Jim Walton: Various Thoughts On Politics
I am a guest author, my blog is blackinbusiness.org.
When George Bush, our president was re-elected, he stated something to the effect of, “The American people have spoken, I have plenty of political capital and a plan of spending it.” Two years later the American people have spoken again, Bush used his political capital unwisely and the Republican Party is in shambles. The American people have discovered what the rest of the world knew, we have a poor leader who is untrustworthy and unworthy of his position.
You would think the democrats could take advantage of a weak, divided, out of touch Republican Party and take back the White House in 08′. I am not so sure.
Hilary Clinton, my home state senator who is from my current state, will be a formidable challenger. She is hard working, smart, respected and is married to a former president. Her downside however was when she jumped on the bandwagon and voted to invade Iraq. This will be hard to explain. I think it showed a lack of courage.
Barack Obama will be on exciting candidate and one that as Muhammad Ali would say, “Might upset the world!” Barack was against the war as an Illinois State Senator. I suspect if he had been a U.S Senator, he might have voted to support the War effort. I like Senator Obama. I have met him a few times and he is good with people. A writer appearing on Meet The Press, referred to Obama as the white Bill Clinton.
Unfortunately, I do not think a woman or a black can be elected in this country at this time. George Bush gives me hope because he is making white males look bad. John Edwards, great story, up from bootstraps, good energy, connects well, supported the war effort.
If the Democrat’s showed vision in ‘04 and tried to stick to their legacy, and had the courage to nominate Howard Dean, they would be able to win ‘08 in a landslide. Governor Dean was clearly against the war and could now say he was right in ‘04. He is right again in ‘08. Campaign Strategy, add up the dollars spent not invested in Iraq, review the goals for war. Weapons of mass destruction, Iraq are terrorists threat, 3000 plus Americans dead and 10,000 badly injured. Lost respect as a citizen of the world, no exit strategy. Bush lied to the public, outcome the murder of Saddam. It would have been cheaper to have a hit done. America; Was it worth it?
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This post was done a while back but now we know who is running. I wonder if Obama will address a civil rights adgenda, or risk Al Sharpton running. Also who will take the black vote if Al dose not run? Hilary\'s husband is widely considered the first black President and Barrack has been describe as the white Bill Clinton. It will be fun.
It is really too early to guess who might get the presidential nod for 2008. I think it will be exciting because there is no incumbent in the race. Reading your article, I think we have a very different take on Iraq, Bush, Hillary, Obama, and politics, but it will still be fun to watch.
This post was done a while back but now we know who is running. I wonder if Obama will address a civil rights adgenda, or risk Al Sharpton running. Also who will take the black vote if Al dose not run? Hilary’s husband is widely considered the first black President and Barrack has been describe as the white Bill Clinton. It will be fun.
It is really too early to guess who might get the presidential nod for 2008. I think it will be exciting because there is no incumbent in the race. Reading your article, I think we have a very different take on Iraq, Bush, Hillary, Obama, and politics, but it will still be fun to watch.
Andy, thanks for the comment, I am hoping for some debate on this topic, Bush is now losing his own the support of some high profile republicans. You are right, it will be a fun 21 months
As long as people have to even state the question of whether we are ready or not, means we are not ready.
I\'m no fan of Hilary Clinton and I promised after the Kerry fiasco that I would never, ever not vote my conscience again. So odds are I wouldn\'t vote for Hilary anyway, though I think she\'s bright and articulate. She\'s far too moderate to be effective in many ways.
Obama, well he\'s shown very little of what he\'s made of, I don\'t think he\'s got the experience to make a real run of it and may just muck things up in the end. A thoroughly likable fellow though.
In my heart of hearts I\'d like to see Kucinich get the nod. He\'s bright, he\'s got a plan for Iraq and the Middle East in general. And he\'s an all around good guy.
My hunch is that Obama will end up with the VP nod, perhaps with Edwards as the nomination. Still, I do wish there would be more discussion of the ideas of the candidates rather than speculation on who might get the nod.
As long as people have to even state the question of whether we are ready or not, means we are not ready.
I’m no fan of Hilary Clinton and I promised after the Kerry fiasco that I would never, ever not vote my conscience again. So odds are I wouldn’t vote for Hilary anyway, though I think she’s bright and articulate. She’s far too moderate to be effective in many ways.
Obama, well he’s shown very little of what he’s made of, I don’t think he’s got the experience to make a real run of it and may just muck things up in the end. A thoroughly likable fellow though.
In my heart of hearts I’d like to see Kucinich get the nod. He’s bright, he’s got a plan for Iraq and the Middle East in general. And he’s an all around good guy.
My hunch is that Obama will end up with the VP nod, perhaps with Edwards as the nomination. Still, I do wish there would be more discussion of the ideas of the candidates rather than speculation on who might get the nod.
It\'s too early for all the presidential nonsense anyways. Only Dodd and Clinton have any amount of money in their campaign chests. I think Obama ought to wait one more cycle, if for nothing else than to get more federal-level experience. Clinton, I believe will implode due to the enormous amount of hatred from various circles, not to mention that lead weight named Bill. The Ohioian is too unfamiliar to too many. Plus he\'s from the paved-paradise state. Richardson and Dodd would be a formidable team, imho. Both have experience and a fair amount of name recognition. Plus, both are thought to be more moderate than ideologues. And heavens knows we\'ve had waaayyy too much of the Rovian crap during the past 6 years.
The Democrats should come together behind a Biden/Obama ticket… the right mix of experience and energy that can pose a serious challenge to the GOP.
Regardless of the present state of the Republican party, the Democrats cannot win the White House with the collection of misfits currently in the field. Hillary will not play in Peoria, Richardson is a disgraceful liar, Edwards lacks any and all substance and has nothing beyond class warfare arguments, and Dodd is just Dodd.
The GOP field isn\'t much to brag about. McCain would be a disaster for America, Rudy is not a conservative, and Romney may have some \"flip-flopping\" problems to deal with. Huckabee, Hunter, Tancredo, and Gilmore are the best GOP candidates out there, but may have a tough time competing with that top tier of McCain/Rudy/Romney.
I believe that Nathan has it right yet again.
On the Democratic side, I disagree with almost all of the above speculation. Please see my previous article about Obama from December. Richardson, Dodd, Kucinich and Biden aren\'t real candidates. This is between Obama, Hillary, Edwards and Al Gore should he decide to run (Though I doubt he will). Contrary to above statements, Obama has raised the most money in the past year. If that is a sign of things to come, he\'ll be more than formidable. Hillary comes with a balloon attached to her stating \"doesn\'t play well with others\", which might be her undoing. Edwards is a leftover from 04\'s devastating ticket. With the majority of the Democratic parties \"best and brightest\" people joining Obama, I see him as the nominee. Biden would make an excellent choice for VP.
I agree with you Nathan almost entirely on the Republican side. I do, however, believe my former Governor will be out of the race in no-time (unbelievably unpopular in MA). Leaving it to McCain and Rudy, and hopefully your boy from Arkansas.
It’s too early for all the presidential nonsense anyways. Only Dodd and Clinton have any amount of money in their campaign chests. I think Obama ought to wait one more cycle, if for nothing else than to get more federal-level experience. Clinton, I believe will implode due to the enormous amount of hatred from various circles, not to mention that lead weight named Bill. The Ohioian is too unfamiliar to too many. Plus he’s from the paved-paradise state. Richardson and Dodd would be a formidable team, imho. Both have experience and a fair amount of name recognition. Plus, both are thought to be more moderate than ideologues. And heavens knows we’ve had waaayyy too much of the Rovian crap during the past 6 years.
The Democrats should come together behind a Biden/Obama ticket… the right mix of experience and energy that can pose a serious challenge to the GOP.
Regardless of the present state of the Republican party, the Democrats cannot win the White House with the collection of misfits currently in the field. Hillary will not play in Peoria, Richardson is a disgraceful liar, Edwards lacks any and all substance and has nothing beyond class warfare arguments, and Dodd is just Dodd.
The GOP field isn’t much to brag about. McCain would be a disaster for America, Rudy is not a conservative, and Romney may have some “flip-flopping” problems to deal with. Huckabee, Hunter, Tancredo, and Gilmore are the best GOP candidates out there, but may have a tough time competing with that top tier of McCain/Rudy/Romney.
I believe that Nathan has it right yet again.
On the Democratic side, I disagree with almost all of the above speculation. Please see my previous article about Obama from December. Richardson, Dodd, Kucinich and Biden aren’t real candidates. This is between Obama, Hillary, Edwards and Al Gore should he decide to run (Though I doubt he will). Contrary to above statements, Obama has raised the most money in the past year. If that is a sign of things to come, he’ll be more than formidable. Hillary comes with a balloon attached to her stating “doesn’t play well with others”, which might be her undoing. Edwards is a leftover from 04’s devastating ticket. With the majority of the Democratic parties “best and brightest” people joining Obama, I see him as the nominee. Biden would make an excellent choice for VP.
I agree with you Nathan almost entirely on the Republican side. I do, however, believe my former Governor will be out of the race in no-time (unbelievably unpopular in MA). Leaving it to McCain and Rudy, and hopefully your boy from Arkansas.
I cannot believe that Mark Warner is not going to run for president. I know he has stated that he is not, but the amount of money that his Foward Together PAC dumped into New Hampshire during the ‘06 cycle is one big reason why that traditionally Red state is all Blue today. Coming from the corner office in the Commonwealth of Virginia, he was able to work the state out of a many problems including a huge dificit. He is well liked by most including people from the right. He is well spoken and had positive message. I think if he were to run, it would be his nomination to lose as he doesnt have the enemies of the Hilary’s, nor the lack of experience of the Obamas. Unless he has a big skeleton in the closest, I see no reason why he wouldnt change his mind and jump into the very winnable race.
A debate in Chicago has started concerning black voters. Do we owe our vote to the Clintons or Chicago’s own Obama. Barrack may be safe in Chicago but the rest of the country’s black vote may be up for grabs. can Obama appeal to civil rights leaders, ie, Jackson, Sharpton, Rangel and others, more than the Clintons?
Andy, your question is one that both the Clintons and Obama will have to answer because on super Tuesday, the black vote will go along way toward deciding the democratic choice for president. In the sourthern states, getting people out to vote, and voting for one or the other will be a stategy both camps will embrace.
Why Clinton? Bill has always enjoyed black support and has been referred to as the first black president. Dose he deserve that support? Obama is black? Is that reason enough? That is what debates are for. What if Al Sharpton runs? My self, If Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinik ran, they could make a strong case for the black vote.
Jim, why would black voters owe their vote to either one? I know that question is going to read like it is aggressive, but it is not. I am truly interested in the answer.
I\'m personally behind Hillary all the way. I think the Obama craze is just that, a fad. And like all good fads, it\'ll fade as new things come to play. Not enough is known about Obama and certainly his lack of experience is an issue.
What is Obama offering? He\'s offering a touchy feel good sensation. He\'s saying just the right things in his speeches in order to rally a crowd. But it\'s going to take more than touch-feely speeches to govern the nightmare that the next president will walk into. In the end, his speeches contain almost no substance except how he thinks and how he feels.
To the other point, is America ready for a female or black president? I don\'t know. When you consider that more women hold office now than at any other time before, and that women make up about 51% of the population, I certainly think that American\'s are ready. Mr. Obama\'s challenge however, is to overcome a stereotype embedded in the American conciousness since the Willie Horton ad.
Andy, your question is one that both the Clintons and Obama will have to answer because on super Tuesday, the black vote will go along way toward deciding the democratic choice for president. In the sourthern states, getting people out to vote, and voting for one or the other will be a stategy both camps will embrace.
Why Clinton? Bill has always enjoyed black support and has been referred to as the first black president. Dose he deserve that support? Obama is black? Is that reason enough? That is what debates are for. What if Al Sharpton runs? My self, If Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinik ran, they could make a strong case for the black vote.
THE GUYS BEFORE HIM OPENED THE DOOR AND NOW WE HAVE A REAL BLACK CANDIDATE FOR THE POST OF PRESIDENT OF THE USA.
I THINK HILARY AND HIM WILL TEAM UP AND RUN TOGETHER AS A TEAM, BEFORE IT IS ALL OVER.
RICH
I’m personally behind Hillary all the way. I think the Obama craze is just that, a fad. And like all good fads, it’ll fade as new things come to play. Not enough is known about Obama and certainly his lack of experience is an issue.
What is Obama offering? He’s offering a touchy feel good sensation. He’s saying just the right things in his speeches in order to rally a crowd. But it’s going to take more than touch-feely speeches to govern the nightmare that the next president will walk into. In the end, his speeches contain almost no substance except how he thinks and how he feels.
To the other point, is America ready for a female or black president? I don’t know. When you consider that more women hold office now than at any other time before, and that women make up about 51% of the population, I certainly think that American’s are ready. Mr. Obama’s challenge however, is to overcome a stereotype embedded in the American conciousness since the Willie Horton ad.
Tony, you and I are on the same page. Hillary is doing a great job in my native state.I do think Barrack is hot right now. I did a post on Barrack for blackinbusiness.org, where I wrote about meeting state Senator Obama on a school field trip to Springfield. Great guy, charming, outgoing, but no crowds, now 3 years later, wow! What a difference a speech makes! But, Still I will support the brother.
THE GUYS BEFORE HIM OPENED THE DOOR AND NOW WE HAVE A REAL BLACK CANDIDATE FOR THE POST OF PRESIDENT OF THE USA.
I THINK HILARY AND HIM WILL TEAM UP AND RUN TOGETHER AS A TEAM, BEFORE IT IS ALL OVER.
RICH