 |
Countdown 08 |
 |
Obama, Bill gets frisky, Geriatric Momentum, Rudy’s last stand, and other ‘declarations.’
I don’t view Barack Obama’s second place finish in Nevada as a loss, and neither should he or anyone else. Let’s face it, Hillary had the name recognition to launch her into first place in practically every state, but Senator Obama closed a 15+ point gap within two weeks. That’s impressive folks. In football a win is a win. In Politics a close second with shown momentum isn’t necessarily a win…but it’ll get you to the next race.
Maybe Obama's momentum explains why it is that Bill Clinton (the former President of the United States), has been his wife’s attack dog over the past 3 weeks. Seriously, this is ridiculous and here’s why: Since there hasn’t been a Democratic President since President Clinton, this means he’s still the de-facto head of the Democratic Party. I realize that his wife is running for President, and I realize that he wants her to win, but former Presidents do not attack fellow members of the party when they’re running for President. This is truly unprecedented. It’s also severely un-called for and ridiculous.
However, though, it tell us how the Clinton campaign views Senator Obama, and that is that they view him as not just a ‘credible threat’ but an ‘incredible threat’ to Hillary’s chances at the Oval Office. A former President calling a Junior Senator from Illinois a liar is unheard of during a campaign season, and it will make for an incredibly awkward Convention in Denver that I very much look forward to witnessing in person.
At the debate (Monday Jan 21) in South Carolina we saw heated exchange between Obama and Clinton, and deservedly so. I wrote last time that Clinton needs Obama much more than vice versa when the nomination comes, so it was pleasant to see Senator Obama find some onions and say the line “I can’t tell which Clinton I’m running against.†Finally, the young man finds a pair. Good for him. If Hillary wants to be President she has to deal with everything that comes with it. Just as it took me 2 interviews to get a dishwasher job back in the day, it will take many a primary to decide a nominee for President. Let’s move on to Republicans.
Just as I counted the old man out, John McCain has surged as the “it†man in the Republican Party. That being said, he’s only a nose hair ahead of a man with a funny name who’s backed by Chuck Norris. Oddly enough, Chuck Norris said McCain might be too old to be President a few days ago…even more oddly enough McCain’s response was “wash his mouth out with soap.†I’m not making that up, he really said it. My mom once threatened to do that me too, but then again that was 1989 and my response to her was “I learned it from watching you.†My advice to McCain would be simply to act younger. Get video of you jogging or doing something athletic. If you can’t do that, then well, you may in fact be too old to be President.
If McCain does get the nomination (which I still don’t think he will), be wary of the Evangelical Christian loved VP that he chooses…that guy’s gonna be a nutjob…and it’ll probably be either Huckabee or Haley Barbour of Mississippi.
Remember Rudy Giuliani? Good old 9.11 himself…the once frontrunner for the Republican Nomination. Remember how he was the guy who could “handle a crisis†yet had no answer on how to “prevent a crisis� Remember all those Yankee Games he went to wearing those NYPD and FDNY hats? Remember how the money spent on those hats probably could’ve, and should’ve, been spent on radios that worked for those departments which could’ve, and should’ve…and would’ve, saved many a public servant's life on that horrible day? Well, Rudy has apparently relocated to Florida because he thinks that the Panhandle (the Redneck Riviera as we call it in the business) will be his resurgence into the mainstream. Florida. The guy is basing his Presidential ambitions on a state that can’t even punch a god damn hole correctly. I don’t know many people working for him, and those I do know are working for free (dude, you work for free on Senate campaigns…Presidential Campaigns pay off student loans!), but this is just a huge mistake. I’m not saying he’s gonna get killed in Florida, but placing everything on one state is stupid, especially a state as fickle as Florida. That’s just poor staff work. Here’s a few other political things:
I like Governor Mark Warner running for Senate in Virginia. Imagine Virginia with 2 Democratic Senators! Well, it will be a reality come January of next year. Warner will do a fantastic job, and had he run for President like he planned to do around this time last year he’d be a formidable candidate.
I think Al Franken will beat Norm Coleman. Running against a Comedian is hard, since one-liners make and break campaigns and all comedians do is think on their feet. It’s gonna be a great race in Minnesota, but Norm Coleman is going down…and had Paul Wellstone never died in a plane crash prior to the 2002 campaign we wouldn’t even know who Norm Coleman was.
The Senate Races in Idaho and Wyoming might be worth mentioning, except for the fact that the Democratic Parties in those states can’t get their shit together long enough to decide what they’re gonna do. Yes, I’m calling you out.
Colorado is one of those states to watch…as well as Virginia, Tennessee, Montana, and, I’m gonna say it, Wyoming. Keep an eye out…good times.
Is it surprising that many Senators elected in 2006 to their first term in office are backing Obama? No, it shouldn’t be. Senator Obama, along with Senator Kerry, did more to raise money and raise awareness than anyone else in the Democratic Party. They, Obama in particular, sold out rallies and fundraisers in parts of states where Democrats generally need not apply, and as a Washington State Resident I say this: If Senator Maria Cantwell doesn’t back Obama I’ll be surprised, because she owes her entire re-election to that man. I was at Garfield High School, Senator Cantwell, and they weren’t there to see you. This is why many “red-state†Senators and Governors are backing Obama. Clinton can’t get the votes, and she’s hated by too many people…I’ll save this for another post…
In closing, I’m wrote this on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. I was happy to see the Seminal post his entire “I have a dream†speech. As I watched it I found myself so moved by the words that I actually began to tear up, but not for the reasons I had hoped. I realized that a lot of what Dr. King said on that amazing day and during that amazing speech are yet to be actualized. There’s a lot of work to be done. America just isn’t what it could be, and I wish I had some miracle answer on how to make it be what I wish and hope and pray for it to be. I don’t have an answer. Should we have a protest or should we have a conversation? Does a protest matter? Can we even have a conversation? America is an amazing thing. It’s complicated yet simplistic in nature. It’s beautiful and grotesque at the same time. War and peace…cats and dogs…American Idol and Homelessness. 9/11 was our worst yet finest hour as a nation or as citizens, yet the carnage of Katrina still displaces not just any people but OUR people regardless of race or social standing.
Dr. King’s dream is my dream, but I also think it’s a lot of people’s dream. This dream can become a reality. Multiple people with similar ambitions and similar drive can make the world a better place (that’s a huge paraphrase there, thank you). But I don’t think it involves protests anymore. Petitions are done. Action is the prime motivator to the actualization of Dr. King's, and our, dreams. If you want something you have to do it. You have to make it happen. You can’t wait for other people to notice anymore. It’s the 21st century. Move or get out of the way.
It’s truly change vs. more of the same. I used to think that was the mantra of the Democratic Party, but the more I think about it, well, that particular mantra has been given life by both parties during this election season. Good. It’s about time. As Rodger Daltrey of The Who once famously sang, “Let’s see action, Let’s see People, Let’s see Freedom, let’s see who cares.†Dreams come during sleep, reality happens when you’re awake, but imagine an America where like minded people actively attempted to make Dr. King's dream a reality. Then it truly would be morning in American again.
Giuliani doesn't have a prayer. What do you say he drops out by Friday?
Ok, how about tomorrow?