Personal news, commentary and ramblings
The economy was certainly a factor in the election but it was only a minor factor. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back.
As I bask in the sweet feelings of victory following the election on Tuesday, I must pause to thank those I think most responsible for Obama’s election (in no particular order):
This is what is wrong with the Democratic Party. After being out of power for so long, they have become so concerned with the political consequences of their actions that they no longer have the courage of their convictions
The New York Times reports that once again, despite previous assurances that they would not, the Democrats in Congress have caved in under threat of veto from President Bush. When the American people elected a Democratic majority to both the House and Senate in 2006 it was assumed by most that the Democrats would end the war. A few weeks ago I watched Nancy Pelosi on one of the Sunday talk shows. The interviewer asked her why Congress had not acted to end the war during the last two years and her response was this:Â The President will veto it and the Democrats don’t have enough votes to override.
Last night I watched in disbelief as Hillary Clinton failed to concede to Barack Obama and hardly acknowledged that she had lost the Democratic nomination for President. This was her opportunity to begin healing all the wounds inflicted during the primary, but instead she chose to merely point them out again.
Last night I watched in disbelief as Hillary Clinton failed to concede to Barack Obama and hardly acknowledged that she had lost the Democratic nomination for President. This was her opportunity to begin healing all the wounds inflicted during the primary, but instead she chose to merely point them out again. You can read the full text of her speech but let me just summarize for you:
Continue reading “The Frustration Continues”
Here’s what Keith Olbermann had to say on Countdown last night:
We’ve had eight years of a presidential administration that never admits its mistakes and never apologizes. We don’t need another president who can’t apologize.
In the biggest vote of her political life, Hillary Clinton (and the rest of the cowardly Democrats who would not go against George W. Bush for fear of their political careers ending abruptly)Â voted “Yes” to go to war with Iraq. Even after the so-called “intelligence” that was used to justify the war was shown to be a sham, she still supported the war nearly as much as turncoat Democrat Joe Lieberman. When her run for the presidency began in 2007, many began to speculate whether she should apologize for her vote. That speculation reached a fever pitch until she finally admitted that the war had been a mistake but only went so far as to say about her own vote that she had received faulty intelligence.
Her reasoning in this matter is faulty for two reasons. First, she did not vote for the Levin Amendment which would have required that the President allow U.N. inspectors more time to complete their job. If, as she claims, she was granting the President the power of war to use in diplomatic efforts to “disarm” Saddam Hussein, then the Levin Amendment would have been an important tool in those efforts. Secondly, and more importantly, in not admitting that her vote was wrong, especially in the way that she has, she is affirming the validity of the Bush administration’s preemptive war policy. Much like the administration, she has not learned the most valuable lesson of the war: preemptive war is wrong. As we found out, even “slam dunk” intelligence can be faulty. Even in the best of circumstances, relying on such intelligence is a gamble. Let’s assume, for example, that our intelligence community was 90% certain that the intelligence was correct. That would still leave a 10% chance that we would be launching a war for no good reason.
Continue reading “Reasons Not to Vote for Hillary Clinton: Never Wrong”