Courage Makes A Majority

Primary season has really distracted me.  I am pretty energized by the idea of a new president and a new course for this country.  But I have to admit, it is beginning to border on obsession.  Last night I spent an hour on a spread sheet doing “delegate math.”  In the end, I keep coming to the same answer, there is no way this will be decided without pledged delegates.    Now I am all for letting the process work itself out, but the fact that these two very qualified candidates continue to take about half of the support of those voting leaves us with the very real possibility that some sort of deal has to be worked out.  Who know what it will be, but I do know this,  I can’t spend a couple hours each night lurking around all the progressive/liberal/democratic blogs for the next 5 months until the convention.   It will kill me. Continue reading →

I saw this the other day, and it made my heart skip a beat.   Apparently, in Iran, two sisters are to be stoned to death for “adultery”.   I put adultery in quotes because the husband of one of the women produced a video tape of his wife talking to other men.  Not a sex tape or a some lude act, but rather she was in the company of other men.  I imagine her sister was with her since she is set to be executed with her.

Reading the short article I see that she was already tried once for the crime and found guilty of illegal relations and received 99 lashes.  So she was convicted once, whipped 99 times, but that wasn’t good enough for the savages (yes I called them savages because I can’t think of another more fitting term).   Sister got 99 as well.

After I read the article, I thought thank God that I don’t live in a country that 1) considers adultery a criminal violation, 2) can sentence people to be whipped or stoned and 3) prohibits being tried for the same crime twice.  Continue reading →

I just got off the phone with my Mom.  She will cast her vote (and so will my father) for Barack Obama!!

That calls for a little Johnny Drama Victory Call:

I will try to keep this short and sweet.  I assert that Barack Obama is so much more electable that Hillary Clinton based on a few items.

First, as I outlined in my post a couple of days ago, the war in Iraq is a key issue.  If Hillary is our candidate, she is ineffective in trying to differentiate her position from the Republican candidate.  She voted for the war.  She can not criticize anyone on the issue.  Instead we will be treated to her painful 20 minute attempt to rationalize her vote, say why whe would do it differently if she knew then what she knew know, etc.  The Iraq War needs to be a key point in this election, and Hillary eliminates that possibility. Continue reading →

On Tuesday, February 5th, the two of you will be going to the polls in Southern California to vote for your choice to be the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States. I am writing this open letter to you to sway your decision, in hopes that you will cast that vote for Barack Obama.

I am doing in this in an open format (not only on my blog but also on the Daily Kos) so, in case anyone else wants to help my cause, they can jump in as well. In order to effectively employ others in my cause it is helpful to explain to them who you are. Continue reading →

Tonight’s debate was a great tribute to both candidates. Their civility towards each other and their willingness to discuss the issues instead of attack each other was a win for both of them.  I walk away from the debate feeling more comfortable about the prospects of the presidency should Hillary win the nominations.

However, I really, truly believe, that, given his performance tonight, Barack Obama is the best candidate for President.  There are two reasons for that.  First, the easy one: Iraq.  Barack made a very compelling point on the issue of Iraq.  He is the best candidate to contrast the position versus the Republican candidate, most likely John McCain.  Look at what Obama says after Wolf Blitzer asks him about Iraq. Continue reading →

I have to say that I really am on pins and needles as we advance through the primary season.  The eight straight contests won by Barack(a) don’t have me feeling like this has been wrapped up.  In fact, the more wounded Hillary gets the more dangerous she is.  Now that she has decided to go negative with her campaign, I wonder just how far she will go.

I have two quick observations on this.  If Obama is going to be a strong general election candidate, he must be able to weather the negative ads that will attack him, unfairly, on everything from his voting record, questionable fundraisers, non-conventional stances like the talking to all foreign leaders friend or foe, etc.  So far he has hit back pretty well, but it is only going to intensify as Hillary gets more desparate to score points. Continue reading →

10 Contests in a row for Barack.  10 blow out wins.  10 opportunities to put some distance between him and Hillary have been realized.   Depending on the source (I tend to like MSNBC’s Chuck Todd), Barack has built a 151 pledged delegate lead to date. As a quick aside, my prediction to this point was +154, so only three delegates off.  I apparantly screwed the pooch on Wisconsin where I said Obama would be +22, where he was actually +16.  Given his 17 point win, I clearly over estimated the value of a big victory in that state.  Anyway, my overestimation shouldn’t be to much of a penalty overall because I have Hillary +46 for Texas and Ohio, and it doesn’t seem like that is very likely.  After March 4th, we will take a closer look at the delegate math again.  But I digress, back to the point. Continue reading →

I recently read an article that had a poll of American’s opinions on Iraqi detainees at Gitmo.  Specifically the poll showed more that 60% of Americans do not believe we should extend basic due process to those detainees (of which I concede that most if not all are dangerous, killers, terrorists, etc).  Those numbers are not surprising.  It is a typical response for people looking to be tough on criminals and killers.  It also is a reflection of the Cowboy Diplomacy employed by our leadership.  Ultimately, it is a sign of our weakness as a country. Continue reading →

This is that idea that led me to blogging.  It is the reason I feel the need to speak out.  The middle of the political spectrum is usually the tipping point of an election, especially in polarized times when the bases of both parties are pouring on the rhetoric and engaged in the election.  I have to admit, I did not vote for President Bush in either election.  I was undecided up until the week before the 2000 election.

I wasn’t terribly upset when he won the first election.  I was even a little impressed at some of the early successes of the administration (No Child Left Behind, Tax Cuts), but that was long ago and all those good feelings are but a distant memory.  Since 2001, we have changed from a nation united to a nation divided.  Continue reading →