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obama

As of today, President Elect Obama is looking exceedingly less shiny. One of the most disguisting examples of the christian right has no place leading the religious aspect (separation of church and state missing here) of his inauguration.

I know Obama has a plan, that might be a good idea in the long run, but he should know better than trying to make nice nice with the religious right... just because they wear suits instead of robes, and are clean shaven instead of bearded, they are just like the islamists, foaming at the mouth, listening to the voices in their heads and possessed of a god complex fuckwits.

Cynicism is easy to give into but i really hope Obama isn't going to be one more political scumbag we end up hating...

Okay, admitedly i'm an undesirable alien (according to Lou Dobbs, despite being a technically qualified victim of the brain drain...) so i can't vote, however I have been a supporter of Barack Obama since before he was taken seriously over Hilary.

I can remember sitting in my room back in England, a few months before coming to the states reading about the election. I assumed it would be a Hilary dominated affair that she would win (and i would support her as much as a non-voter could do), when reading through some of the analysis (remebering this was back in early 2007) that there was a faint possibility that a mostly unknown junior senator from Illinois might be a democratic contender, although he had not announced any intentions. I remeber looking at his wikipedia page and thought about how unlikely it would be that he would even intend to run this time, let alone have any kind of chance. He looked young and idealistic, and even from a single photo he certainly had a certain charisma.

Once i came to America i felt as though my worst fears were realised... this was a country that while having a lot of free thinking compassionate people, there were a lot of self serving sociopaths. Meeting the first person who told me he didn't think poor people should get healthcare (particularly if he had to help pay for it) was an eye opener.

However as my initial shock wore off, and i realised that there was a majority of people who had a heart, and a brain (a lot of people just are taught not to use it). Then came the primary debates, and while i was impressed by all the candidates, the clear winner to me in every one of the debates was Barack Obama. I was honestly surprised that the Primaries were not over sooner, but i think it took a while for people to get to know him, and so Hilary Clinton seemed the safer choice.

I'm sure many were torn, i remeber a political cartoon of a figure representing the democratic party trying to tear itself apart because of its equal support for an african-american and a woman candidate...

However after a long and bloody primary campaign, the two very capable nominees shook hands and agreed to work towards a Obama run whitehouse, with a few mutterings from the Hilary Supporters for McCain (If you supported Hilary's policies, how could you support McCain...).

I have to say two things annoyed me a great deal about the primary campaigns, which to a certain extent were brought up in the main campaign.

The first was the guns and religion comment, which to me was very insightful, admitedly it wasn't the most tactful delivery, but its the truth about many in the rust belt states... its the reason there is a large NRA and conservative christian voting block in this country outside the bible belt...I felt while it came out as patronising, more people should have come out and supported Obama over this issue. That said, this isn't the UK, and the voting public can be very fragile about being criticised.

The second was the Jeremiah Wright affair, and i had 2 issues with this, firstly i listened to the "hate speech" and didn't even raise an eyebrow. It was a fairly mild if inelligent critique of American domestic and foreign policy, that is very common in the UK. Personally i would worry about the sanity and intelligence of anyone who cannot critically assess their own country's history...

My main contribution to all the campaigning was on sunday i got to call up people in Philledelphia to ask them very nicely to vote for Obama and whether they would like a lift to the polling booth... most people said no thanks, it was just downstairs... lucky students :P

However finally after all the mudslinging and political wrangling (and one major Obama betrayal over FISA... but then again nobody's perfect), we come to election day.

While it doesn't look like the requisite 61 senate seats were won, a new Lieberman proof majority is now in effect as well as significant gains in the house.

Which all pales compared to... at least 349 electoral votes for obama out of 538, which combined with a popular vote split of 52% to 47% (big in American politics) counts as one huge landslide.....

After it became clear, John McCain, got up on stage, and gave what i have to say was one of the finest concession speeches i have ever seen, and i was sad that i had not seen more of this side of McCain during the election, i still wouldn't have voted for him, but i might still have some respect for him.

Then President Elect Obama came on his stage and with a great deal of humility gave a speech about the days ahead and how difficult they will be, and how we all need to work together to help get this country back on its feet, and while i'm not American, and never will be in many ways (I'm a british girl, even if i don't like pg tips), i felt a great deal of hope and pride for this country that i happen to live in for the moment, and i have to thank both the people who did a huge ammount of effort, and the man who inspired it...

President Elect Obama, thank you, and please make this a country the rest of the world can feel inspired by again :)

For pure cheese factor...
"YES WE CAN!"

Watching Meet the Press, i'm thinking its is pathetic. What is wrong with being tough and sticking to your guns with questions. In Britain our press knows not give politicans a break and when they are talking crap, calling them on it, even if they agree with the overall policies and like the politicians...

It seems like the Meet the Press team seems to have their BS detectors removed before starting worked.

I'm thinking about donating some of my hard earned cash to Obama's political campaign.

I should say that while he is not perfect, i think he's going to be amazing for the USA and i look forward to a kinder, wiser and more noble administration than has been seen in a generation or 2.

However the english in me feels rather sad and let down by the idea that despite this amazing and inspired leader, he might loose because of political slandering by a trumped up excuse of a human being who fails at standing up for anything he believes in just to get elected. The budget of a state senatorial campaign would probably dwarf the election costs of an entire british political party....

In the UK i know Obama would win, it might take the length of one of his speeches, but his intelligence, principles, charisma and wisdom would bring him straight to number ten with a landslide.

Should i be pragmatic (The system is flawed, but i can help Obama winning with donations), or should i be principled (Obama should win on his own merits, not on how much advertising capital he can raise)?

I have to say i'm leaning towards the pragmatic... but i'm curious as to what people think?

P.S. If McCain wins, i'm planning to retreat back to the UK, provided you pay for a large bag in the hold you are welcome to come back with me (My parents have been requested to clear out the spare room for political refugees...)

After a huge amount of chatter, most of it uninformed guesswork, Barack Obama has finally announced his running mate :)

Senator Joe Biden, will hopefully be moving into the vice presidential quarters on January 2009, which is one thing that is confusing me, by taking up the presidency and vice-presidency cause the american equivalent of a by-election...?

Either way I'm looking forward to McCain and McCheney Junior getting run out of town when people finally realise they are peddling finely prepared BS...

I know i'm a bit late on this, mainly because i only watched the countdown podcast this evening.

I've tried to maintain an interest in US politics, but its difficult to do when you are on the other side of the ocean. After coming here i've tried to make up for lost time, but even then my first real exposure to John McCain was in the Iowa debate. I saw someone who made my skin crawl, he honestly struck me as someone "scary beyond all reason", and when he finally rose to the republican leadership i found my inital gut reaction confirmed time and again. But i didn't have the historical depth to know enough about his history, beyond his status as a Viet-Cong prisoner of war and his rather slimy entry into US politics.

Comments like a hundred years in iraq, and lack of any knowledge about the world outside his bedroom, his attitudes to people who disagree with him, all helped confirmed my feeling that this is the president we were warned about. The one that would be so insane as to press the button.

Then came the "its not important" comment, and after all the attempts to defend the indefensible, Keith Olbermann delivered this commentary.

Part 2

Honestly, countdown can at best be called infotainment, it would not be considered news anywhere in Europe, but Keith Olbermann does sometimes channel the person he attempts to emulate.

He may not be Edward R. Munrrow, and the republican party is far more calculating and intelligent than Joe McCarthy, but if enough people listen to him, they might start thinking again.

Apparently Obama speaking some hard truths seems to be a bad thing to the people of Pennsylvania.

I have to say i do like Hilary Clinton, i just prefer Obama. However the spin machine of fox and friends seems to have convinced the majority of democrats in the state that he'd be a bad choice for president.

I'm just rolling my eyes really.

55% Clinton,
45% Obama,
With 99% of the votes counted,

Source AP

Apparently despite Obama coming out ahead of Hilary Clinton, the LGBT community seems to favor to a certain degree Hilary Clinton. I've been trying to think why this is. Barack Obama, the great uniter, who makes friends with those who given the chance would lynch or burn at the stake every lesbian, gay, bi and trans person from New York to San Francisco.

I suppose it depends on how you feel about those who have been suckered into the conservative christian movement. I have friends who think those, particularly the ones who have been raised in conservative environments will never become enlightened. I don't feel this, i know its a huge effort, but i believe that anyone, no matter how damaging their upbringing can be enlightened.

If Obama chooses to make friends with the moderate forces in the republican party, it will be a way to start bringing those individuals out of the closed box they are in.

I would love to see Bush and company dragged off to prison and convicted for treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and a few other crimes to boot, but i'd far rather see a reformed and enlightened America.

Therefore i'm still gonna be an Obama supporter :)

Also as an aside, Romney has stepped aside, which leaves McCain on the route towards the republican ticket. I'll be interested to see whether the republican party prefers a foaming at the mouth preacher, or a pragmatic amoralist as their candidate...

While Iowa is only the first of many states in the decision making process, its interesting to see that while it was fairly likely that Barack and Mike would be the front runners in Iowa, i was surprised to see how far down Rudy was.

Huckabee is who right wing christians have always wanted in the Whitehouse, take Bush's ignorance, remove the advisors and corporate ties and then quadruple the fanaticism and intolerance. As a result despite him not being quite as gun-toting and maniacal as Fred Thompson, he's most likely to be the Republican candidate despite both Rudy and Mitt being better candidates in my (albiet pinko intelligentsia liberal) opinion as presidential candidates.

I'm happy to see Barack Obama ahead, and i hope this lasts, although i could be won over by Hilary being a very capable President. Suprisingly Hilary was behind John Edwards, although Iowa is a fairly conservative province and may be opposed to a female president (men and self hating women..grrr).

I think its time for a paranoid, racist, sexist, homophobic nutjob with all the intellectual capacity of a small concussed bee to be replaced by a man who might actually shake up the dead political landscape of this country.

Stephen Colbert, even in his Colbért state would make a better president that the one at the moment. But either way if Barack Obama doesn't get the Democratic Nomination, i think its time to say goodnight to the Democratic party.

Admittedly as an undesirable alien, i don't get to vote (yet), however i can see how the intelligent educated masses of America (all you out there stop hiding) are fed up with the Democrats, and would rather declare affiliation with Ron Paul (someone less qualified to be President than Bush...) than vote for a Republican.

So i think a joke candidate with some integrity would actually have a chance of taking a significant portion of the vote, even if he almost certainly wouldn't win, maybe it'll be enough to put a decent stake in the heart of the democratic party.

To my understanding former presidents retain their title, and since Gore won the 2000 Election, he retains that title.

Today he has been given the Nobel Peace Prize (Shared with the UN climate change panel), for his actions in attempting to fight climate change and bring awareness of Man Made climate change.

While many (including myself) would like to see a Gore '08 ticket, i'm somewhat opposed to him trying to run, because this race is going to be messy on a scale not seen in a generation, and i'd rather not see him get damaged by the fray.

I still like Barack Obama both as a Candidate and as a Person who would help restore American legitimacy at home and abroad. I hope he's half as decent as he claims to be..

If Ron Paul gets in i may have to leave because i wont feel safe in this country, to much of who and what i am, he despises.

Back to the original, Go Gore :) and unless we get Barack (or even a long game playing Hilary), looking forward to a Gore '12 ticket.