I don't expect many people to see this blog. After all, I do not seem to be very important here, nor do I think that I will become so.
But, it seems to me, after reading through all of the posted Blogs (I would have put a link to them, but I have just discovered that my Version of Safari doesn't like some of Sen Obama's Team's Web-Page scripts, and won't open certain pages - I won't bore you with that and will look into a fix myself - just in case anyone actually reads this), that many of the posts are by the same people.
I realize that will over 1/4 million people registered on this web-site that we are going to be getting some pretty active threads. But...
Do people realize that we are preaching to the converted here (for the most part).
When I make a response to a comment on the blogs, I would love to be able to follow that response, but I have yet to see anything that enables me to track my blog comments or be notified when someone responds to them.
Maybe I have missed that, but I am going to contact Sen Obama's Webmaster to see if he can add a fix for this, as I think it would cut down on a lot of the noise on the blogs.
But, if you happen to stumble upon my humble little blog, remember, we all support Sen Obama's bid for POTUS and as such, probably already have similar feelings. It would be nice if more people could only post when they have something to add to a debate beyond "Go Obama!" (which is an excellent sentiment*).
So... Wouldn't it be great if we could keep in mind that we share the "Go Obama!" sentiment already, and look for something to do that would lead to less noise on the bog threads, and more substance to the already very substantive campaign?
Also, as I have said, we need to keep the capping on Sen Clinton down. We, as Democratic Party Members (or mostly Dem. Party Members), should be allies with Sen Clinton. Again, wouldn't it be better to remember that we are just in a contest of who is best to lead us at the moment, and not an ideological fight for the office of POTUS yet? We need to stop making enemies out of our opponents. This has been one of Sen Obama's messages in trying to bring the USA back together.
Even the Republicans are citizens of the USA, and they have been co-opted by a group of people who seem to hold some very Un-American sentiments. Even those people are not "The enemy". They are just desperate people who are frightened and believe that only their answers are the right answers. This is what is causing the divide in this country.
We need to realize that when the election year comes around, we are going to have some very fundamental disagreements over how things should be done, but we should be willing to give the other guy a chance if the people of the USA decide to put him in office. And, like our current POTUS: GW Bush, when his policies fail, we should allow our leaders to be able to say "I was wrong" (Something that I don't think GW is likely to do, but that is because he has grown to learn the lessons of Washington DC that say "You may never be wrong" - Just like Sen Clinton has learned the "Gotcha Politics" that go along with such irrational thinking).
So... Please:
1) We are the faithful. Think of what you can add to the debate that is substantive and new
2) If the current debate seems to have voices that already say what you wish to say. Why not let them say it for you and look for something new to do to help out Sen Obama?
3) Remember that Sen Clinton is really on our side. This may not be apparent right now, but I am certain that her current remarks (that Sen Obama could beat Sen McCain in November) are evidence that she is and will be his ally come November. She has a very large and powerful political apparatus in place and it would be a shame to loose access to that apparatus.
4) Even Sen McCain is a citizen of the USA. While his politics are probably more of the same, I believe that he is patriot enough to serve the country no matter who is president (ie, when Sen Obama is President Obama), and that he will continue to work towards that end. His policies may be misguided, but by not atacking him, and challenging those policies (instead of attacking them), I think that we may have a better chance of showing the people of the USA that we all want the same things: Prosperity, Freedom, Security, and a future that is going to have the same for our descendants.
Matthew Bailey
*However, the energy that goes into "Go Obama!" might be better spent by making a phone call, reading his platform materials or other issue statements that he has made in order to better serve his cause... Or, as I have begun to do... Debunk some of the out of context quotes that paint him as a radical muslim who is no different than Osama Bin Laden...
I am attempting to get a video of the debate from CNN, I have been told that they should have it up shortly.
Until then. I have some questions, and comments:
I notice that a lot of people on these forums seem to be pretty divisive in connection to the Sen Clinton / Sen Obama "debate" and contest. Do people feel that this is productive?
If they feel it is productive, what do they feel it produces?
If they do not feel it is productive, why do they do it (I would prefer that those who are doing so come forward to answer themselves why they do so on either the "productive" or "unproductive" side)?
On the topic of things to do:
Aside from phonebanking, what else can I do (I cannot currently do phonebanking, but should be able to start next week when I replace my cell phone - I have no "home-phone" and will not be getting one, as I find them to be a waste of time in this day and age)?
How many people have read this entire web-site?
How many people have read all of the "Blueprint for Change"?
How many people have read Sen. Obama's Books "The Dreams from my Father" and "The Audacity of Hope" (I have been reading on other sites that these books contain some worrying statements, yet they provided no page numbers, so I suspect that they are confabulations, out of context, or the political equivalent of "Urban Myth", and are just being repeated without actually fact-checking them)?
So... On those topics, I will start by answering (some of) my own questions:
