Democratic National Convention - Day Four, Part II

Tonight, Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) announced that he will accept the nomination of his party for the Presidency of the United States of America. I have discussed the historicity of this occasion in the other post on the Democratic National Convention this evening. This event is the climax of the Democratic Convention in Denver, CO. This event is being held in Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.

Senator Obama was nominated by his party after defeating his closest competitor, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). He will run against the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, Senator John McCain (R-AZ). It is rather surprising to me therefore, that the speech is following the growing rhetoric of running against President George W. Bush. This is surprising because of course, President Bush is not running for a third term, since he is constitutionally unable to do so nor is John McCain President Bush!

Senator Obama is attacking Senator McCain's voting record as being in agreement with President Bush 90% of the time. It is interesting to note that many votes in the Senate are for things like motherhood and apple pie. It is no surprise that there is 90% agreement. Dick Morris noted on Fox News just before this speech that Barack Obama has probably voted in agreement with John McCain nearly 90% of the time!

Senator Obama is introducing his primary campaign theme - CHANGE!!! Everyone seems to know that Mr. Obama stands for change. The problem is - no one seems to articulate what the changes will be. When someone tries they tend to just spit out the typical Democratic rhetoric. Wow - that is what Mr. Obama is doing right now. Basically it sounds as though Mr. Obama's idea of change is really no change at all!!!

Up to this point, Mr. Obama has not yet articulated why he is qualified to be the President of the United States. I find it to be very interesting that when Democrats are asked to articulate even one reason that Mr. Obama is qualified to be the President - they are unable to do it and refuse to do anything but change the topic! Could it be that there are no reasons that are able to be articulated.

Mr. Obama has been purported to be a great orator by many. Many have come to hear him speak for months and nearly 80,000 have come to hear him speak tonight. The problem is - there seems to be no great oration taking place in Denver tonight. His delivery is ok but not fantastic. He does not sound all that Presidential and he certainly does not sound as strong as Senator Clinton did on Tuesday, nor as strong as his running mate, Joe Biden or President Bill Clinton did last night. This raises a question in my mind - why is this the guy who is the candidate?!

Mr. Obama is now explaining what change is all about. Thankfully we finally get an answer. Here is the list: Taxes, no Capital Gains for small businesses (but they will be huge on 98% of those who pay capital gains),we will end dependence on Middle Eastern Oil in 10 years, world class education for children, affordable-accessible health care, family leave, equal pay for women, social security, and the like. So where is the change? Most of these are long-time Democratic positions. There is nothing earth shattering here. Some of these are again motherhood and apple pie kinds of things and the rest that are uniquely Democratic are just that - the same old Democratic rhetoric!

Mr. Obama is arguing that we need a President who is focused upon the future not the past. Then he notes that he is from the party of Roosevelt and Kennedy to show that Democrats will defend the country. Correct me here if I am wrong folks - but that sure doesn't sound like looking towards the future - I mean I am pretty sure that F.D.R. and J.F.K. are both figures of the past!

Senator Obama is seeking to illustrate places where bipartisanship is possible. There may be some things on his list where this is true. The problem is that his list is a list of some of the major issues in the United States. Included were isues of abortion, gay rights, and immigration. There may be points of agreement at basic levels under some of these issues but it is erroneous to argue that this makes bipartisanship possible.

Mr. Obama says that this election is not about him but about the people. If he truly believes that, then why is trying to make himself look like a Greek god in front of his temple?!! It sure looks like this is about him to me!

Mr. Obama brought a great deal of hype to this evening. There is a huge crowd there to see him. This speech is the most important of his political career to this point. This speech is the climax of his nominating convention. This speech is the key piece in Senator Obama's campaign to this point. The problem is - this is not the most powerful speech that could have been delivered! Speeches delivered earlier in this convention have been stronger. Speeches delivered by Obama earlier in the campaign have been stronger. Even with a flourish of images from forty-five years ago at the end of the speech, the speech seemed to lack the full-punch it needed. The speech seemed to lack what was necessary to live up to the occasion and setting demanded. The crowd may have believed that it did do this - but from my living room it did not seem to do so!

Democratic National Convention - Day Three, Part II

Tonight at the Democratic National Convention, Senator Joe Biden (D-DE)accepted his party's nomination to run as the Vice-President of the United States. I have to say that I was surprised to learn about his family history and the tragedy that he suffered with his sons at the death of his daughter and his spouse. It was impressive to listen to his son describe him as a supportive father. While it has little to do with this election - I have to say that I am impressed by his leadership as a "good father," something very many men in our country need to learn. Ideology aside, I have to say that Senator Biden has done well by his children.

Senator Biden's speech is being delivered in a very conversational tone. I would have to say that his conversational style does seems to be very effective with the delegates. This style may serve the ticket well as the campaign moves forward. While I don't agree with all of his points nor with his political positions, I believe he is making an effective speech. This conversational style morphed into a stronger typical political style. The combination seemed to prove effective.

As Senator Biden begins to speak of his partner on the top of the ticket, Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL), he is beginning to outline the accomplishments of Barack Obama. Many, myself included, have asked the question, "What has Barack Obama accomplished?" For the first time, I am hearing a politician list at least a few of those. I am not convinced those that Senator Biden is listing are all that significant but at least he seems to list some.
Senator Biden is pushing the Obama major issue of "Change." My only question is - what exactly does it mean to stand for change? I understand in general what change is, but my question is - what will the changes be - what does Barack really stand for.

Senator Biden is now talking about Senator John McCain. I tend to believe that he means he is a friend of John McCain. I believe there are those on opposite sides of the aisle who are friends. It is possible to be friends with one's ideological adversary. I do reject the idea that Senator McCain's positions are simply more of the same - Senator McCain is not President George W. Bush!

Ok - Senator Biden is starting to articulate some of what the change will be. Here is the thing - it isn't change - in Biden's own words about McCain, it's more of the same. The change that is being proposed in this speech sounds just like the same Democratic ideology and rhetoric.

Senator Biden is delivering a strong speech. I have to wonder - will it be stronger than the candidate's speech tomorrow night? Mr. Biden looks presidential, as did of course President Clinton but I am not sure that Mr. Obama will look presidential. Mrs. Obama did not look like a First Lady and I have a feeling that Mr. Obama will not look presidential as he speaks in a ballpark in front of what is purported to look like a Greek Temple. Personally, I hope that Mr. Obama does not look presidential but more like a rock star. For if he looks like rock star - I hope the American People are smart enough to recognize that they should not vote for him. Tomorrow we will find out whether or not the candidate was outdone by his running mate.

One other question: As I look at Joe Biden I have to wonder - will Barack have to stop attacking Senator McCain based on his age? It sure would seem that way!

P.S. - I am a little surprised that Senator Obama spoke during his appearance on stage to congratulate Senator Biden. I wasn't all that surprised by his presence on stage briefly but his giving a commercial for his unprecidented speech at a different venue tomorrow evening seemed odd. Why did he need to give the commercial or explain his decision - could it be that the delegates are not taking to the idea of the circus planned for Invesco Field at Mile High? HMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!

Democratic National Convention - Day Three, Part I

I have decided that today's post on the DNC will receive two different parts. The reason for this is that I wish to comment upon Senator Joe Biden's (D-DE) speech in a separate post.

Let me say that today is an historic day in the history of the United States of America. Today, on the floor of the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado the delegates nominated the first African American Candidate for President of the United States. Whether or not you support Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) or not, this day remains an historic day. I am grateful that our country has reached a point where such a nomination is possible.

Almost of equal historic value is the fact that Senator Obama defeated Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), the first serious female candidate for the Presidency of the United States. This makes the occasion doubly historic. I am also grateful that we have come to a point in our country where a female candidate could just as easily have received the nomination as an African American candidate.

The primary drama today was in the nomination of Senator Barack Hussein Obama as the nominee of the Democratic Party. I am not sure if the unity the party wanted is fully there but the Roll Call vote began to demonstrate that the Senator Clinton supporters, at the convention, unified with the Obama supporters, to a point. I believe that Senator Clinton's motion for a unanimous ballot was necessary for her to preserve her opportunities to run again in 2012 or beyond. In my estimation this is the only reason that she did what she did in making the motion. This is also the very reason that she released her delegates.

President William Jefferson Clinton had his moment (nearly 30 minutes) on the podium this evening. Rhetorically, I believe he provided a strong speech. He gave a stronger endorsement of Senator Obama than Senator Clinton did. The reason his endorsement was stronger than his wife's was because he actually provided reasons that he felt Mr. Obama is qualified to serve as the President. This was essential for Mr. Obama. While I disagree with President Clinton's assessment of Mr. Obama and also of the Republican positions, I believe he delivered a solid speech for Mr. Obama and his party. It is worth noting though, that in true Clinton fashion the speech was about him. President Clinton's remarks on Mr. Obama's qualifications were very closely tied both to his own Presidency and the positions that Mrs. Clinton ran on.

In many ways, I believe that President Clinton moved the party forward. I also believe he helped lay the ground work for Mrs. Clinton's next campaign.

Democratic National Convention - Day 2

Events of the day kept me from watching much coverage of the Democratic National Convention this evening. I heard from someone else that Barbara Boxer "sucked the air out of the arena." I have to admit, I am really curious what she said or did. I hope to find out.

I did make it home just in time to see the final remarks of the Governor of Montana. I thought he seemed to be trying to be funny and was not getting the laughs that he was looking for. After that, the video introducing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) followed by her introduction by her daughter Chelsea. As a proud deer hunter I have to say that I truly love the blaze orange suit that Hillary has chosen for this evening's speech - she looks loaded for bear (or is it loaded for Barack?).

The commentators were discussing, as I tuned in this evening that there is much afoot on the floor of the convention that could cause problems for Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL). It sounds as though Hillary's delegates will continue to vote for her - even after she calls for a unanimous ballot for Mr. Obama. I am looking forward to a bloody floor fight - as one who likes the politics of a good convention I actually think it would be fun! As a Republican - I am happy to see the disarray - this is the fulfillment of Operation Chaos! All of this will, I hope, be of great benefit to Senator John McCain (R-AZ), my candidate.

As Senator Clinton has begun her remarks, I believe that she is proud of many things. I am not sure that she is truly proud to support Mr. Obama, however. There are so many things that she said of him during the primary campaign that it is very difficult to believe her. I firmly believe that she is only saying what she believes she has to say to look good - for 2012 or after. However, I believe that when the roll call comes she will be happy to see her supporters voting for her. I am curious to see what her husband, President William Jefferson Clinton has to say tomorrow.

It seems clear that Hillary is doing her level best to give a speech to bring unity to the Democratic Party. For them, this is good. I personally hope that it fails. Her speech seems to be well constructed and certainly much better than that of Michelle Obama last evening. I wonder if her speech will be better than Mr. Obama's on Thursday? I wouldn't be surprised if it is. She is a better public speaker and was a better debater. This is why she received 18 million votes - more than Barack Obama received, by the way.

As much as I dislike Senator Clinton, I have to say she would have been a stronger candidate and probably deserved to win. I think that her speech here is really setting herself up for a run again in four years. I suspect she is convinced that Barack won't win. Folks - this speech is the first of her 2012 bid for the White House!

She has just started to draw the comparisons between John McCain and President George W. Bush. Two things come to mind. First of all, that which she is accusing of being W's fault really is the fault of the Democratic Congress. Secondly, John McCain is not George W. Bush nor is George W. Bush running for President. I don't understand why the Democrats feel they have to run against Bush. Ok - I do - they are afraid to tell us what they really believe because they know that if we know that we won't vote for them!

Hillary just finished. She delivered a very strong speech. It sounded like a speech that was in support of Barack Hussein Obama. In some respects it was. However, I still say as I did above, this speech was still more about her than it was about him. Mark my words - we have NOT heard the last of Hillary Clinton!

The pundits on Fox News are all saying similar things about her speech. Interestingly enough, these pundits note that it was not a striking endorsement of Barack Obama - no strong statement of saying he would be a great President! Interesting!!!!!

Hillary Again (Still?)

When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) announced several weeks ago that she was dropping out of the race for the Democratic Nomination for President - I firmly believed that we had not heard the last from her campaign. Many pundits argued that Hillary would launch a campaign for 2012 and would of course be best poised to do so if Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) were to loose to Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in the November General Election. With these pundits I have no quarrel - I am sure that they are correct.

However, there was a smaller group of pundits who argued that we had not heard the last from Senator Clinton and her bid for the Democratic Nomination in 2008! With this group - I wholeheartedly agree. I don't view Mrs. Clinton as a quitter and certainly not one to give up on what she firmly believes she has earned. After all, Senator Clinton surpassed Senator Obama in the raw vote totals. Is it really accurate to say that she lost the primary races? What about the fact that if you total up the number of Electoral College Votes that would be Mrs. Clinton's if she won the same states in the General Election that she won in the primary races - she beats Senator Obama hands down! So - these pundits, I believe were onto something.

As a foot soldier of Operation Chaos (OC), I logged onto Senator Clinton's webpage and offered my advice that she stay in the race and not drop out. (Actually - as much as I dislike Senator Clinton - I think she did have valid arguments to stay in the race - so I wasn't just taking OC marching orders in doing this). Because I logged onto to her website and submitted my thoughts, I have continued to receive campaign updates from her. Wow - these things sure don't sound like someone who is out of the race!

Therefore, I was not surprised, when reading an acquaintances blog this morning, to learn that she was not necessarily out of the race. According to the article that this blog links to, Hillary's name could still appear on the Democratic Convention Nomination Ballot. Interesting!!!!

I would not be at all surprised if Hillary's name does appear on the ballot. Senator Obama has not done the best against his rival. He is not posting the huge poll advantage over Senator McCain that many were no doubt hoping for. Perhaps Senator Clinton believes that this is her chance to swoop back in and "Save the Democratic Party." I certainly hope that she does come back at the convention - it will keep things interesting to say the least.

Operation Chaos is in full swing!!!!

Democratic Primaries and Nominee

Is it over? Well it really depends on what numbers you are counting and which speech you listen to. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) just spoke in Manhattan. Her speech was strong and there was really no concession. It is true that she acknowledged that her competitor has more delegate votes but she didn't say she was backing out. She is still fighting. The question is what is she fighting for?

She is perhaps fighting for the nomination for Vice-President. Perhaps she should fight for that. However, she has a very legitimate reason to fight for the nomination. The delegate count may favor her opponent but the popular vote favors her. Which should count more - The vote of the people or a few elite party Super Delegates? As a Republican, a party without Super Delegates, it is hard for me to say that anything but the vote of the people should count. What of the disgrace in Michigan and Florida - their votes count for half? That hasn't happened since the civil rights movement gave equal voting rights to ALL AMERICANS!!!! How can an African American candidate not see the problem here?

Now Senator Barrack Hussein Obama (D-IL) is speaking. He is making nice to Mrs. Clinton. He also is claiming victory. Should he really be doing so and in the place where the Republican party will hold their convention later this year (The XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN)? I really don't think that he should be. First of all it is a low blow to take the place where Senator John McCain (R-AZ) will be nominated. That is just dirty politics and uncalled for. Secondly, how can he claim victory when more people voted for his Democratic opponent then have voted for any presidential candidate in the history of the United States of America? I don't see how he can honestly do this. I guess that is the problem - he isn't honest!

I am happy to have seen the contributions the first female candidate and the first serious African American candidate have brought to this campaign. I have no problem with either of them as a female or an African American. In fact if Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice were the candidate (for those of you in Rio Linda I should note - she is both a female and an African American) I would be overjoyed to vote for her!!! My issues with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton are ideological and ideological only.

I went to www.hillaryclinton.com to night and I told Mrs. Clinton to stay in the race. Now this is partially because I support Operation Chaos. However, it is also because I firmly believe that she has a legitimate argument to stay in. She won the popular vote and Mr. Obama did not! She has a good argument to fight on. Do I want her to be the next President - NO! I want Senator McCain to follow Mr. Bush. However, should the Democrats be victorious in November then Mrs. Clinton would be my choice.

I am surprised to see that in print. Do I support Mrs. Clinton - NO! In January, I wanted Mr. Obama to be the Democratic nominee. I believed that he was the lesser of two evils. As the campaign has unfolded it has become clear that he cannot be trusted. He associates with known terrorists and confessed bigots such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright - his former pastor. We need a President who supports America and one who has a spouse that is proud of America and has been (not one like Mr. Obama's wife who acknowledges that she has never been proud of America before).

So what does all of this mean. It means that we need to support Senator John McCain both now and in November. It also means that we need to tell Hillary to stay in the race and not let Mr. Obama walk away with a victory that he didn't earn! Stay the course in this election folks and fight for what is proper, a patriotic President!

More Trouble at Obama's Church

It happened again. Last Sunday, there was a guest preacher at Senator Barrack Hussein Obama's (D-IL) church in the Chicago area. You know the place - the home of the Rev. Jeremiah (GD America) Wright. This time the preacher was a guest. He was a Roman Catholic Priest, Father Pfleger.

Father Pfleger was there to preach the sermon on May 25th. Apparently, this priest was not aware that as a member of the clergy of the largest Christian denomination on the planet he should have proclaimed the Gospel. He certainly did not do this in any of the clips of his message that have been shown on television. My guess is he didn't do it at all and if he did his over-the-top political commentary would have overshadowed it anyway. What a disgrace to Christ!!!!

Here is the problem. Father Pfleger might have made a humorous, albeit very off color and inappropriate, stand-up comedy act. It did not however make a sermon. It also did not make an effective political address either. The pundits are all discussing whether or not this will be a big problem for Barrack Hussein Obama.

This most recent difficulty could prove to be a major problem for Obama. As a Republican, of course, I hope that it causes him no end of grief. As a Christian - I am absolutely nauseated at the fact that someone running for President is associated with such terrible commentary.

Could this rant against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) actually help her? So that Operation Chaos can continue - I hope it does. In reality - I don't that it will make a large difference in the primary race. It could, if the super delegates get scared that Barrack Hussein Obama is a liability, but I am not sure this will happen.

What concerns me the most is not the politics of this mess. Rather, I am concerned that there seems to be no one who is pointing out the fact that this Roman Catholic Priest was not fulfilling his office and proclaiming Christ. Furthermore, this priest had no business "preaching" at Obama's church. After all, his church is not a Roman Catholic congregation. So there is unionism taking place here too. In this case I suppose it doesn't matter all that much - since they are all pretty much the same as far as Christianity is concerned - contestitory to Christ!

There may only be one good response to all of this. That response is to pray with great fervor these words: "Come Lord Jesus, Come Quickly!"

Here we go again...

If you have paid any attention to the Democratic Primary races, you know that there is a neck and neck race taking place between Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D -NY). The counts are a bit close on the delegate side of things with Barack in the lead. However, there are those delegates in Michigan and Florida who belong to Hillary but don't count at the present time.

We are in the midst of reporting out of Indiana and North Carolina. North Carolina has been called for Mr. Obama and Fox News (my election coverage home) has not yet called Indiana, but it looks like Mrs. Clinton will likely win, in fact Obama has conceded Indiana. So what does this all mean? It means that we can say that the title of this post is accurate - "Here we go again!" It means Operation Chaos is working still.

It was just announced on the news that whichever candidate becomes the nominee of the Democratic Party they will deliver their acceptance speech on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering the famous, "I Have A Dream" speech. Well isn't that just exciting? Does that really matter as to which candidate should be elected? I am sure each one would like to capitalize on this anniversary. Here is the problem - neither Barack nor Hillary are anything in comparison to Dr. King! He actually stood for something important not just a bunch of liberal psycho babel!

As a fan of politics and one who loves a bloody floor fight at a convention - I am excited to see this mess. Of course, as a Republican I am also happy to see that this mess is in the midst of the Democrats and I sincerely hope that it benefits our side.

Here we go again!