March 5th, 2008
The primary season has been fun and exciting to watch, especially for political junkies like myself. My thoughts on the candidates:
Mike Huckabee…even though he is the opposite of me politically I really do like the guy. His wit and charm and “likability” factor are very appealing. He comes across as very genuine. Too bad he’s not a democrat.
John McCain…I love to see the republicans fight and John McCain is a good candidate to ensure the infighting continues. The right wingers and the moderates in that party just can’t seem to agree. If he wins the election in November he will be at LOT easier to take than our current president (although I DO NOT like his Iraq policy “we’ll be there for a 100 years”.
Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton…I like Obama, but could accept a Hillary nomination and presidency without problem. I hope they can continue to be civil and respectful with each other as the campaign continues. An Obama/Clinton ticket could be very interesting. That would require some negotiating to put that ticket together.
Jon Murray
March 4th, 2008
World opinion of the U.S. seems to have seriously deteriorated. My sense is that we’ve changed from a country that has been viewed with respect and admiration to one that’s now the object of ridicule.
How did this happen???
Could it be our dismal environmental record?
Could it be we’ve turned a deaf ear on the advise and counsel of our allies and friends on military incursions, e.g. Iraq?
Could it be our president chooses to resolve international disagreements by calling names? Example…The “Axis of Evil” statement…did he really think he would bring about change by calling names? (Weren’t we taught in elementary school that you’re not supposed to call names? “W” must of been absent the day they taught that lesson.)
Could it be we’ve taken and arrogant position in most of our dealings with other countries?
A role of the president is to lead and represent the U.S. throughout the world. We must have a president who is able to engage others with diplomacy and wisdom.
Jon Murray
March 4th, 2008
I’ve been complaining lately.
“Politicians can’t agree and don’t get anything done.”
“Our elected officials are beholden to lobbyists and big business and not to the people who elected them.”
“I don’t have any faith in an electorate who could vote in George W. not once, but twice.”
And I’ve been holding grudges, too. A longstanding one against McCain - ever since last year when took a heavily armored tour of Baghdad and walked around with helicopter gunships overhead and military escorts up the wazoo, reassuring us (after his return) that there are many areas of Baghdad where Americans can travel safely. Gee thanks, John - may I borrow your armored Humvee?
I’ve been mad at Hillary since last Tuesday, when she whined about getting the first question during the debate. “Can I just point out in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time….Maybe we should ask Barack if he’s comfortable and needs another pillow” Puh-leez….How unpresidential is that?
And of course, I can’t forget about my grudge against Obama, who made all kinds of promises to me the other night in a really good dream I had (and never told my husband about). But, when I awoke, he was gone.
You know what, though? When I woke up this morning and realized today is the day that a black man may clinch the Democratic nomination for president, I was happy for our country. And proud. And relieved. Because 142 years after slavery was abolished in this country, an African-American may finally be able to bring about change, not only for our current political situation, but for the continuing prejudices and unfair challenges that blacks in our nation continue to face every day. And we Americans - blacks, whites, and none of the above - have done it. We’ve shown all the ignorant, prejudiced, pathetic people in this country who think one’s color still matters that we will vote for a candidate based on his or her skills, not the color of his or her skin.
And you know what else? When I woke up this morning and realized today is possibly the last day we’ll have TWO historic candidates running for prez at the same time, I appreciated Hillary more than ever. Yeah, maybe she whines sometimes (who doesn’t?)… but wow, she’s a woman - and a strong, determined, intelligent one at that. Despite her domineering, abusive father and her philandering, selfish husband who managed to put his infidelity (and therefore, Hillary’s pain) out in the national spotlight, she has managed, based on her own merits, to rise to the top. Eighty-seven years ago, women were still fighting for the right to vote in this country. Now, if Hillary can take Ohio and Texas in today’s primaries, she has a shot at being voted into the highest office into the land.
I relish this moment. Go, Hillary. Go, Obama. Go, America!
Audrey Haynes
March 2nd, 2008
Am I the only person that seems to think that increasing taxes would be a death blow to the economy? It is a fact that things have slowed. But what amazes me is that the past 6 years as the economy has been growing you sure didn’t hear about it on the news. The so called experts are always amazed at better than expected numbers as far as unemployment and economic growth. Having said that the fastest way to ensure contraction in the economy is by increasing taxes. I am really tired of hearing about we have to increase taxes on the rich. They already pay the majority of the tax bill in this country. If this happens investment will dry up,these are the people that own a lot the businesses that we work at. Are we dumb enough to believe that if we increase taxes on the wealthy that this will have a positive impact? In what way? This will be another attempt at wealth redistribution. It is a proven fact that tax reductions for individuals and businesses actually increases receipts to the federal government. It has worked everytime it has been done. Along with this must be constraint on spending, which we have not had either. We need to provide an environment where businesses want to come to this country and not have to worry about confiscatory policies. We need to review policies that worked when JFK was president and worked again when Ronald Reagan was president. By the way they worked again when George Bush cut taxes. Think about it
Jeff Rushing
March 2nd, 2008
Now that Cuba has entered an era of possibility for change it’s time the USA starts to take a rational and adult perspective on our neighbor. The embargo has been a worthless and mean spirited endeavor during these 45+ years. Do we really think that a country is going to change it’s ways because their neighbor to the north has attempted to bully them in to that change? No more than you or I would change because of a bully! Furthermore, we have historically either ignored or at least spoken with our political adversaries around the world…especially communist countries who may not have stellar human rights records. I challenge candidates to have some courage to end this ridiculous charade. Of those running for president, Obama seems to have the most rational perspective in saying that he would talk to our enemies. Hopefully, if elected he will take it one step further and begin to normalize relations with Cuba as we’ve done with Vietnam.
Jon Murray
