A crucial choice in this election is on world leadership. And the choice is between an inspiring President leading the world in a strategy for peace, and a President who would continue misleading us with a strategy for war.
Obama has already changed the political and spiritual landscape in the United States and in the world, for the better. As a candidate, he is subject to the fantastic smear attacks of his warlike opponents. As a President, he will be able to restore ethics and moral values in the United States of America and beyond.
Presidential Ignorance
It is frightening though to see the presidential candidate McCain in a tour in Israel arguing against Iran on the basis that Iran is helping Al Qaida! You might notice that the media have rarely or ever mentioned that Iran and Al Qaida are fiercest enemies, and that the Bush administration never tried to establish a foreign policy based on this major factor.
McCain is a military who continues to live in the mindset of the Vietnam War. He sees the world in black and white, from the eyes of an aviator whose job it was to bomb Vietnam and the Vietnamese and who was happy to do it (see his own account of it). He is still not totally free of this addiction (see his happily singing “bomb, bomb, Iran” and calling it a “joke”, during a “presidential” campaign, how reassuring!).
McCain is not a leader, but a soldier. He is more eager to listen to and obey his commander – now general Petraeus, than to make decision on war and peace, for the sake of peace. He wants to be a good soldier and is obsessed with the goodness and usefulness of a military “surge”.
We need a President capable of having a clear and correct vision of the present world; a president that could elaborate a strategy for world peace and to implement it through dialogue and diplomacy. War is something to fight against, not to fight for.
Many know that the cost of the “war in Iraq” is around a trillion dollars in the Budget, but how many have calculated the real cost in terms of missing opportunities for prosperity due to the shift from the civil to the military, and in terms of social peace because of the divisiveness of the war and its negative effects on our civilities?
McCain's years of experience in the Senate are years of repeating the same, mostly nonsense, assertions about the region, chewing the same repeated words, supporting the same wrong superficial ideas that created today’s mess.
McCain is a military who continues to live in the mindset of the Vietnam War. He sees the world in black and white, from the eyes of an aviator whose job it was to bomb Vietnam and the Vietnamese and who is not free from this bombing addiction (see his happily singing “bomb, bomb, Iran” and calling it a “joke”, during a “presidential” campaign, how reassuring!).
"The President of the United States is also the President of the World", says Samuel Solvit, student at Nanterre (University of Paris-Nanterre, France) who has launched a support committee for Barack Obama.
"French people love Obama because they badly need to love America. Something they had forgotten for fourty years"!
Samuel Solvit, student, 22 years old, who hangs Obama's posters in Paris' subway: "I feel extremely concerned because the President of the United States is also the President of the World".
Christophe Chaumont, 42, civil servant working for Paris City Hall: "Obama has reinjected some ideals into politics. 95% of its donations come from donations of less than $15." Christophe adds that these days in council meetings, there are more talks about Obama than about matters related to the city!
Poll update: French viewers vote overwhelmingly for Obama (88%)!
Clinton is at 9% and McCain gets 3%.
You can check the link for the French International TV Chanel, TV5 (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Canada) for an update of the poll.
Today, French chanel TV5 poll's update: French viewers voted overwhelmingly for Obama (88%), Clinton is 9% and McCain 3%.
Check below :
http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/election_us/
Barack Obama 88 %
In a poll organized by TV5 the French speaking international television run collaboratively by France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Quebec (Canada), the viewers voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. By Tuesday morning 8 am ET, Obama had 89% of the votes (out of 2125 votes).
Check the interesting and informative site created for the American Elections by TV5:
http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/election_us/index.php?sondage=1&idsondage=1260#vote
Ségolène Royal, the presidential candidate who narrowingly lost to Sarkozy and is all for Women's power is nevertheless also a strong Obama supporter
It is not the «surge» that is working. It is the talk with Iran. It is the ending of the Bush administration's threatening Iran that has pacified Iraq. The violence followed McCain`s visit, the end of violence followed talks with Iran.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama was the only candidate who had the courage to say he will resume talks with Iran. Hillary Clinton didn't had a clue, and still doesn`t have a clue of what is going on there.
Read the following article:
Basra Cease-Fire Shows Talking to Iran Could Save Lives Immediately 100 Iraqis in Basra and Baghdad may be alive today because Iraqi parliamentarians negotiated a cease-fire agreement in Iran with Moqtada al-Sadr. The head of Iran's Quds force help broker the agreement. If Iraqi parliamentarians can talk to Iran, why not us? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/basra-ceasefire-shows-ta_b_94631.html
Anna Christie from the United Church of Canada writes on Obama:
«I like his leadership. Not only is he a brilliant speaker, charismatic and inspirational - that goes without saying. But I believe that as much as a politician possibly can, and still get elected, he embraces what I call the leadership trinity: self-definition, emotional intelligence, and meaningful connection»
« What I'd like to emphasize today that I believe is helpful for church leaders is Obama's rejection of Senator Clinton's emphasis on "experience.(...) a person's gifts of "judgment" or wisdom, leadership, problem-solving, discernment, vision or organization far outweigh "experience", particularly in the church."»
De l’autre côté de l’Atlantique, où les primaires démocrates battent leur plein, un autre homme a su, lui aussi, faire preuve d’un courage politique qui pourrait changer le visage de l’Amérique. Dans son discours à Philadelphie sur les liens entre communautés, Barack Obama a analysé les lignes de fracture qui traversent la société américaine. Sans fard, sans hypocrisie, sans simplification. Aux Américains noirs, il a demandé de comprendre les classes moyennes blanches qui se battent pour travailler, qui ont peur de l’avenir et n’ont jamais reçu d’aide de personne pour garantir à leurs enfants une vie confortable. Aux Américains blancs, il a demandé de comprendre la colère et l’amertume des populations noires, encore aujourd’hui poursuivis par le racisme et les inégalités. Une belle leçon de sincérité et de vérité, un bel exemple à méditer…
Initially, she sounded like she wasn't sure what to do.
But a few hours later, in a telephone interview, she said she intended to vote for him.
It's not just one thing," she said, or one question he answered.
Instead, she said she liked "the atmosphere, the aura, the honesty, the comfort I felt."
Hillary was so busy trying to prove she could be one of the boys — getting on the Armed Services Committee, voting to let W. go to war in Iraq, strong-arming supporters and donors, and trying to out-macho Obama — that she only belatedly realized that many Democratic and independent voters, especially women, were eager to move from hard-power locker-room tactics to a soft-power sewing circle approach.
Former hostage writes US-Iran negotiation guide
Washington DC – Ambassador John Limbert was one of the 52 US diplomats held hostage at the US Embassy in Iran in 1980. 28 years later he has written a guide for US diplomats on negotiating with the Iranians. “Negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran: Raising the Chances for Success – 15 Points to Remember” draws on Limbert’s experience as a political officer at the US Embassy to guide the next generation of US diplomats in the nuances of negotiation.
It goes with Obama's pledge to dialog.
For one retired federal judge, Obama promises a better future for our granddaughters and grandsons
"Legions of women my age have fought for the opportunity to be judged on our skills, talents and abilities, not on our gender."
"For all Senator Clinton’s talents, skills and accomplishments, Barack Obama provides the greater hope. "
