From Organizing for America Deputy Director, Jeremy Bird:
Last week the President laid out his health reform plan and challenged Congress to act. OFA volunteers leapt into action, generating hundreds of thousands of signatures and calls to show grassroots support. Now we need to reach out in our communities, spread the facts about the President's plan, and bring new voices of support into Washington. If you can spare your lunch hour (or a couple of hours whenever you're free), you can help make it happen. Here's how: Organize or attend a "Health Reform Phone Booth." It's simple: Just join up with other supporters in a public area where people will pass by, distribute fact sheets about the President's plan, and help folks call their members of Congress on the spot to voice their support.You can search online to see if there's a booth already set up near you. But if not, just host your own! We'll give you all the materials, phone numbers, and step-by-step instructions you need to make it a success -- and when you register your Phone Booth online, other OFA volunteers can join you to lend a hand: http://my.barackobama.com/SeptPhoneBooth Passing health reform won't be easy -- they've been talking about it in Washington for almost a century. But we know that when ordinary people who believe in change reach out, spread the facts, and help folks from all walks of life make their voices heard, we can make history. Thanks for making it happen, Jeremy Jeremy Bird Deputy Director Organizing for America P.S. -- In August we asked a few OFA volunteers to test out running a Health Reform Phone Booth in their area, and we got great reports -- even from folks who were pretty nervous before they began. Here are just a couple:I will confess that I questioned my decision to host an event the instant I hit the send button. I imagined myself on a street corner, handing out fliers like the guys hand out restaurant flyers. Relief struck when the first volunteer signed up with me. Imagine how thrilled I was when 15 had signed up!... We distributed 300 phone booth sheets and 600 info sheets... The best part, one of our volunteers was 79 1/2 years old. She was remarkable. Thank you for this opportunity. I am very glad I did it, no matter how nervous I was.-- Mark P. from New York, New YorkWe had two veterans tell us that they were very happy with the VA system, and one vowed to write a letter to the editor to dispel the myths that that system doesn't work. Many people thanked us for having a booth and for trying to dispel the lies being spread by opponents of reform.-- Mike O. from Bozeman, Montana
Last week the President laid out his health reform plan and challenged Congress to act. OFA volunteers leapt into action, generating hundreds of thousands of signatures and calls to show grassroots support. Now we need to reach out in our communities, spread the facts about the President's plan, and bring new voices of support into Washington. If you can spare your lunch hour (or a couple of hours whenever you're free), you can help make it happen. Here's how: Organize or attend a "Health Reform Phone Booth." It's simple: Just join up with other supporters in a public area where people will pass by, distribute fact sheets about the President's plan, and help folks call their members of Congress on the spot to voice their support.
You can search online to see if there's a booth already set up near you. But if not, just host your own! We'll give you all the materials, phone numbers, and step-by-step instructions you need to make it a success -- and when you register your Phone Booth online, other OFA volunteers can join you to lend a hand: http://my.barackobama.com/SeptPhoneBooth Passing health reform won't be easy -- they've been talking about it in Washington for almost a century. But we know that when ordinary people who believe in change reach out, spread the facts, and help folks from all walks of life make their voices heard, we can make history. Thanks for making it happen, Jeremy Jeremy Bird Deputy Director Organizing for America P.S. -- In August we asked a few OFA volunteers to test out running a Health Reform Phone Booth in their area, and we got great reports -- even from folks who were pretty nervous before they began. Here are just a couple:
I will confess that I questioned my decision to host an event the instant I hit the send button. I imagined myself on a street corner, handing out fliers like the guys hand out restaurant flyers. Relief struck when the first volunteer signed up with me. Imagine how thrilled I was when 15 had signed up!... We distributed 300 phone booth sheets and 600 info sheets... The best part, one of our volunteers was 79 1/2 years old. She was remarkable. Thank you for this opportunity. I am very glad I did it, no matter how nervous I was.
-- Mark P. from New York, New York
We had two veterans tell us that they were very happy with the VA system, and one vowed to write a letter to the editor to dispel the myths that that system doesn't work. Many people thanked us for having a booth and for trying to dispel the lies being spread by opponents of reform.
-- Mike O. from Bozeman, Montana
A health care plan to expand the insurance industry and hurt the sick and the poor. It sure does look like special interests are going to win. I am not sure that it has been everybody sitting at the table transparently. It does not even seem like the American people really had representatives just our corporations. I guess it is a good thing corporations are imortal and really don't need health care.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29988909/sick_and_wrong/7
It looks like we are going to have a health care bill everyone will hate other than the health insurance industry and pharmacuetical countries.
Approximately 1 million people will attend the Caribbean Day Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn on Monday, September 7. Help us spread information about our broken health care system and the Obama plan for health care reform. We will set up tables along the parade route with flyers listing online sources for issues such as comparative costs and results of health care spending (US vs. other countries), the economics of health care, how we will actually save a lot of money by investing in health care reform now, etc. We will also provide info on how to connect with other people who want to bring real change to our health care system and help people to get involved in pressuring Congress to pass a health care reform bill with a strong public option. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Details here.
Public option is a must in health care reform! The house bills are closer to what is needed. Coop's unless seeded with billions of dollars and millions of members will not be able to offer plans in a more affordable way than a private insurer.
1. They will not have enough members to negotaite better rates
2. They will not have suffcient capital
So plans would be structured with huge deductables and copays which make people put off preventive care.
I really think it is time for the president to take a leadership role say he will not sign a bill with a strong public option. It will help us in the field to state clearly the benifit of reform. Many lives are at stake 18,000 die because of limited access to health care. We fought war of choice for 3 trillion and 1000's of lives. It is time to fight a real enemy it is in our border our broken health system.
The 3 princples 1 affordablity, 2. choice, 3. cost reduction are fine. I have canvased for with these points are a start but they will not be realized with out the public option. Maybe the wishy washy stance on the bully pultpit is just to get the bill out of the senate. But is does not seem like clever strategy is the answer. Clever strategy is not leadership. With out a clear method of achieving these it weaken both the desire and will to work for this plan.
Our base can turn out with leadership it is forthright and honest and counters mis information. Our president really needs express leadership and let the public now that only viable and simple mechnism is a public option. The american people need and desire leadership and true reform!
Let's keep working. I am glad the my rep. who i visited Rep Ablbio Sires took a leadership stance and wrote a sign the letter to secretary of HHS and let it be know he will stand with the people and support the public option.
As an entrpenuer one knows it is a huge burden if even possilbe to offer health care in the first 2 years. It is a risk start ups and start upemployee's are often put in when creating jobs. A national healthcare option would allow small business to create many more new jobs if there was a public option! Also allow our large corporations to compete.
Mitch Stewart sent out an email today thanking supporters for the work they did to help pass the President's budgets, and asking them to help spread the word about the work they're doing in communities across America:
Hello:My name is Allie Feldman, and I'm helping Ben Baruch with Organizing for America here in New York. We just wanted to make sure everyone sees the email and video below discussing OFA's next nationwide initiative -- the Pledge Project. Please feel free to contact me or Ben if you have any questions or concerns.Stay tuned for more updates coming by the end of the week!Thanks,Allie--Allie FeldmanVolunteer Organizing for America | New Yorkallie.feldman@gmail.com 908-370-2689
Ben BaruchVolunteer LiaisonOrganizing for America | New York
bennett.baruch@obamaalumni.com
Just over a week ago, President Obama submitted his first budget and made it clear he was ready for the fight to come.The President isn't alone. We're ready for that fight too -- it's what you built this movement for.Watch a video I recorded announcing our new initiative, the Organizing for America Pledge Project:Americans are ready for the bold new direction this plan offers. It's what they voted for in November, and it's needed now more than ever as we continue to face an unprecedented economic crisis.But the special interests and old ways of Washington won't go away easily. In fact, they'll only fight back harder.It's up to you to organize support for President Obama's plan throughout the country. It's the only way we'll get the change this country needs.Take the next step now in our fight to bring change:http://my.barackobama.com/pledgeprojectThanks,MitchMitch StewartDirectorOrganizing for America
Eric Cantors said that the American People will be asking "where is my bailout" and the only answer that We the American People can give him is "IT'S In Your Wife's Purse" Will she Return the Money?
By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring.
Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.
So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.
The writer is president of the United States. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020403174.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
The American People have Spoken, There is no turning back. We Now have a President Who Will Fight for For US All. I Love how President -Elect(using that elect add on term for 35 more plus days) is Working on Our Behalf. Mr. President Obama is Cool and First Lady Michelle is Cooler, but I have got to give all of the props to their kids Malia and Sasha because they are the coolest.
May God Continue to bless Barack Obama and His Family, and May God Continue to Prosper and keep all of The People of the Unitd States of America.
This is it!
We're coming down to the final stretch and Barack Obama needs your help now, more than ever before!
Please bring your cell phone, a charger and a few fun friends who care about change and join with thousands of your neighbors in the largest ever-attempted phone bank effort in New York state history. The Obama campaign is hosting several of these "mega call centers" all over New York, so invite your friends and family to make calls to voters in key battleground states and change America for years to come.
Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nylastcall to find a location near you.
The Albuquerque Journal North devoted almost half a page to reproduce life-sizeon Saturday's edition our NEW MEXICO SUN NEWS cover with the Headline, "Obama Wins!"
Caption: Going out on a limb, the left-leaning New Mexico Sun News---a free twice-monthly paper published in Santa Fe---proclaimed "Obama Wins!" on the cover of its Firday edition. The headline is "kind of a journalistic stunt," and the paper's way of endorsing Barack Obama for Presidents, Contributing Editor Stephen Fox said. With the Chicago Daily Tribune's infamous "Dewey Defeats Truman" 1948 headline in mind, is the Sun News worried about jinxing obama? "No, said Editor Jerry Greenker. "I'm not a very superstitious guy."
"OBAMA WINS!" First American Newspaper with this Headline, 11 days before Election Day: Our Endorsement for the New Mexico Sun News
ALSO AT: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stephenfox/gGgfHy
This was the front cover of Friday's edition of the New Mexico Sun News, circulation 11,000, Northern and Central New Mexico.
This was the idea of the Managing Editor, Jerry Greenker, kind of as a declaration of our own support, our own way of endorsing OBAMA, kind of as an affirmation, kind of a doctoral thesis in Political Journalism, kind of a journalistic stunt, and kind of the reason that people are driven to write science fiction, to see which of their predictions actually come true!
Since I had been scrutinizing through some of the best reading in my life, the newspaper endorsements for Obama from all over the United States, I had a plan to publish as much as would be allowed in a 32 page twice monthly local and alternative newspaper. This fit in well with Jerry's Idea, so we went for it, and are happy to share this with mybarackobama.com readers.
Respectfully,
Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News Founder, New Millennium Fine Art stephen@santafefineart.com 505 983-2002
SAVE THE DATENovember 1st and 2nd, 2008Barack 'da Vote"ObamaFest, Barack 'da Vote will be a Weekend Music Marathon event starting at Saturday at The Embankment, Erie at 10th Street in downtown Jersey City from 6pm till closing at 3am and Sunday at Sanai's in Journal Square at 510 Summit Ave. (across from Berger King/Dunkin Donuts) from 10am Brunch till 8pm.
Signing-up English, Spanish, all languages Performers now ! Fine artists and musicians, bands, poets, story tellers, etc. etc.
Recent newspaper endorsements of the presidential candidates, selected for the quality of their writing and the depths of their insights
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Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times endorsed Democrat Barack Obama on Oct. 5:
We now face a future fraught with difficulty. It is no time to fear, but rather to change directions and unite behind a dynamic, thoughtful and progressive leader, Democrat Barack Obama.
He has stirred hope among millions of Americans, many of whom were alienated from politics or marginalized in society. He has restored a sense of idealism and promise that American values will again be our respected guide in the world, that the American dream is still very much alive in our nation, and that what is wrong can be fixed.
Sen. Obama's opponent, Republican John McCain, has long served his country, and as a young man, at great personal sacrifice. But he is not ready to lead America in the 21st century. His view of the world is outdated and unduly restricted by a military lens.
The Durango (Colo.) Herald endorsed Obama on Oct. 12:
The United States faces a pivotal choice in this presidential election, and the alternatives are clear. What is needed in that decision, as in our markets and our dealings with the world, is to act like Americans and approach the future with optimism. Voters should reject the politics of fear and elect Barack Obama.
Obama offers what America now needs: Confidence without swagger, intelligence without condescension, a mind unencumbered with the baggage of the '60s, and an optimistic outlook eloquently expressed.
After the feckless leadership of the last eight years, the offer of hope is beyond appealing. It is essential. We need to restore this country's position as a bastion of human rights and re-establish respect for the United States government at home and abroad. We must reinvigorate and restructure our economy, revive the idea that children will be better off than their parents, and face the 21st century with confidence.
John McCain cannot do that. He is intellectually and emotionally trapped in a bygone era. And since his 2000 run, the maverick McCain has been replaced by one with a wet finger in the wind.
Obama, however, offers a clear and certain break with the past. And that is absolutely necessary. It is taking a chance, of course, but that risk is less than that of continuing Bush's work.
The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., endorsed Obama on Oct. 16:
American adults are asking a terrible question as Nov. 4 approaches: Will my children have the opportunities that I was afforded in my youth?
The times call for a steady hand, a confident voice and a messenger who delivers hope rather than fear.
While the country negotiates some of the most treacherous waters in the last 50 years, (Obama) is the candidate most capable of leading it to a safer shore.
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COLUMBIAN, WASHINGTON STATEIn Our View: Obama for PresidentAs voters consider unprecedented change, this race hinges on leadership and judgmentThursday, October 16 | 1:00 a.m.
Americans face what is arguably the nation's most historically significant presidential election ever. Either the first black president or the first female vice president will be elected Nov. 4.
But this election also is a milestone for a reason unrelated to race or gender. For the first time in 20 years, the next president will not be a Bush or a Clinton. Never have just two families occupied the White House for so long. Today's typical college freshman has never lived under a president by any other name. It's time for a change.
So it's no surprise that John McCain and Barack Obama are campaigning as agents of change. All the more reason for voters to participate. In Clark County, ballots were mailed yesterday.
Any successful reformer must excel in leadership and judgment. In the past several months, Obama has distanced himself as the superior candidate in those two areas, and today he receives The Columbian�s endorsement for president. Two quick reminders:
Our opinion is only that, refuted by many, carrying no distinguishable impact. Our opinion is offered more to stimulate conversation than to change minds.
No candidate is perfect, as evidenced by our 2004 endorsement: Bush, Reluctantly
Obama carries baggage we consider unsightly, such as the unfair advantages he would grant labor unions. We also are wary of a few past relationships he's had with controversial figures. McCain carries that same baggage, to a lesser degree.
But as we examined leadership qualities of both men, we saw Obama's massive strides in uniting his own Democratic party, even reaching beyond his party to speak to all Americans. McCain, in stark contrast, continues to slog through a fractious Republican Party that often is his worst enemy.
It takes strong leadership skills to enlist record numbers of volunteers and to continually explore new heights in the polls, as Obama methodically demonstrates.
As for judgment, Obama chose a running mate who neither hurt him in the polls nor diverted the spotlight from the main man on the ticket. McCain's choice has done both. McCain tries to masquerade this recklessness as the virtue of a maverick. Would he use that same recklessness in appointing Supreme Court justices and Cabinet members? Which candidate in recent weeks has shown a presidential demeanor? Which could best restore worldwide respect for the U.S.? Which man has tried to soothe not stoke rancor in the homestretch of this campaign? Clearly, that man is Obama.
On the issues, Obama and McCain share similar views on immigration, Social Security and Medicare. Their differences on how to repair the economy are not overly contradictory. On the Iraq War, Obama prefers a quicker withdrawal of troops than we would like, but his proven leadership and solid judgment indicate he can resolve the Iraq dilemma collaboratively, certainly not by waving a white flag as McCain repeatedly claims. Both men urge public investment in science and technology. On health care, Obama believes it is a right; McCain believes it is a responsibility. Obama would raise taxes on the rich but not the rest of us, while McCain wants to make permanent the Bush tax cuts of 2003.
Beyond these issues, let's review two popular but empty charges against Obama. His supposed lack of experience, history reveals, is a red herring. His 12 years in elected office are more than Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan each brought to the presidency. Too young at 47? Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton were younger. (Also on the subject of age, is McCain too old at 72? Certainly not.)
America's comparison between the upstart reformer and the venerable war hero inexorably returns to the qualities of leadership and judgment. Obama wins that comparison, and his message of partnerships at home and abroad seals the deal for us.--------------THE TENNESSEAN
This newspaper believes Obama would be an inspiring choice at an extraordinary time for the nation. The country needs a fresh, energetic face in the White House. Every race for president is important, but the current confluence of events, including the war on terror, mountainous challenges in the economy and a growing strain upon the nation's health-care system make the current race a call for vigorous new approaches and enthusiasm.
Obama has managed to put a tone of optimism in his campaign at a time it would be very easy to be downhearted, worried and pessimistic. That characteristic alone goes a long way in demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs.
Obama has made the case effectively that his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, represents too much of the same failed policies that have plagued the nation during the Bush administration. McCain, it must be said, is a genuine military hero and an honorable candidate. His years of service both in the military and in Congress are traits any American should admire. But at this time, at this juncture, McCain does not embody the motivational leader Americans deserve for such crucial issues.
There is no question the economy is foremost on the minds of many Americans today. People are witnessing a financial system in chaos, and they are seeing their personal lives in upheaval because of the problem. People are fearful about their jobs, their retirement, their ability even to meet day-to-day needs. At the moment, the nation is still trying to get a handle on exactly what is happening in its economy, as some of the best economic minds in the country try to sift through possible solutions. Obama offers no magic wand, but he has been effective in linking the crisis to failed economic policies, and he expresses a keen understanding of how the crisis is creating hardship on American families....
Further, Obama demonstrated sound judgment in selecting as his running mate Sen. Joe Biden, whose experience and knowledge of foreign policy prepare him to step in if need be as chief executive. McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin, by comparison, may have shown political savvy, but at the expense of offering a vice president the country could rally around....
The nation could ask for no more. Obama has the opportunity to lift the United States at a time when its burdens are heavy. His campaign has carried a theme of "Yes We Can," which is exactly the message the nation needs to hear most now.
THE POST-GAZETTE PITTSBURGH
In three weeks, Americans will be called upon to make an exceptional judgment worthy of the times. The forces of history appear to invite boldness and the Post-Gazette believes they should be heeded by voting for the only authentic, fresh agent of change in this race, Barack Obama....
Despite the recent nastiness of his campaign. Sen. McCain is essentially a good man, but he is yesterday's man. His campaign takes its core text from the "Wizard of Oz": Don't mind the man behind the curtain. That man is George Bush, the failed magician who cannot be spoken of lest the American people be reminded of what he has wrought and what party he belongs to.
To make their trick work, Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Palin, trade heavily on being mavericks -- too heavily to be believed.
It is true that Mr. McCain has a capricious streak that has made him a thorn in the side of his own party on various issues. Yet while he has not joined the know-nothing brigade in climate change denial, he has picked a running mate who is a diva in the drill, baby, drill chorus of fossil-fuel adulation. Mr. Obama, while he has recognized the need for more drilling, has put more emphasis on new sources of alternative energy, the only real hope for the future.
On Iraq, Mr. McCain did needle the Bush administration to put in more troops and he makes much of the fact that he backed the surge. That the surge was a success to the point that it reduced bloodshed does not vindicate the wrong decision in the first place to invade a country that was not behind the 9/11 attacks and did not have weapons of mass destruction; Iraq has been a huge diversion from Afghanistan.
All of this Mr. McCain, despite his vaunted experience, got wrong at the start when Barack Obama recognized the folly. That fundamental error is still costing the nation $10 billion a month, funds desperately needed at home, yet Mr. McCain sees the surge as more reason to stay than to plan now to leave and put the war in the hands of the only people who can ultimately win it: the Iraqis. That is what Mr. Obama wants to do in stages and what Mr. McCain only hopes for over the rainbow.
On health care, Mr. McCain's insurance plan is straight from the George Bush playbook, with its heavy reliance on private competition to give Americans coverage. His $5,000 tax credit for families is a pittance that won't solve America's national shame, the millions in the ranks of the uninsured. Mr. Obama's health-care plan will address that directly -- and, no, it won't be socialism. Americans will still have their choices.
On the economic meltdown, Mr. McCain famously said "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" shortly before it collapsed. Although he has admitted that economics is not his strong suit, he foolishly suspended his campaign briefly to interject himself into a situation that he did not understand and where he was not wanted.
Mr. Obama doesn't have all the answers either, but he does acknowledge what former champion of deregulation John McCain can't: While there's blame to go around both parties, the economic crisis is the final verdict on the failure of the Bush administration.
In this and much else, Mr. McCain is not the steady hand he purports to be, and nothing proves it more than his reckless selection of Sarah Palin, whose lack of knowledge to take over as president has becoming increasingly obvious and embarrassing. If Mr. McCain had chosen one of the many accomplished women in the Republican Party, his candidacy would have the stamp of seriousness. Instead, it bears the superficial imprint of pandering populism.
But this election is not just about the shortcomings of Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin and the failed legacy of a philosophy that they seek to perpetuate under the hastily erected banner of maverick.
It is about the strengths of Barack Obama, whose rise to prominence is not a fluke or national infatuation but the consequence of his remarkable skills --a keen intellect, noble intentions and the wit and grace to express them in ways that have inspired millions across the country. He has a rare gift exactly suited to the fearful times -- he knows the language of reassurance and hope.
If his were just empty words, this would be just another cheap political gift. But what he says is carefully considered. In the debates and on the hustings, Mr. Obama has been the voice of moderation, combining common sense and compassion on issue after issue. When the subject turns to foreign policy, supposedly Mr. McCain's strong suit, Mr. Obama gives no indication that he will have to learn on the job.
That the argument about issues has been essentially won by Sen. Obama is plain from the scurrilous attacks now being launched against his character -- increasingly by Ms. Palin -- alleging guilt by association, unpatriotic behavior and worse.
This closing blizzard of slime is another attempt to spread the wizard's curtain further: Don't look at how the economy has impoverished you while a Republican has been in the White House, look at Mr. Obama's passing acquaintance with an old radical who did bad deeds almost 40 years ago, because that is more important.
Yes, they apparently do think the American people are that stupid.
On Nov. 4, we believe Americans will heed the better angels of their nature and recognize that the election of the eloquent Barack Obama -- whose story is a quintessentially American one of impossible odds overcome -- will best answer the pressing call of history.
_______________________
Obama’s ‘Diplomacy’ Wins a Republican Endorsement By Adam Graham-Silverman, Congressional Quarterly Staff The ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee parted ways with his party’s presidential nominee Wednesday by endorsing Democrat Barack Obama ’s approach to diplomacy.
In a lengthy speech at the National Defense University, Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar weighed the benefits of talking to foreign leaders, including U.S. enemies, against other actions, such as military force. The issue marks one of the sharpest divides between Obama and John McCain , who has called the Democratic nominee naive for suggesting that he would sit down with leaders such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Lugar, however, praised Obama, noting that isolation often does not resolve contentious issues.
“He correctly cautions against the implication that hostile nations must be dealt with almost exclusively through isolation or military force,” Lugar said in a prepared remarks released before his speech. “In some cases, refusing to talk can even be dangerous.”
Lugar, however, said McCain is right to warn that “there are times when diplomatic approaches to rogue regimes have little efficacy.” But he cited North Korea, which was just removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror, as a diplomatic success story and urged more contact with Syria and Iran.
This is not the first time Lugar and Obama have seen eye-to-eye on foreign policy issues. Lugar noted back in July that he was “pleased” to have worked with Obama on nuclear proliferation issues after an Obama ad ran mentioning Lugar by name.
Lugar also used his speech to underscore his concern that U.S. foreign policy has become too reactive.
“If most U.S. foreign policy attention is devoted to crises fomented by hostile regimes, we are ceding the initiative to our enemies and reducing our capacity to lead the world in ways that are more likely to affect our future,” Lugar said.
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EDITORIAL: Obama for President: We believe the senator from Illinois is the right man to lead our country in a new direction
The Lufkin Daily News, PULITZER PRIZE WINNING NEWSPAPER IN TEXAS
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Today through Sunday, we're making our endorsements for the 2008 election. Our endorsements are not partisan — we supported George Bush in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. Our choices reflect whose policies and strengths we think, after careful consideration, will mean a better, stronger economy and way of life for Angelina County, Texas and the United States.
To that end, the choice for this year's president is clear: Barack Obama, senator from Illinois.
His strength has been to appeal to a broad range of people, including the vital youth who are tomorrow's leaders. After watching an inflexible president go overboard in a $700 billion bailout on loyalty for his nominee, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, we think it's time for a changing of the guard.
The East Texas economy is fundamentally doing well, and we're not hitting highs and lows like other areas, some local leaders have said. But it remains a fact that while the rich battle it out over billions, poverty is barking louder than ever at our rural doors. As a litmus test, consider the Christian Information Service Center, our largest area food bank. It has had more people than ever through its doors — including more elderly and middle class than ever before.
Hundreds of local families have been impacted as fuel and utility costs skyrocket, and job losses mount as major employers have circled the drain or gone down altogether. It's hard to remember the fundamentals when you're deciding between buying your medication or keeping the lights on.
Those people who think what's happening nationally has had little effect on East Texas haven't checked their 401(k)s, or more likely aren't among the many whose worry is about surviving until the end of the month, let alone retirement.
It's the working class that are the backbone of this country, and we need someone to help us share the wealth while still encouraging a free market economy. We believe Obama has shown more interest in helping the middle class, and has proposed plans to make that happen.
Another consideration is that we should elect a president whose vice president would be ready to lead if, heaven forbid, the president were to die in office. We think Joe Biden's experience overwhelms Sarah Palin's limited appeal as a candidate who would instill confidence during a national crisis.
At the end of the day, it's about how you and your family will fare — while still caring how your neighbor and the needy guy down the block is doing.
We're making our voice heard. We hope you'll go to the polls Nov. 4 and do the same.____________________________________
HUNTINGTON WEST VIRGINIA:The Herald-Dispatch editorial board met today. We spent a lot of time discussing the presidential endorsement, which comes out Sunday.
First, a bit of history. As best I remember, The Herald-Dispatch has endorsed every Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Before then, I have no memory. So going by those elections, the HD is 3-5 in agreeing with the American voter.
I can't say here who gets our endorsement, but I can say that the discussion was calm at times and less sedate at others. The thing was that no one was really excited about either candidate.
But we were all over 50, and we have seen too much to be too excited about candidates. None of us sees anyone running as a Messiah who will lead us to the promised land.
________________________________UNATTRIBUTED, BUT KEEN INSIGHTS:
My own prediction: Obama will win, and Democrats will control both houses of Congress. In 2010, Republicans will regain control of one house, and the Republicans will win back the White House in 2012. Whether they regain control of both houses of Congress I cannot say, but I seriously doubt it.
This assumes the Republican Party acts with more intelligence and foresight than it has shown since 2004.
This year, the Democratic Party had two strong candidates in the primary. The GOP really had none. For a party that is supposed to be conservative, the GOP had no strong conservative with wide appeal in the primaries. McCain won almost by default, and if he surprises a lot of us and wins the election this year, it will be more a vote against Obama than a vote for McCain. I have talked with several Republicans, and very few are voting for him. They are either voting for Palin or against Obama. Or they are voting for the Republican candidate, whoever it may be. I know of no one who is voting for McCain because he is John McCain.
You can't do well in the long run if that's your base. But it's what the GOP did to itself.
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Fidel Castro Endorses Obama -- AgainBy Humberto FontovaThe American Thinker
Barack Obama's Kenyan cousin Raila Obinga did well in naming his son Fidel Castro Odinga. From Havana this week, Obama's nephew's namesake issued his 2nd Barack Obama endorsement.
"The only thing that abounds in McCain are years" wrote the Stalinist Cuban dictator in his regime's official paper. "His (electoral) adversary far surpasses McCain in intelligence and serenity. And his health is not guaranteed."
So a major concern for Castro is,
"that the lady with the rifles, the inexperienced ex-governor of Alaska, could became U.S. President. We observe that she knows absolutely nothing about anything."
Castro's favoritism towards Democrats is nothing new. "We'd better hope Kennedy wins this election," Fidel Castro confided to a subaltern in 1960. "If Nixon wins our revolution won't last." the Bay of Pigs and Missile Crisis betrayals (of free Cubans) vindicated Castro's foresight a thousand times over.
I admit to imprecision when labeling Fidel Castro a "Stalinist dictator." For the record: the Castro-Che incarceration of political prisoners actually surpassed Stalin's. In her authoritative book, Gulag, Anne Applebaum documents that, all-told, 18 million people passed through Stalin's prison-camps. At any one time 2 million were incarcerated. That was out of a Soviet population of 220 million. Cuba's population in 1960 was 6.4 million. According to Freedom House, 500,000 Cubans (young and old, male and female) have passed through Castro and Che's prison camps. At one point in 1961, 350,000 Cubans crammed Castro's Gulag. Do the math.
"A profound racism exists in the U.S.," continues Fidel Castro in his Obama-endorsement. "It's a miracle that the Democratic candidate has not suffered the fate of other Americans who dreamed of equality and justice like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King."
For the record: Fidel Castro, forcibly overthrew a black Cuban head of state (Fulgencio Batista) and replaced his government with one where only nine percent of the ruling Stalinist party is black and where the prison population is 80- 90 percent black. He jailed the longest suffering black political prisoner of modern history (Eusebio Penalver who suffered longer in Castro's dungeon's than Nelson Mandela suffered in South Africa's.) He sentenced other blacks (Dr Elias Biscet, Jorge Antunez) to 20 year sentences essentially for quoting Martin Luther King Jr. in a public square.
"(Obama) has a habit of looking at his adversary with serenity and laughing at the verbal gaffes of an opponent who looks blankly into space," continues Castro's chucklesome article, where he proceeds to denounce McCain as "a habitual liar, who lacks an ethical code and is an instrument of the "Miami Mafia" (overwhelmingly Republican Cuban-Americans.)
Castro laments the "brutal measures" the U.S. is adopting during "this capitalist crisis," because these "will provoke more inflation, more devaluation and more loss of markets." Thus a McCain victory would be economically disastrous, because, "he was one of the worst students ever at West Point and knew nothing about mathematics, and knows nothing about economic complications."
For the record: Fidel Castro converted a nation with a higher per capita income than half of Europe, the lowest inflation rate in the Western hemisphere, a larger middle class than Switzerland, a huge influx of immigrants and whose workers enjoyed the 8th industrial wages in the world into one that repels Haitians. And this after being lavished with Soviet subsidies that totaled almost ten Marshall Plans (again, into a nation of 6.4 million) -an economic feat that defies not only the laws of economics but seemingly the very laws of physics.
Actually, Castroites have been associates of Obama's associates for decades. "I have been affiliated with the Cuba Council of Churches since the 1980s," boasted Rev. Jeremiah Wright in a sermon on July 16, 2006. "I have several close Cuban friends who work with the Cuba Council of Churches and you have heard me preach about our affiliation and the Black Theology Project's trips to Cuba. The Cuban Council of Churches has been a non-partisan global mission partner for decades. I have worked with them for two decades."
"Non-partisan," Reverend Wright? Not according to Cuban intelligence defector Juan Vives, who from hands-on experience reports that the Cuba Council of Churches is in fact an arm of Cuba's ICAP (Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos) itself an arm of Cuba's DGI, Cuba's secret police, founded and mentored by the KGB and East German STASI. The ICAP's long-time chieftain was Rene Cruz Rodriguez, perhaps one of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's "friends."
Rodriguez' meteoric rise through Cuba's Stalinist bureaucracy was facilitated by his diligence as an early executioner, often beating out Che Guevara and Raul Castro themselves in his zeal to shatter the firing-squad victim's skull with a coup d' grace from his .45.____________________________________________________
About 100 Napa County-based Barack Obama supporters showed up Monday afternoon on the front steps of the Napa Valley Register building in downtown Napa to protest the newspaper's Sunday endorsement of John McCain for President.
____________________________________SAN DIEGO CITY BEAT:
Seems kind of pointless to run through a litany of policy areas in which Barack Obama is a far superior choice over John McCain, what with California already signed, sealed and delivered for the Democrat, but we’d like to run up the score and make it a landslide, so we’ll say, briefly, that Obama has shown himself to be the more thoughtful and, dare we say it, more presidential candidate. He’s the guy in whom we’d have far greater trust on the economy, energy, healthcare and foreign policy.
As for McCain, we can go into his past and detail his fondness for industry lobbyists. We can go into his neoconservative, imperialist views on foreign policy that would absolutely be a continuation of the past eight years. We can cite our concerns about how he was once rightly against the Bush tax cuts before he was wrongly for them.
But we’ll simply point to a couple of recent decisions his campaign made. The first was his choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. It was a cynical move to shore up the conservative Republican base, and it showed no regard for real-world possibilities—such as, What if McCain were to die or be incapacitated while in office? The second was the desperate, disgusting decision to portray Obama as a terrorist sympathizer, which is the kind of thing you do when you have nowhere else to turn, when you know you can’t capture votes on serious policy issues facing Americans.McCain would likely win this election four years ago—before the public realized how wrong the invasion of Iraq was, before the Republican Party imploded amid scandal after scandal (Cunningham, Foley, Abramoff, DeLay, Craig, Stevens, et al.), before the current president became radioactive and before the economy descended into unimaginable crisis.
So, it’s the right time for you moderate Republicans and you independents to give our guy a chance. McCain’s thinking is no different than Bush’s in the key areas—costly military interventionism, trickle-down economics and free access for lobbyists—and if you really think about it, you’ll realize that it’s unsustainable. Please vote for Barack Obama.
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NEBRASKA REPUBLICAN SENATOR'S WIFE ENDORSES OBAMA
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The wife of Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to endorse Democrat Barack Obama.
Lilibet Hagel has scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday with Susan Eisenhower, the granddaughter of Republican President Eisenhower. Susan Eisenhower also is an Obama supporter.
Hagel, R-Neb., has made no endorsement. Lilibet Hagel said in an Associated Press interview that her decision was independent of her husband. She said she didn't know whether he would make an endorsement or whom he would support.
"You'd have to ask him," Lilibet Hagel said.
She said it will be her first endorsement of a Democrat and that perilous world conditions were a factor.
"The fact is we're in two wars, two of the longest we've ever been in. We've run up a third of our nation's debt in just the past eight years. We're in the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression," she said.
The Hagels know John and Cindy McCain, and she said her endorsement was not meant to slam them.
"This isn't anti-McCain. This is pro-Obama. I'm just convinced he's the right person," she said.
The Hagels vote in Nebraska, but they have lived in Washington's Virginia suburbs since Hagel won his first Senate term in 1996.
A moderate Republican and veteran wounded in combat in the Vietnam War, Hagel has been a fierce and credible critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policies. During the summer, he accompanied Obama and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was briefly the object of speculation as a possible surprise Obama running mate selection.
The first compendium of the best endorsement editorials from many states, & the top 3 papers in Tennessee! & one by Fidel Castro & the Republicans Lugar and Hagel endorsements
http://ny.barackobama.com/NYlastcall
