There is an interesting article in Politico that provides a hypothetical scenario of what was said in a closed meeting between the ex-President and the Presidential campaigner. Like most articles of this type it offers some interesting ideas regardidng how much more success an Obama campaign might be if it took Bill's advice to be more like his campaign. Read it if you want.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13394.html
The last suggestion I take exception to, whether Bill feels it, or Hillary feels it, or the press feels it, or anybody else. That is that Barack Obama should apologize to him and stand up for him as not being a racist. I like Bill. I voted for him twice. I forgave him for his indescretions. Lord knows I'm guilty of my own. And I do not think you or Hillary are racist at the core. I do believe that like the McCain campaign you are not above doing or saying whatever to win an election. But there is one thing white people in general have to realize. When you say something the majority of black folks determine is full of denigrating insinuation, it is you who owes the apology, and I believe most of my black brothers and sisters out there will agree with what I am about to say. In fact I believe any practical person will agree.
When a well-meaning person makes a statement that an entire group of well-meaning people find offensive, the person that made the statement is responsible for his or her own soul searching, and must decide what to do next. I guess you can say there are three choices: move on and let the whole thing blow over with time, remain sore and insist people are wrong to take what you said the wrong way, or apologize for saying something everyone understands was a misstatement but admit the statement may have been insensitive. There is a fourth, continue saying the same thing over and over and over, but we don't need to go there this time.
On the other hand, if Barack apologized for Bill, you have no idea what a lot of Black people would have to say about that. But I do. White people who make remarks that a major portion of the Black population believes holds racist connotation do not get to decide whether the statement was racist. The Black folks are the ones who are offended, not the White folks. Man up and move on. You'll be forgiven if we like you. And there is no doubt in my mind that Black people genuinely like Bill and Hillary. I further submit if either one of them had owned the inappropriateness of their statements during the primaries, it just might be Hillary sitting in the cat bird seat wondering how to deal with the latest attack from the Republican's now perfected negativity attack machine. Her detractors number as many, if not more than Barack's. It's just a different demographic. And if Barack had picked Hillary to run with him as VP, you have no idea what that negativity attack machine would have done. But I do. I'm alright with the fact that an ex-President may think he is above apology, and I believe most of my Black brothers and sisters are too. Some of just need a little more time heal, that's all. So stop picking at the sore.
McCain sounds like my supervisor/boss.
The man owns vacation properties in Maine, North Carolina, Sea Island GA, Fernandina Beach FL and on Sapelo Island, and five rental properties in the Atlanta area PLUS his own home valued at more than half a mill, plus several cars and a private jet plane parked at PDK that he no longer flies, not including commercial investment properties that net him more than a million a year (or every six months) in dividends; and all he does is gripe about HIS taxes and people who subsist on less than $30k a year who don't pay taxes...and 'supposedly lazy' people who won't work, who are likely unemployed for a vast array of reasons besides refusing to work...
He even griped about the fact that my aunt, an elderly woman who worked 45 years in nursing for minimum wage (which JUST got to $6.55-the unliving wage-) and retired 23 years ago on nothing but social security, was allowed to get $38 a month in food stamps; and that her grandson, who was born autistic (as if it was his fault), was getting SSI and a couple of dollars in food stamps.
Well, my cousin just died a few weeks ago at the ripe old age of 21, due to seizures and a heat stroke because the air conditioning in the house was off and she couldn't afford to have it repaired, so she has nothing BUT social security left. They may up her food stamps to $54 a month now that he's dead.
And that's after 45 years of WORKING AND PAYING TAXES LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
I finally got fed up and told him, "Listen, that's not YOUR tax money -- it's MINE. I am working and paying taxes; so are my sisters, my brother, my nieces and nephews...WE are supporting her with OUR tax money, not YOURS. You want to know where YOUR tax money is going? Ask that deadhead elitist president and those warmongering jerk friends of his."
At that point, I didn't care if he fired me or not.
I am sick of hearing these rich folk whining about how they can't retire because of poor people living on social and government services when they're sliding all over the place in 10 homes, flying private jets, and renting out commercial properties and hunting land at a premium. Maybe they need to sell some of that shyt and learn to get along on less than a million a year LIKE THE REST OF US. With ownership interests in all that crap, you're as good as retired anyway - AND set for life.
Corporate welfare accounts for more than half the budget while poverty-stricken youth and elderly people probably don't cut into half a percent of this overall trillion-dollar deficit that DEMOCRATS got us out of when Clinton was I/O.
Overall, Obama and his one [big] home and his "vacations" in Hawaii (which is really just going home for him, like some of us go home to Alabama, Kentucky, or S Carolina for family reunions, etc.) is p-change compared to John McCain and his Texas millionaire wife and billionaire Arizona jetski friends.
There is a wonderful book that I would highly recommend all Obama supporters read called "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's about Abraham Lincoln's nomination and presidency. You will be floored by the similarities between then and now. Lincoln not only came out of nowhere as an unknown Illinois lawyer, but he snatched the nomination away from the candidate who was considered the de facto nominee by almost everyone in the country, including the media - a senator from New York named William Henry Seward. Lincoln was confident enough in himself as a leader that one of the first things he did was to give his greatest rival the top spot in his cabinet as Secretary of State. He then went on to give cabinet spots to the other two Democratic rivals for the nomination. They were an amazing team and the story of how Lincoln brought these men together is a story for today's campaign. These men not only disliked Lincoln, they disliked each other. But Lincoln was a confident and self assured leader and understood that these men all had something to offer. This "team of rivals" brought the country through it's darkest period in history and held the union together.
I believe Barack Obama is more like Lincoln than any other stateman I've seen him compared to. How he is dealing with the Clintons shows not only his own confidence and leadership skills, but demonstrates how he is staying focused on the issues, looking at needed results, and building the relationships he needs to in order to secure the White House in November and to lead the country in the next 4 years. I don't ever second guess Obama's strategy. I trust the source of his decision making because I believe his greatest strengths are his character, his conviction and his integrity. He has also surrounded himself with excellent advisors and strategists. Whatever he has chosen to do in moving forward in alliance with Bill and Hillary Clinton is because it is the best of the options he has.
Team of Rivals is also available as an audiobook read by Richard Thomas and you can download it on to an iPod from iTunes. It's a very moving work of history that will leave you confident than that Barack Obama is truly the Lincoln of our generation.
The CLINTON INSURGENCY MARCHES ON
The Clinton Insurgency will continue on no matter what party leaders say or do. She stopped running for President in '08 sometime between Super Tuesday and Mini-Super Tuesday when the "Campaign To Elect Hillary" morphed into the "Campaign To Defeat Obama" at all costs.
So we loyal DEMS have to recognize that and behave accordingly.
The Clinton Insurgency will just move to the Senate if she fails in denying Obama the Presidency.
There, she'll caucus with Sens. McCain, Lieberman, and the rest of the REPS to keep blocking Progressive legislation and help create a failed Obama Presidency.
Of course, she's still got a great chance to avoid that by bringing to pass her preferred self-fulfilling prophecy of a failed Obama General Election campaign that produces a McCain Administration.
If The Clintons can pull that off, then they'd gladly take the heat while slowly trying to spin themselves back into DEM good graces.
So please stay informed and aware. Based upon The Clintons' words and deeds that we are all currently witnessing, there is absolutely no reason for any of us to be caught off guard or not prepared for their continued assault against Obama and any type of "Change You Can Believe In".
The Clintons are desperate to remain "titular heads" of the DEM Party, even if it means dooming us, the country, and the entire world to another four years of wandering in the wilderness during a McCain or Cheney-Lite Administration.
After yesterday's speech, one that we can all agree was moving, important, and crucial to our time. Obama broke the silence on race in our nation, how racism still exists, perhaps not in polite company but at the privacy of our own dinner tables.
Obama covered everything. He not only explained where he is coming from, but where people of Rev. Wright's generation are coming from as well.
We all know the speech by now. And I am not writing to give a full detailed review. I am writing to express a little idea I had yesterday in response to the speech.
Once the reviews began flooding in on how fabulous his speech truly was, how it lived up to expectations etc... one thought kept playing over and over again in my head- What can the Clinton's possibly say now? Will they have to rely more on their own policy making and character (yikes!).
Because this argument of "All Obama has is a speech he gave in 2004!" Just wont fly anymore, and if they stuck to that line they would fail miserably.
Because my friends- THANK GOD he had a speech in 2002 opposing the War, Thank God he gave a speech at the convention in 2004, Thank God for The Iowa Speech and all the other speeches since then. AND thank God he had a Speech from March 18th 2008- that began to hold not only American citizens accountable but the MSM as well.
THIS speech showed Obama's ability to connect! something that is so rare from most politicians. It showed how he represents all of us, he "gets it".
And what I kept thinking was- THIS is the CANDIDATE who I want broadcasting a speech from the OVAL Office in times of trouble, a person who can unite and comfort his citizens while holding them accountable for the outcome and the success of our endeavors. (and you can bet that this is the person who I want answering any dam phone yah like! just had to throw that in there)
So yes, Hillary and Bill, Obama does have a speech, in fact he's got plenty! Not only does Obama have the "words" that matter, but he has the ideas behind them, and the ingenuity and skills, not to mention faith in the American people- to organize and bring about CHANGE.
In closing, my friend the Hillary supporter, and friend of Philly's mayor- called me last night to ask me if I had seen the speech, she heard from her husband and everyone else that it was truly amazing and she was going to watch it when she got home.
Do I dream of us winning PA by huge margins, yes, of course!! There is a lot of work left to do. So let's stay positive and view this speech as also being a pep talk to keep us inspired through the next contests!
And check out the Rolling Stones Article about our movement!
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/19106326
I'm speechless. When I first read this I thought it was some kind of weird joke but then I realized that Geraldine Ferraro really is this paranoid and misguided. From CNN:
Dear Hillary - I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you.I won't let that happen.Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren.You have my deep admiration and respect.Gerry
Dear Hillary - I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.
The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you.
I won't let that happen.
Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren.
You have my deep admiration and respect.
Gerry
Wow. What color the sky is in Gerry and Hillary's world? And who accepts the charges on a collect call to their mutual Twilight Zone?
Hillary has many debts that must be repaid to her and she's playing the "big boss" and seeing that they are repaid back to her, by the so called loyalty of those within the political circle of the Democratic Party. In all honesty, what do we really want in a President? Do we really want to go through another four years of political infighting with nothing ever being done for the American people? Each political party claims to represent the interest of every American, too bad with the behavior they constantly show to one another, I beg to differ. I feel that when you represent the USA, you should represent each and everyone with the candor and commitment to the American people.
HRC felt that the Democratic nomination was hers, and hers alone, she didn't realize that she would have to fight so hard to win it. She must have felt BHO was going to be less of a threat than she or her camp had imagined, after all the Clinton's are some of the most powerful individuals in the Democratic Party. Let's just hope that they don't change any guidelines and the law's to benefit them, as they have done so in the past, when thing's didn't work out in their favor. Her ploy to act as the wounded and loyal wife is nothing more than a sham, this woman is relentless in her quest to become POTUS. It seems that Hillary isn't the only Democratic Party's "Super Star."
Obama 08!
