It all began last Sunday when things were looking up for Hillary Clinton… sorta. She won Puerto Rico by a landslide. Unfortunately, it mostly went without notice across the country. There was commentary, of course, but none of the pundits seemed to put much stock in the win turning the heads of the superdelegates. For once they were right.
Hillary Clinton’s convincing win in Puerto Rico’s Democratic presidential primary on Sunday is adding fuel to her claims that the popular vote total should give superdelegates the guidance they need to select her as the nominee.
With 100 percent of the vote counted, Clinton received 68 percent to Barack Obama’s 32 percent, winning by more than 140,000 votes.
But lower-than-expected turnout could hamper Clinton’s argument that she can attract enthusiastic general election voters and is the better candidate than Obama in the fall race against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
Clinton made her speech, tried to sell her candidacy, but there were no takers.
On Tuesday the last two primary contests were held in South Dakota and Montana. Clinton took South Dakota. Obama took Montana. Being a gentleman… and the obvious nominee… Barack Obama awaited Clinton’s concession speech. It didn’t come. Clinton sounded bitter as the superdelegates, one by one moved to commit to Obama.
Quite honestly, the first words out of her mouth were encouraging, but somewhere during her speech it seemed that Hill had a change of heart. We can all understand the disappointment of not achieving a life long goal, but the speech sounded as bitter and divisive as any she has given during the campaign. If it accomplished anything it moved the superdelegates to Obama faster than the trickle that had been going on all day.
The look on Barack and Michelle Obama’s face as they watched the Clinton speech reflected that of most Americans I’m sure. But, in true style Senator Obama delivered one of those speeches that uplifted everyone… except the Clintons.
Oh, yeah. John McCain tried to show what he’s made of by making a speech before that of Clinton or Obama. It was his welcome to the real world speech to Obama, so to speak. He offered challenges to the new nominee, but … well, to paraphrase Mark Shields on The News Hour… McCain is so bad at reading a teleprompter that he couldn’t get a job as a weatherman in Duluth. (No disprest to Duluth.)
Okay, so it doesn’t take a great speech to make a great president, but think about this… if it were possible for McCain to be elected President we would have to listen to that boring tone of stumbling and rambling each year at the State of the Union Address. That’s reason enough to vote for a Democrat!
Then the rumors started to fly and the rest of the week was like a rollercoaster ride. One day Hillary was going to fight all the way to the convention. The next day no one knew what she was going to do. Some reports indicated that she would meet with her people and concede on Friday, then on Saturday.
Thursday night, Barack Obama sneaked off his plane heading to Chicago and met with Hillary Clinton in secret. There has been speculation out the …. well, lots of speculation about the conversation. But, it was private and I’m guessing it will stay that way.
In the meantime, back on “The Hill” the Farm Bill passed. Bush will veto it if he hasn’t already. And it will go back to the Senate.
Secreatry of Defense Robert Gates continued to flex the power of his position and fired the top TWO Air Force personnel, one military, once civilian. Gates has realized that the DOD is in shambles, more evidence that Rumsfeld was totally incompetent.
Back to the political scene. Hillary gave the best speech of her campaign today. It was about time and most appreciated. That brought the Democratic primary season to an end, and none too soon.
These times are a’ changing…. Barack Obama has made “Change” the central theme of his campaign and for months we have all chanted the word over and over again, feeling a slight rush of adrenaline as we repeated the word in unison and held our “Change” signs above our heads. But, in the past week we have seen what happens when we, the people, start to believe we can make a change. We stopped chanting the word and took action.
This has been a busy week on many fronts. There have been ups and downs for the candidates. The pundits have tried to sway our opinions with spun analyses of every word spoken by each candidate and even the President. The Republicans have tried to tie relatively unknown Democratic candidates in Mississippi and Louisiana to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, anticipating that Southern voters in ruby red states would stay within the confines of the Republican party. Yet, as the voters watched the Republican Party click the heels of the ruby slippers, they voted for “Change.” This isn’t the Mississippi or Louisiana of four years ago. These times, they are a’ changing.
Within the past several weeks we have seen the Republican whip be denied what has been taken for granted for years. In the deep, deep South where the states are so red that blue isn’t in the Crayola Box, the voters went to the polls and voted to put the blue crayon back in the box and on the map. Additionally, the seat vacated by Dennis Hastert was taken by a Democrat.
Okay, so we are talking about three seats in the House… just three. But, considering where they are and who filled them in the past, the vote has to be considered a major statement from the people. And, the Republicans may not have seen it coming but once it was here, they have been flocking to support Democratic supported House bills. The momentum is growing and the Republicans are scared. This week a veto-proof Farm Bill was passed. Well, that’s a first in a long time.
On the Democratic campaign trail Barack Obama got a shellacking in West Virginia. Hillary stomped his butt into the ground, winning the primary by some 40 points. But, not to be outdone, the day after Obama pulled the rabbit out of his hat bringing John Edwards’ endorsement to his campaign and in all probability enough pledged delegates to neutralize the Clinton win in West Virginia.
In the meantime, John McCain was vying for face time. Remember him? John McCain? The Republican nominee for President of the United States of America? Well, Senator McCain spent the early part of the week trying to distance himself from President Bush. McCain even gave a “fantasy speech” outlining what the fourth year of a McCain presidency would look like. To my surprise it looked like a victory in Iraq (I said this was a fantasy speech) and troops coming home by 2013. We dare not call that a “timeline” because we don’t want to tip our hand to al-Qaeda. But, it sounds remarkably like a timeline to me, fantasy or not.
And, just when it began to look as if the Arizona senator had taken a step away from the President, Bush showed up in Israel and spoke before the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset.
Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.
Now, Bush may have been on the other side of the world, but no utterance goes unheard. Dana Perino, Bush’s press secretary tried to say that the statement was not in reference to Barack Obama… another instance that shows the Bush administration thinks Americans have no brains. But, that has been the basis of all his actions, hasn’t it? He thinks (and I use that term loosely) that “we, the people” are no more than sheep grazing on the tumbleweeds of the Crawford ranch. Oh, well…. these times, they are a’ changing.
Barack Obama welcomed the comment. He fired back at the President.
“It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 6Oth anniversary of Israel’s independence to launch a false political attack. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power — including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.”
Then the wagons began to circle around the Democratic candidate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Cali., did not take kindly to the remarks calling Bush’s statement “beneath the dignity of the office of the president” in her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill.
Hillary Clinton even pulled her wagon into the circle around Obama, an act of Democratic unity we have not seen lately.
“On the face of it and especially in light of his failures in foreign policy, this is the kind of statement that has no place in any presidential address and certainly to use an important moment like the 60th anniversary celebration of Israel to make a political point seems terribly misplaced,” said the New York Senator during an impromptu gaggle with reporters. “Unfortunately this is what we’ve come to expect from President Bush who has refused to change course in Iraq, neglected Afghanistan and failed to provide leadership on the range of important issues that face our country and the world.”
“This is bullshit, this is malarkey. This is outrageous, for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, to sit in the Knesset … and make this kind of ridiculous statement.”
And, even poor old John McCain was drawn off point and into the fray. McCain had requested the opportunity to speak before the NRA. He was not invited. He requested the opportunity, although it seemed a bit of a skew from where he was heading earlier in the week. Yet, during his NRA talk McCain showed once again that he and Bush are conjoined twins… hooked at the hip.
Sen. John McCainsaid Thursday Sen. Barack Obama’s willingness to sit down with the president of Iran shows “naiveté and inexperience and lack of judgment” — and indicated he will make the issue front-and-center in the general election if Obama becomes the nominee.
In his speech, McCain went on to say:
“What does he want to talk about with, with [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad who said that Israel’s a stinking corpse, who said that he wants to wipe Israel off the map, who’s sending the most explosive devices into Iraq, killing Americans?” he said. “The point is that peace through strength is the way we achieve peace in the world. That’s the point. I will debate this issue with Senator Obama throughout this campaign.”
Going farther, McCain continued to connect Obama with Ahmadinejad and highlight the Iranian leader’s incendiary comments about Israel.
“I think Barack Obama needs to explain why he wants to sit down and talk with a man who is the head of a government that is a state sponsor of terror that is responsible for the killing of brave young Americans and wants to wipe Israel off the map and denies the Holocaust,” McCain said.
“It is a serious error on the part of Senator Obama that shows naiveté and inexperience and lack of judgment to say that he wants to sit down across the table from an individual who leads a country that says and says that Israel is a stinking corpse, that is dedicated to the extinction of the state of Israel.”
Obama responded by saying that a couple of years ago McCain had said that perhaps talking to Hamas was the only way to go and added:
“I want to be perfectly clear with George and John McCain,” Obama said, “If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate I’m willing to have anytime, anywhere because that is a debate that I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for.”
Well, these times… they are a’ changing.
And, let us not overlook the tasteless comments of Mike Huckabee this week. For a so-called preacher, he perhaps needs to learn to speak without putting both feet in his mouth at once. But… we all know this is the same man who once said AIDS victims should be quarantined and that time began 6000 years ago, the man who once equated “gay” with “pedophile”… and who would probably like to be second on the Republican ticket. This week, his jokes hit a sour note and no one was laughing.
At the time of the writing of this post, breaking news indicates that Senator Edward Kennedy has been rushed to a Cape Cod hospital with stroke like symptoms. We hope the best for him as we await any updates.
This has been another one of those weeks were everyone and everything seemed to have a hand in the barrel.
The War in Iraq continued. More American soldiers were killed. Even more Iraqi’s were killed. Sadr City is in chaos. Basara is once again being attacked or defended, depending on the perspective. And, the American Embassy was declared complete. What an accomplishment! The most expensive embassy in the world has been built in one of the most unstable countries on the face of the earth. Welcome to the Fortress of Failure!
I just can’t say that it is one of the prettiest things I have ever seen and obviously, the architect was NOT going for style. In fact, from the outside, the building looks like a massive prison or a huge fort. You pick!
But, lest we despair that over $700 Million of U.S. Dollars was wasted on yet another prison, we see that we have provided Ambassador Crocker with some fine relaxation spaces.
So, this is what diplomacy looks like!
Maybe Secretary of State Rice will christen the new Baghdad Bungalow while on her trip to the Middle East. And, let’s hope they have working communications throughout the building. Otherwise, the Secretary and the Ambassador may never see one another. Maybe a poolside chat will be in order, while our soldiers are dying in the streets and Iraqis are still waiting for water and electricity.
Back on the home front, ABC News, Charles Gibson, and George Stephanopoulos embarrassed themselves before the entire nation and the world. Oh, yes. I received an email from a friend in England not too many hours after the debate, who suggested that perhaps we have dissociated ourselves from the real world where there are issues of an economic nature that affect the entire world. He went on to mention the world food crisis, the War in Iraq, and what about our pitiful health care system. But, in true form, he also asked that I send him a “flag pin” so he could see what has “the bloody blokes’ knickers in such a twist.” Now I have to go out and buy a flag pin. Thank you Charlie and George!
John McCain offered the idea that we should roll back gasoline taxes for the summer. That old idea was prompted years ago during a gas crisis. It didn’t work then. It won’t work now. With a barrel of oil selling for $117 by week’s end, it seems that we need some real solutions, not temporary fixes that would allow all of us to drive to our vacation destinations this summer.
In Texas the judge ruled that the 416 children removed from the polygamist ranch outside Eldorado would stay in state custody… temporarily. On Friday evening the women, the mothers of the children, were seen leaving the Courthouse without the children.
It seems that all this controversy began with a phone call from a person who called herself Sarah. “Sarah” claimed to be the under aged wife of a fifty-year old man, abused, and a mother. It is now doubtful if there is or was a real “Sarah” who made the phone call. In fact, it seems that no one has been able to determine who made the phone call of if it originated from within the ranch compound.
I have said it a thousand times, I am against child abuse. But, you know, with all the tracking devices, etc. that most authorities use, it just seems to me that “Sarah’s” whereabouts could have been determined before the raid on the compound. When I call 911, within seconds I am identified by address. And, if I make a call by cell phone…. well, I think I can be tracked to within a few feet. Please forgive my skepticism, but it seems to me that we have not heard all the news about the raid or what precipitated it. In the meantime, all I can report is that “for the sake of the children,” some 416 children from babies to teenagers are being held without their parents. From reports, it seems that the kids don’t know which parents are theirs, and some of the children seem to change names daily. The State of Texas has ordered DNA testing to sort out the family tree. Excuse my skepticism, but something seems as rotten in Texas as it did on the ranch.
In other parts of the country, ICE, the immigration team, swooped down on Pilgrim’s Pride plants and rounded up almost 300 undocumented workers. While the fate of those workers is being determined, children have been left to the care of others. And, once again, children have been separated from their parents.
In either the polygamist case in Texas or the detention of undocumented workers, it just seems to me that the innocent children are the ones who are being punished. I’m reminded of our Iraq war policy. Easy to get in, but what do we do when we get there and how do we get out? In every case, children are the victims. Perhaps, someone should teach the 7P’s to those in government on every level. Proper Positive Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
The Pope arrived this week, greeted by President Bush at Andrews Air Force Base. Everyone has made a big deal about the president going to meet the Pope instead of waiting at the White House for Pope Benedict to arrive there. Formalities and pomp and circumstance have taken up as much news space as the substance. Pope Benedict has delivered above expectations, according to many. Of primary importance was the visit he had with abuse victims in private. That gesture was welcomed by those who have been abused by the clergy. Perhaps, most of us have been surprised by how likable the Pope seems. No one expected him to be a John Paul II, but Benedict has emerged as far more than anticipated.
On the other hand, I still have to say that I, as a Catholic, am somewhat dismayed that too many of those priests who facilitated and covered up the activities of the pedophile priests are still in their positions or have been elevated. Perhaps, I expect too much of the Church.
On to other issues. The Farm Bill is stuck in Congress as they haggle over adding a few more billion to the pot and try to refine some of the “excesses”. Nothing was mentioned about cutting McConnell’s horse farm subsidy from the bill, but the Congress will take another week to negotiate the bill. Maybe someone will realize that we don’t want to subsidize the Kentucky Derby.
The FAA said they were tightening up on the inspections of our airlines, once again trying to lead us to believe we are safe in the air. Stuckey and Gawadinski are still employed. Sturgell is still lurking in the halls.
We have all been told since our earliest days that one bad apple can spoil a whole barrel. That applies to the Church, to the government (state or federal), government agencies, and the list goes on. So, why do we continue to think if we move the bad apple to the other side of the barrel it won’t continue to create rot? Remove the bad apple…. Take it out of the barrel.
From Wall Street: Several of the largest banking institutions said they would be eliminating thousands of jobs. I believe the last combined total was somewhere around 15,000. I’m betting no one bails out those about to become unemployed. But, perhaps that’s the real crisis in our country. The Fed and those in Congress or the administration seem to concentrate more on bailing out, propping up, and keeping solvent institutions…. banks, corporations, etc., as if the walls of Wall Street are hallowed and that as long as the building is standing all is well. What about the people… the individuals?
Inflation is here as food prices and gas prices continue to rise. We have all spent so much time talking about the price of gas that for some the price of food has crept its way to 10% - 50% increases. And, we can’t forget the world rice situation. Rice is one of the staples of the world food organizations… or has been. I am left wondering how we are going to feed the world without rice. Wheat and corn have seen rapid increases that left without regulation will see those commodities removed from the tables.
And, let us not forget that we all filed our taxes this week. Amid all the waste, beginning with the newly completed American Embassy in Iraq, we have been once again reminded that we are footing the bill. Of course, the IRS is going to pay three outsourced companies to collect any taxes we didn’t voluntary attach to our tax forms, although we pay those companies more to perform collections than what they actually collect.
To be sure, I’m not the only person who believes the world is out of balance. Am I?
The Easter week off in Washington may have stopped the Congress, but I’m getting the feeling that there are still some hidden eggs on the White House lawn.
I discovered that being a typical white woman isn’t so bad. But, according to the polls, I’m not so typical for my age. I’m not a Clinton supporter. So, maybe there’s nothing typical about any of us.
There’s no wonder getting a green card is so difficult. The rules vary from office to office and agent to agent. Oral sex would get you a green card last week. This week it was disclosed that Saman Kareem Ahmad, an Iraqi, was denied a green card after risking his life in service our country for four years because he had once been a member of a group that tried to topple Sadam Hussein. Too bad he wasn’t successful. It would have saved over 4,000 American lives. But, in the end, with lots of pressure and a little common sense, Ahmad is being reconsidered.
Bear Stearns growled loud enough to get the price of the bail out up to $10 a share from $2. Maybe we should all growl a little louder. The Bear growl came from its stockholders and apparently it worked. ”We, the people,” are America’s stockholders… well, maybe it’s our turn to roar.
The Fed is printing up money this weekend but it isn’t for the citizens, it’s for the banks. The $260 Billion the Fed loaned the banks this month wasn’t enough to satisfy their appetites, so we are handing out another $100 billion in April. Guess the big Bear wasn’t the only animal growling on Wall Street.
The candidates weighed in on the economic crisis. John McCain thinks it best to let us fend for ourselves… well, unless we are a bank facing a systemic crisis. The key word is “systemic”. Everything that relates to a bank is systemic. Nothing that relates to you or me is systemic. So, McCain’s bottom line is, feed the fat cats and let the strays eat from the garbage can.
Hillary Clinton brought the $30 billion figure to the table. She has taken the poor man’s position and vows to help the little people. I just didn’t get how adding street lights to neighborhoods would help us stay in our houses. At best, we will be able to see how to move out in the dark of night.
Barack Obama sailed right down the middle of the road. He talked about $30 billion, but he seemed to lean towards refinancing some of the homes for responsible buyers. Maybe he’s been talking to Chris Dodd.
Oh, by the way, Senator Dodd has once again stepped up to the plate. He’s going to hold hearings this coming week to get some explanations from the Fed. We will be watching.
The State Department confessed that there have been “several” breaches of privacy within its confines, but not to worry. We are safe. In addition to the three candidates having their passport information breached, it seems that some famous movie stars were on the “let me peak” list. Of course, those are the ones the department has “fessed up to.” It appears that the State Department employees have too much free time on their hands. Maybe someone could tell them that they should be processing passport applications. The department is so far behind that the deadline for passports has been moved back a year to June, 2009.
Lest we think incompetence is only housed in the Department of State, this week the Pentagon disclosed that instead of sending batteries to Taiwan in 2006, they shipped missile parts. And, it took two years for someone to discover this?
Speaking of the Pentagon and war, George Bush after meeting with some military officials early in the week spoke to a group in Dayton, Ohio, using words like “success” and “victory” in his message. He proclaimed that the surge is working. I guess he just forgot to mention that the surge that is working is the Iraqi militants’ surge, not ours.
All hell broke loose in Iraq this week, from Basara to Baghdad. But, have no fear, the Iraqi government is in control. First, al-Maliki told the Sadr militia to lay down their arms in 72 hours… then by April 7th. By the first full week in April, the al-Maliki government will be backed up to Fallujah. But, hey… whatever works for him.
The Green Zone was attacked this week, during the demonstrations in Baghdad. That’s the same Green Zone that John McCain and company were parading around in last week, touting the surge and the victory that was looming on the horizon. Bet, he isn’t going back this weekend.
An interesting video of John McCain surfaced showing him singing “Bomb, bomb, Iran”. He can’t carry a tune either. And, rhythm? Not an ounce!
Obama spoke to the issue of economics, and once again ever so briefly on The View the subject of Jeremiah Wright reared its head. In true Obama style, he put the subject to rest.
Obama picked up the endorsement of Senator Casey from Pennsylvania this week. Clinton held onto Governor Rendell’s endorsement.
Of course, Senator Clinton came under fire for her tale of being under sniper fire in Bosnia. At least she knows what it feels like now.
Throughout the week, when there was news of the candidates, the spin continued.
The shortest job duration in Washington goes to Felipe Sixto, who served as a presidential assistant for less than 20 days.
Back on the home front, ABC News, Charles Gibson, and George Stephanopoulos embarrassed themselves before the entire nation and the world. Oh, yes. I received an email from a friend in England not too many hours after the debate, who suggested that perhaps we have dissociated ourselves from the real world where there are issues of an economic nature that affect the entire world. He went on to mention the world food crisis, the War in Iraq, and what about our pitiful health care system. But, in true form, he also asked that I send him a “flag pin” so he could see what has “the bloody blokes’ knickers in such a twist.” Now I have to go out and buy a flag pin. Thank you Charlie and George! 
In Texas the judge ruled that the 416 children removed from the polygamist ranch outside Eldorado would stay in state custody… temporarily. On Friday evening the women, the mothers of the children, were seen leaving the Courthouse without the children. 
