I orginally sent this to my friends and family the day after Rudy Giuliani's RNC speech:
Since Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin don't understand what Barack did as a community organizer 24 years ago, I've included a short list of other community organizers: Sam Adams Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Clara Barton (founder of the Red Cross) Cesar Chavez Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. St. Francis of Assisi Ghandi Jesus of Nazareth If you're not convinced, please read on: I hate being strident or sanctimonious about politics, but this year there is too much at stake to just sit on my hands. I've NEVER volunteered for a political campaign, but this year I can volunteer for Obama without violating my professional ethics because I'm working in non-fiction TV, but not news. Last night Rudy Giuliani -- whose career was in the toilet before 9/11 -- might as well have told the crowd, "We hate poor people. Let's mock them." While there were many inaccuracies and lies in his speech, it was his mocking of Sen. Obama's work as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago (when Barack was 23) that had me yelling at the TV. . Giuliani and Palin both ridiculed the work that Obama did in his mid-20's in Chicago. Palin made it seem as if he was doing this just a few years ago when, in fact, it was in the '80s around the same time she was a beauty queen. When he could have been making big bucks in Manhattan, Obama chose to take a low-paying job helping the unemployed and at-risk youth. He was working for a faith-based, mainly Catholic organizations. Giuliani may have no respect for non-profit community organizers, but he sure as hell knows what they do. These are the people who help average folks fight city hall. Giuliani picked fights with cab drivers and street vendors, fretted about artwork at a Brooklyn museum because if offended his Catholic sensibilities (cheating on his 2nd wife apparently did not), tried to block protests against police brutality (a Federal court had to force him to allow these protests, declaring his actions unconstitutional), has no respect for the 1st Amendment (Free Speech/Right to Assemble), 2nd Amendment (Right to Bear Arms (weird for a Republican), 4th Amendment (Privacy), 5th and 6th (self incrimination, right to an attorney) --- why would he have any respect for someone trying to help average, working people have a voice in city government? In New York, Giuliani only wanted one voice - his own! Furthermore, a side by side comparison of Palin's resume and Obama shows that there is no comparison. She's much less accomplished. McCain picked a small state governor with a thin resume to be a heart beat (or one more skin cancer diagnosis) away from the presidency. Obama chose a strong, experienced Senator with an international reputation. As they say, " 'A' people surround themselves with 'A' people. 'B' people surround themselves with 'C' people." Just my view... Anyway, Gov. Palin applied for her first passport in 2007!!!! Apparently she wasn't even curious about visiting another country until last year, let alone having any foreign policy experience. This doesn't say a lot for Palin's intellectual curiosity. She was Governor of Alaska before she had a passport? C'mon. I could go line by line picking out the lies about the Obama tax policy, his legislative record, etc, but I've been ranting long enough.
