling. His father was a car salesman and his mother raised him, his two brothers and a sister. He went to school and practiced law in Delaware before running for local government and winning an upset Senate victory in 1972. While Christmas shopping a month after the election, his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident that also injured his two sons. Biden almost resigned, but was convinced by the then Senate leaders to take his new position. Joe has commuted daily by train, to and from his Delaware home, to Washington ever since.
Biden has also led the Judiciary Committee through the contentious confirmation hearings for Judge Robert Bork, and he has spent much time locking horns with Jesse Helms on the Foreign Relations Committee.
His ideas for U.S. foreign policy have been sometimes controversial as he has supported dividing Iraq into three autonomous regions based on Iraq's three main tribes of Shiia, Sunni and Kurd. (Which, after all the recent tribal killing in Iraq, "Joe's recommended Tribal Division" is somewhat happening on its own inside Iraq today.) However, Joe is still accepted as an expert on foreign relations and is well respected on both sides of the aisle.
Biden's biggest edge in the homestretch may have come, paradoxically, from what some say is his greatest liability: "his personality". Obama is charismatic, but in tough political confrontations, he can be cautious and reserved. As a running mate who can add passion to the coming battles, Biden has a "fire-in-the-belly quality" that Obama sometimes seems to lack. That "spunk" first vaulted Biden to the Senate by a narrow margin in 1972 over an aging incumbent. It also gave Biden an edge over the more sedate finalists for the current ticket, Indiana's Evan Bayh and Virginia's Tim Kaine.
It's a measure of how badly the last month has gone for the once high-flying Obama campaign that they're willing to risk taking on board a "shoot-from-the-lip" running mate like Biden. And in a race that is growing tighter with every poll, that risk could make a real difference, for better or for worse.
Let's hope Biden is the right decision as Obama's right-hand-man on the way to the White House.
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