This is a historic moment, everyone. But please keep in mind in the days and months ahead that the watchword must be "SACRIFICE" -- sacrifice for the common good.
And DELAYED GRATIFICATION. The reality on the ground, i.e., of our current national circumstances, is such that our new President may not be able to do all he promised within a time frame satisfactory to all. We must keep our expectations reasonable.
As Ben Franklin suggested, if one has low expectations, there will be no bitter disappointment if things turn out as expected. If things turn out better than expected, then you will have the satisfaction of being pleasantly surprised.
"You've got to be [an] optimist to be a Democrat, and you've got to be a humorist to stay one.”
[WILL ROGERS, Good Gulf Radio show, June 24, 1934.—Radio Broadcasts of Will Rogers, ed. Steven K. Gragert, p. 92 (1983).]
Enjoy this historic moment, everyone. But please keep in mind in the days and months ahead that the watchword must be "SACRIFICE" -- sacrifice for the common good.
"You've got to be [an] optimist to be a Democrat, and you've got to be a humorist to stay one. "
"You’ve got to be [an] optimist to be a Democrat, and you’ve got to be a humorist to stay one. "
Please spread this message.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96349881
“We can make this thing into a Party, instead of a Memory.” -- WILL ROGERS, letter to Al Smith regarding the Democratic party, January 19, 1929.—The Autobiography of Will Rogers, ed. Donald Day, p. 197 (1949).
Here is a summary from http//:www.Factcheck.org .
A License to Kill October 28, 2008
A new anti-Obama group runs a bunk-filled ad implying he'd give a driver's license to Mohammed Atta.
An upstart group calling itself the "National Republican Trust PAC" mixes a pile of false claims and the image of 9/11 mastermind Mohammed Atta to create one of the sleaziest false TV ads of the campaign.
The spot falsely claims Obama has a "plan" to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. In fact, Obama has said quite specifically, "I am not proposing that that's what we do."
The ad implies such licenses would enable terrorist attacks. In fact, Atta wouldn't have needed one to carry out his attacks.
It claims that Obama's health care plan will apply to illegal immigrants. But Obama has stated quite clearly that his plan "does not" cover illegal immigrants.
The ad falsely claims that Obama's plan "gives illegals Social Security benefits," which is also flatly untrue.
Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed on our Web site.
My local paper has invited readers to submit endorsements on behalf of their candidate. They will publish six, three on behalf of each candidate. This is what I intend to submit in support of Barack. Comments and suggestions are welcome. The deadline for submission is October 22:
I’m voting for “That One”. To me, Barack Obama embodies and inspires the better angels of our natures and offers the best opportunity to end once and for all the politics of divisiveness and personal destruction. This behavior has been one long perversion of America's fundamental notions of decency and fair play. It has to stop if we are going to address the nation’s problems. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate.
I don’t want to overstate the case, but Obama reminds me a lot of Abraham Lincoln, if you can keep in mind that even Lincoln was no “Abraham Lincoln” when he was elected President in 1860. In fact, Lincoln seems to have had even less political experience than Obama. Lincoln lost his bid for the US Senate. He served one term in the House of Representatives and, like Obama, a stint in the Illinois legislature. And that’s about it. Both came from humble beginnings. Both worked hard to get a good education. Lincoln faced, and our next president faces, a crisis that threatens the very foundations of our Nation.
Can Obama meet the challenge? Obama has “a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect.”[1] So says Christopher Buckley, son of famed conservative, William F. Buckley, Jr., in his October 10th endorsement of Obama. I agree. (What took you so long, Chris?).Obama demonstrates to me genuine empathy for the American people – especially that broad swath we call the middle class; not just the top 20% of the socio-economic ladder. He understands the issues, and he can better articulate the reasons in ways that need to move a majority of the people to do what must be done, to make the sacrifices – yes, sacrifices! - necessary to get our house in order.
Do I think he will be another “Abraham Lincoln”? I don’t know. I’ve lived long enough to know that things can go wrong and very often do. Life can be pretty disappointing at times. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal with me. And I’ve never given up on the promise of America, of what we stand for as a nation. Just because we aren’t quite there yet, and we sometimes take a step backwards, it doesn’t mean that we’ll fail to get there. It is a struggle to be sure. But at pivotal points in our history, someone has stepped up to meet the challenge of the time, a leader emerges to get us over the hurdle and propel us forward. Is Obama that person? I don’t know about another Abraham Lincoln, but, yeah, I think Obama is that one.
To me the biggest hurdle right now is not the economy but our poisoned politics. Hopefully Barack Obama will help us begin to see again that republicans and democrats, conservatives and liberals, are really two sides of the same coin; that we are, in the words of our Pledge of Allegiance “one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.” And that therein lies our strength as a nation.
[1] Buckley, Christopher, Oct.10, 2008. On line at http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-10/the-conservative-case-for-obama/
PBS has an online poll posted asking if Sarah Palin isqualified. Apparently the right wing knew about thisin advance and are flooding the voting with YES votes.The poll will be reported on PBS and picked up bymainstream media. It can influence undecided votersin swing states.Please do two things -- takes 20 seconds.1) Click on link and vote yourself.Here's the link:http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html2) Then send this to every single Obama-Biden voteryou know, and urge them to vote and pass it on.The last thing we need is PBS saying their viewersthink Sarah Palin is qualified.
Having seen the news the past few days - the angry mobs at McCain-Palin rallies - I wonder if the republicans are reaping what they have sown.
From Atwater to Rove the politics of divisiveness and personal destruction has been one long perversion of America's fundamental notions of decency and fair play - all in the quest to achieve and maintain power.
Unfortunately, the entire country may reap the whirlwind. The anger I saw could easily turn into violence if Obama wins the election. And that possibility of violence really amazes me. What do these people have to be so angry about? They've been running things since Reagan. If anyone has a right to be angry it is people who have suffered through the last 8 years of republican rule by ideology.
The question for me is how will the democratic base, and perhaps, moderates of all political stripes, respond to violence from the right in the event of an Obama victory? What will be their response if McCain wins and we are faced with four more years of the same?
I almost hate to say the words for fear that the mere mention of them brings us a step closer to the reality, but the possibility of civil war or an armed revolution seems very real to me.
The republican leadership has led the country down this path. It's up to them to call off their dogs "for moral reasons and the protection of our civil society...." McCain has begun to do this. I just hope it's not too late.
Hopefully, we can step back from this precipice and get on with the serious issues that so desperately need the attention of our leaders and the American people. Will the ignorant and narrow minded disappear from the political landscape? No, but neither should they drive the public debate nor dictate public policy. Hopefully we'll begin to see again that republicans and democrats, conservatives and liberals, are really two sides of the same coin; that we are, in the words of our Pledge of Allegiance "one Nation under God, "indivisible", with Liberty and Justice for All." And that therein lies our strength as a nation.
This is a follow up on a post earlier today:
Mob mentality, bipartisanship & the future By Cactus Wren
It seems to be getting a little dicier than usual out there than I thought possible for the political right. It's very scary to think this kind of ignorance and narrowmindedness is what propelled the Republican Party to victory in the last two presidential elections - and what seems to have driven conservative policymaking for the last generation.Here is anothe report on what is happening at recent GOP rallies.
http://news.aol.com/elections/article/anger-roils-crowds-at-mccain-rallies/207330?icid=200100397x1211161393x1200682392
Be sure and check out the pictures and especially the YouTube video. The video should be circulated as widely as possible. It needs no accompanying explanation. It speaks for itself. I am a teacher, and I am absolutely appalled and ashamed for what the beavior says about the quality of public education in our country.One last thing: I was listening to the Diane Rehm Show on NPR this morning and they were discusiing threats on Obama's life being made at some of these rallies. WHERE IS THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP? WHERE ARE THE MODERATES IN THAT PARTY?
Listen , everyone, I have neither created a blog nor even responded to a blog entry in my entire life - until today. I sincerly thought they were a waste of time. But I'm so afraid of another Republican administration in the White House that - well, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Below is my Declaration of Independance from President Bush, written one Fourth of July out of anger and frustration with what is surely the worst administration in the nation's history. I'm including it because it applies with equal force to McCain.
McCain should not be allowed to distance himself from from Bush and the abysmal performance of his party the last eight years. While he tried to set a conciliatory tone with his acceptance speech, the rest of his party, including Palin, reveled in the now familiar 'Fear and Smear" tactics the republicans have come to be known for.
John McCain may be different, but his party is not. Rest assured, if he gets in, we'll have four more years of the same. So now I'm declaring my independance from McCain and his republican party.
