Barack Obama 2008: An Honest Government, A Hopeful Future
About the Author
This is a group for national supporters of Barack Obama, the Junior U.S. Senator from Illinois and candidate for President, as well as others willing to engage in a constructive, respectful conversation about the Senator, his work and his campaign.
Jim Hightower, populist from Texas, used to be an elected official in the state and now publishes a monthly newsletter, "The Hightower Lowdown". If any of you are interested in subscribing...let me know and I will send you the 411 on how to subscribe. He writes extensively about Obama in this month's newsletter and I am putting a small article from it here.
Obama slip-sliding away?
MIXED EMOTIONS ARE WHAT YOU EXPERIENCE when you see your 16-year-old daughter come home from the prom with a Gideon Bible under her arm.
You get mixed emotions watching Barack Obama. While he clearly has progressive instincts and a phenomimal potential to be this century's FDR, he sometimes shows up carrying the Holy Bible of Corporatized Politics-As-Usual under his arm.
Look at his flip-flop on the domestic spying bill. It gives legal immunity to the telecom giants that helped George W spy on millions of us Americans. Obama had pledged this spring to go all out to defeat this-but then caved in and supported it (in fairness, he did fight to strip telecom immunity from the larger bill, but he knew that this would be a losing effort).
This is part of the Obama package-a man who, on occasion, will try to drift from progressive positions, crafting legalistic compromisese that fuzz the issue and fudge his own stand. Obama is not a pure progressive. Get used to that. If he is in the White House, progressives themselves will constantly have to challenge him, pushing him to be more FDRish, less Clintonesque.
The good news is that people are already onto this. When he reneged on his telcom pledge, the progressive netroots nation that has so strongly backed Obama exploded all over him, using his own website to rip him for breaking faith and to organize opposition to his switch. They didn't stop him this time, but they did sting him, making clear that they felt betrayed, could not just be ignored, and are expecting better.
To achieve progressive policies, democracy demands that the people themselves be noisy, feisty, and confrontational. That was true in FDR's time-and it's no less true in ours.
I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours.-Barack Obama
Yesterday evening as I drove home from a meeting, I listened to a Terri Gross interview on NPR. The subject of the discussion was a book of poetry by Brian Turner. I had not read Turner, but was so taken by Gross' interview with the poet that I immediately searched for a copy of his book. The search was well rewarded. Read More »
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) attends a ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem July 23, 2008. Obama began a visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday pledging staunch support for Israel and saying that if elected, he would work to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008
(moreinextended)
Read More »Lately McCain has been yelling that Obama was wrong about opposing the surge. I don't agree with this premise, but for the sake of argument, let's say it's true. Well lets ask these questions.
Was McCain right about Iraq stockpiling WMDs?
Was McCain right about Iraq involvement in 9-11?
Was McCain right about our being welcomed as liberators?
Was McCain right about "Mission Accomplished"?
Was McCain right about the Iraq War impacting the fight in Afghanistan?
Was McCain right about the Iraq War becoming a quagmire?
Was McCain right about the Iraq War becoming a half-trillion dollar debt for our children to pay?
How many more matters regarding the Iraq War has McCain been wrong?
Was McCain right about Iraq stockpiling WMDs?
Was McCain right about Iraq involvement in 9-11?
Was McCain right about our being welcomed as liberators?
Was McCain right about "Mission Accomplished"?
Was McCain right about the Iraq War impacting the fight in Afghanistan?
Was McCain right about the Iraq War becoming a quagmire?
Was McCain right about the Iraq War becoming a half-trillion dollar debt for our children to pay?
How many more matters regarding the Iraq War has McCain been wrong?
T. Boone Pickens, the Republican Texas oil mogul who has been pushing a renewable energy agenda, will be among the experts testifying before a Senate panel Tuesday on energy security.
As oil prices continue to hover around the $140 per barrel mark, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are likely Tuesday to use the Senate hearing as a forum to push for increased U.S. energy security, the idea of reducing foreign influence over the energy consumed in the United States.
Last week, Pickens began a public relations push for the energy plan he simply has titled, "The Pickens Plan." Pickens says installing wind farms in the midsection of the United States could produce 20 percent of electricity consumed domestically, alleviating the need to use natural gas to make electricity.
Under the Pickens Plan, natural gas along with biofuels would power all transportation, reducing foreign oil dependence -- according to Pickens' numbers -- by one-third.
The Economist magazine last week reported that Pickens' plan isn't entirely altruistic, however. According to the magazine, Pickens' company Mesa Power has invested $2 billion in a Texas panhandle wind farm. But Pickens, chairman and founder of BP Capital Management, also regularly points out he doesn't need the money.
The hearing, titled "Energy Security: An American Imperative," will be held at 9:30 a.m. Other panelists before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will be Gal Luft, executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security; Geoffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America; and Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Laboratory.
As oil prices continue to hover around the $140 per barrel mark, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are likely Tuesday to use the Senate hearing as a forum to push for increased U.S. energy security, the idea of reducing foreign influence over the energy consumed in the United States.
Last week, Pickens began a public relations push for the energy plan he simply has titled, "The Pickens Plan." Pickens says installing wind farms in the midsection of the United States could produce 20 percent of electricity consumed domestically, alleviating the need to use natural gas to make electricity.
Under the Pickens Plan, natural gas along with biofuels would power all transportation, reducing foreign oil dependence -- according to Pickens' numbers -- by one-third.
The Economist magazine last week reported that Pickens' plan isn't entirely altruistic, however. According to the magazine, Pickens' company Mesa Power has invested $2 billion in a Texas panhandle wind farm. But Pickens, chairman and founder of BP Capital Management, also regularly points out he doesn't need the money.
The hearing, titled "Energy Security: An American Imperative," will be held at 9:30 a.m. Other panelists before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will be Gal Luft, executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security; Geoffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America; and Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Laboratory.
A Palestinian man from east Jerusalem rammed a construction vehicle into three cars and a city bus in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding four people before he was shot dead, in a chilling imitation of an attack that took place in the city earlier this month.
The driver went on his rampage in a busy part of downtown Jerusalem, several hundred meters from the luxury hotel where U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is supposed to stay Tuesday night as he kicks off a visit to Israel.
Police said a civilian driving nearby saw what was happening, jumped out of the car and shot the driver, bringing traffic to a halt. A border policeman who rushed to the scene also shot the driver. Police sealed off possible escape routes into predominantly Arab east Jerusalem and were searching for two suspects who fled the scene, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
The driver of the bus said he was chased by the assailant as he wielded the construction vehicle's shovel.
"I was driving on the main road when the (construction vehicle) hit me in the rear, on the right hand side," the driver of the bus, who was not identified, told Channel 10 TV.
"After I passed him he turned round, made a U-turn and rammed the windows twice with the shovel. The third time he aimed for my head, he came up to my window and I swerved to the right, otherwise I would have gone to meet my maker," he said.
Witness Moshe Shimshi said the driver, who was wearing a large, white skullcap commonly worn by religious Muslims, slammed into the side of the bus, then sped away and went for a car.
"He didn't yell anything, he just kept ramming into cars," Shimshi said.
The driver then headed for cars waiting at a red light "and rammed into them with all his might," he added.
Channel 10 TV said a mother and her baby were wounded. Israeli rescue services said they had evacuated one person whose leg was partially severed; Israel media said he was in the car that was overturned.
"This was another attempt to murder innocent people in a senseless act of terrorism," said government spokesman Mark Regev. "All people who believe in peace and reconciliation must unequivocally condemn this attack. Unfortunately, it is clear that we as a society will have to remain vigilant against terrorism."
Minutes after the attack, the driver, wearing shorts and black shoes, was sprawled backward in the construction vehicle's cabin, his legs dangling lifelessly.
Firetrucks had massed at the scene, where the smell of gas was wafting and liquid had spilled on the ground.
Sirens wailed in the background, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
The assault was eerily reminiscent of an attack earlier this month, when another Palestinian from east Jerusalem plowed his front-end loader into a strong of vehicles and pedestrians on another busy Jerusalem street about 3 miles away. Three people were killed in that attack and dozens of others were wounded before an off-duty soldier shot the assailant dead.
Tuesday's attack was carried out with the same type of front-end loader. A four-door sedan next to the vehicle had been rammed from the rear and had crashed into a utility vehicle.
A compact car stood nearby, its driver's side smashed, and its hood and engine destroyed. Another four-door sedan was overturned on the sidewalk.
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski was in the area when he heard a commotion and rushed over to the scene.
The attacker "is from east Jerusalem," he said. "They keep on inventing ways to attack us," he said. "Every work tool has become a weapon."
The three latest attacks in Jerusalem have been carried out by Palestinians from the city's eastern sector.
The driver went on his rampage in a busy part of downtown Jerusalem, several hundred meters from the luxury hotel where U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is supposed to stay Tuesday night as he kicks off a visit to Israel.
Police said a civilian driving nearby saw what was happening, jumped out of the car and shot the driver, bringing traffic to a halt. A border policeman who rushed to the scene also shot the driver. Police sealed off possible escape routes into predominantly Arab east Jerusalem and were searching for two suspects who fled the scene, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
The driver of the bus said he was chased by the assailant as he wielded the construction vehicle's shovel.
"I was driving on the main road when the (construction vehicle) hit me in the rear, on the right hand side," the driver of the bus, who was not identified, told Channel 10 TV.
"After I passed him he turned round, made a U-turn and rammed the windows twice with the shovel. The third time he aimed for my head, he came up to my window and I swerved to the right, otherwise I would have gone to meet my maker," he said.
Witness Moshe Shimshi said the driver, who was wearing a large, white skullcap commonly worn by religious Muslims, slammed into the side of the bus, then sped away and went for a car.
"He didn't yell anything, he just kept ramming into cars," Shimshi said.
The driver then headed for cars waiting at a red light "and rammed into them with all his might," he added.
Channel 10 TV said a mother and her baby were wounded. Israeli rescue services said they had evacuated one person whose leg was partially severed; Israel media said he was in the car that was overturned.
"This was another attempt to murder innocent people in a senseless act of terrorism," said government spokesman Mark Regev. "All people who believe in peace and reconciliation must unequivocally condemn this attack. Unfortunately, it is clear that we as a society will have to remain vigilant against terrorism."
Minutes after the attack, the driver, wearing shorts and black shoes, was sprawled backward in the construction vehicle's cabin, his legs dangling lifelessly.
Firetrucks had massed at the scene, where the smell of gas was wafting and liquid had spilled on the ground.
Sirens wailed in the background, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
The assault was eerily reminiscent of an attack earlier this month, when another Palestinian from east Jerusalem plowed his front-end loader into a strong of vehicles and pedestrians on another busy Jerusalem street about 3 miles away. Three people were killed in that attack and dozens of others were wounded before an off-duty soldier shot the assailant dead.
Tuesday's attack was carried out with the same type of front-end loader. A four-door sedan next to the vehicle had been rammed from the rear and had crashed into a utility vehicle.
A compact car stood nearby, its driver's side smashed, and its hood and engine destroyed. Another four-door sedan was overturned on the sidewalk.
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski was in the area when he heard a commotion and rushed over to the scene.
The attacker "is from east Jerusalem," he said. "They keep on inventing ways to attack us," he said. "Every work tool has become a weapon."
The three latest attacks in Jerusalem have been carried out by Palestinians from the city's eastern sector.
Democrats and Republicans queasy about a federal rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are coalescing around the idea of letting the government slap limits on the multimillion-dollar pay packages of their executives.
Key lawmakers â€" puzzling over how to explain to constituents why they voted to bail out the troubled government-sponsored firms â€" see new curbs on compensation for the top officers as a crucial measure to cut down on the cringe factor.
At a time when Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's (FRE: 8.75, -0.43, -4.68%) troubles have investors worried and the government ready to jump in with untold sums of cash, the lavish pay of the two companies' executives is increasingly difficult to defend, they say.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., says Fannie and Freddie "have had their hard-won credibility undermined in recent weeks," on the heels of major accounting scandals at the firms in 2003 and 2004.
"While the subprime mortgage crisis is hardly the fault of these companies, past practices of awarding huge bonuses and higher executive salaries calls into question the prudence of extending an unlimited credit line of taxpayer money to the companies whose management practices have been questionable over recent years," Casey said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson.
Casey called for capping the companies' executive pay "at reasonable levels" if they used the line of credit or need Treasury to step in and buy their stock. Casey also said their boards should sue to recover recent bonuses.
Last year, Freddie Mac paid Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Syron nearly $19.8 million in compensation even though the mortgage company's stock lost half its value. During the same period, Fannie Mae President and Chief Executive Daniel Mudd got compensation valued by the company at $12.2 million, including a $2.2 million bonus.
"I would like to know why taxpayers should extend Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit at a time when their stock and investor confidence has fallen precipitously and their CEOs continue to make multimillion-dollar salaries and bonuses," Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., told Paulson in a letter last week.
Critics of Fannie Mae (FNM: 14.13, +0.73, +5.44%) and Freddie Mac, including Republicans who question the very existence of government-sponsored mortgage companies, have long denounced the firms for richly compensating shareholders and executives in good times while relying on taxpayers and the government to prop them up should they falter.
With the request for a federal lifeline, though, even their biggest boosters are embracing the idea of scrutinizing pay packages.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the House Financial Services Committee chairman, said a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should have the power to approve executive compensation. Frank and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the
Senate Banking Committee chairman, want to add the controls to a broad housing package that creates a new regulator.
The House could vote on the bill, which also includes a foreclosure rescue for 400,000 strapped homeowners, as early as Wednesday.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together hold or guarantee $5 trillion in mortgages â€" almost half the nation's total. Their stocks have plummeted on fears about their financial stability in a chaotic housing market where falling home values and rising defaults have contributed to large losses at the companies.
Paulson's request for a government lifeline to them has shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the workings of the companies. Both wield armies of lobbyists and shower lawmakers with campaign cash â€" prompting critics to charge that their financial problems are of their own making.
Frank said the housing legislation already includes "any reasonable control over Fannie and Freddie," but that he now believes Congress should explicitly give the regulator power to approve pay packages.
The agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already has the authority to bar them from awarding executives "excessive" compensation that's out of whack with what similar firms' top people receive. But the law expressly forbids capping Fannie and Freddie executives' compensation.
Both versions of the housing bill give the new regulator more latitude to decide what constitutes excessive pay, including taking into account wrongdoing by an executive. The Senate-passed bill also gives the government the power to limit or ban "golden parachute" payments for executives if either company becomes financially unstable, goes belly up or needed a federal bailout.
Key lawmakers â€" puzzling over how to explain to constituents why they voted to bail out the troubled government-sponsored firms â€" see new curbs on compensation for the top officers as a crucial measure to cut down on the cringe factor.
At a time when Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's (FRE: 8.75, -0.43, -4.68%) troubles have investors worried and the government ready to jump in with untold sums of cash, the lavish pay of the two companies' executives is increasingly difficult to defend, they say.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., says Fannie and Freddie "have had their hard-won credibility undermined in recent weeks," on the heels of major accounting scandals at the firms in 2003 and 2004.
"While the subprime mortgage crisis is hardly the fault of these companies, past practices of awarding huge bonuses and higher executive salaries calls into question the prudence of extending an unlimited credit line of taxpayer money to the companies whose management practices have been questionable over recent years," Casey said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson.
Casey called for capping the companies' executive pay "at reasonable levels" if they used the line of credit or need Treasury to step in and buy their stock. Casey also said their boards should sue to recover recent bonuses.
Last year, Freddie Mac paid Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Syron nearly $19.8 million in compensation even though the mortgage company's stock lost half its value. During the same period, Fannie Mae President and Chief Executive Daniel Mudd got compensation valued by the company at $12.2 million, including a $2.2 million bonus.
"I would like to know why taxpayers should extend Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit at a time when their stock and investor confidence has fallen precipitously and their CEOs continue to make multimillion-dollar salaries and bonuses," Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., told Paulson in a letter last week.
Critics of Fannie Mae (FNM: 14.13, +0.73, +5.44%) and Freddie Mac, including Republicans who question the very existence of government-sponsored mortgage companies, have long denounced the firms for richly compensating shareholders and executives in good times while relying on taxpayers and the government to prop them up should they falter.
With the request for a federal lifeline, though, even their biggest boosters are embracing the idea of scrutinizing pay packages.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the House Financial Services Committee chairman, said a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should have the power to approve executive compensation. Frank and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the
Senate Banking Committee chairman, want to add the controls to a broad housing package that creates a new regulator.
The House could vote on the bill, which also includes a foreclosure rescue for 400,000 strapped homeowners, as early as Wednesday.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together hold or guarantee $5 trillion in mortgages â€" almost half the nation's total. Their stocks have plummeted on fears about their financial stability in a chaotic housing market where falling home values and rising defaults have contributed to large losses at the companies.
Paulson's request for a government lifeline to them has shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the workings of the companies. Both wield armies of lobbyists and shower lawmakers with campaign cash â€" prompting critics to charge that their financial problems are of their own making.
Frank said the housing legislation already includes "any reasonable control over Fannie and Freddie," but that he now believes Congress should explicitly give the regulator power to approve pay packages.
The agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already has the authority to bar them from awarding executives "excessive" compensation that's out of whack with what similar firms' top people receive. But the law expressly forbids capping Fannie and Freddie executives' compensation.
Both versions of the housing bill give the new regulator more latitude to decide what constitutes excessive pay, including taking into account wrongdoing by an executive. The Senate-passed bill also gives the government the power to limit or ban "golden parachute" payments for executives if either company becomes financially unstable, goes belly up or needed a federal bailout.
In our fundraising efforts to attend the Democratic Convention in August, we've decided to focus on a small donor campaign. We figured out that it'll take us 240 people contributing $25 each for us to reach what we need to go to Denver and provide you with the best convention coverage in America. So far, we have the equivalent of 60 ($1500), leaving us 180 to go. Anyone reading this should be able to donate $25 to help us get there.
(BTW, if you want a preview of our Denver coverage, check out our Netroots Nation 2008 Coverage).
Read More »Remember back to the tracking polls in the North Carolina primary? They said it was going to be close. Obama won soundly. The problem with polls as has been brought up by many people including the very astute Chuck Todd on MSNBC is that many of the new voters do not have land lines. They have cells as their primary phone line. Most polls are made to land lines. Since the younger voters which make up a large segment of Obama supporters are not polled, it is hard to tell if the numbers are accurate. Obama's lead could actually be larger than it is because of this phenomena which started to emerge in the '04 campaign, but is even larger today.
The Democratic nominee leads among gays, independents, Latinos and blacks and leads John McCain by nine points overall, finds a new Harris poll.
Barack Obama leads John McCain among registered voters 44 percent to 35 percent, while Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate and Ralph Nader each receive 2 percent, a new Harris Interactive poll reported.
Sixteen percent of registered voters are not sure whom they will vote for.
Among LGBT adults, 60 percent favor Obama while 14 percent favor McCain.
Three percent of LGBT adults favor Barr, while 1 percent choose Nader. Six percent choose "other," while 17 percent of all LGBT voters are not yet sure which candidate to support -- comparable to the general population.
Among independents, Obama has a 12-point lead (38 percent to 26 percent), but one-quarter of independents are not sure, 4 percent would vote for Bob Barr and 3 percent for Ralph Nader.
The findings also show that 90 percent of African-Americans are voting for Obama, as are six in 10 Latinos. Whites, however, are leaning towards McCain over Obama (40 percent versus 34 percent).
Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
Barack Obama leads John McCain among registered voters 44 percent to 35 percent, while Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate and Ralph Nader each receive 2 percent, a new Harris Interactive poll reported.
Sixteen percent of registered voters are not sure whom they will vote for.
Among LGBT adults, 60 percent favor Obama while 14 percent favor McCain.
Three percent of LGBT adults favor Barr, while 1 percent choose Nader. Six percent choose "other," while 17 percent of all LGBT voters are not yet sure which candidate to support -- comparable to the general population.
Among independents, Obama has a 12-point lead (38 percent to 26 percent), but one-quarter of independents are not sure, 4 percent would vote for Bob Barr and 3 percent for Ralph Nader.
The findings also show that 90 percent of African-Americans are voting for Obama, as are six in 10 Latinos. Whites, however, are leaning towards McCain over Obama (40 percent versus 34 percent).
Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
A Rasmussen Reports poll released today shows Mayor Mark Begich with an nine-point lead (50%-41%), up from a two-point deficit last month.
That's an 11 point swing!
We've been on the air in Alaska for two weeks and these ads reminding voters of Mark's strong record of success are clearly paying dividends.
To stay on the air for the month before Alaska's primary election on August 26 we need your help.
Will you help us keep our ads and message of positive change on Alaskans' televisions?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
While this is good news, we know Sen. Stevens, his DC Republican allies, and special interest friends will now throw everything from their bag of tricks at Mark in an attempt to drive down his strong favorability ratings.
Will you donate now to help us fend off this negative onslaught and keep Mark in the lead?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
Thank you for your continued commitment to electing a U.S. Senator from Alaska of whom we can be proud.
Heather Rauch
Campaign Manager
Alaskans for Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
That's an 11 point swing!
We've been on the air in Alaska for two weeks and these ads reminding voters of Mark's strong record of success are clearly paying dividends.
To stay on the air for the month before Alaska's primary election on August 26 we need your help.
Will you help us keep our ads and message of positive change on Alaskans' televisions?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
While this is good news, we know Sen. Stevens, his DC Republican allies, and special interest friends will now throw everything from their bag of tricks at Mark in an attempt to drive down his strong favorability ratings.
Will you donate now to help us fend off this negative onslaught and keep Mark in the lead?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
Thank you for your continued commitment to electing a U.S. Senator from Alaska of whom we can be proud.
Heather Rauch
Campaign Manager
Alaskans for Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
How are we still losing the foreign policy debate? Read More »
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/telnaes/telnaes_main.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
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Thanks to everyone who posted constructive, unpresumptive comments to my last post to this blog. I am finding them helpful. To the rest of you who feel that they can spew unimaginative negative comments...please...get a life! To the others who posted emotion-filled hateful spew---yes, you WILL NEVER FORGET!!! I understand that. I have one question...Why bother to post? You sound stupid...really!
Source: Huffington Post
Obama arrives at the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday for a meeting with the prime minister and other officials
Obama with Prime Minister Maliki
Obama with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
Obama leaves the office of the prime minister
Obama with U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and Senator Chuck Hagel
I think these institutions have outlived their usefulness and should die. Their disappearance may cause some temporary dislocation and “the system” as we know it may never be the same. The wonderful thing about markets though is that they tend to evolve new systems when it makes sense. The only people who should be scared are the Wall Street and Washington big shots who feed on this corrupt and obsolete system. But we shouldn’t let them scare the rest of us into rescuing them, because the destruction of this system and its replacement with something better will only be a minor blip in our lives and in the end will benefit us all. We should rejoice that this detrius may be swept away in favor of something better, newer and more equitable. We should be excited, not scared, that the future can be bright if we don’t insist on preserving the vestiges of the past.
There is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama will do the most as president to help the middle class. But will he do the most for the economy? I have not once heard him talk about cutting pork-barrel spending. I have not once heard him talk about Wall Street Woes. I have not once heard him talk about strengthening the dollar. McCain cares about these things. Fixing these problems will help the overall economy. Cutting middle class taxes will help fix these problems, but there are other steps to take.
Barack Obama has the best plan to help the middle-class. John McCain seems to have the best plan to help the overall economy. I am wary of BHO's spend, spend, spend plan. I know we can ill afford another Republican President, but Senator Obama had best smarten up on the overall economy. He needs to take a Bill Clinton approach. Clinton was good to the middle class, but also worked toward balancing the budget. Be wary Senator Obama. We cannot keep borrowing money from China.
Barack Obama has the best plan to help the middle-class. John McCain seems to have the best plan to help the overall economy. I am wary of BHO's spend, spend, spend plan. I know we can ill afford another Republican President, but Senator Obama had best smarten up on the overall economy. He needs to take a Bill Clinton approach. Clinton was good to the middle class, but also worked toward balancing the budget. Be wary Senator Obama. We cannot keep borrowing money from China.